Energy and States of Matter Essay Example for Free

Energy and States of Matter Essay Everything changes, that is a fact. We can find changes, even in simple things that we use. Have you ever asked why does an ice cube turn back onto water when you let it stand outside the freezer? Or do you know why an ice cream melts? We knew about the three basic phases of matter – solid, liquid and gas. From our basic chemistry, we taught about the change of state or phase of matter wherein soli becomes liquid and liquid turns to gas and vice versa. The question is, why do they change phase? To really understand those phenomena, we should look onto the two different graphical illustrations of the changes of states of a substance, cooling curve and heating curve and thereby understand what is really happening on the molecular structure of a substance. Heat is very crucial in these changes on the form of certain substances. This is the energy transformed between two objects brought about by the difference on both temperatures. It means, when you let an ice cube in a plate, after a day, you will find it gone already. The heat causes the ice to melt and eventually turn it into gas and disperse it onto the air. Two types of energy involved are the Kinetic Energy (KE), the motion energy which is dependent on the mass and velocity of an object and the Potential Energy (PE), the resting energy or energy due to position and composition. Heat affects KE and said to be directly proportional to each other. As you increase the heat, the temperature increases resulting to an increase on KE. Heat, Temperature, KE and PE are the main factors why do changes on state of matter occur. Changes are due to evaporation (liquid to gas), freezing (liquid to solid), condensation (gas to liquid), melting (solid to liquid), sublimation (solid to gas) and deposition (gas to solid). All of these processes are result of the changes on the amount of heat added or removed from a certain substance, thereby increasing or decreasing the temperature thru time. Cooling Curve Cooling curve is a graphical representation of the changes of states of substances as heat is uniformly removed from it. At t0 – t1 heat is removed from the gaseous state. The average KE of the gas particles decreases as the temperature drops until it is reached at t1 where gas starts to liquefy. The temperature at which gas and liquid coexist is called liquefaction or condensation point of the substance, which is just equivalent to boiling point of the heating curve. At this time, the average PE remains constant because there is no change yet on the composition of the gas. At t ¬1 – t2 (liquefaction point) there is no change on the average KE of the particles and temperature stays at constant level. Heat is still being removed causing the decrease on Average PE. Since there is decreasing amount of heat, there is a failure to overcome forces of attraction between particles of the liquid forming gas. The gas particles are compressed and converted into liquid wherein stored PE is released. At this time, the amount of gas decreases while the amount of liquid increases, until reaching t2 where all the gases have been converted to liquid. At t2 – t3, the average KE of the liquid particles decreases and the temperature reaches low level until t3 where the liquid starts to solidify. Freezing or crystallization of substances occurs at the temperature where liquid and solid coexist. At this point, liquid is no longer a liquid but already turned onto solid state. The molecules of the liquid have been compressed as result of continuous removal of heat from the substance. This time, the average PE continues to decrease because of the amount of heat being removed. Freezing point is just equivalent to melting point in the heating curve. At t3 – t4, there is no change on the average KE and the temperature of the substance stays constant. Heat is still being removed causing a decrease on average PE of the substance. This time, the amount of liquid decreases and the amount of solid increases until reaching t4 when sufficient heat has been removed thus converting all the liquid into solid. The particles of the substance are oriented properly to form the crystalline lattice at the freezing point. Sometimes, it happens that the heat is continuously removed from the substance without crystallization. At this point, the temperature drops below its freezing point and errors in orienting the particles occur. This phenomenon is learned as Supercooling. We can reduce supercooling by introduction of a seed crystal for the crystallization to occur and thereby initiating the proper structure. Heating Curve Heating curve is just the opposite of cooling curve. The curve illustrates changes of states of a substance with uniform addition of heat to it. At t0 – t1 heat is added to the solid causing the increase on average KE of its particles. The particles are agitated making them disoriented and result into a slightly less ordered solid state. Temperature rises and at t1, solid starts to melt. T1 is termed as melting point of the substance on which solid and liquid coexist. At t1 – t2, there is no change on the average KE and the temperature stays constant. Since KE doesn’t change, average PE must increase as heat is continuously added. Now, forces of attraction between particles have been overcome because of high amount of heat. The amount of heat is being stored as potential energy. At this time, amount of solid decreases while the amount of liquid increases. Eventually at t2, sufficient heat has been added to convert the entire solid to liquid. At t2 ¬ – t3 the average KE and temperature increases. When the increasing temperature reaches t3, the liquid starts to evaporate. At this temperature (t2), liquid and gas coexist and is termed as boiling point of the substance. At t3 – t4, there is no change in the average KE and temperature remains constant. The force of attraction between liquid particles has been overcome due to addition of more heat. The amount of heat added is still being stored in form of PE. PE increases and the amount of liquid decreases while the amount of gas increases. At t4, sufficient heat has been added to convert all the liquid to gas. As oppose to supercooling, superheating also occurs where liquid is heated to a temperature above its boiling point without evaporation.

