Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Plesiosaur

2007-03-12T11:23:48Z

Cocks:

'''Plesiosaurs''' are large [[reptiles]] characterized by long necks with small heads; stocky, finless tails; and a broad, turtle-like body with four flippered appendages. Based on their morphological design and fossilized feces<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4341204.stm "Plesiosaur bottom-feeding shown"], BBC</ref>, paleontologists infer that they were sea-dwelling carnivores that dined on fish and shellfish.

[[Image:plesiosaur_owen.png|none|Plesiosaur skeleton from ''Palaeontology'', Richard Owen, 1861, p. 247.]]

Their [[fossil]] skeletons were first discovered in early 19th century in England by [[Mary Anning]] and were among the first large vertebrate fossils found. Since then, many more have been found and there are a number of complete specimens.

The name ''plesiosaur'' (or ''plesiosaurus'') comes from the [[Greek]] for "near to lizard", and was named by [[William Conybeare]] to signify that it was more lizard-like than the fish-like [[ichthyosaurus]], which was first found only a few years previously nearby.

According to [[evolution | evolutionary]] scientists, who use relative dating methods that rely on the [[strata]] fossils are found in, plesiosaurs lived in the [[Jurassic period]] and are now extinct. According to [[creation]] scientists, who use the [[Bible]], plesiosaurs were created on the fifth day of the [[Creation Week]]<ref name="tj12.3">[http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v12/i3/plesiosaurs.asp "Live plesiosaurs: weighing the evidence"], ''TJ'' 12(3):339–346, Dec. 1998</ref> and lived concurrently with Man. It is also widely held among creation researchers that the [[leviathan]] mentioned in the Bible<ref>''Job'' 3:8, 41:1; ''Psalm'' 74:14, 104:26; ''Isaiah'' 27:1</ref> was a type of plesiosaur, specifically the ''kronosaurus''<ref>[http://www.christiananswers.net/dinosaurs/j-site4.html "The Great Dinosaur Mystery], Christian Answers</ref>.

Like other aquatic animals, according to the Bible plesiosaurs were not taken aboard the [[Noah's Ark | Ark]] during the [[Great Flood]]<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/AnswersBook/fish14.asp "How did freshwater and saltwater fish survive the Flood?"], Answers in Genesis</ref>. Because of this, some creation researchers believe that not all of them perished in the Flood and that populations survive to this day<ref name="tj12.3"/>, hidden beneath the icy waters of seas and deep lakes. The most often cited evidences for this theory are the many modern sightings around the globe of creatures that fit the description of a plesiosaur, the most famous of which have been reported at [[Loch Ness]], [[Scotland]] (the so-called "Loch Ness Monster" or "Nessie") and [[Lake Okanagan]] in [[British Columbia]] (known as "Ogopogo").

There was also a reputed plesiosaur carcass<ref name="tj12.3"/> dredged up by the Japanese fishing trawler ''Zuiyo Maru'' near [[New Zealand]] in 1977, but this find is very controversial as many researchers believe it was either a [[basking shark]] or a [[mosasaur]].

==References==
<references/>

Also, cocks.

Polar covalent bond

2007-03-12T11:22:56Z

Cocks:

A Polar covalent bond is a Covalent bond between two gay [[atom]]s in which the shared electrons are shared unequally between the two atoms. A purely covalent bond results in the [[molecule]] having an electrical charge.

Battle of the Coral Sea

2007-03-12T11:21:51Z

Cocks:

The Battle of Coral Sea was a battle in 1943 during [[World War II]]. In this battle, a fleet of Australian and American ships intercepted a Japanese strike force and stopped Japanese advances.

Glasnost

2007-03-12T11:18:47Z

Cocks:

During the late 1970's, the leader of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic ("U.S.S.R."), General Secratary [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], introduced a social, and cultural policy called "Glasnost" (pronounced GLAHZ-nohst), which means "openness". Specifically, glasnost was a new Soviet policy allowing public discussion of political issues and a more free circulation of information.

Gorbachev began to promote this "openness" in public discussions about current and historical problems in the U.S.S.R. He acknowledged the brutality of the Stalin era, such as the great purges and the Katyn massacre. Soviet leaders became more receptive of foriegn leaders and the media, as a new period opened between the East and the West.

This opening of Soviet society to the West was one of the key events that eventually led to the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and its empire.

