04- Courtney Alsbrook - Science Fair Report Essays (450 words)

Courtney Alsbrook Science Fair May 14, 2012 Ms.Geiger Introduction My topic is "How does distance affect shooting percentage?" I chose this experiment because I'm a basketball player/fan, and I'd like to know how the different obstacles that come up during a game affect play on the court. This is important, because it could help other players, specialists, and coaches, make decisions on what shots they should go for over the course of a game. According to my research, 3 point shots, the shot with the furthest distance, require more strength and accuracy than short and mid-range jump-shots. The further back you move, the more force you have to apply to the ball, and the more accurate you need to be for the ball to go in. Hypothesis I think that if you increase distance of a jump-shot, then the shooting percentage will decrease, because more distance requires more strength and accuracy. Variables Independent: Distance Dependent: Shooting Percentage Procedure Materials NBA regulation sized Basketball Regulation height rim (10Ft) 10 Basketball Players Gym Calculator Procedure Have each person shoot 10 shots from short range Have each person shoot 10 shots from foul line (jumpshot) Have each person shoot 10 shots from 3pt. Calculate Percentages Shooting Percentage from Short Range #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 90% 50% 80% 100% 100% 90% 60% 80% 100% 70% Shooting Percentage from Medium Range (Foul Line) #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 80% 50% 40% 80% 100% 60% 90% 100% 80% 70% Shooting Percentage from Long Range (3pt.Line) Shooters #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 % 50% 30% 80% 20% 70% 10% 0% 60% 0% 10% Conclusion My topic question was, "How does distance affect shooting percentage?" The answer is, distance negatively affects shooting percentage. The avg. decrease in shooting percentage between short range jumpshots, and long range jumpshots is about 43%. Therefore, my hypothesis is correct. My results show that the greater the distance of a shot, the less likely it is for you to make it. I think these were the results because, the higher the distance of a shot, the more strength and accuracy required. My experiment affects the real world because coaches, and players can choose the shots taken in games more wisely. If they see my results and have more reason to believe that distance hurts percentage, they can make better decisions on what shots to take. In the future, I plan to test which Sports Drink helps energize players best.

The Design of the Sidekick essays

The Design of the Sidekick essays The Design and Use of the T-Mobile Color Sidekick Communication is important. Many people use cell phones and electronic devices everyday to communicate with their families and friends. One type of cell phone that many hard of hearing or deaf people use, along with hearing people, is the T-Mobile Sidekick from Danger, Inc. They use it because not only it has a phone feature like all cell phones, but it also has an instant messaging program that serves as an alternative to a phone for people who cannot hear well. The Sidekick will be examined, to see if it is beneficial to a person who owns one, by following some of the main designing principles derived from Donald A. Normans The Design of Everyday Things. The Sidekick has many things wrong about it that are often overlooked and it also has many great features, such as its email service that makes the device a cell phone/pager in one. The Sidekick comes in a spiffy colorful box from T-Mobile and it includes a re-charger, a wrist strap and a cover. Does the Sidekick have an excellent sense of usability? That has yet to be determined in this paper. The appearance of the pager has customers vying for it. Its silver body with a swivel LCD screen that rotates clockwise 180 degrees around the hinge, that sits about a couple of centimeters from the top of the phone, makes a person want to get his/her hands on whats exposed when the LCD is flipped a QWERTY keyboard. When the LCD screen is swiveled upside down, the contents on the screen will also flip to make reading easier. A clickable scroll wheel is embedded inside the right center of the device where the users thumb might roam over when the hand is holding the pager. Inside the wheel, lies a multi-colored tiny light bulb to display changing colors used for feedback to the user. Placed on the top right corner of the pager, which is directly above the flashin g scroll wheel, exists an 11-row vent in...

Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mythology - Essay Example The moment of transformation, or to use Ovid’s word, metamorphosis, leads Pygmalion to have at least one child with his beloved creature, who responds with adoration to the amorous attentions of her creator. This moment brings about the happy ending that Pygmalion so desires, but it also raises a number of questions about the boundary between art and life, and the nature of the love relationship between men and women. A perceptive study by Alison Sharrock explores the way that Ovid’s story of Pygmalion and his statue provides an ironic commentary on the relationship between men and women in classical times. In her view â€Å"Woman perceived is woman as art-object† (Sharrock 36). The artist creates an image of woman, which is then an object of admiration, and even love. From this feminist point of view, there is something demeaning in the way that the woman is treated, since she is not seen as an equal to the male creator figure, but quite literally is admired as a figment of his superior imagination, or an extension of his own self. This shows males as god-like figures, and females as fallible human beings, reflecting the very real social hierarchy that existed in Classical times. Sharrock coins the word â€Å"womanufacture† to describe the process of making women into art objects for the enjoyment of men. The perspective of the tale is entirely that of Pygmalion and the character of the statue which comes to life, or even her name, are not revealed, leaving the reader to wonder what she thinks of this turn of events, and whether she ever learns to question the motives or indeed the sanity of her obsessive creator/lover. Another academic study highlights the elements of doubling and incest that this erotic relationship between Pygmalion and the statue contains: â€Å"The statue, then, is in Pygmalion’s own likeness, in the sense that it represents his response to the flawed nature of women as they are in nature. It is also hi s ‘daughter’, in the sense that an artist is the ‘father’ of his creations† (Hardie 10). This article takes a more psychological approach and explores the whole domain of creativity and art, showing how the work of art, whether it be a poem, painting, statue or any other kind of art, always contains a great deal of the creator’s own self. The white ivory is like a blank canvas on which the artist paints his own vision of what it is to be a woman. There is considerable arrogance in Pygmalion’s rejection of real women, in preference for his own created object. Falling in love with one’s own creation is therefore a highly selfish and obsessive trait, which hints at a certain unresolved conflict between men and women in the real world. The story approaches the taboo area of incest since there is very clearly an element of fatherly pride in Pygmalion’s attitude to the statue. A close reading of Ovid’s text highlights furt her moral undertones in the telling of the story. Pygmalion remains single for many years, because he is disappointed in the moral behavior of ordinary women. This means that he must be an older man at the time of the statue’s creation. His creature is â€Å"a perfect virgin† (Ovid 248) and he uses words such as â€Å"

Discription Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discription - Essay Example The pumping of the heart is controlled by the Sino atrial (SA) node that is located in the posterior wall of the right atrium(Heart 1995). 2. The valves: there are two types of valves the Atrioventricular valves (located in the middle of the heart between the ventricle and the atria) of two types the tricuspid on the right and mitral/cuspid on the left and the Semilunar valves of two types pulmonary and the aortic valve. The functions of the valve is too prevent the backflow of blood to the chambers. 3. The vessels: There are four main vessels in the heart; the vena cava divided into superior and inferior, the pulmonary artery, the pulmonary vein and the aorta. The functions of veins is to covey blood from and to the heart. The heart is divided into four chambers: the top two chambers are known as the atriums and the bottom two chambers are called ventricles. Importantly, the atriums both contract at the same time same as the two ventricles(Heart 1995). First and foremost, deoxygenated blood enters the heart via the superior and the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. The right atrium contracts and forces the blood to rush into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. Consequently, when the right ventricle contracts, the deoxygenated blood is pumped into both lungs through the pulmonary arterypast the semi lunar valves(Heart 1995). The process continuesas the blood is returned from the lungs via the pulmonary veins wherethe oxygenated blood is delivered to the left atrium. When the atrium contracts the blood is rushed through the valves into the left ventricle, thestrongest and most muscular portion of the heart.When the left ventricle contracts, blood is rushed through the aort a: he aorta is the main artery leaving the heart (Lewis 1925). Through this process, oxygenated blood is now taken throughout

