U.s And Japan Car Industries :: essays research papers

U.S and Japan Car Industries It is unfortunate that the U.S. chose to use automobiles as its wedge to open the alleged "closed" markets of Japan. One Japan-based managing executive of the Big Three has even admitted that they consider the Japanese automobile market to be open. Japan is not the island of protectionism in a sea of free trade that its critic allege. The problem for the U.S. auto-makers is not a lack of market access, but a lack of effort. The first step required for the U.S. auto makers to sell competitively in Japan is not to impose of ridiculous tariffs, but to have Detroit bring up the quality to Japanese standards. All in all, the U.S.'s decision to use automobiles as its wedge to open the Japanese market was surely a dangerous one. In addition, the utilization of unilateral actions by the U.S. is clearly a violation of international trade law. Not only is this decision a resemblance of managed trade but a policy which will weaken the leadership position of the U.S. in the world economy as well. The U.S. needs to do what the Japanese did when they penetrated the American market; hard market research and heavy investment. The Japanese spent billions of dollars studying American taste and manufacturing models that suited them. The Big Three have generally confined their efforts to sending models that they have made specifically for Americans. Bill Duncan, the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Assn. states that "it was the basic principals of competition that made the Japanese automobile industry strong." One example which reflects the short-sightedness of the Big Three is the insufficient number of right-hand models available in Japan. Since cars in Japan are driven on the left side, all domestic makers produce right-hand drives. It's simple, the inconvenience of a left-hand drive, at tolls, parking lots or when overtaking another car is too dangerous. Naturally when the Japanese export their cars to the U.S., in each of the 190 versions sold, they provide American drivers with a steering wheel where they expect it; on the left side1. On the other hand U.S. exports have a grand total of 2 models which feature a right- hand drive. The Big Three sold a measly 22,000 left-hand models in 1994. Jeep sold 11,000 on their Cherokees alone, just because they remodeled it to a right- hand model2. Another area in which Detroit must seek change is in car size. In Japan, the normal American cars are just too big. 80% of the cars in Japan are under 2000cc (2L.) Imagine yourself driving on the jammed packed, narrow streets of Tokyo.

In The Beginning :: essays research papers

In the Beginning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article talks about the role of many different types of women in early America. It also has the thoughts of men about these women. The area of black slavery is also covered in this article and it touches on who the slaves were before the blacks came. The different women that are covered are the Indians, then the whites, and finally the African Americans. First, the Indian women were covered. The Englishmen as promiscuous thought of the women living with their tribes. They came to this conclusion because they were allowed to have sexual relations with different men, practice polygamy and they noticed that the children had lighter hair than the Indians. This said that the people the women were having sex with were people from other than their tribe. They mentioned that the Indians had more rules about when, where and who they could have sex with. For example they were not allowed to have sex while they were pregnant, men who were going or coming from war were not allowed to have sex either because they needed to keep their minds on the battle. The English were also surprised at the fact that women did all the work and were allowed to dress nicely. Another freedom that women had in their tribes was that they had ownership of their land, houses and their children. As time went by the Americans, French, and the Spanish took the Indian women to be their wives. As far as sex between them went, the English were used to paying for sex and the Indian women were used to trading for it so it worked out pretty well for the two parties. At one point in the 1500’s a man named Cartagena captured three-hundred Indians, and two-hundred African Americans and took them to Florida, they figured that this was an attempt to allow the Spanish and the two groups he had captured to become allies. As the first American colony was settled there were few white women in the population. The ones who were there were usually rich. This was of no fault of their own, they just had rich fathers or they married into money. After some time of being settled in Jamestown the first Christian women was born, the King realized that the men needed women to reproduce and to keep them sane. This way they would own land there forever because the mothers would have children and they would have children and so forth. In The Beginning :: essays research papers In the Beginning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article talks about the role of many different types of women in early America. It also has the thoughts of men about these women. The area of black slavery is also covered in this article and it touches on who the slaves were before the blacks came. The different women that are covered are the Indians, then the whites, and finally the African Americans. First, the Indian women were covered. The Englishmen as promiscuous thought of the women living with their tribes. They came to this conclusion because they were allowed to have sexual relations with different men, practice polygamy and they noticed that the children had lighter hair than the Indians. This said that the people the women were having sex with were people from other than their tribe. They mentioned that the Indians had more rules about when, where and who they could have sex with. For example they were not allowed to have sex while they were pregnant, men who were going or coming from war were not allowed to have sex either because they needed to keep their minds on the battle. The English were also surprised at the fact that women did all the work and were allowed to dress nicely. Another freedom that women had in their tribes was that they had ownership of their land, houses and their children. As time went by the Americans, French, and the Spanish took the Indian women to be their wives. As far as sex between them went, the English were used to paying for sex and the Indian women were used to trading for it so it worked out pretty well for the two parties. At one point in the 1500’s a man named Cartagena captured three-hundred Indians, and two-hundred African Americans and took them to Florida, they figured that this was an attempt to allow the Spanish and the two groups he had captured to become allies. As the first American colony was settled there were few white women in the population. The ones who were there were usually rich. This was of no fault of their own, they just had rich fathers or they married into money. After some time of being settled in Jamestown the first Christian women was born, the King realized that the men needed women to reproduce and to keep them sane. This way they would own land there forever because the mothers would have children and they would have children and so forth.