Stoicism Essay -- essays research papers

In the tree of Ethics, there are many twigs and branches that all trace back to a single root: how a person ought to act. Now, the paths that some branches take to get to that single root differ in many ways, yet all arrive at their own definition of how they themselves should live. The ‘branch’ that I will be talking about today, is Stoicism. I will discuss the history and beginnings of Stoicism in the Hellenistic period, the basic ideas of stoicism, and I will share my own personal beliefs and skeptical ideas as concerned with Stoicism. To begin, what does the word ‘stoic’ mean? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘stoic’ as â€Å"one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain.† In the world of Ethics, a stoic is defined as â€Å"a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 B.C. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law.† So what school of philosophy are we talking about? Who is Zeno of Cittium? Why did the stoics behave as they did? In the early part of the 4th century B.C. going on into the middle of the 3rd, a man named Zeno of Cittium left his home of Cyprus and went to Athens. There, he began to teach small groups of people about his ideas of ethics. He held his sessions on a painted porch on the Athenian agora known as the Stoa Poikile, from which the terms stoic and Stoicism derive from. At one point, Zeno, who had become adjusted to a life of riches, could not pay a resident tax, and as a consequence, was sold into slavery, where he was bought by a friend and freed. At first glance, one could look at stoicism and dismiss it as a relatively easy way to lead one’s life. At the heart, stoics do not care about abstract reality, about how and why the universe began, or Earth for that matter. To a stoic, the most important concept is that of acceptance in human life. Some of the ideas that Stoicism is based upon comes from the mind of one Heracletus. In the 6th century B.C., Heracletus formed his ideas at his home in Ephesus. In his mind, the universe is an ‘ever-living fire.’ In description, Heracletus came up with the Flux and the Logos. The Logos, in a universal sense, is a single connection between everything in the world, but is always changing with the Flux. Back when philosophers classified everything into 1 of the 4 elements, Heracletus’ Logos w... ...believer in Fate, I am not a true believer. Instead of classical Stoic beliefs, where the Logos governs my every choice towards the final ‘good’, I believe that free will does play a part in philosophical life. Person A comes to choice X, but based on occurrences put out by Fate, makes a decision Y. Fate and free will are 2 strands to a rope, one depending on the other to be strong. Back with emotions, with free will depending on Fate, it depends on emotion as well. Person A comes to choice X, based on occurrences put out by Fate, but still is torn between decision Y and decision Z. Using his emotions and feelings, Person A makes decision Y, because of occurrences put out by Fate as well as feelings he has towards each decision. In conclusion, I feel that Stoicism is almost a valid pattern of thought to live by, but is nonetheless quite interesting to look upon and debate. The basics and foundations of Stoicism, as well as the pillars on which it sits are something to be learned from, and could be wise to cite. My soul, the very being that I am, restricts me from devoting myself completely to Stoicism, although it is the closest thing to my ‘ethical standpoint’ that I have found.

