This exercise will increase your familiarity with some of the tools available from the

NCBI web site.  Follow the instructions below and answer the questions in a separate text

document.  Upload this document to the Assignment folder Homework 6.

In this exercise, you will use the tools at NCBI to learn more about globins, which are

frequently referenced in the textbook.

Change the pull-down menu near the

top of the page from “All Databases” to “protein” and search for “beta globin”.

1)

How many records are retrieved with this search?

We would like to start by finding the human beta globin protein.  One way to do this is to

restrict the search to only human sequences.  Add the words “AND Homo sapiens

[ORGN]” after the words beta globin in the search field and press Go.  This searches for

entries with the words “beta globin” and the words “Homo sapiens” in the organism field.

2)

How many entries did this search retrieve?

Click on the first entry and look at the information contained in the file.

3)

What is the accession number of this beta globin entry?

Click the FASTA link at the top of the page.  This redisplays the sequence in FASTA

format, a common format used in bioinformatics.  The essential elements of this format

are a line beginning with the “>” sign followed by a description of the sequence, and the

nucleotide or amino acid sequence starting on the next line.

4)

Copy and paste the FASTA formatted amino acid sequence (starting with the >

symbol) as your answer to question 4.

On the right side of the page, click on the “Run BLAST” link. We are going to search for

proteins similar to the Beta globin protein using BLAST. Copy and paste the FASTA

format beta globin protein sequence into the Query sequence field.  Change the database

to “refseq”. Press the “blast” button at the bottom of the page.  You will be redirected to a

temporary page that displays the estimated wait time for the search.  This could take

several minutes, but is usually quick.

The results page will display the “hits” in graphical format at the top of the page.  Scroll

down to see the alignments of your query protein with hits from the database.  Scroll

back above the graphical output and find click the link “taxonomy reports”.  This will

display a list of all of the organisms contain sequences similar to your query.  Keep in

mind that the default settings of the blast program restrict your results to the top 100 hits,

there are many more good hits that are not displayed.

Immediately to the right of the species names are the scores of the blast matches.  Since

the sequence you searched with is also in the database, the best hit will be to your query

sequence from humans.

5)

What is the score of the hit to human sequences?  What other organisms contain

sequences that match with the same score? (click on the scientific name on the

taxonomy reports page to see the taxonomy entry for that organism.  You can find

the common name listed there if one exists).

All of the organisms with similar sequences found in this search are primates.  Lets see if

we can find if more distantly related organisms have proteins similar to beta globin.

Return to the protein blast page and paste the beta globin sequence in the query window

again.  This time type “Mammals” in the “Organism” field and check the “exclude” box.

This will restrict the blast search to non-mammal sequences.  Press Blast again and wait

for the results.

Again, you will have 100 or so hits.  Scroll down to the alignment of the top hit.  There is

a lot of information here, use it to answer the following questions.

6)

What is the score and expect value of the top hit?  How many “identities” or

identical amino acids are shared between these two sequences?  What percentage

of the sequences is identical?

7)

The result also lists a category called positives, what do you think positives are?

(look at the alignment for clues).

8)

From which species is the top hit?  Can find the common name for this organism?

Find the hit to a “hemoglobin, subunit beta” protein from the chicken,

Gallus

gallus

(use

a text search).  Click on the link “Sequence ID: NP_990820.1”. The link takes you to the

gene page for hemoglobin beta subunit from chicken.  This provides much information

about the organism, gene and protein.

On the right side, find “More about the HBBA gene” and click on “HBBA gene”

Scroll down to “Genomic Context”.

9)

On which chicken chromosome is this gene located? What other globin genes are

located in this region?  Mouse over the arrows representing genes in the figure in

the “Genomic context section”.

10)

Click on OR51M1 that is downstream of the hemoglobin genes.  What type of

protein does this gene encode

Read “Metagenomic insights into the human gut resistome and the forces that shape it” by Forslund et al. and answer the following questions in a text file and deposit it into the assignment folder for Homework 5.

1) What is a resistome?  Why is it useful to think about antibiotic resistance in this context rather then focusing on individual organisms?

