Free Essays on DARE Is Ineffective

DARE Is Ineffective DARE is a costly sugar pill that lulls parents, police and educators into a dangerous, false confidence that their kids won’t do drugs. The fact of the matter is that forty three percent of DARE graduates said DARE had no affect on their decision to do drugs. Bottom line, DARE is a costly and ineffective way of keeping kids off drugs. The tragic truth is that the nation is spending $700 million a year on a program that doesn’t work and it hasn’t sunk in on the local or the national levels. (DRCNet-what’s wrong with DARE 3) A large DARE bureaucracy has grown up that feeds on itself. The public raises no uproar because it needs the comfort of its delusion that something is being done to protect children from drugs. If DARE is really working, why then at the age of eighteen, fifty five percent of students have tried some illicit drug? (Sager 1) For years, school based drug education programs have been our first line of defense against drugs. However, research shows that the â€Å"just say no† programs provided in most schools are doing little to prevent drug abuse among America’s teens. (Safety First 1) Forty three percent of students stated that their decisions to use drugs were not affected by DARE. Keep in mind that teenagers in the 90’s have had more drug education than any generation in history. The majority of them were exposed to DARE in school and all had been exposed to â€Å"just say no† public education messages for more then a decade. Yet, American teens in the 90’s used more drugs than teens a decade earlier. (Gorman 1) According to a female teen, â€Å"When I was little, you know, I saw ‘just say no’ on the candy box, or at the supermarket, wherever. It’s a catchy phrase, but it doesn’t really mean anything. It doesn’t make me think about drugs. It doesn’t really make me reflect.† While we all hope that teens will choose abstinence, statistics show ... Free Essays on DARE Is Ineffective Free Essays on DARE Is Ineffective DARE Is Ineffective DARE is a costly sugar pill that lulls parents, police and educators into a dangerous, false confidence that their kids won’t do drugs. The fact of the matter is that forty three percent of DARE graduates said DARE had no affect on their decision to do drugs. Bottom line, DARE is a costly and ineffective way of keeping kids off drugs. The tragic truth is that the nation is spending $700 million a year on a program that doesn’t work and it hasn’t sunk in on the local or the national levels. (DRCNet-what’s wrong with DARE 3) A large DARE bureaucracy has grown up that feeds on itself. The public raises no uproar because it needs the comfort of its delusion that something is being done to protect children from drugs. If DARE is really working, why then at the age of eighteen, fifty five percent of students have tried some illicit drug? (Sager 1) For years, school based drug education programs have been our first line of defense against drugs. However, research shows that the â€Å"just say no† programs provided in most schools are doing little to prevent drug abuse among America’s teens. (Safety First 1) Forty three percent of students stated that their decisions to use drugs were not affected by DARE. Keep in mind that teenagers in the 90’s have had more drug education than any generation in history. The majority of them were exposed to DARE in school and all had been exposed to â€Å"just say no† public education messages for more then a decade. Yet, American teens in the 90’s used more drugs than teens a decade earlier. (Gorman 1) According to a female teen, â€Å"When I was little, you know, I saw ‘just say no’ on the candy box, or at the supermarket, wherever. It’s a catchy phrase, but it doesn’t really mean anything. It doesn’t make me think about drugs. It doesn’t really make me reflect.† While we all hope that teens will choose abstinence, statistics show ...

Understanding Quantitative Analysis in Chemistry

Understanding Quantitative Analysis in Chemistry Quantitative analysis refers to the determination of how much of a given component is present in a sample. The quantity may be expressed in terms of mass, concentration, or relative abundance of one or all components of a sample. Here are a few sample results of quantitative analysis: Ore contains 42.88% silver by mass.The chemical reaction yielded 3.22 moles of product.The solution is 0.102 M NaCl. Quantitative Versus Qualitative Analysis Qualitative analysis tells what is in a sample, while quantitative analysis is used to tell how much is in a sample. The two types of analysis are often used together and are considered examples of analytical chemistry. Methods Used in Quantitative Analysis Several methods are used to quantify a sample. These may be broadly classified as either physical  or chemical methods. Physical methods measure a physical property, such as adsorption of light, density, and magnetic susceptibility. Examples of physical methods include: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (AES)Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS)trace element analysisx-ray fluorescence spectroscopyICP-AESICP-MS Chemical methods involve chemical reactions, such as oxidation, precipitation, or neutralization to form a new chemical compound. Examples of chemical methods include: Titration (volumetric analysis)Gravimetric analysisVarious wet chemistry testsCombustion analysisInert gas fusion Often physical and chemical methods overlap. In addition, mathematics is used in quantitative analysis. Statistics are particularly useful for analyzing data. The primary tool for quantitative analysis is the analytical balance or scale, which is used to measure mass precisely. Glassware, such as the volumetric flask, is also important. For analytical chemistry, a typical balance measures mass to 0.1 of a milligram. A sensitivity of about a thousand times is needed for microanalytical work. Why Quantitative Analysis Is Important Its important to know the quantity of all or part of a sample for several reasons. If youre performing a chemical reaction, quantitative analysis helps you predict how much product to expect and to determine your actual yield. Some reactions take place when the concentration of one component reaches a critical level. For example, an analysis of radioactive material might indicate there is enough of a key component for the specimen to undergo spontaneous fission! Quantitative analysis is crucial to the formulation and testing of food and drugs, as it is used to measure nutrient levels and provide an accurate accounting of dosage. It is also  critical in determining the level of contaminants or the impurity of a sample. While qualitative analysis might be able to determine the presence of lead in the paint on a toy, for example, quantitative analysis detects how much concentration exists. Medical tests rely on quantitative analysis for information about a patients health. For example, quantitative analysis techniques can determine blood cholesterol levels or the ratio of lipoproteins in plasma or the amount of protein excreted in urine. Here again, quantitative analysis complements qualitative analysis, since the latter identifies the nature of a chemical while the former tells you how much there is. Quantitative tests of a mineral may be used to determine whether its practical to mine it for a specific element or compound. Quantitative tests are used to verify that products meet manufacturer or regulatory specifications.