Last-minute Labor Day: Easy trips from five U.S. cities

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Islamorada, Fla., from Miami: Islamorada is one of the top sportfishing spots in the world, and it’s less than two hours from Miami by car. There are plenty of snorkeling and swimming experiences available here as well. And if hitting the warm Gulf waters isn’t your thing, this small Florida Keys town has boutiques, galleries and plenty of snap-worthy sunsets that melt across the horizon. Plus, there’s always the draw of grabbing a frozen fruity cocktail and just chilling out on the beautiful beaches. Hotel pick: Chesapeake Beach Resort(Photo: Oyster.com)

Labor Day weekend feels like the last real weekend of summer, so we suggest celebrating with a bang. If you are still stuck on the fence on where to go, now’s the time to decide. From quick back-to-nature getaways to 24-hour party cities, we’ve got our top spots for your last long weekend of summer — no matter where you live. Oyster.com scouted out the best weekend destinations for those traveling from Miami, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.; all of our picks are reachable from the designated city in under three hours — by car, flight or train — so book your quick trip and pack your bags!

Islamorada, Fla., from Miami

Islamorada is one of the top sportfishing spots in the world, and it’s less than two hours from Miami by car. There are plenty of snorkeling and swimming experiences available here as well. And if hitting the warm Gulf waters isn’t your thing, this small Florida Keys town has boutiques, galleries and plenty of snap-worthy sunsets that melt across the horizon. Plus, there’s always the draw of grabbing a frozen fruity cocktail and just chilling out on the beautiful beaches.

Hotel pick: Chesapeake Beach Resort

New Orleans from Miami

Unfortunately, some areas of southeast Louisiana are still recovering from the floods, but New Orleans has remained relatively dry this time around, so Miami locals looking to get a break from the beach should hop on a two-hour flight to The Big Easy. Here, they can trade the funky and flashy vibes of The Magic City for live jazz in the historic French Quarter and bowls of homemade jambalaya. You can spend the weekend getting your voodoo on or hunting spirits on a ghost tour, hop on a ferry for a quick cruise of the Mississippi River, visit quirky museums, and appropriately taste and sip your way through the streets as you admire New Orleans’ historical architecture.

Hotel pick: Bourbon Orleans Hotel

Portland, Ore., from Los Angeles

Things can get pretty hot out in the desert around Labor Day, so we suggest grabbing some respite in Portland, where high temps average around 76 degrees. You’ll still find healthy and delicious dishes at restaurants that pride themselves on being hyper-local and farm-to-table, cute vintage shops, Powell’s Books (one of the best brick-and-mortar bookstores left standing), crafty cocktail bars — and, of course, the famous Voodoo Doughnut. Plus, easy access via the aboveground public train isn’t too shabby either.

Hotel pick: McMenamins Kennedy School

Sayulita Nayarit, Mexico, from Los Angeles

If you are looking to unplug and unwind, look no further than Mexico’s Sayulita Nayarit. This sleepy and relaxed fishing village is a great place for a quick city detox. Aside from the amazing food and picturesque beaches, visitors can also take advantage of yoga classes and snorkeling, try their hand at wind sports, or go on hikes through the jungle. Trust us, it’s well worth the three-hour flight.

Hotel pick: Haramara Retreat

Wilmington, N.C., from Washington, D.C.

Popping down to North Carolina’s most accessible coastal city of Wilmington will reward you with fresh air, friendly southern smiles, a lively riverwalk and stone’s-throw access to three different beaches — Wrightsville, Kure and Carolina. This cute and historical spot’s brick-lined downtown streets are home to several boutiques, eateries and spectacular views across Cape Fear River. History buffs will love visiting places like Battleship North Carolina and the Bellamy Mansion, while nature-lovers will enjoy strolling along the river and visiting the Airlie Gardens. This town is also famous for being haunted — as well as being the filming location for TV shows and movies like Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, A Walk to Remember and Empire Records, to name a few.

Hotel pick: Hilton Wilmington Riverside

Virginia Beach from Washington, D.C.

Less than an hour flight and D.C. dwellers can start their Labor Day weekend festivities in Virginia Beach. A big military town, Virginia Beach is also a perfect spot to go if you’re looking for that quintessential seaside holiday. There are long stretches of sandy beaches, tons of water sports, dolphin cruises and even a lighthouse. However active (kayaking, hiking) or relaxed (lounging on the beach or strolling the boardwalk) you want to be, you’ll find it here.

