...Dinosaur extinction is still a major mystery of earth history. In this review article, extinctions in the geological record will be briefly mentioned. Many of the imaginative theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs will also be presented. Within the uniformitarian paradigm, the meteorite impact theory, once considered ‘outrageous’, now is the dominant theory. However, the volcanic theory is still believed by a majority of paleontologists. Both theories have their strengths and weaknesses. The unscientific behavior of those involved in the meteorite paradigm change will be briefly explored. Evidence that the dinosaurs died in a cataclysm of global proportions will be presented, such as the huge water-laid dinosaur graveyards found over the earth. Occasional nonspecific bone-beds and the rarity of fossils of very young dinosaurs suggest a catastrophic death and burial. The billions of dinosaur tracks recently discovered provide testimony to unusual, stressful conditions. Nests, eggs, and babies are a challenge to a Flood model, but there are enough unknowns associated with the data that solid conclusions are difficult to draw. The part that impacts and volcanism play in a Flood paradigm will be briefly discussed. The question of whether the K/T boundary and the extinction of the dinosaurs should be considered a synchronous event within the Flood will be considered. Introduction Dinosaurs bring wonder to children and adults alike. That such great beasts once roamed the earth...
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...Are Homo Sapiens really the smartest species on Earth, and if so, is this sufficient to ensure its long‐ term survival? Submitted by: Andrew Jara Submitted to: Heidi White Course: AST 251H1 Due Date: March 12, 2013 1 As time passes, the Earth and all its inhabitants grow older, one must ask that as the number of inhabitants are increasing and the amount of resources decreasing, whether or not the human race will be able to withstand extinction. The parameters of human intelligence can be used to define and determine the possibility of this outcome. Humans are believed to have the title of being the most dominant and intelligent species on the face of the Earth, but there is much competition for that title today and arguments arise within the scientific community. Humans believe that they are separated from all other species based on the concept of intelligence and how they have used intelligence to their advantage to create language, technology and many other things to ultimately establish themselves as a successful species. In order to actually prove that humans rightfully deserve that title, one must delve into the debate of intelligence to clarify the meaning and understanding of intelligence. This will provide evidence to the argument on whether or not the human species will be viable in the long-term. In the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, intelligence is defined as the ability to collect and apply certain knowledge and information from the external environment...
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...Astronomy Research and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life The objective of this paper is to discuss life here on Earth and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life in one’s solar system. The team will describe the properties of life on Earth and explain the theories for the genesis of life, including the theory of natural selection. Members will provide a brief description of the evolution of life and include a geological timescale that describes specific eras throughout the previous three billion plus years. The team will assess the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, and results will be presented. Describe the properties of life on Earth Properties of life on Earth are what define the word life. The properties of life consist of cells and reproduction, responses to the environment, growth and development, and evolution. Every living thing is collected through cells which make tissues and organs that make a living organism. All living organisms can produce such as humans, animals, bacteria, and plants called asexual reproduction. The responses of the living in the environment are through any changes occurring in “light, sound, heat, and chemical contact” through “eyes, ears, and taste buds” (Cliff’s notes, 2011, para. 3). Behavior is one way that all living organisms changes through the environment such as the food chain for one’s survival. Growth and development of an organism takes in all substantial amount of information through energy of building...
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...in all oceans. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time but will be likely to slow in the future. Rapid environmental changes typically cause mass extinctions. One estimate is that less than 1-3% of the species that have existed on Earth are extinct. Since life began on Earth, five major mass extinctions and several minor events have led to large and sudden drops in biodiversity. The Phanerozoic eon (the last 540 million years) marked a rapid growth in biodiversity via the Cambrian explosion—a period during which the majority of multi-cellular phyla first appeared. The next 400 million years included repeated, massive biodiversity losses classified as mass extinction events. The Carboniferous, rainforest collapse led to a great loss of plant and animal life. The Permian–Triassic extinction event, 251 million years ago, was the worst; vertebrate recovery took 30 million years. The most recent, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, occurred 65 million years ago and has often attracted more attention than others because it resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. The period since the emergence of humans has displayed an ongoing biodiversity reduction and an accompanying loss of genetic diversity. Named the holocene extinction, the reduction is caused primarily by human impacts, particularly habitat destruction. Conversely,...
