Anthropology

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Bias in science (and society):
Although many researchers are aware of measurement bias (e.g., measurement error), the bias to which I am referring is, in large part, an unconscious bias that stems from one’s own cultural systems. All people are influenced by their culture; it shapes their views and interpretations for every situation. Scientists, as people, are not immune to the effects of cultural influence when it comes to framing hypotheses or interpretation of data (i.e., what are legitimate questions, who should be the focus of the study, etc.).

For this exercise you will explore two examples of how unconscious bias influenced (and continues to influence) Anthropology.

Evaluate an example:
The class session for this forum will consist of partner/group discussion followed by full class discussion.

For the partner/group discussion, you need to choose one of the following articles to read, answer the questions listed below for that article before class, and be prepared to share with your partner/group. You also need to consider the two questions under the “Everyone” bullet point.
For the full class discussion, your group/partnership needs to be prepared to share the consensus answers to the questions with everyone.
Article choices (choose 1):
Primatology: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/18/science/new-view-of-female-primates-assails-stereotypes.html?pagewanted=all (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Piltdown man: http://www.livescience.com/56327-piltdown-man-hoax.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Questions:
Primatology:
In the mid-1980s there was a shift in how primate societies were understood. Summarize the information provided in the section “A Transformed Understanding” about the four areas of primate sex differences in behavior highlighted by the shift.
Do you think the bias referred to in the article is legitimate? Why or why not?
Piltdown:
The Piltdown skull was ‘discovered’ in 1912, and for 40 years it dominated the story of human evolution. According to the article, why was the Piltdown discovery such a ‘success’?
What do you think was the unconscious bias that influenced the persistence of this discovery? (consider our discussions about the history of evolutionary theory AND perceptions about what it means to be human)
Everyone:
Can you find/think of an example of potential bias from your field of study? Consider how research questions are framed and how they are funded.
Do you think this type of bias has an impact on science? Why or why not?
Think of at least two ways that scientists can work toward decreasing this type of bias in their research.
Written submission: (On Canvas, total word count 250-500)
Briefly summarize the article you choose to read for the forum.
Provide a summary of the discussion your group had about the example(s):
What type of bias(es) did your group decide were influencing the research/reception of research?
Did everyone agree on which (if any) bias(es) played a role in the examples you read? If not, what were the disagreements about?
Provide a summary of:
Examples that either your group or others in the class presented of potential bias in a different area of science (not biological anthropology).
Ways in which scientists can work toward decreasing this type of bias. If you feel that this type of bias is not important in science, tell me why you feel that way.

 
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FORUMS FOR HUMAN SEXUALITY HEALTH

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This is literally just a discussion. It has no word limit and is based off of opinion.  Answers will vary between 50 words or more but it doesn’t have to be a lot just get the point across. Each powerpoint is to help answer or you can google. 

Week 1 Forum

Discussion Question 1.1
Gender/Sexual Orientation/Biological Sex.
Discuss the differences among gender, sexual orientation, and biological sex. This is important because some people mistakenly believe that homosexuality is a form of gender confusion or that gay men or lesbians want to be the other sex. Some believe that gay men are “feminine” and lesbians “masculine,” mistakenly confusing gender and orientation issues.Provide evidence or reasoning to support your particular perspective.

Week 2 Forum

Discussion Question 2.1.

Theory : Havelock Ellis argued against nineteenth-century beliefs that masturbation had no ill health effects. Why has morally proscribed behavior—such as masturbation—often been seen to have dangerous health consequences? Today some continue to link morally proscribed behavior to negative health consequences, such as homosexuality and AIDS. From a public health point of view, what are the consequences of viewing health problems as moral problems? Provide evidence or reasoning to support your particular perspective. Which theoretical perspective, as described in Chapter 2, closely represents your view?

Discussion Question 2.2.

Gay/Lesbian Research. Discuss why current gay/lesbian research has moved away from the “origins” of homosexuality. What are the methodological and political limits on conducting research on homosexuality?

Week 3 Forum

Discussion 3.1

Uncovering the Breasts in Public.

