A High School AP Chemistry Course

A High School AP Chemistry CourseAP Chemistry is considered to be one of the easiest high school subjects, especially for students who already have sufficient knowledge about chemistry. Not only is it easy to learn, but it also contains valuable information and practical applications for the future. This is why it is a great course to take when you are only going to high school.The course focuses on material that is used in all subjects, including English and Science. It's just a smaller version of AP English, but uses topics and materials from other subjects such as Mathematics, History, or Art. Since most of the course material is covered in other subjects, you won't have to struggle with memorizing math and science information.Another advantage of taking this course is that the material is easy to understand. You can learn more about the subject by reading and understanding the material presented in other subjects.You will find lots of useful content to work with in this course. S ome of the topics include:As you can see, there are a lot of topics to cover in this AP course. All you have to do is pick up the material that interests you and implement them into your studies, and you will have a thorough grounding in this subject.For example, some topics involve process analysis. In this course, you will learn the process of chemical reactions, such as oxidation, reduction, and formation. These are the processes that take place within an atom as it moves through the different stages of life.You can also look forward to learning the process of crystallization, which means that you will be taught about the different stages that each element goes through during its life cycle. It's a good idea to get some hands-on experience by working with different elements before starting your AP Chemistry class. In fact, this is the best way to make sure that you can really learn what you need to.

5 Myths (and Realities) About Study Abroad

5 Myths (and Realities) About Study Abroad Studying abroad is a popular pastime for many college students. Living and learning in a foreign country can provide you with the opportunity to immerse yourself in an unfamiliar culture while also earning college credit, meeting new people, and traveling. It also allows you to increase your confidence. Despite these benefits, many students still choose not to participate in study abroad because of intimidating information they have heard from others. Here are five myths (and realities) about study abroad: 1. Its too expensive Study abroad may seem expensive at first, but when you begin to evaluate program options and costs, you might just change your mind. Many universities offer exchange programs, in which students pay their regular tuition, but attend a school abroad. Additionally, students can select housing and meal plans that may be comparable to or even less than what they pay at home. In some study abroad programs, students pay the tuition of the foreign university, which may be less costly than your home college. To study abroad, you will need to pay for round trip airfare, which can be expensive. Keep in mind that you can apply your financial aid to some study abroad programs, and remember that there are also study abroad scholarships that can help students cover extra expenses. Speak with your schools study abroad office to discover such funding opportunities. 2. I must be able to speak a foreign language Another common myth about study abroad is that students must speak the language of the country where they intend to study. In reality, there are many study abroad programs where the foreign institution teaches courses in English. Although it can be helpful to speak the home language, many students learn to do so by interacting with people in the country they visit. Some students also choose to sign up for language immersion programs while abroad. If you are uncomfortable with not knowing the language, remember that there are several English-speaking countries where study abroad is very popular, such as Australia, England, and Ireland. Here are five tips to help you learn a foreign languageif you do choose to study abroad and want to learn the language of the country you are visiting. 3. Ill lose an entire semester or year This myth about study abroad programs is simply not true. With the variety of study abroad options available at most colleges, many majors can go abroad without delaying their graduation dates. First, meet with your academic adviser to determine when it would be best to study abroad. Many schools have even created study abroad programs whose credits align perfectly with their major requirements. To avoid delaying your graduation or losing a semester, it is imperative that you carefully time your study abroad experience. After speaking with your adviser, consult with the study abroad office about programs that fit your scheduling needs. If your major is very rigid, perhaps you can go abroad in the summer or during winter break. 4. Study abroad is like a vacation One popular belief is that students act irresponsibly while abroad and away from their daily lives. While some students do shirk their responsibilities while studying abroad, many others take this experience seriously without sacrificing fun. Read thesetips on how to best study for a test. Students may not only take classes abroad that require quite a bit of studying, they may also be hired for internships. They might join university clubs, travel to nearby sights, or do research with faculty members. 5. Non-traditional students cant study abroad Many non-traditional students including individuals who are returning to college, transferring from two-year institutions, maintaining a family life, or studying in the United States as international students attend school each year. As these populations grow, so too do the study abroad options available to them. If you are a non-traditional student, dont just dismiss the idea of studying abroad. Instead, speak with a study abroad coordinator, express your concerns, and find out what options will suit your needs. These are only five of the common myths (and realities) about study abroad, but there are many more. If study abroad has piqued your interest, investigate it with a knowledgeable person at your college or university. They can help you demystify the experience, debunk any additional myths about study abroad, and connect you with the study abroad options that best fit your situation.

Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and a Comma Splices

Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and a Comma Splices   Punctuation errors are easy to make and hard to spot. For some writers, it is especially hard to catch punctuation errors such as sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices. These punctuation errors can really make your writing seem chaotic. A grammar checker can catch these errors some of the time. Better than a grammar checker is your ability to catch these errors yourself.   Sentence fragments A sentence fragment refers to groups of words that act like a sentence yet cannot stand on their own because the writer has made a range of mistakes. To start with, the right subject-verb relationship may not be available within the independent clause. For example, a statement such as Working Far into the Night with the Aim of Finding Their Ornament is a sentence fragment because the writer tries to describe something but fails to create a relationship between the subject and the verb. A different idea may also create a subordination of the relationship. It is worth noting that this can be acceptable when a writer is using it as a style in their pieces. The freedom is, however, restricted in professional writing. INCORRECT:   The sun shining. CORRECT:   The sun is shining.   Run-on sentences A run-on sentence is also known as a fused sentence. It has two independent clauses. The two parts are improperly connected. Even short sentences can be run-on sentences. In a nutshell, sentences are run-on sentences when two independent clauses are joined with a coordinator without a comma, or they are linked by a conjunctive adverb. This mistake is easily corrected with the right punctuation and conjunction.   INCORRECT:  Our house is narrow but it has 8 floors. CORRECT:   Our house is narrow, but it has 8 floors. EXPLANATION:   The conjunction but joins two sentences without a comma. Add a comma before the conjunction.   INCORRECT:   I asked everyone if they had seen my parrot but no one saw it. CORRECT:   I asked everyone if they had seen my parrot, but no one saw it.   Comma splice errors A comma splice is an error made by the writer when they use a comma to join two independent clauses. For instance, a sentence such as I am going to the library, I will study for my exam. In this case, the comma is utilized to join two independent clauses. It can be fixed by adding a conjunction. A semicolon can also be utilized because they are strong enough to create a relationship between two independent clauses. Furthermore, the writer may opt to write two different sentences and hence do away with the comma. In the artistic forms of writing such as poetry, the comma slices can be embraced to create an exciting piece. The racing thoughts of a character in a fictional story can be linked using the splices. In professional writing, however, this mistake must be avoided. INCORRECT:   I am going to the library, I will study for my exam. CORRECT:   I am going to the library. I will study for my exam. CORRECT:   I am going to the library, and I will study for my exam. It is clear that the run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments are different. However, they share a common characteristic; they tend to be utilized when a person is trying to create the appropriate independent clauses in a sentence. The writer may not be aware of how to create a subject and the verb properly, hence coming up with a sentence fragment. They may also be trying to create a connection between one thought to another, and will, therefore, make the mistake of including the run-on sentences and comma splices in a sentence. To avoid this, it is critical to observe the grammatical rules and regulations when writing. Proofreading the written materials is also worth considering.     Sources http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/fragment.htm https://www.grammarly.com/blog/comma-splice/ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/run-on-sentence-basics/ http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/runons.htm Please follow and like us:

Leading on Opportunity The Opportunity Task Forces call to action - Heart Math Tutoring