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...Session 1.3: The Evolution of Cellular Life Exam review view in a separate window In this session we focus on the natural history of cells and the evolutionary timelines of their appearance. The modern phylogenetic classification of domains is used to categorize the different types of cells: bacteria, archea, and eukarya. The names of periods and organisms and certain dates are often helpful in remembering or understanding events that occur in the natural history of evolution. However, we do not expect you to know the names of all organisms mentioned nor all dates (you may find some of the sound attachments on complicated figures useful for review). Those names and dates mentioned below are the ones to key on. The focus in this session is macroevolution which looks broadly at the time lines and changes over long intervals of time. Remember that small changes over millions of years are the framework for evolving complexity from simplicity. Summary of concepts and idea An initial step in covering this material is an understanding of the different types of cells (prokaryotic, eukaryotic animal and plant), their differences, and their place in the phylogeny of life. 1. Information from pre-class reading, Bioflix animations and briefly summarized in class discusses the fundamental components of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. You need to know the differences and understand the basic functions of the cellular components as cells as they are the fundamental...
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...Reading section measure your ability to understand academic passages in English. You will read one passage and answer questions about it. In a real test, you would have 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions. Candidates with disabilities may request a time extension. Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century, large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact...
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...Reading section measure your ability to understand academic passages in English. You will read one passage and answer questions about it. In a real test, you would have 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions. Candidates with disabilities may request a time extension. Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century, large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact...
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...Extraterrestial Influence All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike and yet it is the most precious thing we have. -Albert Einstein INTRODUCTION There are many things in this world that go unexplained. Not anymore, it was all aliens, everything you can’t figure out like, “Where does one sock go when I do the laundry?”, and “How do you get the caramel into the Caramilk bar?” Aliens. Earth has been profoundly impacted by extraterrestrials in its short history. Everything from supplying life-giving chemicals and wiping out the dinosaurs with meteorites to influencing human culture and evolution. The whole world is filled with evidence of extraterrestrials, though it is usually denied and ignored by governments and academics. This essay will provide a brief analysis of extraterrestrial events or evidence thereof the were especially significant. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Evolutionary theory suggests that life on earth has been developing for millions of years into more and more complex organisms. These organisms evolved from inorganic molecules through the release of UV, heat and electrical energy in the atmosphere of early Earth. This theory was found to be valid by Stan Miller in 1953, who through a series of tests managed to create some hydrocarbons and amino acidsout of chemicals that were present on earth 3.5 billion years ago. These hydrocarbons and amino acids are very susceptible to oxidation and would not exist for very long in an...
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...National Curriculum Statement (NCS) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement LIFE SCIENCES Further Education and Training Phase Grades 10-12 basic education Department: Basic Education REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA CurriCulum and assessment PoliCy statement Grades 10-12 life sCienCes CAPS LIFE SCIENCES GRADES 10-12 department of Basic education 222 Struben Street Private Bag X895 Pretoria 0001 South Africa Tel: +27 12 357 3000 Fax: +27 12 323 0601 120 Plein Street Private Bag X9023 Cape Town 8000 South Africa Tel: +27 21 465 1701 Fax: +27 21 461 8110 Website: http://www.education.gov.za © 2011 department of Basic education isBn: 978-1-4315-0578-4 Design and Layout by: Ndabase Printing Solution Printed by: Government Printing Works CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT POLICY STATEMENT (CAPS) LIFE SCIENCES GRADES 10-12 FOREWORD by thE ministER Our national curriculum is the culmination of our efforts over a period of seventeen years to transform the curriculum bequeathed to us by apartheid. From the start of democracy we have built our curriculum on the values that inspired our Constitution (Act 108 of 1996). the Preamble to the Constitution states that the aims of the Constitution are to: • heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights; improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which...
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...Deforestation of the Amazonian Rainforest Tiffani Swank GE150 Survey of the Sciences Erica Price/Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. to 12:24 p.m. Earth’s natural resources are what we are extracting from the earth. Industries, which excavate the earth’s resources, include forestry, oil extraction, and mining. Present-day society is based upon a vast consumption of non-replaceable minerals and fuels such as coal, oil and natural gasses. Other materials such as cotton, wool timber and produce, if utilized wisely can be replenished. Is the carbon dioxide level higher, due to massive amounts of forest being cut down and the levels of carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere higher? Therefore, my hypothesis is that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest leads, not only, to a reduction of the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere, but also to an increased release of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The earth’s natural resources are there for all of us to use. We need the water, food, air, energy, medicines, warmth, shelter and minerals that the earth’s natural resources give us. Therefore, keeping us fed, comfortable, healthy and alive. If we use the resources carefully then they will last indefinitely. But if we use them wastefully and excessively, they will soon run out and all will suffer. The excessive waste is happening in our rainforest every minute of every day of...
