Biography of Túpac Amaru, the Last of the Incan Lords

Biography of Tà ºpac Amaru, the Last of the Incan Lords Tà ºpac Amaru (1545–September 24, 1572) was the last of the indigenous rulers of the Inca. He ruled during the time of the Spanish occupation and was executed by the Spanish after the final defeat of the Neo-Inca state. Fast Facts: Tà ºpac Amaru Known For: The last indigenous ruler of the IncaAlso Known As: Tà ºpac Amaru,  Topa Amaru,  Thupa Amaro,  Tupaq Amaru, Thupaq AmaruBorn: 1545 (exact date unknown) in or near CuscoParents: Manco Capac (father); mother unknownDied: September 24, 1572  in CuscoSpouse: UnknownChildren: One sonNotable Quote: Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yawarniy hichascancuta. (Pacha Kamaq, witness how my enemies shed my blood. Early Life Tupac Amaru, a member of the Incan royal family, grew up in the Incan convent Vilcabamba, the religious university of the Incas. As a young adult, he was against the Spanish occupation and rejected Christianity. Indigenous Incan leaders supported him because of that. Background When the Spanish arrived in the Andes in the early 1530s, they found the wealthy Inca Empire in turmoil. Feuding brothers Atahualpa and Huscar ruled over two halves of the mighty Empire. Huscar was killed by Atahuallpa’s agents and Atahualpa himself was captured and executed by the Spanish, effectively ending the time of the Inca. A brother of Atahualpa and Huscar, Manco Inca Yupanqui, managed to escape with some loyal followers and established himself head of a small kingdom, first at Ollantaytambo and later in Vilcabamba. Manco Inca Yupanqui was assassinated by Spanish deserters in 1544. His 5-year-old son Sayri Tà ºpac took over and ruled his small kingdom with the help of regents. The Spanish sent ambassadors and relations between the Spanish in Cusco and the Inca at Vilcabamba warmed. In 1560, Sayri Tà ºpac was eventually persuaded to come to Cusco, renounce his throne, and accept baptism. In exchange, he was given vast lands and a profitable marriage. He died suddenly in 1561, and his half-brother Titu Cusi Yupanqui became the leader of Vilcabamba. Titu Cusi was more cautious than his half-brother had been. He fortified Vilcabamba and refused to come to Cusco for any reason, although he did allow ambassadors to stay. In 1568, however, he finally relented, accepting baptism and, in theory, turning over his kingdom to the Spanish, although he consistently delayed any visit to Cusco. Spanish Viceroy Francisco de Toledo repeatedly attempted to buy off Titu Cusi with presents such as fine cloth and wine. In 1571, Titu Cusi became ill. Most of the Spanish diplomats were not in Vilcabamba at the time, leaving only Friar Diego Ortiz and translator Pedro Pando. Tà ºpac Amaru Ascends the Throne The Inca lords in Vilcabamba asked Friar Ortiz to ask his God to save Titu Cusi. When Titu Cusi died, they held the friar accountable and killed him by tying a rope through his lower jaw and dragging him through town. Pedro Pando was also killed. Next in line was Tà ºpac Amaru, Titu Cusi’s brother, who had been living in semi-seclusion in a temple. About the time Tà ºpac Amaru was made leader, a Spanish diplomat returning to Vilcabamba from Cusco was killed. Although it is unlikely that Tà ºpac Amaru had anything to do with it, he was blamed and the Spanish prepared for war. War with the Spanish Tà ºpac Amaru had only been in charge for a few weeks when the Spanish arrived, led by 23-year-old Martà ­n Garcà ­a Oà ±ez de Loyola, a promising officer of noble blood who would later become governor of Chile. After a couple of skirmishes, the Spanish managed to capture Tà ºpac Amaru and his top generals. They relocated all the men and women who had been living in Vilcabamba and brought Tà ºpac Amaru and the generals back to Cusco. Dates of birth for Tà ºpac Amaru are vague, but he was approximately in his late 20s at the time. They were all sentenced to die for insurrection: the generals by hanging and Tà ºpac Amaru by beheading. Death The generals were thrown in prison and tortured, and Tà ºpac Amaru was sequestered and given intense religious training for several days. He eventually converted and accepted baptism. Some of the generals had been tortured so badly that they died before making it to the gallows- although their bodies were hung anyway. Tà ºpac Amaru was led through the city escorted by 400 Caà ±ari warriors, traditional bitter enemies of the Inca. Several important priests, including the influential Bishop Agustà ­n de la Coruà ±a, pleaded for his life, but Viceroy Francisco de Toledo ordered the sentence to be carried out. The heads of Tà ºpac Amaru and his generals were put on pikes and left at the scaffold. Before long, the locals- many of whom still considered the Inca ruling family to be divine- started worshiping the head of Tà ºpac Amaru, leaving offerings and small sacrifices. When notified of this, Viceroy Toledo ordered the head to be buried with the rest of the body. With the death of Tà ºpac Amaru and the destruction of the last Inca kingdom in Vilcabamba, Spanish domination of the region was complete. Historic Context Tà ºpac Amaru never really had a chance; he came into power at a time when events had already conspired against him. The deaths of