The eNotes Blog De-stress and Take Finals At the SameTime!

De-stress and Take Finals At the SameTime! If youre a student,  you know that the coming of spring is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the sun is coming out of hiding (if only a little bit at a time), the temperature is higher, and the days are longer; it becomes more and more difficult  to focus on schoolwork when the spring air is calling  you outside. But then, on the other hand, you have the most dreaded of exams: the  final exams. Everything youve learned over the past year/semester/quarter is all coming back to you- and youre expected to regurgitate all of that knowledge back on paper. No, thanks? Unfortunately, we students dont have a choice about participation this season. But fear not!  If youre  properly prepared, both by studying and  by taking care of yourself, you will be able to tackle the week with relatively little stress. Its a commonly held belief that during the week of finals students hole up in the library, pulling all-nighters and studying for hours on end, subsisting on Cheetos and Snack Packs. Well, actually, it turns out that if you want to test like the champion you are, you really might want to start doing almost the opposite of that. We at have done a little surveying of high school/college students and had a look at what some experts had to say, and weve compiled a list of some strategies to make finals week a little more bearable. Verify the Details This tip is important even before you start studying. Make sure you ask your teacher(s) at least a couple weeks in advance about what sort of test you should be preparing for; the knowledge you focus on for a multiple choice exam is different than what you should be prepared to answer in essay/short-answer format. In the former, prepare more factually-based study notes, (flashcards are great), to ensure that you have quick recall for the types of questions youre likely to see. In the case of essay questions, make an effort to understand foundational concepts and be able to explain them. Also important (but  overlooked with surprising regularity) is verifying the time and location  of your test. Though maybe not as expected  in high school, college exams often take place in a different room and/or at a different time than your normally scheduled class. This seemingly randomized scheduling is also common in AP testing, so double-check with your teachers to avoid a stressful snafu. Experiment with Study Strategies A lot of people, students and professionals alike, often stick with the so-called tried and true approach to work and studying- that is,  the idea that if you spend enough time trying to pound the material into your head, eventually it will stick. This is a common misconception. Unfortunately (or actually maybe fortunately, as that method is nothing short of exhausting), trying to jam-pack information into your head is not the most effective way to get  your brain to retain information. According to research, the human brain is not designed to focus narrowly on a single concept for long stretches of time; really any more than an hour is pushing it. It is recommended for individuals to designate an hour to spend on a specific subject, and follow this intensive period with a break from the material at hand. Using this on-and-off method, your ability to retain  information will not only increase, but the repetition of class materials will help the studies set in your mind. Note: these breaks are most effective when they involve getting up and moving around, at least a little bit. Get Some Exercise Many students see finals week as an opportunity to forego regular exercise on the grounds that they simply dont have time. In reality, that point is only halfway valid (sorry to say). Maybe you dont have the time to devote to a regular gym session or soccer practice (or whatever it is you do to get the blood flowing), but there are a whole bunch of ways that you can incorporate some movement on the fly. For starters, theres always the option of going on a brisk little walk. After all, its springtime now, and who doesnt like basking in some sunshine? If the weather is still crummy and/or you have allergies and/or you dont like the light of day, there are lots of online pages devoted to office exercises or workouts that one can do at a desk. They arent intensive, but when you find yourself in a slump, a quick fix can often be as simple as getting a little more blood flow up to the cranium.  The Washington Post  put together  twelve office workouts (with positively hilarious animations) to guide you through the motions. Eat Well As  with the aforementioned lack of exercise, testing season often has a way of encouraging students to break out the snack food and pizza. Dont get me wrong, snack foods and pizza are great, but only in that ol moderation we all hear too much about. It seems  that these foods, particularly the processed ones, are full of cheap carbs that the body digests quickly, resulting in a short-lived burst of energy followed by the desperate need for a nap. The last thing you need when youre trying to learn something is to have your body imagining a nice, cozy bed or even the floor of the library- people sleep there, too. Eating healthy food is always a good idea, but it really is particularly beneficial when it comes time to use your brain. Instead of packaged snacks, plan ahead and bring fresh vegetables, fruits, some nuts, and really anything else with nutrients that take longer for the body to break down. Typically, the more nutritionally dense foods take longer to go through your system, meaning youre less likely to be distracted by hunger five minutes after eating. *Also crucial: eat a hearty and healthy meal before you walk into the exam for the same reason; no matter how well you know the material, you wont be able to focus when your stomach isnt in the game. Get Some Sleep Go to bed on time! That is yet another piece of advice all students have heard a million times and brushed off with a laugh: Who has time for that? As a student myself, I know how easy it is to say that youll catch up on sleep later or three hours will be fine, when you have a big project due- but the truth is, youre hurting your performance as much as youre hurting yourself. The pre-exam all-nighter is almost  a rite of passage, but how about we make this generation the one to put that tradition to rest? Short of sleeping through your exam, not getting enough sleep before the big test is one of the worst things you can do. A lack of sleep can wreak havoc on your brains ability to not only store new information, but even recall information you thought youd already been familiar with. That is to say, even if you did all the right things, spaced out your studies, and learned all you needed to know, when exam day comes along and you havent had enough sleep, you just might forget everything. Silence the Social Media This piece of advice is another one that seems like a no-brainer, but really is a lot more difficult than it sounds. Social media is everywhere, if you hadnt noticed, and unplugging it is nearly impossible. My father even said that he wasnt sure how good of a student he would be in this day and age when even our methods of study (AKA the World Wide Web) can serve as an outstanding source of distraction (puppy videos as far as the eye can see). But the difficulty involved in ignoring these distractions doesnt detract from how important it is to distance yourself from them. Studies show us that the brain is incapable of dividing its attention between too many things at once; the maximum number of subjects we can supposedly concentrate on is around seven, but even then, youre unlikely to retain any of the stimulus youre getting. For that reason, if on one tab you have a study guide and on another you have puppy videos (and dont forget some incoming texts, Instagram notifications, tweets, etc.), chances are, your studying will suffer for it. Now, who wants to spend hours studying to get half the benefit? If that doesnt sound good to you, put the phone down. Friends Sometimes (sometimes), studying with friends can be a wonderful thing. Having pre-arranged study plans can keep you from procrastinating or taking too long of breaks, and you could feel encouraged by your friends study habits and want to follow their example. However, some people are better  equipped to work in groups than others. If youre one of those people who is motivated by the presence of comrades, then by all means, schedule a study session! But, if youre someone who cant help but chat with your friends, even with textbooks splayed out before you, you might be better off holing up on your own. The Occasional Treat This last piece of advice  is semi-contradictory to most of what is outlined  above. For the vast majority of your study-week, the prescribed advice will serve best to see you through the stress, but that being said, sometimes you really do just need to give yourself a break. Maybe you need longer than a ten-minute rest. Maybe you need some downtime to chat with friends. Or maybe a long, intensive gym session will do you some good. Every so often, treating yourself is not only to be expected, but its also a very good thing. Focusing on business is certainly important, but without reprieve from the demands of studying and grades, you just might start to feel a little hopeless. So, if after a long period of studying and nibbling on carrots you feel that you need to take yourself out for a coffee and a banana nut muffin- go ahead! Treat yoself.

