Inside every living thing lives millions of cells Essays - Biology

Inside every living thing lives millions of cells that help our body perform chemical reactions and functions that help us survive. Inside this very cell holds different organs, called organelles, and different products of the cell. Each part of the cell has its own function, like a factory that manufactures products. Plant and animal cells are alike in several ways. Plant and animal cells are both eukaryotic cells, which means both cells include a nucleus. They have several features in common, such as the presence of a cell membrane, and cell organelles, like the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. The cell membrane is a semi-permeable structure. It only allows some things in (such as glucose,) and only some things out. (cellular waste is an example.) In the center of the cell is the nucleus, the brains of the cell. The nucleus controls what every part of the cell does. For example, it may tell the mitochondria to break down more food because the cell does not have enough energy. Of course, plant and animal cells also have many different features. This so the cell is able to supply the needs of the organism. A plant needs sunlight in order to survive, but animals do not. Because the needs of animals and plants are different, their organelles vary also. In addition to the cell membrane, plant cells also have a thick cell wall. This is to help the plant keep its long, rectangular shape. When looking under a microscope, cell walls are a great way to distinguish plant cells from animal cells. Plants are also autotrophs; they produce energy from sunlight through the process of photosynthesis, for which they use cell organelles called chloroplasts. However, plant cells do contain mitochondria. While both plant and animal cells contain vacuoles, plant cells have one large central vacuole that can take up to 90% of cell volume. In plant cells, the function of vacuoles is to store water and maintain turgidity of the cell. Animal cells, on the other hand, have one or more small vacuoles. Vacuoles in animal cells store water, ions and waste. They also do not have chloroplasts. In animal cells, energy is produced from a simple sugar called glucose, via the process ofcellular respiration. Cellular respiration occurs in mitochondria on animal cells, which are structurally somewhat analogous to chloroplasts, and also perform the function of producing energy. Lysosomes are membrane-enclosed organelles that contain an array ofenzymescapable of breaking down all types of biological polymersproteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, andlipids. They can only be found in animal cells. Lysosomes function as the digestive system of the cell, serving both to degrade material taken up from outside the cell and to digest obsolete components of the cell itself. In their simplest form, lysosomes are visualized as dense spherical vacuoles, but they can display considerable variation in size and shape as a result of differen ces in the materials that have been taken up for digestion.

5 Slang Words That May Never Be Legit

5 Slang Words That May Never Be Legit 5 Slang Words That May Never Be Legit 5 Slang Words That May Never Be Legit By Mark Nichol OK, like, OMG, I’m totally not bagging on you for tweeting or FBing or blogging these words, but they are so bogus in formal writing. LOL 1. Amirite This trendy favorite of commenters on pop-culture Web sites, meant to suggest a glibly tossed â€Å"Am I right?† I figured that out after initially wondering what the heck uh-mere-uh-tee meant has about as much chance of making it into the dictionary as fuhgeddaboudit. Save it for the fanboys you can do better than that. 2. Craptastic/craptacular These mash-ups of, respectively, crap and fantastic and crap and spectacular first cropped up in snarky online lambasting of overhyped pop-culture phenomena in the 1990s. I chuckled the first couple of times I came across them, but though they are ideal terms for assuming a sarcastic tone, they are best used in moderation and are not, and perhaps will never become, mainstream expressions of derision. Safer alternatives for general publication include absurd, laughable, ludicrous, preposterous, ridiculous, and risible. 3. Genius Out of seemingly nowhere, online correspondents began to use this as a short form of ingenious, as in â€Å"That’s such a genius move.† It has not acquired legitimacy, and in other than jocular usage, you don’t have to be a genius to avoid it. 4. Ginormous This collision of gigantic and enormous, dating from the 1990s, is a vivid term, but it is superfluous, considering that humongous, which also seemed to appear spontaneously in casual usage when it came on the scene in the 1960s, has already acquired a respectability the newer term as yet lacks. Plenty of words meaning â€Å"extremely large† exist: colossal, gargantuan, gigantic, immense, mammoth, massive, monstrous, prodigious, titanic, and vast, for starters. None of them has the neologistic cachet of ginormous, but the latter is for now only suitable in informal writing. 5. A Slang Word That Isn’t The adjective cliche, used in place of cliched, as in â€Å"That’s so cliche,† was originally on this list, until I looked it up and discovered, to my surprise, that it is a legitimate variant. Its sudden recent vogue lured me into thinking it was being misused in an affected manner much like the adjective genius (see above) is. It’s correct, but you’re welcome to use one of many synonyms, like hackneyed or trite. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Compared "to" or Compared "with"?Homogeneous vs. HeterogeneousComment, Suggestion, and Feedback

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Reflection paper - Essay Example Both artists are generally considered to play music under the Pop rock genre. Aside from this shared quality, the two musicians differ greatly in almost everything else from their style of music, their portrayals in music videos, their album covers and even their live performances (â€Å"Jason Mraz† n. pag.; â€Å"Katy Perry† n. pag.). Jason Mraz was born on March 23, 1977 and started his career singing at various coffee shops in San Diego where he released his first acoustic album, â€Å"Live at Java Joe’s,† last 2001. Since then, he has made 9 award-winning albums up to his current album, â€Å"Love is a Four Letter Word.† Over a little more than a decade, he has accumulated two Grammy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, and was the â€Å"Artist of the Year† in the San Diego Music Awards for three consecutive years, while garnering many nominations in between (â€Å"Jason Mraz† n. pag.). As a performer, Jason Mraz tends to present himself simply, relying on his music and wit to liven up a performance. During his live performances, he likes to joke and share his ideas with his audience in between songs. In his album covers, he is usually portrayed simply on the street, in a hallway or a simple caricature of himself. His minimalist presentation seems to invite the listener to skip the album cover and go ahead to the music. In his music videos, he is usually portrayed playing a guitar and singing in various locations in casual clothes. This seems to give him the image of an artist that is ‘all about the music’ by not adding so much glamour to his performances. His stereotype is that of a laid back coffee shop musician that makes his music quite easy to listen to. Katy Perry was born as Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson on October 25, 1984, and started out as a gospel singer when she released her first self-titled album of Christian songs in 2001 at the age of 15. Her second album, â€Å"One of the Boys† last 2008, had a more â€Å"Pop† feel to her

Enthnography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enthnography - Essay Example If she does something that is considered bad, let her not deny it. Let her bare disgrace and let her endure when others speak evil or do evil to her†¦always let her seem to tremble and fear† (Rachel, 301). This audacious statement was put together by a respected man in ancient China whose opinion mattered in the courts of law and exerted great influence on the judge’s decision and judgment served to women. This is a brief peak into the setting of China about 2000 years ago. In ancient China, the girl child was always treated with contempt and referred to with disappointment by the men who would tower over them as though they were gods to be served and satisfied by the women. The women were more often than not looked upon as concubines and no woman would claim right, whether legally or morally to be the sole wife of one man. The men had every right to take to themselves as many women as he would to be his multiple wives. The married women would also fall in a hierarc hy based on simple factors as, the maid who was most favored by the master would come top of the list. Other bases would be the order in which they were married. To say that women in Chinese history were treated as animals would almost be an understatement since some of the practices were bordering evil. For example, one of the most common practices in ancient China was that of crippling women which started from their childhood where their feet would be bound (Rachel, 305). The arch of each foot would be deliberately broken and the foot tied to prevent it from growing. This would latter lead to a painful hobbling kind of motion for the women and their mobility would be limited to household chores. In the process of time, wealthy households and the non-aristocratic Chinese could not afford to have their women unable to work due to the crippling so they opted to keep them as slaves. They did jobs such as spinning clothes, processing tea and other labour intensive tasks in the home. Du ring these severe times of inequality, there were individuals who arose to show that women were not as useless as deemed and that they could exert a certain degree of influence. For example, in ancient history, the heir to the Chinese throne was taken by a young boy whose mother; ‘Empress Dowager’ was the true ruler (Rachel, 307). Another interesting area to note as the changes in tradition changed overtime, the role of arranging marriages was handed to an aunt or older female relatives. They decided which families would be allied by marriage and who would pay the dowry to whom. In some regions of ancient China an interesting tradition was developed of having groups of 6 to 7 women who would be â€Å"sworn-sisters† and they would even develop their language and system of writing to help them communicate amongst themselves. On the onset of the 19th century, there was an outcry of discontentment amongst the Chinese people regarding the roles of the women. However, it was not until the short lived Chinese republic that there was significant progress in the fight for women rights. The rise of communists under the Mao caused a shift in the long held beliefs and traditions that degraded the Chinese people and they were willing to die for their beliefs and one of their goals was to erase the inequality between the men and women once and for all. In these times women worked outside their home, were educated and involved themselves in political matters (Rachel, 309). With the death of Mao the nation moved towards a

