133 résultats pour "physical"
- PHYSICALISME
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Physical Chemistry - chemistry.
by the system in the form of the flow of electrical currents, formation of surfaces and changes in surface tension, changes in volume or pressure, and formation ordisappearance of chemical species. B Chemical Kinetics This field studies the rates of chemical processes as a function of the concentration of the reacting species, of the products of the reaction, of catalysts and inhibitors, ofvarious solvent media, of temperature, and of all other variables that can affect the reaction rate. It is...
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Sound
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INTRODUCTION
Sound, physical phenomenon that stimulates the sense of hearing.
A fundamental law of harmony states that two notes an octave apart, when sounded together, produce a pleasant-sounding combination. Other combinations of notescan also be pleasing. Physically, an interval of a fifth consists of two notes, the frequencies of which bear the arithmetical ratio 3 to 2, and a major third, the ratio 5 to4. Fundamentally, the law of harmony states that two or more notes sound pleasant when played together if their frequencies bear small, whole number ratios; if thefreq...
- Physical Constants.
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Anomalous monism
in the following section. (Hereafter, ‘mental event' will be used in a restricted sense to mean acquiring or losing apropositional attitude.) 3 Psychophysical anomalism One way that psychophysical anomalism could fail is if there is a basic vocabulary for a closed, comprehensive theory that includes both mental and physical terms. A Cartesianinteractionist (see Dualism ) might argue that any basic vocabulary for a closed, comprehensive theory true of our world would have to contain both menta...
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Colour and qualia
Faced with the dilemmas posed by subjective colour for physicalist doctrine, some philosophers opt for eliminativism, the doctrine that subjective colour is not a genuine, or real, phenomenon after all. On this view the source of the puzzle is a conceptual confusion; a tendency to extend our judgments concerning objective colour, what appear to be intrinsic properties of the surfaces of physical objects, onto the properties of our mental states. Once we see that all that is happening ‘inside'...
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Exercise.
broad, and most studies suggest a positive relationship between physical fitness and mental achievement. The relationship between regular aerobic exercise and cardiovascular health and longevity is well established. Regular exercise leads to a reduction in the risk ofcoronary heart disease, in which fatty deposits (plaque) form in blood vessels supplying the muscular wall of the heart, compromising oxygen delivery to the heartmuscle. In addition, with regular exercise the efficiency of the heart...
- Physical Constants - chemistry.
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Anthropology.
humans, such as tools, pottery, and buildings) and human fossils (preserved bones). They also examine past environments to understand how natural forces, such as climate and available food, shaped the development of human culture. Some archaeologists study cultures that existed before the development of writing, a time knownas prehistory . The archaeological study of periods of human evolution up to the first development of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago, is also called paleoanthropology....
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Gymnastics.
harmoniously with the equipment to perform a graceful and error-free routine. There are also two team events in which five competitors perform together. At thehighest international levels, rhythmic gymnastics is judged on a 30-point scale rather than with the traditional 10-point scoring system. IV TRAMPOLINE Trampoline first appeared in the Olympics as a medal sport at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, with a men’s individual event and a women’s individual event.Contestants bounce up and d...
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Plato
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INTRODUCTION
Plato (428?
one of the individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day. With the aid of the sun, that person sees for the first time the real world and returns to the cave withthe message that the only things they have seen heretofore are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits them if they are willing to struggle free oftheir bonds. The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Escape into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolize...
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Plato.
one of the individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day. With the aid of the sun, that person sees for the first time the real world and returns to the cave withthe message that the only things they have seen heretofore are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits them if they are willing to struggle free oftheir bonds. The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Escape into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolize...
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Race - biology.
distributed as a cline, generally varying along a north-south line. Skin color is lightest in northern Europeans, especially in those who live around the Baltic Sea, andbecomes gradually darker as one moves toward southern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and into northern Africa and northern subtropical Africa. Skin isdarkest in people who live in the tropical regions of Africa. The lack of clear-cut discontinuities makes any racial boundary based on skin color totally arbitrary. Sim...
