Chemistry: The Other Foreign Language
How is it that a student can come to my office hours, explain the complicated concepts that a problem set question is based on, even go as far as to intuit the right approach for solving the problem, and yet, is not able to derive the right answer? I am sure many GSIs of general chemistry, or of any introductory physical science class for that matter, have asked themselves this question numerous times throughout a semester. One of the biggest problems facing students in general chemistry classes is their inability to communicate what they actually know about the concepts on an exam or a problem set. The inability to communicate what they know and receiving a low test score on material they actually understood will undoubtedly frustrate students to the point of giving up. The reason for the students' lack of chemical communication skills is simple: they spend very little time learning, practicing...
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... and shouldn't continue. An overwhelming number of students responded that the problem solving sessions and drills were very helpful, and wanted more time devoted to those exercises. Furthermore, my section as a whole improved continually on exams throughout the semester. The section went from being one of the lower scoring sections (i.e., below the class mean) on the first exam, to being the highest scoring section on the final exam by an entire standard deviation.
The political ideologies of the USA and of the Soviet Union were of profound significance in the development of the Cold War. Problems between the two power nations arose when America refused to accept the Soviet Union in the international community. The relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union was filled with mutual distrust and hostility. Many historians believe the cold war was “inevitable” between a democratic, capitalist nation and a communist Union. Winston Churchill called the cold war “The balance of terror” (1). Cold war anxieties began to build up with America and the Soviet Union advancing in the arms race for world dominance and supremacy. America feared the spread of Communism
Dolly, woolly, innocent, and sweet, strongly contrasts with the severity of the issues that she has raised. Ever since the news surfaced that Dr. Ian Wilmut had succeeded in cloning a sheep, people around the world have been participating in a frenzied debate over the morality of cloning animals, and more importantly human beings. The cloning of animals and humans could help the world in unprecedented ways, but could also give rise to unforeseen problems. It raises moral, ethical, and regulatory issues which must be considered during with the formation of cloning legislation. While I believe animal cloning is useful on a restricted level, I feel that human cloning is unnecessary and I advocate its full prohibition.
For years, the prospect of human cloning was fodder for outrageous science-fiction stories and nothing more. However, in more recent times, human cloning has moved significantly closer to becoming a reality. Accordingly, the issue has evoked a number of strong reactions, both praising and condemning the procedure. The fact that human cloning not just affects human lives indirectly but actually involves tinkering with human creation has forced human cloning into a position of controversy. The progress of the issue of human cloning, then, has been shaped not only by the abilities and resources of scientists but by public opinion and by governmental regulation that has resulted from public pressure.
Most people argue that human cloning is not morally and ethically acceptable due to both religious concerns and long-term health problems. The notion of cloning organisms has always been troublesome because of unpredictable consequences. “Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture” (C...
The Vietnam War caused an outbreak between Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The tet offensive was of the main reasons for the start of this war and was one of the largest military campaigns that North Vietnam used to attack the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported financially and militarily by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies, while the South Vietnamese army was supported by United States, South Korea, Thailand, and other anti-communist allies. In this paper, I will addressing, to what extent was Communism a significant factor for the United states to join the Vietnam war and this was the manifestation of the Cold War, and led to the reason of Communism being the main reason for the United states
In order to have a legitimate argument for the reasoning why cloning is or is not acceptable it is important first to be understand what exactly the topic is about. The first thing that must be understood is that there are actually different types of cloning that serve different purposes because each type focuses on a specific goal. The first area of cloning is DNA cloning which is the copying of genes to better understand how they work and find cures for genetic malfunctions. DNA cloning is, perhaps, the oldest of the three types of cloning with it being around since the 1970’s (Cloning Fact Sheet, 2009). This form of cloning is the most widely accepted form since it does not cross into the realm of human cloning which is one of the largest debates that exists. One of the things that DNA cloning can accomplish is curing genetic malfunctions, by placing a cloned copy of the correct gene into the body via a virus that will replicate in the body and there for take the place of the faulty genes. H...