Wine is Not Sin

â€Å"Wine is not sin.† Such a claim has caused clamor and disagreement within Christianity for centuries. Yet what does this statement mean? If God is to be consistent, why does it seem that He has inconsistent commandments about wine, which caused so much dispute among godly theologians? As best as one can generalize, there are three camps of belief regarding where the Bible stands on the morality wine consumption. The Moderationist View holds that the Bible only deals with fermented wine within its text. It was fermented wine that was exchanged between godly men in Genesis 14:18-20; it was fermented wine which Jesus was accused of getting drunk on in Luke 7:33-35, and was also fermented wine with which Jesus practiced the Lord's Supper. The Abstentionist View holds that that God approves of the use of fermented wine, but only to a certain amount before drunkenness takes place. Lastly, the Prohibitionist View maintains that, although the Bible has several Greek and Hebrew words that carry a general description of wine with their meaning, one can best understand God's condemnation of fermented wine based on the context of the passages that are often used in support of a Moderationist or Abstentionist view. In light of these three views, this author holds that condemnation of alcoholic wine is not to be based on the amount consumed, or the properties of its content. Rather, based on God's Word, alcoholic wine is sinful to consume because of the degrading effects it has on one's body, because a holy God forbade its use among Old Testament and New Testament believers, and because it compromises one's character as an ambassador of Christ. These three arguments will be fleshed out in this paper within the following facets of discussion. The Biological Ethics of Wine, the Biblical Ethics of Wine, and the Cultural Ethics of Wine. The Biological Ethics of Wine Based on the information that rests in the physical effects of alcoholic consumption, this author proposes that the intake of wine into one's body is damaging not only to his body, but to his image and likeness of God, and is therefore sinful. Before one considers what the Bible has to say about the bodily effects of wine consumption, he should first examine what physical processes are taking place within ones body as he consumes alcoholic wine. Physical Effects As one takes alcohol into his body, two actions take place in the brain which causes the common sensation of pleasure and calm. The brain's inhibitory neurotransmitter is excited as the excitatory neurotransmitter is simultaneity inhibited. This slows the processing of information in the cerebral cortex, causing one to experience blurred vision, slowed senses, and the inability to think clearly. Secondly, the consumption of alcohol â€Å"increases the amount of the chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which creates the feeling of pleasure that occurs when someone takes a drink.† Here is where one feels the buzz to which he often finds himself addicted. Yet the additional effects on other parts of his body are rarely as pleasurable.The Cerebellum, which acts as the center of movement and balance within the body, grows impaired as alcohol consumption rises, resulting in a dizziness and staggering commonly seen among those whom are drunk. Additionally, there is an increase in blood flow, which heats the skin and gives one a warm sensation. This surface heats cools the body's organs down and slows the breathing, often to a dangerous level. Lastly and most important, as one takes in more alcohol, he raises his BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration), which in the amount of alcohol in one's bloodstream. The higher the BAC, the more probable a heart attack, since he is starving the heart of blood.With this very simplistic explanation of what takes place as one becomes increasingly more inebriated, it also is important to consider what the definition of â€Å"drunk† means. In modern American culture, the