2) What is the authors’ explanation for the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in organisms living in diverse and remote environments in the wild?

3) Describe the “farm-to-fork” model for the selection and spread of antibiotic resistant microbes.

4) Compare and contrast the strengths and limitations of traditional phenotypic tests  with metagenomics for understanding antibiotic resistance in bacteria.  How does “functional metagenomics” attempt to overcome the weaknesses of these approaches?

5) Describe the role of gene transfer in the spread of antibiotic resistance.  Based on what you read, which method(s) of gene transfer are likely involved in spreading resistance determinants in bacteria?

6) Why were the resistance genes described by Sommer et al. (page 321) mostly different from previously known resistance genes?

7) Based on what you have read, why do you think the resistance potential of human gut microbes is significantly greater in Spain and China and significantly lower in Japan and the United States?  Support your argument with specific examples form the paper.

8) The paper suggests there are three major mechanisms for antibiotic resistance.  Can you think of three different ways a bacterium might avoid being affected by antibiotics?

Homework – 2A

• Download the file R.RDataand load it into R using load(“5.R.RData”). Consider the linear regression model of y on X1 and X2. What is the standard error for β1? (Also attached screenshot from RStudio to display the code has been executed)

• Next, plot the data using matplot(Xy,type=”l”). Which of the following do you think is most likely given what you see?

A)

1. b)
2. c)

3)

4)

5)

6)

As depression struck the new nation in the mid-1780s, new questions arose about the nature of American democracy. Many conservatives believed that the answer lay in a stronger national government. Most radicals believed it was up to the states to relieve the financial burden of the people. These sentiments fostered a movement for a new constitution. Political differences soon stimulated the creation of political parties.

Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation with the new Constitution of 1787. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles vis-à-vis the Constitution? Give specific instances that demonstrate the weakness of the Articles (such as the Western problem).

Then analyze the drafting of the Constitution, using specific details to show how the various states (slave vs. free, east vs. west) compromised in order to effectively draft a constitution. Pay particular attention to Roger Sherman’s plan, the Great Compromise, which broke a stalemate that could have been fatal to the development of the new Constitution.

Finally, compare and contrast the debate over ratification between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Make sure you cite specific examples from the Federalist Papers to support the Federalist position and contrast it with leading proponents of the opposition (such as John Hancock). Analyze how the debate over a bill of rights illustrates the differences between the two parties. Evaluate the relative success of the Bill of Rights in achieving an effective balance between national and states’ interests.

This paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (not including the References page) and utilize no less than four academic quality sources. Margins should be no more than one inch (right and left) and the essay should be composed in an appropriate font and size. Sources must be documented and cited using APA format.

HECTOR, JASMINE, and JESSICA

DESCRIPTION at INTAKE

Hector Vega, a seven-year-old boy of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, was brought to the outpatient clinic by his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, because of their concerns about Hector’s difficulty functioning at home and in his special education school.  In a recent incident, Hector was suspended from school for trying to stab a classmate with a pencil after the classmate accidentally knocked into him while passing by.

Hector and his two sisters, Jasmine (11) and Jessica (5), have lived with the Armstrongs since being removed from their biological mother’s care four years ago.  A preschool teacher had called child protective services after she noticed bruises on Hector’s buttocks when she was helping him get dressed after using the bathroom.  After child protective service workers interviewed the children and visited the home, they determined that Hector and Jasmine had been repeatedly physically abused by Ms. Vega and her boyfriend.  When the two older children misbehaved, they were beaten with an extension cord, had hot sauce put on their genitals, or were made to kneel on uncooked rice.  Jasmine told the Armstrongs that she didn’t remember when their mother had started hitting her when she was “bad,” but that Hector’s abuse had started when he was about eighteen months old.  All three children had witnessed many violent episodes between their mother and her boyfriend.  Jasmine said that the two often hit, kicked, and threw things at each other when they were angry, and that she had seen blood all over their faces and clothes after some of their fights.  Jasmine said she would take her younger siblings into the bedroom closet during these incidents.

