Top 15 Tips for the ACT Exam

ACT got you down? Scared pantsless about what’s in store for you when you drag yourself into the testing center for this multiple-choice exam? Well, button it up. The following ACT tips are going to get you a better ACT score. So memorize these bad boys, okay? No cheat sheets are allowed. Top 15 ACT Tips Answer Every Question Yes, even the hard ones. You won’t be penalized for guessing like you would if you were taking the old SAT test. For the record, the Redesigned SAT exam, which was first administered in March 2016, doesnt penalize for wrong answers anymore, either. Use POE Before Guessing POE is process of elimination. Each question will have at least one answer that’s way out there. Physically cross off that answer so you won’t be tempted to use it, and you’ll up your odds of guessing correctly. Then go back and see if you can cross off at least one more. Start Easy Answer all of the easy questions first, then move on to the difficult ones. The longer, more difficult questions arent worth any more points than the easier questions. So get all the points you can as fast as you can. Memorize the Directions During the test, you won’t get extra time to read the directions, so if you take five minutes to figure out what to do, that’s five fewer minutes you’ll have to get points. Don’t Doodle On the answer sheet, that is. The ACT is graded by a machine; if your chicken scratch interferes with the reading mechanism, you could miss out on points. Keep the sheet of ovals as clean as is possible. Erase Completely Bring two erasers: one for the heavy-duty erasing you may need to do and another clean eraser to fix up your ovals completely. You don’t want erasure marks mucking up your answers and causing you to lose points. Pace Yourself On some test sections, you’ll have a little less than 30 seconds to answer each question, so keep that in mind. Don’t spend three minutes staring off into space or rereading a longer passage; stay focused. Bring a Watch Archaic, yes, what with your cell phone and all, but since you won’t be able to have your cell phone with you, bring a watch. There’s no guarantee you’ll be testing in a room with a working clock. Reconsider the Obvious If an answer seems too easy, it may just be. Be sure to read every answer choice and select the best possible answer. The obvious choice may be a distracter. Don’t Second-Guess If you marked B for question 18, there was probably a good reason for it, so don’t go back and change it, unless youve found information in a later part of the test to disprove your original theory. Statistics prove that your first guess is usually the best one. Come Back to Toughies If you’re stuck between two answer choices, circle the question and come back to it with fresh eyes after you’ve answered the other questions. Remember, you have to pace yourself. Cross-Check Ovals Every five questions or so, double-check your answer sheet to make sure you haven’t skipped an oval. There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a test and realizing you missed filling in an oval somewhere and having to erase everything. Bring Your Own Calculator The test center will not provide you with one, so bring an approved calculator for easier math work. (All the questions can be answered without one, but bring one anyway.) Outline Before Writing If you’re taking the essay, be sure to take five out of the 40 minutes and plan before you write. It isn’t a waste of time; the scorers are looking for well-organized essays. The best way to get one is to plan ahead with either an outline or graphic organizer. Practice You’ve heard it before, but it’s really the truth. Buy an ACT prep book, and answer every single question in it. You’ll gain confidence and a lot of extra points by doing so. These 15 tips may just be lifesavers when you’re taking the ACT, so be sure to follow them all.

