Was the story of Jesus of Nazareth ever found recorded in any of the history book?

This depends on what you call a "history book."  If you
accept the gospels in the Bible as history books, then the story of Jesus is recorded. 
If you are looking for non-religious texts, there are very few works that contain any
reference to the life of Jesus.

There are a couple of
historical texts from around the time of Jesus that mention him.  These include works
the historians Tacitus (a Roman) and Josephus (a Jew).  But neither of these works has
anything to say about Jesus' actual life.  Instead, they talk about the actions of those
who followed Jesus.  They talk (a little bit) about the actions of the Christians after
the death of Jesus.

Therefore, we have very little in the
way of evidence about the actual life of Jesus.  Most scholars try to learn about Jesus'
life by looking carefully at the gospels and trying to determine what those works can
actually tell us about Jesus' real life and works.

Does Portia like the Prince of Morocco? Why?

While Portia does not seem to dislike the Prince of
Morocco as she does the foolish Arragon, she certainly did not want to marry him.  Her
comment after he chooses the incorrect casket demonstrates this.  She says in an
aside:

"A
gentle riddance! Draw the curtains, go. / Let all of his complexion choose me so"
(2.7.86-87).

Shakespeare's
use of the word "complexion" could be interrupted in several ways.  Many take it to mean
that Portia is prejudiced and that she does not want to marry someone of a different
race.  However, there is not any other evidence in the play to support this view of her,
and since Shakespeare presents Portia as an admirable character, it is difficult to
argue that he would paint her as a racist (since he often berates prejudice in his
plays).

A second interpretation of the word is that it
refers to Morocco's "type." The audience knows from his speech to Portia at the
beginning of Act 2 that Morocco has a high opinion of his effect upon women.  We also
know from Portia's conversation with Nerissa in Act 1 that Portia has a very specific
list of qualities that she does not like in men, and Morocco has some of those
characteristics (for example, he thinks highly of himself and his culture differs
greatly from hers, something that she criticizes in one of her other suitors because she
is afraid that they will have nothing to talk about).

Thus,
Portia seems to be rather ambiguous about Morocco.  She has already stated her
preference for Bassanio and most likely never thought of Morocco seriously as her future
husband. 

Are cross links (in terms of bonds between polymers) an example of intermolecular bonds?

If  you  imply  links  between  the molecules  of
polymers,  but not component  parts  of these  molecules,  forces  of bonds  between 
them  are Van-der-Vaal's forces( without  the transmission of electrons from atoms ),
i.e. intermolecular.  Polymerization  of molecules  looks, as growth  of loops  on the 
surface  layer of   catalyst- one  molecule  grows from  an active  center,  and then  a
free  end  is adsorbed  by the surface  of catalyst and  fastened ( it  looks  as 
knitting of lace)) On  other  end  of molecule a monomer  initiate  the  growth  of
loop.By  formation  of row  of such  loops a primary  lamel   is formed,the separate 
loops  of which  are connected  by intermolecular  forces .A primary  lamel is a basis
for  crystallization of new  areas  of growing  chain.  This  chart  works    at  the
design of fibrils or  other anisometric  matters too.   The weakness  of these 
connections is deceitful,  because at  sufficient  length  of filaments  sum  of
energies  of these  links  is more than  sum  of energies  of links  which filaments are
built from . Therefore  even such  loosely-coupled  links are  rarely  broken  by the 
fluctuations  of thermal  energy.

What are some similarities between the film and the book of Into the Wild?

Well, if it is similarities that you are focusing on, you
might want to think about the way in which the film presents the life of Chris
McCandless in a similar fashion to the book. That is to say there are two time periods:
when Chris makes it to Alaska and then his life before Alaska. The film jumps between
these two linear time periods. Of course, one aspect the film does not cover is the own
incidents of John Krakauer and his own "into the wild" experience that he shares with
the readers of his book. I must admit, I thought that the film was quite a faithful
rendition of the life of Chris McCandless as revealed to us in the book. It shows how he
was able to connect with all kinds of people and also the way in which he was trying to
withdraw from society, trying to attain a kind of Emersonian solitary existence just
living off his own wits in the middle of nature.

In the short story "Thank You M'am" by Langston Hughes, is Roger a dynamic or static character?

I think if you consider how Roger at the end of the story
is different from Roger at the beginning of the story, it is very obvious that Roger is
not a static character, but a dynamic one. Let us remember that static characters stay
the same throughout the text: they do not mature, develop or change significantly.
Dynamic characters, on the other hand, are characters that do not remain static but
evolve and mature, growing in their self-knowledge and
maturity.

When we think of what happens to Roger, it is
clear that the impact of Mrs. Jones is massive. We leave the story knowing that he will
have a very different kind of life after meeting her that day than if he had never have
met her. The understanding, compassion and generosity that Mrs. Jones shows him, and the
advice that she gives him, clearly shows the way that his character has changed. Note
how even before the end of the story he has gone from being a thief to asking Mrs. Jones
if he can go and buy her something.

Who confronts Atticus at his own house in To Kill a Mockingbird?

A group of concerned citizens came to visit Atticus on his
front lawn just days before the beginning of the Tom Robinson trial. Among those present
were Sheriff Tate, Link Deas, Dr. Reynolds and Mr. Avery. Atticus directed the children
to go back into the house, so they could not hear the entire conversation, but Scout did
hear the sheriff mention that someone was being moved "to the county jail tomorrow."
Heck said that there might be trouble with "that Old Sarum bunch," and Atticus asked
about a "change of venue." It all seemed quite "ominous" to Jem, so he suddenly screamed
to Atticus that he had a telephone call. There was no call--Jem was only trying to give
Atticus an excuse to come inside, since he thought the crowd might actually be a danger
to his father.

What is the smallest number with 10 different factors( other than 1)?

This problem is a little tricky. To find the smallest
number that has 10 factors, we need one that can be created by multiplying the smallest
number of prime numbers which are small too.

If a number
has only 2, it has 1 factor. With 2*2, we have 2 factors, with 2*3 we have three factors
2, 3, 6. With 2*2*3, we have 5 factors 2, 3, 4, 6, 12. With 2*2*3*3 we have 8 factors 2,
3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36. With 2*2*2*3*3 we get 10
factors.

This gives the smallest number with 10 factors as
8*9 = 72. We can verify that 72 has 10 factors which are: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24,
72

The required smallest number with 10
different factors is 72.

In The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, explain the potential complication of a double life.

The Importance of Being Earnest, by
Oscar Wilde, presents the theme of living a double life as a way to allow the main
characters, Algernon and Jack, to free themselves from the social, financial, and civil
expectations placed on young, upper-class men in Victorian society. Wilde seems to send
a subliminal message: Men can only be truly happy when they are free to do whatever they
want.

However, the complications that may arise from a
libertine lifestyle are plenty. First, we find out at the beginning of the play on Act
I, Scene one, that neither Algernon nor Jack were aware of each other's double lives.
Algernon only found out about Ernest being "Jack in the country" when he read the
inscription on Ernest's lost cigarette case.  This would have complicated their
friendship because it is clear that they were not honest with each
other.

Second, the freedom that Algernon and Jack felt when
they led their double lives made them feel invincible: Jack ran huge restaurant bills
posing as Ernest in the city, and Algernon continuously ran away to the country to
escape his responsibilities under the pretense that he was going to visit his invalid
friend, Bunbury. Both Jack and Algernon felt that none of their lies would catch up with
them, and none of them thought of the people they would affect by escaping whenever they
felt like it.

Hence, Algernon and Jack were rather selfish
in their choices when they did as they wished. Eventually, everything did catch up with
them when the ladies they loved, Cecily and Gwendolen, found them
out.

What is "virtual reality?"

"Virtual reality" is a "reality" that is created within
the constructs of a computer. It has no basis in actual
physical constructs.

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Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated
three-dimensional environment that generally provides real-time interactivity for the
user.

Also...

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Virtual reality (VR) is a term that applies
to computer-simulated environments that can simulate [mimic, replicate] physical
presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary
worlds.

In virtual reality,
href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/simulation">simulations are
created. Some are very basic, whereas others may be extremely sophisticated and complex.
Virtual reality has been in place since the mid-1990s, but still has quite a distance to
go before it is utilized to its greatest potential. The gaming world has moved into
using virtual reality. The business and manufacturing arenas have also experienced some
success using virtual reality in employee training, product design and areas of
management development.

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For business uses, some successful applications
of VR have been in such areas as product design and modeling, employee training, data
visualization, and management decision-making
aids.

