Sunday, March 22, 2020

Examine the presentation of the relationship between Keith and Stephen in Spies Essay Example

Examine the presentation of the relationship between Keith and Stephen in Spies Paper The relationship between Keith and Stephen is one of the central parts of the book and provides much of the dynamism. Keith and Stephen are best friends and when Keith tells him that his mother is a German Spy the two of them embark on a mission to uncover her secrets. As the story progresses we see both of the characters develop and with this their relationship with each other.At the start of the book Frayn portrays a relatively harmless and normal relationship. As they follow Mrs Hayward, the German spy, around it seems to be a childlike fantasy. The possibility of Keiths mother actually being a spy is fairly unbelievable and there is little suggestion of the secret that is later uncovered. Great plans for underground railways and overhead cableways are described but there is the admission that these plans of Keiths have not been put into effect. On page 50 Frayn presents them as a comic duo as they try and figure out the elusive x. The reader can plainly work out that the x, which is happening each month, is Mrs Haywards period. Frayn is clearly presenting the naivety of the two children to humorous effect. Stephen tries to suggest an explanation for the mysterious x but as he tries in vain he realises,Hes somehow ahead of me again, and simply biding his time to tantalise me.Keith is clearly dominant over Stephen but this is not an unusual arrangement. Stephen explains his status in the relationship in the boyhood terms of,He was the officer corps of our two man army. I was the Other Ranks and grateful to be soStephen is not bitter about the inferiority of his role because it seems natural to him. At some parts of the book Stephen even seems to think of himself as part of Keith. He talks about them as if they are a single entity: we say nothing; we mustnt let her know that we know. This is similar to deadkidsongs by Toby Litt in which, at the start of the book, the gang of boys is portrayed as one single entity which slowly breaks apart as the book progress es. Stefan admits that Keith was one of a long line of dominant figures in his life and so he seems to be a naturally subservient character. In contrast Keiths position as leader seems entirely natural because of his intellectual and imaginative superiority and social background.To understand the nature of their relationship it is important to understand the social contrasts between them. Keiths family is seen as the paragon of what every family should be. In contrast Stephens family is decidedly unsatisfactory. A similar situation exists in L.P Hartleys The Go-Between where Marcuss family is a lot richer than Leos and this creates a feeling of inferiority in Leo. A lot more is said about Keiths parents than is ever said about his own. Keiths dad punishes him and, as absurd as this may seem to the reader, Stephen sees this as the right thing for a father to do. Stephen idolises the well groomed Mrs Hayward whom his own mother, in her faded apron cannot compete with. Stephen feels an admiring jealousy at Keiths luck for having,A father in the Secret Service and a mother whos a German SpyWhereas Stephen doesnt even have one parent of any interest. Unlike the terrible connectedness of his own semidetached house Keiths house stands on its own. Stephen describes, in great detail, the ethereal qualities of Keiths house. The smell in Keiths toy room is a rightful scent; everything in Keiths house seems right. Stephens own house has scuffed armchairs and a boring savannah of a garden. They attend separate schools and wear different uniforms, Stephen remarks that they are colour coded for ease of reference. Stephen acutely feels the social divide between the two families and feels a sense of good fortune in being associated with such a family of heroic proportions. Biblical allusions are present in many of Stephens messianic descriptions of Keith, he says,In each case he uttered the word and the words became soOwing to their relationship Stephen is pushed into doing th ings he would not necessarily do. Stephen is a weak boy and is highly dependant on Keith and this is exploited by Keith. Keith seems to be the main protagonist; he tells Stephen about his mother, he makes them look in her diary and he chooses to follow her. When they go to her study Stephen voices his reservations that her journal is private but Keith has no qualms about such matters and ignores his friends comment. Stephen does not have the strength to assert any control over Keith and thus he complies with Keiths wishes. Stephen finds it hard to articulate himself and thus Keith provides what Stephen lacks. Keith seems to have somewhat of a moral deficit and thus his and Stephens relationship is a dangerous one because Stephen is easily led. He is constantly making Stephen