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ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT What is an Organization? An organization is a collection of people who work together to achieve individual and organizational goals. What is Organizational Behavior? Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of factors that affect how individuals and groups act in organizations and how organizations manage their environments What is Management? Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness.Managerial Roles * Manager: Any person who supervises one or more subordinates. * Role: A set of behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform because of the position he or she holds in a group or organization. * Managerial roles identified by Mintzberg (see Table 1. 1): FigureheadLeader LiaisonMonitor DisseminatorSpokesperson EntrepreneurDisturbance handler Resource allocatorNegotiator Managerial Skills * Conceptual Skills: The ability to analyze and diagnose a situation and distinguish between cause and effect. Human Skills: The ability to understand, work with, lead, and control the behavior of other people and groups. * Technical Skills: Job-specific knowledge and techniques. Challenges for Organizational Behavior and Management * Using new information technology to enhance creativity and organizational learning. * Managing human resources to increase competitive advantage. * Developing organizational ethics and well-being. * Managing a diverse work force. * Managing the global environment. Challenge 1: Using New Information Technology to Enhance Creativity and Organizational Learning Information technology: The computer systems and software that organizations use to speed the flow of information around an organization and to better link people and subunits within it. * Creativity: The decision-making process that produces novel and useful ideas that lead to new or improved goods and services or to improvements in the way they are produced. New Ways to Increase Performance * Reengineering: A complete rethinking and redesign of business processes to increase efficiency, quality, innovation, or responsiveness to customers. * Restructuring: Altering an organization’s structure (e. g. by eliminating a department) to streamline the organization’s operations and reduce costs. * Outsourcing: Acquiring goods or services from sources outside the organization. * Freelancers: Independent individuals who contract with an organization to perform specific services. Challenge 3 Developing Organizational Ethics and Well-Being * Ethics: Rules, beliefs, and values that outline the ways in which managers and workers should behave when confronted with a situation in which their actions may help or harm other people inside of or outside an organization. * Well-being: The condition of being happy, healthy, and prosperous. Social responsibility: An organization’s moral responsi bility toward individuals or groups outside the organization that are affected by its actions. The core 21st century qualities needed to create the ideal work atmosphere begin with intelligence, passion, a strong work ethic, and a genuine concern for people. Managing and Working Today and in the Future: * Managers must become agile and flexible to help their firms develop and sustain competitive advantage * To be successful, managers will need to harness the powers of: * information technology * human capitalChallenges of These Forces to Managers * Resisting the reality of these forces will likely lead to: * Unnecessary conflict * Reduced managerial performance * Reduced non-managerial performance * Lost opportunities * Failing to cope and deal with these forces will likely result in: * Job dissatisfaction * Poor morale * Reduced commitment * Lower work quality * Burnout * Poor judgment * Unhealthy consequences Taylor’s Scientific Management Principles (1 of 2) * Develop a sc ience for each element of an employee’s work * which replaces the old rule-of-thumb method Scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop the worker * whereas in the past a worker chose the work to do and was self-trained Taylor’s Scientific Management Principles (2 of 2) * Heartily cooperate with each other to insure that all work was done in accordance with the principles of science * There is an almost equal division of the work and the responsibility between management and non-managers Impact of Fayol’s Functions of Management * Emphasized the importance of carefully practicing efficient: * planning * organizing * commanding * coordinating * controlling Management is a separate body of knowledge that can be applied in any type of organization * A theory of management that can be learned and taught * There is a need for teaching management in colleges Definition of Organizational Behavior (OB) * The study of human behavior, attitudes, and performanc e within an organizational setting * drawing on theory, methods, and principles from such disciplines as psychology, sociology, political science, and cultural anthropology * to learn about individual, groups, structure, and processes Systems Theory and Effectiveness (1 of 2) Organizational effectiveness is an all-encompassing concept that includes a number of component concepts * The managerial task is to maintain the optimal balance among these components Managers can lead the way to higher levels of effectiveness by: (1 of 2) * Providing opportunities for training and continuous learning * Sharing information with employees * Encouraging cross-development partnerships * Linking compensation to performance Managers can lead the way to higher levels of effectiveness by: (2 of 2) * Avoiding layoffs * Being a supportive role model Respecting the differences across employees * Being a good listener Key Points (1 of 2) * The key to an organization’s success is its human resource s * Organizations need human resources that: * work hard * think creatively * perform excellently Key Points (2 of 2) * Rewarding, encouraging, and nurturing the human resources in a timely and meaningful manner is what is required * The behavior of employees is the key to achieving effectiveness Chapter 16 Organizational Behavior across cultures Chapter objectives: * Conditions affecting multinational operations Individual differences among employees * Barriers to cultural adoption * Overcoming barriers to cultural adoption * Productivity and cultural contingencies Condition affecting multinational operation The people of the world are organized into nations with its own way, according to its recourses and heritages. There are some similarities and differences among the nations. Understanding these differences and how they influence organizational behavior is aided by examination of following keys: * Social conditions * Legal and ethical conditions Political conditions * Economic c onditions Social conditions In many countries the social condition is poorly developed , there are major shortages of managerial personnel, scientists and technicians and these deficiencies limit the ability to employ local labor . Needed skills must be imported from other countries while the local workers will be prepared. exp American nation welcomed an electronic assembly plant to its capital city . the plant was labor- intensive, so the many jobs it provided reduce the nation’s high unemployment rate. ages were above standards, working conditions were good and the plant was environmentally clean. Additionally company’s agreement with the host nation stated that the company would supply a cadre of managers and technicians to train local employees. local would gradually become supervisors, technician and purchasing specialist and so on. Legal and ethical conditions In judicial systems, some countries practice rapid disposition of cases, in other countries cases may d rag on for years. Some countries condone the practice of bribery as way of obtaining and retaining businesses others strictly prohibit it.Managers need to be aware of the possible differences in both laws and ethical values that define acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in foreign countries . The managers in foreign countries need to become familiar with local customers and practice . Applying their own personal and organizational value system, their must then decide which behaviors are compatible with both parties’ expectations and which are not. Finally ,they need to recognize that the resolution of ethical issues is not always clear-cut. Individual differences There are five dimensions that accounted for the sharpest differences among employees including: Individualism/collectivism * Power distance * Uncertainty avoidance * Masculinity/femininity * Time orientation Individual differences * Individualism/Collectivism: cultures that emphasize individualism tend to accent individual rights and freedoms and place considerable attention on self-respect whereas collectivism heavily accent the group and values harmony among members. For example in US there is individualistic culture(â€Å"every person for him/her self†) but Japan is collectivistic, with the culture that can be characterized by the proverb:†The nail sticks up gets pounded down. * Power distance: refers to the belief which are strong and legitimate decision-making rights separating managers and employees. Individual differences * Uncertainty avoidance: These employees prefer to avoid ambiguity at work and those who with high degree often prefer stability, security and clarity. * Masculinity/ Femininity: define gender roles in more traditional ways. In addition, masculine societies evaluate assertive behavior and acquisition wealth ;whereas feminine cultures contribute to the relationships among people, caring for others and greater balance between family and work life.Individu al differences * Time orientation: some cultures emphasize values such as the necessity of preparing for the future, the value of thrift and savings and the qualification of persistence which have long-term orientation such as Hong Kong, China and Japan. * Other cultures value the past and accent the present with the respect for tradition and need to fulfill historical social obligations, they have short-term orientation such as France, Russia, and West Africa. Managing at International workforce * Multiculturism: occurs when the employees in two or more cultures nteract with each one regular basis. In some instances the new employees are parent-country nationals from the nations in which the home office is located or they may be third-country nationals from some other nations. In either case they are called expatriate because they come from another nation. Their role is to provide a combination of cultures in which both parties adjust to the new situation of seeking greater product ivity for the benefit of both the organization and the citizens of the country. Barriers to cultural adaption Parochialism: it means that the people see the situation around them from their own perspective. They may fail to recognize key differences between their own and others’ cultures. * Ethnocentrism: occurs when people are predisposed (talented) to believe that their homeland conditions are the best. This predisposition is known as the self-reference criterion or ethnocentrism. * Cultural empathy: is the awareness of the differences across the cultures and understanding of the ways in which those differences can affect business relationships.When culture empathy continues, it will result in geocentric organization which ignore person's nationality while emphasizing employee ability in selection, assignment, and decisions. CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION * Transcultural Managers are those who have learned to manage employees in several cultures effectively. Transcultural Emp loyees are those who have learned to operate effectively in several cultures. These employees are low in ethnocentrism and adapt readily to different cultures without major cultural shock. They usually communicate in more than one language. Transcultural employees are especially needed in large, multinational firms that operate in a variety of national cultures. * Multinational Firm: For a firm to be fully Multinational in character, it should have the following items truly diversified without primary dominance of any one nation : – Ownership, – Operations, – Markets, – Managers. * Multinational Companies management look to the world as an economic and social unit; but reorganize each local culture, respect its integrity, acknowledge its benefits, and use its differences effectively in their organization.

