@...Grease Those Wheels...@

SAT (The Great, Big List of Word Roots III)

2010-10-03T15:32:00.000+05:00

DE (away, off, reversal or down)

descend
detract (trachere pull, to take the pull away, to reduce the value or importance of something by depriving it of some stuff)
decipher
deface (spoil appearance intentionally)
defile (deformation of defouler; to trample under foot, to corrupt something or damage rep)
defraud (to cheat someone)
deplete
denounce (criticize publicly)
decry (to strongly speak against something)
defer (to postpone)
defame
delineate (to sketch down, explain in detail or draw something)
deference (showing respect, especially by accepting decisions or commands)

DEM (people)

democracy
epidemic
pandemic (an epidemic having widespread effects)
endemic (restricted to one place)
demagogue (a leader playing with emotions)
demographics (relating to human population)

DIA, DI (apart or through)

dialogue
diagnose
diameter
dilate
digress
dilatory (tending to waste time or move slowly)
diaphanous (dia- through, phane to show; transparent)
dichotomy (division into opposing things; di- apart, tomy to cut)
dialectic (tension existing between two contradicting ideas, forces or elements)

DIC, DICT, DIT (to tell, to say or to use words)

dictionary
dictate
predict (pre- before, dict to tell)
contradict (contra- against, dict to say)
verdict (ver- truth, dict to tell)
abdicate (renounce position)
edict (a formal proclamation by government or ruler / authoritative command)
dictum (same as edict)
malediction
benediction
indict (formally accuse of crime)
indite (dit- to use words (in), to write something)
interdict (inter- in between + to say. prohibit something)
diction (choice of words or clarity of speech)
obiter dictum (passing comment)

DIGN (worth)

dignity
dignitary
dignify
deign (to do in haughty manner by considering it a favor, I don't think he will deign to accept our invitation)
indignant (angry at unfairness, regarded as unworthy)
condign (wholly worthy, fitting or well deserved)
disdain (intense scorn or disgust for someone or something, Old French desdeign)
infra dig (beneath dignity below somebody's social level)

DOC, DAC (to teach)

doctor
doctrine (underlying rules, ideas taught as truth)
indoctrinate (tot each somebody to belief something without question)
didactic (geeky, fond of instructing others)
docile (quiet and easy to control)
doctrinaire (adj; determined to use a specific approach and not accepting a better alternative)

DOL (suffering or pain)

condolence
indolent (painless and slow to change disease, lazy or lethargic)
dolorous (involving sorrow)
doleful (sad and painful)

DON, DOT, DOW (to give)

donate
donor
pardon
condone (to let something, esp bad, happen)
antidote
anecdote (a short and often humorous personal account of something)
endow (to provide something desirable, can you endow me with an xtreme gaming rig)
dowry (stuff given to bride upon marriage)

DUB (doubt)

dubious (hesitant or unsure, of uncertain quality)
dubiety (uncertainty about something or something doubtful)
indubitable (not to be doubted, an indubitable truth)

DUC, DUCT (to lead)

abduct
conduct
conductive
seduce
induct
induce
ductile

DUR (hard)

durable
endure
duress (the use of force to make someone do something (coerce, impel))
dour (unfriendly or stubborn)
obdurate (ob- to be -dur hard, heard hearted aka not influenced by emotions or stubborn)

DYS (faulty)

dysfunction
dystopia (an imaginary place where everything is shit or a vision of one)
dyspepsia (acid indigestion)
dyslexia (inability to understand written lingo)

EPI (upon)

epidermis
epidemic
epilogue
epistle (long formal letter)
epitome (typical example)
epigram (a short and often witty saying)
epithet (an insult)
epitaph

(discontinued)

SAT (The Great, Big List of Word Roots II)

2010-09-30T21:33:00.000+05:00

BE (to be, to have a certain quality)

belittle
befriend
belate (something late that losses its effectiveness)
bemoan (to lament; to express grief or disappointment)
bewilder (puzzle or confuse)
beseech (make an earnest request or beg)
bemuse (puzzle)
begrudge (not want to give or resent something somebody has, He begrudged my success, She begrudged every dime she gave me)
bequeath (leave somebody something at will, The powerful magician bequeathed all of power to his apprentice)
belie (to show to be false, This photograph belies the testimony of the witness)
beguile (to deceive with charm)
beset (trouble continually; beset by the scandal)
bereft (adj; deprived, lacking, bereaved bereft of ideas, bereft living conditions)

BEL, BELLUM (war)

belligerent
bellicose
rebellion
rebel
antebellum (before war)

BEN, BON (good)

benevolent
benign
benefactor
beneficiary
benefit
benediction
bonus
bon vivant (French somebody who lives a luxurious life)
bona fide (Latin sincere and honest, authentic, a bona fide student, a bona fide peculiar event)

BI (twice, doubly, two)

biannual
biennial
bilingual
binoculars
bipartisan (involved in two political parties)
bilateral (involving both sides)
bigamy (having two wifes (it is considered a crime))

BRI, BREV (short, brief or concise)

brevity (use of a few words)
brief
abbreviate
abridge

CAD, CID (to happen by chance,to fall)

accident
coincidence
decadent (immoral or in decline)
cascade (waterfall, downward flow of something, to flow in large amounts)
recidivism (re- back -cid fall, to indulge in a previous undesirable behavior especially crime)
cadence [rise and fall of voice while taking, falling tone typically at the end of a sentence)

CAND (to burn)

candle
candor (candid or honest quality, Latin to burn white)
incandescent (glowing with heat, showing intense emotion, candescre to glow white)
incendiary (can burn or catch fire)

CAN, CEN or CHANT (to sing)

chant
enchant
accent
recant (to withdraw belief or withdraw something previously said, re- back -cantre sing, recant what you have said)
incantation (using magic words)
incentive (something that encourages people into action, in- in -cantre sing, something that sets the tune)

CAP, CIP, CAPIT, CIPIT (head or headlong (in an uncontrolled fashion))

capital
cape
captain
disciple (dia- though, -cip head, a follower)
principal (primary or school administrator; princip- somebody who takes first place)
principle (underlying ideas)
precipice (a high cliff or rock face or dangerous waters)
precipitate (happen quickly or hurried; pre- before, -cip head)
precipitous (done rashly or quickly without enough thought)
capitulate (to surrender under agreed conditions or heads :P)
capitalism (free market system (Economics))
precipitation
caption
recapitulate (same as recap; going over main points)

CAPT,CIP, CEPT (to take)

captive
capture
anticipate (anti- before, cip catch)
intercept (inter- between, cept catch)
susceptible (sus- up, cept catch)
emancipate (set someone free)
recipient
incipient (to start to develop)
percipient (per- through, cip catch, somebody who perceives or having insight)
precept (anti- before, cip catch, a rule or instruction that guides somebody's reaction)

CARD, CORD, COUR (heart)

concord (treat or peaceful coexistence, co- together, cord heart)
cardiac
courage (having heart)
encourage (to give heart)
discord (disagreement, dis- apart, cord heart)
accord (ac- to, cord heart, to agree or agreement)
concordance (similarity or agreement between two or more things)
concordant (harmonious)
cordial (warm in a friendly sense,deeply felt, of the heart)

CARN (flesh)

carnivorous
carnival (Italian for cessation of meat eating)
carnage (widespread massacre)
reincarnation (to be in flesh again, rebirth)
incarnation (to be in flesh, birth)

CAST, CHAST (cut)

caste (social class)
castigate (criticized to rebuked for behavior)
chastise (to punish someone)
chaste (abstaining from sex or pure aka uncut)

CAUST (burning)

caustic
holocaust (holo- whole caust burn, complete destruction especially of life)

CESS, CEDARE, CEED (to stop, to give way, to go)

cease
cessation (stoppage,esp, permanent)
incessant (continuing)
precede
exceed
recess (re- back, cess go)
concede (con- together, cedare give way)
cede (cedare give way, surrender)
access
predecessor
successor
precedent (ced- to go, pre before)
antecedent (ced- to go, ante before)
recede (re- back, ced go)
abscess (pus filled cavity; lol I can't relate it to the roots btw :-D)

CENTR (center)

eccentric ( out of center, not conventional)
central
concentrate (to focus, con together, centrate on center)
centrifuge (fugere fleeing, centr center)
egocentric (as expected self-centered :P)

CERN, CRET, CRIT, CRIM (to separate, to judge, to distinguish)

concern (having a caring feeling, con- together, cern separatel)
critic (somebody who judges; crit- to judge)
secret (inseparable)
discrete (discern to distinguish so discrete is something distinguishable or unrelated to anything else)
ascertain (to find out something with certainty)
certitude (feeling of certainty or something certain to happen)
hypocrite
discriminate (again from discern aka distinguish)
criterion (standard for judging, crit to judge, criteria is plural)
discern
recrimination (an accusation made in response to the accuser)

CHRONOS (time)

chronology
synchronize
chronicle (historical account or narrative,or make a list of events in order of time)
chronic (always present or long lasting)
chronological (in order of time)
anachronism (something from a different time period, ana- backwards, chron time)
chronometer (accurate measurer of time)
chronometry (study of time measurement)

CIRCU (around or from all sides)

circumspect
circumlocution
circumference
circumstances
circuit (a circular path)
circumnavigate (to sail or fly around something)
circumambulate
circumscribe (circu- around, scribe write; to restrict the functionality of)
circuitous (lengthy because indirect...going around)

CIS (cut)

scissors
precise (pre in front, cis cut)
concise
incisive (quick to understand)
incision (a cut or an act of cutting)
excise (to cut out, to delete a part of something or remove surgically)
exorcise (to swear out an evil spirit)

CIT (to put in motion)

excite
incite
solicit (to plead for something insistently)
solicitous (completely moved ready or willing, displaying concern or meticulous [giving alot to detail]

CLA, CLO, CLU (to shut or close)

closet
enclose
conclude
claustrophobia
disclose
exclusive
recluse (somebody living away from people, re- again, clus close)
preclude (pre- before, clu close, prevent from happening or debar)
seclude (isolate, or make private)
cloister (to find a private place, a private place)
foreclose (same as preclude)
closure

CLAIM, CLAM (to shout)

exclaim
proclaim
acclaim
clamor (demand with persistence/demand noisily or loud noise)
disclaim (deny any connection with something)
declaim (to recite or speak formally)
reclaim (claim something back)

CLI (to lean towards)

recline (to lie back)
decline
climax
proclivity (natural tendency, proclivis is inclined)
inclination
disinclination (avoid doing something)

CO, COL, COM, CON (together, with)

connect
confide (con- with, fide trust, to tell someone secrets, you confide in someone or confide to someone a secret thing)
concede
coerce (to force someone into doing something especially against will)
cohesive (stuck together; unified)
cohort (a unified group of people, soldiers or supporters)
confederate (ally or in verb sense to become united in a cause)
collaborate (co- together, labor toil, work together)
compatible
coherent (speak logically or understandably)
comply (obey)
conjugal (relating to marriage husbands or wives)
conjugate (joined in pairs)
connubial (nubere to marry; relating to marriage)
congenial (friendly)
convivial (vivere to live, sociable)
coalesce (merge or unite things)
coalition (a union\merger or a political alliance))
contrite (terere to rub; repentant or arising from a sense of guilt)
conciliate (get someone support or firendship back, bring disputing sides together be charming)
conclave (clave key; a secret meeting)
commensurate (of equal size or in proportion; rewards are commensurate with the efforts made)

CRAT, CRACY (to govern)

democracy
aristocracy
bureaucracy (an administrative system in which work is divided b/w departments)
theocracy (theo God, government by God)
plutocracy (pluotos wealth, governance by the wealthy)
autocracy (sorta dictatorship)

CRE, CRET, CRESC (to grow)

creation
increase
crescendo (gradual intensifying of music up till the climax)
increment (an expected or regular increase or an act of increasing)
accretion (an increase in size due to accumulation or fusing together)
accrue (to increase amount)

CRED (to believe or trust)

incredible
credibility
credentials (proof of ability)
credit
creed (set of beliefs)
credo (a statement or beliefs that is professed (declared openly))
credence (the power to inspire belief or trust)
credulity (as credulous the ability to belief things readily)
credulous (can be tricked because of being naive or readily believing things)
incredulous (showing disbelief or unwilling to believe)

CRYP (hidden)

cryptic
crypt (an underground vault)
apocryphal
cryptography (study of encoding or secret writing)

CUB, CUMB (lie down)

cubicle
succumb
incubate (lie down on, on eggs, incubate a baby, grow germs or stuff often under controlled conditions)
incumbent (in- in, -cumb lie, obligatory)
recumbent (lie down)

CULP (blame)

culprit (wrongdoer or accused)
culpable (guilty)
inculpable
exculpate (to free from blame or guilt)
inculpate (incriminate or put blame)
mea culpa (formal admission and apology of guilt)

CUR, COUR (running or a course)

occur
recur
current
curriculum
courier (official or secret messenger)
excursion (ex- out, cur run, a short trip or a temporary difression)
incursion (a raid, an unwelcome arrival)
cursive (writing in a running conjoined style)
concur (to run together occur at the same time or agree over a point)
concurrent (happening or existing parallel to one another)
incur (to experience something bad, run into)
discourse (serious discussion, to run apart)
discursive (lengthy that has included non-essential stuff)
precursor (something before, forerunner)
recourse (use of others for assistance or a source of help, run back (to), recourse to borrowing)
cursory (done in quick or superficial way)

SAT (The Great, Big List of Word Roots)

2010-09-29T22:44:00.000+05:00

You are done with the hard part of memorizing those torturing word lists, now to reinforce your vocabulary with critical Word Roots. You might have encountered a few of them before in word lists but this post exclusively deals with them.

Rest assured it will be easy...'cause there is nothing new here...you already know most, if not all, of these words...Word Roots are just your servants that help you in remembering these words up till test dates.. ;-)

The format is simple; a word root...its meaning...examples.

A final thing; this stuff is not really necessary, if you feel like skipping it then leave it and enjoy!

A- (without, lacking)

amoral
atheist (Unbeliever in god and deities)
atypical
anonymous (onymous is someone with a name)
apathy
amorphous (morph is shape)
atrophy (trophy is nourishment)
apartheid (partheid linked)
anomaly (not normal)
agnostic (n; someone denying God's existence; someone denying something knowable)

AB-, ABS (off, away from, apart or down)

abduct (snatch somebody away, ducere is to lead)
abhor (hor is to shudder)
abolish (outlaw something)
abstract (impractical; away from path)
abnormal
abdicate (to step down or neglect duty)
abstinent
absolution (act of absolving (forgiving or free from blame or sin))
abstruse (hard to understand, struse thrust)
abrogate (to put an end to something, abolish)
abscond (to run away secretly, hide away, scond hide)
abjure (jure is oath, to formally deny something or abstain/avoid)
abstemious (abstaining from excessive food or drink, temitum is intoxicating liquor)
ablution (lure wash, wash away)
abominate (from abominable aka loathsome, it is to hate something)
aberrant (errare is to wander; i.e wander away from what is typical [from aberration])

AC, ACR (sharp, bitter or acidic)

acid
acute
acerbic (bitter or sharp in tone, manner or taste)
exacerbate (acerbe is harsh, make worse or harsh)
acrid
acrimonious
acumen (sharp judgement)

ACT, AG (to do or to drive/force)

act
agent
agile
agitate
exacting (demanding attention)
litigate (lit is lawsuite, to drive a lawsuit)
prodigal (spendthrift, wasteful, drive away or squander)
prodigious (sizeable or marvelous)
pedagogue (a teacher, paid is a child so a child driver)
synagogue (house of worship of Jews)
demagogue (someone who forces people, a leader who manipulates or plays with people's emotions)

AD, AL (to, towards or near)

adapt
adjacent
addict
admire
address
adhere
administer
adore
advice
adjoin
advocate (ad to, vocare call, to speak in favor)
allure (lure bring here, al is to, a highly attractive quality or attract powerfully)
alloy (al to, ligere bind)

ALI, ALTER (another)

alternative
alias (another name)
alibi (accused claim of being somewhere else at the time of crime)
alien
alienation ( the act of making somebody 'another')
altruist (helper of another person)
altercation (a heated argument)
allegory (all another, gor speak publicly; speak about others in public in from of an act or stuff)

AM- (love or friendship)

amiable
amicable
amity
amateur (am- love, someone who loves something but isn't perfect at it...)
amorous (am love, expressing or showing love, specially in romantic or sexual way)
enamored (en- in, -am love, in love or captivated; I was enamored of her looks)
inamorata (Italian for a loved women, in- in, am- love)
paramour (a lover, Thee in arms of thy paramour - Ivanhoe :D)

AMB- (to move or to walk)

ambulatory
ambulant
ambitious
amble (a slow walk, or to walk slowly)
preamble (pre- in front, -amb walk, something that precedes, introductory explanation before a speech, report and stuff, High winds were a preamble to this winter's first storm.)
ambulance (French for a 'walking hospital')
circumambulate (to walk around)
perambulator (a baby carriage...hahahaha...whadday name!!)