the Spanish priest, interpreter, and ambassador were not of his doing, as they took place before he was made the leader of Vilcabamba. As a result of these tragedies, he was forced to fight a war he may not have even wanted. In addition, Viceroy Toledo had already decided to stamp out the last Inca holdout at Vilcabamba. The legality of the conquest of the Inca was being seriously questioned by reformers (primarily in the religious orders) in Spain and in the New World, and Toledo knew that without a ruling family to which the Empire could be returned, questioning the legality of the conquest was moot. Although Viceroy Toledo was reprimanded by the crown for the execution, he did the king a favor by removing the last legitimate legal threat to Spanish rule in the Andes. Legacy Today Tà ºpac Amaru stands as a symbol for the indigenous people of Peru of the horrors of the conquest and Spanish colonial rule. He is considered the first indigenous leader to seriously rebel against the Spanish in an organized way and, as such, he has become the inspiration for many guerrilla groups over the centuries. In 1780, his great-grandson Josà © Gabriel Condorcanqui adopted the name Tà ºpac Amaru and launched a short-lived but serious rebellion against the Spanish in Peru. The Peruvian communist rebel group Movimiento Revolucionario Tà ºpac Amaru (â€Å"Tà ºpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement†) took their name from him, as did the Uruguayan Marxist rebel group the Tupamaros. Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971–1996) was an American rapper who was named after Tà ºpac Amaru II. Sources De Gamboa, Pedro Sarmiento, History of the Incas. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1999. (written in Peru in 1572)MacQuarrie, Kim.  The Last Days of the Incas, Simon Schuster, 2007.

How to Ace Your AP Chemistry Labs

How to Ace Your AP Chemistry Labs SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Labs play a significant role in AP Chemistry, and knowledge of experimental procedures is critical for the final exam. If you're an AP Chemistry student (or are considering becoming one), this guide will help you understand what to expect from the lab components of the course. I'll provide an overview of the types of AP Chemistry labs you'll see, the amount of time you'll spend on them, and what a real lab procedure looks like. You'll also learn how lab reports are structured and what you can do during the lab to ensure that you're getting the most out of your experience! What Are the Lab Requirements for AP Chemistry? Twenty-five percent of class time in AP Chemistry is devoted to labs, so they’re a big part of the course.The College Board even says in the course description that increased lab time is correlated with higher AP scores!You will be expected to conduct at least sixteen hands-on lab experiments throughout the year, and at least six of those sixteen must be "guided inquiry" labs. The College Board emphasizes an inquiry-based approach in the most up to date curriculum guidelines for AP Chemistry.This means that you’ll be asked to work independently at times. The teacher will provide a prompt or question, but you'll design the rest of the lab.This gives you the opportunity to conduct valid experiments that test your hypotheses without a teacher holding your hand the whole way. This approach is geared towards helping students develop scientific skill sets that they will use later in life when there isn't a teacher around to give them the answers. In guided inquiry labs, you will be expected to: Come up with a scientific question Decide which variables you will investigate Design and conduct experimental procedures Collect, analyze, interpret, and display data Present conclusions appropriately The other (up to) ten labs in the course may be traditional teacher-directed labs, but they will still support the learning objectives of the course. A full list of AP Chemistry learning objectives divided by the main themes or â€Å"Big Ideas†can be found on page 107 of the course guidelines.The goal for each lab is to incorporate as many of these objectives as possible so that students get the most out of their time. Each lab will serve a purpose in helping you grasp essential concepts in AP Chemistry. Which AP Chemistry Labs Will You Actually Have to Do? The AP Chemistry lab curriculum offers a fair amount of flexibility.The College Board provides a lab manual to teachers that includes 16 guided inquiry labs. Teachers can then choose at least six of those labs to conduct in class.The other ten or more labs in the course may be teacher-directed (traditional, step-by-step labs where all students follow one exact procedure). Examples of lab topics you might explore in AP Chemistry include: Spectroscopy Determine the concentration of a solute in solution based on the color of the solution Gravimetric Analysis of a Precipitate Find the identity of an unknown compound using mass data Stoichiometry Determine the amount of dissolved particles present in solution Solubility Determine the amount of dissolved ions in solution Redox Titration Measure the amount of acid contained in a solution Reaction Rate Manipulating variables to see how they affect chemical reaction rates Energy Determine change in energy in various chemical reactions Equilibrium Maximizing yield in chemical reactions Weak Acid Titration Drawing conclusions about acid properties from a pH titration curve for a weak acid Buffers Explore how buffers are made and what determines their capacity to resist changes in pH Electrochemistry Using electrolysis to induce non-spontaneous chemical reactions Get ready to explore the fascinating and terrifying landscape of microscopic particles that make up our world. AP Chemistry Lab Example Here’s a more specific example of an AP Chemistry Lab.In this case, it was derived from the AP Chemistry Lab Manual, so it’s an inquiry-based lab. Lab Title: The Preparation and Testing of an Effective Buffer: How Do Components Influence a Buffer's pH and Capacity?