"Transportation
equipment design" has also benefitted from using virtual reality in providing design
input that will ultimately be of benefit to the driver, especially in the area of
safety; changes can be made in the virtual world without great expense, saving
automotive manufacturers a great deal of money.

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For example, automotive designers can use a
simulation of proposed car design to pretest usability concerns like the driver's range
of view through the windshield, the impact of glare on the windshield, how well the
headlight design functions in different driving conditions, and a host of other design
factors. If the simulation shows unfavorable results, the design can be changed at a
relatively low cost compared to finding these problems only after a physical prototype
is made.

In All My Sons, was Joe Keller a coward for commiting suicide instead of turning himself in?

I suppose this is a matter of interpretation; however, I
do not think that Joe Keller committed suicide at the end of All My Sons
because he was afraid of turning himself in to the authorities.  Joe wants to
be a strong leader for his family, and this is what largely motivates him to break the
law in the first place.  He wants to leave behind the business to his sons as a legacy
and he fears that not complying with the government's demand for machine parts will put
the business at risk.  When problems arise, he blames the incident on Deever to avoid
looking bad to his family.  After his lies are exposed, Joe cannot bear to face Chris
and he must reckon with the fact that he is indirectly responsible for the death of his
other son Larry.  The authorities do not scare Joe--appearing weak and guilty in front
of his family does.

What mechanism was most important in Stalin's rise to power within the Soviet political system?

I would argue that the most important mechanism by which
Stalin rose was his ability to gather political power to himself.  This was done largely
through bureaucratic means (as opposed to via charisma or
force).

Stalin made great use of his position as general
secretary of the party.  This had been seen as merely a bureaucratic, clerical post, but
Stalin used it to amass power.  For example, he had control of who entered the party and
who got promoted within it.  This allowed him to build a large group of lower-level
party members and functionaries who were loyal to him (because he was responsible for
placing them in their positions).

By bureaucratic
mechanisms such as this, Stalin took power in the Soviet Union.  He was later to
consolidate and hold power via terror, but his original power came from his bureaucratic
and administrative abilities.

How does "The Tell-Tale Heart" reflect that Edgar Allan Poe was mentally ill?

We need to be very careful with our analysis of this story
and the links that we make between it and the author. The unwritten assumption in your
question is that Poe was actually mentally ill, whereas we have no such proof. Some
critics argue that because of the convincing descriptions of insane first person
narrators, Poe himself must have suffered some sort of mental illness because of the
understanding and insight he shows in creating such characters. This story is certainly
one of these narratives, as the anonymous first person narrator is shown to be
distinctly unreliable because of his insanity whilst at the same time he protests that
he is actually well and not mentally ill. Note how this is achieved from the very first
paragraph of the story:

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True!--nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I
had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my
senses--not destroyed--not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I
heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then,
am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily--how calmly I can tell you the whole
story.

Note how the narrator
juxtaposes the claim that he can hear "all things in heaven and earth" and "many things
in hell" with the question "How, then, am I mad?" Such juxtaposition reinforces the
insanity of the narrator. However, the fact that Poe is able to create such convincingly
insane characters does not therefore indicate that he was insane
himself.

Describe the impact of McCarthyism on American political life.Also, how did the anticommunist campaigns affect the media?

One of the largest impacts that McCarthy had was in the
very idea that the individual politician can seize on an issue and manipulate it in
order to substantiate their own political power.  McCarthy might have had splendid ideas
on the economy, or on ensuring that education was affordable and open to all, or could
have had excellent ideas about how to increase affordable automobile production.  Yet,
this is not where he made his presence felt.  Rather, the campaign against the
Communists is what he chose to which his name should be linked. He decided that this
would be "his" issue and through the politics of scapegoating and targeting individuals,
his own political power increased and his own sensibilities gained traction.  McCarthy
ended up proving that if properly timed, politicians can seize upon an issue with great
political results that benefit them.  Certainly, McCarthy was able to gin up the voting
public with politicizing their fears about Communists and the supposedly imminent threat
they posed to the democratic order of the United States.  He was also able to utilize
the media in spreading his message and his hearings to all.  Where McCarthy made his
mistake was that within his bluster and talk, he never realized that the media could
also portray him in a negative light.  Edward R. Murrow was able to utilize the media to
expose McCarthy for the self- serving fraud he was and through his reporting, McCarthy
lost effectiveness.  While he did fade, McCarthy ended up proving how politics and
control can be manipulated to self serving ends when public fears are exploited and
politicized.

What is Swift's satirical method in "A Modest Proposal" and how does it address the his satirical message?

Swift's famous essay takes a contemporary issue--the Irish
Famine--and the British government's response to it and then satirises the situation in
his treatise by assuming the voice of a statistical planner. You might want to think
about the number of times that statistics are referenced. Consider the following
example:

I
have reckoned upon a medium, that a child just born will weigh twelve pounds, and in a
solar year if tolerably nursed increaseth to twenty-eight
pounds.

Note how Swift makes
every effort to present himself as a reasonable, logical man who has thought through his
sums with great care, even trying to establish a "medium" of a baby's birth weight. We
need to be aware of the wider implications of what Swift is satirising. He is not just
trying to satirise the response of the British government--he is also protesting against
a view of humanity where humans are treated as numbers and mothers to "breeders" and
babies to a food source. Swift's satirical method is to make himself appear as the most
chilling, cold-blooded monster possible so as to reveal similar attitudes in his
audience.

To what extent does Prospero use Ariel to carry out revenge in The Tempest?

I think this statement has a great deal of truth to it.
Throughout the play, it is Prospero that uses (or abuses?) his mastery of Ariel and
causes him to act as his agent to bring about his revenge. However, when we first meet
Ariel, it he seems to present himself as perfectly happy to be Prospero's servant. Note
his words in Act I scene 2:

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All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I
come

To answer thy best pleasure; be't to
fly,

To swim, to dive into the fire, to
ride

On the curled clouds. To thy strong bidding
task

Ariel and all his
quality.

Of course, it is
Ariel that has created the tempest at the beginning of the play that allows the enemies
of Prospero to fall directly into his clutches, and at every stage, Ariel is
instrumental in bringing Prospero's plans to bear, and also warning Prospero of any
threat or concern, such as when Caliban groups together with Stephano and
Trinculo.

Thus it seems hard to find any arguments to
suggest that Ariel is not used for the express purpose of carrying out the revenge of
Prospero. Some critics have likened Prospero to a director of a play that he is in
charge of, with the island being the stage, and Ariel being the stagemanager, that makes
sure everybody is in the right place and the right time. Certainly, throughout the play,
Prospero's power and autocracy is not something that can be ignored, and Ariel is used
to support his power.

What were factors that led to the Korean War?

Some factors leading to the Korean
War:

Kim Il Sung, totalitarian dictator of North Korea
(N.K.), originated the idea of invading South Korea (S.K.) and had some Russian military
advisors who were stationed in Pyongyang, draw up a plan. Kim believed that the U.S.
would not help the Rhee government in S.K. and that even if they did, he could win his
war before they arrived. He was also encouraged by the fact that there were some
communist guerrillas in S.K. who would rally to his aid when he
invaded.

In 1949, Mao of China told N.K. diplomats that he
supported N.K.’s plan for communist expansion but that he could not provide troops to
help before his Chinese communists had a secure hold of all of China. Only after N.K.
had lost its war and pleaded for help, did Mao send troops into Korea. At that, it was
more MacArthur’s strategy than pleading from Pyongyang and Moscow, that brought China
into the war. MacArthur had pushed his United Nations (U.N.) forces right up to the
Chinese border, though China had warned him not to. Chinese Manchuria bordered Korea and
was a vital industrial region of China. China was afraid that either U.N. forces would
invade Manchuria, or Russian forces would invade Manchuria in order to "protect" it from
the U.N. forces. Also, before Japan had annexed Korea, Korea had for a long time been a
loyal tributary state of China, so it would look bad if China did not come to the aid of
its fellow communist state of N.K. to repel the U.N. invaders from its
soil.

Only after a series of pleas from Kim Il Sung, did
Stalin of the U.S.S.R. give a hesitant approval for Kim’s invasion of S.K. Stalin gave
this approval after negotiating a mutual defense treaty with China in which negotiations
did not go as he had hoped. He had asked Mao for several concessions that would have
permitted some U.S.S.R. forces to remain at a few locations in China. Mao wanted China
to be completely independent of the U.S.S.R., so he refused. Stalin decided Mao was not
going to be as easy to get along with as he had hoped. Ever since the end of World War
II, N.K. had been a U.S.S.R. satellite state. Stalin now decided that a reunified Korea
under Russian influence might be a good counter-poise to China. Not only to China, but
also to the strong American presence in Japan. He figured that if Korea was reunited
under U.S.S.R. influence, the U.S. would transfer troops from Europe to Japan and he
thought this would be good for Russia (to get the U.S. troops away from U.S.S.R.’s
satellite states in Europe) and bad for China. Stalin was also optimistic because of
communist guerrillas in S.K. and because the Rhee government in S.K. had become
unpopular. The U.S.S.R. would appear weak in the eyes of the world if it did not aid its
satellite state, N.K.