AMPH, AMB (around)

amphitheater (a circular building, usually open, with circular seating arrangement)
ambit (boundary or range,within the ambit of the jurisdiction)
ambiance (atmosphere, a house with an unwelcoming ambiance)
ambient (in surrounding area, ambient temperature)

AMPHI, AMB (both or more than one)

amphibious
amphibian
ambivalent (having conflicting feelings)
ambidextrous (ambi both, dexter right handed; equally capable with both hands, skillful and versatile)

ANIM (spirit, mind)

unanimous
animosity
equanimity (ability of maintaining composure)
magnanimous
pusillanimous (coward)

ANNU, ENNI (year)

annual
anniversary
biannual (happening twice a year)
biennial (happening once every two years)
centennial (happening once in a century)
decennial
annuity (contract for annual payment, money payed at annually)
annals (recorded history, annual records)
perennial (something that happens again and again)
millennium

ANTE (before)

ante (amount contributed to the gambling pot before playing)
anterior (happening before or something in front, the event happened long anterior to the discovery of electricity, an anterior view of the building)
antecedent (cedere give way, something coming before; the book examines the historical antecedents of the French revolution)
antedate (occurring before or putting an earlier date on something than original, The colorful artwork on the tapestry antedates the advent of synthetic dyes. The archaeologist mistakenly antedated the fossil to the Jurassic period.
antebellum (before ware)
antediluvian (ante- before -diluvian Flood, extremely old fashioned)

ANTHRO, ANDR (human)

anthropology
android (a scfi robot that behaves like a human)
philanthropist
misanthrope (someone who hate humans)
anthropomorhpic (able to take human form or characteristics)
philander (v; having casual affairs with women especially when married)
androgynous (blending masculine and feminine, a hermaphrodite)
anthropocentric (treating humans as preeminent and important, from the point of view of mankind)

ANTI- (against)

antiviral
antivirus
antidote
antiseptic
antipathy (strongly negative feeling)
antipode (an exact opposite. a diametric)

APO (detached, away from)

apology
apostle (promoter of a cause)
apostasy (renunciation of faith, political party or set of beliefs)
apostatize
apocalypse (total destruction or an instance of it)
apocryphal (not true but seems to be)
apogee (away from Earth, the best or greatest point or culmination)
apotheosis ( theo god, transformation into a deity, highest level of glory or power, best example)
apoplexy (a fit of anger)

APT, EPT (skill or ability)

adept
adapt
aptitude (ability or talent that can be further refined, an aptitude for leadership)
inept

ARCH, ARCHI (chief or principal)

archetype (prime example)
architect
archipelago (group of islands, Indonesian archipelago)
archenemy
archangel

ARCHY (ruler)

monarchy (system of governing by monarchs)
patriarchy (patriarch is head of family, patriarchy is a social system in which men dominate)
anarchy (no ruler, lack of organization andpresence of chaos)
matriarchy (matriarch is woman head of family, matriarchy is a society dominated by women)
hierarchy (hierarch is someone of a high rank, hierarchy is formal ranking of a group according to seniority or rank)
oligarchy (oligos few. a small governing group)

ART (skill, craft or cunning)

art
artist
artisan (a skilled craftsperson)
artificial
artifice (a cunning and clever trick or a stratagem, facere is to make)
artifact (factum is thing made)
artful (cunning or skillful)
artless (without guile or deception or elegance; totally natural)

AUC, AUG or AUX (to increase)

augment
auction
auxiliary (giving support, an auxiliary grant for the flood affectees or a supporting thing or person)
august (adj; full of solemn splendor and dignity)

AUTO (self)

automatic
autotrophic
autopsy
autonomy (self government)
autocrat (auto- self -cratos power, someone who holds absolute power and is answerable to none, a bossy person)

SAT (Even More Vocabulary V)

2010-09-29T02:20:00.000+05:00

...thank your stars! it is the final part...(I am thanking mine ;-) )

Veracity (n) truthfulness. The veracity shown by the felon had him in the gallows, albeit with the hearts of the people who followed his trial.
Chronology (n) list of events according to time. A chronology of World War II.
Panegyric (n) extravagant praise delivered in formal speech. The infamous King tried to get in the good books of the people by paying skillful orators to deliver his panegyrics in public.
Reprobate (n/adj) somebody immoral. The reprobate agent sold his country off for a few million bucks. The reprobate loved flinging stones at the windows of the neighborhood.
Untoward (adj) improper or unfortunate. I am not responsible for any untoward incident.
Welter (n) jumble or confused conditions. The evening that started with stupendous narratives ended up in welter. Essential concerns were lost in a welter of detail.
Inchoate (adj) lacking structure,order or organizations, i.e, infant. An inchoate democracy after a long spell of dictatorship.
Disavow (v) to deny. The celebrity couple disavowed the news of their breakup.
Repugnant (adj) distasteful, repelling or offensive. She kept staring at me repugnantly. Smoking at public places is considered repugnant in many countries, thats why there is ban on itin most modern countries.
Taut (adj) tightly drawn; emotionally tense. Tightrope walkers must ensure that the stretch of rope they are walking on is fully taut; as a slight slack may cost them their life.
Cajole (v) to force someone to do a job by flattery. The mother cajoled her son into eating the food by assuring him that it will make him a superman.
Discomfit (v) make someone confused or unsettled. The sudden arrival of the cops discomfited the burglars.
Bemuse (v) puzzled, bewildered. The sudden disappearance of his $10 bill left Jade bemused.
Accrete (v) to grow. We don't know whether the ring is formed by accreted material or the excreted one. The magnet accreted its mass by pulling steel and other attracted metals to itself. (I am unsure about this one)
Contumacious (adj) rebellious in a defiant way. A contumacious horse is a rider's nightmare,especially when it prances.
Fulsome (adj) disgusting or repulsive due to great amount of fawning. The pop star was embarrassed by the fulsome compliments of the anchor.
Hone (v) to improve or sharpen. Don Bradman, the legendary cricketer, famously honed his reflexes by playing a golf ball, off a tank at close propinquity, with a single wicket.
Motility (n) a spontaneous movement. Motility saved Jane from getting crushed underneath the speeding bus.
Neophyte (n) a beginner. We call Counter Strike neophytes, n00bs (I know what you are thiking *knowing laugh* :D)...
Rivet (v) to firmly fix attention; hold gaze. I was riveted by the absorbing storyline of the film. Eyes riveted on the computer screen. [!] Don't confuse with riveting (fascinating); a riveting encounter.

SAT (Even More Vocabulary IV)

2010-09-29T01:14:00.000+05:00

...misery continued

Incursion (n) an unwelcome entry; an invasion. The US troops were involved in an incursion into an Al-Qaeda camp.
Invective (adj) using insulting speech. An invective attack on the government.
Placate (v) to pacify. Only candy can, as always, placate your child.
Accolade (n) an award or honor; high praise. The players received accolades for their superb performance.
Assiduous (adj) showing persistent hard-work in doing something; very careful. Inspection teams checking the vaults of commercial banks have to be assiduous in their task.
Brook (v) to tolerate or bear. I will brook no more any interference in my personal matters.
Desiccate (v) to loose or remove moisture. His tongue had desiccated from the lack of water.
Erudite (adj) having profound knowledge. He was an erudite student; far ahead of his classmates.
Flag (v) (hang like flag :P) to get weak or tired. The long hike left us flagged.
Impudent (adj) [im- without, -pudere shame] excessively bold, impertinent. He tried to get the attention of his classmate by acting all impudent in front of teachers.
Baleful (adj) menacing or harmful. Judith gave her brother a baleful stare.
Divergent (adj) differing. We might agree on many terms but we are divergent, too, on many.
Effluvium (n) an unpleasant smell usually given off by decaying matter. [!] Effluvia (plural) is the commonly used version.
Evanescent (adj) fading quickly and soon forgotten. An evanescent burst of color from a balloon. Aurora Borealis is an evanescent phenomenon, disappearing in a heart beat.
Exigent (adj) demanding quick action. An exigent situation.
Exonerate (v) (same as vindicate, absolve or acquit) to free from blame or responsibility. The court exonerated Jim from all the charges. Upon the return of her neighbor, Fia was exonerated from caring for his dog.
Flaunt (v) to show off. The model flaunted her curves in the photoshoot.
Improvident (adj) lacking foresight or seeing the consequences. Allowing him to take full salary without a full month's work is so improvident of you; you will make him a malignancy for the whole office.
Ineluctable (adj) (see it as in+eluse+with table :D) inescapable; unavoidable. Your are in an ineluctable situation now; surrounded from all sides, the Policeman voiced over the loudspeaker, I didn't even flinch. (Mafioso)
Mellifluous (adj) (melli- honey, -fluere flowing) sweetly flowing. Her mellifluous sound echoed through the auditorium; as soothing as a lullaby.
Ossify (v) [oss- bone] to turn rigid especially in behavior or conduct. The teacher gave him an ossified stare; and he knew at once that he would bear no more.
Probity (n) moral correctness or honesty. The suitcase full of dough, challenged the probity of the police chief to the extreme; his ossified eyes suddenly softened and we knew we had the man in our pocket. (Mafioso)
Proselytize (v) to try to convert somebody to a religion or doctrine. Unlike many economics books; his work doesn't proselytize you but leaves the options open for consideration. (I admit it was a tough one :P)
Pundit (n) an expert in a particular field. Baseball pundit. Biology pundit.
Recondite (adj) hard to understand and understood only by a select few. A book in a recondite language.
Vacuous (adj) [vacuo- empty] inane, unintelligent. You act vacuously before everyone or is it just me?
Coda (n) concluding music of a composition.
Penchant (n) a strong liking. England seem to have a penchant for three fast bowlers and a spinner in there starting eleven.
Abstruse (adj) hard to understand. An abstruse thesis.
Cognizant (adj) having a knowledge of something. The truck driver wasn't cognizant of the maximum height allowed on the bridge and ended up ramming the top his vehicle in the enforcing barrier.
Gainsay (v) to deny. The convicted spy gainsaid all allegations.
Garner (v) to win something or collect something. The ballerina garnered a huge round of applause for her act. You can see ants garnering edibles all around your house.
Obdurate (adj) [ob- be, dur- hard] stubborn or insensitive. The terrorists were obdurate in their demands; they weren't stepping down from it and neither were softening them.
Propinquity (n) nearness in time or space. The doctors made him divorce Vinny due to the propinquity of blood. The propinquity of the two bombings gave the investigators useful clues about the fugitives.
Ribald (adj) vulgar but often humorous speech. A ribald joke.
Sinuous (adj) (think about sine curves :-)) having many curves. A sinuous road in the mountains.

SAT (Even More Vocabulary III)

2010-09-28T22:45:00.000+05:00

...continued [WARNING] This post contains some (almost all) highly shit words...:-P..proceed on your own risk...

Deleterious (adj) (it can delete ya :P) harmful. This drug can be deleterious for kids even if given in the prescribed amounts.
Noxious (adj) [noxa- harm] physically harmful or disgusting. This drink has got some noxious preservatives, I won't recommend it!! [!] Obnoxious (also one of the SAT words) is not related to noxious, it means very offensive or unpleasant; like an obnoxious sludge pile.
Disinterested (adj) not biased. Sports judges or referees should be disinterested. [!] Don't confuse it to mean lack of interest (uninterested), it is basically to undo any interest.
Fecund (adj) productive or fertile. This area is quite fecund; last year we got a bumper crop from it.
Hermetic (adj) airtight or free/protected from any outside influence. A hermetic cookie jar. The count lead a hermetic existence in his mansion, with only few trusted servants around.
Salubrious (adj) [salub- health] beneficial for health. Apple is a salubrious fruit.
Foster (v) to promote the growth or development of. The fecund region fostered the growth of cash crops.
Transitory (adj) not staying for a long time; fleeting. Transitory success.
Transient (adj) short in duration. Yesterday was one cloudy day, we will only saw transient sunlight in between unending periods of cloud cover.
Goad (v) to urge or force someone into an action. The radical leader goaded his listeners into a rebellious mood. The farmer goaded the cow into moving out of the barn.
Ingenuous (adj) naive and overly innocent. The ingenuous kid handed out the wet $100 bill, that he had found on the pavement, to the man for drying. [!] Don'tconfuse with the almost identical ingenious which means clever, effective or inventive.
Savor (v) to take in something with an unhurried attitude; relish something. Jane stood there savoring the moment. Eyre savored the thick creamy chocolate in her mouth.
Correlate (v) related together. What is the affect of a change in temperature to the three correlated variables. A kid's IQ correlates with his/her academic performance.
Facetious (adj) [facetie a joke] supposed to be funny but often silly or inappropriate. Many people take facetious proposals seriously, the same holds true with compliments. [!] The F house; here are some 'f' words that are closely related to one another: flippant (not taking something serious enough), frivolous (silly and not worth of taking seriously), frolicsome (full of fun), frisky (feeling playful)....whew!
Petulant (adj) ill tempered and complaining. The petulant manager was an apathy in the office; no one liked him because he would ask you to redo every project.
Rampart (n) fortified walls that enclose a city. The missile ripped through the rampart and the sky was rendered red by exploding flesh and drops of blood. (The Battle)
Temerity (n) [temerit- rashness] boldness, audacity to an offensive extent. The temerity shown by Wilkinson to the German teacher was unbelievable, he should be expelled for that.
Truculent (adj) (the opposite of truce :P) [trux- fierce] aggressively defiant. The truculent daughter would never listened to what her mother asked her to do. The rebel forces were getting truculent by the hour and the leader had started to get worried about her life.
Incisive (adj) cutting right to the core or quick to understand. An incisive analysis of the problem. The incisive commander knew what was behind this actions of his opposing better.
Aberration (n) deviation from norm. An aberration in the ammeter readings had the student suspicious about it order.
Alacrity (n) [alacr- lively] eager enthusiasm and speedy readiness. The alacrity of the soldiers was worth acknowledgement; everyone of them wanted to die for their nation.
Arid (adj) extremely dry or unimaginative. An arid desert. An arid script.
Beget (v) to produce or cause; to engender. Secrecy begets suspicion.
Conundrum (n) a puzzle, riddle. Harry Potter solved a conundrum about the Chamber of Secrets.
Debacle (n) a sudden and often humiliating disaster, defeat or failure. The Dhaka debacle of 1971 will remain a dark moment in the history for Pakistan. (History of Asian Countries)
Doggerel (n) a comic or out of sync verse. Little Linda's poem was full of doggerels.
Exorbitance (n) [ex- out, -orbis circle] an exceedingly large or high amount. Exorbitant prices.
Intransigent (adj) refusing to compromise, without even considering to change a stance. The government dreaded their intransigent opposition; when they get stuck on something they won't even budge. An intransigent hardliner. Los Intransigentes is a Spanish political party..."The Uncompromising Ones"!
Maverick (adj) an independent thinker who doesn't agree with settled views. A maverick philosopher with out of the ordinary theories.
Turpitude (n) [turpis- repulsive] extreme immorality or wickedness; depravity (a state of moral corruption). The government sent the minister packing because of his deed of turpitude; he was involved in one of the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the country.
Axiom (n) a widely accepted saying.
Impugn (v) to cast doubt on. Recent police raids impugned the authority of the Don.

GTW With a New Look!!!!!

2010-09-28T18:50:00.004+05:00

Today I reveal a new look greasethosewheels.blogspot.com, well not with a complete renovation but the logo, and accordingly the background image, undergo a drastic, and hopefully, aesthetic change!!!

Credits: None But Me!! :-D
Created with: Serif Page Plus X4 and Photoshop CS5
Approvers: My pals and siblings...its was the third prototype...and had the consensus with it (finally)...:-P

Hoping that you find it great [ which m very much sure that you will, considering the vapid precursor ;-) ], do let me know about your thoughts...

SAT (Even More Vocabulary II)

2010-09-28T16:41:00.000+05:00

...continued

Disseminate (v) [dis- release, semin- seed] to spread something widely, esp info and likes. The news disseminated in the city like wild fire after a website reported the incident. Dandelion seeds disseminate with the aid of wind. This website disseminates propaganda against our team.
Eclectic (adj) [ec- out, lec- choose] from varied sources; choosing from varied sources. The eclectic car collection featured vehicles from almost all major car manufacturers. I have an eclectic taste in music; I love anything from Eminem to Linkin Park.
Idyllic (adj) serenely beautiful and untroubled; like an idyll (having a simple, unspoiled specially rural charm).What do you think of this idyllic, tropical paradise? A holiday was planned - an idyllic retreat in the Italian Hills. (Mafioso). The property benefits from the idyllic countryside scenery, its breathtaking. [!] Don't confuse it with ideal, which is something seen as perfect.
Pristine (adj) unspoiled (not yet ruined by us :P); immaculate. The pristine pine forest seemed to spread everywhere. The gentleman in the pristine white dress gave me a furtive wink and I knew he was the man. (Mafioso)
Immaculate (adj) [im- without, macula- blemish] clean, spotless; faultless. He wore an immaculately tailored silk suit, hang on! silk suit!?, where is my Colt...(Mafioso)
Prodigy (n) an extraordinarily gifted child; something marvelous or amazing. The piano prodigy was only seven but he played like a maestro. The breathtaking prodigy was recorded in thousands of mobile phone cameras.
Frugal (adj) thrifty, economical or parsimonious (very frugal); involving very little expense. We should be frugal with our planet's scarce and depleting resources If we want to sustain life on it. The housekeeping was frugal, as it was back then in the midst of the Great Depression.
Qualify (v) to make something less strong or extreme by modifying. The moderator qualified the virulent remarks of the user.
Abhorrent (adj) repugnant, arousing strong feelings of disapproval. The practice was abhorrent to virtually every one, no one appreciate domestic violence unless a retard is considered. The material in this OpEd column is abhorrent.
Decorous (adj) dignified or formally accepted. In a decorous action he held the door open for the ladies and let them pass first.
Infer (v) [in- in, ferre- carry] conclude from reasoning; indicate or lead to. I inferred from her behavior of late that she is not interested in the job we handed out to her. The very steep nature of the hills would normally infer soil erosion.
Ostentatious (adj) [ostentare- exhibit] a vulgar display of wealth intended to impress. The ostentatious chandelier was studded with every gem imaginable. An ostentatiously modified car.
Pathology (n) disease; study of disease. The chest X-ray showed the suspected site of the pathology, a TB infection. I don't wanna be a pathologist, they see dead stuff all the time.
Plumb (v) to measure depth; experience something bad to an extreme degree. We cannot plumb the depth of this region, it is crawling with white sharks. The third failure had had him plumbing the depths of despair and regret. (Mafioso)
Spurious (adj) fake or false. The spurious mob boss aided the original in making his getaway as SWAT teams raided his mansion.
Subjugate (v) to dominate; to enslave. The old women subjugated the burglar with a surprise revelation of a Colt Magnum.
Visionary (adj/n) imaginary; a dreamer. This is visionary stuff, how can you kill an anaconda with a stick. Your are being a visionary; getting 1700 at the SAT with this insouciant attitude is impractical.
Reciprocal (dj) something mutual; in return. The clubs had a reciprocal arrangements between them; members of one club had access to the privileges of the other. A reciprocal gesture.
Antipathy (n) strong negative feeling. The antipathy displayed by the Mayor towards the Muslims was the talk of the town. Among my antipathies are pompous people.
Dissonant (adj) [dis- without, sonare- sound] conflicting or incompatible. Both had dissonant views about the topic and subsequently a heated argument began.
Palliate (v) [palliare- hide] mitigate intensity of something; lessen the seriousness of something bad. I successfully palliated the whining of Joey by handing him an ice-lolly. Amisha tried to palliate the situation by saying that she wasn't at home when little Amelia shattered the beloved vase.
Substantive (adj) substantial in amount etc; essential. Substantive claims state that 9/11 was a preplanned event. The oxygen cylinder is substantive for your survivals in these conditions.
Surreptitious (adj) sneaky, done in an offhand way. The lionesses surreptitiously closed in on the unaware zebra, utilizing the tall Savannah grass to their advantage.
Equivocal (adj) ambiguous, difficult to interpret, confusing, raising doubts. Her reply was an equivocal one, apparently not heedful of potential consequences in today's independently interpreting media. His arrival for peace talks with three armed guards was an equivocal gesture that placed the credibility of the talks in jeopardy.
Flippant (adj) showing lack of seriousness that is deemed inappropriate. Exams are two days from now, god bless your flippant attitude.
Piquant (adj) [piquer- irritate] provocative or sharply irritating. Piquant criticism.
Satiric (adj) using irony in sarcasm. Cracked.com is one of the best satiric website on the net. The judge was a favorite with contestants because he used a satiric approach to criticize their faults rather than an out-an-out reproach.
Sullen (adj) dismal and gloomy; quiet in a hostile way. The event was sullen because of the news of twin bombings in the nearby city. She was sullen all day, refusing to talk,, even to her boyfriend.
Tacit (adj) [tacere- silent] understood without being said or otherwise expressed openly. A tacit nod from the coach was enough to get him going. There was a tacit agreement in between the judges that Josh will be declared the winner no matte how badly he fought. The committee tacitly approved the recommendations of the Supreme Court. There was a tacit understanding between the two about the person they were dealing with. (Mafioso)
Tractable (adj) [can be kept on track :P] obedient; can be controlled. The tractable mustang was an atypical find; normally they are very aggressive and dubious in their approach towards humans.
Impromptu (adj) extemporaneous, unrehearsed. An impromptu speech.
Debauchery (n) unbridled self-indulgent immoral behavior. A sordid (squalid or nasty; displaying worst aspects of human nature) account of drunken debauchery.