Periodically women complain about laws requiring them to cover their breasts in public, whereas men are not so required. Occasionally women protest such laws, go in public with their breasts uncovered, and are arrested. What is the justification for such laws? Are they discriminatory against women? Explain.

Week 4 Forum

Discussion 4.1

Penis Size.
Discuss cross-cultural concern about or interest in penis size. What different meanings may large or gigantic penises signify? Slides of art from ancient Rome, Japan, and Mesoamerica, as well as contemporary erotic art (as illustrated in Chapter 4), may be used to illustrate the point. What are some myths about penis size? How does the stereotype of black and Latino men having large penises reinforce ethnic stereotypes?

Week 5 Forum

What have you learned about development of gender stereotypes and about sex differences in self-esteem that helps explain why women’s progress in entering male-dominated professions has been slow? (Use examples in Ch 5 to help answer question).

Chapter Two

Studying Human Sexuality

Sex, Advice Columnists,
and Pop Psychology

  • The sex information/advice genre seeks to:
  • Inform—transmit information that is factual and accurate
  • Entertain—attract audiences through hosts’ personalities as well as high-interest or bizarre material
  • Often includes moral judgments
  • Use social science and psychiatry to give authority

Use and Abuse of Statistics

  • Popular media may summarize social science research in an oversimplified or distorted manner
  • Sensationalize findings
  • Over generalize results of research
  • Report statistics that agree with widely-held preconceptions
  • Popular media may not emphasize the importance of replication

Thinking Critically about Sex

    • Basic scientific principles require a commitment to objectivity
    • observation of reality while excluding researchers’ feelings or beliefs

 

    • Subjectivity is to be avoided
    • Difficult to achieve especially in the area of sexuality
    • Sexuality can bring out powerful emotions and moral ambivalence

 

Value Judgments: Limitations

  • Do not tell us what motivates people
  • Do not tell us how frequently people behave in a given way
  • Do not tell us how people feel
  • Only tell us how we ourselves feel

Value Judgments vs. Objectivity

  • Value judgments only reveal the thoughts or feelings of one person
  • Objectivity describes reality
  • Objective positions can be tested
  • Cultural relativity requires that we examine appropriateness within the cultural norms where it exists

Value Judgments vs. Objectivity

  • Value judgments imply how a person ought to behave
  • Objective statements describe how people actually behave
  • Value judgments cannot be empirically evaluated
  • Objective statements can be empirically evaluated

Opinions, Biases, and Stereotypes Interfere with the Pursuit of Knowledge

 

  • Opinions are unsubstantiated beliefs or conclusions according to an individual’s personal thoughts
  • Biases are personal leanings or inclinations
  • Stereotypes are sets of overgeneralized beliefs about an individual, a group, or an idea, etc.

Stereotypes

  • A schema is a way of organizing information which often underlies stereotypes
  • Sexual stereotyping is often used to justify discrimination or social groups
  • Women
  • Poor people
  • African Americans, Latino/as, Asian Americans
  • Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people

Stereotypes

  • Stereotypes structure our knowledge by shaping:
  • What we see
  • What we notice
  • What we remember
  • How we explain things

Attitudes and Behavior

  • Attitude: a predisposition a person has to act, think, or feel in certain ways
  • Behavior: the way a person acts

 

  • Behavior does not predict attitude and vice versa
  • Frequent discrepancies exist between the two on individual and cultural levels which can result in confusion

Common Fallacies: Egocentrism and Ethnocentrism

  • Fallacy: an error in reasoning that affects our understanding of a subject
  • Egocentric fallacy: the belief that our own personal experience and values are generally held by others
  • Ethnocentric fallacy: the belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or culture’s values and customs are innately superior to others’

Egocentrism and Ethnocentrism

  • Often occur in our consideration of different ethnic groups
  • Transmitted from one generation to another
  • Prevent understanding from a culturally relative position

Sex Research Methods

  • Scientific Method: the method by which a hypothesis is formed from impartially gathered data and tested empirically.
  • Induction: drawing a general conclusion from specific facts
  • Seeks to describe the world rather than to evaluate or judge it