Leading on Opportunity â€" The Opportunity Task Force’s call to action - Heart Math Tutoring Leading on Opportunity â€" The Opportunity Task Force’s call to action Leading on Opportunity â€" The Opportunity Task Force’s call to action March 31, 2017 By Emily Elliott Alarmingly, Charlotte and Atlanta ranked 50th out of 50 in economic mobility among the largest U.S. cities in a 2013 Harvard / UC Berkley study. A $400,000 report summarizing 18 months of research by Charlotte’s Opportunity Task Force was released last Monday 3/27/17. This 97-page document outlines 21 strategies and over 80 recommendations for our community. Here are a few points: The report mentions the value of students having “Life Navigators” as early as 7th grade and career awareness as early as 3rd grade. Speakers at Mondayspresentation referenced “an army of volunteers” and emphasized what a positive force social capital is on our community when we proactively build it. Public education reform was largely excluded, for purposes stated in the report, aside from encouraging CMS to be bold in its school assignment goals and to ensure the quality of a high-school diploma. According the report, 70% of CMS graduates entering CPCC require remediation in math and/or reading before they can take college-level classes. We should be proud of our community’s efforts to double the literacy rate to 80% by 2025 through Read Charlotte, hailed in the report for its systems-level approach and impact. Though little attention in the report was given to math skills, I am confident that the community will also leverage research indicating that early math skills are strong predictors of future success across subjects. (Duncan, Magnuson, Pagani, Romano, Babchishin, with various studies from 2007 â€" 2010) The sections on Segregation and Social Capitalbookend the report. Heart tutors work in high-poverty concentration schools and see the impacts of these factors weekly. Read the report and its recommendations here. While the report makes it clear Charlotte has a long way to go, I hope as Heart volunteers, supporters, and partners, youknow that you are making a tangible, immediate impact on students. Thank you for your work with Heart! ### Heart Math Tutoring is a math intervention program supporting 750 weekly volunteer tutors across 12 CMS high-poverty elementary schools. Students build foundational math skills and enthusiasm for academics needed for long-term success. “Heart volunteers provide invaluable encouragement and positive influence, delivering a message to our students from the broader community: ‘We care about you. Your education is important to us.’” Regina J. Boyd, Former Principal at Winterfield Elementary (2014)

Craving A Sugar Fix Try These 4 Healthy Desserts Instead!