† Experiment Overview: In this experiment, the pH of water and a number of other solutions will be measured, and then acids and bases will be added to see how the pH is affected. Several buffer solutions of different pH values will be prepared and tested for their ability to resist change in pH. This covers the following AP Chemistry learning objective (LO 6.18):The student can design a buffer solution with a target pH and buffer capacity by selecting an appropriate conjugate acid-base pair and estimating the concentration needed to achieve the desired capacity. Materials Needed: Hardware: Balance with 0.01-gram precision Four 100 mL beakers Three pipets Buret, ring stand, buret clamp Two 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks Two graduated cylinders, 25 mL and 100 mL pH meter Stirring rod Wash bottle and distilled water Chemical Solutions: 20 mL Acetic acid, 0.10 M 20 mL ammonia, 0.10 M 20 mL ammonium chloride, 0.10 M 5 mL HCl, 0.10 M 1 mL of 1 percent Phenolphthalein 20 mL sodium acetate, 0.10 M 40 mL sodium chloride, 0.10 M 5 mL sodium hydroxide, 0.10 M Unknown solid acid sample, 2.0 g Safety Precautions (an extremely important part of each lab, especially when you’re dealing with strong acids!): Wear chemical splash goggles, chemical resistant gloves, and a chemical resistant apron. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before leaving the laboratory. Procedure: Part 1: pH Changes in Non-buffered Solutions 1. Place 20 mL of distilled or deionized water in a 100 mL beaker. Test the pH using a pH meter. Record the pH.2. Using a pipet, add one drop of 0.10 M HCl, stir the solution and again test and record the pH.3. Repeat step 2 with a second and third drop of 0.10 M HCl.4. Repeat steps 1-3 with 20 mL of 0.10 M NaCl solution.5. Place 20 mL of distilled or deionized water in a 100 mL beaker. Test the pH using a pH meter. Record the pH.6. Using a pipet, add one drop of 0.10 M NaOH, stir the solution and again test the pH and record.7. Repeat step 6 with a second and third drop of 0.10 M NaOH.8. Repeat steps 5-7 with 20 mL of 0.10 M NaCl solution. Part 2: pH Changes in Buffered Solutions 9. To prepare a buffer, use 25 mL graduated cylinder to add 10 mL of 0.10 M HC2H3O2 and 10.0 mL of 0.10 M NaC2H3O2 to a 100 mL beaker.10. Measure the pH of the buffer solution and record.. Add 1 drop of 0.10 M HCl, stir, measure and record the pH.12. Repeat step for two additional drops of 0.10 M HCl.13. Prepare a fresh sample of the HC2H3O2 - C2H3O2- buffer as in step 9.14. Repeat steps and 12 by adding 0.10 M NaOH.15. Prepare a basic buffer by combining 10.0 mL of 0.10 M NH3 and 10.0 mL of 0.10 M NH4Cl in a 100 mL beaker.16. Repeat steps and 12 for this basic buffer solution.17. Repeat step 14 by preparing a fresh sample of the basic buffer and testing it with a dropwise addition of three drops of 0.10 M NaOH. Part 3: Preparation of Buffer of a Given pH 18. Weigh out 1.8 to 2.0 g of a solid acid assigned to you.19. Dissolve the acid in 150 mL of distilled water in a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask (flask 1).20. Pour 75 mL of this solution into a second 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask (flask 2), add 2 drops of phenolphthalein solution, and titrate to the phenolphthalein color change with 0.20 M NaOH. Record the volume of titrant. You now have a solution of a weak acid in flask 1, and a solution of the sodium salt of the weak acid (its conjugate base) in the second flask 2. Make the concentrations of the two solutions the same by adding the same volume of distilled water to the acid flask 1 as the volume of NaOH you used to titrate the solution in flask 2.21. Combine 10.0 mL of your weak acid solution in flask 1 with 10.0 mL of the conjugate base solution in flask 2, mix, and measure the pH and record. This is the pKa of the acid.22. Your teacher will assign you the pH of a buffer to prepare. Calculate the volume of weak acid and conjugate base that you will need to prepare 50 mL of a buffer of the assigned pH. 23. Measure out the volumes of acid and conjugate base, mix then measure and record the pH.24.Test your buffer solution to see if it resists changes in pH by measuring 20.0 mL of the and adding 3 drops of 0.10 M HCl, and repeating with 20.0 mL of buffer and 3 drops of NaOH. Record the pH values after each addition. Conclusion Questions: 1. Discuss how the addition of acid and base to distilled water affected its pH.2. Discuss how the addition of acid and base to 0.10 M NaCl solution affected its