In theory, flame retardants in furniture and other household items such as draperies could reduce the spread of flames and thus protect people during fires. However, the major category of chemical flame retardants used for this purpose, the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), has a number of adverse health effects including those on the thyroid gland. If you had to choose between a flame-retardant sofa set (with PBDE) and PBDE-free non-flame-retardant sofa set, which would you choose? What alternatives are available? Explain the benefits of these alternatives.

Marie Curie was born in Poland but studied and carried out her research in Paris. In 1903, she shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with H. Becquerel and her husband Pierre for their discovery of radioactivity. (In 1911 she received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of two new chemical elements, radium and polonium, the latter named for her homeland, Poland.) They and others observed that a radioactive substance could emit three types of radiation: alpha (), beta (), and gamma (). If the radiation from a radioactive source is passed between electrically charged plates, some particles are attached to the positive plate, some to the negative plate, and others feel no attraction. Which particles are positively charged, which are negatively charged, and which have no charge? Of the two charged particles, which has the most mass? Radioactivity. Alpha (), beta I(), and gamma () rays from a radioactive element are separated by passing them between electrically charged plates.

reading: The accelerometer keeps track of how quickly the speed of your vehicle is changing. When your car hits another car—or wall or telephone pole or deer—the accelerometer triggers the circuit. The circuit then sends an electrical current through the heating element, which is kind of like the ones in your toaster, except it heats up a whole lot quicker. This ignites the charge which prompts a decomposition reaction that fills the deflated nylon airbag (packed in your steering column, dashboard or car door) at about 200 miles per hour. The whole process takes a mere 1/25 of a second. The bag itself has tiny holes that begin releasing the gas as soon as it’s filled. The goal is for the bag to be deflating by time your head hits it. That way it absorbs the impact, rather than your head bouncing back off the fully inflated airbag and causing you the sort of whiplash that could break your neck. Sometimes a puff of white powder comes out of the bag. That’s cornstarch or talcum powder to…

5. The car you have been driving has a posted fuel consumption of 10.0 L/100 km (city) and 7.1 L/100 km (highway) according to the EnerGuide information. Overall, your actual fuel consumption has averaged 10.5 L/100 km. a) Is this better or worse than the posted fuel consumption? b) Provide three reasons why your actual fuel consumption may be different from the posted consumption. c) List three ways in which you could improve your fuel consumption (other than buying a new carl).