Are mobile phones a health risk?
Abstract In this report I aim to determine whether or not mobile phones pose a risk to our health. I will explain how mobile phone electromagnetic radiation can be perceived as dangerous, with reference to the EM spectrum. I will cite scientific sources of evidence which support both sides of the dispute, and will come to a reasoned conclusion as to how likely it is that mobile phones are a health risk. I will also evaluate the credibility of the sources used to support my conclusions, and list all the sources used throughout in a detailed bibliography. Introduction Mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular in today's world; with around 80 million handsets in Britain, there are now more mobiles than people [1]. They've become an essential part of our existence, in business, in our daily lives and in keeping in touch with our loved ones - however, there is growing concern that this technology is causing serious health problems throughout the population, such as lasting brain damage and cancer. The Media consistently tends to portray mobile phones negatively, fuelling the public's fears and misgivings: this study aims to determine from the scientific evidence whether or not mobile phones present a risk to our health. Main Points How might Mobile Phones be Hazardous to our Health? After studying numerous publications, I have found that if there are concerns about how
Mr Chips: Investigation to find an isotonic solution for potatoes
Mr Chips: Investigation to find an isotonic solution for potatoes Introduction Investigation aimed to find out the amount of grams of salt solute needed to create an isotonic solution to prevent osmosis in fresh cut potato chips. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane down a water potential gradient. More specifically, it is the movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of high water potential (low solute concentration) to an area of low water potential (high solute concentration). The water molecules will continue to move through the semi-permeable membrane until both sides have reached a state of equilibrium. Isotonic solution is a solution in which its solute concentration is the same as the solute concentration of another solution with which it is compared In plant cells when water moves into the vacuole it increases in size and pushes the cell membrane against the cell wall, this causes the cellulose cell wall to stretch slightly and when it can stretch no further it becomes taut and firm. The pressure inside the cell rises and eventually the internal pressure of the cell is so high that no more water can enter the cell. This liquid or hydrostatic pressure works against osmosis. At this point the cell wall prevents the cell from bursting and is said to be fully turgid. Turgidity is very
The effect of temperature on the hydrolysis of starch using amylase extracted from barley.
Sasha Caddy, RM11. 20/01/04 The effect of temperature on the hydrolysis of starch using amylase extracted from barley Interpretation of results: Enzymes are a class of proteins that catalyse chemical reactions, which increases the rate of a metabolic reaction. Most enzymes are specific, working on a particular or class of reactions. In this case I am using an enzyme known as amylase (a group of enzymes which convert starch to sugar), which is an important metabolic enzyme. Amylase is found in various parts of the body including the saliva of the parotid gland and the pancreas, e.g. ptyalin, which aids in the digestion of carbohydrates by speeding up specific digestive processes taking place from the mouth to the small intestines. However, in this experiment we are using amylase which has been extracted from barley. The function of amylase is to catalyze (to modify the rate of a chemical reaction by catalysis) the hydrolysis (decomposition of a chemical compound by reaction with water) of starch into glucose. Starch is a mixture of two compounds; amylose and amylopectin, both of these molecules are polymers which contain a large, variable number of a-glucose molecules linked to each other by condensation. Amylase acts on starch, which is a polysaccharide (a class of carbohydrates; starch, consisting of a number of twenty-five monosaccharides) and breaks it down into
effect of concentration of copper sulphate on the action of amylase to break down starch.
Biology Coursework Abstract In this investigation I am going to explore the effect of concentration of copper sulphate on the action of amylase to break down starch. Copper sulphate is a very common chemical that can be used in a lot of different areas, but little has been discussed on its effect on amylase. I will find out which type of inhibitor copper ion is and how does it actually inhibits amylase, and also how concentration of copper sulpahte will affect the rate at which amylase works. Aim of investigation The aim of this investigation is to find out how concentration of copper sulphate affects the action of amylase. Hypothesis The higher the concentration of copper sulphate, the slower the amylase works. Rationale There are two ways that we could have consumed copper sulphate. Water pipes are responsible for transporting water, and some of them are made out of copper. Copper pipes can become rusted if there is high sulphate content in the water, basic copper sulphate is precipitated which can grow through the pipe wall creating pit holes [1]. Copper sulphate is also used in some places to treat sewer lines, tree roots are constantly looking for water and organic sources and sewer lines are the perfect site for them. Tree roots will penetrate and damage the pipes which will is expensive to repair. Copper sulfate kills tree roots without killing the tree or
The Importance and Biological Functions of Carbohydrates.
