A Bad Chemistry Class Review

A Bad Chemistry Class ReviewI have a bad habit of writing chemistry classes as if they were the movie 'Crazy Stupid Love.' The first act is about a chemistry student named Ashley and her bumbling boyfriend (played by Will Forte) who is a crazy genius. He's been applying the methods of ancient Chinese people to make baseball bats into complicated mechanical contraptions and I'm going to tell you now that the internet cannot be trusted. We are probably in the future of chemistry and science, not the past.You see, Ashley tries to create a chemical reaction with a chemical solution and sees her friend Bryon set off a chemical reaction and creates a substance that will mutate and kill the people she loves. Ashley has never actually seen a chemical before and so she does some research. It is explained to her that a chemical is a piece of matter and it can either combine or break down into another substance. Ashley becomes very concerned about what she sees and doesn't know what to do. She decides to enroll in a course of chemistry as if her life depended on it and there she meets chemistry professor Jonathan Cross, played by Alec Baldwin.I love chemistry professor because he helps Ashley with her new understanding of chemistry in a fun and easy way. In 'Crazy Stupid Love' the relationship between the two was more like that between a brother and sister, but here, chemistry professor does the same thing that his sister did when she learned about physics at the beginning of the movie. You see chemistry professor is funny and friendly and I hope you too have a chemistry teacher like this one.In a chemistry class, you really need the chemistry professor to help you with the science so you learn to appreciate it and think about it. In fact, the chemistry professor in the movie was great because he made the teacher a one-man learning tool and that was important in teaching chemistry to children.Chemistry is the study of substances that change into another substance when mix ed. We learned all about it in chemistry class at school, but in a chemistry class, we also learned to love chemistry and science. Let me be clear here, I am not saying that chemistry is bad or any type of pursuit that will kill your personality, just like I didn't say that playing golf will kill your personality or that chess will kill your personality.That being said, the American movie industry wants us to think that chemistry is boring and dull, but chemistry is so much more than that. There is great beauty in chemistry as well as science and it is for everyone from all walks of life and it makes us think about why we do the things we do, the possibilities of our own lives and how they can be changed.You may find out later in your life that chemistry made you go to bed late at night and brought your parents together. Maybe it was the class you took at your high school chemistry that gave you the confidence to get a job in your field and finally meet the woman of your dreams. But whatever it was, in a field of ideas, chemistry is the link to all the other areas of knowledge that we discover.

A Guitarists Guide to Odd Time Signatures

A Guitarists Guide to Odd Time Signatures Megan L. Do you know how to count music in odd time signatures? Guitar teacher  Joe L.  breaks down the basics that guitarists need to know about playing in unusual times Timing is something that most guitarists have to pick up early in playing music. Playing in time is very important; it may be the most important quality and skill you can develop and improve upon as you continue learning to play guitar. If youre looking at a piece of music, the time signature is the two numbers that look like a fraction at the beginning of the piece. These numbers tell you how to count time in the piece youre going to play. The two most popular time signatures are 4/4 (1-2-3-4) and 3/4 (1-2-3-1-2-3).  People can naturally follow along with these time signatures, but what happens when the timing is different? Many newer musicians can get lost trying to play along with others who are playing in an odd time like 7/8. But there are some simple tricks you can do to play in time with strange grooves. Time Signatures in 5 For example, when playing in 5/4, you can count (1-2-3-4-5), (1-2-1-2-3) or (1-2-3-1-2).   By doing so, you will break down the structure to the timing, and you can then split it into two parts: 1-2 and then 1-2-3 (or the other way around: 1-2-3 and then 1-2). Youll find the groove in there somewhere (depending on how the music that youre playing goes) by recognizing where the accent is (the beat that gets stressed or emphasized) in the song. You can get very imaginative when breaking the rhythm down, such as (1-2-3-4-1). Here are some examples of popular songs in 5. Halloween Theme (Main Title) (from Halloween) by John Carpenter Mission Impossible Theme by Lalo Schifrin Time Signatures in 7 In 7/8, you can break the rhythm down into (1-2-3-1-2-1-2) or (1-2-1-2-1-2-3).  You can also use (1-2-3-1-2-3-1) or (1-2-1-2-1-1-2).  Again, listen for the accent notes to figure out how to break up your counts.   Get creative on how you can break these rhythms down; my examples arent the only methods. Below are a couple of popular tunes in 7. Dreaming in Metaphors by Seal Die To Live by Steve Vai With other times, such as 11, you can break them down in multiple ways, for example (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3), (1-2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4) or (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4). A suggestion to getting better playing in odd times is to use a metronome in the time youre trying to learn. Or, you can look up drum tracks in odd times online, and play with them until you start finding yourself feeling the rhythm and playing in the groove. These unusual time signatures arent found too often, but when they are used, they can be the most recognizable pieces youve heard. Before you try to tackle these odd times with chords and scales, try muting the strings and work it out until you feel these grooves. It helps a lot to tackle only the rhythm first before trying to incorporate the chords. Once you feel comfortable strumming in odd time signatures, you can then start adding in chords and scales to really start jamming! Good luck! For more help learning the basics of guitar, taking lessons from a private teacher is the best way to improve. Find your guitar teacher now! Joe L. teaches guitar lessons in New York, NY. He has been teaching guitar for 15 years and in his teaching he focuses on breaking down music theory to make learning music easy and accessible for all his students. Learn more about Joe here.   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by  Jen Gallardo