Research Concerns

  • Ethical
  • Concerns use of human beings as subjects of research
  • Methodological
  • Concerns center on information-gathering techniques and accuracy
  • A representative sample of people is necessary to draw accurate conclusions

Ethical Issues

  • Informed consent
  • Full disclosure of purpose, risk, benefits
  • Agreement to participate may be withdrawn
  • Protection from harm
  • Emotional distress must be avoided
  • Identity of subjects must be confidential

Sampling

  • Sample: a portion of a larger group of people are observed or studied
  • Inferences are made to the larger group
  • Good samples are:
  • Random
  • Representative
  • Unbiased

Limitations of Samples Restrict Generalizations

  • Depend on volunteers or clients
  • Takes place at universities or colleges with student volunteers
  • Some ethnic groups are underrepresented
  • Gay men, lesbian women, bisexual and transgendered people may not be publicly identified

Clinical Research

  • An in-depth examination of an individual or group that comes to a specialist for assistance with disorders and problems
  • Limited by an emphasis on pathological behavior
  • Shaped by cultural definitions of what is pathological

Survey Research

  • Questionnaires
  • Administered quickly
  • Forced choice allows many formats
  • Interviews
  • Allow more information to be gathered
  • Allow subjects to guide topics
  • Sexual diaries
  • Collect richer information
  • May work well with some subjects but not all

Survey Research Limitations

    • Subjects may report self behavior with bias
    • Interviewers may collect information with a bias
    • Subjects may be embarrassed in an interview
    • Accuracy of subjects’ memory fades as time passes
    • Difficult for subjects to accurately estimate factors such as how long sexual encounters last

 

Observational Research

  • The researcher unobtrusively observes and makes notes about people’s behavior
  • Serious ethical issues in observing sexual behavior without subjects’ knowledge or consent
  • Known observation generally affects behavior

Participant Observation

  • The researcher participates in the behaviors which she or he is studying
  • Used frequently by anthropologists
  • Is sex research controversial because it compromises objectivity?

Experimental Research

    • The systematic manipulation variables to examine the effect on behavior

 

  • Independent variables: factors that can be manipulated and changed by the experimenter
  • Dependent variables: factors that are likely to be affected by changes in the independent variable

An Example of Experimental Research

    • Examine effect of various amounts of alcohol on sexual arousal
    • Alcohol—independent variable
    • Plethysmograph measurement of arousal—dependent variable
    • Causal effect demonstrated

 

 

The Sex Researchers

  • In 19th century, Western sexuality began to be studied from a scientific framework
  • Fascinated with “pathologies” of sex: fetishism, sadism, masturbation, homosexuality
  • Since that time, a liberalizing trend in our thinking about sexuality
  • 20th century researchers viewed sexuality more positively

The Sex Researchers

  • Three themes evident in later 20th century sex researchers’ work:
  • Belief that sexual expression is essential to an individual’s well being
  • Desire to broaden the range of legitimate sexual activity, including homosexuality
  • Belief that female sexuality is equal to male sexuality

Richard von Krafft-Ebing
(1840-1902)

  • Psychopathia Sexualis (1886):
  • A collection of the case histories of fetishists, sadists, masochists, and homosexuals
  • Attributed variations in Victorian sexuality to “hereditary taint,” “moral degeneracy,” and masturbation
  • Brought public attention to sexual behaviors that had never been documented

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

  • Dramatically impacted Western ideas
  • Sexuality begins at birth with five-stage development:
  • Oral stage (birth to 1 year)
  • Anal stage (age 1-3)
  • Phallic stage (age 3-5)
  • Latency stage (age 6-puberty)
  • Genital stage (puberty onward)

Sigmund Freud: Phallic stage

    • Oedipal Complex: Boy develops sexual desires for mother and fears father
    • Castration anxiety: Fears his father will cut off his penis: castration anxiety
    • Electra complex: Girl develops sexual desire for father and fears mother
    • Penis envy: Girls never acquire the “lost penis” and therefore fail to develop an independent character like that of boys
    • By age 6, boys and girls resolve their complexes by relinquishing their desires for their parents and identifying with their same-sex parent

 