typical sized glass of wine is 5 ounces in amount— 10% being alcohol. Therefore, three drinks equalling .6 ounces of alcohol each, if consumed within an hour, would bring a normal sized individual's BAC to .08, which is the current legal definition of drunkenness. As one can see, alcohol consumed by humans, has dangerous side effects, rendering its use to be unwholesome in large quantities and unwise in general. Also, because of alcohol's addictive qualities, once begun, humans have a terrible tendency to find it hard to stop at a certain quantity. Hence in America alone, according to the CDCP, Alcohol took more than 88,000 lives between 2006-2010, meaning that 1 in 10 Americans drank themselves to death. Physical Morals Those who believe that alcohol is not addictive and label these statistics as a slippery-slope fallacy are sadly foolish. Therefore, based on this proof, one must understand that, since humans are the image bearers of God (Genesis 2:7, Psalm 139:13-15), they have the responsibility to take care of their bodies. â€Å"To destroy our health by means of intoxicating substances means to destroy God's temple within us.† This author echoes what Paul stated to the Corinthians, â€Å"for God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.† This first proof cannot be highlighted enough, since God has laid a serious responsibility to care for the precious life He gave us. Therefore, based on the effects of alcoholic consumption reviewed above, it is unethical to intake any amount of alcohol that would impair one's body on a long-term or short-term scale as it is damaging to his health (1Corinthians 3:17).Yet, to do justice to the Jewish culture of the Bible, one must understand that wine in present modern times is vastly different to the contents of wine in the Old and New Testament. As Norman Geisler clearly affirmed, â€Å"Wine today has a much higher level of alcohol than wine in the New Testament. In fact, in New Testament times one would need to drink twenty-two glasses of wine in order to consume the large amount of alcohol in two martinis today.† Since a typical martini is 37% alcohol, a glass of wine during the apostle Paul's time would have been 3% alcohol, making it fairly difficult to get inebriated quickly. Yet even ancient civilization's strongest drinks of 14% alcohol were often watered down with a 20-1 ratio according to Plithy and Homer's Odyssey. Hence, as one looks at the present-day perspective of alcohol in contrast to Bible time terminology, it is easy to recognize that to truly gain a fair grasp of the alcohol issue one must also understand the literary uses of the word â€Å"wine† in the context of the Bible. Which leads one to the biblical ethics of wine. The Biblical Ethics of Wine God not only condemns drunkenness in the Old and New Testament, but condemns the actual use of fermented wine in both Testaments. This argument follows closely to the Prohibitionist View as discussed in the introduction. Good men differ on this topic, expositing difficult passages of great length. For lack of such space and ability, this argument will only touch on a few Greek and Hebrew words, the biblical commands for use and abstinence, and three commonly misunderstood passages. Word Analysis Wine in general ancient terminology can be loosely translated as â€Å"The pressed juice of the grape, whether fermented or unfermented.† There are three words that this paper will highlight in a general attempt to do justice to the historical accuracy of wine. The first Hebrew word is (Yayin). It is the most commonly used form for wine in the Old Testament, used 141 times throughout, and is often misinterpreted since God uses the same word to impart blessings and curses upon His people. Yet the context of the passage is important. Yes, some texts are unclear, but Robert Teachout's tabulation of each reference breaks them down to 71 instances referring to unfermented wine, and the other 70 referring to fermented wine, while seeking to stay true to