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...CAT Reading Comprehension CAT Study Materials Reading Comprehension Sample Questions Directions: Each reading passage in this section is followed by questions based on the content of the reading passage. Read the passage carefully and chose the best answer to each question. The questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. 1. But man is not destined to vanish. He can be killed, but he cannot be destroyed, because his soul is deathless and his spirit is irrepressible. Therefore, though the situation seems dark in the context of the confrontation between the superpowers, the silver lining is provided by amazing phenomenon that the very nations which have spent incalculable resources and energy for the production of deadly weapons are desperately trying to find out how they might never be used. They threaten each other, intimidate each other and go to the brink, but before the total hour arrives they withdraw from the brink. 2. 1. The main point from the author's view is that A. Man's soul and spirit can not be destroyed by superpowers. B. Man's destiny is not fully clear or visible. C. Man's soul and spirit are immortal. D. Man's safety is assured by the delicate balance of power in E. terms of nuclear weapons. Human society will survive despite the serious threat of total annihilation. Ans : E 2. The phrase 'Go to the brink' in the passage means A. Retreating from extreme danger. B. Declare war on each other. C. Advancing...
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...Jurassic Park Michael Crichton Copyright Michael Crichton (c) 1991 All Rights Reserved The right of Michael Crichton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in Great Britain in 1991 by the Random Century Group 20 Vauxhall Bridge Rd, London SWIV 2SA Century Hutchinson South Africa (Pty) Ltd PO Box 337, Bergvlei 2012 South Africa Random Century Australia Pty Ltd 20 Alfred St, Milsons Point, Sydney, NSW 2061 Australia Random Century New Zealand Ltd PO Box 40-086, Glenfield, Auckland 10 New Zealand A CIP Catalogue Record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 0 7126 4686 8 Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc For A-M and T "Reptiles are abhorrent because of their cold body, pale color, cartilaginous skeleton, filthy skin, fierce aspect, calculating eye, offensive smell, harsh voice, squalid habitation, and terrible venom; wherefore their Creator has not exerted his powers to make many of them." LINNAEUS, 1797 "You cannot recall a new form of life." ERWIN CHARGAFF, 1972 Introduction "The InGen Incident" The late twentieth century has witnessed a scientific gold rush of astonishing proportions: the headlong and furious haste to commercialize genetic engineering. This enterprise has proceeded so rapidly-with so little outside commentary-that its dimensions and implications are hardly understood at all. Biotechnology promises the...
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...Part IV Emerging and Integrating Perspectives January-2007 MAC/ADSM Page-213 1403_985928_17_cha14 January-2007 MAC/ADSM Page-214 1403_985928_17_cha14 CHAPTER 14 Complexity Perspective Jean Boulton and Peter Allen Basic principles The notion that the world is complex and uncertain and potentially fast-changing is much more readily acceptable as a statement of the obvious than it might have been 30 years ago when complexity science was born. This emerging worldview sits in contradistinction to the view of the world as predictable, linear, measurable and controllable, indeed mechanical; it is the so-called mechanical worldview which underpins many traditional approaches to strategy development and general management theory (see Mintzberg, 2002 for an overview). The complexity worldview presents a new, integrated picture of the behaviour of organisations, marketplaces, economies and political infrastructures; these are indeed complex systems as we will explain below. Some of these behaviours are recognised in other theories and other empirical work. Complexity theory is unique in deriving these concepts through the lens of a coherent, self-consistent scientific perspective whilst nevertheless applying it to everyday, practical problems. These key principles can be summarised here: There is more than one possible future This is a very profound point. We are willing to accept the future may be too complicated to know, but the notion...