Norway - Population Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Norway - Population - Research Paper Example Furthermore, 39.8% of the country’s total population is in the age group of 25-54 years (CIA, 2013). The population growth is slow recorded in 2013 at 0.33% (CIA, 2013). Therefore, any business must not expect any major shift in the demographic conditions of the country. Any strategy that is formulated and implemented at present could remain effective for next few years. These groups are considered to be the target market of ARIO that is launching its wristband collection in Norway. Moreover, ARIO plans to launch its business in Oslo, which is the capital city of Norway, and it is important to highlight demographics of the city. The capital hosts a population of around .875 million individuals (CIA, 2013). The city portrays of the country’s heritage. However, in the recent years, the city socio-cultural setup has been very much affected by Western influences. The younger population of the country is following the contemporary trends (Oslo, 2013). The country spends 6.8% of its total GDP on education (CIA, 2013), which is significantly high amount of expenditure. This also implies that a high proportion of the country’s population is literate and has access to all types of information. 100% of the population can read or write, which is phenomenal. This is crucial as ARIO depends upon the ability of participants of the targeted market to understand fashion trends and follow them in their purchases. It is understood that target population that has some form of education are more likely to be aware of fashion trends. There is no poverty found in the country as every individual in the country is living about the poverty line (CIA, 2013). The country’s per capital GDP is $53,000 (CIA, 2013) that is very high and reflects people’s ability to generate income and spending in high volumes. Although, the country experienced a slowdown in its economy as an outcome of the recent financial crisis and economic downturn in major

What motivates employees

What motivates employees Gaining the knowledge of what motivates employees and how they were motivated was the focus of many researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). The literature review on this research intends to discover the current theories and issues in relations to work motivation throughout the literature sources. It is important to understand what motivation actually is, and more specially the term work motivation. The literature review will look at four major motivational theories. They are:- Maslows need-hierarchy theory, Herzbergs two- factor theory, Adams equity theory and Vrooms expectancy theory. They are Maslows need-hierarchy theory, and Herzbergs two- factor theory are needs based motivational theory, commonly known as content theories. These theories explain that human needs change with time. People have certain needs and desires to achieve and those needs and desires change over a period of time. Adams equity theory and Vrooms expectancy theory are collectively known as cognitive theories. These theories will examine the employees behaviour in terms of performance and compare their performance and rewards with others. According to Maslow, employees needs have five levels (Maslow, 1943). It is based on the hypothesis that human needs are capable of being exhaustible. Satisfactory achievement of the first level of needs leads to the next level. Once a particular need has been satisfied, that need will no longer be a driving force of motivation. Herzbergs considered motivation into two factors: motivators and hygiene (Herzberg, Mausner, Snyderman, 1959). According to this theory people are influenced by two factors. These factors are Motivators and hygiene. Achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth were included in the motivation factors and dissatisfying factors largely from non-job related factors such as company policies, salary, co-worker relations and supervisory styles (Steers and Porter 2001). These theories will help to understand the various factors which influence the employees of the organisation. Adams equity theory focuses on peoples reactions to the fairness of outcome they receive in relations to their perception of the inputs they provide, especially when compared to the perceived outcomes/inputs that others receive. (Porter et al., 2001). According to Adams theory equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965). This theory will provide more understanding towards motivational difference between permanent and temporary staff of the organisation. Vrooms theory supports that employee effort will lead to performance and performance will lead to rewards (Vroom, 1964). The rewards can be either positive or negative, but the more positive reward will lead the employee to work more motivated and conversely, the more negative the reward the less likely the employee will be motivated. In MS money call centre (MS), permanent and temporary staffs are performing the same duties, expected to meet the same target and trained to perfume the duties in the same way, reword system is different in terms of bonus, pension, company discount card and other non monetary rewards. By taking this into consideration and applying the selected four theories in this environment. Both groups employees must show a difference in motivation in line with Adams equity theory and also will be on different stages in relations to Maslows need-hierarchy theory. The research will also explain what they expect as a permanent / temporary employee working for MS in line with Vrooms expectancy theory. Two factor theory will explain how much influence each motivation factor have on all the employees. 3.3.1. References: Adair, J. (1990) Understanding Motivation. London: The Talbot Adair Press. Adams, J. S. (1965) Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz. Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press. Arkin, A. (1997) People Management, Call Centre Stress, Vol 3 Issues 6, 22-27 Arnold, J., Cooper, C., Robertson, I.T. (1998) Work Psychology, Understanding human behaviour in the workplace, third edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited Collis, J. Hussey, R (1997) Business research: a practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students, second edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Fisher, C. (2004) Researching and writing a dissertation: A guidebook for business students, second edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Fletcher, C. (1993) Appraisal: Routes to improved performance, second edition. London: IPD House. Gillham, B. (2000) Developing a questionnaire: Real world research, second edition. New York: Contimuum International Publishing group Hertzberg, F. (1968) One More Time: How do you motive employees? Harvard Business review, 53-62 Hertzberg, F., Manunser, B. and Synderman B (1959), The Motivation in Work. New York: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Snyderman, B, B. (1959) The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley Sons. Holman, D.J. (2002) Human Resource Management Journal, Employees well being in call centres, Vol 7 Jones, F., Burke, R. J., Westman, M. (2006) Work-Life balance: psychological perspective. Sussex: Psychology press. Katzell, Yankelovich (1975) Compensation Benefits Review, Pay vs Work Motivation and Job Satisfaction, Vol 8, 54-66 Kruger, D.J. (2003) The Community Psychologist, Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in community research, Vol 36, 18-19 Lindner, J, R. (1998) Understanding Employee Motivation. Vol 36, issue 3, June. Luthans, F. (1998) Organisational Behaviour 8th edition. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill Marshall, C,. Rossman, G. (1999) Designing Qualitative Research third edition. London: Sage Publication Ltd Maslow, A.H. (1954) Motivation and Personality. Harper and Row Publishers, New York: New York Miguel, A,. Quinones Ehrenstein, A. (1996) Training for a rapidly changing workplace: application of psychological research. Washington: American psychology association. Mullins, L. J. (2002) Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th Edition. London: Prentice Hall. Myers, M.D. (2002) Qualitative Research in Business Management. London: Sage Publications. Porter, L. W., Bigley, G.A., Steers R, M. (1975) Motivation and work behaviour. New York: Irwin McGraw-Hill Porter, L.W., Lawler, E.E. (1968) Managerial attitudes and performance. Homewood II: Irwin Rose, E. (2002) The Journal of Industrial Relations, The labour process and union commitments within a banking services call centre, Vol 44, Issue 1, 40-61 Rose, Ed. (2001 Employment relations, second edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited Saunders, Lewis Thornhill (2007) Research methods for business students, third edition, Essex: Pearson Education Limited Smith, K. Toddd, M. Waldman, J (2009) Doing your undergraduate social science dissertation. Oxon: Routledge Terpstra, D. E. (1979) Theories of motivation: borrowing the best. Personnel Journal, 58. 376. Vroom, V. (1992) Management motivation. second edition. London: penguin books ltd Vroom, V. H. (1964) Work and motivation. New York: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. 5. Outline Methodology: After the literature review and background study of the call centre environment, a positivist approach has been adapted to the research. Even though, motivation is considered as a subjective factor, the background study of the call centre environment is compared and addressed similar to battery- farming condition (Arkin 1997) with characteristic of tailorism. The most important reason for selecting positivist approach is, that this research is testing the four theories of motivation mentioned in literature review in call centre in permanent and temporary employees, which falls in line with Myers, M.D (2002) argument that positivist generally attempt to test theory. The research method used to collect primary data is a semi structured questionnaire with open and closed questions. Secondary data will be gathered from organisation through human resource department on recruitment statistics and also from survey results previously conducted by the organisation. The questionnaire includes open and closed questions, both categorical and quantifiable. All the questions are statistically analysed by using codes and excel spreadsheet and will be presentable through bar charts/pie charts. The positivist approach of testing theory and using quantifiable data collecting methods falls into the deductive approach which falls in line with positivism (Saunders et al. 2007)