Tutorfair The story behind us

Tutorfair The story behind us On a sunny winters day in January 2012 I met with Andrew who showed me some concepts for a new website that he’d come up with. He was a parent who’d found the process of finding tutors for his own children both confusing and a little hit-and-miss. His concept was a website that would allow parents to actually browse for great tutors and then book them. I agreed that there wasn’t anything quite like it at the time, but what really captured my imagination was the concept that the company would give tutoring to children who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Hence the ‘fair’ bit of Tutorfair. In my 14 years of tutoring, most of the tutors I’d known had either  moved on to other work or set up agencies. I’d not set up my own simply because I had very little interest in running a company. Yet here was a concept that seemed so simple, and so likely to do some real good, that I found myself getting very excited. If there are billions of dollars being put into tutoring worldwide every year, why not take some of that money and give it to the kids who need it most? Andrew Ground wasn’t just a parent, he had a background in marketing and had been involved in building the hugely successful UK company LOVEFiLM. He introduced me to Edd Stockwell, a fantastically energetic web entrepreneur who’d been doing a large amount of research into the education sector. In our first proper meeting in a tapas restaurant in Old Street we discussed how this could work, and thus Tutorfair was born. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet most of the highest paid and best regarded tutors in the world. In fact, many are close friends. When we pitched the idea to those in Britain, most were hugely excited and almost everyone wanted to help in any way they could. At the very least, we’ve been able to help Andrew find tutors for his kids! Beyond individual tutors, there are many tutoring agencies. Most of the best in London are run by friends of mine or people I’d known professionally for years. We weren’t sure how they’d see Tutorfair, but the response was amazing. These professional tutoring agencies do a good job of finding and retaining great tutors so it was essential we had them on board too. Most seemed very open to our concept and loved the idea that if we worked together we could actually do some good. They’d list their recommended tutors on the website, and thus open up their tutor networks to parents wanting to book online. Together we agreed the promise that for every student who pays we’d give tutoring to a child who couldn’t afford it. Our aim has been to assemble the best tutors in London to kick us off. We meet all of them, check their documents and film videos of them so parents can get a better idea of what they’re like. We also offer training and mentoring for those looking to develop their tutoring into a career, and this has been a particularly fun part for me. The next challenge was how to arrange the free tuition. The solution was simple, rather than try find these children ourselves why not look for schools and charities that had already identified the children most in need of our help? I took the rest of 2012 to meet with various schools, charities and organisations. I went into classrooms, taught with children who’d never been given any personal tutoring and we took the time to look into what was working well. Once we’d earmarked the teams who seemed to make the most *real* difference to children’s lives: we pledged our support, our tutors and our time. Fast forward to early 2013, the website is live, we are receiving bookings and we’re already running a number of initiatives for the Tutorfair Foundation, our new charity. It’s an incredibly exciting time! Tutoring has been proven to be an incredibly effective education tool* but up until now it’s something that only the most wealthy can afford. Hopefully we can start to make it fair! In this blog we’ll keep you updated on how the company is going and what we’re doing with the charity. We’ll also be providing tips, tutoring resources (for students educators) and sharing with you what we find is getting results. We hope you enjoy! * (Bloom, 1984)