SAT (Even More Vocabulary)

2010-09-28T00:01:00.000+05:00

So lets have some more worth memorizing SAT words for ya; they may not be as critical as the special vocabulary dealt with in previous posts but still are significant in their own regard.

Manifest (v) showing something clearly; reveal. The ghost manifested itself just before us. Linda wasn't very happy going to the the family rendezvous and her looks manifested it.
Conventional (adj) not extraordinary; orthodox. Conventional style of attack in the Pro Football tourney won't take the team past the knockout stage, you have to be innovative.
Partisan (n) a fervent and often biased supporters; freedom fighters. Partisans of the Nazi regime.
Contentious (adj) argumentative; quarrelsome. Her contentious and insubordinate behavior had her job in some serious question.
Lament (v) express sadness or regret. She lamented the loss of her husband. She lamented the time she had wasted as the exams got closer and her prep was meager.
Allusion (n) indirect reference. He made an allusion to financial constraints.
Arbiter (n) a judge; someone who decides. Arbiters should be impartial. People questioned the decision of the arbiter, he had clearly compromised truth with relations.
Inherent (adj) part of the essential nature; intrinsic (basic and essential). The accidents, occurring 12-hours of each other have highlighted the difficulty inherent in the project. The risks inherent in investing in the stock market. [!] Pay attention to how this word is used.
Paradox (n) something absurd or contradictory. The ion smasher will produce a black hole that will swallow the earth is a paradox, despite being popular on physics forums. This is an apparent paradox, I mean, how can leg ulcers be cancerous. Time travelling is a paradox. Limo's dislike of ice creams is paradoxical since he works as the chief taster in the ice cream factory. Jason was a paradox; one moment he will say all the wrong things about Britney and the next he will be dancing fervently to Womanizer.
Cynic (n) a person who distrusts humans and their motives; somebody sarcastic. Many people have developed a cynical distrust of politicians. Cynics among us think that real romance is dead, people now woo loved ones for either money or personal gratification...but I assure you that a Romeo lives in my heart for whom you are the only Juliet. (Mafioso)
Exposition (n) explanation; explanatory treatise (detailed written account). Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time" can be considered an exposition of time. Your expositions went in vain, the company has decided to look for another sponsor. He wrote a brief exposition of the Gospel of Matthews.
Consensus (n) unanimity or agreement. A consensus was reached over amending the constitution. We were all in consensus that Josh wasn't fit to run for the president of the club.
Comprehensive (adj) covering everything. A comprehensive AP Chemistry guide.
Sagacious (adj) wise; possessing wisdom related to experience. The sagacious campaigner knew every nook and corner of the ground. Amit gazed admirably at the work of the sagacious, ancient dwellers of the cave.
Deliberation (n) careful thought or discussion. After hours of deliberation, they finally reached a consensus.
Precipitate (v/adj) to cause to happen abruptly or send into another state; without though or hurried. A minor border skirmish precipitated a full fledged war. The drug is known to precipitate migraines in patients suffering from weak vision. The wave of terrorism in the country precipitated a 300 index fall in the stock market. (adj) A precipitate departure. I may have been precipitate in accepting his business proposal.
Pervade [per- through, -vadere go] (v) spread throughout something. The venom pervaded his body as we saw the distinct bluish tint cover his his face arms and legs. The fog pervades the atmosphere.
Discourse (n) a serious discussion. Our discourse was getting nowhere thus the cliche, an integrated ideology seldom changes.
Conjure (v) to summon something as if by magic; invoke. The smell of baking cookies can invoke childhood images. He was awed by what he was doing; conjuring demons!! The witch conjured a fake vision to deceive the valiant hero. [!] In normal day to day English, we don't encounter witches and demons as such, so the word is mostly used in conjunction with images and memories.
Sanction (v\n) to approve or confirm; approval or penalty. The city government sanctioned the proposed security measures. Sorry, I won't be able to help you without a sanction from the MD. Sanctions imposed on Iran for violating international treaties.
Genial (adj) good natured; mild. Her genial nature made her a well-loved figure at the high school. Genial climate. Genial and munificent aristocrats have become extinct.
Levee (n) artificial embankment besides river that prevents flooding. The levee couldn't withstand the tremendous force of the waves and collapsed, inundating the surrounding land with water.
Erratic (adj) unpredictable; not following a certain course. Erratic pattern of the chart, pretty much summed up the situation of the country, fickle. Events took an erratic turn for the worse, the officers approached the shed where the enemy troopers had sought asylum.
Abstinent (adj) restraining from indulging in a desire. Abstinence from alcohol is also stated in the Bible. The abstinent lifestyle of the ascetic was a truly holy one, he abstinence from alcohol and sex was unflappable.
Placid (adj) pleasantly calm, not easily excited. The placid don struck terror in the hearts of his foes, he would stand smiling even if informed about the murder of his wife, and then would unleash the bubbling rage at the right moment, with often lurid consequences. (Mafioso)
Exuberant (adj) full of enthusiasm; lavish. Many Bahamians have an artistic side, which they express through their colorful art, infectious music or exuberant dancing. Is it my rather exuberant coffee intake or is the floor really shaking? (Mafioso)
Impede (v) hinder, deter. The resistor impeded the flow of current. Light was impeded by the blacked-out windows. For a great hunter-&-hunted shot, care must be taken to not to hinder the progress of the pray. (Wildlife Photography)
Permeate (v) [per- through, -meare pass] to pass through or spread through completely. The waves started at the center but quickly permeated the whole pond. For it to arrive, it must permeate Germany and half-of Mother Russia...(The Battle). The bliss within his spirit was unbelievable today and he, without a second thought, let it permeate his work too. (Mafioso)
Audacity (n) impertinence\impudent (showing harsh or bold lack of respect); daring or boldness. I am proud of the audacity my party has shown while speaking for womens' rights. This audacity won't go unpunished, you don't even know how to talk to your teacher. I was amazed- thunderstruck- and in fact, I may also say, frightened by the unparalleled audacity of the mission. (The Battle)
Indignant (adj) [in- not, -dignare respect] angry at unfairness. Ahmad let out an indignant cry as his name was once again dropped off the list. The horse was in an indignant mood after being left out in the drenching rain the whole night.
Implicit (adj) not stated but understood in what is expressed. (opposite of explicit, i.e, clear or obvious). I can see the implicit desire in your eyes. Your smile implicitly makes clear the fact that you like him. Implicit criticism.
Renaissance (n) a rebirth or revival.Renaissance of classical dancing.
Litigate (v) [lit- lawsuit, -agere to drive] to take to court; involve in legal proceedings. It is often necessary to litigate in the jurisdiction where the crime took place. We also sought the help of UK lawyers to litigate the slanderous claims there.
Vex (v) to annoy or anger; to confound or puzzle. Little Molly vexed her brother until she got her lollipop back. The man besides me vexingly stared at my newspaper throughout the journey. The situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, leaving the rescue officers vexed.
Anomaly (n) aberration, not normal. The anomalous reading was left out of the final calculations.
Aberration (n) [aberrare- go astray] deviate from the norm. The aberration in the brain wave plot was vexing.
Insouciant (adj) carefree; blithe. He passed off the acrimonious remarks with an insouciant shake of the head.
Bereave (v) to deprive somebody of a beloved person or thing, especially through death. May God grant you the strength to withstand this gravest of bereavement of yours, the general stated with in a solemn tone, albeit with a tinge of grief. (The Battle). The government declared full financial support for the bereaved relatives. The end result, three destitute, bereaved widows. A bereaving event. RoadPeace provide vital help and support to those who have been injured or bereaved by a road crash.
Destitute (adj) [de- down, -stituere status or position] lacking basic necessities of life. Many people in Pakistan lead destitute and deprived lives.
Connoisseur (n) an expert especially in the matters of art or taste. Well I am not a fine art connoisseur but I can say with utmost surety that even a kindergarten student can paint better. The hotel's connoisseur is amazing, hardly anything is tasteless here. He is a great connoisseur of diamonds.
Corroborate (v) [co- together, -robotere strengthen (like robots from the Transformers :P)] to support or confirm especially with evidence. The photographs corroborate the testimony. He could have corroborated my account of the incident, I wish he was here.
Frenetic (adj) frenzied. A frenetic gesture.
Polemic (n) a passionate critic; a passionate argument. Okay, I accept it, now stop being a polemic. A hard-hitting polemic directed against the CIA.
Forbear (v) hold back from something; to tolerate something. I forbore to criticize their efforts, although criticism was well deserved. Forbearing your failure is one good thing, instead of getting all crazy about it, you should aim for the better next time. Even the the fans of the opposing team could not forbear to cheer. [!] Using inn the first sense, it is mostly followed by a to and then the action.
Vindicate (v) to show something is blameless; justify something. You must vindicate yourself from all these offensive charges. I can vindicate my love for you in any way desirable. Time has vindicated his prediction.
Conciliatory (adj) willing to resolve disputes. Their conciliatory stance wasn't reciprocated by the government and a rebellion looked inevitable now.
Squalid (adj) [squalus- filthy] neglected and dirty; unpleasant and insanitary; without any fine qualities. The squalid and run-down conditions at the Glasgow zoo didn't happen overnight. The squalid conditions in the refugee camps are appalling.
Inept (adj) incapable, ineffectual. The plumber was inept at handling modern equipment.

SAT Special (Vocabulary VI)

2010-09-26T02:46:00.001+05:00

The last part of the need to know SAT Vocab...

Brawn (n) muscles. WWE wrestlers have got some serious brawn.
Contrite (adj) repentant; arising from a sense of guilt. Jacob was in a contrite mood after starving the kitten to death. "I knew Shawn's contrite promises would never become fulfilled, he will hurt me again and again," sobbed Christine.
Exemplify (v) to become an example. Pakistan's World Cup victory of 1992 from the brink of eliminations, exemplifies resurgence.
Hypothetical (adj) involving ideas and possibilities; uncertain or unproven. The hypothetical existence of Bigfoot.
Recalcitrant (adj) defiant. I spent close to an hour working on the recalcitrant necktie, it was the best I had got and the situation demanded it so I was left without choices. (Mafioso)
Ambulatory (adj) able to walk. Babies are a pain when they become ambulatory, you have to keep a strict watch over them, being lax for a few moments can spell disaster for your baby. (Babies: How to deal with them?)
Diffident (adj) lacking confidence or shy. The diffident girl almost fainted when she was told to deliver a speech infront of the whole high school.
Drone (v) talk in a boring voice. I could hear his voice droning on in the background.
Gullible (adj) easily tricked or deceived because of trusting people too much. The gullible kid was robbed of his candy as the shrewd Matt asked him to hand it over so he could see the make.
Marred (adj) to spoil something. The fight between the two giant elephants marred the tranquility of the forest.
Parsimony (n) great frugality or avoidance of spending money. Peter's parsimony was known throughout the city, rumor has it that he died when his $10 bill got lost somewhere in the market.
Propriety (n) good manner; decorum. If it weren't for propriety then Billy would have brought the place down with celebrations, as news of his wife delivering a baby boy reached him.
Rejuvenate (v) make young again. The anti-ageing cream is famous for its rejuvenating effect. A few holidays on the beech rejuvenates you.
Skeptical (adj) doubtful. Jimmy was skeptical about his chances to win the table tennis tournament, he was clearly intimidated by his #1 seeded opponent.
Tenacious (adj) determined or stubborn; tight. The tenacious attitude of Khan's men triggered a remarkable turnaround. The Anaconda's tenacious grip showed no signs of loosening.
Nostalgia (n) sentimental longing for the past. Here as elsewhere, the heroic past is not resurrected for nostalgia's sake. (Mafioso). Around 3000 people anticipated eagerly as the motoring nostalgia commenced officially, cars from the period of 1930-62 were a part of the exhibition. Some felt nostalgia for the warm and cosy homes they had left behind (The Battle)
Pretentious (adj) pompous; self important. The pretentious model, spoke highly of herself and the lucrative deals she had signed.
Saccharine (adj) overly sweet. Jane gave her most saccharine smile as her mother looked at her in consideration.
Irascible (adj) easily angered or provoked. The factory worker were hesitant to approach their irascible department head for fear that he might throw a file carton at them.
Stanza (n) a section of a poem.

SAT Special (Vocabulary V)

2010-09-26T01:20:00.000+05:00

...continued

Amity (n) friendship. The fight strained their amity.
Stringent (adj) strictly controlled or enforced; strict or restrictive. The stringent dress code at the party didn't go down well with me. The stringent discipline master was always happy to brandish his oak stick. We undertook stringent security checks to ensure nothing untoward happens. [!] Do not assume that astringent is related to it any sense, it means sharp or acrid in tone.
Voluminous (adj) large or spacious. The voluminous town hall was the site of the annual ball.
Auspicious (adj) promising for the future. Linda and Josh began their auspicious relationship, I must admit, they had a remarkable understanding of each other. The captain stood at the docks for a while, taking in the auspicious weather, before finally making his way too the doomed vessel. (Dangerous Waters)
Fickle (adj) unpredictable, whimsical. The fickle general sent in his best men on the suicide mission just after stating that the job was too risky to be done.
Lethargy (n) tiredness or languor. Lethargy found me quite comforting for some peculiar reason. I downed a pitcher of coffee in a futile effort to see the torpor abate. (Mafioso)
Hackneyed (adj) overused; predictable. I try to be myself; to be original in style, not like everyone else who go by hackneyed fashion trends.
Willful (adj) intentional; obstinate, stubborn. The willful kid wanted to have the toy at all costs, when his Dad didn't oblige, he went into a tantrum. I didn't want to run her down willfully, the slippery road is the culprit. [!] Note the spelling, be careful about that second l of ful.
Bastion (n) stronghold or fortress. Reality TV is and should remain the last bastion of the desperate. The Kinova Sector was the bastion of the conflict; the post-Apocalyptic view it presented wretched the heart, bloody bodies lay strewn across the landscape, crashed building and the rickety remains of once beautiful abodes punctuated the region and a silver smoke covered the area much like doom once had. (The Battle)
Trepidation (n) fear or uneasiness about a future event. Her heart protested in trepidation, smashing against her ribcage with ever increasing vigor, as the sound of those heavy boots came closer and closer...(Mafioso). He clung to me with growing trepidation; and on Mr. Heathcliff 's taking a seat and bidding him `` come hither " he hid his face on my shoulder and wept...(Wuthering Hights)
Desecrate (v) insult or damage something holy. What about those desecrations at the Church? (The Exorcist). How dare you desecrate the Holy Koran and the Bible?
Fortuitous (adj) occurring by fortune; accidental. The fortuitous bet on the yellow horse earned Jack a lottery. A fortuitous delay in crossing the road saved Anne from an out of control SUV that passed moments later.
Vehement (adj) done with vigor, force or passion. Linda's vehement denial of being involved in the murder came as a surprise as she was caught on the security camera. Ali vehemently defended his case. Despite vehement protests from Manchester United players, the match continued as the referee didn't consult the linesman.
Assuage (v) to provide relief from something distressing or painful. Constant reassurances couldn't assuage the fears of the passengers aboard the sinking steam liner. The painkiller assuaged the pain in my left thigh for the rest of the battle.
Prodigious (adj) sizable or marvelous. This NatGeo documentary shows us how seals are able to perform their prodigious diving feats. Nathan was prescribed prodigious amounts of paracetamol for his spinal pain.
Furtive (adj) done in a secretive or offhand way; shifty. The conspirators passed each other furtive glances as the poisonous gassed leaked into the parliament chamber..The burglar was easily identified at the police station because he was acting all furtive and itchy.
Supercilious (adj) haughty; patronizing. The arrogant girl passed a glance at poor Mary before superciliously rolling her eyes and looking away. [!] Patronize means to be condescending to someone; treating them as inferior.
Prudent (adj) wise and careful in considering potential consequences. Linda's prudent brother didn't allow her to play with the plastic bag, lest she suffocates. It will be imprudent to keep all those sharp objects accessible to your toddler. It will be financially prudent to keep investing in this business.
Verbose (adj) using to many words. The verbose 500-word assignment was well over the 250-word limit.
Pedestrian (adj) commonplace. His pedestrian dressing style was always questionable due to his job as a receptionist, you have to look good here.
Innocuous (adj) lacking the capacity to do harm. Even the seemingly innocuous Broad was accused of ball-tampering. Jane thought the creature to be innocuous, and prodded at it, but to her surprise it gave her one nasty bite.
Fanatic (n) an extremist. The religious fanatic thought that Muslim women without a head-cover were punishable with death.
Retract (v) to pull something back; to move back; withdraw statement. Cats can retract their claws much like tigers and leopards. The politician retracted his earlier statement. She retracted from her demands for a separate house. You have to die if you do not retract from your infamous calumny.
Ambiguous (adj) confusable in interpretation. Old 19th century stories can be ambiguous for today's generation, considering the amount of change English language has underwent.
Paucity (n) dearth; scarcity. The paucity of oil is evident nowadays by the hiking prices.
Rescind (v) to make something invalid or void. Lets hope Obama rescinds everything Bush has done. The clock is fast ticking away; rescind the bargain while there is still time. I have made the agreement in the heat of things, no telling how soon I may have to rescind it. (The Kingdom of the Blind). She could not rescind her orders without a fresh wave of suspicions.
Subtle (adj) crafty; ingenious; not obvious; able to make fine distinctions. The subtle hacker changed his IP every now and then so he could not be tracked. A subtle mind. Subtle differences in the original and fake painting. Subtle Joe immediately picked up the discrepancies in the two pictures. [!] Subtle is pronounced sut HAL and not sub THUL.
Zealous (adj) showing passionate enthusiasm; energetic. Zealous fans.
Benign (adj) harmless. A benign tumor.
Compliant (adj) yielding or submissive. The forward was compliant to the demands of his coach and at once changed his off side position.
Emulate (v) to be successful in competition or try to equal someone. Joey tried his utmost to emulate his ideal but always fell short on ideas. Emulates the revenues of other top class companies.
Meander (v) to zigzag or wander aimlessly. We meandered in the vast, unending tundra.
Authoritarian (adj) demanding strict following of rules or commands; like a dictator. The president was not at all authoritarian and therefore his grip over the government was meager or to put it right was nonexistent.