Timeline of Greek and Roman Philosophers

What was the first cause of our existence? What is real? What is the purpose of our lives? Questions like these have become the basis of the study known as philosophy. While these questions were addressed in ancient times through religion, the process of logically and methodically thinking through lifes big questions did not begin until about the 7th century BCE. As different groups of philosophers worked together, they developed schools or approaches to philosophy. These schools described the origins and purpose of existence in very different ways. Individual philosophers within each school had their own particular ideas. The Pre-Socratic philosophers are the earliest of the philosophers. Their concern was not so much with the topics of ethics and knowledge that modern people associate with philosophy, but concepts we might associate with physics.  Empedocles and Anaxagoras are counted as Pluralists, who believed there is more than one basic element from which everything is composed. Leucippus and Democritus are Atomists. More or less following the Pre-Socratics came the trio of Socrates-Plato-Aristotle, the schools of the Cynics, Skeptics, Stoics, and Epicureans. The Milesian School: 7th-6th Centuries BCE Miletus was an ancient Greek Ionian city-state on the western coast of Asia Minor in today’s Turkey. The Milesian School consisted of Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes (all from Miletus). The three are sometimes described as materialists, because they believed that all things derived from a single material. Thales (636-546 BCE): Thales was certainly a real historical individual, but very little evidence remains of his work or writing. He believed that the first cause of all things was water, and may have written two treatises entitled On the Solstice and On the Equinox, focusing on his astronomical observation. He may also have developed several significant mathematical theorems. It is likely that his work strongly influenced Aristotle and Plato.Anaximander (c.611-c.547 BCE): Unlike Thales, his mentor, Anaximander actually wrote materials can be credited to his name. Like Thales, he believed that just one material was the source of all things--but Anaximander called that one thing the boundless or infinite. His ideas may well have strongly influenced Plato.Anaximenes (d. c. 502 BCE): Anaximenes may well have been a student of Anaximander. Like the other two Milesians, Anaximenes believed that a single substance was the source of all things. His choice for that substance was the air. Acc ording to Anaximenes, when the air becomes finer, it becomes fire, when it is condensed, it becomes first wind, then cloud, then water, then earth, then stone. The Eleatic School: 6th and 5th centuries BCE Xenophanes, Parmenides, and Zeno of Elea were members of the Eleatic School (named for its location in Elea, a Greek colony in southern Italy). They rejected the idea of many gods and questioned the idea that there is one reality. Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570-480 BCE): Xenophanes rejected the anthropomorphic deities and considered there to be one incorporeal god. Xenophanes may have asserted that men may have beliefs, but they dont have certain knowledge.Parmenides of Elea (c. 515-c. 445 BCE): Parmenides believed that nothing comes into being because everything must derive from something that already exists.Zeno of Elea, (c. 490-c. 430 BCE): Zeno of Elea (in southern Italy) was known for his intriguing puzzles and paradoxes. Pre-Socratic and Socratic Philosophers of the 6th and 5th Centuries BCE Anaxagoras of Clazomenae(c. 499-c. 428)Greek philosopherProtagoras(480-411)Greek philosopher SophistSocrates(c. 469-399)Greek philosopherPlato(c. 427-347)Greek philosopherDiogenes of Sinope(412-323)Greek philosopher Philosophers of the 4th Century BCE Aristotle(384-322)Greek philosopherEpicurus(341-271)Greek philosopherEuclid(c. 325-265)Greek mathematicianAristarchos(c. 310-250)Greek astronomer Philosophers of the 3rd Century BCE Chrysippus(c. 280-207)Hellenistic philosopherEratosthenes(276-194)Hellenistic astronomer Philosophers of the 2nd Century BCE Panaetius(c. 185-110)Stoic and Neo-Platonic PhilosopherLucretius(c. 98-55)Roman poet and Epicurean philosopher Philosophers of the 1st Century CE Epictetus(50 - 138)Roman philosopherMarcus Aurelius(121-180)Roman emperor and philosopher Philosophers of the 3rd Century CE Plotinus(c. 204-270)Greco-roman philosopher Philosophers of the 4th Century CE Hypatia of Alexandria(c. 370-415)Alexandrian philosopher Philosophers of the 4th Century CE Boethius(480-525)Philosopher and Christian martyr who was called the last of the Romans.