Sigmund Freud: Impact

  • Freud was pioneering in commitment to science and explorations of the unconscious
  • Over the past generation, his influence among American sex researchers has dwindled
  • Lack of empiricism
  • Inadequate description of female development
  • Questions of relevance to contemporary society
  • In the field of sex research, his work is now primarily of historical interest

Havelock Ellis (1859-1939)

  • One of the first modern affirmers of sexuality
  • Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897-1910)
  • Pointed out the relativity of sexual values
  • Appealed to case studies as well as studies in animal behavior, anthropology, and history
  • Challenged view that masturbation was abnormal
  • Documented existence of women’s sexual desires
  • Reevaluated homosexuality as a congenital condition

Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956)

  • The Kinsey Reports
  • Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948)
  • Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)
  • Statistical documentation of American sexual behavior
  • Showed a significant discrepancy between public standards and actual standards of sexual behavior

Alfred Kinsey: Impact

    • Sexual Diversity and Variation
    • Extraordinary diversity in behaviors of subjects
    • Many subjects (e.g. 50% of men) had sexual experiences with members of the same-sex

 

  • Reevaluation of Masturbation
  • Important for women
  • Harmless
  • Pleasurable

Alfred Kinsey: Controversy

  • Same sex behavior
  • Labels of “heterosexual” and “homosexual” were inadequate ways of understanding sexual behavior
  • Devised the “Kinsey Scale”
  • Rejection of normal/abnormal dichotomy
  • Sexual differences are a matter of degree, not kind
  • Became an advocate of the tolerance
  • Decline of society

Kinsey’s Scale from 0 to 6

Alfred Kinsey: Criticisms

    • Statistical methodology: unrepresentative sampling
    • Emphasis on quantification of sexual behavior
    • Rejection of the psychological dimension (reducing behavior to genital activity)

 

William Masters (1915-2001) and Virginia Johnson (1925-)

    • Human Sexual Response (1966)
    • Detailed the sexual response cycles of hundreds of male and female research subjects
    • Combined clinical observation with direct measurement of genital arousal using electronic devices

 

Masters and Johnson: Outcomes

  • Similarity of male and female sexual responses
  • Women achieve orgasms via clitoral stimulation
  • Legitimized female masturbation

Masters and Johnson: Outcomes

  • Human Sexual Inadequacy (1970)
  • Argued that sexual problems were not the result of neuroses or personality disorders
  • Rather, lack of information, poor communication, or relationship conflict contributed
  • Used behavioral therapy to treat sexual problems with great success

Contemporary Research Studies

  • Several large, national, or multi-site sexuality related studies have recently been conducted
  • The National Health and Social Life Survey (1994)
  • The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (biannual)
  • The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (annual)
  • The National Survey of Family Growth (periodic)
  • College Alcohol Study (every few years)
  • Community Intervention Trial for Youth Project

Contemporary Research Studies

  • Large scale national sexuality related studies
  • Smaller scale studies
  • Difficulties due to political and social climate
  • Restricted funding

The National Health and Social Life Survey 1994

  • Americans are largely monogamous
  • On average, Americans have sex about once a week
  • Adultery is the exception, not the rule
  • Most Americans rank vaginal intercourse as most preferred activity

The National Health and Social Life Survey (cont.)

    • Homosexuality less prevalent than originally believed
    • Orgasms appear to be the rule for men and the exception for women
    • Forced sex and the misperception of it remain critical problems
    • 3% of Americans claim never to have had sex

 

The National Survey of Family Growth 2002

  • A majority of Americans report experiencing a great deal of diverse sexual activity
  • A small percentage of Americans report experiencing homosexual activity
  • American men report more partners then women
  • A large group of Americans do not report using condoms in the last year

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2003

  • Almost half report having had sexual intercourse
  • Few report having had sexual intercourse with four or more partners
  • Over half report using a condom during their last sexual intercourse
  • One fourth report of sexually active students report using alcohol or drugs during most recent sexual experience

National College Health Assessment 2005

  • Majority report a new sex partner in the last year
  • Half report experiencing oral sex within the last month
  • Half report experiencing vaginal sex within the last month
  • Students do not routinely use condoms
  • Birth control pills and condoms are the most commonly used contraceptive