SAT Special (Vocabulary IV)

2010-09-25T18:26:00.000+05:00

...continued

Innate (adj) inborn; existing from birth. Mary has an innate affinity for well dressed people. Josh has an innate talent of blowing a whistle through his nose :P.
Sycophant (n) someone who flatters people in power to gain favors. I don't know how bosses cannot distinguish between sycophants and hard workers.
Amiable (adj) of a friendly disposition. Amiable Amy is always ready to help anyone with their Maths course.
Esoteric (adj) understood only by a few. An esoteric ancient language. The esoteric script of the movie went over my head.
Extraneous (adj) irrelevant; not essential or required. Most of the clothing Mary brought for the drama was extraneous. Don't divert the discourse to extraneous topics. On the shore, amidst the water. an extraneous sign read "No parking!"
Tedious (adj) boring because of being long or monotonous; tiresome. The tedious algebra exercise wasn't even worth looking at. The tedious song was a pain for my ears, all it consisted of was the chorus. She worked tediously on her assignment for a week but still got a B.
Caustic (adj) corrosive or acrid; sarcastic or hurting. Scrooge was as caustic and cold as ever, pompously neglecting the woes of the people around him.
Inadvertent (adj) careless or resulting from carelessness (advert is to pay attention). The inadvertent boy didn't complete the assignment for 3 days in a row, much to the ire of the teacher. The inadvertent construction workers didn't coat the sides of the road with reflective paint. The doctor inadvertently injected the medicine into the artery rather than the vein.
Exhaustive (adj) thorough or complete. An exhaustive account of the life of the army general. The exhaustive report on the incident covered 500 pages.
Incongruous (adj) not harmonious or consistent. The pattern on that wall is incongruous to the one beside it. The juxtaposition of soldiers and recusant schoolchildren was both shocking and incongruous. The red of the rock against the blue sky, an incongruous sight of water in the desert.
Belittle (v) to make or seem little. The mammoth 300 odd run 7th wicket stand between Broad and Trott was belittled by spot fixing allegations. The superb performance of Jay Sean was belittled by the fire accident behind the stage. The air force belittled the mass UFO sighting by putting forward bizarre scientific causes.
Digress (v) to go off central topic. "But the Americans also did it," digressed Tom. I have to digress here a moment to explain the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist.
Appease (v) too satisfy, pacify or calm. Timothy appeased his thirst with a long cool drink. Molly appeased her critics with a tremendous book.
Frivolous (adj) not serious or with a hint of levity. I was frivolous about starting a relationship with her, I hope she doesn't take it seriously. We send a lot of texts to our friend each other, some rather frivolous, others a tad serious.
Instigate (v) to stir up or to give rise to. The killing of the innocent boy instigated a citywide riot. Don't you even think of instigating a fight with Lee, he may look skinny at first glance but he is a trained martial artist.
Sage (adj) somebody possessing wisdom and reverence due to experience. The sage, old fighter didn't take the abusive provocations of his opponent seriously, he let out his ire after the coup de grâce.
Jeopardy (n) in question. The injury put the future career of the star sportsman in jeopardy.
Tangible (adj) touchable; can be felt; actual or concrete. Lack of tangible evidence has given him a chance to win the legal battle. We shuddered together in the dark cave, the blizzard and the creatures of the night calling out to us, but my mind never responded to anything until I suddenly felt Josh's hand go limp and tangibly cold. (40 Nights)
Indulgent (adj) generally tolerant and permissive; yielding to desire. The nice grandma was indulgent of her grandchildren letting them have her special dark chocolate pudding every time they came asking for it. An indulgent professor. Tom was a self-indulgent person, when he wanted to bang a girl he won't wait.
Remorse (n) feeling\realization of guilt or regret. The bliss of having so much money at you disposal wasn't lasting, I was overcome by remorse, my happy trip had hit a dead end, faces of the people I killed were coming back to haunt me...(Mafioso)
Respite (n) rest or delay. The devilish puppy realized my need for a respite and went back without causing his trademark mayhem. The respite between the earthquake shocks.
Stoic (adj) indifferent or impassive; someone remaining patient in the face of adversity. The stoic general didn't here what the woman had to say and killed her. Bruce Willis is a stoic, brawny man.
Peripheral (adj) outlying, not significant. A peripheral shake of the hand went unnoticed and the surgeon continued with the operation despite the anesthesia being incorrectly administered.
Hedonistic (adj) seeking pleasure. There is a lot more to sex rather than just hedonism. The hedonistic lifestyle of Yoshi came to an end when his lottery winnings came to an end.
Benefactor (n) a generous donor. The Earl was the soul benefactor of the new church. He was the most famous benefactor in town, giving away loads of money in charity.
Apocryphal (adj) not true but widely regarded as truth. The apocryphal movie, 2012, had many a people worried about their future. An apocryphal story about Don.
Virtuoso (n) exceptional music performer or a talented person. Altair, the 13th century fictional assassin, was a virtuoso of his craft. The animal trainer made the gifted walrus a virtuoso of the saxophone.
Slander (v) to defame or speak false of someone. Imran Khan sued Ian Botham for slandering and libel and won $ 400,000 in compensation.
Animosity (n) hostility. Rats and squirrels are both quite similar rodents, but you don't show the same animosity to squirrels as you do to rats. (Inglorious Basterds)

SAT Special (Vocabulary III)

2010-09-24T19:34:00.000+05:00

...continued

Relegate (v) exile someone from a country or community; demote somebody or something to a less important position or category. After an abysmal season X Football Club saw themselves relegated to second division. The Shah of Iran was relegated from the country after the Islamic revolution.
Anecdote (n) a short and usually amusing story. Hilton's grandma told him an anecdote about a dog that swam at the Olympics.
Scanty (adj) less than the requirement; meager. A scanty dinner. It is a norm to see models clad in scanty dresses for men's magazine photoshoots.
Fallacious (adj) untrue or false. The girl spread fallacious rumors about the cancellation of the high school ball. He stood up against the fallacious beliefs of the cult and was killed that very moment.
Acclaim (v) praise or admire someone or something highly. A critically acclaimed motion picture. The jury acclaimed the daring and innovative performance of the juggler.
Uniform (adj) consistent or unchanging. A uniform force.
Incoherent (adj) difficult to understand or make a meaning out of. She was clearly perplexed as the speech she delivered was incoherent in every sense of word. His speech was reduced to incoherent mumblings.
Repress (v) suppress something usually by force. He repressed the laugh until his cheeks ached. The only practical solution left before us now is to repress the rebellion.
Articulate (v) to express something understandably. Emy articulated her grief to her boyfriend.
Solicit (v) to ask or to plead for something. I am ready to help you if cease soliciting alms. She was charged on accounts of soliciting the murder of her husband.
Reproach (v) criticize for a wrongdoing; scold. The disciple master reproached little Jody for playing in the dirt.
Condescend (v) to act in a superior way; to do something considered humiliating or of lower level. Honda makes great little cars, I am not trying to sound condescending but I was just saying that they made great sedans. The officer condescended to accepting a two figure bribe for the first time in his life. She condescended to travelling in our minivan as her own limo wouldn't start.
Orthodox (adj) conventional; in line with already set principles. An orthodox cover drive. Your driving skills are not at all orthodox...you are the most rash driver I've been with.
Indolent (adj) lethargic, inactive or insensitive to pain (secondary). The indolent dog always laid there, infront of the fireplace, barking in his sleep as if it were hot on chase. The indolent, obese man took a dip in the pool for the first time in his life.
Congenial (adj) pleasant to be with. Jane had many a sleepless nights thinking about her 'monstrous' in-laws but was left flabbergasted when she found them to be quite congenial.
Preclude (v) to prevent something from happening; to shut out; to make impossible. Having a relative in the company precludes me from taking part in the competition. The strong defense of Chelsea precluded Liverpool from scoring the winning goal.
Apprehensive (adj) fearful or anxious. Josh was apprehensive about going trick 'r treating. The captain was apprehensive about sailing in those uncharted waters.
Elaborate (adj) detailed or complex. An elaborate plan. An elaborate explanation of the topic.
Arrogant (adj) feeling superior. The arrogant girl didn't even say hello to girls from poor or middle-class backgrounds.
Taciturn (adj) habitually reserved or silent. Linda is of a taciturn and unsocial disposition, remaining silent until she has something to say that will awe the whole room.
Ameliorate (v) to make something less painful or hard; or make better. The air hostess tried to ameliorate the doom that hung in the passenger cabin by switching on MTV, but still nothing would diverge the passengers' mind from the awaiting death. He tried to ameliorate the pain by applying ice to the cuts.
Acquiesce (v) to agree or submit. I could not but acquiesce in his theory as I was too tired to argue more. The count would not acquiesce in letting her having a walk in the woods. The women alleged that the father, too, had acquiesced in killing the child.
Atrophy (n) lose strength from the lack of use. Being bed-ridden for 6 weeks he could clearly feel the atrophy in his muscles. If the astronauts do not exercise when in space then they will face muscle atrophy when they get back to Earth.
Dubious (adj) doubtful, hesitant. The dubious horse was in no mood of letting Sam ride. I was a little dubious about whether to trust him or not.
Flagrant (adj) conspicuously bad such that the deed is against moral conduct. Guantanamo Bay Prison is a flagrant violation of human rights. The undertaker asked him for his last words before he was executed for his flagrant crime.
Concise (adj) short and to the point. A concise report.
Immutable (adj) unchanging or unchangeable. The hacker tried his utmost but still couldn't change the immutable password of the main server.
Static (adj) stationary. The pendulum remains static for a fraction of a second at the highest point in its oscillation.
Credulous (adj) believing, gullible, can be tricked. The credulous shopkeeper was tricked into thinking that they are going to pay but instead they ran off with the loot.
Blasphemy (n) irreverence, disrespect of something considered religious. In India, slaughtering a cow is considered a blasphemy.
Coalesce (v) to unify or come together or combine. Raindrops chased each other on the window, then coalesced. In a smoothie all the ingredients have to be coalesced to give the real taste.
Lax (adj) not strict or careful enough. Your lax attitude while driving is going to land our passenger's safety in jeopardy. The security checks were lax and the security officials just checked the participants superficially.
Levity (n) inappropriate lack of seriousness. His levity, as we fought to control the ship in punishing waves, was getting on my nerves.
Ambivalent (adj) having mixed or uncertain feelings about something. The man for the first time was ambivalent about jumping off the building and the hard work of the psychologists seemed to pay off. The tourists were ambivalent about where they were and their tour guide was nowhere to be seen.
Cryptic (adj) secret or hidden; mysterious or mystifying; having a secret or ambiguous meaning. They cryptic underground vaults of the London Bridge are one of the most haunted locales on Earth. The hieroglyphs are though to be cryptic. The cryptic paradise of Jurassic Period's remains wasn't found until the beginning of the 21st century.

SAT Special (Vocabulary II)

2010-09-24T16:11:00.000+05:00

...continued

Vacillate (v) to waver back and forth; remain indecisive. When buying a pizza, I vacillated between Pepperoni, Ham and Sausage. Most of us vacillate between what is right and wrong under peer pressure. She vacillates when it comes to buying just one junk food.
Fervor (n) passionate enthusiasm or intensity or simple passion. Before the final game the stadium was bubbling with fervor. The patriotic fervor in the soldiers was extremely pleasing to see.
Dispassionate (adj) lacking passion; objective and not easily influenced by emotion. Like all hunters a Tiger kills its pray dispassionately. The dispassionate fans were really hurtful for the team considering the controversy they have been through.
Pragmatic (adj) concerned more with practical outcomes; learning lessons from history. Haily was a pragmatic person, concerned more with how a practical demonstration would end rather than what is behind it. He was a successful and pragmatic ruler, concerned with solutions that made the most sense. I am just being pragmatic in my approach, a bottle of acid will open up the drain equally well as digging it up and taking out the obstruction.
Rigorous (adj) severe; taxing; precise. A rigorous fitness program. Hiking in rigorous conditions.
Solemn (adj) showing seriousness or gravity. He wore a solemn expression as the death of his friend was announced before him.
Alleviate (v) lessen something so it becomes bearable, usually temporarily. The painkiller shot alleviated the excruciating pain for half and hour before it escalated again.
Negligence (n) carelessness. The crime took place because of the negligence of the police officers.
Conspicuous (adj) standing out, obtrusive; highly noticeable. She found herself increasingly conspicuous as she was the only one wearing an informal dress on the event.
Advocate (v) to speak in favor of; to endorse; to support. The senator advocated the use force to suppress the rebellion.
Ascetic (adj) choosing austerity and self denial to practice religion or for personal reasons. Elvin always wanted to live an ascetic life with the monks but his desire never became practical.
Profound (adj) deep, strong or intense. Capturing and caring for stray cats is a profound interest of mine.
Ironic (adj) words stating opposite of their literal meaning (satire), incongruous, something that doesn't happen contrary to expectations. Irony was evident in the laughable ranking of inventors who got killed by their own inventions. The discipline master, quite ironically, didn't punish Ron and let him go unscathed over his serious wrong doing.
Dogmatic (adj) prone to expressing strongly held beliefs or opinions. The dogmatic guy had the talk show on fire, letting out contradictory statements every now and then. The dogmatic mouse said that all cats feared his animosity.
Condone (v) be willing to overlook something that is bad or immoral. Joey's parents condoned his late night comings and then had the shock of their lives when their son got jailed for burglary.
Dissent (v/n) expressing disagreement on widely held opinion (v); discord. Emily expressed her dissent by shrieking at her parents. Hamish dissented from the opinions of the committee.
Volition (n) ability to choose or exercising free will. The prisoner, although present in the discourse, wasn't allowed to say or do anything much like a finely molded statue rather than a man having life and volition. Jane accepted her guild and went into exile by her own volition.
Voluntary (adj) of free will. His response never looked voluntary, it was more of a reflex for survival in the face of danger.
Didactic (adj) tending to give instructions even when they are not needed or welcomed. The didactic lab assistant stood over me and without doubt was a pain in the ass. Nerds are often labelled as didactic.
Disparate (adj) strongly differing; incomparable. The two guys were too disparate to be friends but they surprised everyone when they became bosom buddies. My personality is divided into two disparate halves, wait till you see the other one. [!] Don't confuse with desperate (overwhelmed with urgency and anxiety).
Disparage (v) to refer disapprovingly or contemptuously; to belittle. The elite, fashionable girls disparaged Jennifer because of her modest looks and attire. Joshua's teacher disparaged him because of his lack of interest in class.
Ephemeral (adj) short lived. The success of the movie was ephemeral and collections dropped into the second week as the word spread about its insipid story line.
Compliant (adj) ready to confirm or agree; submissive. I drove my car in compliance to the speed limit. The new-found compliant behavior of the child was heart-warming for her mother. The compliant servant was treated miserably by his master.
Prosaic (adj) lacking imagination; without complexities. Let me be prosaic as the facts are; there is no time for an imaginative narration. Lilly, Cristinna's 2-year-old daughter, is so sharp for her age that yesterday she made a pirate hat out of paper, albeit a prosaic one. The prosaic story line received bad reviews from every critic.
Profuse (adj) copious; abundant; extravagant; volubly expressed. The profuse bleeding went on unabated and his friends started to fear for his life. Linda's profuse apologies went in vain as the headmaster mad her stay and clean the lab.
Expedient (adj) appropriate or advantageous in situation; serving self-interest. She found waiting for her aunt in the torrential rain expedient because of all the hardships she had born for her. The hunt for the black orchid came to an expedient end as all the mean members of the group were killed by the anaconda.
Fastidious (adj) meticulous (pain-staking & precise) or delicate (easily disgusted) or difficult to please. Eyre is fastidious about her appearance; spending hours on getting the makeup and hairstyle right. Judges at the American Idol are fastidious when it comes to the singing ability of the contestants. She was fastidious when it comes to the shave of boys, even the slightest carelessness in grooming would turn her off.
Belligerent (adj) hostile, aggressive. Belligerent Bob is known throughout the town for his frequent, vicious bar fights.
Astute (adj) clever and discerning especially where personal benefit is in question. The astute investor was very perspicacious about his investments, investing only on profitable and future-proof locations. The astute possum carried her children on her back to keep track of them.
Languish (v) to be neglected or deprived; to lose vitality or strength. The languished park has become a dump-yard and a hideout for criminals. Thousands of people in Pakistan are languishing in makeshift camps in the wake of recent floods.
Censure (v) to criticize or condemn. The politician censured the approach of the government towards dealing with terrorism.
Stagnation (n) to remain static or motionless. The stagnation of vehicles on the main road didn't clear until the early hours of yesterday. Industrial stagnation lead to many workers becoming redundant.
Mitigate (v) to lessen the severity of something. The lollipop did a lot to the mitigate the whining of the kid. She found sewing to have a mitigating effect on her melancholy surrounding. Only she can mitigate the suffering of my wretched heart.
Reprehensible (adj) highly unacceptable and deserving censure or blame. The human rights violation in many 3rd world countries are reprehensible. Lil' Monty was reprehensible for breaking the window.
Engender (v) to create or give rise to. Stuart's hesitance in going through the metal detector engendered suspicion in the heart of the security officer. The abstract painting engendered questions in the heart of the viewers.
Exemplary (adj) setting an example. The steadfastness displayed by Josh in those hard times was exemplary.