Allen Sapp :: essays research papers fc

Allen Sapp is a famous Indian artist. He was born in 1928 on the Red Pheasant Reserve near Battleford, Saskatchewan. He was raised and cared for by his grandmother, Maggie Soonias because his mother died of tuberculosis. He was a sickly child who was often picked on by other children. He took great pleasure in painting and drawing, beginning at age eight. Sapp married and in 1960 his son David was born in a tuberculosis sanitorium where his wife was sick. In 1961 she got out and they moved to Battleford. Allen tried to live off his art and tried to paint waht he thought the white man would like, often calendar art of places and animals he’d never actually seen. He dressed as he thought the white man would accept, and he knew little English. One morning in 1966 Sapp walking into the North Battleford Medical Clinic to sell his paintings. Here he met Dr. Allan Gonor, who liked his work. On his second visit Dr. Gonor saw a painting of Cheif Sam Swimmer and liked it. He bought it and asked for more. Allen began painting what he knew from the reserve. He turned out many paintings at a tremendous rate. Dr. Gonor arranged for him to see an art professor from the U of S. The little instruction he got form her was the only formal instruction he has ever had. In September 1968 she showed some of Allen’s paintings in her backyard. The show was a great success. On the Easter weekend of 1969 Allen had his first major exhibition. The people loved him. He became a great success. The value of his paintings went way up in the next little while as his popularity streadily increased and he did shows all over Canada and in the US and England. He once again became proud of his Indian heritage and began to dress the part. By 1974 h e even had a book written about him. In 1977 Sapp’s son, David, died. In 1985 Dr. Gonor died while visiting Thailand In December 1985 Sapp was elected to the Royal Canadian Acadamy of Arts (R.C.A.A.). He also became one of the first eight receipants of the Saskatchewan Award of Merit. In 1986 he was recognized as one of the Senior Native Artists in Canada. In January 1987 the Governor General of Canada appointed Sapp as an Officer to the Order of Canada.