Hotel pick: Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront

New York’s Finger Lakes Region from New York City

Sometimes you don’t need to look any further for great long weekend trips than your own state. Labor Day weekend is a fantastic time to head upstate for New Yorkers. Take the 90-minute flight to Ithaca and then hop in your car, hitting up some of the small towns along the Finger Lakes; you’ll either be catching the tail end of summer — meaning you can hike while dipping in and out of swimming holes — or you’ll glimpse the leaves as they just start to turn, when it’s almost just the right time for a warm cider. This region is one of the leading producers of craft cider, and mapping out visits to the local breweries and cideries makes for a great activity.

Hotel pick: Hope Lake Lodge

Philadelphia from New York City

If you love the city life, but just want to experience it in a different city, hop on the 90-minute Amtrak to Philadelphia. Here you can visit the kooky oddities at the Mutter Museum, walk along America’s oldest residential street, Elfreth’s Alley, peep the Liberty Bell, catch some amazing artists at galleries like Arch Enemy Arts, and make it your mission to find the city’s best Philly cheesesteak. This place is easily walkable and packed with a host of arts, culture, delicious food and historic roots.

Hotel pick: The Rittenhouse

New York City from Chicago

From one famous pizza city to another, hopping on the metal bird over Labor Day could help you solve the mystery of whose pizza style is king. It’s also a perfect opportunity to explore the city — or, if you’ve been here done that, branch out and discover another borough, like the ever hip and trendy Brooklyn. On par with some of Manhattan’s best museums, there you’ll find the Brooklyn Museum as well as the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, massive Prospect Park, and tons of new restaurant choices. In Queens, you can head to Flushing where you’ll find authentic Asian eats and the haunting remnants of the 1964 World’s Fair site.

Hotel pick: Wythe Hotel

Louisville from Chicago

Louisville is just a quick one-hour flight from Chicago. While much of Kentucky is filled with small towns and horse farms, Louisville is metropolitan and hip. While you are here, you might want to check out a horse race at Churchill Downs, go zip-lining or brave it up at the Cave Hill Cemetery. There are also fantastic restaurants, a lively bar scene, historic district and, of course, a famous baseball manufacturer.

Hotel pick: Seelbach Hilton

Big Sur, Calif., from San Francisco

San Franciscans, hop in your car this Labor Day for a scenic two-hour journey (or longer with holiday traffic!) and you’ll end up high on the mountain in Big Sur. The low-key vibe here means you can soak up some quiet time over the long weekend. Or use the peace to write your novel — or at least a few journal entries. Visit the Sykes Hot Springs for a hike and a soak, marvel at some of the breathtaking oceanside views while you try to spot seals and whales, or just get lost in nature for a few days.

Hotel pick: Post Ranch Inn

Las Vegas from San Francisco

For the opposite of reconnecting with nature, jump on a 90-minute flight to Las Vegas and get wild. Soak up the energy of the Strip, play your cards right and treat yourself to some of Sin City’s best restaurants, pools and spa treatments. Three nights in Vegas can seem like an eternity, which makes it feel like a perfect bang-for-your-long-weekend-buck getaway.

Hotel pick: Wynn Las Vegas

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Last-minute Labor Day: Easy trips from five U.S. cities

Samsung Gear S3: Hands-On Review

A year after the launch of the Samsung Gear S2, we were expecting a Samsung Gear S3 to show up, and it did appear like clockwork. The thing is, the Samsung Gear S3 is not going to replace its predecessor, but to supplement it. Both products will continue to exist on the market, and you’re going to understand why.

The Gear S3 is a larger watch that comes in two main variants: the Gear S3 Classic and the Gear S3 Frontier. The Gear S3 Classic is meant to be a fully-featured watch that has all the main functionalities that the overwhelming majority of people use, including Bluetooth connectivity. The Gear S3 Frontier can go further with an LTE version, and that, along with some aesthetic differences, is the main difference between the two models.

Industrial Design

Samsung has pushed the industrial design of the Gear S3 to new heights (from the S2), and the result looks great. The materials look better, more “premium”, and small details such as how the steel is brushed or polished is more obvious than one may initially think. Samsung is using standard 22mm watch straps, in case you want to shop with 3^rd parties, but will provide a good selection as well.

The display is noticeably bigger since it went from 1.2-inch to 1.3-inch since the Gear S2. It doesn’t seem like much, but the difference is in surface area is big enough that you would spot it immediately. The new display is capable of reproducing 16M colors, which opens the doors to new, more beautiful, watch faces.