SAT Special (Vocabulary)

2010-09-23T21:06:00.003+05:00

As we all know that the dates for the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) are getting closer with every passing second...and I bet most of you are really getting on pins and needles about it, and you should, as SAT is one thing that every high school student wants to get right; doing well here, fundamentally, grants you access to hundreds of top notch colleges in the US, including the IVY League ones.

So I have started a SAT Special section on my blog and I will exclusively be sharing tips with all of you Test takers about SAT Maths, Critical Reading, Essay and Sentence Completion. But first things first, you should have a phenomenal vocabulary to excel in the CR and W sections of the SAT, and well I can't bless you with all of those 2000 or so words but a portion for them, the most frequented ones.

Indifference (n) lack of interest in something or not attaching importance to a thing. His indifference to pain was admirable, he kept fighting despite the critical gunshot wounds.
Apathy (n) lack of interest or enthusiasm; listlessness; not displaying emotions. The apathy displayed by my ex when I slipped down the stairs before him, was shocking.
Obscure (adj) hidden; unknown or hard to understand. The obscure fashion designer had the audience awed. The Rosetta Stone appeared obscure to French soldiers. An obscure corner of the graveyard.
Impartial (adj) unbiased. The impartial referee was a favorite with the crowd.
Objective (adj) impartial; based on facts rather than opinions. An objective judge is an asset to the judiciary, while a subjective one is a curse.
Revere (v) to praise to give respect. Cow is a revered animal in Hinduism.
Discriminate (v) to tell a difference; to exhibit prejudice towards a group because or age, gender, ethnicity etc. He was unable to discriminate between red and green. We should not discriminate between a Black and a Caucasian, they are both humans.
Denounce (v) to condemn or censure. Human right workers denounced the violations going on in Guantanamo.
Innovate (v) to introduce a new way of doing something or a new device. He innovated a new way of bowling a deceptive slower bowl.
Relevant (adj) logically related to a matter being discussed or investigated; pertinent. Your points are not relevant to the discussion.
Candid (adj) honest or frank in opinion. The candid celebrity was an open book for interviewers and people around her.
Discernment (n) keen judgement or insight. The analyst's political discernments are held in high regard by his listeners.
Disdain (n) intense disgust or contempt. After the altercation the player's next shot was a disdainful smack into the crowd.
Abstract (adj) not concrete or theoretical. That piece of abstract art was sold for a million dollars. The abstract solution put forward by the philosopher was impractical in every sense of word.
Temperate (adj) not extreme; restrained in behavior or attitude. His temperate response to the acrid accusations was appreciated by every one who saw it.
Enigma (n) a mystery. The enigma surrounding the triple murders was talked about everywhere.
Inevitable (adj) bound to happen or unavoidable. War seemed inevitable as the tensions between the two countries further escalated.
Eccentric (adj) not conventional or common-place. His eccentric way of depicting a 'three' with fingers was at once noted by the canny Gestapo officer.
Provincial (adj) unsophisticated and narrow-minded or unwilling to embrace new ideas. The provincial attitude of his parents left him on the brink of committing suicide. The provincial guys from the faraway village glared suspiciously at everything from cell phones to security cameras.
Futile (adj) useless, ineffectual. The efforts at reviving the patient with CPR and a defibrillator were futile.
Diverse (adj) varied. The topography of Pakistan is diverse, from hot deserts to snow clad peaks.
Benevolent (adj) kind; keeping good feelings for others. The benevolent police warden helped the elderly women cross the road.
Pious (adj) a devout follower of religion, virtuous (can also be taken in hypocritical sense). The pious old man confined himself to a small room and worshiped to get closer to God.
Conciliatory (adj) seeking to solve dispute through talks rather than force. The conciliatory approach of the mayor was not mirrored by the terrorist and the situation ended in a blood bath.
Resignation (n) quitting a job; accepting something reluctantly but without protest. The resignation of the president was welcomed by the public and opposition alike. Tom's humorous resignation on the issue of Josh as baseball team's captain was seen in the best interest of the team ahead of the competition.
Resolute (adj) defiant or unwavering. Amy's resolute support of Harry in hard times strengthened the bond between the two.
Servile (adj) submissive almost like a servant.Timothy isn't as servile a character as he has been for the last few days, I smell something fishy, specifically a promotion.
Acute (adj) sharp; perspicacious. An acute sense of hearing. Hercule Poirot was an acute detective.
Reticent (adj) laconic; taciturn or reserved. She is such a reticent character that despite knowing her for six years I cannot tell you about her past.
Anarchy (n) absence of government's writ; lawlessness. To the quell the prevailing anarchy in the state military had to be called in.
Virulent (adj) poisonous; irritating or harsh in tone. The virulent rodent roamed the Sahara desert. The virulent criticism really hurt Joey.
Scrutinize (v) to examine closely. The SS officer scrutinized the expression on his face before accepting his story, albeit still with a hint of doubt.
Discord (n) disagreement. The discord between the two philosophers lead to a heated debate.
Repudiate (v) reject something as invalid; disown or deny something. She repudiated the claims that she had links with the KGB despite being an FBI agent.
Diligent (adj) showing persistence and hard work. Josh is a diligent student, he never gives up on anything that is difficult for him.
Superficial (adj) not through; on the surface only; insignificant. A superficial examination of the subject. The infestation was superficial at first but now had spread to the depths of the pool. Superficial changes in the constitution.
Contempt (n) extreme disgust or disdain for something or someone, specially in a reproachful sense. The minister's actions were worthy of contempt.
Lucid (adj) clear or easy to understand. The website offered lucid explanations for difficult physics concepts.
Aesthetic (adj) having to do with appreciating artistic beauty; beautiful. Her face was rendered aesthetic by the recent joys in her life. The painting was an aesthetic piece of art. The Casting Director of a movie should be aesthetic.
Prodigal (adj) spendthrift or wasteful to an alarming degree. The son of the billionaire, as expected, was an archetype prodigal, spending bucket-loads of money on ornate suites and garish cars that he would never use.
Augment (v) to increase or lengthen. This version of the movie is augmented by the inclusion of censored material.
Complacent (adj) self-satisfied or eager to please. Our MD is by no means a complacent character, always querulous and peevish. The complacent bird flew right in the path of the approaching jet.
Guile (n) cunning and trickery. The guile and duplicity of the spy was acknowledged in the award given to him.
Squander (v) use something wastefully. The country's corrupt ministers squandered large amounts of money on projects invisible to the eye.
Incessant (adj) unceasing; continuing for a long time. The incessant gunfire seemed to carry on for infinity.
Laudable (adj) reverential; worthy of praise. The laudable exploits of the wartime general have a whole movie based on them.
Deter (v) to keep from doing something specially by scaring. The pit-bull sleeping in my path deterred me from completing my regular evening walk.
Redundant (adj) superfluous; no longer needed. After the recession the amount of redundant workers increased manifold.
Infamous (adj) having a bad reputation; disgraceful. Holocaust is an infamous act of tyranny. The infamous serial killer first killed their victims and then skinned them.
Provocative (adj) impelling a response; attracting attention. Provocative talk compelled the wrestler to land a punch on his chin.
Depravity (n) wickedness; moral corruption. The depravity of the extolled secret agent wasn't known until the Agency leaked details about him being a double agent.
Gravity (n) physical force; seriousness. The gravity of the hostage situation was downplayed by the government.
Banal (adj) ordinary; not creative. The soap opera had the same banal story line and on its second day it was being played before virtually empty theaters.
Extol (v) to praise or admire highly. Hu Jing Tau was a leader extolled by the Chinese public because of his unselfish and philanthropic character.
Euphony (n) pleasant and melodious sounds. The euphony in pop music died with the likes of Elvis and Jackson.
Deride (v) to ridicule or laugh at with utter dislike. The general public and priests derided Galileo's theory that Earth revolved around the Sun.
Insipid (adj) dull or unattractive. An insipid candle-lit dinner.
Austere (adj) simple without luxury\decoration; unsmiling; or depicting hardship. An austere life at the frontier. Dexter is a fairly austere character. The count bore an austere expression. The labor's austere face was all you need to know about his past hardships.
Expedite (v) make faster; facilitate. Aerial sprays expedited the annihilation of the insects.
Heresy (n) an opinion violently opposed to settled beliefs especially religious ones. Galileo's theory, that Earth revolved around the sun rather than the contrary, was labelled as heresy and he was put under house arrest.
Novel (adj) new; creative or original. The novel script and storyline of the move made it a cult classic.
Philanthropy (n) love of mankind or the quality of helping people. Jade's philanthropy was exemplary, she donated 75% of her very first income to the flood affectees.
Tentative (adj) hesitant; showing lack of confidence; rough or provisional. The horse was tentative in approaching him. A tentative draft of the constitution.
Deference (n) submission to another's will or decision; being polite or showing respect. We should show deference to elders because they have seen more of the world than us. Amy broke up with her boyfriend in deference to her father's will.

Disclaimer & Legal Stuff

2010-09-22T16:44:00.002+05:00

The sentences that follow in the SAT Vocabulary section are purely fictional and do not relate to any real human, event or place in any way. Furthermore they are not intended to hurt anyone's sentiments; they are just utilized to make the meaning & usage of the word clear and are not taken from any copyrighted sources accept me :-P...so give me due credit if you use them...;-)
The lists are borrowed from the Hit Parade sections of the Princeton Review's Word Smart I, and wherever possible definitions and sentences are not used from it (except for one or two occasions). Furthermore I am not responsible for any untoward incident with your SAT :-P (like memorizing all these words instead of a full 2000 odd SAT Vocab and ending up with less than expected marks), sue Princeton instead... :-D
I have used definitions mostly from Encarta's English Dictionary 2009 ((c) 1994-2009 Microsoft Corporation) for which I want to give Microsoft full credit.
And finally, Mafioso, Dangerous Waters and The Battle are my very own novels (albeit short ones :-P) so the sentences ending with either of these three names are taken from my work and no other source!

Biology (Biological Molecules)

2010-05-01T21:47:00.000+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS ( BIOLOGY )

#5 BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES

carry out tests for reducing and non-reducing sugars (including semi-quantitative use of the Benedict’s test), the iodine in potassium iodide solution test for starch, the emulsion test for lipids and the biuret test for proteins;
describe the ring forms of α-glucose and β-glucose;
describe the formation and breakage of a glycosidic bond with reference both to polysaccharides and to disaccharides including sucrose;
describe the molecular structure of polysaccharides including starch (amylose and amylopectin), glycogen and cellulose and relate these structures to their functions in living organisms;
describe the molecular structure of a triglyceride and a phospholipid and relate these structures to their functions in living organisms;
describe the structure of an amino acid and the formation and breakage of a peptide bond;
explain the meaning of the terms primary structure, secondary structure, tertiary structure and quaternary structure of proteins and describe the types of bonding (hydrogen, ionic, disulfide and hydrophobic interactions) that hold the molecule in shape;
describe the molecular structure of haemoglobin as an example of a globular protein, and of collagen as an example of a fibrous protein and relate these structures to their functions (the importance of iron in the haemoglobin molecule should be emphasised);
describe and explain the roles of water in living organisms and as an environment for organisms;
state one role of each of the following inorganic ions in living organisms: calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, nitrate, phosphate;

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Yep! This chapter is about the molecules that your body utilizes everyday from the food you eat and the drinks you drink...good drinks that is...=D...This chapter has got the highest frequency in your MCQ paper...and you should know the tiniest of the details to score well...lets start!

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

First of all you need to know the basic food tests...
1. BENEDICT's TEST

Benedict's test is to indicate the presence of a reducing sugar, like glucose.

Benedict's Reagent (aqueous sodium hydroxide, tartaric acid and aq. copper sulfate) has the sugar sample added to it.

Upon gentle heating (for around 2 minutes) the following color changes occur if a reducing sugar is present...

Blue > Green > Yellow > Orange > Brick Red \ Crimson.

If no color change is observed then a variant of Benedict's test is performed.

Hydrolysis with heated HCl is done first (breakage of glycosidic bonds, if present)

Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate is then used to neutralize the mixture.

Now th mixture is gently heated.

If a colour change is observed then the sugar involved is most likely to be sucrose.

2. TEST FOR STARCH

The sample to be tested is crushed in distilled water.

Aqueous Potassium Iodide is then added over it.

If starch is present then a blue-black colour originates; otherwise a reddish-brown colour is there.

3. ETHANOL EMULSION TEST

This test is used to test the presence of lipids.

Ethanol is added to the sample, the mixture is shaken.

If upon the addition of water to the mixture, a foamy, white emulsion is seen at the surface then lipid is present.

4. BIURET's TEST

It is used to detect the presence of peptide bonds or in other words, proteins.

Biuret's Reagent (1% KOH \ NaOH, potassium sodium tartrate and a few drops of copper sulfate) is added to an aquous sample.

If peptide bonds are present then a violet colour can be seen instead of the original blue colour.

5. THE USE OF COLORIMETRY

The above tests are all qualitative, i.e, the confirm the presence of a chemical in the mixture. But how do we know about the quantity that s when colorimetry steps in; to carry out a quantitative test.

Colorimeter measures the absorption of a specific wavelength of light by a solution. In this way, along with the presence of different coloured solutions of the same test, we get to know the average quantity of chemical present in the mixture.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now let us look at the Carbohydrates first...

The king of carbohydrates is without doubt glucose. We would look into some carbohydrates in detail but lets have a look at the two isomers of glucose alpha and beta.

As you see above; there is only one fundamental difference between the two enatiomers of glucose, that is, the orientation of the OH-group on the 1st Carbon. In beta-glucose it is over the hydrogen while in alpha-glucose it is below the hydrogen at 1-Carbon.

Now lets talk about carbohydrates in general...

The general formula for carbohydrates is n(CH2O).

There are three main categories of carbohydrates.

Monosaccharides

They include Glucose, Fructose and Galactose.

They all have the same molecular formula, i.e, C6H12O6 but differ in arrangement of molecules, i.e, they are isomers of each other.

They are sweet, highly soluble and act as respiratory substrates and are easily transported due to small size.

Fructose is a monomer of sucrose and also is a component of nectar and also aids the synthesis of insulin.

Galactose is a monomer of lactose and also constitutes nectar.

Disaccharides

They form when two monosaccharides join together via a glycosidic bond in a condensation reaction. (see above). Remember that this process can be reversed by the addition of water, i.e, by dilute Sulfuric Acid.

They include, sucrose, maltose and lactose.

Combination of two alpha-glucose molecules gives maltose (reducing sugar)

Combination of an alpha-glucose and a fructose molecule yields sucrose; which acts as a storage (onion) and transport material for plants. (non-reducing sugar).

When an alpha-glucose and a galactose molecule combine then lactose (non-reducing sugar) or milk sugar results which makes up about 5% of mammalian milk.

Polysaccharides

They are formed when many monomer units are linked together, in contrast of the two linked to form a disaccharide.

Most prominent polysaccharides and their structures and functions are discussed below...

Starch is a polysaccharide forming from the linking together of alpha-glucose monomers. It contains both 1-4 glycosidic linkages (amylose) (see above 1st) and 1-6 glycosidic linkages (amylopectin) that branches it. Due to this branching it is very compact, thus suitable for storage and aids enzyme activity. Moreover its insolubility in water helps the cell to retain it for future use. However starch is mostly used by plants for storage.

Glycogen also forms from the linkages of alpha-glucose monomers; but is relatively more branched and more compact. It is used for storage by animals.

Cellulose has a beta-glucose as its single units. It contains more than 10000 beta-glucose monomers linked together by glycosidic bonds and cross-linkages (hydrogen bonds b/w H--O) which allows it to provide structural support to cells in the from of cell walls. (see below)

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now lets peek at the lipid family...

Class of organic molecules that is insoluble in water and have a high percentage of Hydrogen and Carbon and relatively low proportion of oxygen thus they release more energy than both carbohydrates and proteins.

Lipids are formed when three fatty acid molecules combine with a tri-glycerol molecule. In a dehydration \ condensation reaction. To reverse this process hydrolysis is required.

There are two types of fatty acids; unsaturated (having C-C double bonds) and saturated (having no C-C double bonds)

The process of the formation of a lipid molecule is outlined in the diagram above.

Some uses of fats are..

As a source of energy use.

Storage in adipose tissues to provide insulation and protection from mechanical injury to vital organs.

Helping aqueous organisms to stay buoyant.

They can also be used as an energy storage option because of their insolubility and compactness.

Component of cell membrane in the form of phospolipid molecules.

A variant of the lipid molecule is the essential...phospholipid. In which one fatty acid in a lipid molecule is replaced by a phosphate group. The process that leads to it is also out lined below.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now lets get down to the most important organic molecule of our body...without doubt the most important class of organic molecules (their name suggests that, Greek for first rank!!) that is synonymous with the world survival. Let me introduce to the proud and boastful..Proteins *clap**clap*...

The consist of simpler units, i.e monomers, Amino Acids, joined together by peptide linkages.

The two terminal ends of a polypeptide have a carboxyl and amine group respectively.

The sequence of amino acids in a protein is encoded by the base sequence (codons) in our genome.

They are basically organic compounds that have Nitrogen in them.

The primary or initial formation of a straight chain polypeptide is outline below...

Protein chain(s) can also arrange themselves in a secondary 3-D structures. There are two main types of it.

The Alpha Helix (in which there are hydrogen bonds between Carbonyl and N-H groups on adjacent turns, a typical alpha helix is about 11 amino acids long, they are soluble, an example can be a portion of the protein that makes up our hairs and nails; Keratin)

A Beta-Pleated Sheet (in which there are also hydrogen bonds between the two groups specified above; the only different been that they exist between neighboring anti-parallel chains, they are insoluble, an example can be the silk thread a spider weaves.)