More Factors to Active Learning - Private Tutoring

More Factors to Active Learning BobbiM Mar 25, 2014 The tasks: a factor that influences active learning. Simply put, tasks are what your professors ask you to do. You can think of them as daily tasks, such as reading your text before you attend lectures; or larger tasks, such as preparing for various kinds of tests or writing papers. Most professors are pretty clear about what the task it. They will let you know the number of tests you will have and the kind of tests they will be. Some will even let you examine old copies of old tests or student papers so that you can see the kinds of questions they will ask or what their writing expectations are. Others will give you example test questions so that you can get an idea of how the questions will be asked. But some professors arent so clear in defining course tasks. Some may even give you conflicting messages. Therefore, it is important to try to get your professor to be as clear as possible about the tasks you must undertake. If you dont know what is expected of you, then you cant select the proper learning strategies or the most effective way to approach your texts. The texts: a factor that influences active learning. Texts are crucial to learning in college. In fact, it has been estimated that 85 percent of all college learning involves reading. Whatever types of text you are expected to interact with, you should know how the particular text is organized. In most textbooks, each chapter is usually organized in the same fashion. In addition, your professors lectures probably follow the same organization each day. Even visual texts have organizational patterns. Once you have determined how your text is organized, learning the material becomes a much easier task. Learning strategies: a factor that influences active learning. Strategies for active learning have several features in common. Strategy one: declarative knowledge. Declarative knowledge is knowing what- what you need to do and what strategy you need to use. Strategy two: procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge involves more than knowing what you should do. It is knowing how to do it. Strategy three: conditional knowledge. Conditional knowledge means knowing under what conditions to use certain strategies-knowing why. Techniques to stretch your memory. -acronyms. You can use mnemonics to learn a list by creating an acronym. This means taking the first letter of each item you are trying to memorize and making them spell something. -imagery. Forming images is another powerful way to help you remember when you review. -method of Loci. Imagine a place that is familiar to you. Then you walk down this path through your memory. As you proceed, you attach a piece of information you have to learn to different places and objects to help you remember it. Excerpt from College Success Strategies by Sherrie L. Nist and Jodi Patrick Holschuh.

How to Finish Your Internship Strong Before the Holidays

How to Finish Your Internship Strong Before the Holidays Image via Pexels As for me, I interned at a daycare center while in college. While my main goal was to observe and analyze behavior and then write reports for class assignments, the day to day experience with the infants and children younger than five was eye-opening and exciting. I didn’t care for the environment all that much, but the lessons I learned while working alongside adults and kids were unforgettable. Whether you thought your experience was so great that you want to work for the firm or you’re just glad it’s almost over, you’ve got one final green light before you can actually stop. Here are a few ways that you can finish your internship strong. 1. Be appreciative. Write a personal note of thanks to your supervisor and/or to the team or individuals you worked with letting them know what the experience meant to you. State one or two specifics that will show your sincere appreciation and make them feel like they have helped to make a difference and/or assisted you in your journey. You can always type something up, but handwritten notes are truly gracious and show you gave a good amount of thought to it. Before I left the daycare center where I interned, I wrote a handwritten message to my supervisor and my fellow teachers doing just that. 2. Ask for feedback and accept whatever it is. Many people don’t like to give feedback simply because most people don’t like to receive it or they fear it will be taken the wrong way. But you will only be able to measure your progress if you know how you did before. Ask your supervisor and/or co-workers for feedback. My supervisor did this for me at the end of my time. Let them speak their minds. What they say will help you become a better person and employee in the future. When your boss mentions your strengths, pay attention as this can help you present your accomplishments to future employees. If a boss mentions any weakness, pay attention to this too as this is important constructive criticism that will help you to refine some of your not so good points so you can grow into the best you can be. 3. Make a list of your accomplishments. Completing an internship is a huge accomplishment. Go ahead and give yourself a high-five or the Carlton Banks wink and gun move. While it is all still fresh in your mind, take a few minutes to update your resume and your LinkedIn profile if you have one. Don’t simply list things though. Make sure to write it on your resume in a way where you show (not tell) how your work impacted the company. Doing this can go a long way especially when you’re looking to get a full-time job in the future. If need be, consult your supervisor or a co-worker to ensure you’re writing what you did in a professional manner where another employer can understand it. 4. Network. Network. Network. Your internship experience is a time to meet new people and really get to know them. You will find out a lot about people by how they work and how they communicate at work. These may not be your close friends, but you can call on them for career advice if need be. So add all of your co-workers to your address book. If you got along well, add them to your smartphone’s contact list. Take time to find them on LinkedIn and connect there. Make an effort to check in or just touch base with them every once in a while, approximately 3-6 months. Ask what they’ve been doing and let them know what you are up to these days. When you communicate after several months of being away, consider talking about a recent news piece about the company or a new project that involves the company. This will inform them that you’ve stayed interested even after you left. 5. Make a plan. It’s tough enough to think about next week’s class assignments or tomorrow’s grocery shopping trip, but try to think about your future plans. Your internship may or may not be ideal, but one way or another, you learned some valuable lessons and skills that you didn’t have before. (Cleaning baby changing stations wasn’t in my ultimate career goals, but it did give me experience I never had.) Choose to steer your internship experience to the career path that you ultimately have in mind for yourself. If you plan to stay with a company after your internship, make that known to your employee. Just let them know you’d like to move into a part-time or full-time paid employee position and ask if there are any openings for that. Bad or good, it is completely up to you to stick around or move on. Just make sure there is a plan in place either way. So there you have it, five ways to finish your internship strong before the holidays. Good luck!

