A Ton of Crap (5 page)

Inventions
Many important inventions came out of Mesopotamia. The seeder plow was revolutionary in agriculture and allowed seeding and plowing to occur simultaneously. The people of Mesopotamia also created a writing system based on images called cuneiform, developed irrigation and sanitation methods, created glass, and around 3500 b.c., invented the wheel. They were also the first to harness wind energy by creating sails.

PUNCTUATION

The Dash
An em dash is used to place emphasis on or set content apart from the rest of the text. Named because it is the width of an
M
, this dash is longer and places more importance on text than parentheses do. For example, “A lot of people were in the crowd—Tom and Scott among them.” The en dash, which is the width of an
N
, is shorter and is used to indicate a span of values between two numbers. For example, “For ages 3–5.”

NUMBERS

Real Numbers
Real numbers are whole numbers, such as 1, 2, 3, etc. Rational and irrational numbers as well as positive and negative numbers are also real numbers. Real numbers get the name “real” because they are not “imaginary.” An imaginary number is any number that becomes negative when squared. Imaginary numbers were at one time believed to be impossible, but are actually useful in calculating things such as electricity.

EVOLUTION

Mutation
Mutation is the last crucial part to evolution. Natural selection and genetic drift explain why organisms change, but they don’t necessarily explain how. A mutation is a change in the DNA of an organism that affects appearance, behavior, and the organism’s physiology. These mutations enable the changes that Darwin mentions. Mutations are random, and not all mutations lead to evolution. If a mutation doesn’t occur in reproductive cells, it is somatic and it will not be passed on to offspring.

LATIN

An Extinct Language and New Latin
Because humanists during the Renaissance were writing in an old language, they did not have the proper vocabulary for current issues. This gave the language an old, antiquated feel. Over time, less was written in Latin, until ultimately, the language became extinct. From that point on and to this day, the most common form of Latin is known as New Latin. This is Latin used for international scientific vocabulary, systematics, and the classification of species.

1. What river or rivers did the Sumerians first develop civilizations on?
   

   1. The Nile River
      
   2. Tigris and Euphrates
      
   3. The Indus
      
   4. Amu Darya
      

2. What are the Hittites most known for?
   

   1. Inventing the wheel
      
   2. Creating cuneiform
      
   3. Expanding trade and commerce
      
   4. Creating the Code of Hammurabi
      

3. Which of the following is correct?
   

   1. When you’ve finished the last part of your exam, put your pencils down.
      
   2. When you’ve finished the last part of your exam. Put your pencils down.
      
   3. When you’ve, finished the last part of your exam; put your pencils down.
      
   4. When—You’ve finished the last part of your exam put your pencils down.
      

4. When is the en dash used?
   

   1. It can be used instead of a comma.
      
   2. It can be used to place emphasis on one of two connected independent clauses.
      
   3. To end a train of thought.
      
   4. To indicate a span of values between two numbers.
      

5. What is the current number system we use today?
   

   1. Arabic Numerals
      
   2. Egyptian Numbers
      
   3. Greek Numbers
      
   4. Babylonian Numerals
      

6. What is an imaginary number?
   

   1. A negative number
      
   2. A number that when multiplied the result is positive
      
   3. A number that when squared the result is negative
      
   4. A number that when squared the result is positive
      

7. What did Charles Darwin
   notice about the finches of the Galapagos?
   

   1. Their legs were different sizes.
      
   2. Their beaks were different shapes and sizes.
      
   3. Their wings were different shapes and sizes.
      
   4. Their beaks were different colors.
      

8. Genetic drift is a result of:
   

   1. Chance
      
   2. Luck
      
   3. Mutations
      
   4. A and B
      

9. The closest ancestor to the Romance languages is:
   

   1. Classical Latin
      
   2. New Latin
      
   3. Vulgar Latin
      
   4. Medieval Latin
      

10. Latin became an extinct language because:
    

    1. The language blended with other languages until it was unrecognizable.
       
    2. All of the people who spoke it died.
       
    3. During the Renaissance, people wanted to return to a time before people spoke Latin.
       
    4. Latin didn’t have vocabulary relevant to current issues and felt old and antiquated.
       

ANSWER KEY: b, c, a, d, a, c, b, d, c, d

HISTORY:
Xia Dynasty
Real or Legend?, Yu the Great, The Political Systems, Decline of the Xia Dynasty, Controversies Today, Archaeological Findings

LANGUAGE ARTS:
Phonics
What Is Phonics?, Synthetic Phonics, Analytical Phonics, Vowel Patterns, Consonant Patterns, Alphabetic Principle

MATH:
Zero
A Placeholder, A Number That Means Nothing, The First Use of Zero, The Origins of the Symbol, The Rules of Brahmagupta,
Other Rules of Zero

SCIENCE:
Cells
The Basic Unit of Life, Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells, Plant Cells, Animal Cells, Structure of a Cell, The Nucleus

FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
Spanish
The History of the Spanish Language, Making Spanish Official, Spanish Spreads, Framing a Sentence, Spanish Today, Useful Phrases

XIA DYNASTY

Real or Legend?
The Xia Dynasty, said to be the first dynasty of China, is supposed to have lasted from the twenty-first to the seventeenth century b.c. with seventeen emperors. There is little evidence showing the existence of the Xia Dynasty, and whether it actually existed or is merely a legend told in the ancient texts is still up for debate.

PHONICS

What Is Phonics?
Phonics is a method of teaching English. The main idea is that first students are taught the various sounds of the English language, and then they are taught the letters of the alphabet that those sounds correspond to. The advantage to learning English in this way is that once the main sounds have been mastered, one can learn to read many English words much quicker.

ZERO

A Placeholder
The zero has many functions. One very important function zero has is as a placeholder. The difference between 500, 50, and 501 is the placement and amount of zero digits. Even though the value zero is nothing, the digit zero means something. We understand that 501 is not the same thing as 51. The notion of the placeholder was first used by the Babylonians.

CELLS

The Basic Unit of Life
The cell is the smallest unit of life in an organism’s body. Each cell has its own unique feature and function. Some organisms, like humans, animals, and plants, are multicellular, meaning they are made of many, many cells (for humans the number is in the trillions). However, other organisms, such as bacteria, are unicellular and consist of a single cell. Both animals and plants are eukaryotes, meaning their cells have a well-defined nucleus.

SPANISH

The History of the Spanish Language
Spanish is an Indo-European language. The earliest ancestor of Spanish was spoken 5,000 years ago around the Black Sea. Indo-European language speakers migrated throughout the land, leading to fragmentation. With the Romanization of Spain in 218 b.c., Latin became the language people used, and it is the direct ancestor of Spanish and all other Romance languages.

XIA DYNASTY

Yu the Great
Da Yu, who would come to be known as Yu the Great, was the founder of the Xia Dynasty. He is famous for his involvement in stopping the great flooding of the Yangtze River; a process that lasted thirteen years. Yu the Great united the various ethnic groups, divided the land into nine provinces, and most notably, taught the people methods on how to control floodwater through the building of canals.