The cloning of animals and humans disregards the common ethics of the creation of humanity. Three types of cloning currently exist. There is therapeutic cloning, DNA cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning does not actually make a clone, it just makes stem cells. Stem cells are capable of becoming any type of cell that they are introduced to. For example, when a stem cell is introduced to a damaged heart, it transforms itself into a healthy heart cell. Even though stem cells might be very good for helping alleviate the pain of some diseases, the best use of stem cells is making embryos. This is the main reason why many people disagree with this kind of cloning. Courtney Farell and Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt wrote an article in which they stated “Some pro-life activists believe that such embryos represent human life, and do not approve of their use in the cloning process” (Farell and Carson-Dewitt 1). Reproductive cloning is creating an animal from only one parent. This type of cloning creates the most controversy because it completely disregards the whole idea of natural conception. The other very risky thing about this kind of cloning is that it has an extremely low success rate. Humans are so focused on the thought of making clones that they are unaware of the risk factors. Cloning makes life seem as though humans are the individuals who were meant to create. In the words of Eric Badertscher, “The cloning of human beings is particularly distasteful, and shows humans’ desire to ‘play God’ regardless to the risks of people born in this manner” (Badertscher 6). The controversy of cloning was born when the first successfully cloned animal was created in 1997. Dolly the Sheep became a focal point of...
Before the jury stands the defendant. There is overwhelming evidence in the favor of the prosecution. The verdict comes back from the jury, not guilty. Why? The defendant is a woman. In our era of equal rights and civil liberties women have made great strides in their advancement and role in society, yet it seems that gender segregates when it comes to crime. There have been countless cases where women and men have been tried for the same crime, yet when it comes to verdict and sentencing, the results don’t necessarily match. If one commits a crime one should be punished accordingly regardless of gender. In our society we seem to have two separate rules for our criminals, one for men and one for women. The key issue is are men and women treated equally by the criminal justice system. Another issue in gender biased sentencing is in its is its severity. Are women sentenced heavier for certain crimes then men.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Get that picture played repeatedly over the news and it’s worth more than a thousand words; you gather the entire eyes, ears, and minds of a nation. The “great debate” of the Presidential Election for 2004 was well aware of the media power, understanding that there is a 24-news cycle available through TV, newspapers, and Internet. Those who wanted to remain ahead only had to use the media as their guinea pigs to twist out their favorable outcome. President Bush may be incumbent but his team behind the debate is not; John Kerry may be long-winded but his team behind the debate knows how to attract attention quickly. Both candidates may not have known what stage was being set October 4, 2004 but their campaign aids and analysts knew that in order to turn an American audience onto their side they knew manipulation of the media would turn into manipulation of the public.
The name of this incredible book is The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry by Larry Gonick and Craig Criddle. This book is published by HarperCollins Publishers Inc in 2005. It contains of 244 pages of pure knowledge of chemistry. There are many genres of this book, but the ones that stand out are mathematics, science, and humor. This book consists of the basics of chemistry needed throughout the year. It talks about anything you need to know from the size of a small atom to a huge experiment leading to many new discoveries.
I believe that the most important thing in teaching and learning is to insure the future success of the students. That’s why I am committed to placing the needs of the learner at the centre of everything I do. My teaching goal is to link course performance with the development of general learning skills, general chemical science skills, and specific subject matter skills.
The history of chemistry dates back to the time of ancient history to now. Ancient civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry by 1000 BC. For example, they were extracting chemicals from plants to make medicines. The history of chemistry is intertwined with the history of thermodynamics. Chemistry is very important to our world today. Without it, we wouldn’t be near as advanced as we are. Let’s take scientists for example. The scientists at St. Jude children’s research hospital; everyday they are working to find the cure to various types of cancer by mixing different chemicals and making various compounds to somehow help all the children with the big C word today. Chemistry plays a big role in things we would never think of.
For centuries, many scientists and researchers have pondered on the idea of combining two or more substances together to create something new. These explorations have led to the idea of what kind of reactions would occur when diverse elements are combined. This is a concept known as chemistry, a part of science that corresponds with how matter is created from different properties and the process it goes through to create a new substance. Chemistry is a scientific concept that is used in everyday life and is a crucial part in the development of new technology and substances that allow today’s quality of life. The use of chemistry branches off into many different routes, including medical related fields, agriculture, and even in weapons of
From the unit of chemistry in grade ten science, the students have learned many things from different types of elements in the chart all the way to how each element impacts the daily life each student or even adult lives in. Some of the things I as a student have learned include how to draw the different elements in a bohr rutherford diagram, balancing chemical equations, types of chemical reactions, and even information about the different types of acids and bases. Although there were many other things in the unit, these four definately helped me learn about chemistry in a more in-depth way, as well as teaching me something very new since these were some things a few of the students had never done in the previous years. Learning this in the classroom has really opened my eyes to the world in which we live in today, many times I leave the house on a cold day and as I look upon the cold water becoming ice or even the snow falling down, I know how it is happening, why it is happening, and I can even picture the molecules solidifying as we had seen in class with many different diagrams.