Reading+Log+1

[[image:kittyangel.gif]]Wow! it was worth waiting ! 4.5pts
=**__Reading Log 1__**=

Read the following text and answer the following questions:

I. Pre-reading:

a. What do you know about the chaos theory?

Chaos theory is related with that the world have aspect chaotics, completlely unpredictable, depending on the circumstances. That is every little decision in the long term can cause a big change.

b. What do you think the text will be about?

The next text can be about chaos theory chaos, its causes, consequences, who investigated this theory and some important aspects.

c. Write a list of five words (minimum) that you think you can find in the text you will read.


 * Theory
 * Chaos
 * Unpredictable
 * Change
 * Science
 * Universe

Super
Now click on the following link, then check your previous responses. Once you finish, please answer the questions below the picture []

Image taken on Sept 11th, 2008 from: []

II. Reading:

1. Read the text and check if you can find any of the words you wrote in your list (the one you wrote in the pre-reading, letter c.)

All words appear in the text.

2. __Underline __ all the definitions you find in the text.

3. In the definitions: Mark the term being defined (term to be defined), the general class words (general class word) and the characteristics of the terms (characteristics).

4. Find the descriptions if any.

__Chaos Theory __ __(term to be defined) ____, theory ____(general class word) ____ describing the complex and unpredictable motion or dynamics of systems that are sensitive to their initial conditions ____(characteristics) ____<span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: aqua none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. __<span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Chaotic systems are mathematically deterministic—that is, they follow precise laws, but their irregular behavior can appear to be random to the casual observer. Chaotic behavior is common in systems as varied as electric circuits, measles outbreaks, lasers, clashing gears, heart rhythms, electrical brain activity, circadian rhythms, fluids, animal populations, and chemical reactions. It is suspected that even economic systems, such as the stock exchange, may be chaotic. <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">The field of chaos is evolving rapidly from a theoretical to an applied science. <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> The dynamic nature of the universe has led to a great deal of scientific research dedicated to analyzing change. Until recently, it was believed that if the dynamics of a system behaved unpredictably, it was due to random external influences. Therefore, scientists concluded that if random influences could be eliminated, then the behavior of all such deterministic systems could be predicted indefinitely. __It is now known that <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: aqua none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">many systems can exhibit long-term unpredictability even in the absence of random influences __ __<span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: aqua none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">(characteristics) ____<span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: aqua none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. ____<span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> Such <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: lime none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">systems ____<span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: lime none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">(general class word) __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> __<span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">are called <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">chaotic  ____<span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">(term to be defined) ____<span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. __<span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> Even very simple systems, such as a <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">pendulum <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">, exhibit chaos. <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">

Excellent !
<span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> The unpredictability of chaotic systems arises due to their sensitivity to their initial conditions, such as their initial position and velocity <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. Two identical chaotic systems set in motion with slightly different initial conditions can quickly exhibit motions that are quite different. French mathematician <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Henri Poincaré <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> concluded that he could not prove the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">solar system <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> to be completely predictable. He was the first to state the defining feature of what later became known as chaos: “It may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena. A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter. Prediction becomes impossible.…” <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> The ramifications of Poincaré's discovery were not fully appreciated by most scientists until computers allowed them to easily model and visualize chaotic systems. Before then, however, pioneering scientists and engineers at the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">National Aeronautics and Space Administration <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> used Poincaré's work to send people and satellites into orbit. Edward Lorenz, an American meteorologist, discovered in the early 1960s that <span style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">a simplified computer model of the weather demonstrated extreme sensitivity to the initial measured state of the weather (see <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Meteorology <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">). He demonstrated visually that there was structure in his chaotic weather model that, when plotted in three dimensions, fell onto a butterfly-shaped <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">fractal <span style="font-family: 'MS Reference Sans Serif','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">set of points of a type now known as a strange attractor. Lorenz rediscovered chaos and proved that long-range forecasting of the weather was impossible. <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">

5. Find what the following referents, underlined in the sentences below, refer to in the text. Be careful some items more contain more than one referent:

a. Chaos Theory, theory describing the complex and unpredictable motion or dynamics of systems __**that**__ are sensitive to **__their initial conditions__** Systems (that and their initial conditions too)

b. Until recently, it was believed that if the dynamics of a system behaved unpredictably, **__it__** was due to random external influences behaved unpredictably (it)

c. “It may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena. A small error in __**the former**__ will produce an enormous error in __ **the latter** __. Prediction becomes impossible.…” the initial conditions (the former) the final phenomena (the latter)

d. The ramifications of Poincaré's discovery were not fully appreciated by most scientists until computers allowed **__them__** to easily model and visualize chaotic systems. scientists (them)

e. He demonstrated visually that there was structure in his chaotic weather model __ **that** __, __**when plotted**__ ... structure (that) chaotic weather model (when plotted)

Super
6. What new aspects did you discover about the chaos theory?

I really do not know much about chaos theory. With the text I met who were important figures in the development of this theory as is the French mathematician Henri Poincaré that said the defining characteristic of what later became known as the chaos: "It may happen that small differences in initial conditions produce very great in final phenomena. A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter. Prediction becomes impossible. ... " and the meteorologist Edward Lorenz who discovered in around 1960 with his model of chaotic weather chaos rediscovered and demonstrated that the long-term prediction of time was impossible.

Good
7. Is the chaos theory related to real life aspects? Explain

Chaos theory is completely related to everyday life, in nature, with a scientist's experiments and many other cases. For example, when Peter wants to be police and chooses to be a teacher without doctrine, he can practice his profession but long-term the students can leave with a bad training and Peter with a sad life.