Secondary structure elemetns can be folded into a more specific tertiary structure.

The protein is held in a series of tucks and bends by the following bonds...

Hydrogen Bonds (Weakest)

Ionic Bonds (Weaker)

Disulfide Linkages (Strong)

As well as Hydro-interactins with the hydrophilic R groups (with some sugar molecules attached and stuff) are displayed on the outside while hydrophobic R groups are buried within.

Tertiary structure plays a very important part in protein function because if the tertiary structure breaks down, as in denaturing, the protein cannot function. Similarly mutations in DNA (in a gene encoding for that protein) can causes that protein to have an altered tertiary structure thus making it useless such proteins usually...

Are degraded in the cytoplasm.

Protein kinesis cannot occur, i.e, the proteins cannot be delivered to the organelle/structure utilizing them (as in lysosomes).

Some times the proteins, due to an improper orientation as in displaying hydrophobic R groups at the surface, can go insoluble and form deposits in the cells.

Now let us move to the final and highest level of protein organization, the quaternary structure. In which more than one polypeptide chains (in precise ratios) are linked together (not bonded covalently, mind you!) with prosthetic (non-protein) group(s) in between. They are in a precise 3-D shape with two main classes.

Globular Proteins (are globe like in structure, are soluble in water due to dipole-dipole interactions, are relatively unstable, i.e, easily denatured, the play chemical functions in the body like, catalyzing chemical reactions, in antibodies etc)

An important member of the Globular class is haemoglobin. Which consists of four polypeptide chains containing two alpha-chains and two beta chains that have a heme (iron-containing) group each. The iron is in Fe2+ oxidation state that renders it capable in binding with an oxygen molecule, an oxidation to Fe3+ state renders the protein useless.

Fibrous Proteins (are long filament-like protein structures and are insoluble in water due to the surface presentation of hydrophobic R groups. They are chemically inert and usually play structural roles as in Keratin (nails and hair), tendons and other connective tissues. Compared to globular proteins; they are less sensitive to environmental changes and tend to denature less readily)

A very important component of this class of quaternary structure is, Collagen, the most abundant protein in our body; making up about 20-30% of our total protein count. It is made up of three separate alpha-helices twisted around each other The structure is held together by hydrogen bond between corresponding chains (the same N-H::::O=C ones) although some covalent bonds (aldol-histadine cross links and aldol cross-links) also exist. Glycine residues also give collagen its tensile strength as every third amino acid is small in the helices.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now let us move to the different ions and their functions...

Ca[+2]

Major component of bones and teeth.

Needed for muscle contractions and blood clotting

Structural support in the form of calcium pectate in cell walls.

Na[+]

Utilized in nerve impulses.

Maintaining an anion-cation balance across the cell membrane.

Constituent of sap vacuole to aid turgidity.

K[+]

Movement of nerve impulses.

Maintaining the anion-cation balance across the cell membrane.

Necessary for photosynthesis, cell respiration and protein synthesis.

Maintains plant turgidity.

Mg[+2]

Component of chlorophyll.

Activator for some enzymes such as ATPase.

Cl[-]

Maintenance of anion-cation balance across a plasma membrane.

Component of gastric juice (HCl)

Utilized in Chloride shift, a process that aids in CO2 exchange by RBCs. it is an effort to maintain blood pH as HCO3- ions move out of the RBC.

NO3[-]

Amino acid synthesis (Nitrogen is required).

Component of chlorophyll.

PO4[-3]

ATP synthesis.

Oxidative Phosphorylation is mitochondria.

Component of phospholip bilayer in cell membrane.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now let us get to our final and vitally, the most important chemical compound to exist on our planet, life depends on it entirely...'no water no life'...

Lets talk about the functions of water...

Cohesion in the water molecules due to hydrogen bonds between adjacent water molecules results in a surface tension which allow aquatic organisms like pond skaters to walk over it. The polarity of a water molecule also makes it a universal solvent as it interacts with other charged bodies thus resulting in their dissolution. Additionally,. it plays an integral role in photosynthesis in plants and helps to maintain their erect posture. It is widely used by warm-blooded organisms as a tool for temperature control due to its high latent heat of vaporization thus a small amount of sweat can take away a large amount of heat upon vaporization. Moreover it has a high specific heat capacity which allows chemical processes in living organisms to take place within a short temperature range and protect us from temperature changes. Water also has a high heat of fusion and thus prevents our cells from freezing. Moreover, water is the transport medium for nearly every type of molecules in our body.

Water is colorless which allows life to exist in aquatic habitats as it allows sunlight to pass through and thus helps plants photosynthesize. The cohesion of water molecules and its adhesion to surrounding molecules allows plants to pull up water via the xylem vessels. Water also serves as a lubricant in our body; it is present in the synovial fluid in our joints and mucus in our URT.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Biology (Cell Division)

2010-04-29T12:39:00.001+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS ( BIOLOGY )

#4 CELLULAR and NUCLEAR DIVISION

> explain the importance of mitosis in growth, repair and asexual reproduction;

explain the need for the production of genetically identical cells and fine control of replication;

explain how uncontrolled cell division can result in cancer and identify factors that can increase the chances of cancerous growth;

describe, with the aid of diagrams, the behavior of chromosomes during the mitotic cell cycle and the associated behavior of the nuclear envelope, cell membrane, centrioles and spindle (names of the main stages are expected);

explain the meanings of the terms haploid and diploid and the need for a reduction division prior to fertilization in sexual reproduction;

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Every wondered why, after getting a nasty cut, you skin grows back. Ever thought out about the stuff thats going that results in your hair getting longer day by day? No? Well then you are not aware of nature's most important process that lets almost everything grow, reproduce and survive...Cell Division; and at our level...Mitosis!

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Mitosis is a five step process, followed by cytokinesis, that helps cells divide to two similar daughter cells. It only involves somatic or normal body cells and not gametes. Mitosis is important because...

It aids simpler organisms, like bacteria, to reproduce asexually.

It allows regeneration of damaged or worn out body tissue.

It also aids us in growth as our cells multiply and we become multicellular organisms after conception.

Moreover the formation of healthy daughter cells from mitosis tells about the non-problematic state our genome because the daughter cells have the same genetic material as the parent cells.

Before a cell can divide, there is a combination of phases in its life cycle known as interphase which involves...
Growth Phase 1 (G1): New organelles are formed to provide daughter cells with.
Synthesis Phase (S): DNA is replicated.
Growth Phase 2 (G2): Cell builds up its energy reserves to power mitosis.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Although mitosis is doesn't always occur smoothly. An abnormal case of mitosis is cancer. Which is a medical condition that involves, uncontrolled growth of infected cells, invasion and destruction of adjacent healthy cells and spread to other parts of the body. It is caused by...

Carcinogenics, like cigarette smoke, harmful radiation and other chemicals that cause mutation of the human genome.

Infection with oncogenes which are viruses that affect the genes associated with normal cell division, more specifically the tumour suppressor gene.

Errors in DNA Replication can also cause cancer despite bodies seemingly tough checks.

Immune system not functioning properly can also increase the chances of cancerous growth.

Cancerous growth can also be inherited, as in breast cancer.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now let us look at the stages of cell division in a little more detail...

1. Prophase

Before prophase genetic material in the cell's nucleus is in a loosely bundled, kind of a suspension form; known as chromatin. But after the onsets of prophase chromatins condense to form highly organized chromosomes which have two chromatids joined at the centre called centromere. (lots of Cs eh? =P)

Centrosomes (pair of centrioles) migrate to opposite poles of the cell.

Spindle fibers generate from the two centrosomes (one of them is replicated when mitosis is about to occur) upon the polymerization of soluble tubulin. The spindle fibres can be thought of as molecular pathways; about 30 nm in diameter; upon which most cellular organelles move about in the cell.

2. Prometaphase

Nucelolus has disappeared.

Nuclear membrane degenerates.

Spindle-fibers invade the nuclear space attaching themselves to the centromeres of chromosomes each chromosome is attached to both the centrosomes as they lie at the opposite poles of the cell.

Chromosomes lie are pulled by spindle-fibers to the equator of the cell.

3. Metaphase

Chromosomes now lie at the equator of the cell.

Contractions in the spindle-fibers (requires ATP) results in sister chromatids starting to split apart.

Proper alignment is necessary to proceed to anaphase. Thats why cells remain in metaphase for hours and even days to make this happen.

4. Anaphase

Sister chromatids have separated at the centromere and are migrating towards the poles marked by the centrosomes.

First signs of cell-membrane invagination are visible.

5. Telophase

It is basically the cancellation of the effects of prophase and prometaphase.

Sister chromatids which had migrated to the opposite ends of the cell become surrounded by a nuclear membrane each.

Chromosomes decondense to form chromatin.

There are now two nuclei in the same cell; nucleolus has also reappeared.

Spindle fibers degenerate.

Mitosis is now complete.

6. Cytokinesis

This the process by which a cell actually divides into two separate entities.

Contractile ring in the centre of the cell pinches the cell inwards uptil separation.

Cytokinesis doesn't occur in plant cells. in it a cell wall plate forms which divides the cell asymmetrically.

Now lets look at this process as a whole...

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Biology (Genetic Control)

2010-04-28T19:49:00.000+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS ( BIOLOGY )

#3 GENETIC CONTROL

> describe the structure of RNA and DNA and explain the importance of base pairing and hydrogen bonding;

explain how DNA replicates semi-conservatively during interphase;

state that a gene is a sequence of nucleotides as part of a DNA molecule, which codes for a polypeptide;

describe the way in which the nucleotide sequence codes for the amino acid sequence in a polypeptide with reference to the nucleotide sequence for HbA (normal) and HbS (sickle cell) alleles of the gene for the β-haemoglobin polypeptide;

describe how the information on DNA is used during transcription and translation to construct polypeptides, including the role of messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA) and the ribosomes;

explain that, as enzymes are proteins, their synthesis is controlled by DNA;

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

People say that genetics is a unit that simply blasts off the thought of an easy biology course. I, myself, have spoken to many-a-students who have dropped bio' for it and those who run away from the very thought of base-pairing, DNA and RNA.

Therefore, this post is dedicated to all those who think genetics is crap!!!

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Lets start with the structure of DNA and RNA.

DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid is the longest molecule in your body, so long that when all the DNA in your body is put together it could go to and come back from the sun nearly 102 times!!!

Lets start with its basic structure...

DNA is made up of basically these three things...

Deoxyribose Sugar (A type of pentose aka 5-Carbon sugar, variant of ribose as it lacks O at 2' Carbon)
Phosphates. x3 but the two break-away when phospho-diester bond forms.
Nitrogenous Bases which include...(they are all flat structures because of being rings and thus are easily stackable in the DNA molecule which compacts the size and also strengthens the molecule)

Purines (dual-ring structure)

Adenine
Guanine

Pyrimidines (single-ring structure consisting of six sides)

Thymine
Cytosine

All of the above mentioned components, together build the backbone of the DNA molecule. They form nucleotides (see left) which get linked together to form a polynucleotide.

Now let us see the DNA structure in more detail...

First of all there is a single strand...

Then the polynucleotide chain is formed which contains half the amount of sugar, phosphate groups and bases than in the final DNA molecule.
polynucleotide arrangement is achieved by linking nucleotides together with the aid of phosphate groups. The phosphate attaches either to the 5' of one sugar and the 3' to the adjacent one or vice versa (in a phospho-diester bond that is). The former is the case with the above illustrated nucleotide and therefore the orientation of the formed polynucleotide will be from 5'-3' and the other DNA strand will be in an anti-parallel orientation of 3'-5', this kind of arrangement helps in the hydrophilic sugar and phosphate groups facing outwards and the hydrophobic bases to face inwards thus resulting in the stability of the DNA molecule by twisting it around as the sides pull the molecules in the opposite direction.

Then its mate shows up...

both the polynucleotides join in an anti-parallel arrangement with complimentary base pairing. The hydrogen bonds between adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine link the strands together.

Anti-parallel structure of DNA. The red/white molecule is the OH on the 3' of deoxyribose. While the orange\red molecule if the Phosphate one, attached to the 5' of ribose.

Complimentary Base arrangement in DNA. Cytosine-Guanine (left) and Adenine-Thymine (right). White, broken lines show hydrogen bond.

Some important points in a DNA's arrangement are...

Hydrogen bond, although relatively weak when compared to covalent bonds, become a strong force when occurring between millions of base pairs. This confers stability on the vital DNA molecule and helps it stay together. Hydrogen bonds also aid in the formation of the dual-helix structure of DNA. Their weak nature also helps in the easy unzipping of the two strands of DNA when required.
Accurate base-pairing is essential in a DNA molecule as an alteration in these would result in mutations that several affect a living organism. Each combination of nucleotides is a gene codes for a specific polypeptide and thus changes in these would result in a wrong polypeptide being encoded.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now lets get to the RNA...short for ribonucleic acid; it is a single strand molecule that never has thymine but has uracil instead. It also contains ribose sugar instead of deoxyribose sugar in its nucleotides. There are three main types of RNA in our body.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) is formed in the nucleus as a mirror image of a strand of DNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil. It is a alpha-helical in structure and acts as a template for protein synthesis.
Transfer RNA (tRNA) is also formed in nucleus from about 80 nucleotides and has a clover-leaf shape. Its main role is to fetch amino acids for protein synthesis and has specificity for them thus about 20 types of tRNAs exist for the twenty amino acids in nature.
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is the central component of our protein manufacturing factories, i.e, ribosomes. It is the largest of the RNAs and can also exist in dual-helical form. Its main function is the decoding of the mRNA molecule and interaction with the tRNA the results in a polypeptide being formed.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Over with the structures now let us get to some factory work!!!

1st Process....REPLICATION....
The Crew....

Initiator Proteins: provide origin for replication by forming a replication bubble or opening.
Helicase: unzips or opens up the DNA strand.
SSB: or single-strand-binding proteins temporarily bond with the DNA strands to prevent them from recombining.
Gyrase: prevents knotting in the DNA open. molecule
Primase: lays down primers so that replication can initiate.
DNA Polymerase: it is the main player in DNA replication and is an enzyme complex that carries out the following functions...

Adding of nucleotides.
Replacing RNA Primers with DNA.
Proofreading.

Ligase: seals the gaps on the lagging strand.

The process...

Initiator protein scoots along the DNA molecule until it comes across a specific base combination. it stops there and creates a small opening.
Helicase then finds that opening and unzips the DNA molecule into two strands by breaking the hydrogen bonds, forming a replication fork, or a horizontal Y in the DNA molecule.
SSB proteins then bind with the separated strands so that they don't recombine again.
Gyrase prevents the knotting over of the coiled DNA molecule as in a separated state, it has a real tendency to disrupt our genetic code.
As for a new strand to begin some foundation should be laid to construct over, i.e, a reactive OH tail at 3' of the deoxyribose sugar should be present so that a polynucleotide can form from it. So as the new strand is completely naked i.e has nothing to support the formation of a new strand, primers (RNA nucleotide) is laid by the enzyme RNA primase to get the process rolling. However there is a complex situation involved. DNA Polymerase can only add deoxyribonucleotides (a fancy way to say, DNA's nucelotides) in the 5'-3' direction or in other words only to a free 3' OH tail; this results in a leading and lagging strand. The leading strand being where DNA polymerase keeps on adding ribonucleotides in the 5'-3' direction continuously after an initial primer is placed. The lagging strand being the one where addition of ribonucleotides occurs in breaks called, Okazaki fragments, which are around 200-300 nucleotides long and polymerase stops when it encounters 5' of another fragment. It is a difficult concept, I know, therefore lets have a look at the diagram below.
Ligase fills the gaps between the fragments. As DNA polymerase replaces the RNA primers with DNA.
Finally proof-reading is done by DNA Polymerase in 3'-5' direction.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~
2nd Process...TRANSCRIPTION....
The Crew....

RNA Polymerase: does the same work as DNA Polymerase in the earlier section but has only two fundamentally different functions than the DNA Polymerase...

Uracil is used instead of thymine.
Usage of ribonucleotide instead of deoxyribonucleotide in polynucleotide assembly.

Holoenzyme: is a group of enzymes that look up the gene to be transcribed for the RNA Polymerase.

The Process....

Holoenzyme finds the promoter sequence for RNA Polymerase. It is usually known as the TATA Box and is on the non-template strand (the one to be transcribed); the promoter tells RNA Polymerase that how many bases away is the base sequence of the gene to be encoded.
After Holoenzyme has found the promoter gene; it signals RNA Polymerase to come over and begin the task of transcription.
RNA Polymerase first melts the hydrogen bonds between the two strands so that the region to transcribe can be viewed.
When the template strand (the one that is not transcribed but serves as a template to form the non-template strand) is exposed. RNA Polymerase starts laying down ribonucleotides which have bases complimentary to the template strand without the need of a primer.
The elongation of the mRNA strand proceeds in the 5'-3' direction until the terminator sequence is encountered by the DNA Polymerase upon which it transcribes the terminator sequence and halts transcription.
It detaches itself from the template strand.
A 5' Cap of Guanine is added to the mRNA molecule with some methyl groups that prevent decomposition and deem the mRNA molecule ready for translation.
A 3' Tail of Adenine is attached at the end of the mRNA molecule, again to prevent decomposition form nucleases as mRNA is temporary so nucleases start destroying it the moment it steps into the cytoplasm so the addition of tails means that the message stays long enough to be translated by ribosomes.
Intorns (non-encoding)are removed from the mRNA molecule so that only Exons (encoding) remain.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

3rd Process...TRANSLATION....

The crew...

mRNA: serves as the template for translation.

Amino Acids: they are linked together to form a protein.

tRNA: provides courier service during the process by fetching the amino-acids required.

Ribosomes: provide the frame-work for the occurring of the process.

The process...

mRNA moves out into the cytoplasm.
tRNA have their complimentary amino acid hooked to the acceptor / 3' arm by aminoacyl synthetases who recognize the anti-codon on the tRNA molecule.
The two subunits of Ribosomes come together, the smaller subunit binds to the 5' end of the mRNA molecule.
Codon (group of three bases) on the mRNA molecule attract their complimentary anticodons on the tRNA molecule. The ribosome unit that is travelling along the mRNA strand allows the incoming complimentary tRNA molecules to fit in; two at a time, when the two tRNA molecules are held in close proximity, then the amino acids on their 3' arms combine to form a peptide bond and thus a polypeptide forms as the chain grows.
Many ribosomes work on the same tRNA molecule to give many copies of the protein transcribed on the mRNA molecules.
When the terminator sequence is reached by the ribosome, then translation stops as there is no anticodon for it.