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Astronaut - astronomy.
Every operation during a flight is important and interesting, but many might be boring to an observer. Much of an astronaut’s job is entering computer instructions,preparing samples, making measurements, recording data, fixing what breaks, and adjusting the checklist when something unexpected happens. Sometimes astronautsretrieve or repair satellites, rendezvous or dock with other spacecraft, and do important emergency repairs. The adaptability of the human crew is crucial to the successof missi...
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Western Philosophy.
the popular belief in personal deities, but he failed to explain the way in which the familiar objects of experience could develop out of elements that are totally differentfrom them. Anaxagoras therefore suggested that all things are composed of very small particles, or “seeds,” which exist in infinite variety. To explain the way in whichthese particles combine to form the objects that constitute the familiar world, Anaxagoras developed a theory of cosmic evolution. He maintained that the activ...
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Geography - Geography.
Geographers have developed a standard pattern of map symbols for identifying such cultural features as homes, factories, and churches; dams, bridges, and tunnels;railways, highways, and travel routes; and mines, farms, and grazing lands. C Analyzing Geographic Information Techniques that use mathematics or statistics to analyze data are known as quantitative methods. The use of quantitative methods enables geographers to treat a largeamount of data and a large number of variables in an objectiv...
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Geology.
terminology. Today the geologic time scale is generally agreed upon and used by scientists around the world, dividing time into eons, eras, periods, and epochs. Everyfew years, the numerical time scale is refined based on new evidence, and geologists publish an update. Geologists use several methods to determine geologic time. These methods include physical stratigraphy, or the placement of events in the order of their occurrence,and biostratigraphy, which uses fossils to determine geologic time...
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Horse - biology.
Horses reach sexual maturity at about one and a half years. The estrous cycle in the mare—a mature female horse—typically lasts 21 days. During the first five days ofthe cycle, the mare is usually receptive to mating. The estrous cycle stops during winter and resumes in the spring, which is the start of the breeding season. Astallion—a mature male horse—approaching a mare in estrus engages in various courtship rituals. These include uttering nickering sounds and sniffing and licking themare’s ge...
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History of Chemistry - chemistry.
even better distillation apparatus than the Arabs had made and to condense the more volatile products of distillation. Among the important products obtained in thisway were alcohol and the mineral acids: nitric, aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric), sulfuric, and hydrochloric. Many new reactions could be carried outusing these powerful reagents. Word of the Chinese discovery of nitrates and the manufacture of gunpowder also came to the West through the Arabs. The Chinese atfirst use...
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Ecology.
an input of nutrients exceeding the capability of the ecosystem to process them. Nutrients eroded and leached from agricultural lands, along with sewage and industrialwastes accumulated from urban areas, all drain into streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These pollutants destroy plants and animals that cannot tolerate theirpresence or the changed environmental conditions caused by them; at the same time they favor a few organisms more tolerant to changed conditions. Thus,precipitation filled...
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Ecology - biology.
an input of nutrients exceeding the capability of the ecosystem to process them. Nutrients eroded and leached from agricultural lands, along with sewage and industrialwastes accumulated from urban areas, all drain into streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These pollutants destroy plants and animals that cannot tolerate theirpresence or the changed environmental conditions caused by them; at the same time they favor a few organisms more tolerant to changed conditions. Thus,precipitation filled...
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Human Sexuality.
About six weeks after conception, if a Y chromosome is present in the embryo's cells (as it is in normal males), a gene on the chromosome directs the undifferentiatedgonads to become testes. If the Y chromosome is not present (as in normal females), the undifferentiated gonads will become ovaries. If the gonads become testes, they begin to produce androgens (male hormones, primarily testosterone) by about eight weeks after conception. These androgens stimulate development of the one set of the...
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Comedy
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INTRODUCTION
Laurel and Hardy
Stan Laurel, in overalls, and Oliver Hardy, left, formed one of the most popular comedy teams in motion-picture history.
