√ Campus Life.
√ Phys. Ed..
√ History.
1 Geology.
W: Today, I’ll begin with the basics about minerals. It’s important
that you supplement this information by reading chapter 3 in
your textbook because I’m sticking only to the bare bones here.
All right...it’s essential to remember that both chemical composition
and crystal structure together define a mineral. Some students
find that surprising. They think that crystals are pure --- just one
element. That may be true for some crystals, but not all. Minerals
range in composition from pure elements and simple salts to very
complex silicates with thousands of known forms. So to define
a mineral, we have to figure its composition. What all is in it?
Now, here is a useful tip that may save you a point or two on
the next exam. Organic compounds are usually excluded from
the category mineral. Got that? If it’s organic, don’t classify it as a
mineral. In fact, there are five main criteria for calling something
a mineral. Let’s go through those criteria. First of all, it must be in
a solid state, not liquid, gas, or plasma. Minerals are solid. Second,
it must be naturally occurring. In other words, it can’t be
man-made. Third, it has to be inorganic. Like I said, if it’s organic,
it’s not a mineral. So third --- oh, sorry --- we’re on number four
now. Fourth, for something to be a mineral, it needs to have a
fixed composition, which means the chemical composition is
the same everywhere it is found and every time it is found.
Mineral X found in my backyard is going to have the same
composition as Mineral X found in Australia. Finally, our fifth
criterion is that a mineral must be either an element or a
compound; so it cannot be a mixture of a chemical compound
and an element. Don’t worry if that last one seems a bit vague
at the moment. We’ll talk a lot more about that over the next
couple of classes.
Sometimes we get certain cases that satisfy all but one criterion.
That’s close, but not a mineral. These things are usually classified
as mineraloids. Pearls would be a good example. Pearls are solid.
They occur naturally. They have a fixed composition, and they’re
a compound. The only criterion they don’t meet is the “inorganic
test.” Pearls are actually a mixture of organic and inorganic
substances. So, because they have that extra organic stuff mixed
in, we can’t classify them as minerals. Pearls should be called
mineraloids.
Now, here’s another interesting case. Two or more minerals may
have the same chemical composition, but differ in crystal structure.
These are known as polymorphs. A good example of a polymorph
pair is pyrite and marcasite, which are both iron sulfide. Let’s create
a simple analogy to help you grasp that concept in case you’re
confused. Let’s say Michelangelo has one large piece of marble.
He splits it in two. One piece, he carves into the shape of a horse,
and the other piece into the shape of a woman. They are exactly
the same in chemical composition, but nobody would really claim
they’re the same after he’s finished. Think of pyrite and marcasite
as two of nature’s sculptures, both made of iron sulfide!
All right, let’s see if you’ve been listening (laughs). Here’s my
question. How about frozen H2O...or ice in layman’s terms? Is
it a mineral? Anybody? Yes, Sam?
M: Well, I’m not positive about this, but...in liquid state, it’s just a
chemical compound, right? But as ice it becomes a mineral.
W: We’ve got the five criteria for minerals, right? Tell me about each
one in terms of ice and we can check.
M: OK. Ice is a solid with crystalline structure, and it’s not a humanmade
substance. Ice isn’t alive and never has been; it’s...how did
you put it?...exactly the same everywhere you find it and every time
you find it, or whatever; it’s a pure compound although it might
have other elements suspended in it. Did I cover everything?
W: Well done, Sam. I’m glad somebody was listening (laughs). You’re
absolutely right. Ice is a mineral.
M: Kind of strange though. Before this class, I never would have
thought of ice as a mineral.
W: I agree that it’s odd to think of it as a mineral. That’s because
most of the minerals around us seem like metals or rocks. Most
people forget that minerals come in many states of matter and
forms. That’s why we have those five criteria for determining
whether or not a substance is a mineral. Also, we need to keep
in mind that both chemical composition and crystal structure
together define a mineral. OK, so now we can identify minerals.
But what can we do with them?
2 Campus Life.
W: Excuse me, Dr. Anderson?
M: You must be Maria, come in. What seems to be the problem?
W: Well, I’ve decided to change my major. I was majoring in chemistry,
but now I’ve decided to major in psychology.
M: That’s terrific. What area are you interested in?