The Gear S3 is water and dust resistant and is rated IP68* (learn more about IP ratings). The IP68 rating means that you can easily go to the swimming pool, shower or do most sports activities with it. In fact, Samsung says that the design has a “military-level” durability so that users wouldn’t have to worry about it. For example, it can resist wide variations of temperatures going from near-freezing to very hot, desert-like conditions.

*IP68: Dust-tight, no dust can penetrate. Strong water jets (~12.5mm nozzle) won’t harm the device. 3mn test, 100L/mn at 100 kPa, 3 meters away.

To that end, the watch has a Gorilla Glass which is highly resistant to scratches. Since the display is very small and protected all around by a metal ring, it is less likely to break during a drop, although it is not impossible, if it was to land directly on the glass.

The Samsung Gear S3 has a wireless charging cradle which is a little larger than the S2’s but remains compatible, so if you have an existing charger or want to use your S2 watch on the new charger, it should work.

User Experience

The industrial design also has an impact on the interface. The Gear S3 mechanical wheel can often be used to replace the left/right swipes, it can be used with gloves and can bypass the need for the touch interface. It’s a small detail, unless you ride a bike, are on a ski trip or simply wear gloves because it’s cold.

The Gear S3 can run Samsung Pay, which makes it even more convenient than your phone since you don’t have to take it out of your pocket/bag. Although the watch doesn’t require the phone to be connected for up to 10 transactions, you will need to initialize the payment token with a connection and refresh it from time to time. The ten transactions are a good tradeoff between security and usability.

Samsung Pay on the Gear S3 can use NFC or Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), a Samsung technology which emulates a credit card swipe. MST ensures that Samsung Pay works at an estimated 90% of the available point of sales (POS) because the POS thinks that it is an actual plastic credit card. NFC POS are not yet as common as the industry would like it to be.

The Watch faces have evolved in features a bit. Now, even in screen saving mode, watch faces can be animated. Some also look pretty fancy, even in saving move. I like this because, at a glance, they look more like classic watches that way.

Samsung has also added the ability to reply to a message with a quick hand-drawing. This is something that we’ve seen on the Apple Watch before. We’ll have to try it and get a sense for how useful it is. Honestly, this is not something that I’ve been using on the Apple Watch.

Interestingly, Samsung has made the messages auto-reply smarter. For example, when it understands the context of a question such as “Hey, were are you”? the watch can propose a pre-baked message with a location obtained from your current coordinates “I’m at/near <location>.” You just need to hit “send”.

Standalone mode

The Gear S3 LTE is capable of functioning without having a phone around. You can emit and receive HD audio calls (BT or Speaker). There’s also an SOS mode for this model, and it works this way: with a triple tap, you can send a preset notification message (“I’m in trouble!”) with your GPS coordinates to a preset number of contacts.

Calls aside, the Gear S3 (all models) has an array of sensors that include Altimeter, Barometer (offline bad weather alert), GPS. This will allow you to enjoy some activities, record your performance – and sync with a phone, or to the cloud later.

Hardware platform

The Gear S3 runs on a hardware platform that is similar to the S2. It has the same processor and runs on Tizen (2.3.1), Samsung’s operating system based on Linux. The one internal piece of hardware that got upgraded is the battery, whose capacity went from 250 mAh to 380 mAh.

That is a 52% increase in one generation. Of course, some of this extra capacity is going towards a larger, more sophisticated screen but Samsung estimate that users will get about one extra day when compared to the Gear S2. That’s about 3-4 days of battery life, which is very good for a smartwatch like this.

The Gear S3 has 4GB of internal storage that can be used to load music for streaming directly to Bluetooth headphones. The same storage also serves as a transit place for all the fitness data, which generally end up in the cloud.

More app partners

For the launch of the Gear S3, Samsung has worked with more app partners to provide new apps or updated apps that will push the envelope a bit further. The ADT Home Security app has a triple-tap on the watch function that can send a help to request to ADT with all the information you provided during setup (medical, personal description, age, etc…) and put you in contact with an ADT operator.

The Nest app for Gear S3 will let you control the heating system from your watch. The Uber app lets you call a car quickly, while the BMW app lets you remotely start your car, check the temperature, etc. (in some places, people do that without the cars being stolen. Amazing.)

Conclusion

The Samsung Gear S3 seems like an excellent smartwatch that pushes the boundaries of industrial design and usability. The presence of a wheel and two buttons make the user experience fast, efficient, and pragmatic. We already considered the Gear S2 as one of the best smartwatches on the market, and the Gear S3 is set to surpass it.