video games Essay - 1559 Words

The Effects of Video Games on the Body nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In households with children, sixty seven percent of them own a video game system. The game industry’s worldwide video game annual sales reached over 25 billion at the end of 2004. So the concern for the health of video game players is increasing. Video games have many different effects on the health of people. Some experiments have found video games to have a dramatic effect, while other experiments have found them to have little or no effect at all. While some video games have even been found to help people take their minds off their problems and deal with their stress, other people have had the opposite reactions to the games. In a study done by Craig A. Anderson and†¦show more content†¦It was found that frequent video game players spent all their money on games and reported more relationship problems. Heavy video game use played a role in managing developmental conflicts with regard to aggression and competition, and does not result in increased neuroticism, social withdrawal or escape into fantasy. Heavy video game users also have lower frustration tolerance. Frequent video game players seemed to be more extroverted and less achievement-oriented than infrequent players (Effects of Video Games np). Violent video games do negatively affect the behavior of those who play them. One study demonstrated that graphically violent video games produce an immediate increase in aggressive thoughts and behavior. The other study found that violent game play not only increased aggressive behavior, but also produced a long-term, real-life impact on the behavior and relationships of the players (Walters 8). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;With video games, children can use their minds in a way unlike other generations. They use their minds for more of a violent and aggressive view towards everyday actions. Playing video games decreases fine motor skills and slowed reaction time (Norcia np). Testing different age groups and sexes have shown that elderly adults became more aggressive with themselves and others after playing video games, but senior citizens’ motor skills andShow MoreRelatedVideo Game : Video Games1658 Words   |  7 PagesVideo games first entered into the world around the 1970s, while the violence started occurring in the games about 20 years later (Anderson and Bushman 354). Some of the first violent video games included â€Å"Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Wolfenstein 3D† which had amazing effects that were top notch at the time (Anderson and Bushman 354). Wolfenstein 3D was the first big video game that gave gamers the opportunity to shoot in the first pers on point of view (Anderson, Buckley, and Gentile 5). OverRead MoreVideo Game : Video Games1584 Words   |  7 Pagesviolent video games that are commonly played by boys and girls, young and old alike in today’s society. Many experts fear that this violence in video games increases violence in people in real life, causing people to act out as if they were in the video game, increasing aggressive behavior so much that it could actually escalate to shooting, stabbing, and killing people. There have already been many cases of these extreme examples of violence in the news that share a connection with video games. EricRead MoreVideo Games : Video Game1933 Words   |  8 PagesEnglish 132 9 March 2015 Video Games A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game means any type of display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are called platforms; examples of these are video game consoles and personal computers. Platforms can range from small handheld devices to large computers. Some video games can become popular andRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game Industry2174 Words   |  9 PagesVideo Games and the Video Game Industry The video game Pong was introduced in 1972 and can be considered the beginning of the video gaming industry. Unlike the game Pong, the controversies surrounding video games today are not quite as simple. Certain media outlets often portray video games to be bad for individual’s health and behaviour. There are still some people in the world that believe video games are contributing to the decline of today’s generation. However, video games and their industryRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game1301 Words   |  6 Pages The 2000’s and 2010’s has become the most transformative age for video games and the gamers who make them popular. Within the last 15 years the amount of gaming devices in homes has risen to eighty-eight percent. This is a large leap from where the original â€Å"Brown Box† console created by Ralph Baer in nineteen sixty-seven, but video games didn’t just go through a cut scene and magically appear in everyone’s home s. They have had it rough from lawsuits, heavy competition between companies, and evenRead MoreVideo Game And Video Games1905 Words   |  8 PagesINTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Involving human interaction with a user interface,a video game is an electronic game which generates visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video in video games traditionally referred to a raster display gadget, but it now indicates any type of display gadget that can form two or three-dimensional images. In allowing a video game to operate,platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computerRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game917 Words   |  4 Pagesothers for the rest. When it comes the video gaming industry, companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have developed new ways for the population to enjoy new entertainment and hobbies. However, when these companies create new systems to be flawless, users always seem to find at least one problem. The problem is not the gaming consoles themselves, but the the violent video games that companies create for these consoles. Allowing children to purchase these games, are one of many reasons why the youthRead MoreVideo Game : Violent Video Games927 Words   |  4 PagesThe video game industry possible causing behavioral problems for people of all ages. Video game violence isn’t breaking news for years people have played games with murder and sexual innuendos. People ask why violent video games are so attractive, maybe it’s a way to escape from real life or even therapeutic. History shows us that human being like violence, in roman time gladiators killed people and animals for sport with huge number of people as an audience. Today the video game industry has foundRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game Industry1290 Words   |  6 Pagesthe mainstream video game industry has seemed to operate under the same apparent assumptions: girls don’t play big action games, boys like the sexualization of girls in video games and won’t play as a female character unless she is heavily sexualized, and that girls play video games for the attention of boys. These assumptions are what allows the gaming industry to continue to focus on their male players, particularly young men, despite the fact that the number of women playing games today may somedayRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game1538 Words   |  7 Pagesthis, but there was a time when video games were not around. Like a lot of things in the world that are distinctly human, video games were made out of a combination of innovation, necessity, and curiosity. The early video game creators would be making something that would seem clunky, and somewhat crude at first. But that would completely change in time by the innovators, and entrepreneurs to something that would some day be consider an art form. (Art of Video Games) According to the Entertainment