Women

2007-03-12T11:17:35Z

Cocks:

Women, like Men, were created by God on the 6th day of [[Creation]], as told in The Book of [[Genesis]]. [[Genesis]] further elaborates that [[God]] took a rib from [[Adam]], the first Man, and from it created [[Eve]], the first woman, as a subservient companion for [[Adam]]. Also not explicitly stated in the [[Bible]], it is obvious that, due to the manner in which Eve was created, she was Adam's wife, as God does not intend for two humans in such a union to be any other way. Eve causes sin and suffering to come into the world when she tricks Adam into eating from The Tree of Knowledge, an act directly forbidden by God Himself. Saint Paul also has much to say on the status of women in society, most memorably that women should submit to their husbands just as the church submits to God. Women are for making babies and should not be allowed to leave the house.

Fourteen Points

2007-03-12T11:16:07Z

Cocks:

The Fourteen Points was a peace plan proposed by Woodrow Wilson. The point of this plan was to stop the humiliation of and economic damage to the losers of World war I. In his plan, every person in every nation would have a say in their future by voting. His plan also called for freedom of the seas and the formation of a League of Nations. When the peace treaty was singed most of Wilson's fourteen points were taken out, but his plan for League of Nations survived.

# Open covenants of peace must be arrived at, after which there will surely be no private international action or rulings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.
# Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.
# The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.
# Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest points consistent with domestic safety.
# A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the population concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.
# The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and national policy, and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will, of their comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.
# Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired.
# All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.
# A re-adjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of nationality.
# The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development.
# Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan states should be entered into.
# The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.
# ???????????????????
# PROFIT!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugh Williamson

2007-03-12T11:15:04Z

Cocks:

Hugh Williamson (1732-1819) was both a surgeon and a preacher who signed the [[U.S. Constitution]]. He was a delegate from North Carolina. He also helped draft the [[Northwest Territory]] laws.

In 1811 he gave a scientific explanation for the [[Great Flood]] and also for [[Moses]]’ exodus in his book "Observations of the Climate in Different Parts of America."

He liked to rape boys.

He is buried in the cemetery of [[Trinity Church]].

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:United States History]]

Iman

2007-03-12T11:13:20Z

Cocks:

Iman is a commonly used Arabic first name for girls, and Persians will sometimes use the name for boys also.

When used in connection with the false religion of Islam, the word is translated into English as "faith".

Karma

2007-03-12T11:12:29Z

Cocks:

In the false religion of [[Hinduism]], the sum of all one has done; determines individual's status in next life.

[[Category:Religion]]

Economics Lecture Three

2007-03-12T11:11:43Z

Cocks:

Economics
 Third Lecture – Anal Elasticity
 Instructor, Andy Schlafly

Outline of Lecture:
 I. Introduction
 II. Price Elasticity of Demand
 III. Income Elasticity
 IV. Calculating Elasticities
 V. Complements and Substitutes
 VI. Addictions
 VII. Assignment

I. Introduction

In a free market, and after enough time passes and information is exchanged to reach equilibrium, supply equals demand for both price and quantity sold. That is one of the beauties of free enterprise. It is efficient, productive and generates little economic waste. If every good and service stayed at equilibrium, then we could end the course right now.

But we are not so fortunate. Prices do change daily. During your next few trips to the supermarket, notice how much the prices fluctuate. This is because both supply and demand are always changing. Supply changes due to problems or improvements in manufacturing and shipping. Labor costs change over time, which also affects supply. Demand is constantly fluctuating also. Every day people lose or change jobs, which affects their buying decisions. The changing of the seasons also affects demand, as do alterations in personal tastes.

Five to ten years ago there was tremendous demand for Beanie Babies, driving up the price. Now there is far less demand, so the price has fallen. The same could be said about any fad.

Greed also plays a role. The suppliers of goods and services would like to increase their prices without losing sales, so that they can make more money. Before Wal-Mart made price-cutting so popular, it was routine for suppliers to increase their prices every year. Everyone expected it.

Imagine yourself as president of a company that makes widgets, and you are having a meeting to discuss your product. Inevitably an employee suggests increasing the price on the widget so that the company will make more money. People who have never studied economics think that increasing the price will always result in increased revenue from sales (Price x Quantity sold).

But suppose you have an employee who had taken this economics course in your meeting. He or she points out that an increase in price will reduce the demand, because the demand curve is usually downward sloping. You will sell fewer goods if you raise the price.
You then ask, “how much fewer sales?” If sales decline by a smaller percentage than the price increased, then overall revenue (Price times quantity sold) will increase. If, however, sales decline by a larger percentage than the price increased, then overall revenue will decline.

II. Price Elasticity of Demand

The “price elasticity” of demand is the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. It is usually negative but the sign is dropped so that price elasticity is always a positive number.

More simply, price elasticity is responsiveness to changes in price. Think of a rubber band. How easily can you stretch it any point? The issue is the same for the public’s response to a change in price. Will the public pay the higher price without complaint, or will they tend to refuse?