That said, Gear S2 users should not feel too bad since Samsung will probably do its best to port the software improvements of the S3 back to the S2, as long as no new hardware is required.

At this point, Samsung has not announced the pricing of the Gear S3. We expect that when it does, the whole Gear S lineup will re-align with the new Gear S3 reality, which means a slight dip in price for the S2 model.

Filed in General >Reviews. Read more about gear s3, IFA, IFA 2016, Samsung, smartwatches and Wearable Tech.

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Samsung Gear S3: Hands-On Review

GED Science | What You Need to Know

GED Science | What You Need to Know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dW4l4z3FiE

GED study guide . or presents everything you should know about the GED science

exam be a lot of time for the science portion is 90 minutes

the exam consists of 30 for questions to pass the exam

you must have a minimum score of 150 points

the test will be administered on a computer

forty percent of the test will consist of life science questions

life science topics include genetics and DNA organization of ecosystems evolution

and natural selection and cell structures and processes twenty percent

of the task will consist of earth and space science questions earth and space

science topics include structure of the our plate tectonics geological cycles

and processes solar system the universe weather and climate renewable and

non-renewable natural resources

forty percent of the test will consist of physical science questions

physical science topics include atoms and molecules chemical reactions energy

and work motions and forces and electricity other test taking skills

involved your scientific study comprehension scientific study

comprehension are questions that require you to interpret passages from a reading

and or graphs with specific information

you must also be familiar with scientific method

your knowledge of the scientific method will be used to recognize and identify

the steps involved evaluate conclusions from the evidence and apply concepts and

formal when necessary

other times taking skills are your mathematical comprehension and reasoning

mathematical skills include creating charts for apps and other data

evaluating scientific probabilities and reading and applying statistical data if

you need a calculator during the exam

simply click the calculator icon on your test computer screen

you will be responsible for two short answer responses

each short answer response is worth up to three points short answer responses

are based on one or more reading passages and our graphics or a

combination of the two

your response will be typed in a box found in your test computer screen

you are expected to green one or two

well constructed paragraphs with well supported information that has been

pulled from the passages graphs and charts for more information stop by

GED study guide on board or click the link below for more information

GED Science | What You Need to Know

6 grooming skills every guy should should know before they turn 25

Knowing the proper way to shave is pretty much essential.ShutterstockWhen you’re in your early 20s, you learn a lot of valuable life skills that you take with you for the rest of your life.

Some of the most valuable skills men can pick up are related to grooming themselves. In the awkward teen and college years, men can sometimes get away with not knowing things like how to apply cologne or how to start a skincare routine.

But by the time you turn 25, there’s really no excuse. It’s time to straighten out your grooming routine.

Here are 6 grooming skills every guy needs to master before they turn 25.

How to shave properly.

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

How to apply deodorant correctly.

Getty/Brad Barket

It’s part of your normal morning routine: You shower, brush your teeth, and apply your underarm antiperspirant or deodorant every day. But it turns out that the time of day you apply your antiperspirant does matter a bit.

The best time to put on your antiperspirant or deodorant is at night, right before you go to bed. That’s because it takes time for your antiperspirant to work its magic and close your armpit’s sweat ducts.

After this process happens, good antiperspirants and deodorants usually last 24-48 hours, so you’ll have plenty of dry times ahead after application. If you’re concerned your morning shower will remove the antiperspirant effects of the night before, worry not: they’ll continue working their magic, as the aluminum salts have already clogged the sweat ducts at that point.

How to apply cologne correctly.

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

Fragrance is tricky. The oils are designed to be absorbed and melded with your skin’s natural oils, creating your own unique scent. That can’t happen when you apply it to your clothing, so you should never apply fragrance to anything but your skin.

The ideal place to apply cologne is the area between your chest and neck, inclusive of both. A bonus is that some men have chest hair, which can trap some fragrance oil, increasing how long the smell might last on their skin.

As for amount, remember the cardinal rule of applying cologne: less is most certainly more. “Cologne should be discovered, not announced,” as Art of Manliness says. Overdo it, and you’ll give everyone around you a headache.

Finally, after you apply the cologne, pat it on your skin, but do not rub it in.  Rubbing it in can cause it to be absorbed by your skin more quickly, and it can even distort the scent.

How to apply hair product correctly.

We’ve taken the mystery out of applying the three most popular hair products — hair wax, pomade, and styling cream — so you can style your own hair just like a pro.