The Importance and Biological Functions of Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have many functions. This essay will look at some of them and also what carbohydrates are constructed of. A Carbohydrate molecule contains Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. There are twice as many Hydrogens as there are Oxygens, the same proportion as water. Carbohydrates have the general formula of C (H O) Carbohydrates can be divided into three main types. These are monosaccharides (single sugar units), disaccharides (two sugar units) and polysaccharides (many sugar units). Different monosaccharides contain different numbers of carbon atoms. Trioses contain three, pentoses contain five and hexoses six. Carbohydrates have many different functions and come in many different forms. Ribose and Deoxyribose are both pentose monosaccharides and are found in RNA and DNA. Glucose and Fructose are both hexose monosaccharides. Glucose is an important source of energy in respiration and Fructose is found in fruits. Sucrose is a disaccharide formed from Glucose and fructose. It is the form in which carbohydrates are transported in plants. Maltose is a disaccharide of glucose and is formed from the digestion of starch. The carbohydrate in milk is lactose and it is formed from Glucose and galactose. Important polysaccharides include Starch, Glycogen and Cellulose. They are all made up from Glucose but have different
Following the Progress of an Enzyme Controlled Reaction
Following the Progress of an Enzyme Controlled Reaction Plan Enzymes are a widely used source of biological catalyst; they are used in widely in industry as in the biological aspects. Enzymes are biological catalyst; this means that they will speed up a reaction with out becoming used up. The enzymes for this by not actually interfering with the reaction its self but basically align the two substrates on the active site of the enzyme. Amylases are widely spread enzymes that hydrolyse starch to maltose. They are often found in two forms, a-amylase, which degrades starch molecules into, fragments 10 glucose residues long and b-amylase, which breaks down these into maltose, made up of two glucose molecules. Both work by hydrolysis adding one molecule of water across glycosidic link. Hypothesis My hypothesis is that as the time of the enzyme reaction goes on the amount of substrate reacted by time goes in a proportional relationship. In theory time Vs substrate concentration should have a proportional relationship as the relative enzymes will all have plenty of the substrate molecules to align with, therefore creating a constant time for the reaction. The substrate being used is starch, starch is widely found inn various substances. It is greatly found in bread, the starch is a very useful nutrient for human life forms as it is the source for sugars, which produce energy for
Experiment to Determine Acidities of Wine. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the total and volatile acidities of each of the wines and compare them.
