Crochet in Plaid, My Favorite Color -
Here's another crochet-skills-building exercise I've worked through. These place mats are rectangles of crochet mesh, and my big accomplishment is that I have the same number of stitches on each row. At least in the case of mesh stitches worked in yarn, I'm now able to create actual rectangles, sporting lovely parallel sides.

Hello, SPEC 10 students! I'm really sorry I won't be able to get there tonight, but the DOH workers tell us the roads between Millpoint and Richwood are not good and will probably get worse. Here are your assignments for Information Technology and Math 102.

IT 101: Read "Chapter 1--Fundamentals of Using Microsoft Windows XP" and do "In the Lab" exercises 1, 3, and 4, pages WIN 1.73-WIN 1.79. Not all of these require you to hand something in. For example, Exercise 1 is "Play Solitare." I expect you already know how to do most or all of the things in this chapter, but please read it and walk through the exercises anyway, to get familiar with the terms and functions.

Math 102: Chapter 6, sections 1, 2, & 3--"Measurement." Homework to hand in: "How am I doing? exercises", p. 399, 1-26. The answers are in the back of the book, so it's essential that you show your work to get credit.

You'll need to get the Math 102 syllabus and the IT syllabus by clicking on these links:

• SPEC Information Technology 100, 101 and 102
• SPEC Math 102 Syllabus

Statistics: Chapter 5 Chapter Quiz, p. 295, problems 1-18. Also, wrap up Assignments for Chapters 1-4; Don't forget to work through and print the Excel exercises p. 65-68 and p 91-94.

IT102--I haven't received the assigments from most students yet. We only have three more class meetings, so don't forget these.

Chemistry--Here's the fourth set of "Essay Questions--" 10 questions total.

Chemistry
February 15, 2010
Exam 4

1. Define the following terms:
catalyst
feedback control
substrate
receptor
synapse
antagonist
vesicle

2. Explain the difference between the "lock and key" and the "induced fit" model of enzyme activity.

3. List and describe the ways in which enzyme activity can be regulated.

4. What are the differences between neurotransmitters and hormones?

5. List three ways steroid hormones can act on their target cells.

6. What is signal transduction?

7. List three ways DNA and RNA differ.

8. Describe and give the function of:
mRNA
tRNA
rRNA

9. List four enzymes involved in DNA replication and describe their functions.

10. Why must DNA be repaired? What enzymes are involved in DNA repair?

Here are the assignments for February 1, 2010:

Statistics: Chapter 3, Do the Review Exercises, p. 173, problems 1-4,6-9, and 20, a & b
Because we haven't discussed these in class yet, they are not due next week. I just put them up here in case you have time and want to get a head start.

Chemistry: The "special chemistry homework" is listed below. Click the "Read More" link to see the whole thing. If you would like a printable version, there's a pdf attatchment you can open and print.

Chemistry 201 Essay Questions
January 25, 2010

1. Are monosaccharides water soluble? Why or why not?

2. What are disaccharides? Give an example.

3. What are polysaccharides? Give an example.

4. What are the differences between glycogen, starch, and cellulose? What do they have in common?

5. What class of carbohydrate is xylitol?

6. What are three functions of lipids?

7. Draw a diagram of a biological membrane showing the lipid bilayer.

8. How does the basic carbon structure of a steroid differ from a triglyceride? Draw a schematic diagram of each.

9. What is a lipoprotein? What is its biological function?

10. Name three steroid hormones, and give their functions.

11. Proteins are made of what type of subunit?

12. Name four roles proteins play in biological systems.

13. What is a zwitterion? What does this have to do with amino acids?

Chemistry--Read Chapter 21, "Lipids." We'll discuss both Chapter 20 and 21 next week, so don't worry if you find some of the topics hard to follow--we'll go over them together, with marshmallow and gumdrop visual aids.

Math--This week we use that little paperback you had to buy--"Math for Health Care Professionals." Chapter 8, "Drug Dosages." Do the Post Test, odd numbered questions, pp. 184-194. (It runs #1--#65. You can just write your answers on a sheet of paper--Don't write in the book if you want to sell it back).

And finally, here are the pages of the last Math 101 Extra-special homework assignment. There are four pages. You can download and print them, or you can click on them and print them from within your browser. If you can't get them printed, don't worry about it. I'll bring paper copies to class next week, and you can do it then.

• Page 1
• Page 2
• Page 3
• Page 4

OK, folks--this time for sure. You can find the course syllabus materials at this link:

http://spiceridge.com/msu/

I can upgrade and improve this Web site as a communication resource, if enough of you would find it useful.

I was interested to find this projection on where ebook prices will eventually land. I hope these guys are right!

Pricing innovations are inevitable in the digital world as well. Prices of e-books should be shaped by cost structures and customer demand rather than by comparison to traditional p-book pricing. A stand-alone electronic book business has radically different economics than the print business: If we assume that the average retail price of a print book is $10, then the average wholesale price is $5 (the $5 difference represents the retailers’ costs for store rent and personnel, including a profit of, at most, only 50 cents for the retailer); the costs of paper, printing and binding are roughly $1, the author’s royalties (15 percent of retail price) $1.50, internal publishers’ costs (including marketing, sales, warehousing, inventory management and distribution) of approximately $2, on average, leaving a publisher’s margin of 50 cents.

Here are some Excel spreadsheet tutorials, reference sheets, and other resources. Enjoy!