The Armstrongs know little about the siblings’ early developmental history, but they reported that all three children were underweight, quiet, and fearful when they were first placed with them.  Hector was still in diapers and using a pacifier.  His language seemed significantly delayed, and he wasn’t yet speaking in full sentences.  As Hector got older, his behavior became increasingly difficult to manage.  His foster parents reported that he often becomes angry and aggressive with very little provocation.  He seems to crave danger, and once climbed out the window to walk on the railings of their fourth-story fire escape.  He also has difficulty falling asleep, and sometimes gets no more than one or two hours of sleep a night.  When he does fall asleep, he often has nightmares about monsters and vampires.  His foster mother also reported that he has always hidden food in his room.  On several occasions, she has found week-old sandwiches and glasses of milk under his bed.

The Armstrongs have concerns about Hector’s sisters, too.  When Jasmine was placed with the Armstrongs she was seven years old.  Mrs. Armstrong said that Jasmine acted just like her siblings’ mother, and insisted on feeding and diapering Hector and Jessica.  They don’t have confirmation of this, but they assumed that much of the responsibility for taking care of her brother and sister was left to her.  The Armstrongs also reported that Jasmine has always seemed sad and anxious, and is very hard on herself when she doesn’t do well in school or when she makes even a small mistake.  Mrs. Armstrong reported that Jasmine recently dropped a glass of milk on the floor.  Mrs. Armstrong said that she didn’t have the heart to yell at her because Jasmine called herself stupid and hit herself in the head with her fists three or four times.

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong report that they worry about five-year-old Jessica’s activity level and difficulty concentrating.  They described Jessica has always being on the go and not being able to stay with any one activity for very long.  She also has a very strong startle response and jumps and gets upset when she hears loud voices.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What kinds of trauma have Hector and his sisters been exposed to?
2. If you didn’t know the children’s trauma history, what diagnoses might you consider for them?
3. How does knowing about the siblings’ trauma history impact the diagnoses they might receive?
4. What are your hypotheses about how the siblings’ traumatic experiences have impacted their functioning?
5. Assess the degree of emotional regulation for Hector using Saxe’s framework.
6. Assess the stability of the social environment, using Saxe’s framework.
7. What does your assessment suggest for treatment plans?
8. How would you prioritize treatment plans?

INTAKE SESSION WITH FOSTER PARENTS

During their intake appointment at the clinic, the Armstrongs reported that the children seem to have both good and bad days.  They describe Hector as being a loving and sensitive child who can nevertheless suddenly become enraged if he perceives another child as becoming threatening or if he’s criticized by a teacher.  The stabbing incident that brought Hector to the clinic is only the last in a long line of instances of aggressive behavior at school.  When asked, Hector said that the kids in his class are mean to him and hit him all of the time.  He said that he has no choice but to defend himself and hit them back.  In the last year, Hector had two previous suspensions for hitting and kicking one of his male teachers.  When asked about this teacher, Hector said that the teacher yells at him a lot and always blames everything that goes wrong in the class on him.

Although Hector attends a special school for emotionally disturbed children, he learns very little because he is rarely able to sit through a full class period.  Hector appears to be extremely hyperactive and is unable to sit for more than a few minutes at a time.  He has great difficulty attending to his classwork and has very poor frustration tolerance.  He often appears angry and sullen, but he can quickly become expansive and almost hysterical.  Hector was initially put on a trial of Ritalin.  While on the medication, Hector was better able to attend to his work and stay in his seat for longer periods of time.  The medication, however, did not help Hector’s poor frustration tolerance, his aggressive behavior, or his emotional lability.

The Armstrongs report that Jasmine tends to hurt herself when she becomes disappointed in herself for making mistakes of any kind and not doing well in school.  She often hits herself in the head and on several occasions has cut her forearm with the edge of a paper clip.  Five-year-old Jessica seems to have the most difficulty when she’s required to sit quietly in school.  She tells them that she “sees bad things” at those times and she “feels better” when she’s running around.  She also has an extremely strong startle response and jumps whenever she hears loud voices in the street, in other classrooms, or from other apartments in her building.