The elements and techniques of comedy are diverse and differ from culture to culture. More than tragedy or serious drama, comic entertainment is controlled by socialconventions that define the boundaries of acceptable humor and topics that are taboo or off-limits for humor. What is considered funny in one place and time may beforbidden culturally or viewed as infantile or in poor taste in another. Virtually every component of human behavior is subject to comic treatment. This includes bodilyfunc...
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Soil.
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INTRODUCTION
Soil, the loose material that covers the land surfaces of
an exchange between plants and the atmosphere, as oxygen diffuses into the soil and is used by roots for respiration. In turn, the resulting carbon dioxide diffusesthrough pore spaces and returns to the atmosphere. This exchange is most efficient in soils with a high degree of porosity. For farmers, gardeners, landscapers, andothers with a professional interest in soil health, the process of aeration—making holes in the soil surface to permit the exchange of air—is a crucial activity. Theburrowi...
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- Ice Sheets: Physical Features - geography.
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Drug Dependence.
these drugs develops rapidly, no withdrawal syndrome is apparent when they are discontinued. Phencyclidine, or PCP, known popularly by such names as “angel dust” and “rocket fuel,” has no medical purpose for humans but is occasionally used by veterinarians asan anesthetic and sedative for animals. It became a common drug of abuse in the late 1970s, and is considered a menace because it can easily be synthesized. Itseffects differ from those of other hallucinogens. LSD, for example, produces deta...
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Child Development.
developmental scientists have studied how cultural values guide the skills and attitudes that children acquire as they mature, and how brain maturation influences thedevelopment of thinking and feeling. For a more detailed discussion of child development theories, see the Theories of Child Development section of this article. III BASIC QUESTIONS A Nature and Nurture Scholars have long debated the relative importance of nature (hereditary influences) and nurture (environmental influences) i...
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Biodiversity.
a common molecule, ribonucleic acid (RNA), and most also have deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). These molecules direct the production of proteins—molecules responsiblefor the structure and function of virtually all living cells. This is the evolutionary chain of life. All species are descended from a single common ancestor. From that ancient single-celled microbe, all inherited RNA. As time goesby, species diverge and develop their own peculiar attributes, thus making their own contribution to biodiv...
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Biodiversity - biology.
a common molecule, ribonucleic acid (RNA), and most also have deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). These molecules direct the production of proteins—molecules responsiblefor the structure and function of virtually all living cells. This is the evolutionary chain of life. All species are descended from a single common ancestor. From that ancient single-celled microbe, all inherited RNA. As time goesby, species diverge and develop their own peculiar attributes, thus making their own contribution to biodiv...
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Psychology.
Clinical psychology is dedicated to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illnesses and other emotional or behavioral disorders. More psychologists work in this field than in any other branch of psychology. In hospitals, community clinics, schools, and in private practice, they use interviews and tests to diagnose depression,anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses. People with these psychological disorders often suffer terribly. They experience disturbing symptoms t...
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Atom - chemistry.
Atoms have several properties that help distinguish one type of atom from another and determine how atoms change under certain conditions. A Atomic Number Each element has a unique number of protons in its atoms. This number is called the atomic number (abbreviated Z). Because atoms are normally electrically neutral,the atomic number also specifies how many electrons an atom will have. The number of electrons, in turn, determines many of the chemical and physical properties ofthe atom. The ligh...
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Prison.
Furthermore, experts disagree about whether imprisoning criminals actually prevents further crime. Some critics charge that American prisons simply warehouseviolence—meaning that U.S. prison inmates are confined and incapacitated in large numbers, with little or no effort made to rehabilitate them. Critics have labeled theresult of this process turnstile justice, referring to the fact that most inmates are chronic and persistent offenders and return to prison following conviction for new crime...
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Criminal Punishment.