pH.3. Discuss how the addition of acid and base to the acetic acid-acetate ion buffer affected the pH.4. Discuss how the addition of acid and base to the ammonia-ammonium ion buffer affected the pH.5. Did your prepared buffer match your assigned pH value? Explain.6. Comment on the ability of your prepared buffer to resist the change of pH when acid and base were added in the last step of the investigation. Notice that this lab ultimately requires independent problem-solving skills on the part of the student.You must create your own buffer solution of a certain pH and then test it to see if it’s effective.While the procedure is clearly laid out, it won’t be exactly the same for each person.You could come up with more than one way to make the final buffer solution for any given pH, so the lab is flexible depending on how you think about the problem.This type of lab encourages you to use knowledge of chemistry to solve a problem creatively. All the pieces of the puzzle are there for guided inquiry labs, but you're responsible for putting them together! You'd better hope it's not one of those puzzles with a million blue sky pieces that all look the same. How Are Lab Reports Structured? Ah, lab reports, the not-so-fun part of playing with chemicals.Lab reports might seem daunting, but if you conduct the experiment properly and prepare some parts of your report beforehand, you should be fine. I took the lab guidelines below from a sample syllabus provided by the College Board.It lists ten essential components of an AP Chemistry lab report and shows when each should be completed (before, during, or after the lab is conducted). Your teacher may have slightly different expectations (sometimes you have to list the materials needed for the lab before the procedure, for example), and even those will change slightly depending on the nature of the lab.These are just the components of a standard chemistry lab report to give you an idea of what to expect! To Set Up Your Lab Report, You Will: 1. Write an accurate descriptive title for the lab (i.e. pH Titration Lab)2. Write the date of the lab3. Provide a purpose statement explaining the point of the lab4. Write an outline of the lab procedure (often this is in bullet-point form)5. Answer any pre-lab questions 6. Create data tables that you’ll fill in during the lab During the Lab You Will: 7. Record data from the experiment in a neat, well-organized fashion After the Lab You Will: 8. Show calculations and draw out any corresponding graphs (be sure to label everything correctly!)9. Write a conclusion about your findings (format may vary depending on the lab)10. Answer post-lab error analysis questions Note that you should always write these reports in the 3rd person (i.e. "the solution was titrated" rather than "I titrated the solution"). Lab reports are intended to be objective statements of the facts, so â€Å"I† or â€Å"We† statements will just make them seem less credible! Always use the third person in scientific writing. I mean, look at that dude. He clearly knows way more about chemistry than those other two schmucks. Tips for AP Chemistry Labs Here are some essential tips you should keep in mind during AP Chemistry labs. They'll save you from wasting your time in class and turning in a crappy lab report! Tip #1: Don’t Get Careless If you’re tired or just not feelin’ chemistry one day, the last thing you want to hear is that you’re expected to get out of your chair and do a lab.On those occasions, try to summon your remaining strength to get through the class.If you don’t do a lab correctly the first time, you’ll be in for a lot of trouble when you try to write your report. You know a movie is going to be bad if the director has to say â€Å"we’ll fix it in post-production.† Similarly, if you mess up during the actual experiment, don’t think â€Å"eh - I’ll just fix it in the lab report.† You should do things correctly so that you don’t get the wrong impression of how the lab was conducted and end up struggling on your next test (or handing in data that makes no sense).Redo everything the right way before moving forward! Tip #2: Record Everything Clearly (and Don’t Fudge the Data Later) The most critical part of each lab is data collection.It would be tough to forget to write down all of your data, but sometimes you can end up writing illegibly or organizing results in a way that won’t make sense to you later. Carefully lay out your data tables before starting the experiment so that you have a designated place to record results.Try to write clearly and neatly so there’s no chance of misunderstandings. If your data doesn’t fit with your hypothesis of how the lab was supposed to go, write it down anyways (as long as you don’t think you made any big mistakes in following the procedure).You’ll be able to discuss why your data was wonky in the conclusion section of the report.Don’t get in the habit of faking results - it makes the experiment pointless. Tip #3: Ask for Clarification if Necessary Your teacher is there to help you, so don’t be afraid to use him or her as a resource!If, at any point during the lab, you’re not sure whether you’re conducting the procedure correctly, you should check in with your teacher to verify.This will prevent the nightmare scenario of sitting down to write