Conventional Books vs E-Book

As past times go, there's little that is more old-fashioned, quiet and basic as reading a book. Or, at least, that used to be the case. But with the competitive flood of electronic readers, or e-readers, hitting the market as well as e-reader applications for smartphones, the reading experience has been getting a progressively modern makeover. The stats are in and the fight is on. Overall book sales have dropped in 2008 and 2009, according to the American Association of Publishers (AAP).While adult hardcover books actually increased by over 6% in 2009, eBook sales, which account for 4% of all book sales, have increased a whopping 176%. Are these figures telling the tale of the tape as the publishing industry struggles to regain their status as a recession proof industry? Are eBooks on their way to eliminating traditional books altogether? Most of us love to read and most of us have our preferences for the platform we read from. Will you be a traditionalist and stand behind the old gu ard?Bill McCoy,  executive director  of International Digital Publishing Forum, based in Seattle,  Washington,  said that while it's hard to gauge just how the sale of digital books (e-books) is growing, it's clear that the sales, as a percentage of the overall market, are in the double digits â€Å"and on a fast-growing vector†. â€Å"Amazon is saying that they're selling more e-books than hardcover books. And in many cases, depending on the title, they might be selling more e-books than physical books. † A relatively new phenomenon is that e-reader, be it Kindle, ipad or a number of other new competitors coming into the marketplace.When we think about our environment, these devices seem to be more environmentally friendly than our typical paper and cardboard book, even a paperback. There are certain tactile to real book, just feeling the paper, turning the pages. But on the surfaces, the e-reader would seem to be much greener. E-reader vs. conventional book i s a provocative question. Actually, right now, there are some major problems with conventional book publishing, of which you should be aware, if your goal is to get this community to acquire and then to issue your work.The first one is distribution through bookstores has never been tougher. Most publishers sell to stores on consignment. If books don't fly off shelves into the hands of buyers, they're returned to publishers, very quickly. Your title doesn't get very long exposure or time to establish itself. Other than that, books used to be kept â€Å"in print† and available for longer periods of time, in many cases, for years. Now, they're put to death quickly, if initial sales are anything other than brisk. Besides that, we live in an era of the celebrity book.If Oprah wants to write a diet book, it will be a monster hit; you know that. But the most exciting, up and coming, highly credentialed nutritionist may not have a chance of breaking into print. Next, publishers expec t authors to make them profitable through personal promotional efforts. â€Å"What are you going to do to sell this book? † is the major question they ask, and agents will tell you, without a personal commitment to sell your own copies, stated in your book proposal, you won't get a publisher to bite. Otherwise, publishers are clueless, themselves, about what to put out there.Reluctant to lead, and reluctant to follow the success of others, they are like the proverbial deer in the headlights. It used to be the case that if you wanted information on a subject you either went to your library or to your local bookstore. Not anymore. By going to the Internet, you can assemble the equivalent of a book, fast and more or less, for free. Publishers haven't figured out how to sell content at a premium, in an environment in which so much of it is available, instantly, for nothing. There are alternatives to conventional book publishing, including self-publishing and using media alternati ves such as audios and videos.A regular book is better. Not only is it more reliable and you don't have to worry about it dying, but there is just something special about feeling the smooth front cover and the rough edges of the thick, coarse pieces of paper that have been read by so many. If you get an e-book you click, download, and read. There's nothing like the feeling of finishing a really good book. You want to share it with someone! You can't share an e-book. E-books are really only good for travel. Most of the people refuse e-books either but prefers reading conventional books.Readers like to read in bed so it's easier the conventional way; they always find it's easier on the eye to read a conventional book. It seems that our eyes feel more tired for reading e-book. Reading in the internet really hurts people's eyes. Anyway, we should protect our eyes. There are people who read both but by far prefer a real book. In the technology era, there are some advantages and bright fu ture for e-book. The first one is from the finding the book from the bookshelf. Depending on how many books readers have, and how organized they are, this can be a fairly daunting task for traditional books.Some people used to have organized the books by the name of author, type of the books or alphabetically by title. That fell by the wayside the last time they moved. While they arranged it, they are completely random within the way they organized. That may not sound like trouble, but for someone who has a lot of books, for instance, it can make any one book tricky to find. While searching for a book on the virtual bookshelves within the e-book application is only slightly easier. Using e-book application, making it easy to find a book by typing the title, by author or by how frequently people read the book.Secondly is travelling with books. Some people used to travel a lot and it was all they could do to fill the boredom of those long journeys with reading. It meant readers had to bring a lot of books with them, which weighed down their luggage. Travelling with e-books is something that they call heaven. They can close to 200 books and 30 or 40 magazines on their e-book application. The traditional books stack lot of kilograms but then using the e-book just only a few grams. From this side, people more prefer to using e-book rather than conventional books.In many circumstances, reading an e-book is far superior to reading a traditional paper book. Firstly, the portability of e-book. The wonderful thing about electronic text is that it takes up virtually no room, in both a physical and digital sense. If readers have a storage card, they can walk around with at least a dozen books, and probably many more than that. Even if they don't have a storage card, they can still walk around with a fair collection of three to six books (again, depending on book size and available memory). In many situations it's hard to carry even one book around with people.The storage abilities of most e-books allow readers to carry a reasonable collection of reading materials and/or reference texts. Because they probably carry their handheld around with them everywhere anyway, the convenience factor increases nearly exponentially. Because e-book is digital, not only are they super-portable, but they also open up the possibility for some really useful features. For starters, since most e-book is in some form of digital text file, readers can search the text for words or phrases. This is helpful when readers want to find a quote or another specific section of the book.This can cut minutes, if not hours, off of wild goose chases for particular passages. Additionally, digital formats are assuming copy protection doesn't get in the way that can be duplicated forever without decay or any real expense. We'll dig deeper into the specifics of this issue later in the series, but if the e-book allows it, this duplication ability can make it possible for people to share boo ks with their friends without ever having to actually give up one of their possessions. This is good for publishers (and hopefully writers as well), who don't have to pay any production costs.This in turn should drive the prices down for the readers. While the digital nature of the e-book in theory raises the effectiveness of e-book, it also brings up a few ideas that are interesting and worth perusing in this series. E-book also easy to be read. The electronic format offers readers even more benefits over traditional paper books. E-book can be read in a variety of lighting situations, and due to the back lighted screens that most palm computers have, people can read an e-book in most low or no light situations, such as on the subway, during nighttime road trips, or in bed when they don't want to disturb their partner.Advantages of conventional books over electronic is resale value. Like music downloads, people will never actually be able to resell electronic books. If they are into collectable books, this is a particularly big problem and they should only use physical titles. Reading ease is also one of the advantages of conventional books. This one is only really a benefit for those that would otherwise read e-book on their computers or phones. If readers buy a commercial e-reader, it will probably use ink technology that will not hurt their eyes with backlight.Never the less, readers don’t need to worry about this problem with a physical book. Other than that, no devices needed. If readers find themselves in a small town without their cell phone or computer, they won’t be able to download a new title for your e-book, but they can always stop by a local bookstore and pick up a new paperback. Conventional books have no batteries. While most readers have a good battery life, there will still be times where readers forget to charge it and then can’t read at all. Readers will never have this problem with a standard book.No warranties needed when readers choosing conventional books. If their e-reader breaks, they will have nothing to read until they receive a new one. Some devices let them read the titles they have saved on their computer, but it’s just something readers will never have to worry about with a physical book. Best of all, if a book does get damaged to where people can't read it, they can just go to the bookstore and buy another copy, rather than worrying if it is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Next is tradition.Let’s face it; people are never going to get that comforting smell of paper or the weight of a good book in their hands when they read an e-book. And while people can flip ahead in an e-book, readers can’t do so in a matter of seconds and flip right back to the page. Amazon recently announced that its June 2010 Kindle e-book sales nearly doubled its hardcover book sales (180% higher). Many of those e-books were self-published books priced under a dollar; ho wever, data indicates e-books may become the dominant long-form format in not too many years.Are low-overhead e-books better for authors or publishers than their print counterparts? Forrester Research says retailers will sell 6. 6 million e-readers in 2010. Apple has already sold 3 million iPads, which are capable of reading Amazon Kindle e-books as well as Apple's iBooks. At average prices, one would need to buy 15 e-books to offset the $189 price tag of a Kindle, 12 e-books to pay off a $149 Barnes and Noble Nook, and 39 e-books to justify a $499 entry-level iPad (assuming price is the only factor).E-books are up 200% from 2009, according to the Association of American Publishers; however, they still only represent 3-5% of total sales for publishers, according to the New York Times. Hardcover books are also up 40% since 2009, indicating that while e-books are undoubtedly a big part of the future of long-form publishing, people will still be turning paper pages for a while. (Source s:  PrintingChoice,  NYTimes) The tactile pleasure of worn pages between reader’s fingers is hard to replace. But when it comes to encouraging people to embrace the written word,  e-readers  trump their physical counterparts.According to the infographic below, people who own e-book devices say they read more than people who don’t, at a rate of 24 books per year to 15. Education, escape, relaxation and entertainment rank as people’s main motivations to plow through books — proving that, whether electronically or via dead tree, reading remains a popular pastime. E-readers are also rising in popularity, signaling that it may not be impossible to imagine a world without traditional books sometime in the not-so-distant future. From December 2011 to January 2012, e-reader ownership nearly  doubled, from 10 percent to 19 percent, among American adults.And that stunning surge in just one month’s time doesn’t even account for  tablets   or other mobile electronic devices people use to read books and long form content. Worldwide, meanwhile, e-reader sales rose by nearly 3 million between 2010 and 2011. It’s also interesting to look at the relationship between actual e-book consumption and ownership of a device that enables users to read books electronically. According to one study, 29% of American adults own a personal e-book device, tablets included. But just 21% of adults had actually read an  e-book  in the past year as of February 2012.It'll be interesting to see if and when experiments on the potential impacts of e-readers on memory and cognition are done, as the market has definitely reached a point of no return in terms of moving away from printed pages. Stephanie Mantello, senior public relations manager of the Kindle group at Amazon. com, gave answers that didn't include specifics, but implied massive  quantities. For instance, when asked how many  Kindles the company has sold since the produ ct was first introduced in 2008, Mantello simply said, â€Å"Millions. Millions of people are reading on Kindle.Kindle is also the best-selling product in the history of Amazon. com. † It is the most-wished for on the â€Å"wish list† function account holders have on the company's site. It's given as a gift more often than any other single product. It has the most 5-star reviews. She did say that between April 1 and May 19, for every 100 print books the company sold, it sold 105 Kindle books. â€Å"This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded, and, if included, would make the number even higher,† said Mantello.The reasons for the slow acceptance of e-books vary but a constant reason given was not being comfortable with reading using personal computers, laptops and palm pilots (Helfer, 2000; Andersen, 2001). Other reasons included: finding it difficult to read on small screens, pro blems with browser, slow loading time, difficulties in navigating (Gibbon, 2001; Chu, 2003); and preferring to read printed text (Ray and Day, 1998; Holmquist, 1997; Gibbon, 2001). Summerfield and Mandel (1999) indicated that library users at the University of Columbia would use e-book in some depth when they are required to do so by courses they are following.The studies above indicated that the degree of acceptance of e-book is on the rise but the preference for printed text remained. A high percentage of students indicated that they used e-book because it was available online (64. 2%), provided faster and easy access to new titles (45. 7%) and did not require physical visit to the library (40. 7%) (Table 1). Bodomo†¦et al’s (2003) respondents gave similar answers and his respondents recognized that digital libraries were very convenient since they did not need to go to libraries and could still read and download books or journals from home.Similarly, Chu (2003) also r eported that â€Å"available around the clock† and â€Å"searchable† were valued the most by students at a library and information science schools in the USA. Table 1: Reasons for Using or Not Using e-book Table 1 (b) shows that almost half (45. 6%) of the non-users indicate preference for paper format as a barrier for them from using e-books service. Holmquist (1997) found that the main reason for his respondents’ non-use of e-journals was their preference to read articles on paper, not on the computer screen.Other non-users have mentioned factors such as little knowledge on how to use or access e-books, the print copy is convenient to use, the lack of Internet connection, difficulty in browsing and reading, having no interest, and perceiving the need for special software to be able to use e-book as being cumbersome. When the non-users were asked whether they would use the e-book in the future, only 30% (38) gave a definite â€Å"yes† while the majority (61%, 76) indicated â€Å"probably† or â€Å"not sure or â€Å"probably not†Ã¢â‚¬  (6%, 8; 2%, 2). While university students operate in a world immersed in digital text, they have not simultaneously abandoned print. It is not true, as Steve Jobs stated and as Nicholas Carr implied, that they like the iPad because they don’t read. In fact, for their university studies, students prefer to read on paper, although they also want the convenience of online digital text. † Cull, 2012 There is no doubt that new forms of publishing are becoming increasingly popular across the world. Their benefits are those that the traditional rinted book could never imagine to surpass, and they fill a gap in a rapidly increasing market of readers dictating portability and mass storage as necessary to the current lifestyle. However, evidence shows that readers are not entirely convinced that e-readers are books of the future. They have not caught on as other recent technology tr ends have, and the consistent theme of simulating e-readers to resemble traditional books, indicates that consumers are not prepared to relinquish the time-honored form for this new technology.As such, the chance of books becoming redundant or obsolete in the near future is improbable. â€Å"The history of communications media tells us that new media often do not replace old. At most, they redefine the purposes and functions of older media† (Cope & Kalantzis 2001:5). Of more value to consumers then, is a co-existence of the two, amalgamating the benefits of each to accommodate for the needs of all, rendering neither redundant nor obsolete.