W: Well, that’s the problem. You see, because I was majoring in
chemistry, I didn’t take any psychology classes in my second year.
M: You’re in your third year now, I presume.
W: That’s right, and I’d like to take developmental psychology.
M: But it’s a third-year course and you don’t have the prerequisites.
W: Exactly.
M: So, just take some second-year courses this year, and next year
you can take developmental. Unless you want to specialize in
developmental...
W: That’s just it. I want to go into child psychology.
M: Well, I’m sure you know that it’s a little late in the game. Tell
me, why the sudden change in plans?
W: Well, over the summer, I did some volunteer work at the women’s
shelter and spent a lot of time with the kids there. After working
with children from violent homes, I really think I can make a
difference in their lives.
M: A noble endeavor. Tell me, have you thought about your thesis
topic yet?
W: No, not yet. I just made this decision a week ago, and I’ve only
taken introductory psych.
M: I understand. That’s why I think you shouldn’t be too hasty in
making this decision.
W: Why’s that?
M: Well, like you said, you’ve only taken introductory psych. You may
discover that you don’t like developmental. To be honest, it
sounds to me like you might be more interested in social work.
W: I suppose that’s another option.
M: I’m not trying to discourage you. I’m just saying you should
explore all of your options.
W: But this is my third year. I have to decide now.
M: OK. What I would suggest is this: first semester, you take a variety
of psych courses. Get exposed to everything that the field has
to offer.
W: That’s a good idea.
M: Now, I want you to know that we do set down prerequisites for
a reason.
W: Oh, I understand that, and I’ll work extra hard to catch up.
M: I’m sure you will. Now, normally students take statistics in the first
semester and research methods the next, but I want you to take
both during the next semester. I’d like you to consider holding
off on developmental until the semester after that, once you’ve got
the methodologies down.
W: OK, I’ll think about it, but I really would like to get started right
away.
M: Well, it is nice to see such an enthusiastic student. Take this
permission slip when you go to the office to register.
W: Oh, I really appreciate this, Dr. Anderson.
3 Phys. Ed.
W: Today, let’s move on to the final stroke that I want you to practice
--- the butterfly. I hope you’ve all been working on freestyle,
breast stroke, and back stroke in your scheduled pool time. On
your physical exams, you’ll have to show us that you can do
them all with proficiency, so don’t neglect any one of them.
Umm...OK, now we come to the notorious butterfly. In my
opinion, the difficulty of the butterfly has been blown all out of
proportion. We just don’t grow up doing it, and that’s because
it’s a racing stroke. All right, I’ve been observing all of you during
swimming practice, and... well... it’s clear to me that your arm
movement is inefficient. Today, let’s review arm movement in
the butterfly stroke.
Let’s deconstruct it and look at its internal organization. Mastering
the arms in the butterfly is all about economy and efficiency of
movement. The butterfly stroke’s arm movement has three
major parts: the pull, the push, and the recovery. During the pull,
the hands sink a little bit down with the palms facing outwards
and slightly down at shoulder width. This is called catching the water.
The pull movement follows a semicircle with the elbow
higher than the hand and the hand pointing towards the center
of the body and downward. The semicircle ends in front of the
chest at the beginning of the ribcage. That constitutes the pull.
Any questions about that? Sure, go ahead.
M: I get it, basically, but I have a problem. My arms get tired really
fast.
W: And I’ll tell you why, Greg. I was watching you this morning,
and it’s because your palms are too close together at the start
of the pull.
M: Oh, I see, but I thought a wide entry was a bad thing.
W: Oh, it certainly is! The arms enter the water at shoulder width
with the thumbs first. A wider entry loses movement in the next
pull phase, and a smaller entry, where the hands touch, wastes
energy. You need to find a happy medium. Got it?
M: Yes, thanks.
W: Next, the push. The swimmer pushes the palm backward through
the water. The palm is underneath the body at the beginning
of the push and at the side of the body at the end. The movement
speeds up throughout the pull-push phase. Many swimmers
make the mistake of thinking of the beginning of the pull as the
focus. This leads them to neglect the push. In fact, that push
should be fast and strong if you’re going to make a good recovery.