In the United States and Canada, younger offenders may be sentenced to highly regimented, military-style correctional programs known as boot camps. Generally,offenders volunteer to participate in boot camp programs to avoid other types of incarceration. At boot camps, officials subject offenders to strict discipline and physicaltraining. They also provide educational or vocational programs. Boot camps serve as an alternative to traditional, long-term incarceration and attempt to train offenderst...
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Comedy
Socrates suffered in the comedy of Aristophanes. Throughout history, opposition to comedy and laughter has been strongest in societies which emphasize physical restraint, decorum and conformity. Many medieval monastic orders had statutes forbidding laughter. The Puritan and Victorian eras saw many condemnations of comedy and laughter. The more authoritarian the regime, the greater its suppression of comedy. Hitler even set up ‘joke courts' to punish those who made fun of his regime - one Berl...
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Cubism
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INTRODUCTION
Cubism, movement in modern art, especially in painting, invented by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and French artist Georges Braque in 1907 and 1908.
Mont Sainte-Victoire by CézanneFrench artist Paul Cézanne painted Mont Sainte-Victoire, a mountain near his home in Provence in southern France, onmany occasions. Over time, the images he produced became flatter, less realistic, and more abstract. In this late version,painted from 1902 to 1904, patches of color barely indicate the mountain, sky, and foreground, while creating a rhythmicpattern across the painting’s surface. The mountain and sky, both intensely blue, appear almost to merge.Philad...
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Stress (psychology).
blood flow is diverted from the internal organs and skin to the brain and muscles. Breathing speeds up, the pupils dilate, and perspiration increases. This reaction issometimes called the fight-or-flight response because it energizes the body to either confront or flee from a threat. Another part of the stress response involves the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, parts of the brain that are important in regulating hormones and many otherbodily functions. In times of stress, the hypothal...
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Heart.
situation. A Cardiac Cycle Although the right and left halves of the heart are separate, they both contract in unison, producing a single heartbeat. The sequence of events from the beginning ofone heartbeat to the beginning of the next is called the cardiac cycle. The cardiac cycle has two phases: diastole, when the heart’s chambers are relaxed, and systole,when the chambers contract to move blood. During the systolic phase, the atria contract first, followed by contraction of the ventricles. T...
- Hygeia (Hygieia; Health) Greek Goddess of physical and mental health.
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Jung and Pauli: A Meeting of Rare Minds
JUNG AND PAU\bI A Meeting \bf Rare Minds BY BEVERLEY ZABR\bSK\bE Readers of the Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jungare more familiar with Wolfgang Pauli’s unconscious than with his waking life and achievement. Through Jung’s Psych\bl\bgy and Alchemy—an exposition of “the problem of individuation” and “normal development . . . in a highly intelligent person”—depth psychologists have known the Nobel laureate’s dreams, not his professional genius. Meanwhile, the scientists who continue Pauli’s pur- sui...
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Dance
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INTRODUCTION
Dance
Archive Films/BBC Worldwide Americas, Inc.
features in its dance styles. The ordinary potential of the body can be expanded in dance, usually through long periods of specialized training. In ballet, for example, the dancer exercises to rotate,or turn out, the legs at the hips, making it possible to lift the leg high in an arabesque. In India, some dancers learn to choreograph their eyeballs and eyebrows.Costuming can extend the body's capabilities. Toe or pointe shoes, stilts, and flying harnesses are a few of the artificial aids employe...
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Diabetes Mellitus.
Once diabetes is diagnosed, treatment consists of controlling the amount of glucose in the blood and preventing complications. Depending on the type of diabetes, thiscan be accomplished through regular physical exercise, a carefully controlled diet, and medication. Individuals with Type 1 diabetes must receive insulin, often two to four times a day, to provide the body with the hormone it does not produce. Insulin cannot be takenorally, because it is destroyed in the digestive system. Consequent...
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Surgery.
III SURGICAL PROCEDURES Surgical procedures are classified as optional, required, elective, urgent, and emergent based on the patient’s medical condition. Optional surgery consists of operationsthat are not required but which the patient chooses to undergo as with some types of cosmetic surgery. Required surgery is performed when only surgery will correct aproblem—such as cataracts—but the surgery can be delayed for a period of weeks or months. Elective surgical procedures usually involve cond...