Emerging Research Perspectives

  • Feminist scholarship
  • Focus on gender issues
  • Examines distribution of power in sexual relationships
  • Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
  • Focus on personal experience
  • Examines social and psychological components

Feminist Scholarship Principles

  • Gender is significant
  • Female experience devalued
  • Power is critical in relationships
  • Different methodologies must be incorporated
  • Ethnic diversity must be addressed

Important GLBT researchers across time

 

  • Ulriches
  • Kertbeny
  • Hirschfeld
  • Hooker
  • Foucault

Critical Inclusions for Future Research

 

  • Expanded definitions of sexuality
  • Intervention based research
  • Accepting and positive representation of sexuality

Directions for Future Research

  • Global perspective
  • Inclusion of other fields of scientific study

Ethnicity and Sexuality

  • Researchers have begun to recognize differences among ethnic groups
  • Related factors: socioeconomic status, environment, methodology, researcher’s stereotypes

African Americans and Research

  • Sexual stereotypes
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Racism
  • Black subcultures

Latinos and Research

  • Sexual stereotypes
  • Traditional cultures
  • Catholicism
  • Acculturation

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

  • Increase in population
  • Collectivist culture
  • Immigration
  • Sexual stereotypes

Summary

  • Sex, advice columnists, and pop psychology
  • Methods of sex research
  • History of sex research
  • Challenges for the future
 
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Personal Diet And Nutrition Education Guide

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Kaplan University School of Health Sciences

HW320 Unit 9: Final Project

Unit 9: Final Project

Course Outcomes addressed in this Assignment: HW320-1: Differentiate the current USDA’s dietary guidelines from previous versions.

HW320-2: Summarize the development and influence of farm and corporate food lobbies on governmental nutritional recommendations.

HW320-3: Compare selected diets currently being promoted.

HW320-4: Analyze the impact food-borne illnesses, genetic engineering and the organic food movements have on the global food markets.

HW320-5: Discuss the heterogeneous nature of food preferences and prohibitions in multi-cultural and multi-ethnic communities.

Instructions: You will need this Final Project Template to complete your Final Project. Replace the italicized text in the template with your own content. You will create a personal Diet and Nutrition Education Guide as a resource in your diet and nutrition career. This Diet and Nutrition Education Guide will cover materials from Units 1–9 in this course. The guide is a way to capture important information about contemporary diet and nutrition course content, resources, and tools used in the study and practice of nutrition. It will also illustrate your personal assessments related to diet and physical activity. The guide can serve as a handy reference as you continue your nutrition studies, or to use in your professional career. Requirements: Each chapter/unit of this Diet and Nutrition Education guide should contain the following information:

1. A 3–4 sentence description of three (3) key learning points from each unit covered in the course.

2. A list and short description of three (3) websites identified within the Web Resources/Webliography for each unit covered in the course.

3. A list and short description of one (1) book/article/essay/software related to each unit’s topic covered in the course.

 

 

 

 

Kaplan University School of Health Sciences

HW320 Unit 9: Final Project

Appendices:

A. Diet and Physical Activities Assessment: Includes your Unit 2 Assignment with screen shots and write-up of your physical activity and nutrition analysis.

B. Conduct an internet search on the dietary habits of a community in which you are interested. You can choose from the list below or select your own community. Prepare a 100–150 word summary of the information that you found on their cultural food preferences. You can use a search engine like Google or the Health Sciences Resource Room. Properly cite the website in your write-up.

 African American  Appalachian  Amish  Hmong  Mexican American  Middle Eastern  Puerto Rican  Vietnamese

References:

 Include a separate reference page(s) per APA guidelines. This project should follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.). Your writing should be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful. Your work should display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics. Submitting your work: Submit your Assignment to the Dropbox. For instructions on submitting your work, view the Dropbox Guide located under Academic Tools at the top of your unit page. Please be sure to download the file “Writing Center Resources” from Doc Sharing to assist you with meeting APA expectations for written Assignments. To view your graded work, come back to the Dropbox or go to the Gradebook after your instructor has evaluated it. Make sure that you save a copy of your submitted work.