Let’s take an example. Suppose the local NFL (football) team wants to make even more profit than it does already. The owner decides to increase the ticket prices by 20% for next season. Because watching football is an obsession for many fans, most are likely to pay the higher prices. Maybe only 5% will choose not to renew. The quantity demanded changed little despite a large increase in price. This means the elasticity of demand is low. To be precise, it is the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price: -5%/20% = -1/4. The sign is dropped so the elasticity is expressed as “1/4”. This low elasticity encourages the supplier (the football team owner) to repeatedly increase the price. Low inelasticity is described as an “inelastic demand” by economists.

How much more revenue does the team make by increasing the price? Revenue is price times quantity. If its original price was P and its original quantity Q, then initial revenue is PxQ, or PQ. After the price increase, the revenue is (1.20 x P) x (.95 x Q) = 1.14PQ. Revenue has thus increase 14% simply by increasing the price. Nice business, if you don’t mind the silliness of watching it!

Let’s take another example. Suppose that airlines increase the price on their flights from New York to Florida from an average of $300 per seat to $500 per seat. That is a 67% increase. What would that do to the tourist traffic to Florida from New York? It only takes a day and a half to drive to Florida, which incurs gas charges of less than $100 and a hotel charge of perhaps $80. Tourists would likely drive rather than pay the higher fares. The demand for these higher-priced tickets could fall by 75%, assuming that business travel is only a small percentage of that traffic.

What is the price elasticity of this demand? The percent change in quantity demanded is -75% (3/4) and the percent change in price is 67% (2/3), so the elasticity is -3/4 divided by 2/3 = -9/8. The sign is dropped so the elasticity is expressed as 9/8. It is greater than 1, and thus is described as having an “elastic demand” rather than an “inelastic demand,” which is less than 1. (If it equaled 1, then it would be called “unit elasticity of demand.”)

What does it mean to a company if its goods have “elastic demand”? It means the company should be cautious in raising prices. Look at what happens to the revenue to the airlines due to the elastic demand for seats on their planes. The initial revenue was price times quantity, which is PxQ, or PQ. The revenue after the pricing change is (5/3)(P)(1/4)(Q) = (5/12)PQ. Its revenue fell to 5/12 of its initial revenue due to the price increase. The airlines lost over half of its revenue by increasing its price! Uh oh, that requires laying off many employees, reporting losses to the investors, and firing the persons responsible for that price increase.

In that prior example, however, consider price increases on the same route that are due only to increases in fuel costs. Will they have the same elasticity? (No, because the alternative of traveling by car increases in cost by a similar amount. However, some people will simply stay at home rather than travel.)

Take a straight line demand curve and consider what the shape the total revenue has as a function of price. It has the shape of a semi-oval opening downward: it starts at zero revenue (when quantity is 0) and ends at zero revenue (when price is 0).

III. Income Elasticity

Once you grasp the price elasticity of demand, you’ll see that you can describe the elasticity (or responsiveness) of many other variables in economics.

Income, like someone’s salary, affects the demand for goods. Many more Mercedes-Benz luxury cars are likely to sell when average income is high than when it is low, for example. So economists find it useful to describe “income elasticity of demand,” which is the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in income.

Most goods sell more when the income of buyers increases. We all tend to go to restaurants more often, buy new clothes more often, and pay more for goods and services when we are making more money. When our income declines, we cut back on our purchases.

Consider the difference between goods we need (e.g., food) and goods we want (e.g., restaurant food). The goods that we need are “necessities”; the goods we merely want are “luxury goods.” Necessities are income inelastic, because they are needed and purchased whether our income is high or low. Whether we have a good year or a bad one in terms of income, we still buy things like daily food, basic clothing, and heating at home. In contrast, luxury goods are income elastic. People do not buy as many yachts and luxury cars and homes when times are tough.

Here are some useful definitions. A [[normal good]] is one for which demand increases when income increases. Nearly all goods are “normal” goods. Income goes up, then more of it is purchased. Occasionally a good can be found that is “inferior”, such that demand actually decreases when income increases. Can you think of one? (Margarine is an example. Can you explain why?) So when the income elasticity is positive, then the good is “normal”. When the income elasticity is negative, then it is an [[inferior good]].

A [[necessity]] is a good that has a positive income elasticity that is less than 1. A [[luxury]] is a good that has an income elasticity greater than 1.

IV. Calculating Elasticities

There is an ambiguity in calculating the percentage change in price or quantity. What should be used as the denominator in deriving the percentages? If $100 increases to $110, then the percent change could be described as $10/$100 x 100% or $10/$110 x 100%. Above we used the initial price and quantity as the denominator, but be could have used the final price and quantity as the denominator instead.