the original context of the authorial intent. The first and perhaps most famous passage in which wine is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 9:20-21 when Noah got drunk on the which he made from his vineyards and eventually shamed himself with nudity. Wine is clearly spoken within a negative sense, and is next seen in Genesis 19:32-33 when Lot's daughters raped him. This Hebrew word is again used in Lamentations 2:12, yet has a very different implication. As King Nebuchadnezzar sieged Jerusalem, the starving children asked their mothers, â€Å"Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city.† The children were not seeking alcoholic wine as drunk by Noah, but rather this same Hebrew word yayin is best understood in context to the fact that even their children desperately needed sustenance to stay alive. Yayin is used in countless additional passages under the same unfermented context. The second word to consider is also Hebrew. (tirosh) is commonly considered to be unfermented Horace Bumstead says, â€Å"In no one of the thirty-eight passages in which it occurs does it fail to have some reference, direct or indirect, to the soil or the press or the divine agency which had been instrument al in its production. † Simply put, yayin is the refined, fermented result of the raw product—tirosh, which is new wine. Texts such as Micah 6:15 support such claims. â€Å"Thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; And tirosh, but shalt not drink yayin.† Here the contexts supports tirosh as unfermented and yayin as fermented wine since God forbids the latter but promotes the former. As one can begin to see, the use of the Hebrew words can seem ambiguous, if not interpreted based on the context of the passage. The third word to examine is the Greek usage for wine most commonly used in the whole Bible. (oinos) is the parallel to the Hebrew yayin word, and was commonly used in Greek culture to refer to any unfermented or fermented grape juice. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul commands the believers at Ephesus â€Å"Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.† Oinos takes on the meaning of fermented wine in this context, since drunke nness is the common result. Yet there are translations of this text which lead the reader to assume that â€Å"excess† (debauchery) is condemning drunkenness, while allowing for wine. â€Å"Wherein ( ) is excess† can be translated â€Å"in which is excess,† which alludes to wine in the previous clause rather than drunkenness. Whether one agrees or not, what can be confirmed is that wine in this context is referencing fermented wine. There are multiple passages that, use oinos to describe grape juice, or new wine. One such passage records Jesus' parable of the new and old wineskins. The culture of that day found the use of wineskins to hold and preserve â€Å"must† or, new wine. Common interpretation of this passage does an injustice to the text by claiming that Jesus was describing how to safely ferment wine as an object lesson within His parable. According to excavator James Pritchard, this interpretation is erroneous, since within middle eastern tradition, fermenting wine took place in very large tanks that could withstand the violent pressure of fermentation for three days and then stored in sealed jars with olive oil at 65 degrees F. The Encyclopedia Biblica also asserts that the gas given off during fermentation would cause a pressure much too great for even new wine skins to withstand. Therefore, there is no way the Jesus could have been addressing how to store fermented wine, but rather was simply using oinos (new wine; grape juice) as an object lesson for a topic completely unrelated to wine.Based on this brief word analysis, one can see how important the context is when translating and interpreting the biblical meaning for wine. Yet there are many more verses that relate to the many uses of wine within the Testaments, both for God designed purposes and commands to abstain.

