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Monday, September 21, 2009

Online Quizzes - A Great Learning Opportunity

Online quizzes can be a great learning opportunity for students. There are websites that offer teachers or parents the ability to create a quiz to test students on any subject matter. This can make studying for a test a much more enjoyable process, and help a student to better retain the information. There are also sites where students can create their own quizzes for each other to study and test themselves with. Using online quizzes in this manner can make learning more entertaining helping to make preparing for a big test less stressful. Since we all do better on tests when we are relaxed, this can help to take unneeded pressure off and improve test scores. Giving students an advantage like that can be invaluable on current and future test scores.

Quizzes can also be used to sharpen skills for trivia players. With a wide variety of subjects available for online quizzes, these can be used as a practice before a big trivia night. This gives quiz takers an advantage since they are keeping their skills sharp and go into the trivia tournament ready and focused. It is also fun to use these quizzes to learn about a new topic. Learning in this manner is more enjoyable than just reading and memorizing information. When information is learned in a fun environment it is more easily retained. Using online quizzes anyone can learn a vast amount of new information in a relaxed and entertaining way. This can even be used as a way to study new office and policy procedures for a job.

There are so many types of quizzes available online it is difficult to know where to start. Begin by deciding what the goal of the quiz is, to have fun or to study. Then search for quizzes in the subject needed and narrow down to the site you want to use. Finding the right quiz website for you can be done by reading site reviews online and gaining insight from other users. Some sites are geared more towards experts in a field of study, and some are more general pop culture based quizzes. Either way, with a little research, anyone will find a vast amount of quizzes that they will enjoy, and if not they can create as many of their own quizzes as they like. This creates endless ways to enjoy online quizzes and keep the excitement every time.

How to Spot a Fake Diamond

Diamonds are a gift that are passed from generation to generation. They are an important heirloom that is appreciated by many. This makes them a long term investment that requires thought and care. One wants to be certain that they are buying a real diamond and not a fake diamond. Though there are many discount sales offering diamonds at unbelievable prices, one needs to do their homework to insure that they are getting a quality real diamond. Otherwise, you may be wasting your money.

So how does one differentiate the two? To begin with, one has to understand first the basics of diamonds before shopping for them. This will help you to avoid purchasing a fake diamond and giving yourself the ability to identify them. This can save you a lot of time and money, so take some time first to understand what diamonds are really are.

The Carat of the Diamond

Diamonds have four characteristics, which are carat, clarity, color, and cut. First, the carat is the weight of the diamond. There are five carats from every gram of diamond. Bigger diamonds will increase in carats, thus making them cost more money. In weighing diamonds, one has to take the exact weight, for every point is important. One full carat is 100 points, so if someone tries to sell you a diamond a few lines away from one gram, do not buy it as one gram. It is important that the carat of a diamond is measured with precision and accuracy.

The Clarity of the Diamond

Second is the clarity of a diamond. There is a system of range in measuring the clarity of a diamond, which is by the way, answers how clear it is. A diamond with perfect clarity is said to be flawless, although there are also internally flawless diamonds, which means they still have minor blemishes, but only on the outside. Diamonds classified as VVS1 or VVS2 have very, very small inclusions, with the latter being more visible than the former. VS1 and VS2 have very small inclusions while SI1, SI2, and SI3 have small inclusions. I1, I2, and I3 have inclusions that could be seen without using any instrument.

The Color of the Diamond

Third is the diamond's color. This can be classified using the letters starting from D to X. the whitest diamonds are classified as D, and the color changes, the classification does too. There are diamonds that are different in color, so one must not be surprised to come across with blue, green or red diamonds. These are commonly irradiated, and in any way, secure the guarantee of the diamond's color and clarity. It feels wonderful to be confident about your diamonds.

The Cut of the Diamond

And fourth is the diamond's cut. This is also referred to as the shape of a diamond, which could be oval, pear, or round. A diamond reflects light more brilliantly if it is proportionately cut. Cut is measured by percentages, so when you ask about the cuts percentage, 60% is a descent percentage and is reasonably balanced for most shapes.