The Armstrongs report that all the children seem anxious before and after the scheduled monthly visits with their biological mother, Ms. Vega, but that Hector’s behavior at school becomes particularly problematic.  Two of his suspensions from school have closely followed visits with Ms. Vega.  The Armstrongs report that Ms. Vega is inconsistent with her visits, and that she comes to the foster agency for only about half of her scheduled visits with her children.  When she does come for her visits, she seems to feel that the children don’t show her enough affection.  She either cries or becomes angry and yells at the children.  The Armstrongs have spoken to the children’s case manager many times about how upset the children become around the times of the visits, but she says that she can’t do anything to change the schedule because the judge has ordered the visits.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Use the concept of survival circuits (Saxe et.al.)  to describe the presentation by the Armstrongs of Hector having “good and bad days”.

1. What factors secondary to the siblings’ exposure to chronic trauma may be influencing their functioning?

1. What are some explanations for Ms. Vega’s (biological mother) inconsistent and inappropriate behavior at the scheduled visits with her children?

1. What are the major symptoms Hector is having?  List potential reasons why a 7 year old might have these symptoms

1. Discuss how Hector’s developmental level and age influence his symptoms.

1. Are these symptoms likely to be transient or chronic?

1. List the symptoms of Hector’s sisters, and how they differ from his. Discuss why there might be these differences.

1. What do you want to do next?

INTERVIEW

Upon interviewing the Armstrongs, the intake therapist learned that the Armstrongs received special training so that their home could be certified as a therapeutic foster home.  The Armstrongs appear to be highly skilled, patient, and loving.  In addition, they report having close relationships with their two biological children, who are both employed and have families of their own.

The Armstrongs both grew up in Jamaica and report that an authoritarian style of parenting and using physical punishment is the norm there.  They report that their parents used harsh methods of punishment and they were both “flogged” with switches as children.  The Armstrongs said that they used less harsh methods with their own children, but they describe themselves as being strict and reported that they sometimes spanked their children when they were young.  They’ve found, though, that the same methods of discipline are less effective with their foster children.  Their experience has been that Jasmine becomes overly fearful and Hector and Jessica become disturbingly agitated when they raise their voices.  They reported that, although the training they received from the foster agency was extremely helpful, they would welcome some education about how to parent children like Hector, Jasmine, and Jessica.

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong are committed to caring for the three children.  They make sure to spend some individual time with each child engaging in an activity that each child loves. For example, Hector is a very good athlete and loves to play soccer.  He and Mr. Armstrong go to a nearby park to play soccer at least once a week.  Hector has formed a very good relationship with his foster parents and calls them Mommy and Daddy.  He appears to especially admire and respect his foster father.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Why do you think the Armstrong’s decided to become therapeutic foster parents?
2. What cultural factors may be influencing the Armstrongs’ parenting practices?
3. What are Hector’s strengths?  What are the protective factors in Hector’s environment?
4. What do you need to look up?  What do you want to do next?

ASSESSMENT

Hector’s new therapist completed a full assessment and determined that her first task was help Hector achieve a sense of psychological safety.  Hector called his incidents of affective dysregulation “going crazy,” and said that they scared him sometimes.  The therapist decided to work on improving Hector’s ability to manage his emotions.  Hector had severe difficulties in the following areas:

1. Range and intensity of emotions. Hector was expressing his emotions so intensely and inappropriately that they were interfering with his social and academic functioning.
2. Ability to label emotions or use feelings language. Hector was not able to talk about or accurately label his feelings.   He could say only that he “goes crazy” a lot.
3. Ability to connect emotions to trigger events. Hector was not aware of the connection between his emotional reactions and the situations or thoughts and beliefs that caused them.  When his therapist walked him through a “moment by moment” assessment of the stabbing incident that led to his last suspension from school, Hector said that all of a sudden and for no reason a kid in his class pushed him hard.  Hector said that he wasn’t thinking of anything and that his mind was blank when he “went crazy” and stabbed the kid who pushed him with a pencil.
4. Use of coping strategies. Hector had few strategies for coping with overwhelming emotions, and most of these were maladaptive. While the therapist was observing him play a frustrating game, she noticed that Hector didn’t use coping self-statements before approaching a difficult task or ask for help. And when she asked him about his biological mother, he seemed overwhelmed and began to take objects off her desk and throw them in the garbage.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What neurobiological consequences of trauma do you see in Hector?
2. How might these symptoms relate to his trauma history?
3. How might you intervene with these neurobiological consequences?
4. What do you think “psychological safety” means? Why do you think the therapist decided to start with helping Hector achieve a sense of psychological safety?
5. How does your body react when you are feeling anxious (sad, angry, excited)
6. What coping skills do you regularly use when you experience strong emotions?
7. What strategies might you use with Hector to help him cope better?
8. What do you want to do next?