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Native American Religions.
In the worldview of most of the indigenous peoples of North America, there were also spiritual beings to be avoided. Native Americans of the Southwest in particular,such as the Navajo and Apache, dreaded contact with ghosts, who were believed to resent the living. These peoples disposed of the bodies of deceased relativesimmediately and attempted to distance themselves from the spirits of the dead, avoiding their burial sites, never mentioning their names, and even abandoning thedwellings in whi...
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Mountain Climbing.
teeth on one side, and a straight, flat, metal blade called an adze on the other. Ice axes have many uses. One of the most common is to help the climber stay balanced on steep slopes. The climber swings the axe with a short, quick movement to lodge the pick in snow or ice, creating a secure anchor. If a climber should slip and beginsliding down a snowfield, a self-arrest can be performed by turning face down on the snow and burying the pick in the snow surface. The climber’s weight over the...
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Holocaust
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INTRODUCTION
Holocaust, the almost complete destruction of Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II (1939-1945).
relation to the Jews. He claimed that the Jews had achieved economic dominance and the ability to control and manipulate the mass media to their own advantage. Hewrote of the need to eradicate their powerful economic position, if necessary by means of their physical removal. IV UNIQUENESS OF NAZI ANTI-SEMITISM The linking of anti-Semitic accusations to race struggle is what made Nazism so genocidal. The Nazis believed the Jews were responsible for what they regarded as thedegeneracy of modern...
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Holocaust .
relation to the Jews. He claimed that the Jews had achieved economic dominance and the ability to control and manipulate the mass media to their own advantage. Hewrote of the need to eradicate their powerful economic position, if necessary by means of their physical removal. IV UNIQUENESS OF NAZI ANTI-SEMITISM The linking of anti-Semitic accusations to race struggle is what made Nazism so genocidal. The Nazis believed the Jews were responsible for what they regarded as thedegeneracy of modern...
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Thermodynamics
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INTRODUCTION
Thermodynamics, field of physics that describes and correlates the physical properties of macroscopic systems of matter and energy.
Carnot EngineThe idealized Carnot engine was envisioned by the French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, who lived during theearly 19th century. The Carnot engine is theoretically perfect, that is, it converts the maximum amount of energy intomechanical work. Carnot showed that the efficiency of any engine depends on the difference between the highest andlowest temperatures reached during one cycle. The greater the difference, the greater the efficiency. An automobileengine, for example, wou...
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Matrix Theory and Linear Algebra
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INTRODUCTION
Matrix Theory and Linear Algebra, interconnected branches of mathematics that serve as fundamental tools in pure and applied mathematics and are becoming
increasingly important in the physical, biological, and social sciences.
vectors and V is called a vector space of dimension m. Two- and three-dimensional Euclidean spaces are vector spaces when their points are regarded as specified by ordered pairs or triples of real numbers. Matrices may be used to describe linear changes from one vector space into another. Contributed By:James Singer Reviewed By:J. Lennart BerggrenMicrosoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Child Abuse.
C Social Isolation and Low Community Involvement Parents and caretakers who abuse children tend to be socially isolated. Few violent parents belong to any community organizations, and most have little contact withfriends or relatives. This lack of social involvement deprives abusive parents of support systems that would help them deal better with social or family stress. Moreover,the lack of community contacts makes these parents less likely to change their behavior to conform with community va...
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Chemistry - chemistry.
parts of oxygen by weight, which is a ratio of about 1 to 8, regardless of whether the water came from the Mississippi River or the ice of Antarctica. In other words, acompound has a definite, invariable composition, always containing the same elements in the same proportions by weight; this is the law of definite proportions. Many elements combine in more than one ratio, giving different compounds. In addition to forming water, hydrogen and oxygen also form hydrogen peroxide.Hydrogen peroxide h...