The Riskiness of Governments and Corporate Bonds

Question: Discuss about the Riskiness of Governments and Corporate Bonds. Answer: Introduction Governments bonds or corporate bonds are loans to the government or the company respectively. The decision to loan to these parties is based on the risk involved. Thus, the buyers of the bond are attracted to bonds with the highest returns. This is irrespective of the possibility of risk. If two different bonds are giving the same yield, the investors only concern when making a decision is that of the quantity of risk involved. Safeness of Government Bonds When it comes to government bonds, these are the safest investments. The explanation for this is that; the investor is assured that the full loan amount will be repayable after the maturity period. In comparison to the company bonds, buying company bonds may result in the investors losing their money in case there was a companys bust. O'Shea (2017) noted that the government in case it runs out of money would control its currency and can print money so that it pays its obligations. He also stated that the return on the government bonds is on a risk free rate. There is zero probability of default on government bonds (Conley, 2016). Thus, even if the rate of a governments bond falls slightly below that offered by a company, a rational investor would still go for the governments bond. Now lets consider the short run case. OShea noted that the governments bond are the most risky in the short run. These bonds are considered risk free on the assumption they are held till maturity (Kenny, 2017). This is because an increment in interest rate would result in a fall in the bond prices. If interest rate rises by a units, the fall in price would be very high. If the bonds were to be cashed after such a change, the value would be lower. Thus, the government bonds are faced by risk if the current interest rate is low. For these bonds to be risk free both in the short and in the long run, the interest rate must be currently high. In addition to the interest rate risk, Conley (2016) also noted the risks of inflation and opportunity cost. High inflation rate lowers the value of treasury investments and opportunity cost is incurred since other investments with a higher return are disregarded. The Riskiness of Corporate Bonds Unlike the government bonds, there are many other risk factors facing the corporate bonds. There are far away from being risk free. They are considered the most risky bonds. In additional to the risk factors of interest rate and inflation rate experienced in both the government and corporate bonds, there are several other risk factors for the latter. One is the risk of credit/default; there is the possibility that the company may fail to pay back the investors money. Curtis (2017) noted that many investors are not aware that the governments full faith and credit does not guarantee the corporate bonds. Instead, they are guaranteed by the ability of the company to pay the debt. Therefore, investors should use the coverage ratio to determine the possibility of default. A higher ration deems the investment to be safe. Two, the rating downgrades; if a company is rated low in its debt repayment, interest rate charged on future loans by lending agencies and banks goes up (Lo?ffler and Posch, 2011). For this case, the ability of a company to satisfy its debts is adversely impacted. Three, liquidity risk owing to the market for corporate bonds being so thin and thus the ability to sell the bonds quickly is reduced. Four, the call risk; where the bond issuer may repurchase the bond for instance in interest rate goes to low (Langager, 2017). Conclusion Low interest government bonds taken for a long term are risky although they would be labelled risk free. Any investor who is about to make the decision to invest on government bonds should consider the interest rate factor. When the interest rate is low, its expected to rise, but when it is very high, it is guaranteed it will come down after some time since a high interest rate is not sustainable in an economy. A fall in interest rate makes the bond prices to rise. Therefore, the investment is good with high interest rate. Investors to corporate bonds should first determine the possibility of default before initiating the investment. There are higher risks associated with corporate bonds. References Conley, P. (2016). Are Treasuries Really the Safest Investment? [Online] The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-safest-investment-417037 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017]. Curtis, G. (2017). Six Biggest Bond Risks. [Online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/bonds/08/bond-risks.asp [Accessed 8 Apr. 2017]. Kenny, T. (2017). What Types of Bonds Feature Low Risk? [Online] The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/lowest-risk-bonds-what-types-of-bonds-are-the-safest-417025 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017]. Langager, C. (2017). What are the risks of investing in a bond? [Online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/bondrisks.asp [Accessed 8 Apr. 2017]. Lo?ffler, G. and Posch, P. (2011). Credit risk modeling using Excel and VBA, second edition. 1st ed. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley Sons Ltd. O'Shea, T. (2017). Are Governments Bonds Safe? [Online] timoshea.co.uk. Available at: https://www.timoshea.co.uk/are-governments-bonds-safe/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017].