feel inferior whether it is verbally or by a disdainful silence. Keith castigates Stephen when he discovers that he hid his face in fear of the mysterious man. Even before Keith calls him a baby Stephen anticipa tes his reaction and feel ashamed. Keiths hypocrisy is revealed later on when he hides his face in fear. Stephen has internalised Keiths view of him and a lot of what he does out of shame. He goes out at night to make one heroic deed which will cause all his weaknesses and errors to be wiped away. A similar relationship exists in Litts deadkidsongs; Andrews psychopathic agenda draws the rest of gang into criminal activities. The full potency of Keith and Stephens relationship is revealed when they attack the tramp. Stephen seems to morph in Keith and shows a sadistic pleasure in scaring the tramp,I cant wait to see the comical terror on the old mans faceStephen is mimicking Keiths attitude. The bullied has transformed into the bully. Stephen relishes the chance to assert authority upon what he perceives to be a lesser being. We can trace the origins of this conduct back up the chain of authority to Keiths father.Despite Stephens worshipping of the Haywards there is already a rift be tween his perception and the readers. He never mentions that Keiths dad is retired and that this is the reason for him always being at home. He seems to admire the fact that Mr Hayward canes Keith and criticises his father for not doing this seems absurd to the reader. Stephens perception of what is right has no real logical basis and this is revealed by phrases like,Greens the right colour for a bicycle, just as its the wrong one for a belt or a busThe reader cant help but feel sorry for Mr Wheatley who went away for a year but nobody really noticed. The extent of Stephens warped perceptions is gradually revealed throughout the book. Even relatively near the beginning Stephens belief in Keiths intellectual superiority is called into question when Keith misspells privet and secrit. Barbara Berril tells Stephen that, no-one likes him except you and refers to him as stuck-up and horrible. Gradually the image Stephen provides us of a hero is eroded to expose Keith as being just a dama ged little boy. Keiths cruelty culminates in his attack on Stephen. Keith attacks him with his own bayonet in an imitation of his fathers violence.Keith attacks Stephen because he thinks that Stephen has broken their oath. There is a very ritualistic element to their friendship which Keith takes very seriously. At the beginning Keith makes Stephen swear on the bayonet never to reveal anything and, foreshadowing Keiths attack, Keith makes him say,So cut my throat and hope to dieThis oath is another way in which Keith asserts his control over the malleable Stephen. Like many other things in the book this seemed to be just a childish game but it has dark consequences. When he thinks Stephen has broken this oath Keith feels himself losing control and cuts Stephens throat with the bayonet. Stephen realises by now that part of the reason for Keiths actions are what is happening in his house, he says,the crime hes punishing in me is not mine at all, but one thats being committed in his own house.Keith might be perceived as a lonely and abused boy exerting dominance over Stephen as some form of self validation. From the start links are drawn between Keith and his father and as the true extent of his fathers cruelty is realised so is Keiths. Keith goes from merely imitating his fathers half lidded stair and adopting affectations like old bean to outright violence. Keith makes no attempt to stand up for himself and says,My heart shrivels at the sound of his fathers tone and his fathers phrase, at my own hopelessnessThe relationship between these two young boys is the stimulus of the plot. Keith and Stephen both begin a game but find themselves flung into the dangerous adult world. Together they cross the frontier into another country altogether. At the end it seems to be Stephen who comes out of the ordeal the worse. The inferiority Stephen feels at the expense of Keith is what motivates him to uncover the secret. Frayn uses the relationship to present how appearances c an be deceiving. At the start Frayn presents us a seemingly innocent and typical relationship. They are two boys wrapped up in their own fantasy world of German spies and conspiracy. However, the relationship transmutes and as the book progresses it becomes increasingly more dangerous.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

To find out how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in elodea Essays