7 Tips for Staying Safe in Winter

7 Tips for Staying Safe in Winter Image via Pexels.com 2.  Check your tires, engine, and lights There’s no worse time to get stranded on the road than during winter, so your car should be in top shape when cold weather rolls in.   Most importantly, check your engine’s antifreeze levelsâ€"otherwise, your engine might actually freeze. Checking your coolant system is simple, and there are kits available at auto supply stores to help you out. Because of chemistry laws, we know that pressure drops as temperatures dropsâ€"this isn’t such a good thing for your tires. If you find that your tires need air when it gets colder outside, you can fill them up at the gas station. The proper tire pressure (pounds per square inch, or psi) for your car can be found inside the driver’s door jam. You should also make sure that your brake lights and headlights are working properly for those nights when visibility is low. With bright lights, you’re not only helping yourself see the road better, but also helping others see you. 3.  Adjust your driving in harsh conditions Keep an eye on weather reports when you’re planning to drive in winter. If it’s going to be snowy or icy on the roads, don’t speed! For your own safety and the safety of other drivers, take it slow, especially on highways. Brake sooner because it takes longer to slow down on icy roads. Never try to use cruise control in bad weather. As always, wear your seatbelt! Truthfully, if possible, you should avoid going out at all in harsh winter weather. But if you must, follow these tips from AAA on safe winter driving. Living Space 4.  Be mindful of how you heat your home There are a few ways to heat your home in winter, but you  should always proceed with caution when choosing the best method.  First, if you own an internal heating system, you should have it professionally inspected for cleanliness and proper functioning. Make sure that the system is ventilated to the outside. Fireplaces and chimneys should also be properly cleaned before use. Improper ventilation from a fireplace or heating system  can lead to deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.  To be safe, you should have CO detectors installed in your home as well as smoke detectors. Be sure to check the batteries once a month! Image via Pexels.com Space heaters are an alternative for homes that don’t have internal heating or fireplaces, but these can be a fire hazard if used improperly. Never place anything on top of a space heater when it’s turned on, and keep anything surrounding your heater at least three feet away. Keep your space heater on a level, hard surface. No matter what you use to keep your home warm, never leave it unattended! Turn off fireplaces and space heaters before leaving your home, and turn down the thermostat while you’re away. 5.  Be prepared for emergencies Bad weather can leave you snowed in for a few days, sometimes without power. You should have non-perishable food and water stored for power outages. Keep flashlights, extra batteries, and candles handy. If you know a storm is coming, keep your phone fully charged. You should also have a first-aid kit with band-aids and extra medicine. If you have a backup generator, it should be at least 20 feet from the home to avoid CO poisoning. When the weather slows down you can take salt and a shovel outside to clear a walkwayâ€"fresh snow will be easier to move. However, be sure to push the snow with the shovel instead of lifting it to avoid strain on your body. You and your family should draw up an emergency plan for winter and review it several times to stay safe. Body 6.  Dress for winter weather If you travel by foot frequently,  be sure you have layers of warm clothes on  to protect yourself on those days when the wind hurts your face. Winter coats can be pricey, especially ones with fur or a lot of fleece, but it’s worth the investment. Find a long, puffy coat with a hood to keep the snow away. You should also invest in a pair of gloves, a scarf, and a hat or earmuffs. These small items will help to keep in your body heat and  prevent frost bite. The right shoes are also important to your safety in winter. If you’ll be walking in the snow, find a pair of high, warm snow boots with plenty of traction in the soles. At the very least, avoid wearing shoes with no traction at allâ€"slipping on ice could lead to some pretty bad injuries. Image via Pexels.com 7.  Protect yourself from cold and flu season Germs travel faster during winter, so it’s okay to take extra caution for your own health. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially after coming in contact with a sick person. If someone you know is sick, don’t feel like you have to shake their handâ€"they probably don’t want to pass germs to you anyway. They might even encourage you to keep your distance. The ultimate protection against the flu is to get vaccinated. Drug stores like CVS offer free flu shots when the season comes. Even if you do receive the flu vaccine, eat healthy so that your immune system is boosted for added protection. If you do end up with a cold or the flu, take care of yourself. Stay home and rest so that you can make a speedy recovery. Try some home remedies or over-the-counter medications to conquer your symptoms. Protect others as well by covering your mouth and nose when you cough and cleaning any surfaces you touch. Get well soon!

