How do automobiles produce nitrogen oxides?

Gasoline Contains Hydrocarbons

Most of the chemicals in gasoline are hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are compounds composed of mostly carbon and hydrogen atoms:

        `~C_xH_y`

In the formula for a hydrocarbon, "x" and "y" are replaced by numbers equal to the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in the compound.

Combustion Reactions

Hydrocarbons react with oxygen to form water and carbon dioxide:

        `~C_xH_y` + `~O_2` -> `~H_2O` + `~CO_2`

This type of reaction is called a combustion reaction.

The oxygen for this reaction can be obtained from air. Air is composed of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% other gases. 

Engine Combustion

In a perfect engine under ideal conditions, the hydrocarbons in gas would react with the oxygen in the air while the large amount of nitrogen in the air would pass through the engine and return to the atmosphere. 

Unfortunately, in real engines, some of the nitrogen from the air reacts with the oxygen to form nitrogen oxides (`~NO_x` ):

        `~N_2` + `~O_2` -> `~NO_x`

98% of the nitrogen oxides produced by engines is in the form of NO. High temperature and pressure make the production of nitrogen oxides more likely. Faulty engine systems can also increase nitrogen oxide emissions.

The combustion reaction in automobiles occurs as follows:

• 
  Intake Stroke: Air and gasoline move to a low pressure area created the downward motion of a piston.

• 
  Compression Stroke: As the piston moves upwards, the pressure increase heats the mixture of air and gasoline.

• 
  Power Stroke: The spark plug ignites the mixture of air and gasoline, triggering the combustion reaction.

• 
  Exhaust Stroke: The exhaust valve opens releasing the combustion products and nitrogen oxides.

How might Cognitive Analytic Therapy help Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye?

One of the important features of Cognitive Analytic Behavior is the idea that it helps the patient to formulate their understanding of problems as the result of patterns that they can then try to modify to avoid "maladaptive behaviors." One of the things that Holden focuses on is the idea that everyone is "phony," and in doing so he ignores any possibility that his problems and behaviors result from the way that he interacts with other people.

Instead of trying to blame a particular person or characteristic, CAB might help Holden to start to look carefully at the way that he interacts with others and the way that flaws in those interactions may drive some of the behaviors that are problematic for him.

The idea that the therapist could hopefully identify some of the issues that stem from Holden's childhood and then give him opportunities to identify problematic interactions and then formulate more effective methods seems to be particularly relevant to Holden's case.

Why does Mrs. Putnam contact Tituba in The Crucible?

Mrs. Putnam contacted Reverend Parris's Barbadian slave, Tituba, prior to the start of the play because she believes that "Tituba knows how to speak to the dead [...]," as she says early in Act 1.  This is important to Mrs. Putnam because she has lost seven of her eight babies to death within a day of their births, and she is anxious to make some contact with them and figure out what or who it was that killed them.  Moreover, she claims to have seen her one surviving daughter "[shrivel] like a sucking mouth were pullin' on her life too" this year.  Desperate not to lose her only child and to find out why her others died, Mrs. Putnam has come to the conclusion that witchcraft must be playing a role because there is simply no other reason that makes sense to her.  Therefore, she admits to sending her daughter, Ruth, to Tituba so that they could conjure the spirits of her dead babies and find out the identity of the witch that murdered them.  

In what ways does Lennie fail to meet George's needs in Of Mice and Men ?

Based on the information that the character of George verbalizes throughout the novella, it is safe to say that George's needs are the following:

• Stability- In more than one occasion we hear George complain about having to move from one place to another because of Lennie's issues. It is impossible to blame him. He has had to run from town to town all because of transgressions that he had not even committed. It is frustrating to him, and with good reason, to never find a place to stay and flourish. It is very hard to make a plan, and carry it on, where there is no solid ground upon which to base it.

Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men

I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail.

• Compassion- George complains a lot in the novel, but he has every reason to do so. He does not ask for anything for himself and he always keeps Lennie by his side. Yet, even in his conversations with Slim, there is a degree of vulnerability that betrays his want for the world to understand and appreciate what he goes through with Lennie on a daily basis. 

Therefore, it is very hard to be George. You have to be compassionate and full of patience, accepting, flexible, and willing to sacrifice. 

How did invasions shape English/British identity?

Please note that "English" identity is slightly different from "British" identity. Great Britain incorporates England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Also, due to Britain's colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries, there are other countries, too, that claim aspects of "British" identity and culture, countries as distinct as Australia, India, and the Bahamas.

The first group to invade and conquer Britain was the Romans. They arrived in approximately 43 AD and remained until 420 AD. At that time, what is now Great Britain was then referred to as Britannia. The Romans introduced their bridge technology and also constructed bath houses. The town of Bath in England is appropriately named for its Roman-style baths. From 307 to 337 AD, Constantine the Great ruled the Roman Empire and introduced Christianity as the official religion of the empire, which included Britannia.

About a quarter into the fifth-century, the original Britannic people, said to have been of Celtic origin, plotted to get the Romans out of the country. They invited in Germanic tribes -- the Angles, Jutes, Frisians, and Saxons -- to expel the Romans. The guests, who came from what are now Germany and Denmark, were successful. However, they regarded the original Britannic people as weak. As a result, the Germanic tribes decided to take Britannia for themselves instead of returning it to the original people. Around 450 AD, Britannia became a land ruled by Germanic tribes.

It is from them that we get the term "Anglo-Saxon," which is the ethnic designation for all British people. The "Angles," one of the invading tribes, received their name from the native Brittanic people who, struck by their fair skin and hair, supposedly compared them to angels. A misprint in a manuscript or changes in pronunciation may have led to "angel" being converted to "Angle."