Edge Habitats

Edge Habitats Across the globe, human development has fragmented once-continuous landscapes and ecosystems into isolated patches of natural habitat. Roads, towns, fences, canals, reservoirs, and farms are all examples of human artifacts that alter the pattern of the landscape. At the edges of developed areas, where natural habitats meet encroaching human habitats, animals are forced to adapt quickly to their new circumstancesand a closer look at the fate of these so-called edge species can give us sobering insights into the quality of the wild lands that remain. The health of any natural ecosystem depends significantly on two factors: the overall size of the habitat, and what is happening along its edges. For example, when human development cuts into an old-growth forest, the newly exposed edges are subjected to a series of microclimatic changes, including increases in sunlight, temperature, relative humidity, and exposure to wind. Plantlife and Microclimate Create New Habitats Plants are the first living organisms to respond to these changes, usually with increased leaf-fall, elevated tree mortality, and an influx of secondary-successional species. In turn, the combined changes in plant life and microclimate create new habitats for animals. More-reclusive bird species move to the interior of the remaining woodland, while birds better adapted to edge environments develop strongholds on the periphery. Populations of larger mammals like deer or big cats, which require large areas of undisturbed forest to support their numbers, often decrease in size. If their established territories have been destroyed, these mammals must adjust their social structure to accommodate the closer quarters of the remaining forest. Fragmented Forests Resemble Islands Researchers have found that fragmented forests resemble nothing so much as islands. The human development that surrounds a forest island acts as a barrier to animal migration, dispersal, and interbreeding (its very difficult for any animals, even relatively smart ones, to cross a busy highway!) In these island-like communities, species diversity is governed largely by the size of the remaining intact forest. In a way, this is not all bad news; the imposition of artificial constraints can be a major driver of evolution and the flourishing of better-adapted species. The problem is that evolution is a long-term process, unfolding over thousands or millions of years, while a given animal population may disappear in as little as a decade (or even a single year or month) if its ecosystem has been wrecked beyond repair. The changes in animal distribution and population that result from fragmentation and the creation of edge habitats illustrate how dynamic a cut-off ecosystem can be. It would be ideal if- when the bulldozers have disappeared- the environmental damages subsided; unfortunately, this is rarely the case. The animals and wildlife left behind must begin a complex process of adaptation and a long search for a new natural balance. Edited on February 8, 2017, by Bob Strauss