The U.S. had committed itself to
helping S.K. become a nation-state. The largest number of U.S. civilian and military
advisors anywhere in the world was in S.K. U.S. policy-makers believed that a loss of
its client state of S.K., would mean a loss of U.S. prestige all around the
world.

Jo, Yunghwan. 1991. "The Soviet and Chinese Roles in
Initiating the Korean War, and Its Link to the Origins of the Sino-Soviet Dispute" in
Chullbaum Kim, ed., The Truth about the Korean War: Testimony 40 Years
Later. The Eulyoo Publishing Co., Seoul,
Korea.

Lee, Steven Hugh. 2001. The Korean
War. Longman, 33-34.

What are all real values of a if f(x)=18x^2-lnx >= a, x>0 ?

The first thing to do is to analyze the monotony of the
function f(x). For this reason, we'll differentiate the
function:

f'(x) = 36x -
1/x

We'll put f'(x) = 0.

36x -
1/x = 0

(36x^2 - 1)/x = 0

We
notice that we have a difference of 2 squares at
numerator:

(36x^2 - 1) = (6x - 1)(6x +
1)

f'(x) = 0 if and only if  (6x - 1)(6x + 1) =
0.

6x - 1 = 0 => x =
1/6

6x + 1 = 0

x =
-1/6

The derivative is negative, over the range (0;1/6) and
it is positive over the range (1/6 ; +infinite).

That means
that the function is decreasing over the interval (0;1/6] and it is increasing over the
range [1/6 ; +infinite).

So, the point f(1/6) is a local
minimum point for the function.

Therefore,
f(x)>=f(1/6)>=a

f(1/6) = 18/36 - ln(1/6) =
1/2 + ln 6

So, a =< 1/2 + ln
6

All real values of "a" are located in the
interval (-infinite ; 1/2 + ln6].

Do student who get good grades have a social handicap? If so why and what are some examples

It varies greatly from student to student, I have found. 
Where many times the Valedictorian of our graduating class has a 4.0, they are often
some of the most outgoing, involved students we have.  There are others that have to
work very hard for their grades.

A Vietnamese brother and
sister who were recent immigrants and in the 8th and 9th grade, had to work incredibly
hard each day to learn the language, master the subjects and get good grades.  They each
ended up going to MIT on scholarship, but they did have social issues in that there was
never much time to just hang out with friends, go to dances or
date.

For students who only work on academics, and stick to
such a rigid study schedule, yes, it could be a possibility, but I don't see many of
those students, especially now with Facebook and
MySpace.

Some of the social handicaps I've seen include
nervousness about starting conversations, or being exceptionally quiet in class, even
when called on.  Sometimes they have a sense of humor or behavior that is a few grades
below where they are at in school.

What are some elements of realism in The Awakening by Kate Chopin? Especially in Chapters 1-8. Thank you.

The Awakening is a novel of manners;
by that I mean it's a novel more about how things are done and what people are feeling
and thinking and the social construct (rules and behaviors) of the time.  That being
said, there are lots of realistic elements in the entire novel but particularly the
beginning, for it sets the external stage for all the internal conflict which is to
come.  The most realistic element in those chapters is the sensory imagery--the sights
and sounds and smells of the people and places.

The setting
is a beach community, so we have the sights and sounds and feel and taste of beach--sand
and sun and water.  In the heat of the day, people are fanning themselves, trying to
stay cool. We have "a number of bath-houses along the beach, of rough but solid
construction" as well as cottages.

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The cottages were all dark. A single faint light
gleamed out from the hallway of the house. There was no sound abroad except the hooting
of an old owl in the top of a water-oak, and the everlasting voice of the sea, that was
not uplifted at that soft hour. It broke like a mournful lullaby upon the
night.

Then we have clothing
which sometimes rustles and the pipe smoke which has its own
scent.

She
wore a cool muslin that morning - white, with a waving vertical line of brown running
through it; also a white linen collar and the big straw hat which she had taken from the
peg outside the door. The hat rested any way on her yellow-brown hair, that waved a
little, was heavy, and clung close to her
head.

We feel somehow as if
we're there when we can experience the story through our senses.  It's these sensory
images which allow readers to feel as if they're participating in the
story. 

Are you suppose to inject sterile water intramuscular or subcutaneous?Me and my fellow classmates administered injections to each other in class...

Sterile water for injection is used to mix medications
that are given intravenously. IM or SQ routes are contraindicated. If a product is
needed for IM or SQ use that product should be NS(normal saline). However, NS is also
used as a diluent for IV medications also.

The pH of
sterile water is between 5.5-7.0, this is probably why it burned assuming you gave each
other SQ or IM shots. The pH of your blood is between 7.35-7.45, so the sterile water is
more acidic.

Nevertheless, the amount that you administered
to each other was hopefully very small, probably less than 1ml. You may have had a
local, self limiting reaction to the sterile water.

What is a good discussion question (for grade 8) for act II, scene V (lines 1-38) for Romeo and Juliet?For grade 8 - lines 1-38

Because this scene of Act II displays the humor of the
Nurse who teases and almost tortures the eager and anxious Juliet, it may be evocative
of circumstances in the lives of the eighth-graders.  For instance, they may have been
tortured by an older sibling, especially a brother, as they have awaited news of
something for which they have been waiting.  Perhaps, then, a question can be posed that
asks for an analogy on the part of the students between a relative of theirs and the
Nurse.  That is, a question can be posed that inquires if the students have ever had a
relative or friend who has withheld information from them just to tease them.  Then, the
student can draw comparisons and contrasts between the Nurse and his/her relative's way
of prolonging the answers, saying things that are irrelevant, and then finally revealing
the answer that has been asked for much earlier.  Finally, an examination of the reason
for asking a question in this manner may be discussed.

Explain the meaning of Buoyant Force (in a liquid) and how it relates to the weight of the object, as well as the weight of the displaced fluid.

The Buoyant Force, supposedly first observed by
Archimedes, is the upward force exerted upon a solid in a fluid, and can be expressed as
a ratio of densities between the fluid and solid.  Density, as you may know, is defined
as the mass divided by the volume, or D = m/v. Every solid has a mass and a volume, and
therefore the density can be calculated. A solid will float in a fluid if its density is
less than that of the fluid; it will conversely sink if its density is more than that of
the fluid. Floating implies that the solid displaces a weight of fluid greater than
itself; sinking implies it displaces a weight of fluid lesser than itself. Strictly
speaking, the weight of an object is not the same as the mass; mass is a singular
property expressed in kilograms or pounds; weight is actually a measure of a mass under
the force of gravity, given by the formula w = mg, where w is the weight, m is the mass,
and g is the force of gravity.

Why do the findings of this study have important implications for cognitive functioning in minority groups?Racism's Cognitive Toll: Subtle...

The findings of this articles have important implications
for the cognitive functions of racial minorities because they imply that racial
minorities will often have problems with cognition.  In cases where a member of a racial
minority is confronted with subtle discrimination (which may be frequent), he or she
will (the article implies) have reduced cognitive
function.

When a person has to deal with subtle
discrimination, their brain is distracted as it tries to process that discrimination. 
While this is happening, they will not be as sharp in dealing with other tasks.  If this
goes on often, the person will have a chronic problem with their cognitive function. 
This will, presumably, affect their performance in school, at work,
etc.

For this reason, the study has major implications for
cognitive function in racial minorities.

Solve for x the following 3cos(3x-1)=0.

First, we'll divide by 3 both
sides:

cos(3x-1)=0

Now, we'll
take the inverse function both sides. For this reason, since the cosine function is not
one to one function and inverse function can only be applied to one to one functions,
we'll restrict the domain of cosine function to [0;pi].

3x
- 1 = +/-arccos (0) + 2kpi, k is an integer number.

3x - 1=
+/- pi/2  + 2kpi

We'll add 1 both
sides:

3x = +/- pi/2  + 2kpi +
1

We'll divide by 3 to isolate
x:

x = +/- pi/6 +  2kpi/3 +
1/3

The solutions of the equation over the range [0;pi]
are:

x = pi/6 + 1/3

How do Dill's, Scout's and Mayella's parents shape their lives in To Kill a Mockingbird?