Christopher Columbus, Mariner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Christopher Columbus, Mariner - Essay Example He was an accomplished sailor and retired in 1951 as rear admiral. Morison attended Noble School at Boston and St. Paul’s at Concord, New Hampshire. In 1908 he graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Morison studied at Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, Paris, France. He later returned to Harvard for his postgraduate studies. Morison received his PhD from Harvard in 1912 and later began teaching there in 1915. The young adult life of Samuel Morison fell in the early 19th century. During the early 19th century the US was under President William Howard Taft 1908-1912 and Glen C. Mead 1912-1913 there were a lot of political activity that influenced peoples way of thinking and also there were a lot feminism ideas being spread around. The rights of feminine workers were stamped clearly by the societal organization’s activities. Feminized professions formed a crucial focus on the socialist’s women organizations. During that period cold was culminating between the capitalists and communists who supported socialism. The Nazi-German forces were detaining activists from the Jewish community and later executed in cold blood. This led to an international outcry due to gross violation of human rights by the Germans. The industrial revolution which led to mechanization had already taken shape marking the advent of weaponry manufacturing companies. Many young brains were being recruited into the forces to inject dynamism in the supremacy battles. Morison took part in the Battle of Kolombagara before returning to the mainland. Most leather factories sprung up during that period to provide boots and heavy clothing needed during that period of war. This changed the mode of dressing as time went by. He worked at the Pearl Harbor which was attacked by the Japanese that led to the entrance of the USA into World War I. Morison wrote many books that are related like the Admiral of the sea: A life of Christopher Columbus (1941), The