To find out how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in elodea Essays To find out how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in elodea Essay To find out how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in elodea Essay Essay Topic: Synthesis The aim of my experiment is to find out how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in elodea (pondweed). To do this I will place the light intensity to various distances and observe the amount of oxygen bubble given off from the reactionPrediction:I predict that as the light intensity changes the rate of photosynthesis will increases of decreases dependent on the amount of light intensity. This will be observed by counting the amount of oxygen bubble given off from the reaction. The oxygen bubbles are given off as a waste product of the plant.Hypothesis:I hypothesised that if the light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis will also increase until a certain level is reached. After, the rate of reaction will than fall down, ultimately increase in light intensity will no longer affect the rate of reaction. This is because other factors effecting rate of reaction will be limited for example: carbon dioxide and temperature.Preliminary workTo check if the range that I chose for my experiment were correct I carried out a preliminary investigation in which I counted the amount of oxygen bubble given off from the reaction at several distances in a given time. To adjust different light intensity I used a lamp at various distances from the reaction of the pondweed. I used the meter ruler to measure the various distances from the plant.Table of result (preliminary work)amount of sodium carbonate (g)Amount of water(HCl)(ml)Amount of pondweed(g)Time(min)Distance of length from the lamp (cm)Number of oxygen bubble given off1st reading2nd reading3rd readingAverage313501.1210121121125122313501.122067526160313501.123019182320313501.124015182118313501.12506565From my opinion I think this experiment was accurate enough to be the foundation for my main experiment because it gave me a good set of results which were reliable since it met my prediction and hypothesis which was, as the light intensity increases the rate of reaction also in creases so the closer the lamp to the reaction the more oxygen bubble were given off. The preliminary experiment also helped me to check if the range of 10, 20,30,40,50 were good enough to give me a good set result which I can draw a graph too. The graph for this result was accurate because it gave me a good best fit curve I think it was simple and efficient way of obtaining an idea of the trends for the graphVariablesIndependent variableDependent variableControl variable* The distance from the through this is to make sure that the light intensity varies, so that we obtain an adequate range of result. To make it reliable I used measurement meter ruler to measure the distance* Number of oxygen bubble given off this is a result of the reaction pondweed takes in carbon dioxide (from the sodium hydrogen chloride) and Water to produce oxygen, this is noticed by the volume of oxygen produced in a minute, and there for finding the rate of photosynthesis* The amount of pondweed is kept t he same because the increase in pondweed the higher the rate of photosynthesis, so keep it constant I used the same pondweed through out the experiment.* Water this is also required in the reaction of photosynthesis and it is important that it is kept constant thought out the experiment because water can also effect the rate of photosynthesis, how ever in a water plant like a pondweed, as long as the plant is fully submerged in water all the time there is no a problem of keeping the water constant.* Sodium hydrogen carbonate kept constant to keep the carbon dioxide even as it varies in photosynthesis, so I would make sure that fixed amount of sodium hydrogen carbonate is in the water and also that it is sufficient for the whole experiment to take place so it doesnt become a limiting factor during the experiment.* Temperature temperature also effects the rate of photosynthesis temperature will increase the rate of photosynthesis, until a point at which the enzymes denature, so it is important to keep the temperature constant so I have chosen to keep the temperature at the room temperature, to make it stays steady I am going to put the thermometer in to the water and check it frequently to make sure it stays to room temperature, some time the light given off from the lamp also increases the temperature so I am going to use a screen in front of the lamp to prevent the heat from the light so it is fair.