The 21 Hardest ACT Math Questions Ever

The 21 Hardest ACT Math Questions Ever SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You’ve studied and now you’re geared up for the ACT math section (whoo!). But are you ready to take on the most challenging math questions the ACT has to offer? Do you want to know exactly why these questions are so hard and how best to go about solving them? If you’ve got your heart set on that perfect score (or you’re just really curious to see what the most difficult questions will be), then this is the guide for you. We’ve put together what we believe to be the most 21 most difficult questions the ACT has given to students in the past 10 years, with strategies and answer explanations for each. These are all real ACT math questions, so understanding and studying them is one of the best ways to improve your current ACT score and knock it out of the park on test day. Brief Overview of the ACT Math Section Like all topic sections on the ACT, the ACT math section is one complete section that you will take all at once. It will always be the second section on the test and you will have 60 minutes to completed 60 questions. The ACT arranges its questions in order of ascending difficulty.As a general rule of thumb, questions 1-20 will be considered â€Å"easy,† questions 21-40 will be considered â€Å"medium-difficulty,† and questions 41-60 will be considered â€Å"difficult.† The way the ACT classifies â€Å"easy† and â€Å"difficult† is by how long it takes the average student to solve a problem as well as the percentage of students who answer the question correctly. The faster and more accurately the average student solves a problem, the â€Å"easier† it is. The longer it takes to solve a problem and the fewer people who answer it correctly, the more â€Å"difficult† the problem. (Note: we put the words â€Å"easy† and â€Å"difficult† in quotes for a reason- everyone has different areas of math strength and weakness, so not everyone will consider an â€Å"easy† question easy or a â€Å"difficult† question difficult. These categories are averaged across many students for a reason and not every student will fit into this exact mold.) All that being said, with very few exceptions, the most difficult ACT math problems will be clustered in the far end of the test. Besides just their placement on the test, these questions share a few other commonalities. We'll take a look at example questions and how to solve them and at what these types of questions have in common, in just a moment. But First: Should YouBe Focusing on the Hardest Math Questions Right Now? If you’re just getting started in your study prep, definitely stop and make some time to take a full practice test to gauge your current score level and percentile. The absolute best way to assess your current level is to simply take the ACT as if it were real, keeping strict timing and working straight through (we know- not the most thrilling way to spend four hours, but it will help tremendously in the long run). So print off one of the free ACT practice tests available online and then sit down to take it all at once. Once you’ve got a good idea of your current level and percentile ranking, you can set milestones and goals for your ultimate ACT score. If you’re currently scoring in the 0-16 or 17-24 range, your best best is to first check out our guides on using the key math strategies of plugging in numbers and plugging in answers to help get your score up to where you want it to. Only once you've practiced and successfully improved your scores on questions 1-40 should you start in trying to tackle the most difficult math problems on the test. If, however, you are already scoring a 25 or above and want to test your mettle for the real ACT, then definitely proceed to the rest of this guide. If you’re aiming for perfect (or close to), then you’ll need to know what the most difficult ACT math questions look like and how to solve them. And luckily, that’s exactly what we’re here for. Ready, set... 21 Hardest ACT Math Questions Now that you're positive that you should be trying out these difficult math questions, let’s get right to it! The answers to these questions are in a separate section below, so you can go through them all at once without getting spoiled. #1: #2: #3: #4: #5: #6: #7: #8: #9: #10: #11: #12: #13: #14: #15: #16: #17: #18: #19: #20: #21: Disappointed with your ACT scores? Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically. Answers: 1. K, 2. E, 3. J, 4. K, 5. B, 6. H, 7. A, 8. J, 9. F, 10. E, 11. D, 12. F, 13. D, 14. F, 15. C, 16. C, 17. D, 18. G, 19. H, 20. A, 21. K Answer Explanations #1: The equation we are given ($−at^2+bt+c$) is a parabola and we are told to describe what happens when we change c (the y-intercept). From what we know about functions and function translations, we know that changing the value of c will shift the entire parabola upwards or downwards, which will change not only the y-intercept (in this case called the "h intercept"), but also the maximum height of the parabola as well as its x-intercept (in this case called the t intercept). You can see this in action when we raise the value of the y-intercept of our parabola. Options I, II, and III are all correct. Our final answer is K, I, II, and III #2: First let us set up the equation we are told- that the product of $c$ and $3$ is $b$. $3c=b$ Now we must isolate c so that we can add its value to 3. $3c=b$ $c=b/3$ Finally, let us add this value to 3. $c+3={b/3}+3$ Our final answer is E, $b/3+3$ [Note: Because this problem uses variables in both the problem and in the answer choices- a key feature of a PIN question- you can always use the strategy of plugging in numbers to solve the question.] #3: Because this question uses variables in both the problem and in the answer choices, you can always use PIN to solve it. Simply assign a value for x and then find the corresponding answer in the answer choices. For this explanation, however, we’ll be using algebra. First, distribute out one of your x’s in the denominator. ${x+1}/{(x)(x^2−1)}$ Now we can see that the $(x^2−1)$ can be further factored. ${x+1}/{(x)(x−1)(x+1)}$ We now have two expressions of $(x+1)$, one on the numerator and one on the denominator, which means we can cancel them out and simply put 1 in the numerator. $1/{x(x−1)}$ And once we distribute the x back in the denominator, we will have: $1/{x^2−x}$ Our final answer is J, $1/{x^2−x}$. #4: Before doing anything else, make sure you convert all your measurements into the same scale. Because we are working mainly with inches, convert the table with a 3 foot diameter into a table with a $(3)(12)=(36)$ inch diameter. Now, we know that the tablecloth must hang an additional $5+1$ inches on every side, so our full length of the tablecloth, in any straight line, will be: $1+5+36+5+1=48$ inches. Our final answer is K, 48. #5: The position of the a values (in front of the sine and cosine) means that they determine the amplitude (height) of the graphs. The larger the a value, the taller the amplitude. Since each graph has a height larger than 0, we can eliminate answer choices C, D, and E. Because $y_1$ is taller than $y_2$, it means that $y_1$ will have the larger amplitude. The $y_1$ graph has an amplitude of $a_1$ and the $y_2$ graph has an amplitude of $a_2$, which means that $a_1$ will be larger than $a_2$. Our final answer is B, $0 a_2 a_1$. #6: If you remember your trigonometry shortcuts, you know that $1−{cos^2}x+{cos^2}x=1$. This means, then, that ${sin^2}x=1−{cos^2}x$ (and that ${cos^2}x=1−{sin^2}x$). So we can replace our $1−{cos^2}x$ in our first numerator with ${sin^2}x$. We can also replace our $1−{sin^2}x$ in our second numerator with ${cos^2}x$. Now our expression will look like this: ${√{sin^2}x}/{sinx}+{√{cos^2}x}/{cosx}$ We also know that the square root of a value squared will cancel out to be the original value alone (for example,$√{2^2}=2$), so our expression will end up as: $={sinx}/{sinx}+{cosx}/{cosx}$ Or, in other words: $=1+1$ $=2$ Our final answer is H, 2. #7: We know from working with nested functions that we must work inside out. So we must use the equation for the function g(x) as our input value for function $f(x)$. $f(g(x))=7x+b$ Now we know that this function passes through coordinates (4, 6), so let us replace our x and y values for these givens. (Remember: the name of the function- in this case $f(g(x))$- acts as our y value). $6=7(4)+b$ $36=7(4)+b$ $36=28+b$ $8=b$ Our final answer is A, b=8. #8: If you’ve brushed up on your log basics, you know that $log_b(m/n)=log_b(m)−log_b(n)$. This means that we can work this backwards and convert our first expression into: $log_2(24)-log_2(3)=log_2(24/3)$ $=log_2(8)$ We also know that a log is essentially asking: "To what power does the base need to raised in order to achieve this certain value?" In this particular case, we are asking: "To which power must 2 be raised to equal 8?" To which the answer is 3. $(2^3=8)$, so $log_2(8)=3$ Now this expression is equal to $log_5(x)$, which means that we must also raise our 5 to the power of 3 in order to achieve x. So: $3=log_5(x)$ $5^3=x$ $125=x$ Our final answer is J, 125. #9: Once we’ve slogged through the text of this question, we can see that we are essentially being asked to find the largest value of the square root of the sum of the squares of our coordinate points $√(x^2+y^2)$. So let us estimate what the coordinate points are of our $z$s. Because we are working with squares, negatives are not a factor- we are looking for whichever point has the largest combination of coordinate point, since a negative square will be a positive. At a glance, the two points with the largest coordinates are $z_1$ and $z_5$. Let us estimate and say that $z_1$ looks to be close to coordinates $(-4, 5)$, which would give us a modulus value of: $√{−4^2+5^2}$ $√{16+25}$ 6.4 Point $z_5$ looks to be a similar distance along the x-axis in the opposite direction, but is considerably lower than point $z_1$. This would probably put it around $(4, 2)$, which would give us a modulus value of: $√{4^2+2^2}$ $√{16+4}$ 4.5 The larger (and indeed largest) modulus value is at point $z_1$ Our final answer is F, $z_1$. #10: For a problem like this, you may not know what a rational number is, but you may still be able to solve it just by looking at whatever answer seems to fit with the others the least. Answer choices A, B, C, and D all produce non-integer values when we take their square root, but answer choice E is the exception. $√{64/49}$ Becomes: $√{64}/√{49}$ $8/7$ A rational number is any number that can be expressed as the fraction of two integers, and this is the only option that fits the definition. Or, if you don’t know what a rational number is, you can simply see that this is the only answer that produces integer values once we have taken the root, which makes it stand out from the crowd. Our final answer is E, $√{64/49}$ #11: Because we are working with numbers in the triple digits, our numbers with at least one 0 will have that 0 in either the units digit or the tens digit (or both, though they will only be counted once). We know that our numbers are inclusive, so our first number will be 100, and will include every number from 100 though 109. That gives us 10 numbers so far. From here, we can see that the first 10 numbers of 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 will be included as well, giving us a total of: $10*9$ 90 so far. Now we also must include every number that ends in 0. For the first 100 (not including 100, which we have already counted!), we would have: 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190 This gives us 9 more numbers, which we can also expand to include 9 more in the 200’s, 300’s, 400’s, 500’s, 600’s, 700’s, 800’s, and 900’s. This gives us a total of: $9*9$ 81 Now, let us add our totals (all the numbers with a units digit of 0 and all the numbers with a tens digit of 0) together: $90+81$ 171 There are a total of 900 numbers between 100 and 999, inclusive, so our final probability will be: $171/900$ Our final answer is D, $171/900$ #12: First, turn our given equation for line q into proper slope-intercept form. $−2x+y=1$ $y=2x+1$ Now, we are told that the angles the lines form are congruent. This means that the slopes of the lines will be opposites of one another [Note: perpendicular lines have opposite reciprocal slopes, so do NOT get these concepts confused!]