Importance of Writing

The Importance of Writing for Students Writing defines as a tool to represent writers' thoughts, feelings,and ideas into one component/purpose. As a tool, writing has a function to develop writers' thoughts to be more critical. Writing requires a practical adjustment, and a repetition in order to improve the skill. The practice is vary; however, the basic of practicality involves some sources as a media of learning. Writing prepares writers, especially students, to reach into a larger society in term of showing their ability in an indirect way of communication. Writing plays a very important role in the world of education.Writing builds a way to create students to be more creative. Creativity through writing has unlimited scopes. Scope of writing narrative implicates a wild imagination through certain complex ideas by locating the concept orderly and specifically. Scope of writing an academic progress, such as research paper, requires students to understand in applying a right gramma r, and structuring a paragraph. â€Å"Creative writing† leads students to do analyzation that trigger them in finding a new invention (Bekurs; Santoli). An analyzation demands students to elaborate and rearrange the words into one whole new perception.Analyzing in this writing process means â€Å"to learn how to evaluate† the argument, and â€Å"use that information-to find the meaning in the knowledge† (Bekurs; Santoli). According to Santoli and Bekurs, â€Å"the foundation of creative writing† must be based on students' â€Å"personal interest† (Bekurs; Santoli). Writing develops a social skill in students. A social skill needs a basic foundation of learning how to master a second way of communication, called writing. In particular, a social movement in internet, such as blogging, entangles young people to express theimselve as an individual through writing.This blogging activity is â€Å"the expressway to the soul†; moreover, writing refl ects the personality of the writers that allow them to interact with new people in the cyber world (McNulty). A social skill, in term of writing, generates an unlimited access in reaching many different societies. However, students have to master many different vocabularies related to the field. Writing helps some students in gaining friends. Some students have a difficulty in relating themselves to new people. In particular, the activity of exchanging journal in order to interact with their new friends is still ecessary, especially for those in a lower grade of education. Writing guides students in gaining â€Å"self-awareness†, â€Å"self-motivation†, and â€Å"believing in themselves† (Downing 1). In this case, writing a journal can be very helpful in raising students' motivation and introspection toward themselves. Writing a journal means writing out our wild opinions into a piece of paper; just like writing a diary. By writing journal, students can deliver their â€Å"hidden thoughts† through a â€Å"white and black† tool that makes everything â€Å"visible to the world† (McNulty). Writing trains students to become more independent and confident.According to Santoli and Bekurs, when students â€Å"become more comfortable putting their pens to paper† as writers, they have become independent decision makers of themselves (Bekurs; Santoli). Furthermore, students have to often practice the writing skill to gain a self-confidence. The more students practice their writing, the more they allow themselves to comprehend the usefulness of using grammar and applying them into paragraph. Writing determines the future career of students. The skill of writing describes the knowledgeable students as independent workers in the future.For instance, the ability of student in speaking a good speech generates a newly politician. The competence of student in writing a report rises a new born talented journalist. Moreover, the w riting skill of students specify their position as a worker; either lower or higher position. In term of writing, the importance of being able to â€Å"mean what you say and say what you mean† has crucial meaning in the career field (McNulty). In order to apply for a job, people have to submit a firm Curriculum Vitae letter that requires them to write a boldness approval of themselves.

Physics Ia

Investigating Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion using an Air-track Introduction: My experiment is investigating the Newton’s 2nd law of motion by using an Air-track. The air-track can make the trolley frictionless by testing the velocity with different weights and shows that F=ma. Research question: How much acceleration does the frictionless trolley has? Aim: Use the air track to measure the acceleration of the no friction trolley by hanging with different mass of weights. Apparatus: * 1 air track * Weights (40g, 50g, 60g, 70g, 80g, 90g, 100g) * 1 string (bigger than 200cm) (plastic) 1 frictionless trolley (160g) * 1 pair of scissors * 2 sensors * 2 clamps * 1 ruler * 2 light gates * 1 Pulley * 1 data logger Variables: Independent: the mass pulls down the frictionless trolley. Dependent: the time taken when the frictionless trolley travel through two light gates. Fix: the distance of the light gates and the height of the light gates. Uncertainties: The strength of the plastic string after pulling a lot of weights. Procedure: 1. Put two light gates 50 cm between each other, the lights gates hanging by the clamps. 2.Hang the string one side to the frictionless trolley and another side on the hook which for hanging the weights. 3. Put the string on the wheel. 4. Put the frictionless trolley on the air-track at the distance of 170 cm. 5. Hang 40 g weights on the hook. 6. The frictionless trolley move forwards by the weights. The light gates will automatically recording the speed of the trolley takes and record down the data on the data logger. 7. Repeat the lab 5 times and do with other weights 50g, 60g, 70g, 80g, 90g, 100g as the same procedure. Diagram: Out line (not to scale): How the air track works:Air track is a device use for study motion in low friction environment. The air pump out of the small holes on the track and that allows the trolley got lifted and frictionless. Data Table: Conclusion The newton’s second law is the rate of change of m omentum of a body is directly proportional to the unbalanced force acting on the body and takes place in same direction. It’s according to my lab that the trolley is moving in one direction. Also the graph shows the a curve which shows the change of momentum is directly proportional to the unbalanced force olley. acting on the t

