Articles written by Ernest Capraro - Page 4

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About me - Ernest Capraro

This author has experience both as a chemist and as a teacher of high school chemistry and physics. He is currently employed within the pharmaceutical industry, and holds a Master's degree, unsurprisingly, in chemistry.

Beyond the professional realm, Ernest

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Education > Education (Other) Is the use of laptops in the classroom beneficial or a distraction?: 2 of 13
Laptops offer a whole new, improved realm of learning for students. By their very nature, they make all lessons interactive, keeping students engaged in the learning process. They can provide instant feedback and assistance, and serve as a source for limitless new knowledge. With proper supervision, the laptop driven classro... More..
Sciences > Chemistry An introduction to alchemy: 2 of 13
Alchemy has been much romanticized, and much superstition has sprung up around it. The reality of alchemy is that while the Dark Ages of science swept over Europe, leaving the populace ignorant at best, Eastern scholars in the modern day middle east were making great advances in their understanding of minerals and medicine. ... More..
Computers & Technology > Computers & Technology (Other) Does technology impoverish the mind?: 9 of 54
Thousands of years ago, medical lore, history, and all knowledge was passed from one generation to the next by word of mouth. The people who maintained this knowledge had to have exceptional memory skills, and they could recite the information to the rest of the people as needed. The population en masse would only retain tho... More..
Sciences > Chemistry What is a polymer?: 1 of 6
What is a Polymer? You could start by breaking down the word: it's made of two pieces of course, "poly" and "mer". Most everyone should know that the prefix "poly" means "many", as in polygon (many angles), polymorph (an organism with many adult forms), polyunsaturated fats (fats that lack an attached hydrogen at many sites)... More..
Food & Drink > Cookware & Cutlery How to use chopsticks: 1 of 6
One of my favorite teachers, Mrs. McC-, felt that it was important that every one of her students learn how to use chopsticks. Living in the suburbs of Detroit as we did, her logic may have eluded many, but even then the world was increasingly global in nature, and she wanted us to be able to participate fully in it. Besides... More..
Sciences > Chemistry How is the concentration of a chemical solution calculated?: 1 of 6
Concentration is calculated in numerous ways. Usually one is best suited to the work at hand. You can convert between different measures of concentration quite freely, though a bit of math will be involved. Molarity (M) is very commonly used in the classroom, and in many industrial labs as well. Molarity is expressed as "mol... More..
Arts & Humanities > Thoughts on Writing Why writers write: 33 of 191
For the sake of argument, let us define a "writer" as someone who regularly and preferentially chooses to communicate their ideas through a written medium. This is key, because most everybody writes, be it e-mails, text messages, essays, reports, or even a graduate thesis. Having done so does not necessarily make a person a ... More..
Entertainment > TV Show Reviews TV show reviews: Quantum Leap: 2 of 11
Quantum Leap was one of those shows that brought my whole family together in the evenings. It was clean, emphasized a lot of wholesome values, and incorporated humor and the better parts of human nature in a show that dealt with varied topics (and times) so that the show remained fresh and original every week. Science fictio... More..
Sciences > Chemistry Why water has a boiling point of 100 degrees Celcius: 1 of 5
Water boils at one hundred degrees Celsius for the very good reason that we said that it does. (No joke!) Water's boiling and freezing points were used to define the Celsius temperature scale. It was an entirely arbitrary decision, of course, but setting boiling at one hundred and freezing at zero provides a very nice range ... More..
Health & Fitness > Drug Legislation & Safety Is taking expired pills OK?: 1 of 5
Before taking an expired pill, it is best to understand where those expiration dates come from. Before any drug ever makes it to market, it goes through a lengthy review process involving a government agency. (In the U.S., that would be the FDA. Europe has it's own agency, as do Japan, Korea, and most any country you care to... More..