TREATMENT

Hector’s therapist initially began working on helping Hector become aware of and label his feelings.  She worked on this in two ways.  First, she made sure to label any feelings that came up in the course of pretend play.  Hector particularly liked to play with superhero figures, so the therapist labeled the feelings of the figures during play.  For example, when two superheroes were engaged in a battle, the therapist labeled the figures as being angry, frightened, ashamed, or sad, as dictated by the play situation, and connected the situation to the feeling it evoked.  She also helped Hector understand that emotions often have physical manifestations.  When she worked with Hector, they often played frustrating games such as Operation or Sorry because Hector has particular difficulty managing frustration and disappointment.  The therapist helped Hector discover that his stomach hurts and that he clenches his fists and jaw when he feels frustrated.

Next, the therapist worked on helping Hector identify the thoughts and situations that trigger difficult behavior……

If left unrecognized and untreated, exertional heat illness can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, each year we see several high school, collegiate, and even professional athletes succumb to this condition. As you’ll read in the articles associated with this post, catastrophic EHI (i.e. heat stroke) is a preventable condition. You will also read how it is imperative that health care professionals and coaches recognize the signs and symptoms of the condition immediately so that appropriate interventions can be activated. For this week’s discussion topic, I am asking you to read several articles and answer the below questions. Please note that all articles for this week are in the folder labeled “journal articles”.

Please thoroughly answer each of the below questions.

1) What are the best ways for the treatment of Exertional Heat Stroke?

2) Knowing the best practices, how would you feel if someone did not administer these practices, because they were uncomfortable doing so?

3) What are ways we could educate the public on the appropriate care steps?

4) What further information and concerns need to be brought forth on this topic?

Discussion Board Forum 1 Instructions

Thread:

Brief Description: Analyze a food product’s nutrition label and evaluate the nutrient density of the food product.

Details: From this list (Attached), select a food item to analyze and use the corresponding website. The first part of your thread will be a summary of the product information, nutrition facts, and nutrition claims. The second part of your thread will be an identification of placement using the MyPlate nutrition tool and an evaluation of the nutrient density of the product. Be sure to support your answers using the textbook.

Part 1:

1. Identify and record the name of the product, serving size, calories, total fat, total trans-fat, cholesterol, total carbohydrate, fiber, sugar, potassium, sodium, protein, vitamin A, C, calcium, and iron.
2. Include a web-link to the nutrition fact label so that your professor and classmates can link directly to the label and analyze the information.
3. Based on the reading in the textbook and related appendices, determine if any health-related terms, health claims, or nutrient content claims are being made by the manufacturer. These claims are located on the front of the product packaging. If any of these are made, provide the definition for each one made from your text. Verify if the claim is indeed true. Determine if the terms/claims made are misleading or helpful to consumers. Discuss and explain as needed.

Part 2:

1. Compare and contrast the nutrition label to the MyPlate nutrition tool (i.e. the “plate picture”). Use your textbook or the website: www.myplate.com. Which food group(s) would you place this product in? Also, does it contribute in a healthy way to the MyPlate recommendations (i.e. Dietary Guidelines that accompany MyPlate)? Or would it be difficult to fit in a healthy way? Explain your answer.
2. Identify the serving size from the actual label and state it in a clear manner (i.e. if it is crackers and the serving size is in ounces, determine approximately how many crackers this is). Discuss your perceptions of the serving size listed. Is this the amount you typically consume? What most people consume? Discuss personal satisfaction with the recommended serving size.
3. Discuss overall nutrient density for this food product. Give a rating for this food item such as low, moderate, or high in nutrient density. Provide support for this rating by discussing the specific nutrients (i.e. macronutrients and micronutrients) provided (or not provided) in this food item. Use corresponding labeling definitions from your textbook of “low”, “good”, and/or “high” as appropriate when discussing the various nutrients.
4. Based on your evaluation, discuss how this food item can be incorporated into one’s meal plan for the day. Could it work at either snack or meal time? Based on readings from the textbook, how often would you recommend consuming this item? Based on the food group(s) from MyPlate you determined for this item (Question #1, Part 2), what other foods item(s) would you add to improve the overall nutrient density of the snack or meal being consumed? If you feel the food item you selected should NOT be consumed on a regular basic, what replacement food items would you suggest and why?

Health Care Laws and Regulatory Issues

Like all laws, health care laws start as a health care policy and make their way through the legislative process to become a law. It is important to understand that hundreds of policies and ideas work through this process each year; however, only a select few will become a law. The purpose of this assignment is for you to read about a current regulatory issue in health care and understand how laws support the regulation of the health care industry.

Research and identify one article or a current legal case within the last 3 to 5 years (e.g., an issue that went to court to have the court determine the outcome) that involves one of the following issues:

• A regulatory issue in health care
• A regulatory issue specific to institutional health care

Write a 500- to 600-word paper that includes the following:

• Summarize the case or article.
• Define a law involved with the chosen regulatory issue from a state level (choose one common state) and a federal level.
  • Explain how and why the law was created.
• Consider what you have read in the article or legal case on the selected regulatory issue, and explain the impact the regulatory issues and trends have on the health care industry.

Cite 1 peer-reviewed, scholarly, or similar reference to support your paper.

Format your assignment according to APA guidelines.

Globalization Challenges

The topic is cultural challenges faced by companies when they entered or are entering a new country through the lens of consumer behavior considering perception, bias, sex roles, decision-making, culture, income, social class, religion, group mentality, ideal self, pack order and tradition or habit.

Other factors may present a unique problem for the company and should be added as needed. You will then make a suggested approach to overcome the behavior or if the company already entered the market how did they overcome the behavior.

You can select a company that entered a foreign market and failed (Starbucks in Britian initially failed) looking at whether bias, perception, male/female roles etc. were the culprit.  You can select a company that entered a foreign market successfully and explain how they handled the issues of behavior and overcame the challenges (McDonald’s in India), or you can select a company that should/could enter a foreign market (NFL trying to get into Europe) looking at what behaviors they need to overcome and  how they can overcome these issues.  You will need to research the culture understand the topics of perception, bias, decision making, sex roles, income, social class, habits and behaviors and sense of self.  One of these needs to apply the others may not, feel free to consider other behaviors I did not list.

Each paper should have:

• A background paragraph on the company/products.
• A paragraph on the behavior and challenges they will/did/could face.
• A recommendation paragraph.

Assignment 1

This assignment is worth 12% of your total course mark. Please type your answers directly into this document and submit the assignment to your Open Learning Faculty Member.

This assignment includes a field exercise in which you are expected to collect and describe a piece of intrusive igneous rock.  You have the option of mailing a piece of the rock to your Open Learning Faculty Member, or sending a high-quality photograph.  If you choose the mail option, please print out the assignment and mail everything together.

Part A: Short-Answer Questions (20 points in total)

Answer the following questions as succinctly as you can. None of your answers should be more than a couple of sentences (100 words or less).

1. On the diagram to the right, draw the approximate boundaries between the crust and the mantle, and the mantle and the core; and label the crust, mantle, and core. (2 points)

(You could use the “insert shapes” tool of Word to do this, or else draw it by hand and take a photo and then insert it into your document.)