SCOUT.  Needless to say,
Atticus is the best parent of the group, and he tries to allow his children a true view
of their little world of Maycomb. Atticus leads by example, telling his brother, Jack,
that he hopes his children will come to him when they have questions, rather than
listening to gossip around town. He gives his children plenty of independence, and he
allows them to make mistakes, hoping they will see the error of their ways and use them
for future reference. He reads to Scout each night, probably as he had done previously
with Jem. Although he is a busy man, he spends what time he can with them; the children
recognize Atticus' need for some private time, and they don't bother him much in the
evenings. He employs Calpurnia to give them some feminine attention, and he allows
Alexandra to push her way into the household, hoping she is right about Scout needing a
motherly touch and some ladylike ways. We know that Jem and Scout turn out all right,
and (as Scout tells us on the first page of the novel) even as adults, they seek Atticus
for advice.

DILL.  Dill's
mother and her male suitors have little time for Dill; they seem to prefer pursuing
their own interests without him. Dill is left with his Aunt Rachel in Maycomb each
summer, which is alright with Dill. However, according to Francis (who gets his
information from Alexandra), Dill's parents also shuttle him off to other relatives as
well. Dill's parents seem willing to buy his love--Dill gets all sorts of presents and
gifts of money, of which Jem and Scout are somewhat envious--rather than show him love.
Consequently, Dill retreats to the world of fantasy, making up stories about his
would-be fathers and their treatment of him, both good and bad. Dill is generally happy
when he is in Maycomb, but is probably an unhappy little boy the rest of the
year.

MAYELLA.  Mayella's
mother is dead, and Bob drinks away the family welfare check, leaving Mayella to serve
as the surrogate mother for the younger Ewells in the family. She has no friends and the
Ewells have no neighbors; her social life is nonexistent. Thus, she seeks out Tom, since
he seems friendly and passes by the Ewell house once in a while. There are other
underlying connections between Bob and Mayella; he has beaten her more than once,
apparently, and (reading between the lines) there could be some sort of sexual
connection as well. Mayella herself is probably better off with Bob dead; however, she
is now left to tend the other Ewell kids on her own.

The polynomial ax^4+bx^3+1=0 is divisible by x^2-2x+1. What are the numbers a and b?

Since the polynomial P(x)=ax^4 + bx^3 + 1 is divisible by
x^2 - 2x + 1, then P(x1)=0 and P(x2)=0, where x1 and x2 are the roots of x^2 - 2x +
1=0.

Since x^2 - 2x + 1 is a perfect square, then x1 = x2 =
1.

We notice that the root x = 1 has the order of
multiplicity of 2.

Therefore, the derivative of the
polynomial P'(x), at the value x = 1, is cancelling.

P'(1)
= 0

We'll re-write the
conditions:

P(1) = 0 <=> a + b + 1 = 0
=> a = -b - 1 (1)

P'(1) = 0 <=> 4a +
3b = 0 (2)

We'll replace a by
(1):

4(-b - 1) + 3b = 0

We'll
remove the brackets:

-4b - 4 + 3b =
0

We'll combine like terms:

-b
- 4 = 0

b = -4

a = -b - 1
=> a = 3

The values of the
coefficients a and b are: a =3 and b = -4.

What is social/ civic duty?

The concept can be defined in many different ways.  I tend
to think that social/ civic duty rests with the belief that a person has an obligation
to the larger, collective element.  The concept of civic duty rests in the notion that
there is a need to "give back," to act selflessly in the name of a larger element.  This
can take the form of volunteerism, or the idea that one's efforts have to be geared
towards the improvement of the general welfare.  I tend to see social or civic duty as a
way for individuals to step outside their own senses of self, their own identity, and
give back to others in a manner where the larger element benefits and not necessarily
the specific individuals. This can be through social or political participation or
through economic enhancement.  It is this idea of the "betterment of community" that is
critical in the definition of civic or social duty.

Four examples of irony in "The Lottery" and in your paragraph and for each example you must include at last two facts, reasons, incidents.

A major example of irony in "The Lottery" occurs when Bill
Hutchinson chooses the black spotted paper in the first round of picks.  Mr. Graves asks
for the number of people in the Hutchinson family, and Mr. Hutchinson does not include
his daughter Eva in the count.  On the first reading, one would assume that the least
number of people in the count will provide better odds for the family's winning the
prize.  However, Tessie boldly states that Eva and her husband should have to be
included in the count so that they can take their turn.  When Mr. Graves tells Tessie
that Eva draws with her husband's family, Tessie is angry.  When the reader learns at
the end of the story that the "prize" is death, this event is even more ironic--why
would a mother want her daughter to take her turn at possibly being killed?  Such irony
suggests that people may in fact resort to crude measures when they are fighting for
their own survival.

How do spectator sports affect tourism in Louisiana?

Most local spectator sports do not really affect the
amount of tourism in Louisiana.  After all, most people who watch the Saints or the
Hornets or the LSU Tigers already live in the state.  Their dollars would have been
spent in the state anyway.

However, Louisiana is often home
to major special spectator sports events.  For example, New Orleans is going to host the
2013 Super Bowl and has hosted many other Super Bowls as well.  In addition, the Sugar
Bowl is played every January as one of the BCS bowl series.  The Superdome is also one
of the stadiums in the rotation for hosting the BCS National Championship game.  These
events are said to have a major impact on the tourist trade in Lousiana since they draw
many fans from outside the state.  The last Super Bowl played in New Orleans is
estimated to have added $292 million to the state's
economy.

Some sports economists dispute figures like this. 
However, many economists do believe that major events like those mentioned add
significantly to the tourism dollars spent in Louisiana.

In Robinson's "Mr. Flood's Party," is Roland a legendary knight with Charlemagne or a musician "winding a silent horn"?

Roland is the central character in a classical Old French
epic tale, href="http://omacl.org/Roland/">The Song of Roland,
about Charlemagne that is dated possibly as early as the eleventh century (1000s). One
translation, by Charles Scott Moncrief begins:

readability="11">

Charles the King, our Lord and
Sovereign,
Full seven years hath sojourned in Spain,
Conquered the
land, and won the western
main,

In the epic, Ganelon
commits a crime and betrays Roland who is martyred (slain) and Charlemagne (also called
King Charles
the Great) avenges Roland's death. So a critical part to the epic is Roland's
death, after which he’d appear--if he appeared--as a
ghost.

The allusion in "Mr. Flood's Party" to The
Song of Roland calls up the image of Roland's ghost: "Like Roland's ghost."
The whole allusion reads:

readability="8">

Alone, as if enduring to the end
A
valiant armor of scarred hopes outworn,
He stood there in the middle of the
road
Like Roland's ghost winding a silent
horn.

In the epic, Roland
himself was alone in the moment of his martyrdom. He lifted an ivory horn to use it's
sound to call Charlemagne to his side to rescue him. Now, Mr. Flood stands as young
Roland stood, in "valiant armor of scarred hopes outworn," and symbolically raised his
jug to call his beloved ones to his side. The reply he receives from those who in "other
days had honored him" is "A phantom salutation of the dead" friends long ago lost to
time and death. Roland's horn is silent because he is dead; Flood's "horn" is silent
because his friends are dead.

You can see, now that you
understand the allusion to the Old French classic, that the allusion to Roland means
that in "Mr. Flood's Party," Roland is the name of a young knight who served and was, in
the epic tale, avenged by Charlemagne, King Charles the Great, King of the
Franks.

How would a convention system of nominating candidates make it easier for the state party to enact its positions into law?

A convention system for nominating candidates would make
it easier for parties to get their policies enacted because it would give them more
power over the people who ran for office on their party
ticket.

In our current system of primary elections, the
party is fairly irrelevant.  Anyone can run as a Republican, for example, simply by
appealing to the people who vote in the Republican primaries.  A person who gets elected
this way owes nothing to the party and does not need to obey the party
leaders.

If a convention system were in place, party
activists would determine who got to run for office.  In this system, a politician who
didn't follow the party line would simply not be allowed to run in the next election. 
This sort of control would allow the parties to force legislators to vote the "right"
way.  This would make it easier for a party to get its agenda enacted into
law.

How do the lenses of eyeglasses function differently from properly functioning lenses of the eye?Give at least 5 reasons.