Structure of tRNA

...CODON TABLE...

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

One of the most common anomalies associated with wrong base sequence, is none other than the sickle-cell anaemia. Lets journey to the core of this disease.

Name: Sickle-Cell Anaemia

Affected body-parts: Blood Tissue \ RBCs

What it does?: This genetically inherited disease alters the shape of the RBC; from flattened biconcave disks to crescent or sickle shaped. This reduces the amount of oxygen they can carry and also makes them 50-times less soluble in blood upon deoxygenation which can result in the cells being precipitated.

Symptoms: Body Ache, Lethargy, Pale Skin.

Cause: Normally our Hemoglobin (HbA) has four polypeptide chains (alpha, beta, delta and gamma) which combine with 4 haem groups. But in sickle cell patients, due to wrong base grouping, valine (see above, its an amino acid) replaces glutamine (see above) at the 6th position in the beta-polypeptide chain, such small a change can lead to such drastic effects. But this disease shows in up in only homozygous form, i.e, when both the genes you got from your parents code for sickle cell RBCs. In hetrozygous form, you can only have a sickle-cell trait but, luckily, not the disease!!

Prevention: No preventive measure known.

Medication: Pain-relieving medicines, Hydrea, Droxea, Blood Transfusions, Supplemental Oxygen, Bone-Marrow transplant, Nicosan.

Special Fact: Reduced susceptibility to the malarial parasite.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Biology (Ecology)

2010-04-27T16:59:00.062+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS ( BIOLOGY )

#2 ECOLOGY

define the terms habitat, niche, population, community and ecosystem and state examples of each;
explain the terms producer, consumer and trophic level in the context of food chains and food webs;
explain how energy losses occur along food chains and discuss the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels;
describe how nitrogen is cycled within an ecosystem, including the roles of microorganisms;

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Many students often describe ecology as the most easiest part of any biology course and I agree with them because ecology is nothing more than memorizing key definitions and remembering them at the time of need with a few exceptions like nitrogen and carbon cycles...

and so we will get over with this in the same method...

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Lets start with all the important definations that you should know...

Ecology is the study of living organisms and their relationship with all the other biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components of their environment.
Environment are the external conditions, resources and stimuli with which organisms interact which in turn affects their survival, life and growth.
Species are a group of organisms that are reproductively isolated, inter-breed within themselves to produce fertile offsprings and have structural similarities between them that results in them being told apart from other species.
Habitat is a Latin word for it inhabits and is defined as an ecological area that is inhabited by a population or an organism which is characterized by its dominant producer or physical features. For example, grasslands, alps etc.
Population is the collective name given to all the organisms of a particular species within a particular area at a given time. They share the same gene pool and are usually isolated from other populations of the same species. For examples the Tigers of central Bengal are a population.
A niche is a functional role of a specie or population within an ecosystem, i.e, its way of interacting with other biotic and abiotic factors of its environment. For example, a shoal of fishes are a niche in an aquatic habitat, because they interact with other factors and play their part in the ecosystem like providing food to the sharks (prey), feeding over plankton (eating), reproducing within themselves to increase the size of the population etc.
Community is basically an expanded defination of population as it is the collective name given to all populations of different species that inhabit a particular area at a given time. For example camels, foxes, scorpions etc living in the Sahara are a community.
Ecosystem is defined as a unit in which all biotic and abiotic factors interact with each other during their normal function and is characterized by an energy flow through the chain of organisms. Examples can be, an ocean, a rain-forest or even a decomposing log!
Producers are the auto-trophic organisms, like plants, who initiate a food chain because of their ability to produce energy rich organic compound from simple inorganic compounds, like water and carbon dioxide, and energy from sunlight.
Consumers are hetero-trophic organisms that obtain their food form other organisms by eating or decomposing them.
Decomposers are sapro-trophic organisms that feed on dead and decaying organisms and organic waste. They play an important part in nutrient recycling.
Trophic Level is the position on which an organism feeds in a food chain. It can be trophic level 1 for producers, 2 for herbivores, upto 5 for predators and no place for decomposer.

Thats it for the definitions part...now lets move on to the other components...

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

The concept of energy losses should be mastered before sitting for your AS Level examination as it is one of the most frequently tested concepts.

Food chains cannot be simply put as transfer of food from one living thing to another, for example not all the energy a hen produces is transfered to your chicken roast!!, it involves energy losses as some energy is utilized by the organism for...

Respiration (energy expended by consumers is larger than the producers due to their increased activity)
Excretion (exhalation and excretion)
Death and decaying of the organism.
Heat Energy due to activity.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Nitrogen Cycle is an important part of the ecosystem because nitrogenous compounds help the growth and survival of almost all living organisms, as nitrogen is a component of almost all amino acids and subsequently all proteins, RNA and the most important of all the DNA. But the problem is that atmospheric nitrogen (N2) is not usable by living organisms for the above listed functions so nitrogen fixation is as important a process as nitrogen itself. Lets look into this crucial-for-life cycle and its processes.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria forming symbiosis (an ecological partnership) with a legume plant. It resides in the root modules of the plant and gets food and shelter from the plant while rhizobium (a type of nitrogen-fixing bacteria) provides th plant with organic nitrogen compounds such as glutamines (first of all it converts atm. nitrogen to ammonia).
Another type of Nitrogen fixation occurs in the soil where bacterias like azotobacter convert atmospheric nitrogen to more reactive forms of nitrogen. Nitrogen fixation also occurs in some other ways..

Via the Haber Process, when ammonia is made from hydrogen and nitrogen under high temperature and pressure. The subsequent use and manufacture of fertilizers and other chemicals helps in nitrogen fixation.
Lightning is another source of fixed nitrogen.
Oxides of nitrogen releases by internal combustion engines.

Ammonification is basically the conversion of nitrogenous wastes or dead animals or plants back into ammonium ions. It is done by both aerobic or anaerobic bacteria and in some cases fungi.
Nitrification is the conversion of ammonium ions into nitrates and nitrites; usually in two steps...

Nitrosomonas convert ammonium ions to nitrites (NO2-). As accumulation of nitrites is toxic for plants so it must be quickly converted to nitrates.
Nitrobacter converts nitrites in to highly soluble nitrates (NO3-).

Bacteria species like Clostridium convert nitrates back to inert atmospheric nitrogen, in a process called Denitrification, thus completing the nitrogen cycle. They do this by using nitrates as the electron acceptor in place of oxygen in their respiration cycle.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Thats all! Hoping that it was of some use to you!!

Economics (Inflation)

2010-04-26T22:45:00.005+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS (ECONOMICS)

#3 UNEMPLOYMENT

Employment Statistics
Size and components of labour force
Labour productivity
Definition of unemployment
Unemployment rate; patterns and trends in (un)employment
Difficulties involved in measuring unemployment

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Unemployment? We all are familiar with this word, living in today's world, but have you ever tried to get deeper into this stuff; like what causes it and what are its consequences. No? I was expecting that! So lets just explore this phenomenon which we hear about almost everyday!!

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

First of all we should know as to how we measure via the employment statistics the rate of unemployment in a country. Simple...

The total civilian labour force (people who are aged 16 or above and are employed or actively searching for unemployment) is determined.
Next the number of unemployed persons is determined (the people who are actively looking for jobs or have not worked for more than an hour in the week before the survey was conducted)
Exclusion of people who are employed by the military, have a long term illness or are voluntarily unemployed.
Unemployed Persons / Total Civilian Labour force x 100 = Unemployment Rate.

The above figure showing the unemployment rates of the U.S shows that unemployment is a dynamic concept and keeps on changing with time as more people come of working age and start finding jobs or get jobs along with other people who lose their jobs. So at a given time if more people get jobs and lesser people lose their jobs, the rate of unemployment will drop, and vice versa.

Some 'jumps' in the above graph are explained...

1929 and onwards was the Great Depression the period of great economics instability around the globe. Revenues dropped for firms and so they started striking off people from their factories.
1945 was the year when the U.S went all out in war against the Nazis, more of everything was required in the country, more ammunition, more food and more clothing. Thus as a result unemployment dropped (people became self employed as well) to an all time low as America coped with the war and the GNP almost doubled.
1970-71, 1974-75, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1991-92, 2003-04 were all recession years in the U.S economy.
In 2008 another period of economic recession hit the world and unemployment is increasing and expected to increase.

Additionally unemployment is also very difficult to measure because...

Data collection may not be accurate or may be subjected to mathematical errors or a wrong response from the people surveyed.
Some people of working age may not prefer to work due to family business or other causes.
Data collection is very time-consuming and expensive.
People might disguise their unemployment.
They dynamic nature of unemployment makes it difficult to keep track of so many changes.
frictionally and casually unemployed portion of the labour force is difficult to measure.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now let us look at the costs and effects of unemployment...

Total economic output decreases, i.e the GDP, (as it is the next best alternative) as the available manpower decreases. It is known as the GDP gap and is shown as the distance between a point inside a PPF and a point on the PPF.
Unemployed people's benefits also put an extra burden on the governement.
Increase in the Misery Index which is also known as the discomfort index which is the sum of the rates of inflation and unemployment and depicts the suffering of an individual.
The uncertainity that lurks when unemployment exists severely hinders economic growth, as worker insecure about their jobs do not make some buyings which results in decreased revenues for firms and thus they start increasing prises, contributing to inflation. Government also reduces spending on social welfare projects like construction of roads etc as it is unsure about the tax revenues it will get.
Loss of revenue to the governemnt in the form of decreased income taxes and national insurance.
Economic instability also contributes to the political instability of a nation. For example a government that has failed to cope with unemployment and other economics vices is tagged as useless and an average voter starts to look for changes. Bill Clinton's victory over George Bush in the 1992 elections is largely contributed to the recession of 1991.
Loss of self confidence of the individual.
Increased crime rates, family break-ups, suicides and other social vices.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now let us look at the different sources of unemployment that exist on this planet of ours...=P

Frictional Unemployment is caused by people quitting one job and looking for another one, in other words, when workers are between jobs. This is usually for a short period of times. As long as freedom of choice exists for workers, there always be some frictional unemployment.
Structural Unemployment results from economic growth, changes in consumer tastes or any other factor that changes the way an economy operates and thus reduces the demand for some workers. It may also be due to outsourcing (the hiring of foreign firms to carry out not-that-important functions for a local company like customer support, availability of technical support, an example is the Hewlett-Packard Company. It is mostly done to lower operational costs). Some examples are...via economic growth; the advent of automobiles resulted in a decreased demand for horse-carriage makers and they went out of business due to structural unemployment, via changes in customer's tastes, popularity of Toyota automobiles resulted in structural unemployment in the U.S company, Ford, via the government, the 1990 closure of many military bases resulted in structural unemployment.
Technological Unemployment occurs when simply put, machine take over the work from workers. Thus making the worker's skills obsolete. Since the advent of computers such unemployment had been steadily on the rise. Although some say it should be linked with the structural unemployment bu the magnitude of the two unemployments keep them apart with technological unemployment not on that large scale as structural unemployment goes on. Examples can be of proof-readers as spell-checking programs appeared, database managers as database managing programs appeared.
Cyclical Unemployment is related to swings in the business cycle that forces firms to put off some workers until economic conditions improve, which is usually after several years. Economic instability such as recession usually results in millions of jobs being lost and is an example of cyclical unemployment.
Seasonal Unemployment results from changes in demand for a specific type of workers at regular intervals or at fixed times every year. Example can be of crop-harvesters who are required in under-developed countries like India when the season of crop harvest arrives and are unemployed for most of the year.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Labour productivity is another examiner favourite when talking about MCQs...here are some facts to remember...

It is given by the formula Total Output/Total Employed Workers x 100.
It is a measure of quantity of good produced by one worker in a firm.
Here are some factors that affect labour productivity.

Experience...the more the experience the more the productivity.
Attitude towards the job...if it is loyal then increased productivity but if it is that of burden and half-heartedness then lesser the productivity.
Wages; the lower the wages the lower the productivity and vice versa.
Attitude of supervisor. It matters a lot if it is encouraging then good going, but when it gets overly bossy then......=P
The use of newer technology.
The facilities provided to workers.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Thats all from this topic....see you later with some other boring component of your syllabus...=PP

Economics (Trade-2)

2010-04-25T22:59:00.092+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS (ECONOMICS)

#2 ABSOLUTE and COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

Principles of absolute and comparative advantage, and their real-world limitations
Other explanations/determinants of trade flows
Opportunity cost concept allied to trade

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~
Trade and specialization is necessary for everyone to be better off...think about a world where there is no specialization and no trade between countries...then you will have to grow your own food, make [!] your own hairgels, you would ever have a feel of CK Jeans, Harley Davidsons would just remain to pictures and Toyota would have been localized to Japan only. I think you are starting to see the benefits of trade...=P!!
Some well known facts about trade are...

Trade occurs only when both the parties are benefited.
Trade involves importing and exporting of goods.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now lets move to the very important question that why do countries trade??

The answer is simple, nations trade so that they can get goods from other countries that are more expensive to produce at home and meanwhile focus their resources on good they specialize in and then sell them to the world.

So the boil down of the above mentioned reason is that nations trade because of specialization. Nations produce goods that they produce efficiently and trade them for goods that they are not good at producing [tongue twister, anyone? =P]. For example Kenya specializes in the production of tea by focusing its resources on it and then trades it with nations like France who are less efficient at producing tea for other goods like packaging machinery which they are not that efficient at producing.

So we can safely say that specialization is the heart and soul of international trade.

Moving on to the concept of absolute advantage.

It is defined as a country's ability to produce more of a good or service than another country.

Before we look at it we should see the system's assumptions first.

Transportation costs are zero.
There is no imposition of tariffs or custom duties on the import of that good.
Prices are to remain constant.
There are only two countries X and Y in the world.
There are only two goods produced in the world.

For example we draw the PPFs of two countries Alpha and Beta and both of them produce two goods mangoes and oranges...

Before specialization...Alpha produces 10 mangoes and 15 oranges. While Beta produces 20 mangoes and only 10 oranges but afterwards both the countries specialize in the production of the fruit they are good at and so Alpha produces 25 oranges now and 0 mangoes while Beta produces 30 mangoes and 0 oranges and so we say that Alpha has an absolute advantage in the production of oranges while Beta has the absolute advantage in the production of mangoes.

Now let us look at the more complex comparative advantage.

It is defined as a country's ability to produce a good more efficiently or at a lower opportunity cost then other countries.

For example we again draw the PPFs of two countries Gamma and Bravo and, again both of them produce only two goods wheat and rice.

Before specialization...Gamma produces 5 tons of wheat and 10 tons of rice. While Bravo produces 20 tons of wheat and 60 tons of rice. Complex, eh? No scene of absolute advantage here so we resort to the good old concept of opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost for Gamma on the production of a ton of wheat is (10/5) 2 tons of rice.
While the opportunity cost for Bravo to produce a ton of wheat is (60/20) 3 tons of rice.

So Gamma has a comparative advantage on the production of wheat as it produces it more efficiently than Bravo, i.e, its opportunity cost of production of a ton of wheat is lower than that of bravo.

Now let us look at the opportunity costs for the production of a ton of rice for the two countries.

Oppertunity cost for Gamma on the production of a ton of rice is (5/10) 1/2 tons of wheat.
While the oppertunity cost for Bravo to produce a ton of rice is (20/60) 1/3 tons of wheat.

Here Bravo has a comparative advantage in the production of rice.
~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~
Now let us look at it with the aid of graphs and we will then look at the advantages of specialization.

The unbroken PPFs show the before trade scenario of production for the two countries. U.S has a comparative advantage in the production of food (as it has to give up 2 units of clothing in producing a unit of food compared to the 4 units of France). While France has a comparative advantage in the production of clothing as it has to forgo 1/4 unit of food in the production of a unit of clothing compared to the US's 1/2 unit of clothing.
So by the law of comparative advantage France should specialize in and export clothing while the U.S should divert all its resources on the production of food and export it.
After specialization, look at the intercepts of the PPF for the only good the country has chosen to produce. As we see U.S would make 500 units of food while France would produce 1200 units of clothing.
Assume the terms of trade (average export price/average import price) for these goods in the international market will be 1 unit of food for 3 units of clothing (it should be less than 4, the before-trade relative price of the good so that France finds some benefit in trade) a further assumption is that a country sells all what it produces so by this France will have 1200/3 = 400 units of food (mind that 450 on the graph!...=P) more than the maximum of 300 it had before trade. While the US will have 500x3 = 1500 units of clothing, which is 500 more than the before trade, maximum quantity of that good. These changes are shown by the broken curves in the above figure, known as the consumption possibility curve.
Look at the two graphs again, did you find out that the citizens of the two nations are better off after trade! The U.S citizens can now get 600 units of clothing along with 300 units of food (by exporting 200 units of food) which is better than the before trade situation when a U.S citizen would have gotten 600 units of clothing along with 200 units of food (by exporting 600 units of clothing). Same is the case for France.
The imports are shown by the amount of goods a country consumes which it doesn't produce. It is 600 units of clothing for the U.S and 300 units of food for France.

From this stuff we can deduce that...

After trade both countries will end up with more of each good.
The terms of trade will fall between the before trade prices of the good in both the countries (it was 4 for France and 2 for the US, thus the TOT was 3).
Total world output will increase.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Although this theory looks quite good on paper, but in real world it has severla limitations...

Existence of tariffs and transport costs reduces benefits from trade.
Constant costs in real word are way to unrealistic. The more the production of a good the lower its cost should have been. So the negotiations of terms of trade gets a bit difficult.
Governments cannot simply close down industries which they do not have a comparative advantage in due to political unrest.
During periods of turmoil like war countries can suffer as foreign trade comes to a halt for that country as the country are too dependent on other countries after specialization.
Some strategically important goods like weapons and steel should be produced by a country to support it during times of turmoil.
Specialization is harmful at a great extent. For example, Saudi Arab is a country that is too dependent on oil for economic growth. Lower prices of oil can really put a halt to economic activities in such countries so a little diversification should be there to cancel out such harmful build-ups.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Chemistry (Ideal Gases)

2010-04-25T19:51:00.001+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS (CHEMISTRY)

#3 IDEAL GASES

state the basic assumptions of the kinetic theory as applied to an ideal gas

explain qualitatively in terms of intermolecular forces and molecular size:

the conditions necessary for a gas to approach ideal behaviour.

the limitations of ideality at very high pressures and very low temperatures.

state and use the general gas equation pV = nRT in calculations, including the determination

of Mr

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Before we start off with this component of our syllabus, you should have some background knowledge about gases...