Craving A Sugar Fix Try These 4 Healthy Desserts Instead! Image Via thebigmansworld.com Ingredients: 1 cup mashed, overripe bananas (approximately 3 medium bananas) 1/2 cup smooth almond butter (can sub for any smooth nut butter) 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder Instructions: •Preheat the oven the 350 degrees, grease a small cake pan or loaf pan and set aside. •In a small microwave-safe bowl or stovetop, melt your nut butter. In a large mixing bowl, add the banana, nut butter and cocoa powder and mix very well (or mix with a blender). •Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake for around 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing into pieces. Enjoy refrigerated. 2. Pumpkin Truffles Yes, it is fall season and that means pumpkin ‘errthang. Although a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte may contain up to a whopping 450 calories, that doesn’t mean that you have to completely deprive yourself of the season’s favorite flavor. These little pumpkin truffles give you the perfect dose of pumpkin sweetness without causing you to sacrifice all of your hard work! Recipe courtesy of mywholefoodlife.com. Ingredients:   For the pumpkin: 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (or 1 can pumpkin) 1 cup coconut butter 3 tbsp  maple syrup 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg For the chocolate coating: 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 1/4 cup almond milk Instructions: •In the food processor, combine all the ingredients for the pumpkin cream. Blend until smooth. •Stick the food processor bowl in the fridge to firm up a little. About 10 minutes. •Using a cookie scoop, drop mixture onto a lined baking sheet. •Place the baking sheet in the freezer to firm while you make the chocolate mixture. •To make the chocolate use a double boiler method. Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. •Place a glass bowl on top of the pot with the water. Add the chocolate chips and almond milk to the glass bowl and gently melt the chocolate. •Once all the chocolate is melted, use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over each truffle. •Place in the fridge to firm up the chocolate. Please keep these truffles in the fridge. They should last a couple of weeks. You can freeze them for longer storage. Enjoy! 3. Cake Batter Nice Cream Craving some birthday cake-flavored goodness? Well save yourself the sugar-ridden trip to your local fro-yo shop and whip some cake flavored “nice cream” right at home! Caution: you may want to sing happy birthday to yourself while snacking on this sweet treat. Recipe courtesy of biggerbolderbaking.com. Image Via biggerbolderbaking.com Ingredients: 1 cup (8oz/225g) plain yogurt (greek, non-fat or full fat) 8 oz cream cheese (light or low fat) 3 tbsp honey 3 tsp vanilla 3 tbsp sprinkles Instructions: •Add the cream cheese, honey, yogurt and vanilla into a food processor (or liquidizer). •Process until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl to make sure there are no lumps left. •Stir in the sprinkles with a spatula. •Transfer it to an airtight freezable container and freeze for a minimum six hours, but preferably overnight. Store it in the freezer for up to one month. 4. Vegan Peanut Butter Mug Cake Sometimes, you just want to make a simple and sweet dessert for one without the hassle of having to spend an hour baking for a party of four that will never arrive. Thats why I love to make mug cakes. They are simple, quick, and delicious while being healthy and nutritious. You can also make them with a variety of ingredients (think vanilla blueberry and chocolate banana). Try this delicious and rich take on the mug cake with a peanut butter flair. Recipe courtesy of kitchentreaty.com. Ingredients: 2 tbsp oat or coconut flour 2 tbsp peanut butter (I use all-natural creamy peanut butter) 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (could substitute dairy milk for non-vegan version) 1 tbsp  pure maple syrup (could substitute stevia honey for non-vegan version) 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract Chocolate chips for topping (optional, but I use Lily’s Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Chips) Instructions: •Add all ingredients except the chocolate chips (if using) to an 8-ounce or larger microwave-safe mug.  Use a fork to stir together until combined. •Microwave on high until the cake has risen and springs back slightly when you poke it, about 60 seconds. If its not done after 60 seconds, try cooking in 15-second intervals until done. •Top with chocolate chips or chunks  if desired and enjoy hot!

Happy Independence Day, USA!

Happy Independence Day, USA! Independence Day  is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, BBQ, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and the movie The Patriot. There are many great and memorable quotes in this movie. Check out the best quotes that can be shared on Fourth of July: 1 Benjamin Martin: May I sit with you? Charlotte: Its a free country. Or at least it will be. 2 Charlotte: You have done nothing for which you should be ashamed. Benjamin Martin: I have done nothing. And for that I am ashamed. 3 Susan Martin: Papa! Papa, dont, Ill say anything! Please, papa, Ill say anything you want, tell me what you want me to say and Ill say it Papa, please dont go! 4 Lord General Cornwallis: Their names and ranks? Benjamin Martin: They refuse to give me their names, but the ranks are nine lieutenants, five captains, three majors, and one very fat colonel who called me a cheeky fellow. 5 Gabriel Edward Martin: [shouting] Im not a child. Benjamin Martin: [shouting] Youre my child. 4 [Grooming himself before battle] Major Jean Villeneuve: If I die I will die well dressed. 6 Occam: Gabriel said if we won the war, we could build a whole new world. Just figured wed get started right here with your home. Benjamin Martin: Sounds good. Thank you. 7 Benjamin Martin: Im a parent. I havent got the luxury of principles. 8 Benjamin Martin: This battle was over before it began. 9 Benjamin Martin: When you have a family of your own, perhaps youll understand. Gabriel Edward Martin: When I have a family of my own, I wont hide behind them. 10 Benjamin Martin: I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me, and the cost is more than I can bear. 11 Lord General Cornwallis: Everything will change. Everything has changed. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