The lens of the human eye is called the crystalline lens. 
It is located in the anterior (front) segment of the eye, behind the cornea and in front
of the vitreous body (clear gel which fills most of the eyeball).  It is composed of
lens fibers contained in a capsule, and has epithelium (lining cells) on its surface. 
The eye lens is biconcave, meaning that it is curved outward on both the front and the
back.  It acts in concert with the cornea to refract light waves (bend them) in order to
focus the light on the retina in the back of the eye.

The
eye lens can change its shape and therefore change its focal length.  This is called
accommodation.  Accommodation is necessary to allow a person to see distant objects as
well as nearby objects.  The eye lens increases its curvature during reading in order to
keep the words in focus.

A person who is nearsighted has an
eyeball that is too long for the focal length of the combined cornea and lens.  This can
be corrected with eyeglasses fitted with biconcave lenses in order to extend the focus
to reach the retina. A person who is farsighted needs biconvex
lenses.

Vision correction is accomplished with eyeglasses,
contact lenses or LASIK surgery.  LASIK surgery involves permanently changing the shape
of the patient’s cornea using a laser machine.

Here are
five ways in which eye lenses differ from eyeglass
lenses.

1. The eye lens is organic, and is made up
   of lens fibers, a capsule and epithelium.  Eyeglass lenses are inorganic, made entirely
   of glass or plastic.


2. The eye lens can accommodate (change
   its shape and focal length).  Eyeglass lenses have fixed focal lengths, although they
   can be manufactured with more than one focal length in different parts of the lens
   (bifocals, for example).


3. Eye lenses are biconvex, whereas
   eyeglass lenses can be either biconvex or biconcave.


4. Eye
   lenses are subject to degeneration and diseases (opacification from cataract, for
   example), whereas eyeglass lenses are not.


5. The eye lens
   works in concert with the cornea, whereas eyeglass lenses work alone.
   

What is the Thanksgiving Day holiday in American history?

The American holiday celebrated as Thanksgiving Day has
its origins in the Civil War Thanksgiving Proclamations of President Abraham Lincoln.
The most famous one was written in October 1863. It proclaims a national day of
thanksgiving for the last Thursday in the upcoming month of November. The first national
day of thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington on October 3, 1789 and
was to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26, 1789. Lincoln followed Washington's
example for national days of thanksgiving during the Civil War. One such day was
declared in a proclamation dated href="http://books.google.com/books?id=im4FAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=abraham+lincoln+official+papers&source=bl&ots=75p9fnNBkP&sig=Qxs96_fr6EYNuzcvZXve55doSRs&hl=en&ei=ITdoTeaTLMP_lgfN9cX_AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&sqi=2&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=thanksgiving&f=false">July
15, 1863, with a national day of thanksgiving set for the upcoming 6th of
August. It was "to be observed as a day for National Thanksgiving, praise, and prayer"
with "the people of the United States" assembled ...

readability="7.8918918918919">

on that occasion in their customary
places of worship ... [to] render the homage due to the Divine Majesty ... and invoke
the influence of his Holy Spirit, to subdue the anger ... [of] a needless and cruel
rebellion. ( href="http://books.google.com/books?id=im4FAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=abraham+lincoln+official+papers&source=bl&ots=75p9fnNBkP&sig=Qxs96_fr6EYNuzcvZXve55doSRs&hl=en&ei=ITdoTeaTLMP_lgfN9cX_AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&sqi=2&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=thanksgiving&f=false">245)

On
href="http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm">September
28, 1863, Lincoln received a letter from the editor of Godey's
Lady's Book, importuning him to establish a permanent annual
national day of thanksgiving. The 74-year-old editor Sarah Josepha Hale had been
agitating for a national thanksgiving through her editorials for 15 years. Lincoln
immediately adopted her idea and on October 3, 1863 set forth his most famous
Thanksgiving Proclamation. Lincoln's final href="http://books.google.com/books?id=I_0cTQo8t7oC&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266&dq=Proclamation+of+Thanksgiving+++October+20,+1864++By+the+President+of+the+United+States+of+America:&source=bl&ots=pYEkXIR3jY&sig=Y64tvf1Y748W9EcsUBZqGTDGlJI&hl=en&ei=h3JoTdHNENHPgAeEwaDLCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Proclamation%20of%20Thanksgiving%20%20%20October%2020%2C%201864%20%20By%20the%20President%20of%20the%20United%20States%20of%20America%3A&f=false">October
20, 1864 Proclamation fixed Thanksgiving Day as permanent ( href="http://books.google.com/books?id=I_0cTQo8t7oC&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266&dq=Proclamation+of+Thanksgiving+++October+20,+1864++By+the+President+of+the+United+States+of+America:&source=bl&ots=pYEkXIR3jY&sig=Y64tvf1Y748W9EcsUBZqGTDGlJI&hl=en&ei=h3JoTdHNENHPgAeEwaDLCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Proclamation%20of%20Thanksgiving%20%20%20October%2020%2C%201864%20%20By%20the%20President%20of%20the%20United%20States%20of%20America%3A&f=false">267)
to remember "Freedom and Humanity" and "Peace, Union and Harmony." Some of the language
of the href="http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm">October
1863 Proclamation says:

readability="18">

the country, rejoicing ... is permitted to
expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. ... the gracious gifts of
the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless
remembered mercy. ... I do therefore ... set apart and observe the last Thursday of
November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise ... [and] with humble penitence for
our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to [Him] ... widows, orphans,
mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife ... [that] the Almighty Hand ...
heal the wounds ... to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and
Union.

How, when, why, and
through whom Lincoln's National Day of Thanksgiving became disassociated from Lincoln,
freedom, and Union--all central to the Civil War--and re-associated with the October
harvest feast of thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims in mid-October of 1621 is
unclear--but become disassociated and re-associated it did. Lincoln's thanksgiving for
the preservation of the Union and for an increase in freedom and its attendant liberty
and equality has been buried under turkeys and Pilgrims. One common thread remains
however: Lincoln did eat turkey in the White House on his national days of thanksgiving,
praise, and prayer.

What does it mean to send someone or something into a spin?I try to translate the sentence 'a discovery that has sent the medical world into spin'

To understand this figure of speech, think about what
happens if you are walking along and are suddenly knocked off balance and made to spin
around.  What happens?  You are most likely confused and out of control.  This is what
the figure of speech means.  It means that something or someone is confused by something
and is put out of control.

In the case of the medical
world, I imagine that the discovery has surprised people very much.  Perhaps it has
proven that some idea that medical people had believed strongly is actually false.  This
would send the medical world into a spin because it would upset their ideas about how
things work.  This would confuse and upset them.

To see an
example of this figure of speech, look at the story in the link below.  Police in this
story have been sent into a spin because kidnappers have changed their tactics.  This
has confused the police and left them in a state where they do not feel like they are in
control of the situation.  This is the meaning of your quote.

Find the area of the triangle if the length of the sides are 3, 8 and 9?

Given a triangle with know 3
sides.

We will use the formula of the area of a triangle
given the length of the sides.

==> A =
sqrt(s*(s-a)(s-b)(s-c) such that s is the perimeter/2 and a, b, and c are the length of
the sides.

Let us calculate the
perimeter.

==> p = 3+8+9 =
20

==> s = p/2 = 20/2 =
10

Let us
substitute.

==> A = sqrt(
10*(10-3)(10-8)(10-9)

==> A = sqrt( 10*7*2*1) =
sqrt140 = 2sqrt35

Then the area of the
triangle is 2sqrt35 = 11.83 square units.

How would you describe the characters in The Devil's Arithmetic: Schmuel, Fayge, Yitzchak also Reb Boruch.

In the book The Devil's Arithmetic
Fayge is a young Jewish woman who is eagerly anticipating her wedding to Scmuel.  She
has on her beautiful dress and is brought to the synagogue by wagon to her fiancé.  As
they climb out of the wagon they are greeted by soldiers.  When they are told that they
can not enter the synagogue and have to get in the trucks she is very distressed.  She
calls out to Schmuel that their canopy is Gods, indicating that they are married in her
and God's eyes even if they had not been allowed.

Fayge
changes during her incarceration at the concentration camp.  She becomes depressed,
thin, distressed, and shuts down.  Eventually, she just gives up hope and everything. 
When Schumel wants to try and escape she won't take the risk.  She eve loses her feeling
for him because she has become numb from all of the emotional pain and physical
changes.

Schumel is a young and devout Jewish man.  He is
dark haired and energetic.  He looks forward to his wedding.  However, he finds himself
on the trucks with the Nazis.  He reacts with anger and disappointment.  Once in the
camp he comes to realize that the only hope that he has is if he tries to escape.  He
does this because he is courageous and makes the decision to leave even though Fayge
won't go with him.