 

 

 

Kaplan University School of Health Sciences

HW320 Unit 9: Final Project

Final Project Grading Rubric = 170 points

Assignment Requirements Points possible Points earned by student

A 3–4 sentence description of three (3) key learning points from each unit.

45

A list and short description of three (3) websites identified within the Web Resources/Webliography for each unit.

45

A list and short description of one (1) books/articles/essays/software related to each unit’s topic.

30

Includes your Unit 2 Assignment with screen shots and write-up of your physical activity and nutrition analysis.

30

Prepare a 100–150 word summary of the information that you found on their cultural food preferences. Properly cite the website in your write-up.

20

Total (Sum of points earned) 170

The Proposal is written in the most current version of APA format with no grammatical, spelling, copyright, plagiarism, or proof-reading errors.

Points deducted for spelling, grammar, and/or APA errors.

 

Adjusted total points earned

Instructor Feedback*:

*Instructor may also leave feedback comments within Assignment submission.

 
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Microbiology Essay Questions

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I have two mini essay questions that need to be written onto a word document. Both questions can be found on the word doc. These are not full-on essays. They are “mini” essays which means that each essay response should be roughly 2 paragraphs-ish each. Use the quizlet link in the doc for ideas because these essays have already been done before so you may use those ideas. I am attaching a rubric as well so you can follow that.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss several ways in which bacteria are medically and ecologically important.

2. Define mycosis and describe the levels of invasion of the body by fungi. Explain what factors could cause opportunistic mycoses to be a growing medical problem.

 

*Write up mini essays for both of these questions and use the quizlet link below that corresponds to the questions for ideas

 

https://quizlet.com/288081796/bio205-rio-final-exam-flash-cards/

I. Level of Understanding/

Completeness of Answer Did you convey an

understanding of the lesson content?

Did you provide a complete answer to the

question?

0 There is no evidence of student understanding and does not answer the question.

1 – 23 There is evidence in the response that the student has some understanding. Student answers the question partially but not adequately.

24 – 35 There is evidence in the response that the student has a basic understanding of the question and answers adequately.

36 – 40 There is evidence in the response that the student has a full and complete understanding of the question. Student answers the question in an exemplary fashion.

II. Use of Examples and Supporting Details

Did you use relevant and inclusive examples to

demonstrate understanding of

content?

0 No examples or details are provided.

1 – 5 Minimal example(s) have been used and supporting details minimally effective.

6 – 8 Most of the concepts include example(s) and the supporting details are generally thorough.

9 – 10 Relevant and inclusive examples as well as supporting details that demonstrate an integration of concepts.

III. Critical Thinking and Application of

Information Is your application a detailed description of how the lesson content is relevant to your life?

0 No relevancy or application is included.

1 – 17 Brief description of how the concept relates to the student’s personal life (non-majors) or career (majors).

18 – 27 Nearly complete description of how the concept is or will be relevant and useful or applicable to the student’s personal life (non-majors) or career (majors).

28 – 30 A detailed description of how the concept is or will be relevant and useful or applicable to the student’s personal life (non-majors) or career (majors). The application reveals insight into the scientific principles.

IV. Organization Did you maintain a strong sense of purpose and organization?

0 Drifts completely in terms of purpose and organization to the point of disarray.

1 – 5 Strays in terms of purpose and organization to the point of distraction.

6 – 8 Is primarily presented in a purposeful and well- organized manner.

9 – 10 Maintains a strong sense of purpose and organization throughout.

V. Use of Accurate Scientific Terminology

Did you use scientific terminology correctly and concisely throughout your response?

0 The use of accurate scientific terminology is not present in the response or is used incorrectly.

1 – 5 Uses scientific terminology incorrectly at times, or in such as way as to not demonstrate an understanding of the material.

6 – 8 Uses scientific terminology correctly, demonstrating a basic understanding of the material and strengthening the response.

9 – 10 Uses scientific terminology correctly and concisely enhancing the response. The use of terms indicates a thorough understanding of the material.

 
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