Case Study: The Privatization of Water Essay

World leaders at the Evian Summit have resolved to decrease the number of people who are without access to safe drinking water by half by the year 2015. Critics fear that this may lead to privatization, arguing that private companies are not motivated to provide water to the poor. Those who favor privatization on the other hand argue that only the private sector can make the investment in place of the state, saying that because of the state’s failure, the poor are in fact already paying more. What then is the effective solution for solving this access to water problem? Should the private companies do it or should the responsibility remain with the state? What is the best way to do this? How can the water shortage problem be managed and what are the pros and cons to the issue of privatization? Privatization as an Effective Solution According to Michael Klein, Vice-President for Private Sector Development at the World Bank in Washington, the issue is not whether it is the private sector or the government that should serve as the entity to increase accessibility to water. The realization is that somebody has to pay for water and the real issue lies in who pays? Governments face the fiscal and political difficulty of raising consumer tariffs and providing subsidies. And if nobody pays at the end of the day, even the private sector will not want to invest. The solution then lies in solving the problem of user fees, on who bears the responsibility of paying for water, the government through subsidies or the consumers through service provided by the private companies. The challenges to this standpoint and the corresponding responses by Mr. Klein are the following: Are there any specific Third World countries that have benefited from privatization without corresponding large charges? Examples are Ivory Coast, Guinea, several cities in Colombia, Argentina, two cities in Bolivia and the Philippines (Manila). In the 90’s, the average increase was about 30% of the cost of water systems and in countries where the government provided subsidies like Manila and Buenos Aires, the price levels remained low. But whether public or private, the prices really rise over time. How can it be assured that the cost of water especially in Third World countries will be affordable? Focus should not on those who have access already but to providing access to those who do not have good modern water systems because they are the ones who pay more (by drilling wells, paying private water vendors, among others). Providing access to these people using better services will lower prices and make water more affordable to them. And both for those who have access already and those who really cannot afford to pay, focus should be given to the subsidies to be given by government. The issues here are how much subsidy is available and what kind of subsidy system should be used, and further assuring that these subsidies really go to the poor. How about cases like Tanzania where government has privatized water but entered it into an agreement with the World Bank? In most cases, privatizations are not full privatizations, it is still the state that bears the investment and the private sector just enters into a management contract with the state. It will only work if the private sector has the technical and management capability. Since experience shows the lack of interest of international private firms to invest in the least developed countries, should not the focus be on World Bank supporting public utilities to improve their services instead? That is why the real issue is not public versus private but who pays at the end of the day. In many concession agreements and privatization arrangements where subsidies are given and incentives given to private companies, services expanded. Examples are Bolivia (La Paz), Philippines (Manila), Buenos Aires. The involvement of domestic water companies may also help in expanding water access in remote areas. How can corruption in privatization be avoided? It is commonly known that there is corruption in the public sector that in private companies especially in equipment supply. Privatization does not mean corruption will disappear, it only means that there will be better services. The Case Against Privatization From the Anti-Privatization Forum in Johannesburg, Trevor Ngwane asserts that water is a basic need and as such it is the government that is mandated to ensure it provides all basic needs and services which is in the public interest. If it is the private sector that will do this, profit will become the objective. The clash is between need and profit and in the case of water, the priority is the need which every government should provide the means for. The challenges to this standpoint and the corresponding responses by Mr. Ngwane are the following: Are there any specific Third World countries that have benefited from privatization without corresponding large charges? As to the examples of success cases, they are not really successes and the example that can be given is Cochacamba in Bolivia where privatization caused the loss of access to water, which led to a civil war. In South Africa, even the moves to privatize already brings social conflict, dissatisfied trade unions, more people losing access to water, the outbreak of a waterborne disease cholera, which eventually meant loss of peoples’ lives. People need to realize that water cannot be provided for free. What then is the concrete plan to help government do this? Is the solution in the form of taxation, from payments of consumers, fro m subsidies from other consumers, etc.? In South Africa, the proposal is based on the premise that water is every citizen’s right. The recommendation is cross-subsidization, where high volume users like companies and industries subsidize low volume users like end users and the poor. The pricing system recommended is the block tariff system where the more water you use the higher charges you pay. This will prevent wastage of water. How can corruption in privatization be avoided? How long will the poor wait to have water? Corruption is brought more by privatization with businesses needing to bribe politicians, etc. Instead of expanding or rolling out to remote areas as they should, private companies choose the most profitable areas to operate and these are not the poor areas. Reference http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/2004/01waterpriv.htm http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=317924 http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/11/01/water.shortage.reut/ http://eau.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/63