How does Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream fit in with the context of pastoral literature?

Pastoral literature idealizes
life in nature, specifically the life of a shepherd out tending his sheep in the pastor.
Pastoral literature typically speaks of love, death, and various social issues. In the
sense that A Midsummer Night's Dream primarily deals with the topic
of love, we can say that it represents pastoral literature.
We can see the reference to the forest, in both the very beginning and the very end of
the play, as a happy, ideal state in nature, much like a pastor. We can also see
Oberon as symbolizing a
shepherd in the fact that he looks after the four Athenian
lovers and creates for them an ideal state of love. However, Shakespeare also portrays
the forest as a chaotic, even nightmarish place while the
city of Athens is the more rational, peaceful state of existence, and in this sense,
A Midsummer Night's Dream cannot be
referred to as pastoral literature.

In the beginning of the play,
Hermia and Lysander run into the woods to escape the harsh social injustices of the
city. Hermia is being forced by her father to marry Demetrius upon threat of punishment,
either through death or being sent to a convent, in accordance with the ancient law of
Athens, referred to as the "ancient privilege of Athens" (I.i.42). Since Duke Theseus is
upholding this law, and Duke Theseus represents the court, we can see that escaping into
the woods resembles pastoral literature. Escaping into the woods is like escaping into
the country and running away from the harsh laws of the
court.

However, Shakespeare makes a switch. Suddenly peaceful nature
becomes nightmarish when Puck mistakes Lysander for
Demetrius, making Lysander fall in love with Helena and out of love
with Hermia. The nightmare continues when Oberon attempts to fix Puck's mistake by
making Demetrius fall in love with Helena as well, which was Oberon's initial aim. This
state is a nightmare for Hermia because suddenly the love of her life now prefers
another woman over her. It is a nightmare for Helena because, even though two men now
love her when before neither man loved her, she believes they are mocking her and
believes her best friend is in on the plot, as we see in her line, "Lo, she is one of
this confederacy!" (III.ii.195). The fact that nature has become a nightmare rather than
an ideal state shows us that in this manner, the play does
not fit in with pastoral literature.

However, the ideal state is recreated in the woods once Puck and
Oberon finally unite the lovers as they should be. This ideal state continues when
Theseus decrees that both couples should be married. Nevertheless, the couples do not
return to the woods but rather return to the city, showing us that ultimately, contrary
to pastoral literature, Shakespeare is portraying the city as what can be the ultimate,
peaceful, rational state once the unjust laws are overruled.

What are some of the themes in Shakespeare's Sonnet 14?anything else for sonnet 14 would be helpful also.

The language of this sonnet is a bit
tricky.

The poet begins by saying that he does not "pluck"
his decisions "from the stars."  He does not use astrology to "tell of good or evil
luck, / Of plagues, of dearths [famines], or season's
quality."

Still, the poet thinks that he does have some
knowledge of "astronomy," which we would call astrology.  He can make predictions by
looking into the eyes of his beloved, which he compares to "constant
stars."

He sees in his beloved's eyes "truth and beauty,"
but he realizes that these will only last if "from thyself to store thou wouldst
convert."  This means that her beauty will only last if she will change (convert) from
concentrating on herself, and instead will give herself "to store," which means to
producing children.

It is only by having children that the
beloved's beauty can be preserved for eternity.  If she does not reproduce, the poet
prognosticates (predicts):

readability="5">

Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and
date.

When the beloved
"ends," or dies, that will be the doom of beauty.

This idea
that beauty will fade and disappear, and that only by producing children can beauty
become eternal, is found in many places in Shakespeare's
sonnets.

in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, how would you incorporate the theme nature to both Huck and Jim?

When answering this question, the best place to look in
the novel for material will be between the moment when Huck arrives at the island after
faking his death and the episode with the Grangerford
family. 

Nature plays its biggest part in the novel in this
section, as Huck and Jim enjoy life for a time on the island, arranging a cozy shelter
for themselves and staying dry in a cave. 

The storms of
the season continue to bring rain, thunder and lightening after Huck and Jim set off
down the river. Huck remarks on these storms repeatedly in the narrative, describing his
response to them and their beauty.

After this section of
the novel, the narrative does not include as many references to nature or the seductive
power nature has over Huck. 

How kind of language does the author use to create a horrifying effect in the poem Out! Out! ?please i dont want the general analysis

Most obviously, Frost's poem "Out, out-" employs
techniques to make the buzz saw appear alive.  Onomatopoetic words such as "snarled" and
"rattled" allow the reader to hear the noises of this beast that seeks human flesh. 
Thus the saw becomes, for the reader, a horrible beast.

The
effect of this horrifying beast is made clear through imagery.  First, the original
scene is one of an idyllic farm set against the majesty of the mountains.  The "beast"
intrudes, attacking without warning.  This reality makes everyone a little more nervous
and afraid.  Freak accidents DO happen; we just don't think they will happen to
us!

Next, the speaker of the poem becomes more and more
intense as he describes the scene.  What begins as an objective comment on the farm life
of a family, ends up with the description of a severed hand and the young boy's slow
transition from disbelief to fear.   Ironically, he pleads for a hand that is already
gone:

Don't
let him cut my hand off—
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him,
sister!

The scene is one of
gruesome finality, with the blood reminiscent of Lady Macbeth when she continually
attempts to wash unseen blood from her hands. 

As the poem
ends, the reader is stunned to see that the family spends little time mourning.  Life
goes on.  While not gruesome, the idea that one's life can be so easily ended and then
forgotten is, in itself, horrifying.

How would Paul feel if his brother died?

Paul would feel relieved if his brother died; then, he
would feel guilty. All Erik has ever done is torment Paul and his friends. Erik is an
arrogant, sadistic boy whose parents never disciplined him. As the first born and a
talented kicker to boot, Erik has his dad believing that his son could become a college
stand out and possibly a pro. Dad doesn't see Erik beyond those hopes. Mom is more aware
of Erik's shortcomings, but she, too, does nothing about his behavior. Paul is afraid of
Erik, but he doesn't know why. He only knows that his vision suddenly went bad when he
was five. He has flashbacks that involve Erik having something to do with his poor
sight, but until the end of the book, he doesn't know what the connection is.  If Erik
were to die, then Paul would not be bullied again. But, he would feel that his should
mourn the loss of his brother, even if it were just for the sake of
family.

In Act I Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio describes a character in great detail who never appears in the play. Who is it?

Queen Mab may not appear in the play as a character, but
she is certainly prevalent in the play.

Mercutio states
that lawyers will dream of lawyering, (paraphrase) butchers butchering, etc. "Dreamers
often lie," he says to Romeo, who responds, "In bed as they dream things true." Mercutio
is wrong, however, because Romeo's premonition of some occurence at the Capulet ball
(which will cost him his life) turns out to be
true.

Mercutio's humorous portrayal of Mab, and his
deflection of a serious concern of Romeo into a comedic situation, is synchronous with
his character. Mercutio often doesn't understand the full nature of a situation before
he becomes involved, just like his death scene.

In Macbeth, did Macbeth ever feel guilty about the atrocities he committed, or did he just regret that his quest for power was unsuccessful?

I think that if we look carefully at the text, Macbeth,
even when it is clear that the game is up and he is going to be defeated, never displays
repentance or regret for his actions. The closest perhaps he gets to it comes when he
faces Macduff and says to him:

readability="8">

But get thee back, my soul is too much
charg'd

With blood of thine
already.

Here, we see that
Macbeth obviously doesn't want to face Macduff because he has killed so many of his
family already and does not want to add another to the list. However, this is the
closest comment we see indicating any form of regret in what he
says.

As regarding your second possibility, that Macbeth is
only sad that his quest for power was unsuccessful, I am not necessarily sure that we
can find evidence to support this view either. To be honest, until his last appearance
in the play, Macbeth does not show much regret about anything. Even when it is clear
that all of the prophecies heralding his death have come to pass, he still chooses to
fight his way to death, unyielding to the end. Note what he
says:

I will
not yield,

To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's
feet,

And to be baited with the rabble's
curse.

Though Birnam wood be come to
Dunsinane,

And thou oppos'd, being of no woman
born,

Yet I will try the last: before my
body

I throw my warlike shield: lay on,
Macduff;

And damn'd be him that first cries, "Hold,
enough!"

Whatever we think of
Macbeth, we certainly have to appreciate his defiance and bravery up until the very end
in the face of certain defeat. He will "try the last," never letting himself give in or
become weak in the face of the witch's prophecies. He displays no regret that his bid
for power was ultimately unsuccessful, only a defiant spirit that carries him through to
his death.