Gases exert a pressure on the container walls they are contained in.
Gases have very weak forces of attraction between them which allows their molecules to move about randomly, independent of each other. Which we condense into constant random motion.
Gases can be compressed, i.e, they can be forced to consume a smaller volume upon the application of pressure.
At constant temperature the product of pressure and volume of a gas is constant for all values of pressure and volume thus the important, Boyle's law, P1V1 = P2V2. [Remember you can use any units for calculations involving the Boyle's law unless and until both values of pressure have the same units. (the same is true for volume)]
At constant pressure, the volume of a gas is proportional to its temperature thus Charles's Law, V=kT [T is always used in Kelvins where the relationship between degree Celsius and Kelvin Scale being: Temperature in degree Celsius + 273 = Temperature in Kelvins while any identical units for volume may be used]
The above mentioned gas laws can be combined to give P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2.
The reference point for discussing changes in gas behaviour is the s.t.p (standard temperature and pressure) where temperature equals absolute zero \ 273 Kelvins and pressure equals 1 atm or 101325 Pa and volume taken as 22.4 dm3 in the light of Avogadro's law which states that all gases have the same number of molecule at equal volumes when temperature and pressure are kept constant, i.e, V = kn where n is the number of moles of the gas.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Combining all the previously stated laws and relationships, we get the ideal gas equation.

"PV = nRT"

Where...

P = Pressure = in Pascals (1KPa = 1000 Pascals)
V = Volume = in metre cubed (1 m3 = 10^-3 dm3 = 10^-6 cm3)
R = Constant = 8.71 J/mol.K
n = number of moles of gas = in mols
T = Temperature = in kelvin (Temperature in degree Celsius + 273 = Temperature in Kelvins)

Now you will be asking that what is an Ideal Gas hmm...well researchers from a bygone era laid down these assumptions for an ideal gases.

The size of a gas molecules is negligibly small and they are in constant random motion in a straight line.
The volume occupied by a gas molecules is negligibly small when compared to the volume of the container and gas molecules have large intermolecular distances.
The collisions between the walls of the container and the gas molecules and within the gas molecules are perfectly elastic, i.e, there is no net loss or gain of energy.
The attractive and repulsive forces between gas molecules are so weak that they should not be considered.
The average kinetic energy of gas molecules is proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas.

But all gases do not behave identically and usually deviate from being an ideal gas. Why? Lets see..

Non-ideal gas behaviors is especially noticeable at low temperature and high pressure. We see this in the light of two main faulty assumptions of the ideal gas theory (see text in red above)...

At high pressures the volume of the container decreases and so the gas molecules become a considerable fraction of it so at high pressures the product PV is higher than expected for ideal gases.
At low temperatures the average kinetic energy is way to less and the attractive forces between the gas molecules become dominant and the gas molecules strike the walls with decreasing vigor and the product PV gets lower than expected for ideal gases.

Remember! For an ideal gas the plot of PV against Pressure is a straight line and that gases with a lower Mr get more close to showing ideal gas behaviour, i.e, hydrogen is more ideal than ammonia.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Thats all for this small but interesting topic.

Chemistry (Acid-base Equilibria)

2010-04-22T12:55:00.006+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS (CHEMISTRY)

#2 ACID-BASE EQUILIBRIA

show understanding of, and use the Brønsted-Lowry theory of acids and bases
explain qualitatively the differences in behaviour between strong and weak acids and bases and the pH values of their aqueous solutions in terms of the extent of dissociation.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Before we start this component of your syllabus, let me give a brief introduction of this topic...

I hope you all are familiar with the basic acid-base theory (called the Arrhenius theory) that states that an acid is a substance that increases the concentration of H+ ions in a solution while a base is a substance that increases the concentration of OH- ions in a solution. With this and some concepts from the equilibria chapter we are going to give these acids and bases some more significant definations.

In 1923, Johannes N. Brønsted (1879–1947) and Thomas M. Lowry (1874-1936), while working completely independently gave acids and bases a defination that was completely different from the Arrhenius defination which had been widely accepted for years. The Brønsted-Lowry theory of acids and bases states that...

"An acid is a substance that acts as a proton doner and a base is a substance that readily accepts that proton. A proton being the nucleus of a hydrogen atom in this context."

Several key points can be extracted from this defination and with the aid of the following acid/base reaction:

C3H6O2H (aq) + H2O (l) >>><<< H3O+ (aq) + C3H6O2- (aq)

Acid Base Acid Base

The nucleus (or cation) of a hydrogen atom is basically very reactive in nature due its very small size and great density of the positive charge and thus will share electrons with any specie which has a lone pair of electrons within it.
Water is not neutral in nature, it acts as a base in the presence of stronger acids and as an acid in the presence of stronger bases. Same is the case with an examination popular ethanoic acid.
Some acid base reactions can be reversible.
The Hydronium ion (H3O+) is formed when water acts as a base and accepts a proton from an acid (A normal water molecule has two lone pairs on the oxygen molecule but it donates only one of them to the approaching proton because then all the atoms involved in this polyatomic ion will be stable)
Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases (as in the above mentioned reaction) exist in conjugate pairs or conjugate acid-base pairs. H2O---H3O+ and C3H6O2H---C3H6O2- are conjugate pairs in the above mentioned reaction. Note that conjugate pairs usually have a difference of one hydrogen between them.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

As we have all come to know at our junior classes that there are both powerful and weak acids and bases, but what we have not been told is that what determines the strength of an acid or base...so now ladies and gentlemen we unveil these facts for you!!=)

The equilibrium for a stronger acid's ionization is near 100% or in other words all the acid ionizes in water. While the equilibrium position for a weaker acid's ionization comes pretty close to 1% ionization and thus this difference in dissociation determines the strength of an acid.
Most bases are very strong and purely ionic in nature (like NaOH, KOH etc) and dissociate completely in water. While some bases (like Ammonia) ionize partially in water giving weak bases.
Another phenomenon associated with the strength and weakness of acids and bases is the strength of its conjugate. For acids it is the tendency of their conjugate base to react with the hydronium ion while for bases it is the degree of affinity their conjugate acids posses for a reaction with water to give hydroxide ions. A summary is given below...

Strong Acid (Hydrochloric Acid) ---> Weakest Base (Cl-)
Weak Acid (Ethanoic Acid) ---> Weaker Base (C2H3O2-)
Weakest Acid (Boric Acid) ---> Strong Base (H2BO3-)
Strong Base (Sodium Hydroxide) ---> Weakest Acid (Na+)
Weak Base (Ammonia) ---> Strong Acid (NH4+)

Solutions of some salts are also acidic and basic...we can tell this from the relative strength of their acids and bases...

Solution of Ammonium Nitrate is acidic because the ammonium ion reacts with water as an acid and donates a proton to the water molecule to give Ammonia and Hydronium ion. While the nitrate ion has no tendency to react with water thus the solution has a higher concentration of hydronium ions that makes it acidic.

~~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Chemistry (Equilibria)

2010-04-20T19:56:00.004+05:00

GREASE THOSE WHEELS (CHEMISTRY)

#1 EQUILIBRIA

explain, in terms of rates of the forward and reverse reactions, what is meant by a reversible reaction and dynamic equilibrium
state Le Chatelier's Principle and apply it to deduce qualitatively (from appropriate information) the effects of changes in temperature, concentration or pressure, on a system at equilibrium
deduce whether changes in concentration, pressure or temperature or the presence of a catalyst affect the value of the equilibrium constant for a reaction
deduce expressions for equilibrium constants in terms of concentrations, K c , and partial pressures, K p [treatment of the relationship between K p and K c is not required]
calculate the values of equilibrium constants in terms of concentrations or partial pressures from appropriate data
calculate the quantities present at equilibrium, given appropriate data (such calculations will not require the solving of quadratic equations)
describe and explain the conditions used in the Haber process and the Contact process, as examples of the importance of an understanding of chemical equilibrium in the chemical industry.

~~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Equilibria remains as one of the most daunting tasks for students of AS Level Chemistry, but with the clearance of some simple concepts, this topic becomes a piece of cake!!

A reversible reaction is the a chemical reaction that can proceed in both forward and backward directions, depending upon the conditions.

For e.g.. CaCO3 >>><<< Ca + CO2

Dynamic Equilibrium is a term used in chemistry that represents the state of a chemical reaction when both the forward and backward chemical reactions occur at corresponding or equal rates. For example a block of ice at 0* will both be melting and freezing but none of the processes seem to be happening. But if we start providing heat then the ice will melt visibly and vice versa. So we come to know that equilibrium can be affected by some physical changes So we get a more refined definition of dynamic equilibrium i.e when a chemical reaction can take place in both the direction at equal rates provided that physical conditions remain constant. Remember when a dynamic equilibrium is reached the concentration of reactants and products becomes constant (but never or very rarely equal) but the reaction never stops it is just continuing at the same rate on both sides. Also as the dynamic equilibrium is reached both products and reactants are present in the mixture.

The graph on the left side explains this phenomenon. At the beginning the concentration of reactants is higher so the number of effective collisions between the reactant molecules result in a faster initial rate of reaction but as their concentration drops and the concentration of products increases, the reverse reaction speeds up and the forwards reaction slows down eventually both the reaction rates balance out each other but the concentration is never the same for products and reactants but constant.

Remember in exams you might probably be given a concentration/time graph. The thing is same except that it would be more like a cross. (see above)

~~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Another important part of this chapter are the dreaded calculations involved. The Equilibrium Constant is the constant value (K) of a chemical reaction at an equilibrium where Kc equals... [c denotes the concentrations i.e we are talking about solutes right now, no pure solids or stuff 'ere]

[C]^c x [D]^d

---------------

[A]^a x [B]^b

Confusing? Lets see it in another way! aA + bB >>><<< cC + dD, so we come to know that...

The formula in its most basic form is products over reactants.
where the number of moles of the products and reactants are their specific powers in the formula [the smaller alphabets, i could not format the article to show them as powers]
the enclosing square brackets, i.e, '[]' denote the equilibrium concentration in mol/dm3 of the compound/element they enclose.
no terms related to pure solids or liquids like, water should be included in our calculations!
When the question requires the units of Kc then they are given by the following formula, mol/dm3^(c+d)-(a+b).
We should always follow what the question says when N2 + 3H2>>><<<2NH3 is written like this we take NH3 to be the product but when it is written like 2NH3>>><<2 + 3H2 we take NH3 as the reactant. Don't forget that!!!
If the number of moles on both sides are equal then we can use the number of moles instead of concentration while calculating.
When you are given initial concentrations of the reactants and are required to find out the equilibrium concentrations of both the reactants and the products then we used the algebraic x stuff. For example for this equation (0.2 mols (initial) of H2S are given) 2H2S(g)>>><<< 2H2(g) S2(g) x stuff will be as follows...Hydrogen Sulfide use 2x (0.2-2x), Hydrogen gains 2x (0+2x) and Sulfer gets x only (0+x) we then put these concentrations in the formula to get the value of x and subsequently find their equilibrium concentrations.
If the equilibrium constant is very large than we assume that very little of one of the reactants has remained unreacted. On the contrary if the equilibrium constant is very small then we assume that very little of the products is produced.

Remember the value of Kc only depends upon Temperature and nothing else. Some commonly mistaken effectors include.

The initial concentration of the reactants or products.
The direction from which equilibrium is approached either via decomposition or composition.
Pressure (in the case of gaseous equilibria only).
Usage of a catalyst.

Now the question arises as to why only temperature?? There are two cases...

For a reaction that is exothermic in the forward direction, the value of Kc decreases with an increase in temperature and vice versa as more of the endothermic reactants produced to annul this change. [Remember Kc is all about products over reactants, if we increase the divisor and decrease the dividend the answer gets smaller each time]
And for reactions that are endothermic in the forward direction , the value of Kc increases with an increase in temperature and vice versa as more of the endothermic products produced to annihilate this change.

...and why not the catalyst? There is only one simple answer...

The usage of a catalyst allows equilibrium to be maintained in less amount of time as the catalyst speeds up both forward and backward reactions equally by lowering the activation energy of the reaction.

Now lets talk about gases, i.e, gaseous equilibrium constant or Kp. gases get separate calculations because it is more convenient to use their partial pressures (the individual pressure of a gas if it were to occupy whole space at room temperature; Remember: the partial pressure of a gas is directly proportional to its concentration or mole fraction, i.e moles of gas/total moles in a mixture) instead of concentrations.

This is almost the same stuff as the Kc except that you never ever use square brackets instead you stick the partial pressure of each gas with it in the form of a multiplier.=P this stuff is getting on my nerves!!!

And yes you get the partial pressure of a gas by the following relationship: p= total pressure of the gas mixture (atm or kPa) x the mole fraction of the gas involved.

Thank the Almighty that we are over with this part!!!

~~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~~

Now lets get to the interesting Le Chatlier's Principle.
Le Chatlier's principle is probably the easiest and most enjoyable part of your chemistry course, if only you find the way to enjoy it.
Basically Le Chatlier was a philosopher who proposed this theory in the 19th century [you might be asking what philosophers have to do with chemistry, but heres a hint for those who don't believe me!! This stuff really is easy...=)]

".. states that when stress (change in physical condition[s]) is applied to a system (chemical reaction) in equilibrium, then the system responds (changes in the concentrations of reactants or products) in such a way so as to cancel out the some of the effect of the applied stress."

The following hypothesis will really help...
Consider a chemical reaction in equilibrium as a despotic, old lady who is half-asleep and can shrink or expand and hates strong smells or scents!! and yourself as a mischievous little boy who has only one thing on his mind...the unrest of the old lady!! (nice story eh?)
You have a menu of disturbances which is filled with things you can do to disturb the old lady...heres that menu...

Increasing the temperature by turning on the room heater.
Decreasing the temperature by switching on the air conditioner.
Increasing the pressure by closing all windows and ventilators.
Decreasing the pressure by opening all windows and ventilators.
Increasing the concentration of reactant by throwing in a bucket of your socks that have not seen the laundry for a month. (strong smell)
Increasing the concentration of product by spraying a lot of air freshener. (strong scent this time)

And the results would be like...

She turns off the heater and switches on the air conditioner.
She switches off the air conditioner and turns on the heater.
She Shrinks [!] so as to occupy less space.
She Expands [!] so as to occupy more space.
She sprays air freshener all around her.
She borrows your socks [!].

Now lets see all of this in a scientific context. But before we move on, you should know these important points...

Every equilibrium reaction is either exothermic (giving off heat) or endothermic (absorbing heat) in the forward direction and in the backwards proceeding direction its energy profile is opposite to that of the forward reaction. For example, if the forward reaction is exothermic then the reverse reaction will be endothermic.
Changes in pressure refer to the changes in partial pressures of gases taking part in reaction and doesn't include gases which are inert or do not take part in any reaction with the already present elements or compounds.
Partial pressures of gases are changed by changing the volume of the vessel \ container the reaction is taking place in.
Equilibrium is always approached from two directions both the forward and reverse reaction should equal each other's rates for equilibrium to establish.
The response of the system when subjected to stress will act to only relieve its effect and not fully cancel it out. For example if a reaction involving hydrogen gas is at equilibrium with 1 mol of H2 present in the mixture, we apply stress by removing 0.3 moles of the gas from the container and so the system (the reaction) tries to relieve some of the stress by producing more H2 gas but it will not fully compensate for the loss so the amount of moles present in the new equilibrium mixture will always be greater than 0.7 moles and less than 1.0 mole. Think of it in the old lady-rude boy's context (stated above) that the mischievous boy leaves his smelly socks in the old ladies room thereby reducing the affect of her air freshener, so she in retaliation sprays some more air freshener but still the some of the smell remains in the room.

Moving on we will use the following reaction to link to the old lady-rude boy hypothesis above...

3H2 + N2 >>><<< 2NH3 (the reaction is exothermic (gives off heat) in the forward direction)

Increasing the temperature; the reverse reaction will come into play as it is endothermic in nature and the Air conditioner is turned on (the rate of reverse reaction will increase) to reduce the applied stress. As a result more hydrogen and nitrogen will be produced and their increased concentration would lead to increased successful collisions between their molecules and so more ammonia will be produced, eventually both the forward and reverse reactions balance out and a new equilibrium is established.
Decreasing the temperature; the rate of forward will increase as it is exothermic in nature. The heater of the reaction is turned on to combat the decrease in temperature. The mechanism of approaching equilibrium is the same as above.
Increasing the pressure (partial pressure); the reaction 'shrinks' to occupy less space. Look at the product and reactant sides and think of moles as the number of citizens of a country that are taking part in a reaction. As I told you above that partial pressure of gases can only be changed by altering the volume of the container so as to increase the p.p of gases you have to decrease the volume of the container, a decreased container volume means that to relieve the system of such stress the equilibrium reaction has to shift towards the side with the lesser number of citizens in it in the above mentioned reaction the product side has 3 citizens from hydrogen republic and a sole representative from the peoples republic of nitrogen, adding up to 4 people, while the reactant side features only 2 people from the Kingdom of Ammonia thus the reaction favours the side with the least number of people when the size of container is decreased and thus the rate of forward reaction will increase.
Decreasing of pressure (partial pressure); the reaction expands to occupy more space. This time around the reverse reaction is favoured as the system wants more citizens to be present in the container to relieve it of the stress that is there due to a sudden decrease in space. Think of a chemical reaction as the sleeping old women...it doesn't like to get disturbed!!
Increasing the concentration of reactants; Increasing the concentration of reactants would result in the equilibrium being disturbed so the system wants to get close to its comfort or equilibrium level and thus starts to use up these additional reactants and the equilibrium shifts towards the forward direction. Much like when smelly socks (reactant) are introduced into the old woman\s fresh smelling room, she strives to get close to her comfort level by spraying more air freshener to reduce the smell (product).
Decreasing the concentration of reactants; This time around the result will be opposite to what I have told you above.

Thats it folks...do comment and let me know about what you think about his...=)