1. Hair Wax

Apply the product to damp, towel-dried hair so it’s easier to massage in. Scoop out a dime-sized amount with your index finger and spread it through your fingers by rubbing your hands together.

Massage it into your hair by running your fingers through it. Manipulate your hair into the your desired style and allow your hair to dry.

2. Pomade

Pomade is a different animal than hair wax and works better on dry hair. Applying pomade instead of hair wax will give you a shiny finish and superior hold for a classic “Mad Men” style.

Scoop a marble-sized amount of pomade and run it through your hands. Massage the pomade into your hair from root to tip. This is very important since you don’t want the pomade to sit “on top” of your hair, but instead be equally distributed.

Then use a fine-toothed comb to style your hair into its desired position.

3. Styling Cream

Styling cream is the easiest product to use since it’s very manageable in most hair types (and is especially useful for men with curly and/or longer hair). Applying it to damp hair works best, but dry hair can work well, too.

Just dab a dime-sized drop of product onto your palms and rub them together. Then run your hands through your hair from back to front, making sure to cover your stands as evenly as possible.

Use your fingers or a comb to style as desired.

How to get a haircut you actually want.

Shutterstock

1. Tell your barber how long it has been since your most recent haircut.

Barbers know how long it takes for hair to grow, so if you tell them how long it has been since your hair was last cut, they can imagine what your hair looked like way back when.

2. Tell your barber about your lifestyle.

You want your barber to give you a cut that will fit seamlessly into your lifestyle and reflect your personality. Tell your barber where you work, what you do for fun, where you go on the weekends, how you wear your hair, whether you put product in it every day, and anything else you think might be helpful. It should fit into your life seamlessly.

3. Be specific about how you want your hair to look.

Barbers are experts in their craft, but they aren’t mind readers. Don’t just say, “short on the sides, long on the top.” That’s not enough. Be specific.

4. Bring a picture (but only of your hair).

As one barber put it, “barbers are visual people.” The best photo you can bring in to show your barber is a picture of yourself after a haircut that you really liked. 

How to apply basic skincare products.

Shutterstock

It’s not actually hard to apply sunscreen and moisturizer. You just kind of apply the cream to your face in the morning — every morning.

But in order to get into that routine, you need to know why you’re doing it. Essentially you’re protecting your skin from sun damage and premature aging.

The other important skincare product, eye cream, is also easy enough. Just scoop a very small amount into your index finger and rub it into your orbital bone under your eye.

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6 grooming skills every guy should should know before they turn 25

The Earth-Twin Planet That Nobody Talks About

A colorized radar map of the Maat Mons volcano on Venus, shows lava flows of unknown age, along with an apparent impact crater in the foreground. This image, created more than two decades ago by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, still represented the state of the art in our knowledge of Earth’s near-twin. (Credit: NASA/JPL)

NASA scientists were conferring today about a nearby planet that is shockingly similar to Earth. It is just 5% smaller in radius and 15% smaller in mass. It is almost the exact same age as our planet, and gets its warmth from an identical star. The only thing that’s a bit off is that it orbits a bit closer to its star than Earth does, so it receives nearly twice as much radiation. On the other, it also reflects away a lot of that radiation. Its theoretical (equilibrium) temperature is just below freezing, so with a little natural greenhouse warming it would be quite an inviting place.

If we found it orbiting another star, this world would surely be hailed as the most Earthlike exoplanet known: the best place yet to search for alien life.

No doubt you sense there is a catch, and indeed there is. The world I’m talking about is Venus. It is not orbiting another star; it is the planet closest to home right here in our own solar system. But I’m not just being coy. Despite its proximity, Venus is a profound enigma. It really should be a hospitable world, but the truth is that it is more like hell on almost-Earth. Understanding why that is–why our planet went right while Venus went terribly wrong–is crucial for finding out whether habitable planets are common or rare throughout the universe.

The ways in which Venus diverged from Earth are as dramatic as they are perplexing. Venus has a crushing atmosphere tinged with sulfuric acid clouds and dominated by carbon dioxide. It has a year-round surface temperature of about 450 degrees Celsius (850 degrees Fahrenheit), far hotter than an oven set to “broil.” It has no appreciable magnetic field to protect it from charged particles that blow out from the sun. It has no plate tectonics to renew its geology. It rotates so slowly that one “day” takes 243 Earth days, and its rotation is backwards compared to that of almost all the other planets. It has no moon.