* Light wavelength this can simply be controlled by keeping the same lamp to the same amount of light given of through the whole experiment.Apparatus used:* Pond weed of the experiment* Lamp for the light* Thermometer check the temperature* Water -* Funnel to keep the pondweed in the same place* Screen to allow light and prevent heat* Trough -* Boiling tube* Spatula* Stop watch* Mass balance* Sodium hydrogen carbonate* Meter rulerDrawing of how the apparatus was assembled:Method:1. I Collected all the equipment that were needed2. Then filled the sink with w ater.3. Later on, I then filled the trough with water.4. I than set the pondweed in the funnel5. And covered the top of the funnel with boiling tube so the oxygen in the air would not affect my experiment.6. I added a small amount of Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate (3g) to the water, which was under the funnel using a spatula.7. I than placed the lamp at the first distance (10cm); lamp was switched off.8. I placed a thermometer in the water.9. Then I set/reset the stopwatch.10. I then switched on the lamp and started the stop watch at the sight of the fist bubble.11. I used the stopwatch to time for 2 minutes in order for me to calculate how many bubbles were being produced.12. I then switched off the lamp and took the reading down.13. And used the same method to get the reading for other distances.Fair test:* to make the experiment fair I maintain the control variable which were:* The amount of pondweed was kept the same through out the experiment.* Water kept constant thought out the ex periment.* Keep the temperature constant at the room temperature.* Use the same lamp through out the experiment* The experiment was done 3 times.* Stop watch was used to time the reaction* Same people counted the bubbles through out.* Have 2 people counting the bubbles to make it more fair.Safety:* Wear goggles through out the experiment.* Do not touch the lamp as it might be hot.* Do not touch electrical equipment with wet hands.* Do not look into the lamp while on as it might effect the eye.Range:* 10cm* 20cm* 30cm* 40cm* 50cmHow the collected data was made reliable:* I used a wide range of distances 5* Done the experiment 3 times so its reliable* Averaged out the 3 readingsTHE PROCESS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS:Photosynthesis is the chemical process change which happens in the leaves of green plants. It is the first step towards making food not just for plants, but ultimately for every animal on the planet as well. During this reaction, carbon dioxide and water are converted into glucose and oxygen. The reaction requires energy in the form of sunlight, and chlorophyll must also be present.The glucose produced in the photosynthesis reaction can be converted to sucrose and carried to other parts of the plant in phloem vessels. Glucose can also be converted into starch and stored (the starch can later be turned back into glucose and used in respiration). Oxygen is a waste product of photosynthesis.Photosynthesis takes place primarily in plant leaves, and little to none occurs in stems, etc. The parts of a typical leaf include the upper and lower epidermis, the Mesophyll, the vascular bundle(s) (veins), and the stomatas. The upper and lower epidermal cells do not have chloroplasts, thus photosynthesis does not occur there. They serve primarily as protection for the rest of the leaf. The stomatas are holes which occur primarily in the lower epidermis and are for air exchange: they let CO2 in and O2 out. The vascular bundles or veins in a leaf are part of the plants tran sportation system, moving water and nutrients around the plant as needed. The Mesophyll cells have chloroplasts and this is where photosynthesis occurs.There are two kinds of Mesophyll cells palisade Mesophyll and spongy Mesophyll. The Mesophyll cells contain tiny bodies called chloroplasts which contain green chemical called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll enables the light energy from sunlight to be converted into chemical energy for the photosynthesis reaction.Conditions needed for photosynthesisPhotosynthesis needs:* chlorophyll* carbon dioxide (from the air)* water (from the soil)* sunlight energy (any light will do except green light)Photosynthesis produces:* glucose* oxygen (a waste product)Chlorophyll and light energy both need to be present for photosynthesis to take place, but they are not actually part of the reaction they are not used up.Word equation for photosynthesis:Symbol equation for photosynthesis:FACTORS AFFECTING PHOTOSYNTHESIS:Factors which affect the rate of photos ynthesis include, light intensity, temperature and carbon dioxide concentration. Each factor affects a different rate-limiting step.How Light Intensity affects photosynthesis:As light intensity increases, the photosynthetic rate increases until a point is reached where the rate begins to level off. At low light intensity, photosynthesis occurs slowly because only a small quantity of ATP and NADPH is created by the light dependent reactions. As light intensity increases, more ATP and NADPH are created, thus increasing the photosynthetic rate. At high light intensity, photosynthetic rate levels out, not due to light intensity but due to other limiting factors, including competition between oxygen and carbon dioxide for the active site.How Carbon dioxide affects photosynthesis:As carbon dioxide concentration increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases. At high concentrations, the rate of photosynthesis begins to level out due to factors not related to carbon