7 Transferable Skills to Take From a Line Cook Job

7 Transferable Skills to Take From a Line Cook Job Image via Pixabay If you love to cook, love to eat, love to set tables for dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and brunches, love all the sights and smells of restaurants, food trucks, and mom-and-pop diners, then you’re most likely a bonafide foodie with a potential future in the food and restaurant industry. This industry, in particular, will never run out of job opportunities simply because all people have to eat and many people love to eat. The three primary things needed for human, animal, and plant survival are  water, air, and food. Without these three things, we would all be in a world of trouble. So, if you choose a job in the industry of food or restaurant management, your efforts, I’m sure, will not go unnoticed by the people you serve. There are many jobs within this field including those of chef, prep cook, assistant cook, nutritionist, food safety director, restaurant manager, dietician, restaurant chain director, and line cook. Working as a line cook can be a wonderful pathway to take to get into the restaurant industry. Line cooks are sometimes confused with prep cooks, but they are not one and the same. Prep cooks are typically on their way to becoming a full chef, and as such a job is the first step in that direction. Those with this job title are responsible for preparing ingredients and cooking stations as well as assembling dishes according to specifications. This often includes chopping and cutting foods, cooking soups, and stocking and restocking food stations. A line cook is typically responsible for filling orders from waiters and servers, preparing food for service, ensuring nutrition and sanitation compliance, cleaning up and preserving or throwing out leftovers, and setting up cooking operations as well as stocking supplies. Now that you know what the responsibilities of a  line cook are, here are the most transferable skills you can take from a line cook job to any other job in the food/restaurant industry and even to other industries: 1. Multitasking Some industries consider multitasking a curse as employees are increasingly being taught to focus on one project before going to the next one in order to improve productivity and reduce stress. However, as a line cook, you must be able to handle multiple food tickets at one time, ensuring the  accuracy of each order and a pleasant customer experience. 2. Cleanliness Nobody likes eating dirty food on dirty dishes or dirty tablecloths. All cooks, but especially line cooks, must ensure clean operations from start to finish. Wherever food is present, a clean surface, dishes, and utensils must be in place. Line cooks must also trim their nails, keep facial hair neat, keep hair on their heads out of the way of food (wear a hat) and practice other terms of basic hygiene. Line cooks should also be and look professional. 3. Teachable Rookie line cooks must be teachable because they don’t know everything and certainly not enough as line cooks who have been doing the work for several years. Therefore, no matter how much you want to know, you must humble yourself and learn. This is why it is very important to listen to constructive and critical feedback and accept it as part of the business. 4. Feedback This leads me to write a few words about feedback. Typically, people don’t like to receive feedback. Period. Feedback often comes across as criticism and criticism can be taken as harsh even though it is not really harsh. Cooking food can be very subjective in terms of texture and taste. Most cooks don’t like to hear anything negative about their food, but on occasion, you will cook the less than perfect meal, and you will hear a customer’s two cents about it. In these rare but inevitable cases, you must listen to it, decide whether it is valuable to you or not, and implement it next time if you can. 5. Details What sets some restaurants apart from others or some dishes apart from similar dishes is when the cooks pay attention to the details. Cooking is both a science and an art, so a line cook must be precise in the ingredients and measurements. A line cook must also be accurate in knowing what food and how much food to order to keep inventory levels up. 6. Organization A kitchen can become a house of chaos very quickly, especially during peak times if processes are not put in place and standards adhered to by all working alongside the line cook. Often, a variety of meals have to be prepared at one time and must be done in an organized environment. Line cooks can create structure and order in the kitchen by establishing ground rules, ensuring questions are answered in a timely manner, giving proper direction, and remaining calm. 7. Attitude It takes both skill and attitude, but more attitude than skill, to succeed in any job. A line cook must have a positive attitude, be willing to learn and teach if necessary, have patience, and be calm in the midst of busyness. Like anything, practice makes perfect and more practice means more perfection. Accuracy, consistency, safety, and speed are just a few things that make good line cooks great ones.