It’s the only way to be truly efficient, looking at the arm movement
as a whole, repeated process. Yes? Another question?
M: Is it the same as you said with freestyle? You said we should keep
applying pressure until our hand leaves the water in freestyle.
W: It’s not exactly the same. For the butterfly, you need to make
sure you actually increase the speed throughout the pull-push
phase. In freestyle, it’s a uniform speed. We’re running out of
time here, so if anybody else has questions, I’ll deal with them
by the pool when I see you, but we need to talk about one point
regarding recovery. As I said a few minutes ago, the speed at
the end of the push is used to help with the recovery. Try not to
use too much muscle during the recovery. The recovery swings
the arms sideways across the water surface to the front, with
the elbows slightly higher than the hands and shoulders. The
arms have to be swung forward fast in order not to enter the
water too early. If your arms enter the water too early, you lose
a lot of momentum, forcing yourself to work a lot harder. A
good rule of thumb is this: fly, don’t jump. Get used to going
in and out using a fluid motion. Don’t jump in and out because
that slows you down too much and tires you too quickly. Try to
just skim the water. When you get used to it, it’ll feel like you’re
just flying on top of the water. Pull, push, recovery, repeat. OK,
that’s all for now.
4 History.
W: I would like to discuss some of the historical events that led to
the signing of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is the most
famous document of British constitutional history and is widely
considered to be the first step in what was a long process leading
to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. The Magna
Carta required the king to give up a number of rights. As a
result, the king had to follow certain legal procedures and to
accept that the will of the king was not absolute.
Let’s take a look at the background to all this. By the end of the 12th
century, that is the late 1100s, the English king had become the
most powerful monarch ever seen in Europe. At that time, the king
of England even controlled part of northern France, Normandy.
All of England’s possessions were controlled by barons, and the
king ruled over the barons. However, when King John came to
the throne in the early 13th century, he made a series of mistakes
that led the barons of England to impose limitations on the
king’s power. The Magna Carta was the result of disagreements
between King John and his barons over the rights of the king.
We can identify three principal failures of King John. First, King
John was not respected. This was due to the way he took power.
There had been two candidates to take the place of the previous
king, Richard the Lionheart, who died in 1199. One was John,
and the other was his nephew, Arthur of Brittany. John captured
Arthur and imprisoned him. Although there was no proof, it was
believed that John murdered Arthur. This, of course, led people to
have a very low opinion of John as someone who would kill
members of his own family to be king.
His second failure occurred when he became involved in a dispute
with the Church of England. John disagreed with the Church
over who should be the next archbishop of Canterbury. The
fight continued over several years, and in 1209, John was
excommunicated. This meant he was no longer allowed to
attend church services or be involved in the Church in any way.
He finally had to give in to the Church in 1213.
His third failure was in 1214. Philip Augustus, the King of France,
took hold of most of the land in France owned by the English.
The English barons demanded that John retake the land. John
did make an attempt, but failed. In the process, the English lost
a large amount of land, and as a result, King John was given
the nickname John “Lackland.”
By 1215, the barons were fed up and stormed London. They
forced John to agree to a document known as the “Articles of
the Barons,” and in return, the barons renewed their vows to
be loyal to him. A formal document was created to record this
agreement on July 15, 1215. This formal document was the
original Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was composed of 63
different articles. Most of these were specific to society of the
13th century and thus irrelevant in contemporary times, but I
would like to take a look at one of those articles, a very important
article of the Magna Carta: Article 61.
Article 61 was the most significant clause for King John. It was
known as the “security article” and was the longest portion of the
entire document. Article 61 established a committee of 25 barons
who could at any time meet, and, if they felt it was necessary, had
the power to overrule the king. This could be done through
force by seizing his castles and possessions if needed. In addition,
the King had to take an oath of loyalty to the committee of
barons. However, King John had no intention of honoring the
Magna Carta, as he had been forced to sign it, and Article 61
basically took away his powers. In other words, it made him
King in name only. John renounced the Magna Carta as soon
as the barons left London, which threw the whole country into
a civil war, known as the First Barons’ War. John died in the
middle of this war. His nine-year-old son was crowned King
Henry III in late October 1216, and the war then ended. On
November 12, 1216, the Magna Carta was reissued with Article
61 omitted.