Aboriginal And Indigenous Peoples History Essay

Aboriginal And Indigenous Peoples History Essay 2. The Incas were found to be very educated and sophisticated people as they devised their own way of living up in the Andean Area which was made up of many varied geological areas. They had well designed storehouses and intricate architectural constructions displaying their vast knowledge of architectonics. Stones weighing several tonnes fitted together so well that no mortar was needed in the process of their constructions. Although the Incas idea of time was unlike others, they had established systems of agriculture, transport and communication routes giving us the impression that they were very knowledgeable people and were capable of even further advancing in technology. The Incas were very self-reliant with enough food, clothing and shelter for their communities and used their resources efficiently, storing the remains for times of need. They were able to produce their own crops but only made enough for themselves, which meant they had to trade with neighbouring tribes to obtain what they didnt have. Some of their main crops included maize corn, cotton and potatoes. The Incas made good use of the climate of the different regions of the Incan Empire. The adapting of the climates also meant that they had different jobs for the various regions of the Andean Area so they would be able to get more out of their trade. For specific areas, people had a combination of several occupations as it was more productive that way. 3. (Last page) 4. (Last page) During contact and Comparison to Aboriginal Contact: 1. The Spanish 2. The people who colonised the Inca Empire of the Andes were the Spanish. The Spaniards had previously conquered the Aztecs and were now moving onto the Andean area where the Incas dwelled. A man named Francisco Pizarro along with some other Spanish men made a total of three expeditions to the Andes in an attempt to conquer the Incan Empire. The first expedition was made alone by Francisco Pizarro himself in 1524-1525 and he had only just entered the coast of Columbia. As Pizarro was friendly towards the Incas, they offered him gold and silver as a welcoming and sign of benevolence. Pizarro then made a second voyage to the Andean Area but this time he was accompanied by Bartholomew Ruà ­z, his ship captain and other Spanish conquistadors. Ruà ­z brought back to Pizarro many tales about the riches and the rising population and society of the Incas. He also brought back two traders from whom the Spaniards learnt many things from such as about their endless amounts of gold and silver supplies and the magnificent Inca cities. Hearing this, Pizarro had even more desire to conquer the Incas for their abundant amounts of wealth. They also wanted to colonise the land due to them thinking they were a superior race with a moral duty to change the heathens they found to Christianity to rule and utilize them. Hence, on their third trip to the Andean Area, the Spaniards approached them with the purpose of conquest and conversion. 3. The minority of the Spaniards had any desire to engage with the civilisations that they conquered at that time, meaning that most did not wish to socialise with the Incas. Although, at the beginning of Pizarros expedition to the unknown Andean Area, he only came with the initial thought of exploring the land, and without the intention of colonising them, meaning that his first encounter with the Incas was surprisingly friendly. However, as he was welcomed with such kindness by the Incas who even offered to give him gold and silver (which he accepted), he suddenly had the greed and aspiration to take it all from them for himself just from seeing the huge amounts of wealth they had. From his original friendly exploration to the discovery of the Incan gold, Pizarro then made it war between the Spaniards and the Incas. On their third journey to the Andes, Pizarro and the Spanish, who said they brought the Incas no harm, were welcomed by the Inca Emperor Atahuallpa who thought the foreigners were to bring him good fortune. Nevertheless, their foolish emperor was greatly mistaken, for Pizarro had deceived Atahuallpa, and kidnapped him. Pizarro and the Spaniards subsequently held the Incas emperor for ransom, and in return he got more gold. Even so, they then killed their emperor and further prepared for their plan to colonise the Andean Area. 4. The Incas at first, meeting with Pizarro were friendly and gave him gold to welcome him to their humble land. Unfortunately Pizarro then had the need to be greedy and take their gold and decided war against them. Due to him kidnapping their emperor, the Incas gave him gold so they could try to get their leader back. Sadly, although Pizarro got his gold, he still killed Atahuallpa. This signalled the Incas that it was war between the two cultures. The Incas readily prepared themselves and outnumbered the Spanish greatly when it got to the war so they were not worried at all. Those who didnt fight fled and hid high in the mountains. However, the Incas were conquered extremely easily by the Spanish. But how on earth did such a large army get defeated by another that was only a fraction of its size? It was simple; a lot of the Incan army died from diseases such as smallpox and the flu that the Spanish carried with them when they came to the Andean Area which spread across the area inf ecting many. This reduced the size of the Incan army greatly and gave more advantage to the Spanish. The conquistadors were also able to persuade other tribes already under the Incan rule to be on their side and help bring down the Incan Empire. Last of all, the weapons the Spanish used were much more advanced than the Incan weapons and were never seen by the Incans themselves before. As the Spaniards weapons were clearly more advanced, they were also more powerful than the Incas simple arms and resulted in the Spaniards easy conquer against the Incan Empire. 