Some of these traits may be connected. Perhaps Venus’s lack of a moon has something to do with its slow rotation. Its slow rotation, in turn, might be related to its lack of magnetic field…which in turn might be related to its thick, dry atmosphere…which in turn might be related to its lack of dynamic geology. There might be a chain reaction at work.

I’m saying “might” a lot because there is still a tremendous amount that scientists do not know about Venus. The perpetual cloud cover presents a huge challenge in studying its surface features. Even worse, landing a probe on its surface is exceedingly difficult. Atmospheric pressure on the ground is more than 90 times that at sea level on Earth, and then there are those searing temperatures, which quickly fry electronics and melt mechanical components. There is also a sense of gloom hanging over Venus, since the odds of finding anything alive there are just about zero. For these reasons, Venus has attracted a tiny fraction of the attention lavished on Mars.

Surface of Venus as seen by the Soviet Venera 14 lander, which touched down in 1982. The thick, cloudy atmosphere lends a ruddy cast to the scene. No other probe has been there since. (Credit: Russian Academy of Sciences, processing by Ted Stryk)

The last serious effort to map the surface of Venus was the work of NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, which circled the planet while scanning it with imaging radar. That mission concluded in 1994. The view from the ground is even more limited. The most recent Venus lander was Venera 14, which arrived in 1982. It was sent by the Soviet Union. That’s right: The last time we touched down on Venus, there was a Soviet Union.

But Venus actually has a tremendous amount to tell us about life in the universe. If researchers knew more about Venus, they could judge how likely it is that Earth-size planets around other stars would follow the same disastrous course. They would have a point of comparison for evaluating which aspects of Earth’s development were crucial to the emergence of biology. They could also investigate the great questions hanging over Earth’s wayward twin: Was it always this nasty, or did it start out hospitable before devolving to its present state? Could life have started here billions of years ago, only to get snuffed out by a relentless environmental catastrophe?

Simulated Venus radar map from the VERITAS probe shows how much it would improve on the imagery from Magellan. (Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech)

At long last, we may start to get some new answers. Today, NASA announced five finalists for its next midsize, Discovery-class mission. Two of them target Venus. Next year the agency will pick on winner from the group, with the intent of launching it by 2021. One of the contenders, called VERITAS [PDF link], would revisit the radar-mapping concept of Magellan, but using modern technology to yield vastly sharper images. Such views would allow a much deeper examination of Venus’s geological evolution and its current state of activity. The other concept, DAVINCI, would send a probe drifting down through the Venusian atmosphere to study its composition, sniff out signs of volcanic eruptions, and study how the thick atmosphere interacts with the super-heated surface.

There are three other intriguing and highly worthy proposals in the latest set of Discovery candidates. In a perfect world we would do them all. In our imperfect world (though still a much more pleasant world than Venus), I’d vote for VERITAS. It would mark a huge step forward in making sense of Earth’s wayward twin, and learning whether Venus or Earth is more likely to be typical of the superficially Earthlike planets now being discovered around other stars.

Follow me on Twitter for more space and astronomy news: @coreyspowell

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The Earth-Twin Planet That Nobody Talks About

AP Environmental Science Exam Review (Part 1 of 6)

The College Board AP Environmental Science Exam is an annual exam in May, and this video can help you review the vital topics in the course throughout the year for a great review.

This review includes:

HIGH QUALITY ENERGY VS. LOW QUALITY ENERGY

LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS
RADIOACTIVITY

NUCLEAR FUSION VS. FISSION

MINING

GROUND LAYERS

AQUIFERS

LOAM

CONSERVATION VS PRESERVATION

ENSO
THE WATER CYCLE
THE NITROGEN CYCLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMmbgk4HeS8