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...文勇的新托福精选阅读（原黄金29篇）真题[2010年4月3日 5.8版本] 俺常常收到同学们的邮件，要我推荐各种各样阅读材料,问我iBT的复习资料中 Barron, Longman, Delta等等哪个更好。我其实很无奈---因为尽管这些机构很大牌,但大牌丝毫都不意味着文章“质量高”(比如你可以想想三鹿奶粉)---说这些机构的文章质量不高,并不是说文字写得不好,而是说这些文章的句子结构, 论述方式, 出题思路与ETS的并不一致(有时候甚至大相径庭)：用这样的材料训练，实在是 事倍功半。 于是，我们实在应该去找找由ETS出的iBT文章来做：（我们能够找到的|由ETS编纂的标准iBT文章有） 1. OG[1]之中的13篇文章[2]；（其中3篇为第三版OG之中的文章） 2. 13次（套）TPO[3]之中的3*13=39篇文章[4]； 3. 早期[5]报名之时ETS赠送的3篇在线测试题 4. ETS官方给出的模考软件之中抽出的1篇文章； 于是这个文档在我的一时兴起之下，出现了： OG拿在手上，可以一个个字的敲成电子版；TPO的所有考试都是在自己的计算机进行，于是可以一边花钱参加考试,一边截图与录像---再利用截下来的图片，逐个的敲下来；早期的ETS赠送的3篇在线测试题，我也恰好有电子版本；官方的模考软件稍微用点功夫，就能将文章提取并复制出来。虽然工作有些繁杂，但总算完成了所有文章的敲打工作。再花了些时间，把这53篇文章都做了答案，附在文章的后面。（由于TPO之中有3篇文章与OG中完全重复,于是减去3篇,只剩下53篇。）同时我还更正了OG上几个明显的错误（详见文后附录）当然，我还做出了方便大家理解文章的参考译文，附在文章的后面。 在这53篇由ETS出的文章没有做完之前，我们实在不应该花时间在任何其他的题目之上。我有时候甚至会对着我的弟兄们高呼：“没有把这53篇做３遍，你好意思上考场么？你好意思花钱在任何一本垃圾书上面么？[6]” 另外，如果你正在准备iBT-SAT-GRE的作文部分或者写留学文书，也应该仔细的琢磨一下这些文章：经过ETS打磨的文章，无一不是精妙绝伦，极具模仿价值。常常有同学拜托我帮她（他）写PS，也说起自己的句子怎么看都像是小学生写的（尽管用上了GRE里面的单词），于是会随口问我“勇哥，您的写作能力是怎么训练出来的。”我说，“看呗，看呗：托福文章看多了，写作能力自然就提高了。” “这ETS的这些文章真的那么好？”。每当听到这个问题，我都会装做赵本山的样子来一句“谁用谁知道～～” 文勇 欢迎进行未删节的转载|且不必告诉我你转载到哪里去|都是一个战壕里面的弟兄啊… 告诉大家一个好消息，本文档中的TPO1-TPO9，以及在线测试题和官方模考题目的解析已经在市面上可以买到了！（好吧，我承认以下显然是广告部分）： 这本《托福真题详解-阅读分卷-第一册》是给弟兄们现在市面上可以获得的TPO1-TPO9阅读部分的文章解析，题目解析，中文翻译和每篇文章的必备词汇：文章解析是为了让大家养成从整体抓文章结构的感觉，题目解析是为了使大家能够在做完题之后知道正确选项为什么对，错误选项为什么错——并且因此来培养良好的做题思路，中文翻译是为了帮助大家扫除那些自以为理解对但实际理解有误的句子，在每篇文章后面配上必备词汇无非是为了节省大家的一些查单词而已。 另外，这本书还包含了一张CD（我想你可能第一次听说阅读书...
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...Astronomy 2B03: Lecture 2: What’s Out There? * Objects in the universe come in a hierarchy of scales and sizes: * Planets * Stars * Galaxies * The universe as a whole * These scales are so different from one step to the next that they are incredibly hard to comprehend all at once – no “everyday” experience to refer them to * If the Earth were a basketball how big would the moon be? Tennis ball * How many Earths would fit into the Sun? ~ 1 million * How many Jupiter’s would fit inside the Sun? 900 * How many Moons would fit inside the Earth? 50 * If we say the distance from here to Toronto (71 km) represents the distance between the Earth and the Sun, how far are we from Pluto? From Hamilton to Mexico, or from Hamilton to Calgary * If we say the distance from here to Toronto represents the distance between the Earth and the Sun, how far is the Earth from the Moon? From here to the edge of campus (Sterling and Forsyth) * If we say the distance from here to Toronto represents the distance between the Earth and the Sun, how big is the Earth? 3 meters * If we say the distance from here to Toronto represents the distance between the Earth and the Sun, how far is the Sun from the next nearest Star? 1/10th the distance from the Sun to Earth Lecture 3: The Earth: * Our starting point and only home * Both land and water * The only planet to have liquid water at its surface * Atmosphere: dense...
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