Identify Real Diamonds

Now that you know the qualities of a diamond, you are all set to determine whether a diamond is a fake or the real thing. The first one you can try is known as the newspaper test. To try this, put your diamond over the print on any newspaper. Try to read the newspaper through the diamond. If you cannot read it, do not worry, because chances are the diamond is a real one. If you can not read the newspaper, don't worry as the chances are higher that the diamond is a real one.

The next thing that you can do is to do the fog test. Real diamonds clear away quickly when exposed to fog. Other precious stones linger longer. If the diamond you have just fogged is taking a bit longer to shed off its fog, then it must be a fake.

Using a diamond tester and a jeweler's loop can also help in detecting fake diamonds by checking the refraction of the light and any scratches on the diamond, respectively. Try to subject diamonds to as many tests as possible. If the results are rather vague, secure the diamond's certification. The most reliable certifications are issued by the European Gemological Laboratory or the Gemological Institute of America. Certified diamonds are more expensive because the certification process generally costs at least $100. Yet, this certification helps create peace of mind.

Buying diamonds is both an investment and luxury. Before indulging in this activity though, know your real diamonds first and protect yourself from fake ones.

Many enjoy diamond stud earrings as a beautiful accent to almost any outfit. They are one of the most desired gifts one can give.

Grab a Pack of Cards and Try These Fun Math Games

Looking for a way to get kids practicing math skills? You could use commercial math games but these can be costly. For a fun math game that helps children to practice addition or multiplication, just grab a deck of playing cards and you are ready to go.

Yes, believe it or not there are heaps of math games inside that one deck of playing cards. Try these to get started and then why not try inventing your own. You can practice adding, multiplication, comparing numbers and countless other math skills.

Multiplication Over and Under

This game is an ideal way to practice times tables. Use a pack of cards with the colored cards removed. The Aces count as one. Deal all of the cards out to the two players. One player is the Under 30 player and the other is the Over 30 player.

Each player turns over a card at the same time and the two numbers are multiplied together. If the answer is below 30, the Under 30 player gets the cards. If it is more than 30, the Over 30 player keeps the cards. If the answer is exactly 30 each player takes back their card and puts it back in their deck. When all the cards have been played the person with the most cards is the winner.

Highest Number

Children love this fun math game that practices comparing numbers. Use only cards from Ace (which is valued at 1) to 9 for this game. Next choose the number of digits to be used in the numbers for this game, e.g. 2 digit numbers like 24 and 79; 3 digit numbers like 713 or 921; 4, 5 or 6 digit numbers. Each person is dealt that number of cards. Players arrange their cards to make the largest possible number with the cards that they have been dealt, e.g. with cards 2, 5 and 8 a player should make 852.

The player with the highest number in each round scores a point. The winner is the player who scores the most points.

First to Fifty Addition

Players take turns to deal two cards to each person. Every player then turns over the two cards they have been dealt, adds the two values and tells how much this is, e.g. 5 and 7 make 12. The player with the highest total keeps the two cards while the other cards are placed back in the deck which is shuffled and dealt again. Players total the value of the cards they have won until a player reaches fifty and wins.

First to Fifty Multiplication

Play this game the same as First to Fifty Addition however instead of adding the two cards to get a total, multiply the two numbers on the cards, e.g. 7X6 is 42. Players will still add the value of the cards that they win to get to fifty.

These fun card games can be played by a parent and child at home or in a classroom with children playing in pairs, in small groups or with the whole class being divided into 4 or 5 teams. So why not grab an old deck of cards and start playing?

Teresa Evans is a teacher and parent who uses math games to get kids excited about math. At MakingMathMoreFun.com she shares her favorite math games including board games, card games and game sheets. Visit http://www.makingmathmorefun.com to receive your own Free 7 part math games collection.