. Since we have already established that the slope of line $q$ is 2, line $r$ must have a slope of -2. Our final answer is F, -2 #13: If you remember your trigonometry rules, you know that $tan^{−1}(a/b)$ is the same as saying $tanÃŽËœ=a/b$. Knowing our mnemonic device SOH, CAH, TOA, we know that $tan ÃŽËœ = \opposite/\adjacent$. If $a$ is our opposite and $b$ is our adjacent, this means that $ÃŽËœ$ will be our right-most angle. Knowing that, we can find the $cos$ of $ÃŽËœ$ as well. The cosine will be the adjacent over the hypotenuse, the adjacent still being $b$ and the hypotenuse being $√{a^2+b^2}$. So $cos[tan{−1}(a/b)] $will be: $b/{√{a^2+b^2}}$ Our final answer is D, $b/{√{a^2+b^2}}$ #14: By far the easiest way to solve this question is to use PIN and simply pick a number for our $x$ and find its corresponding $y$ value. After which, we can test out our answer choices to find the right one. So if we said $x$ was 24, (Why 24? Why not!), then our $t$ value would be 2, our $u$ value would be 4, and our y value would be $42$. And $x−y$ would be $24−42=−18$ Now let us test out our answer choices. At a glance, we can see that answer choices H and J would be positive and answer choice K is 0. We can therefore eliminate them all. We can also see that $(t−u)$ would be negative, but $(u−t)$ would not be, so it is likely that F is our answer. Let us test it fully to be sure. $9(t−u)$ $9(2−4)$ $9(−2)$ $−18$ Success! Our final answer is F, $9(t−u)$ #15: In a question like this, the only way to answer it is to go through our answer choices one by one. Answer choice A would never be true, since $y−1$. Since $x$ is positive, the fraction would always be $\positive/\negative$, which would give us a negative value. Answer choice B is not always correct, since we might have a small $x$ value (e.g., $x=3$) and a very large negative value for $y$ (e.g., $y=−100$). In this case, ${|x|}/2$ would be less than $|y|$. Answer choice C is indeed always true, since ${\a \positive \number}/3−5$ may or may not be a positive number, but it will still always be larger than ${\a \negative \number}/3−5$, which will only get more and more negative. For example, if $x=3$ and $y=−3$, we will have: $3/3−5=−4$ and $−3/3−5=−6$ $−4−6$ We have found our answer and can stop here. Our final answer is C, $x/3−5y/3−5$ #16: We are told that there is only one possible value for $x$ in our quadratic equation $x^2+mx+n=0$, which means that, when we factor our equation, we must produce a square. We also know that our values for $x$ will always be the opposite of the values inside the factor. (For example, if our factoring gave us $(x+2)(x−5)$, our values for $x$ would be $-2$ and $+5$). So, given that our only possible value for $x$ is $-3$, our factoring must look like this: $(x+3)(x+3)$ Which, once we FOIL it out, will give us: $x^2+3x+3x+9$ $x^2+6x+9$ The $m$ in our equation stands in place of the 6, which means that $m=6$. Our final answer is C, 6. #17: The simplest way to solve this problem (and the key way to avoid making mistakes with the algebra) is to simply plug in your own numbers for $a$, $r$ and $y$. If we keep it simple, let us say that the loan amount $a$ is 100 dollars, the interest rate $r$ is 0.1, and the length of the loan $y$ is 2 years. Now we can find our initial $p$. $p={0.5ary+a}/12y$ $p={0.5(100)(0.1)(2)+100}/{12(2)}$ $p=110/24$ $p=4.58$ Now if we leave everything else intact, but double our loan amount ($a$ value), we get: $p={0.5ary+a}/12y$ $p={0.5(200)(0.1)(2)+200}/{12(2)}$ $p=220/24$ $p=9.16$ When we doubled our $a$ value, our $p$ value also doubled. Our final answer is D, $p$ is multiplied by 2. #18: If we were to make a right triangle out of our diagram, we can see that we would have a triangle with leg lengths of 8 and 8, making this an isosceles right triangle. This means that the full length of $\ov {EF}$ (the hypotenuse of our right triangle) would be $8√2$. Now $\ov {ED}$ is $1/4$ the length of $\ov {EF}$, which means that $\ov {ED}$ is: ${8√2}/4$ And the legs of the smaller right triangle will also be $1/4$ the size of the legs of the larger triangle. So our smaller triangle will have leg lengths of $8/4=2$ If we add 2 to both our x-coordinate and our y-coordinate from point E, we will get: $(6+2,4+2)$ $(8,6)$ Our final answer is G, $(8,6)$ #19: First, to solve the inequality, we must approach it like a single variable equation and subtract the 1 from both sides of the expression $−51−3x10$ $−6−3x9$ Now, we must divide each side by $-3$. Remember, though, whenever we multiply or divide an inequality by a negative, the inequality signs REVERSE. So we will now get: $2x−3$ And if we put it in proper order, we will have: $−3x2$ Our final answer is H, $−3x2$ #20: The only difference between our function graphs is a horizontal shift, which means that our b value (which would determine the vertical shift of a sine graph) must be 0. Just by using this information, we can eliminate every answer choice but A, as that is the only answer with $b=0$. For expediency's sake, we can stop here. Our final answer is A, $a0$ and $b=0$ Advanced ACT Math note: An important word in ACT Math questions is "must", as in "]something] must be true." If a question doesn't have this word, then the answer only has to be true for a particular instance (that is, itcould be true.) In this case, the majority of the time, for a graph to shift horizontally to the left requires $a0$. However, because $sin(x)$ is a periodic graph, $sin(x+a)$would shift horizontally to the left if $a=-Ï€/2$, which means that for at least one value of the constant $a$ where $a0$, answer A is true. In contrast, there are no circumstances under which the graphs could have the same maximum value (as stated in the question text) but have the constant $b≠ 0$. As we state above, though, on the real ACT, once you reach the conclusion that $b=0$ and note that only one answer choice has that as part of it, you should stop there. Don't get distracted into wasting more time on this question by the bait of $a0$! #21: You may be tempted to solve this absolute value inequality question as normal, by making two calculations and then solving as a single variable equation. (For more information on this, check out our guide covering absolute value equations). In this case, however, pay attention to the fact that our absolute value must supposedly be less than a negative number. An absolute value will always be positive (as it is a measure of distance and there is no such thing as a negative distance). This means it would be literally impossible to have an absolute value equation be less than -1. Our final answer is K, the empty set, as no number fulfills this equation. Whoo! You made it to the finish line- go you! What Do the Hardest ACT Math Questions Have in Common? Now, lastly, before we get to the questions themselves, it is important to understand what makes these hard questions â€Å"hard.† By doing so, you will be able to both understand and solve similar questions when you see them on test day, as well as have a better strategy for identifying and correcting your previous ACT math errors. In this section, we will look at what these questions have in common and give examples for each type. In the next section, we will give you all 21 of the most difficult questions as well as answer explanations for each question, including the ones we use as examples here. Some of the reasons why the hardest math questions are the hardest math questions are because the questions do the following: #1: Test Several Mathematical Concepts at Once As you can see, this question deals with a combination of functions and coordinate geometry points. #2: Require Multiple Steps Many of the most difficult ACT Math questions primarily test just one basic mathematical concept. What makes them difficult is that you have to work through multiple steps in order to solve the problem. (Remember: the more steps you need to take, the easier it is to mess up somewhere along the line!) Though it may sound like a simple probability question, you must run through a long list of numbers with 0 as a digit. This leaves room for calculation errors along the way. #3: Use Concepts You're Less Familiar With Another reason the questions we picked are so difficult for many students is that they focus on subjects you likely have limited familiarity with. For example, many students are less familiar with algebraic and/or trigonometric functions than they are with fractions and percentages, so most function questions are considered â€Å"high difficulty† problems. Many students get intimidated with function problems because they lack familiarity with these types of questions. #4: Give You Convoluted or Wordy Scenarios to Work Through Some of the most difficult ACT questions are not so much mathematically difficult as they are simply tough to decode. Especially as you near the end of the math section, it can be easy to get tired and misread or misunderstand exactly what the question is even asking you to find. This question presents students with a completely foreign mathematical concept and can eat up the limited available time. #5: Appear Deceptively Easy Remember- if a question is located at the very end of the math section, it means that a lot of students will likely make mistakes on it. Look out for these questions, which may give a false appearance of being easy in order to lure you into falling for bait answers. Be careful! This question may seem easy, but, because of how it is presented, many students will fall for one of the bait answers. #6: Involve Multiple Variables or Hypotheticals The more difficult ACT Math questions tend to use many different variables- both in the question and in the answer choices- or present hypotheticals. (Note: The best way to solve these types of questions- questions that use multiple integers in both the problem and in the answer choices- is to use the strategy of plugging in numbers.) Working with hypothetical scenarios and variables is almost always more challenging than working with numbers. Now picture something delicious and sooth your mind as a reward for all that hard work. The Take-Aways Taking the ACT is a long journey; the more you get acclimated to it ahead of time, the better you'll feel on test day. And knowing how to handle the hardest questions the test-makers have ever given will make taking your ACT seem a lot less daunting. If you felt that these questions were easy, make sure not underestimate the effect of adrenaline and fatigue on your ability to solve your math problems. As you study, try to follow the timing guidelines (an average of one minute per ACT math question) and try to take full tests whenever possible. This is the best way to recreate the actual testing environment so that you can prepare for the real deal. If you felt these questions were challenging, be sure to strengthen your math knowledge by checking out our individual math topic guides for the ACT. There, you'll see more detailed explanations of the topics in question as well as more detailed answer breakdowns. What’s Next? Felt that these questions were harder than you were expecting? Take a look at all the topics covered on the ACT math section and then note which sections you had particular difficulty in. Next, take a look at our individual math guides to help you strengthen any of those weak areas. Running out of time on the ACT math section? Our guide to helping you beat the clock will help you finish those math questions on time. Aiming for a perfect score? Check out our guide on how to get a perfect 36 on the ACT math section, written by a perfect-scorer. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Emotional intelligence (EI) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emotional intelligence (EI) - Essay Example Comprehending the differences between the two types of leaders is important for all the candidates of leadership and managerial positions. This paper will compare and contrast the transformational and the transactional leader, and explore the leader who connects with his followers more effectively. Discussion Contrast between transactional and transformation leaders The transactional leader is more concerned about maintaining the normal flow of work operations at the work place. On the other hand, the transformational leader extends his roles beyond those of managing the daily operations of the organization, to the levels of crafting the strategies of taking his team, department or company to the next level of success and performance (Hargis, Wyatt & Piotrowski, 2011). This difference is evident from the managerial outlook of the two leaders, because the transactional leader is often emphasizing the disciplinary structure determined by power to push for the completion of the tasks or the job roles available at the organization. The transformational leader is different from the transactional leader, through their managerial outlook, because they offer attention to the grouping of different employees, appealing to the personal zeal to perform and attending to the individual issues that can increase or affect performance (Kotlyar & Karakowsky, 2007). The second difference between the transactional and the transformational leader is that the transactional leader will often use a range of incentives to motivate the improvement of performance from his employees, but will often not pay attention to personal differences or preferences. On the other hand, the transformational leader will boost the performance of his employees through collaborating with employees, building strategic teams, motivating the workers and through appealing to the differences of different workers. Thirdly, the transactional leader equates giving more rewards to the increment of performance. In the case of the transformational leader, performance is boosted through the combination of incentives and setting higher goals for their subordinates, which pushes them to better performance (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). Fourthly, the transformational leader does not envision making his organization a market leader, but a transformational leader will offer his employees opportunities for professional and personal development so that they can push the organization to the level of a market leader. The similarities between transactional and transformational leaders The similarities between the transactional and the transformational leader are that both types of leaders manage to maintain the flow of operations and the completion of job tasks at their organizations. Through ensuring that the daily operations of an organization are met, the transactional leader keeps the organization afloat, while the transformational leader explores newer ways of improving performance. The second similarit y between transactional and transformational leaders is that they use incentives to motivate their employees so that they can perform better. Through the motivation of the subordinates, these two types of leaders are able to cultivate higher performance and to push the organization to higher levels of success, irrespective of the fact that their vision about the future of the organization is not