a lab report and realizing you essentially did a completely different lab and have no usable data. Everyone has the same nightmare when they follow the wrong lab procedure: You're walking through a gloomy forest when suddenly you sense that you're being watched. You hear a haunting whisper, "I tooooold you to use 20 ml of HClllll." You wake up in a cold sweat as you're about to be sacrificed over a Bunsen burner by a coven of AP Chemistry teachers. Conclusion AP Chemistry is a fairly lab-centric course, so you should be prepared to spend a lot of time doing hands-on experiments (at least 25 percent of the class!). The lab requirements are open to some interpretation, but, per the curriculum guidelines, courses must include at least 16 labs total, at least six of which are special "guided inquiry" labs. These are independently-conducted labs where students have greater agency over the procedure and outcome. When conducting labs, you should keep the following tips in mind: 1. Don't Get Careless2. Record Everything Clearly, and Don't Fudge the Data Later3. Ask Your Teacher for Clarification if Necessary Adhering to these tips will make the process of writing a lab report relatively painless later. If you conduct the experiment correctly and have solid data, the only part of the report that you'll need to worry about is the conclusion. The goal of all this lab work is to teach you to apply sound scientific practices across a variety of circumstances. Many questions on the final exam will ask you to analyze experimental scenarios based on your knowledge of lab procedure and chemical properties. In some cases, you might even recognize experiments from class! What's Next? If you're kind of nervous about taking AP Chemistry, take a look at my article analyzing the difficulty level of the course across five different metrics. Are you looking for a good review book? Check out my list of the best AP Chemistry review books available for students this year! Still working on planning out your schedule? Learn more about which science classes you should take in high school. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Analysis of a compelling project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Analysis of a compelling project - Essay Example While I agree with several of Lanier’s criticism’s of Technology, I nonetheless believe wholeheartedly that Technology is leading us forward and that it is revolutionizing communication in an ultimately positive manner. That said, Technology remains very unpredictable – as in the case of technological singularity – and often difficult to manage and direct once it has been released into the culture, particularly via the economy. Once the marketing cycle has taken up a piece of Technology, its future leaves the hands of the designer forever. Therefore, designers and technologists need to take our embryonic design steps very cautiously as we advance even farther into the realm of Technology. As Lanier explains: [Technology] can change how you conceive of yourself and the world. [Designers and technologists] tinker with your philosophy by direct manipulation of your cognitive experience, not indirectly, through argument. It takes only a tiny group of engineers to create technology that can shape the entire future of human experience with incredible speed. Therefore, crucial arguments about the human relationship with technology should take place between developers and users before such direct manipulations are designed (6). This supposition on the part of Lanier’s I agree with one hundred percent. ... Artificial Intelligence typically receives a negative treatment in the media, particularly in the cases of dystopian visions of a world once Technological Singularity has occurred. The standard plot line features hapless human beings at the mercy of or terrorized by malevolent Artificial Intelligence forms such as those found in I, Robot, Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and AI. The dystopian nightmare scenario of Technological Singularity received full treatment in the 2004 to 2009 sci-fi television series Battlestar Galatica, wherein a race of Artificial Intelligence life forms created by human beings and called the Cylons evolved to the point where they declared war on their human creators, exiled the human beings from their home planet, and hunted them mercilessly across multiple galaxies. While the dystopian, negative treatment of Technological Singularity may be the norm, it originates largely in fear and ignorance. I am not a technophobe, and I do not believe in the inhere nt dystopian view of Technology and Artificial Intelligence. I do however believe in mindful awareness of the power of technology to transform human society – for good or ill. In Lanier’s words, I understand that â€Å"Technology is not innocent, because its consequences are too direct† (Lanier 5). I found the topic of Week Four, You Are Not A Gadget: Technologies, Devices, Mediations to be the most appealing one and the lecture most aligned with my studies. The readings for this topic relate more with my interests in Design and Technology, and I believe that conducting research about this topic will benefit me in my future endeavors in the field of Design and Technology. Before coming to the