2. What is the lithosphere, and what role or importance does it play in plate tectonics? (2 points)

3. The genus Homo has been around for about 3 million years. What does that represent as a percentage of geological time?  (1 point)

4. Name any two of the inert elements, and explain what it means for an element to be “inert.” (2 points)

5. Name the mineral group for the following minerals: dolomite, serpentine, corundum, and sylvite. (2 points)

6. What is the net charge on the silica tetrahedra part of the mineral pyroxene? (1 point)

7. What is the difference between cleavage and fracture in minerals? (2 points)

8. When a rock is subjected to partial melting, what is the likely compositional difference between the original rock and the magma produced? Explain why this is the case. (2 points)

9. What is the name for an extrusive igneous rock with 60% plagioclase, 25% amphibole, and 15% pyroxene? What is the name for its intrusive equivalent? (2 points)

10. Magma composition has implications for its viscosity. What implications do differences in viscosity have for volcanic eruption styles?  (2 points)

11. Explain how GPS positional information can be used to monitor a volcano that has the potential to erupt. (2 points)

Part B: Exercises (45 points in total)

B1: Making halite crystals  (10 points)

Place about 1/2 teaspoon (~2.5 cm³) of any kind of table salt into a small bowl.  Add about 2 teaspoons (~ 10 mL) of boiling water and swirl it around for a few minutes until all or almost all of the salt has dissolved.  (Please be careful not to splash yourself with the hot water.) Place the bowl in a safe place (windowsill, bookshelf), and check back every 24 hours to see what has happened.  Each time, describe the crystals in terms of size range (in mm), shapes, colour, and any other details that you think are important.

When all of the water has evaporated take a photo or make a sketch of the results, and include it with your assignment.  If you take a photo, It might look a little like the one below, although this was Himalayan rock salt that also has some iron-oxide minerals.  These crystals are up to about 2 mm across.  [SE photo]

© Steven Earle. Used with permission.

B2: Collect and describe a sample of intrusive igneous rock  (20 points)

This exercise involves fieldwork to collect a rock sample and some follow-up research at home.  You may think it will not be possible for you to complete this exercise where you live, but rest assured, you can find good examples of intrusive igneous rocks almost anywhere, except the bottom of the ocean.  If you’re stuck, please ask your Open Learning Faculty Member for some help.

Collect a sample of igneous intrusive rock from an outcrop, stream bed, beach, or other suitable location. Your rock should have visible and identifiable crystals, including feldspar, and probably quartz, amphibole, or mica. Granite and diorite are good examples.

Describe the sample site

Describe where you found the sample (e.g., name of river, beach, road, nearest town, etc.) and briefly the sample location.  Was the sample collected from a stream bed, beach, forest trail, gravel pit, or someone’s driveway?  Was it a loose pebble or boulder lying on the ground, or was it part of the solid rock of an outcrop.  Include a sketch or photograph(s) of the sample site with  a measure of scale such as a notebook, hammer, or person; and where the sample site is located.  It’s very important to show some context in your photo (like the left-hand photo below) or sketch, so your Open Learning Faculty Member can understand the setting.  Also don’t forget to mark on your context photo or sketch where you actually found the sample.  (4 points)

© Steven Earle. Used with permission.

To mark your description, your Open Learning Faculty Member will need to see what the rock looks like.  You have two options.  One would be to take at least two good clear photographs and insert those into your assignment.  You can choose this option if you know how to take good photos.  Remember that strong light (preferably direct sunlight) will give the best results.  The other option is to break the sample in half^* and send part of it (about 2 x 2 x 1 cm) by mail to your Open Learning Faculty Member along with the rest of your assignment. If you have doubts about your ability to take a good photo, it’s best to send the sample.  You will likely lose marks if your Open Learning Faculty Member is unable to evaluate your answers due to an unclear photo.  Keep the remainder of the sample for yourself, so you can understand the comments from your Open Learning Faculty Member.

*There are two good reasons to break the sample.  First, you can keep part of the sample for yourself to help you understand the comments from your Open Learning Faculty Member.  Second, you’ll be able to see a fresh surface of the rock.  You’ll need a heavy hammer to break a rock like granite.  Please wear eye protection.