dioxide concentration. One reason might be that some of the enzymes of photosynthesis are working at their maximum rate. In general, carbon dioxide is found in low concentration in the atmosphere, and so atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may be a major limiting factor on photosynthesis when at low levels.How Temperature Affects Photosynthetic Rate:As temperature increases above freezing, the rate of photosynthesis increases. This occurs because molecules are moving more quickly and there is a greater chance of a collision resulting in a chemical reaction. At some point, a temperature is reached that is an optimum temperature. The photosynthetic reaction rate is at its quickest rate at this point. Above that temperature, the enzymes begin to denature, slowing the rate of photosynthesis until a temperature is reached where photosynthesis does not occur at all.Photosynthesis and respirationTo unlock the energy in the carbohydrate produced in photosynthesis, green plants need to respire, just as animals do. R espiration takes place in the plants cells, using oxygen to produce energy and giving off carbon dioxide as a waste product. So in terms of the gas taken in and the gas given out, respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis.The result is that during the day when the plant is both respiring and photosynthesising there is a two-way traffic of oxygen and carbon dioxide both into and out of the plant. During the night when the plant is respiring but not photosynthesising, oxygen is being taken in but not given out and carbon dioxide is being given out but not taken in.Plants use up more carbon dioxide in photosynthesis than they produce in respiration, and produce more oxygen while photosynthesising than they use up while respiring.Table of result (final)amount of sodium hydrogen carbonate (g)Amount of water(ml)Amount of pondweed(g)Time(min)Distance from the lamp (cm)Number of oxygen bubble given off1st reading2nd reading3rd readingAverage313501.1210119121128122313501.122062546360313 501.123017182119313501.124014161715313501.12505465AnalysisFrom my graph I found out that the rate of photosynthesis decreased as the light intensity decreased. This is because photosynthesis is a reaction, which needs light energy to work, so as the amount of energy from the light intensity decreased so did the amount of photosynthesis thus less oxygen bubbles were given off.In addition, I saw that there is a pattern on my graph which was, as the distance of lamp is decreased the number of bubbles increases. As I expected in my hypothesis; that if the light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis will also increase so if the lamp is moved near the trough there will be more oxygen bubbles given off since the light intensity is increased.From these results I am able to conclude that as the light intensity increases more water molecules are split by photolysis which means more oxygen bubbles would be produced this shows that the rate of photosynthesis has also increased.However my result doesnt show a definite conclusion because there are were other factors that were affecting the rate of photosynthesis such as carbon dioxide and the temperature which as a result produced an anomalous point on the graph.Overall, my graphs and results support my prediction fully. My idea that the rate of photosynthesis would increase with light intensity was comprehensively backed up by my results.EvaluationIn my opinion I think that this experiment was quite successful overall, since I followed the way I did my preliminary experiment as it was accurate enough to be the base of my final experiment. The method that I used was accurate enough to give me a reliable data however there were some error which affected my results such as the heat generated by the lamp. As I have earlier described, temperature has a very noticeable effect on the rate of photosynthesis, to stop this I used the screen in front of the lamp so the heat does affect the process of photosynthesis yet beca use the screen was quite small the heat escaped and affected the reaction. Another error was counting the bubbles; because I counted the bubbles visually I think it made the experiment unreliable therefore to make my experiment reliable and fair next time I would use a gas syringe to measure the volume of oxygen given out from the process of photosynthesis.I think that the result that I found was reliable overall because on my graph there was only one anomalous point which didnt fit the curve of best-fit this might have been because of one of the reasons from the errors which I mentioned earlier in the evaluation might have affected the result at that pointOverall, I felt that due to the small volumes of oxygen involved, my experiment was not as accurate as it could have been, however I believe the result that I got from this experiment was accurate enough to support and justify my hypotheses and prediction.