Ecosphere

This experiment tested the Earth and how the bio-geochemical cycles within it rely on each other. The worms relied on the ground for shelter and the plant for oxygen. The Ecosphere also evaluated limiting factors within an ecosystem because the bottle used was a small, contained environment. For example, one of the three worms had died because it got stuck between the plant and the side of the bottle. This is a limiting factor in terms of space: if there was more space for the worm this would not have happened. Question: If one producer and one consumer are to maintain a viable ecosystem in a bottle, how long will they survive? Hypothesis: I believe the outcome of the experiment will be that all of the worms will survive and the plant will not. The worms will survive because I will be feeding them sawdust, their desired food, and they will have plenty of dirt to wiggle around in. The plant, however, will not survive because the plant’s resources are limited. The soil put into the ecosphere is not going to be changed out, therefore the nutrients in it will diminish. Background Information: The EcoSphere is a display of a working ecological system. While it is beautiful to view, it also demonstrates the delicate balance of a closed ecosystem like the Earth. Contained within the completely sealed glass is a small variety of biota living in a filtered environment. The EcoSphere contains some of the same essential elements that are found on our planet. The Earth is represented by the soil at the bottom. Fire is the light, which streams in each day. Finally, life: the worms, plant and microbes that live in the EcoSphere. The EcoSphere's biological cycle represents a simple version of Earth's' own ecosystem. Light together with carbon dioxide in the water enables the plant to produce oxygen by photosynthesis. The worms breathe the oxygen in the ahir while nibbling on the sawdust which is fed to them and bacteria. The bacteria break down the animal waste into nutrients, which the plant utilizes. The worms and bacteria also give off carbon dioxide, which the plant again use to produce oxygen. And so the cycle renews itself. Materials: – one 1 liter coke bottle with cap – one plant (bought from pet store) – 3 Super Worms – 2 cups of soil – water – sunlight – sawdust (food) – scissors – duct tape – notebook to record data Procedure: All the materials were collected. Then, a scissor was used to cut a half moon shaped opening in the top of the bottle, approximately 1 inch below the cap. Next, half the soil was pored into the opening. Then the plant was placed into the soil, while poring the other half over the bottom of the plant to ensure proper growth. After, 3 super worms were put into the Ecosphere with some sawdust. The EcoSphere was taped shut and placed on a windowsill with good sunlight exposure. Data was recorded at that moment and everyday, for 20 days, following. Analysis: My hypothesis was very incorrect. Two superworms ended up surviving, while the plant was wilting and struggling. One superworm died due to it getting stuck. Unable to get out, I assume it died of starvation or hypothermia because the worms spent all of their time under the soil. I believe the plant wilted because it did not have enough space and oxygen inside of the EcoSphere. During the experiment, I believe the EcoSphere was knocked off the window. This could have hindered the plant’s growth also. The plant could have been up-rooted during the fall causing its deterioration. Conclusion: In conclusion, the EcoSphere project is important to our curriculum because it evaluates the bio-geochemical cycles, as well as tests limiting factors. An error made with this experiment was it being knocked over. This was very detrimental to the worms and could have been fatal for the plant.