Irony Of The Setting In The Lottery Essays - Style,

Irony of The Setting in The Lottery The setting set forth by Shirley Jackson in the beginning of The Lottery creates a mood of peacefulness and tranquillity. This setting also creates an image in the mind of the reader, the image of a typical town on a normal summer day. Furthermore, Shirley Jackson uses the setting in The Lottery to foreshadow an ironic ending. First, Shirley Jackson begins The Lottery by establishing the setting. To begin, she tells the reader what time of day and what time of year the story takes place. This is important to get the reader to focus on what a typical day it is in this small town. The time of day is set in the morning and the time of year is early summer. She also describes that school has just recently let out for summer break, letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. The setting of the town is described by the author as that of any normal rural community. Furthermore, she describes the grass as "richly green" and that "the flowers were blooming profusely" (196). These descriptions of the surroundings give the reader a serene felling about the town. Also, these descriptions make the reader feel comfortable about the surroundings as if there was nothing wrong in this quaint town. Upon reading the first paragraph, Shirley Jackson describes the town in general. The town is first mentioned in the opening paragraph where she sets the location in the town square. She puts in perspective the location of the square "between the post office and the bank" (196). This visualizes for the reader what a small town this is, since everything seems to be centralized at or near the town square. This is also key in that the town square is the location for the remaining part of the story. The town square is an important location for the setting since the ending of the story will be set in this location. Also, Shirley Jackson creates a comfortable atmosphere while describing the residents of the town. First, she describes the children gathering together and breaking into "boisterous play"(196). Also, the children are described as gathering rocks, which is an action of many normal children. She described the men as gathering together and talking about "planting and rain, tractors and taxes"(196). Finally, she describes the women of this community as "exchanging bits of gossip"(196) which is a common stereotype of women. She creates a mood for the reader of the town and residents of this town on a normal summer morning. Up to this point in the story Shirley Jackson has not pointed out anything out of the ordinary which would reflect an ironic ending. Upon further reading of the story, Shirley Jackson gives the reader hints about the unusualness of this town. First, she sets the time of day to be mid-morning. This is a clue to an ironic ending since most occurrences of criminal activity happen during the night. Second, she also points out key buildings that surround the town square. Furthermore, she fails to describe a church or a courthouse which are common buildings to all communities. Also, it is odd for this town to celebrate Halloween but not for Christmas or Easter. These are the largest holidays that "normal" people celebrate. In addition, she points out the fact that the children are building "a great pile of stones in one corner of the square"(196).These points should lead the reader to consider that this town is far from normal. The introduction of the black box is a key turning point for the setting. The black box symbolizes an immoral act to the villagers. This is evident in the fact that "the villagers kept their distance"(196) from the black box. The introduction of the black box into the setting changes the mood and the atmosphere of the residents. After the introduction of the black box the villagers become uneasy around this symbol of evil. Furthermore, the black box is the key that changes the mood from serene and peaceful to ominous. Further foreshadowing by Shirley Jackson leads the reader to consider the town as peculiar. For instance, the names of the residents foreshadow