Economists resolve this by typically using the average overall value as the denominator in calculating the elasticities. So if the price changes from $20 to $30, the percentage change in price is $10 divided by the average of $20 and $30, which is $25. The percentage change is thus $10/$25, which is 40%. This is also known as the “arc elasticity” because it is a more accurate depiction of the “arc” or curve of demand. Use this method when doing specific calculations on homework.

V. Complements and Substitutes

A complement of a good is something that is used with it. Compact disks (CDs) are complements of CD players. Hole punchers are complements to three-ring binders. Monitors are complements to desktop computers. Gasoline is a complement to cars. Bread is a complement to sandwich meat.

A substitute of a good is something that replaces it. Bicycles are substitutes for mopeds. Motorcycles are substitutes for cars. Channel 2 is a substitute for channel 4 on television. One non-fiction book is a substitute for another. Chicken is a substitute for beef.

Elasticity of demand can apply to complements and substitutes. The “cross elasticity of demand” is how the quantity demanded of one good responds to a change in price of another good. Specifically, it is measured as the percentage change in demand for one good in response to the percentage change in price for a different good.

If good A sees a 20% drop in demand based on a 20% increase in price of good B, then the cross elasticity of demand is -20%/20% = -1. Do you think good A and B are complements or substitutes? They are complements. A negative cross-elasticity in demand means they are complements. Their elasticity is in the same direction as the price elasticity of demand for the good itself.

If, however, good A sees a 20% increase in demand based on a 20% increase in price of good B, then their cross-elasticity in demand is 20%/20% = 1. This positive value means that A and B are substitutes for each other.

Ponder that for a minute.

VI. Addictions

The colony of Virginia survived and thrived by turning to tobacco and slavery. Much of the economy, even today, is based on vices. Sad but true. The largest building west of the Mississippi, which includes all of California and many other states, is located in Las Vegas, built on gambling. In fact, Las Vegas has far more hotel space than any other city in the United States, including even New York.

Abortion exists because some are making millions of dollars from it, and giving some of that money to politicians who support them. Smoking exists because tobacco companies earn big profits from it, even though it kills many people each year. Beer is destroying people’s livers but making billions of dollars for beer companies.

Go into a typical convenience store and you will find that they do a brisk trade in cigarettes, pornography, alcohol and lottery tickets. Those four categories probably account for most of their profits. The people paying for those goods are both losing money and hurting themselves.

In the “underground” (illegal) economy, drug trafficking accounts for an enormous amount of commercial activity.

What do all these economic activities have in common? They exploit addictions. The prices on these goods and services can be increased much more easily than on anything else. Someone addicted to drugs is still going to try to buy it even if the price increases by 10%, 20%, 50%, or 100%. The same can be said for gambling, pornography, alcohol and almost every other vice. They are profitable to sellers who exploit the addiction. Buyers lose their money and ultimately their lives.

VII. Assignment

Read and, if necessary, reread the above lecture. Complete the homework assignments through the level in which you choose to enroll in this course:

Introductory: 1. In a free market, the responsiveness of demand to a change in price is known as its ____________.

2. A good that is addictive often has (elastic or inelastic) demand for it. Choose the correct answer.

3. Give examples of a complement and a substitute for breakfast eggs.

Intermediary:
4. Describe a perfectly elastic demand curve, and a perfectly inelastic one.

5. If the demand curve is a straight line having negative slope (i.e., increasing quantity as price decreases), then draw or describe the shape of its curve for price elasticity of demand:

6. Describe what a negative income elasticity of demand means. Give an example of a good or service that might have a negative income elasticity of demand.

Honors:
7. Suppose the demand for a special type of colored corn is inelastic. Suppose there was a disease that uniformly killed 20% of all the cornstalks, but did not affect demand at all (i.e., the public was not scared by the disease). Explain if corn farmers are better or worse off due to the disease, and why.

Write an essay of about 200 words total on one or more of the following topics:
 8. Should there be a minimum wage law?
 9. Does free trade add value or simply redistribute wealth?
 10. Is economics almost always determinative of the outcome on political issues, such as elections?

[[Category:Economics]]

Polyatomic ion

2007-03-12T11:10:56Z

Cocks:

More commonly known as radicals.

Ions which are formed when a group of atoms gains or loses electrons.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Chemistry''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref>

Some common Polyatomic Ions are:

*[[Acetate]]

*[[Ammonium]]

*[[Carbonate]]

*[[Chlorate]]

*[[Chlorite]]

*[[Chromate]]

*[[Cyanide]]

*[[Dichromate]]

*[[Hydronium]]

*[[Hydroxide]]

*[[Kryptonite]]

*[[Nitrate]]

*[[Nitrite]]

*[[Phosphate]]

*[[Sulfate]]

*[[Sulfite]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Chemistry]]