hello, how are you doing

well today I’m gonna go ahead and go through a PowerPoint I made

gone through all the year since first semester to now

to prepare you for the AP exam so let’s get started

suffers was gonna go ahead open the PowerPoint

UCI World apes here and

alright so let’s go ahead and get started

so ionizing radiation

is having enough energy to knock electrons from Adams

forming ions capable of causing cancer

basically self-exam Tory

kinda like UV rays so high quality Energy’s Energy that is

that is concentrated

like it could it could actually do work do things

but low quality energy is kinda this

first disorganized it’s just like kinda like he

in the ocean airway and on the first law

thermodynamic Stacy energy is neither created nor destroyed

but it may be converted from one form to another

um such as in the second law of thermodynamics

States when energy is change from one phone to another some useful energy is

always degraded into a lower quality energy

so say in the he

ecosystem Bagram or no the heat dissipation diagram

so the producers get 10 percent at the energy from the Sun

ninety percent of that it is just disappear

is a copy creative destroyed so

it it turns into he that’s how that works

so the natural radioactive decay is the main

unstable are unstable radio isotopes

and when they decay the release gamma rays

an alpha and beta particles me

half-life is the time it takes for 1/2 the mass

a radioisotope to decay estimate of how long a radioactive isotope must be

stored until the case to a safe level

is approximately 10 half-lives which is quite a while

depending on which have since we’re speaking of nuclear fission

okay here’s a cool way remember it you see the

F ISS I O N their 2 S’s

seek actually but in like they’re going apart so

this is the new clever isotopes that part so there you’re going apart

there separate directions nominate they

change the massive it

is usually a dispersed as well but

nuclear fusion is when they come together to get a heavy amass

so com yeah remember fusion is when it comes together

and fishing is when they go apart so or as a rock that contains

a large enough concentrations mineral making it profitable to mine

this is what those miners are looking for organic fertilizer

is is long-lasting because the organic remains

have to break down be decomposed by bacteria and stuff like that sort

last longer than some of the other fertilizers

because love this natural property in the best solution energy shortages

conference

conservation and that increases

and in also to crease efficiency surface mining

is when they they

kinda like mountaintop mining I’m sure you guys talked about that when they

blow off the mountain tops to

extract coal examples like this and also open pit mining where they take a really