Are Viruses Alive free essay sample

Viruses can’t function on their own and depend on a host cell for their energy and reproduction. Viruses cannot reproduce unless they get inside a living host cell. Once a virus attaches itself to a host cell it dissolves a hole through the membrane and goes to the nucleus to force the host cell to replicate the virus. Viruses are parasites. Bacteria can function on their own, metabolizing and converting carbohydrates to energy. Bacteria reproduce by growing to twice its size and then splitting into two cells. Viruses are not classified and grouped into a level of biological organization like other life forms are. Bacteria are classified to have two levels of biological organization, Atoms and Molecules. 2. According to the article readings, website reviews and lecture notes we were asked to review: †¢ Name the characteristics of life viruses seem to lack as they differ from the lecture outline. Considering all characteristics of life described in the lecture outline beginning with the hierarchy of Biological Organization to Evolve: Viruses have the biological organization of atoms and molecules because they are made up of nucleic acid and protein. We will write a custom essay sample on Are Viruses Alive or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Viruses lack the emergent property of living things, which is the cell. They are not classified in any kingdom of organisms. Viruses compensate by attaching themselves to a host cell and dissolving the cell membrane and then they enter the nucleus of the host cell and force the nucleus to replicate the virus. Viruses lack the ability to metabolize and convert carbohydrates to usable energy. Viruses compensate by using the energy from the host cell. Viruses lack a sense of responsiveness because it happens at a cellular level, which they do not have. Viruses lack DNA because all of them do not have it. They compensate for this by using what they do have. Some viruses have a single strand RNA that is unraveled and replicated by the host cell and some viruses have a single strand DNA that is also replicated by the host cell. They lack the ability to reproduce and develop without the assistance of a host cell. Viruses are constantly changing and mutating for their struggle to survive. 3. Based on what I have learned in the readings and lecture background it is my opinion that viruses are not living agents or organisms. They do not have the basic characteristics of life, which is the cell. They cannot function or survive on their own. They cannot produce energy or reproduce on their own. I would describe them as a parasite borrowing life from other cells. 4. Why hasn’t a vaccine against the AIDS virus been invented yet? When the AIDS virus was first discovered in affected mostly gay men and then intravenous drug users. There was no big rush from the drug companies or anyone for that matter to find a cure. The majority of the cases were from Africa and other third world countries that were poor so the drug companies knew that they could not make a lot of money if they did find a cure. More recently there is a push to find a cure because more people are becoming infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. The problem today is having the scientific community as a whole work together and share the information to find a cure. b. Briefly summarize the progress of the HIV/AIDS vaccine in one paragraph: There has recently been an examination under study of the theory that some imperfect HIV vaccines may allow people that are infected with HIV virus live longer and healthier lives. Drs. Norman Letvin M. D. of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Mario Roederer Ph D. of the NIAID Vaccine Research Center (VRC) are the two teams of researchers working on this theory.