How does M. Waldman react when he hears the names of Agrippa and Paracelsus?

M. Waldman is the kinder, gentler of Victor's professors.
Where Krempe is described as gruff and condescending, Waldman aims to guide Victor
towards modern chemistry by establishing the ancient authors as the foundation of study.
Victor remarks that Waldman "smiled" at the names of the ancient writers,
but "without the contempt" with which Krempe dismissed Victor's
interests. Waldman tells Victor:

readability="12">

These were men to whose indefatigable zeal
modern philosophers were indebted for most of the foundations of their knowledge. They
had left to us, as an easier task, to give new names and arrange in connected
classifications the facts which they in a great degree had been the instruments of
bringing to light. The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely
ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of
mankind.

This little speech
may have had a profound effect on Victor.
He often justifies his exploits in
creating his monster by touting the contributions he may make to science and life in
general. So, the idea that "erroneously directed" tasks may still influence the course
of knowledge seems to have impacted Victor's thinking.

In "Sonnet 90," how does Petrarch use the sestet to develop a more complicated view of love? please explain why you feel this way.

In Petrarch's Sonnet 90, the theme, as usual, is
unrequited love, which he inserts in the parentheses:

readability="5">

(Seldom they shine so
now.)

The sestet presents not
as a solution but a meditation.  The speaker meditates on the nature of love after he
has lost his love and after she may have lost her beauty.  Whereas her looks are
temporal and fleeting, his love (or the wound where it used to be) is permanent (lives
on).

I know my first, real heartbreak has never fully
healed.  Has yours?

Whereas the octet presents his love as
mortal beauty, the octet presents her as "divine," godess-like,
"angelic":

She did not walk in any mortal
way,
But with angelic progress; when she
spoke,
Unearthly voices sang in unison.
She seemed
divine among the dreary
folk

And then, the last two
lines:

You say
she is not so today? Well, though the bow's unbent, the wound bleeds
on.

We have rhetorical
question which acknowledges that she may not be as beautiful as she once was.  Even so,
he says he still feels the wounds from Cupid's unbent bow of love.  The heart is still
open and bleeding long after it was first shot.

Why is putting the money under Farid's mattress so important in Amir's journey in The Kite Runner?

I'm sure you will remember that one of Amir's betrayals
involved the planting of money under Hassan's mattress in an earlier chapter of
The Kite Runner. Amir celebrated his birthday by contriving to
blame Hassan of the supposed theft of this money. The shame it brought Hassan and Ali
when the money was found prompted Ali to pack up and move away from Baba's house.
Placing the money under Farid's mattress was a symbolic way of cleansing Amir's sins
from the previous episode, and he knew the money would help Farid's war-torn and poverty
stricken family. Doing so anonymously and knowing it would be found after he left was
also a way of forcing the family to keep the money without feeling obliged to Amir or
sacrificing any sense of pride in accepting charity from their
guest. 

Determine the shortest distance from the point (1,0,-2) to the plane x+2y+z=4?

We'll write the distance formula form a point to a point
from plane:

d = sqrt[(x-x1)^2 + (y-y1)^2 +
(z-z1)^2]

x1 = 1, y1 = 0, z1 =
-2

d = sqrt[(x-1)^2 + y^2 +
(z+2)^2]

The point in plane have the coordinate z = 4 - x -
2y

We'll re-write d:

d =
sqrt[(x-1)^2 + y^2 + (4  - x - 2y+2)^2]

d = sqrt[(x-1)^2 +
y^2 + (6  - x - 2y)^2]

The distance d becomes the shortest
if minimize the expression:

d^2 = f(x,y) =  [(x-1)^2 + y^2
+ (6  - x - 2y)^2]

To minimize the function f, we'll have
to determine the critical points. For this rason, we'll determine the partial
derivatives:

fx = 2(x-1)-2(6  - x -
2y)

fx = 0

2x - 2 - 12 + 2x +
4y = 0

4x + 4y = 14

2x + 2y =
7 (1)

fy = 2y -4(6  - x -
2y)

fy = 0

2y - 24 + 4x + 8y =
0

4x + 10y = 24

2x + 5y = 12
(2)

(2) - (1) => 2x + 5y - 2x - 2y = 12 -
7

3y = 5

y =
5/3

2x + 10/3 = 7

2x = 7 -
10/3

2x = 11/3

x =
11/6

There is only one critical point (11/6 ;
5/3).

We'll calculate the shortest distance from the given
point to the plane:

d = sqrt[(x-1)^2 + y^2 + (6  - x -
2y)^2]

d = sqrt[(5/6)^2 + (5/3)^2 +
(5/6)^2]

d =
5sqrt6/6

The shortest distance form the point
(1,0,-2) to the plane x+2y+z=4 is d = 5sqrt6/6.

In what ways does Kumalo's journey also tell the story of South African apartheid in Cry, the Beloved Country?

With all due respect, you need to be very careful with
this question. Actually, this novel was written and based before the policy of apartheid
was introduced, so we need to remember the historical context of this amazing story.
However, having said this, we can definitely see within the pages of this novel the
massive social issues that resulted in the policy of apartheid and the disempowerment of
all other races under the whites. Consider the disparity of wealth that is evident
between the whites and blacks, and the creation of shanty towns and the atmosphere of
fear that breeds freely in Johannesburg. Note the following quote, which is one of many
in the novel that refers to these issues:

readability="14">

Have no doubt it is fear in the land. For what
can men do when so many have grown lawless? Who can enjoy the lovely land, who can enjoy
the seventy years, and the sun that pours down on the earth, when there is fear in the
heart? Who can walk quietly in the shadow of the jacarandas, when their beauty is grown
to danger? Who can lie peacefully abed, while the darkness holds some secret? What
lovers can lie sweetly under the stars, when menace grows with the measure of their
seclusion?

Note how this
passage points towards the huge social unrest that South Africa was suffering as a
result of so many issues. In spite of the optimistic ending of this novel, these issues
were combatted by the policy of apartheid, which only caused the exacerbation of the
racial divide that so sharply split South Africa.

What three memorble quotes in the boy in the striped pajamas

When Bruno's new teacher arrives, he tells the boy that
history and geography are the only subjects worth studying.  Of course, Bruno likes
reading and art.  When Bruno tells  his father that he finds these subjects boring, his
father replies,

readability="8">

"....it's history that got us here today.  If it
wasn't for history, none of us would be sitting around this table now. We'd be safely
back at our table in our house in Berlin.  We are correcting history here."
(144)

This is important
because it shows the frame of mind the German soldiers had concerning their
cause. 

When Bruno is talking with his father at the
beginning of the book, he asks who the people are who live in the huts he can see from
his window.  His father replies,

readability="9">

"Those people ....well... they're not people at
all, Bruno....Well, at least not as we understand the term.... They're nothing to do
with you. You have nothing whatsoever in common with them." (pg
53)

This is an important
quote because it shows what the German soldiers thought of their Jewish
captives.

When Lieutenant Kotler is having dinner with the
family, he tells of his father, a University literature professor, who has left the
country and now lives in Switzerland, a country that did not take sides in the war. 
Father says,

readability="13">

"Perhaps he had disagreements with government
policy.  One hears tales of men like this from time to time.  curious fellows, I
imagine.  Disturbed, some of them.  Traitors, others. Cowards, too.  Of course, you have
informed your superiors of your father's views, Lieutenant Kotler?" (pg
147)

This is important
because it shows what people thought of others who had different ideas from governmental
policies.  It also shows that a son was suppose to turn in his father if he showed
viewpoints other than the government policies.

I wil add
one last one.  It is a little difficult to write out because it takes place in a
conversation between Bruno and Gretel.  This has a combination of what the Germans
thought of the Jews and the innocence of children who don't understand it. When Bruno
says that he doesn't understand why they can't go on the other side of the fence, Gretel
tells him

readability="8">

"...the fence isn't there to stop us from going
over there.  it's to stop them from coming over here.... Because they have to be kept
together....with their own kind....with the other Jews,
Bruno." 

When Bruno asks why
we don't like them, her simple response is

readability="5">

"because they're Jews."  (pg
182-183)

Critically comment on Collins' proposal to Elizabeth highlighting the humor.

Collins proposes to Elizabeth  on Wednesday  November
27th  at  her own house (Ch.19). Collins is a cousin of Mr.Bennet who will inherit
Mr.Bennet's estate after his death. This is why he is so arrogant and  confident that
Elizabeth will not reject his proposal. Collins takes Elizabeth for granted and
impresses upon her that he is  actually doing her a great favour by marrying her  and
tries to  exploit her financial distress to his advantage. He does not care to find out
leave alone respect  her  feelings with regard to marrying
him.