6 Electronics Every Student Needs

6 Electronics Every Student Needs GIFsec.com 1.  Power strip This may seem like a boring one, but it will likely be the most important electronic you purchase. Dorm rooms are notorious for skimping out on outlets a power strip will take care of this issue. As a student who relies on your laptop, phone, e-reader, and tablet for class, it’s vital that you are able to charge them all at once so they are ready to go when you are. There’s nothing worse than trying to time when you need to switch out your electronics from using the outlet so that you can hopefully get everything you need charged up before class. Opt for a surge protecting power strip over one that isn’t this will protect you from any electrical surges that can damage your devices. 2. External hard drive Again, it’s not the most exciting electronic you can get, but it will really save your life. As students, our lives are on our laptops this is a large burden for our laptops to carry. We are constantly filling our hard drives with papers, presentations, videos, photos, and music and, eventually, our laptop can break under the pressure. This is where an external hard drive has your back. Losing all of your files because of a crash is DEVASTATING to you as a student and as a young person. An external hard drive is the best way to protect your important files from getting destroyed in the event of a crash. 3. E-reader An e-reader is a great product to have as a student. Books are an unavoidable part of school  but there are ways to make buying books cheaper and easier. E-readers are great because you can buy not only novels on them but also sometimes entire textbooks. Having all your textbooks on one device will save you from scoliosis caused by lugging massive textbooks around campus. E-books are often cheaper than buying the physical copies so the money that you spend on the e-reader will be made up in the money you save on books. giphy.com 4.  Laptop This one almost goes without saying. It’s near impossible to be a student these days without a laptop   they are great for note-taking, writing papers, editing media, and just surfing the web anywhere you want. Depending on your major, you might want to pick a computer that is capable of supporting what you do. If you just plan on using your laptop for writing papers and surfing the web, a Samsung Chromebook is a solid, cheap option for you. However, if you are going to be doing more extensive video editing or downloading heftier software, something like a Mac or Samsung Notebook might be a better bet. There are a ton of resources out there to help you choose the right computer for your needs do your research before buying one! 5.  Headphones Almost anywhere you go on campus, there will be people with  headphones  and earbuds on. Whether you’re walking between classes or studying in the library, headphones are an important part of your day. There are all kinds of headphones and earbuds to choose from at varying price points. If you are someone who likes to listen to your music a lot throughout the day, maybe opt for a slightly more expensive pair  that is likely to last longer and produce better sound. If you just use your headphones in your room, you might do fine with a cheaper pair. Take a look at your lifestyle to make the right choice! giphy.com 6. Smartphone apps This one is less a physical electronic, but just as necessary. There are THOUSANDS of apps made specifically for college students for both academic and enjoyment purposes and most of them free! Whether you need to brush up before your Spanish exam or try to balance your academics and your health, there’s an app for that! There are even apps for your more uninhibited nights out. Thanks to our smartphones, you can have food delivered to your dorm and keep your homework schedule on track using the same device. It goes without saying that you will need a smartphone in order to use any of these apps. If you don’t have one already, there are a multitude of options to choose from.