5. The experience of colonisation for the Incas was in some ways, similar to the indigenous people of Australia, the Aboriginals. The Europeans who colonised the Aboriginals also gave them smallpox and other diseases like the Spanish, which they could not withstand, causing many of the natives to die due to their weak immune systems. What the two cultures also had in common besides that was the fact that they fought back against the non-indigenous peoples who tried to take control of them and their land and didnt give up easily. However, the Incas were defeated more easily by the Spanish than the Aboriginals were by the Europeans even though both put up a fight instead of just giving up their land straight away. The Spanish had canons, which were much more advanced than what the Incas had. The Europeans had guns and the Aboriginals had spears, which were also quite weak when the Aboriginals weapons were compared to the Europeans. The Spanish, as previously stated, did not interact wi th the Andean dwellers, whereas the Europeans made bonds with some of the Aboriginals. Some Europeans even had intimate relationships with the Aboriginals they encountered whilst the Spaniards, in contrast, did not do anything like that with the Incas. Consequences of Colonisation and Comparison to Aboriginal experience: 1. The Incas, although highly prepared and ready for combat, were easily defeated by the Spanish due to numerous reasons. The demolition of the Incan Empire caused the population to decrease greatly. As the Incas were colonised by the Spaniards, they were taught Christianity although they were still able to follow their old one along with Christianity. The Incas were taught that all men are equal before God and that slaughter was wrong and brutal. Conversely, the Incan religion involved them to sacrifice humans and offer them to Incan Gods. They were also introduced to many other new things such as the wheel, horses to haul heavy loads and sheep and cattle which were used for food and clothing. Although colonisation for the Incas had its benefits, it had to have its disadvantages as well. Unfortunately, the majority of the Incas at that time died from slavery, famine, sentence of death and disease. The labour the Incas had to go through was so persevering that some poor citizens died from it. Due to the Spanish rule over the Andean Area, they stole and ate most of the food that the Incas had stored and grown in the past, resulting in a lack of food for the Incas. That then led to many other Incas deaths as the amount of food left was not enough to go around. Other Andean dwellers were killed because they were involved in the rebellions against the Spanish. Some, who were lucky, escaped the grasps of the Spanish and managed to build a new life in other villages. 2. For the Spanish, this colonisation was quite rewarding for them at the start, although it led to the death of the Incan civilisation. There were two major things they gained from the conquest over the Incas. One of which was the land that they had taken. Land, at the time of the Spanish colonising the Incas, was very important. Basically, it was the more land that you owned, the more power you had. Another major thing was gold. After conquering the Incas, the Spanish got their wealth that they wanted so badly. Gold was important to the Spanish as they were able to buy goods with it from other countries as well as them just owning it for their own selfish greediness. The Spaniards along with Francisco Pizarro himself successfully colonised the Incan Empire of the Andean Area for a short period of time. However, approximately 8 years after they assassinated Atahuallpa, Pizarro was assassinated at the age of 70. He was stabbed in the back by a group of men leaving the Spaniards with no leader. After a while, a man named Diego de Almagro took over, and was the man who secretly planned and carried out the murder of Francisco Pizarro. He had personally despised Pizarro as he was more triumphant than he was which influenced his evil scheme. However in 1808, the South American countries formed a revolt against the Spanish which lasted 16 years. Eventually, the Spanish were defeated, and this ended their rule over the Andean Area. 3. The results of colonisation for the indigenous people of Australia compared to the Incas, the indigenous people of the Andean Area, had varying results. Roughly 90% of each of the indigenous tribes was wiped out due to the non-indigenous colonisers for almost the same reasons. The Incas were fortunate to at least have some benefits from the colonisation of their land whereas the Aboriginals had fewer advantages. Some of the Incan traditions still remained whereas the Europeans tried to change the Aboriginal traditions. The Europeans supplied food that the Aborigines didnt usually eat like meat which made them reliant of the foreigners to supply their food, changing their daily diets. The Europeans struggled to put up a fight with the Aboriginals, and eventually won with a result of the land being colonised by them until this very day as well as them having a place to put their convicts for that time. On the other hand, the Spanish lost their power of colonisation of the Andean Are a due to the other bordering South American countries rebelling against their rule over the Incas. The Peruvians to this day, still acknowledge and treat the descendants from the Incas well, whilst some of the people of Australia, didnt treat the Aboriginals like they should have, which ended up with a Sorry Day to the Aboriginals. As a result of colonisation, both Australia and Peru were greatly impacted by their colonisers, the Europeans and the Spanish.

Existentialism Vs. Determinism Essay -- essays research papers

Free Will   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analyzing our individual free will can be very intriguing and can almost reach the point of being paradoxical. Ultimately, free will determines the level of responsibility we claim for our actions. Obviously, if outside forces determine our choices, we cannot be held responsible for our actions. However, if our choices are made with total freedom than certainly we must claim responsibility for our choices and actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The readings I chose offered two quite opposite theories on individual human freedom, determinism vs. existentialism. In comparing these two theories the contrasts are quite outstanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evidently, some philosophers felt that human beings did not really have a free will. This view, defined as determinism held that certain casual laws rule what occurs in the universe. There are two major forms of determinism, including hard determinism and soft determinism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hard determinism taught that each of our actions is determined by factors beyond our control such as heredity and environment. From this point of view there can be no real moral responsibility for our actions if our actions were determined by factors beyond our cont...