He is completely unromantic. His  arrogance prevents
him from praising her beauty or her intelligence or flattering her before seeking her
consent. Collins gives three general reasons why he wants to marry without specifying
why he wants to  marry Elizabeth in particular.

When he is
straightaway rejected by Elizabeth, he thinks that she is only acting coy. Collins
assumes wrongly that Elizabeth is only pretending that she does not like him and he
tells Elizabeth,

readability="5">

"however your natural delicacy may lead you to
dissemble"

Its a classic
example of a situation of comical dramatic irony: the completely unromantic lout that
Collins is he thinks that Elizabeth is pretending to be coy and hard to
get!

A little later, after he has formally proposed to her
and has been firmly rejected by Elizabeth he replies to her arrogantly and complacently
in the following words:

readability="11.971223021583">

``I am not now to learn,''
repliedMr.Collins with a formal wave of the hand, ``that it is usual with young ladies
to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first
applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a
third time. I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have
just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere
long.''

Once again, Collins
assumes that Elizabeth is really attracted to him and wants to get married to him but
that she is only playing hard to get and teasing him in the conventional manner of all
young women.

However, Elizabeth firmly rejects him saying
that she is not the conventional young lady who likes to be proposed to twice and that
her rejection of him is final:

readability="6.9750889679715">

``your hope is rather an
extraordinary one after my declaration. I do assure you that I am not
one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are) who are so daring as to risk
their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time. I am
perfectly serious in my
refusal.

Even
then Collins doesn't give up and remarks that when he next proposes to her she will
accept him:

readability="6">

``When I do myself the honour of speaking to you
next on this subject I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than you have now
given me;

To which Elizabet
exasperatedly replies:

readability="6.8939393939394">

Do not
consider
me
now as an elegant female intending to plague you, but as a rational creature
speaking the truth from her
heart.''

Finally
the truth of the matter sinks into the thick headed Collins and he quits the place in
deep embarrassment.

3 examples Parallel structure in Great Expectations?Page numbers and/or chapters would be nice as well.

Parallel structure involves the repetition of certain
grammatical structures such as sentence construction, phrasing, repeated use of the same
part of speech, similar clauses.  Chapter I of Dickens's Great Expectations
contains, perhaps, the most imagery of all the
chapters. 

1. In Chapter I, the description of the convict
who turns out to be Magwitch is an example of parallelism as the first three sentences
begin in similar fashion and follow the same construction in the rest of the
sentence:

A
fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and
with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in
water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by
nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose
teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the
chin.

2. Another example of
parallelism is also in this chapter with the symmetry of the repeated relative
clauses:

readability="13">

...and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the
churchyard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding
on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the
distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and that the small
bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was
Pip.

3. In Chapter XVIII, Mr.
Jaggers brings the news of Pip's "great expectations" to him.  The chapter begins with
Pip describing  "the strange gentleman leaning over the back of the settle opposite me,
looking on."  This phrase, "the strange gentleman" is repeated in three paragraphs,
while the stranger is employed also:

readability="14">

I became aware of a strange
gentleman....

"Well!" said the
stranger....

The strange gentleman with the air of
authority not to be disputed.

The strange gentleman,
beckoned ..

The stranger did not recognize
me. 

What were the conditions in Japanese internment camps?

The physical conditions in the internment camps were
unpleasant, but not brutal.  Internees said that the psychological and emotional
conditions were what really made the camps bad.

Physically,
the camps were not pleasant.  The people lived in hastily made wooden barracks.  The
walls were not insulated or really all that well made, so the barracks were cold and
often pretty dusty or sandy because of cracks in the walls.  Each family (or even groups
of individuals who weren't related) was put into a one room apartment so there was not
really any privacy.  Bathrooms and kitchens were communal.  Children went to school, but
there was not really all that much for the adults to
do.

The physical conditions were not great, but what was
really bad about the camps was the emotional state of the people who had been pulled
from their productive lives and put there for no really good
reason.

How has digital photography developed over the past five years?

In 2011, the digital camera has all
but completely replaced film as the photography medium of choice.
Film is so rare that Kodak, the famous camera and film company, has
almost stopped producing film cameras entirely in the United States; the only Kodak film
cameras available are disposable.

Digital photography dates
back to at least the 1950s, with the advent of Video Tape. Video
tape recorded an image as a coded signal instead of as an actual negative image, and so
was the first type of "digital" photography.

Two of the
major changes in digital photography are the widespread availability of High
Definition images, also known as Multiple Megapixel
images, and the worldwide changeover in movies from 35mm film
to digital projection.

When the first
digital cameras for still photography became available, most were low-quality, offering
a standard definition of 640x480 at best. The first megapixel camera, with resolutions
better than one million pixels per image, was released by Kodak in 1991. In 2011,
cameras with 8, 12, or 16 megapixel resolutions are
common.

In motion pictures, 35mm film projection was common
as recently as 2008, when many major theater chains started to roll out digital
projectors to show newly created 3D movies. By 2011, Regal
Entertainment, the largest theater chain in the world, was installing digital projectors
in all its locations, replacing 35mm entirely for all films shown. Production and
distribution of 35mm film prints has dropped dramatically between 2007-2011 for this
reason.

Kodak still produces film for certain specialty
cameras and for filming movies, but it is likely that film will become a rarity in the
coming years. HD cameras are common and cheap, and it is easy for amateurs to take
pictures and upload them to social networking sites, eliminating the need for physical
prints entirely.

In The Crucible, discuss the differences between truth and lies in Act 2 and Act 1.

In The Crucible, neighbors suddenly
turn on each other and accuse people they’ve known for years of practicing witchcraft
and devil-worship. The town of Salem falls into mass hysteria, a condition in which
community-wide fear overwhelms logic and individual thought and ends up justifying its
own existence. Fear feeds fear: in order to explain to itself why so many people are
afraid, the community begins to believe that the fear must have legitimate origins. In
The Crucible, hysterical fear becomes an unconscious means of
expressing the resentment and anger suppressed by strict Puritan society. Some citizens
of Salem use the charge of witchcraft willfully and for personal gain, but most are
genuinely overcome by the town’s collective hysteria: they believe the devil is
attacking Salem. And if the devil is attacking your town, then ensuring that your
neighbor is punished for selling you a sick pig suddenly becomes a religious necessity,
a righteous act that protects the God you love and proves that you’re not a witch or a
devil-worshipper. The Crucible shows how religious fervor fuels
hysteria and leads to conditions that sacrifice justice and
reason.

Reputation is the way that other people perceive
you. Integrity is the way you perceive yourself. Several characters in The
Crucible face a tough decision: to protect their reputation or their
integrity. Parris, Abigail,
and others to protect their reputations. Rebecca Nurse and,
eventually, John Proctor, choose to protect their
integrity. In rigid communities like Salem, a bad reputation can result in social or
even physical punishment. The Crucible argues that those most
concerned with reputation, like Parris, are dangerous to
society: to protect themselves, they’re willing to let others be harmed and fuel
hysteria in the process. In contrast,

The
Crucible shows that those who favor integrity by admitting mistakes and
refusing to lie just to save their own lives help defy hysteria. Willing to die for what
they believe in, they put a stop to the baseless fear that feeds
hysteria.

How did Calpurnia's church differ from the white people's church? To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird, Chapter 12, one salient difference between the church of
Calpurnia and the Maycomb Methodist Episcopal Church South is that the black church
allows the children, Scout and Jem, to remain whereas the white churches are strictly
segregated.  Thus, the spirit of charity abounds in the poor, little church that has few
hymn books and no organ or piano. 

On the other hand, the
ladies of the Methodist Episcopal Church who practice charity abroad by
sending missionaries and charity to Africa, help no one at home who is outside their
perimeters.  Clearly, Chapter 12 points to the religious hypocrisy of the white
community.

That the congregation of Calpurnia's church
are poor and oppressed as well is evident when the hymns, which are sung jubilantly, end
"in a melancholy murmur."  

When the preacher gives his
sermon, the children notice that Reverend Sykes "used his pulpit more freely to express
his views on individual lapses from grace."  The Reverend scolds the more recalcitrant
of his congregation, even to the point of defining their sins.  Scout also notes that,
to their amazement, Reverend Sykes chastises the church
members:

readability="9">

....Reverend Sykes emptied the can onto the table
and raked the coins into his hand.  He straightened up, and said, 'This is not enough,
we must have ten
dollars.'

But, then, he
explains that the money is for the family of Tom Robinson.