The Germanic tribes imposed their language instead of learning whatever tongue was spoken in Britannia. Old English, which was spoken from the fifth-century until ca. 1050, was a very Germanic language, using sounds and vocabulary from Old High German and Old Norse. The introduction of this language, which is the foundation of the English we speak today, is probably the most important effect of the Germanic conquest.

In 1066, however, England was invaded by William the Conqueror of Normandy. From ca. 1100-1500, the English language took on more of a French influence. The French took over the royal court. Therefore, they influenced aspects of the language that interested them or directly concerned them. For instance, all language related to courtly life and chivalry is derived from French. Much of the vocabulary we currently use that is related to nature, gardening, cuisine, law and government, music and entertainment, etc., is derived from French.

In reference to the court, many customs, too, were of French origin. The Germanic peoples who had previously occupied royal positions were not very interested in the ceremonial functions that now characterize royalty. It was the French who introduced these customs. They also introduced the romance (roman), or courtly poetic tales, as a form of entertainment. During this period, characterized in literature and linguistics as the Middle English period, we get tales such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and, later, The Canterbury Tales. The latter was concerned less with the court and more with middle-class life. 

I would argue that these early invasions -- Roman, Germanic, and Norman -- most strongly impacted English identity and language.

Does competition exist in a perfectly competitive market?

Competition does not exist in a perfectly competitive market.  The name is a bit of a misnomer because it seems to suggest there is competition.  The competition only exists insofar as each participant is on equal ground in the market.  Simply put, each participant is as competitive as the others.  This equality across the market effectively eliminates any real competition in the market.

Perfect competitive markets are rare and even where they do exist often fluctuate to other market styles.  Four basic parameters are need to create a perfectly competitive market.  There needs to be a large number of suppliers, little or no entry/exit costs, standardized products, and suppliers cannot influence the market.  Just by looking at these qualifiers it is easy to see this severely limits potential markets because even small retailers want to distinguish their products.

The classic example of a perfectly competitive market is an agricultural market, especially on the micro scale as seen in local farm markets.  Using a farm market the criteria can be easily observed.  There tend to be multiple suppliers.  The size can depend on the area, and in global markets there are usually too many suppliers to quantify.  The first parameter is set.

All products will be the same.  An ear of corn does not change from one supplier to the next.  The quality of the products may differ, but generally the quality will be about the same for all products.  A drought will affect each supplier about the same.  If one supplier is able to overcome the drought and provide a superior product, then the market is no longer perfectly competitive.  However, for the most part the products will be similar, satisfying criteria number two.

The entry cost for suppliers is almost non-existent.  There may be small fees to set up a business and grow the product, but it does not require large scale operating capital or equipment.  The agricultural realm has no exit costs either.  To exit the market the supplier simply does not plant seeds or can enter a different sub-market (carrots instead of corn).

The final piece of the puzzle is the limitation of suppliers to influence the market.  The standardized price becomes the norm for the market and is generally very near the minimum profit mark.  If a supplier wants to lower the price of their product, it may be purchased more quickly, but the supplier will suffer from reduced profit, which is not rational.  Even if the supplier acts irrationally, the price across the market would soon devolve to the lower price, forcing the supplier to either maintain the new price or continue the cycle until the market is destroyed or they lose money.  Similarly, a supplier cannot raise the price because consumers can just buy the product cheaper elsewhere.  This checks-and-balances model ensures the model maintains price equilibrium.

It is clearly seen that the perfectly competitive market does not contain true competition because of the balance observed in the system.  Any attempt to act outside rational choice will result in the destabilization of the market and/or organization.  Since the goal of organizations is to make a profit, they tend to operate on a rational basis, which bolsters the market stability. 

What is the conflict in Lois Lowry's The Giver, and how is it resolved?

The major conflict of Lois Lowry's The Giver has to do with Jonas figuring out who or what is his antagonist. At first, it seems as though the ones who run the government are to blame for limiting the freedom of its citizens by controlling what they see, hear, and do with their lives. However, as Jonas trains with the Giver, he becomes aware of what really controls their lives--Sameness. Sameness is the antagonist; therefore, the conflict lies within it.

Sameness is the controlling factor in his life and his community. During the first memory that he receives in chapter 11, Jonas experiences sledding down a snowy hill. Afterward, he asks the Giver why they don't have snow in their lives. The Giver explains the following:

"Climate Control. Snow made growing food difficult, limited the agricultural periods. And unpredictable weather made transportation almost impossible at times. It wasn't a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness" (83-84).

Jonas soon learns that over past generations, the people of the community had made similar choices depending on what they were willing to sacrifice to achieve specific goals. For example, the ability for citizens to see colors was sacrificed long ago in order to take away personal preferences. If people don't prefer one person or object over another, then life without prejudices can be achieved. The consequence of a life without colors, though, is that people's abilities to choose are sacrificed. For instance, when Jonas sees and understands colors for the first time, he complains as follows:

"It isn't fair that nothing has color! . . . If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one?" (97).

If limited freedom to choose isn't enough to cause Jonas to revolt against Sameness, the fact that "release" means to kill someone does. Jonas learns that Sameness also requires that the rate of births is controlled in order to avoid hunger and starvation. As a result, Nurturers like Jonas's father have an obligation to kill the smaller of a pair of twins to keep population numbers down. In chapter 19, the Giver shows Jonas a recording of his father injecting a lethal drug into a twin's head. Jonas is devastated. It is after this that he and the Giver decide to overthrow Sameness.

Because Sameness is maintained by a Receiver who stores all of the memories of the world inside of him, they decide to release these memories into the community. Once that happens, everyone in the community will be aware of the sacrifices that have been made to limit their freedoms and Sameness will end. Therefore, the conflict between Sameness and Jonas is resolved when he leaves the community, releases the memories into the community, and ends the controlling grip that Sameness has over the people.