History and Politics in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History and Politics in America - Essay Example This disorder in Vietnam is brought about by the conflicting political parties in the government implementing communism and democracy. Thus, America's involvement in the political dispute in Vietnam leads to one of their historical failure causing them loss of significant casualties. One of the most prominent commentarian to the involvement and failure of America in Vietnam is George Herring who is a well-known historian. According to his analysis which he presented in his symposium, America's failure in Vietnam is directly related to two factors which are the lack of direct and immediate threat to the American society and the lack of concrete reason for being involve (1985). It appears then that the involvement of America in Vietnam is only because of its threat to the democracy that they are propagating during the Cold War. Thus, the probable threat of the chaos in Vietnam was not actually felt by the American society but only the political faction thus nationalistic concern was not actually present during the event. Another factor is the mean that the America used in mediating in the instability in Vietnam. According to Charles de Gaulle, "He saw no military solution. He saw a risk in seeking a military solution of the "tremendous risk of a generalized conflict" (1964). Thus, the militaristic approach of America failed because that method is indeed inappropriate in the event. In addition, America idealism to very unfitting to the event thus it only leads to further aggravation to the already chaotic situation. Senator Wayne Morse noted that, "How can a policy that was unsound to begin with ever be made to work Are Americans so confident of the miracles to be wrought with nuclear bombs and billion-dollar aid programs that we think they will make a success of anything, no matter how badly conceived" The idealism behind the war it also not clearly comprehended by the America's government thus their approaches and involvement are based from erroneous assumptions. General Matthew Ridgeway commented that, "that people in the United States did not have a clear understanding of why we were fighting in Vietnam. General Ridgway indicated that America was in Vietnam because of a treaty commitment dating from 1954: The Southeast Asia Treaty". Thus, America's government felt only pure obligation in their involvement in Vietnam because they are bounded to honor the said treaty. Considering all the said arguments, it appears that the main reason why America's involvement in the political dispute in Vietnam is its lack of substantiality reason for doing so. There was not actually an imposed threat to the American society and no support was solicited by the Vietnam government. America only felt that it was their obligation to be involved because they have a treaty with Vietnam and their democratic idealism urges them to do so thus it lack one complete nationalism and patriotic involvement leading to its failure. Part B: Contemporary American Politics America's historical archives are known to be full of successful accomplishment. Their history is built from continuous battle against their possible enemies posing threats to their national pride and unity. Because of this reason, for their every battle their society's spirit is united by their