How to Identify a Pseudoscience

How to Identify a Pseudoscience A pseudoscience is a fake science that makes claims based on faulty or nonexistent scientific evidence. In most cases, these pseudosciences present claims in a way that makes them seem possible, but with little or no empirical support for these claims. Graphology, numerology, and astrology, are all examples of pseudosciences. In many cases, these pseudosciences rely on anecdotes and testimonials to back up their often outlandish claims. How to Identify Science vs. Pseudoscience If you are trying to determine if something is a pseudoscience, there are a few key things you can look for: Consider the purpose. Science is focused on helping people develop a deeper, richer and fuller understanding of the world. Pseudoscience often focuses on furthering some type of ideological agenda.Consider how challenges are dealt with. Science welcomes challenges and attempts to disprove or refute different ideas. Pseudoscience, on the other hand, tends to greet any challenges to its dogma with hostility.Look at the research. Science is supported by a deep and ever-growing body of knowledge and research. Ideas around the topic may have changed over time as new things are discovered and new research is performed. Pseudoscience tends to be fairly static. Little may have changed since the idea was first introduced and new research might not exist.Can it be proven false? Falsifiability is a key hallmark of science. This means that if something is false, researchers could prove that it was false. Many pseudoscientific claims are simply untestable, so there is no way for researchers to pr ove these claims false. Example Phrenology is a good example of how a pseudoscience can capture the public attention and become popular. According to the ideas behind phrenology, bumps on the head were thought to reveal aspects of an individuals personality and character. Physician Franz Gall first introduced the idea during the late 1700s and suggested that the bumps on a persons head corresponded to the physical features of the brains cortex. Gall studied the skulls of individuals in hospitals, prisons, and asylums and developed a system of diagnosing different characteristics based upon the bumps of a persons skull. His system included 27 faculties that he believed directly corresponded to certain parts of the head. Like other pseudosciences, Galls research methods lacked scientific rigor. Not only that, any contradictions to his claims were simply ignored. Galls ideas outlived him and grew wildly popular during the 1800s and 1900s, often as a form of popular entertainment. There were even phrenology machines that would be placed over a persons head. Spring-loaded probes would then provide a measurement of different parts of the skull and calculate the individuals characteristics. While phrenology was eventually dismissed as a pseudoscience, it did have an important influence on the development of modern neurology. Gall’s idea that certain capabilities were linked to certain parts of the brain led to a growing interest in the idea brain localization, or the notion that certain functions were linked to specific areas of the brain. Further research and observations helped researchers gain a greater understanding of how the brain is organized and the functions of different areas of the brain. Sources: Hothersall, D. (1995). History of Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Megendie, F. (1855). An elementary treatise on human physiology. Harper and Brothers. Sabbatini, R.M.E. (2002). Phrenology: The History of Brain Localization. Wixted, J. (2002). Methodology in experimental psychology. Capstone.

New Methods of Human Communication and their Importance Essay

New Methods of Human Communication and their Importance - Essay Example Today, communication to a great extent occurs through technological means. The existence of the mobile phone and social networking websites has made the world smaller and communications easier. However, the question remains as to whether there has actually been an increase in the amount that people talk to each other because of such inventions. Has communication between people increased as a result of the improvement in systems of communications? On the other hand, one also needs to look into the question as to whether the modern methods of communication that are present today have actually improved communication between people or whether the whole affair is a misconception or a mirage. This paper shall look into these questions and attempt to facilitate a discussion of the matter. With the introduction of the telephone, it became possible for people to communicate events and activities over long distances. Due to high costs and limited availability, the use of the telephone was limi ted during its initial stages but later, its use became widespread. The use of the letter reduced and there were many feelings and emotions that were left uncommunicated as a result. The written word could carry a lot of nuances in passages that a conversation on the telephone could not. Letters were written with deliberation and time was consumed during the composition of letters, unlike the conversations that are heard on telephones. The lack of speed in the delivery of letters had its own charm that the telephone could not replicate. There are often representations of people who are unable to communicate over the telephone in popular culture that indicate that the speed of communication in some cases kills the thought that goes behind communication. It is with the introduction of newer methods of communication all over the world that theories regarding the inadequacy of language and methods of communication came to be proposed by many thinkers. While this may seem like a paradox, proximity between the communicants can lead to an alienation between them. On the other hand, conversations on the telephone and especially on the mobile phone have a certain spontaneity associated with them that is natural to the manner in which it is used. While it may obviously not have the polish of a conversation carried on through letters, one is allowed to scream and lisp over the phone in a manner that is quite unimaginable in a conversation of letters. It also enables people to know where the other is, immediately, if one has made a plan to go to a certain place with other people. The opportunity to vent one’s anger is infinitely more effectively employable over a phone conversation that any other means of communication. Thus, one can see that with the invention of newer methods of communication, there are newer forms of information that are created and newer content that is modified so as to be placed in the framework of the new forms. Thus, it is not as if people do not communicate more, but both the forms and the content of communication has changed in the world of today. This is owing to the proliferation of newer methods of communication, the mobile phone being one of them. In many situations,