Experiment to Determine Acidities of Wine The purpose of this experiment is to determine the total and volatile acidities of each of the wines and compare them. Acidity is a major contributor to the taste of wines. This is especially important in white wines, because there are very little tannins found in it, so acidity can affect the taste of the wine much more than in red wines. In this experiment, 0.1M Sodium Hydroxide solution is needed for titrations. Because this is not a standard solution, it is first standardised using oxalic acid. In order to calculate the total acidity of the wine, a titration with 0.1M sodium hydroxide is carried out with a pH meter. The pH of the wine and sodium hydroxide solution is measured when a certain volume of NaOH is added each time, and a titration curve of volume against pH is plotted. The volume for the solution to reach a pH of 8.2 is recorded. This is because NaOH is a strong alkali and wine is a weak acid, so the pH lies more to the side of the alkali. A pH of 8.2 as the equivalence point is a value agreed on by winemakers. In order to calculate the total acidity of the wine, a representative acid must be used. This must be chosen because wine contains multiple different acids, which require different moles of NaOH to neutralise them. Tartaric acid was chosen as the representative acid for the wine, because it is thought to
The effect of drugs on the nervous system
The effect of drugs on the nervous system A drug is defined as a substance that, when absorbed into the body, alters a normal bodily function. Some are able to do this, as they are capable of producing an array of different effects on the nervous system. The reason why affecting the nervous system of an organism is potentially so significant is due to the nature of it. The fact the nervous system directs the functions of all the tissues of the body demonstrates its considerable role within the body. It can therefore be assumed that taking substances which affect how it works may lead to a distortion in the way your body is run, producing unsafe side effects. The term nervous system is actually used to describe two divisions. The central nervous system (CNS) is the part which contains the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) however, consists of all the sensory neurones used to detect stimuli. The PNS receives thousands of sensory inputs and transmits them to the brain via the spinal cord. The brain will then process this information, discarding around 99% of it as unimportant. After this sensory information has been processed, areas of the nervous system generate nerve impulses to organs or tissue and form a suitable response. As influences from chemicals are able to affect how the nervous system functions, it can be assumed that chemicals such as
Revision Notes. Substances Manufactured for use in Industries. Chemicals, alloys and polymers.
.1 Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid Uses of Sulphuric Acid Sulphuric Acid, H2SO4, has many uses in our daily life. A few examples are: (a) Manufacture of fertilisers such as ammonium sulphate, (NH4) 2SO4 (b) Manufacture of electrolyte in lead-acid accumulators (c) Manufacture of soaps and detergents (d) Manufacture of pesticides (insecticide) (e) Manufacture of plastic items such as rayon and nylon (f) Manufacture of paints Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid in industry . Sulphuric acid, H2SO4, is manufactured in industry through the Contact Process. 2. The manufacturing of sulphuric acid, H2SO4, in industry involves three stages. Stage Aim Stage 1 Sulphur dioxide, SO2, gas can be produced by burning sulphur in air. S + O2 SO2 To produce sulphur dioxide, SO2, gas Stage 2 The gas mixture of sulphur dioxide and oxygen is passed over vanadium(V) oxide, V2O5 (catalyst) at a temperature of 450-500 ºC and under pressure of 1 atmosphere. 2SO2 + O2 2SO3 To produce sulphur trioxide, SO3 gas Stage 3 Sulphur trioxide, SO3, gas is dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, H2SO4 to form oleum, H2S2O7. SO3 + H2SO4 H2S2O7 Water is then added to the oleum, H2S2O7 to dilute it to produce sulphuric acid, H2SO4. H2S2O7 + H2O 2H2SO4 To produce sulphuric acid, H2SO4 The three stages involved in the Contact process Environmental
Affect Of Varying Salt Concentration on Red Blood Cell Haemolysis
COURSEWORK INVESTIGATION Affect Of Varying Salt Concentration on Red Blood Cell Haemolysis Tahir Aziz CONTENTS > Plan > Outline method > Key variables > Risk assessment > Preliminary results > Method > Results of control experiments > Results > Conclusions > Main trends and patterns > Explanation of results > Experimental limitations Affect Of Varying Salt Concentration on Red Blood Cell Haemolysis Abstract The average adult has about five litres of blood living inside of their body, coursing through their vessels, delivering essential elements, and removing harmful wastes. Without blood, the human body would stop working. Blood is the fluid of life, transporting oxygen from the lungs to body tissue and carbon dioxide from body tissue to the lungs. Blood is the fluid of growth, transporting nourishment from digestion and hormones from glands throughout the body. Blood is the fluid of health, transporting disease fighting substances to the tissue and waste to the kidneys. Because it contains living cells, blood is alive. Red blood cells and white blood cells are responsible for nourishing and cleansing the body. Since the cells are alive, they too need nourishment. Vitamins and Minerals keep the blood healthy. The blood cells have a definite life cycle, just as all living organisms do. Approximately 55 percent of blood is plasma, a straw-collared clear