Describe the sample texture and composition

Describe the overall appearance (colour, texture), range of crystal sizes (in mm), general shapes of the crystals, and any other structures.  You may find that the crystals of one of the mineral types are generally larger or differently shaped than the others, and if so, make a note.  Test its strength and hardness by scratching with a knife.  (The Mohs hardness scale doesn’t apply to rocks—only to minerals—but you can describe rocks as being soft, hard, very hard, etc.) (4 points)

Identify the minerals in the sample and estimate their percentage proportions

This task may seem almost impossible at first, but if you work at it systematically, it won’t be that difficult.  Using Figure 3.17 in your textbook as a guide, estimate the proportion of dark minerals.  If the dark minerals are flaky, they are likely biotite; if they are more prismatic (long and thin), they are likely amphibole.  (Both could be present.) Feldspar tends to be dull white, whereas quartz is typically glassy.  Try estimating the quartz content next (using Figure 3.17 again).  In most cases, everything else should be feldspar.  If some of the feldspar is pink, its likely to be potassium feldspar, and the rest is likely plagioclase, but you don’t have to try to distinguish the two. The percentage proportions must add up to 100.  (6 marks)

Provide a rock name for your sample

In other words, what type of rock is it?  (2 points)

Briefly outline the geological history of your rock

Briefly describe how you think your rock formed, and in what geological setting.  If it wasn’t part of an outcrop, it could have come from 100s of km away.  Describe how you think it got to where you collected it.  (3 points)

B3: Understanding the Mt. Polley area geological map (10 points)

You have been provided with a copy of the geological map of the area around Mt. Polley in central British Columbia.  (Mt. Polley is about 75 km SE of Quesnel and 60 km NE of Williams Lake.) The following questions are based on information in the map legend and on the map itself:

1. What is the rock-type name for an Early Jurassic intrusive igneous rock in this area, and what does that name tell you about its composition? (2 points)

2. On the scale of mafic-intermediate-felsic, how does that rock compare with the Lower Triassic MPd that shows up on cross-section B between Bootjack Lake and Polley Lake? (2 points)

3. Volcanic rocks are listed with sedimentary rocks under “Layered Rocks.” Identify and provide the rock-type names for two different volcanic layers—one from the Pleistocene, Eocene, or Miocene and one from the late Triassic.  (3 points)

4. The rock labelled EJt is described as a “latite tuff.” What does that tell you about its geological origins?  Describe where you might find some of this rock on the map.  (3 points)

B4: Distinguishing between similar-looking minerals  (20 points)

All minerals have some specific distinguishing features, so the key to mineral identification is to know what characteristics to focus on, especially when trying to distinguish one mineral from another that looks similar.  The following table has a list of three pairs of minerals from your kit that can be easily confused.  For each mineral, describe what you think are its most important diagnostic properties, and then describe what tests you would perform on a rock sample to distinguish the two minerals.  Be very explicit in your answer.  It is not sufficient, for example, just to say that a distinguishing feature is “hardness.”  Also, remember that although colour might seem to be the most obvious distinguishing feature of a mineral, it is not always reliable. (16 points)

B5: Characteristics of igneous rocks  (14 points)

1. All igneous rocks form from cooling magma. Arrange the following rocks in a likely cooling order from fastest to slowest, and describe the composition of the magma from which they might have formed: syenite (8), pumice (9), granite (10), pegmatite (11), scoria (14). (5 points)

2. The following diagram is a hypothetical cross section through a zone of active oceanic crust formation (on the left) and ocean-continental plate convergence. Identify, by number and rock name, which of the igneous rocks from your kit is most likely to have formed at locations (a) through (d).  (4 points)

3. List the following minerals in the sequence in which you would expect them to crystallize as the temperature in a typical magma chamber decreases: potassium feldspar (28), quartz (31), biotite (37), amphibole (39), and pyroxene (40). (5 points)

Part C: Longer question  (10 points in total)

Please answer the following question.  Write as much as you think is necessary to answer the question, but don’t forget that someone has to read what you write, so be as concise and clear as possible.  You do not need to reference the textbook or the material in the Course Units, but if you use any outside sources, use in-text citations.  Use any referencing style you are comfortable with.

Two common types of volcanoes are shield volcanoes and composite volcanoes.  Compare these two types by focussing on the plate tectonic setting, shape and size, compositions of magma, and variations in eruption style and frequency.  Give an example of each type of volcano.  You can use a table if you wish.  (10 points)