big pit

in a in an area to extract the coal

which is or which they can profit from

it’s cheaper than underground mining acre move more minerals

and its also less harmful to workers then underground mining

now harness is organic

dark material remaining after Deacom opposition by microorganisms

if you can see in this diagram I’ll AB and C

see is like really hard stuff he is a little bit by a

lighter but 0

on the o-level is the kinda stuff you

you actually see on the ground at

you know just walking on it that’s what you’re actually walking on organic dark

matter

I mean material still leaching

the removal love dissolved materials from soil

by moving water downwards so

if their stuff in the soil and the lower a rise in

those materials remove when those materials move down

by getting rained on or what not

that’s called leaching now the luv elation lehrer

is what forms and the B horizon

and that’s like all world the leech material goes

Salone is the perfect agricultural soil

with equal portions us and silt and clay

if you remember the soil triangle

you’ll recall that sometimes it can be to Sandy permeable

to too much clay which means he likes a couple whole buncha stuff

in in some other examples

conservation is when you actually use resources but is responsible

what you’re being responsible with resources I keep your drink Coke cans

but

you should recycle them but preservation is saying

okay I am going to preserve the

these this forest because I don’t want

down any life to be disrupted

because I’ll

up a.m. excuse me I just I just want to set aside the force that that

no more cut it down ecosystems can continue

parts if the hydrologic cycle which is like the water cycle

water evaporates and then the condensates

now only just from evaporation respiration but also transpiration

which is when trees down through the

photosynthesis process they they make water so that

sort of evaporates was actually called transpiration and it goes up into a

cloud

in then precipitation is when it falls back down

and its it’s like rain

and then infiltration is when it goes into the ground

runoff is when it runs off from aside to go

somewhere else so the water goes to another place from were originally fell

from precipitation for infiltration

is where it goes

into the crowd excuse me

an aquifer is any water bearing layer and the ground

and the corner depression is remember when you lower the water table

around trample

saltwater intrusion usually happens near the coast

and what happens here is when people over pump groundwater

it can cause salt water to move into the aquifer

in you that the I mean it gets into a lot a whole

whole budget less if this happens because you can’t drink salt water cuz

it’s not healthy

I mean it’s not good for you so you can’t you drink that

and then if you try to use reverse osmosis that can be extremely expensive

so we use is try to avoid salt water intrusion

and so stands for the El Nino Southern oscillation

and it is a see sonya air pressure over the South Pacific which changes

um the following things the high to the ocean on both sides

it causes Peruvian upwelling sissies and causes temperature disturbances

which interrupts the world’s weather so

it basically just Sophie if there are two sides

the Pacific Ocean

like usually the left side near

near the left side is usually really a

near age is really high so

in in el nino year all kinds of

kind of settles out in that changes the weather in

in the trade winds asked nasa it’s crazy during an el nino will

we year the Tradewinds weekend and warm waters move back to South America

and that causes temperature disturbances but during an on el nino year

easterly trade winds and ocean currents for warm water

in the western Pacific and senses warm water they wanna kinda

can equalize so-called water has to come up from the bottom with all these

nutrients

om so that these organisms can live

and in these are called up Wellings

nitrogen-fixing is

way okay so nitrogen in the air cannot be used directly by plants

so bacteria basically take the nitrogen in the air

and they make it into ammonia so that the plants can actually easy

a modification is Wendy composers cover

organic waste into ammonia for plant use

the differences bacteria converts

nitrogen into ammonia but decomposers cover

organic waste which is like poop from cows or what not

the decomposes come on that and convert it into ammonia

nitrification is when the money is converted into nitrate ions

so that they can use that Indian education

is when the ammonia turns back in it nitrogen

so that they can go back into the nitrogen cycle

which is shown here you see

the nitrogen in atmosphere in the atmosphere 6

by bacteria and also

I’m decomposers turn it into

amo ammonia as well in the match

occasion happens it makes nitrates and nitrites

in d18 education is when

echoes back into the atmospheres into

phosphorus does not sick leave is easily is action because this is a

exists a gas but is released by will

the weathering a phosphate rocks I’m gonna take a break here

but in the next video continue

so I’ll see you

next time

AP Environmental Science Exam Review (Part 1 of 6)

After Ohio passed abortion law, risk of complications nearly tripled

Women seeking medical abortions in Ohio experienced a higher rate of complications after the state implemented a law that put new restrictions on doctors who performed the procedure, according to a study published Tuesday.

The law, which took effect in 2011, requires abortion providers to adhere to specific guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when giving patients a combination of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. The drugs have been shown to terminate early pregnancies safely and effectively.

The FDA protocol was set in 2000, with specific dosages of mifepristone and misoprostol. Within a few years, however, doctors realized that using a lower dose of mifepristone and a higher dose of misoprostol produced better outcomes for their patients.

The World Health Organization, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the National Abortion Federation found shortcomings with the FDA’s protocol soon after it was issued, and began recommending changes as early as 2003. Healthcare providers throughout the U.S. followed their lead and prescribed the drugs according to the latest medical research rather than the dosages on the drug’s label.

The practice of prescribing drugs for use “off label” is both legal and commonplace. By one estimate, 21% of all U.S. prescriptions are intended for off-label use. 

Before Ohio’s law went into effect, doctors in the state were able to decide what doses of the drugs were most effective based on the latest research and best practices. Afterward, doctors lost that flexibility and were forced to follow the FDA’s outdated protocol.

To see what effect that had on patients, researchers examined the medical records of 2,783 women who had medication abortions at one of four clinics in Ohio between 2010 and 2014. 

The researchers found that women were nearly three times more likely to require additional intervention after the law was implemented than they were before.

Before 2011, doctors had to provide some kind of additional care in 4.9% of cases. Usually, this meant administering an additional dose of misoprostol or using suction to remove the fetus from the uterus. After the law was enforced, measures like these were required in 14.3% of cases, according to the study. 

In addition, the incidence of side effects nearly doubled after the law took effect. When doctors were able to use their own judgment, 8.4% of women experienced problems like nausea or vomiting. After doctors were required to stick to the FDA’s regimen, 15.6% of women had such problems.

The average price patients paid for medication abortions went up as well, from $426 in 2010 to $551 in 2014, the researchers found. In part, that’s because the minimum number of required doctor visits rose from three to four.

“There is no evidence that the change in law led to improved abortion outcomes,” the study authors wrote in PLOS Medicine. “Indeed, our findings suggest the opposite.”

The FDA updated its guidelines in March, approving new labeling for Mifeprex (the brand name for mifepristone) that is more in line with current practice and makes the drug easier for women to use.

The new label extends the amount of time a pregnant woman can take the drug from seven weeks after her last menstrual period to 10 weeks. It also reduces the recommended dose from 600 milligrams to 200 milligrams, which reduces side effects and makes it less expensive. 

Finally, the new labeling says women can take misoprostol (sold as Cytotec, among other brand names) at home rather than in the presence of a physician.

The FDA’s action means that women in Ohio seeking medication abortions can now receive care in line with the most up-to-date research. But that could change if the agency doesn’t keep up with evolving medical practices.

“This law will continue to require physicians to provide care that may fall below the accepted standard of care, placing them in an ethical dilemma,” they wrote. 

North Dakota, Texas and Arizona have abortion laws similar to Ohio’s. State legislatures in Arkansas and Oklahoma passed similar laws, but those were blocked by a court order. 

The study was led by Ushma Upadhyay, an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UC San Francisco.

deborah.netburn@latimes.com

Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and “like” Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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After Ohio passed abortion law, risk of complications nearly tripled