PIL210W7

Locate a recent example in the media of a scientific study involving the placebo effect.

• Identify and explain the placebo effect’s function in each step of the scientific method: observation, hypothesis, experimentation, verification.

• Describe how the placebo effect impacted the results of the study.

• State whether or not you were surprised by the results and why.

PIL210W8

Consider the elements of persuasive thinking with regard to your topic for your Critical Thinking paper.

• Identify the values and needs of your audience.

• Identify an appeal that you can make to your audience and explain why this might be an effective form of persuasion.

• Identify a type of fallacy that you need to be aware of and should strive to avoid in your persuasive argument.

“5 Steps of Persuasion.”  Please respond to the following:

• Explain how you will follow the five steps of persuasion in your Critical Thinking paper: 1) establishing credibility, 2) acknowledging the audience’s position, 3) constructing a rationale, 4) transplanting root elements, and 5) asking for a response.

From the following scenario:

Although everything was fine five minutes ago, a secretary cannot get her computer to send a document to the printer. The document must be printed for the meeting her boss has scheduled to begin in fifteen minutes.

• Identify the components in the problem.
• Explain from how you would get more information to solve the problem.
• Provide the best solution for solving the problem.
• Explain the reasons why you believe your solution would solve the problem.

BioW7 – 2 paragraphs needed

“Effective Evolution and Processes Affecting Evolution” Please respond to the following:

• The human appendix, a vestigal extension off the large intestine, is homologous to a structure called a caecum, generally larger than our appendix, and houses bacteria that aid in digesting cellulose, the main component of plants. Explain how the presence of the appendix might be used to show our common ancestry with other mammals, and determine what it might tell us about the dietary history of humans. Provide an example with your response.

BioW8- 2 paragraphs needed

“Evolution of Disease and Plant Evolution” Please respond to the following;

• Several algae blooms have been in the news recently. Use the Internet to find one (1) article about an algae bloom. Summarize the main points of the article you found. Explain how this article relates to this week’s lesson, and give three (3) examples with your response. (In your discussion, provide the URL for the article.)

BioW9- 2 paragraphs needed

“Evolution in Animals and Population of Humans” Please respond to the following:

• Humans belong to the genus Homo and chimpanzees to the genus Pan, yet studies of primate genes show that chimpanzees and humans are more closely related to one another than each is to any other animals. In light of this result, some researchers suggest that chimpanzees should be renamed as members of the genus Homo. Discuss at least three (3) practical, scientific, and / or ethical issues that might be raised by such a change in naming.

4 pages