Mt St Helens 1980 Eruption

Mt St Helens 1980 Eruption At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, the volcano located in southern Washington called Mt. St. Helens erupted. Despite the many warning signs, many were taken by surprise by the blast. The Mt. St. Helens eruption was the worst volcanic disaster in U.S. history, causing the deaths of 57 people and approximately 7,000 large animals. Â   A Long History of Eruptions Mt. St. Helens is a composite volcano within the Cascade Range in what is now southern Washington, approximately 50 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon. Though Mt. St. Helens is approximately 40,000-years old, it is considered a relatively young, active volcano. Mt. St. Helens historically has had four extended periods of volcanic activity (each lasting hundreds of years), interspersed with dormant periods (often lasting thousands of years). The volcano is currently in one of its active periods. Native Americans living in the area have long known that this was not an ordinary mountain, but one that had fiery potential. Even the name, Louwala-Clough, a Native American name for the volcano, means smoking mountain. Mt. St. Helens Discovered by Europeans The volcano was first discovered by Europeans when British Commander George Vancouver of the H.M.S.Discovery spotted Mt. St. Helens from the deck of his ship while he was exploring the northern Pacific Coast from 1792 to 1794. Commander Vancouver named the mountain after his fellow countryman, Alleyne Fitzherbert, the Baron St. Helens, who was serving as the British ambassador to Spain. Piecing together eyewitness descriptions and geologic evidence, it is believed that Mt. St. Helens erupted somewhere between 1600 and 1700, again in 1800, and then quite frequently during the 26-year span of 1831 to 1857. After 1857, the volcano grew quiet. Most people who viewed the 9,677-foot tall mountain during the 20th century, saw a picturesque backdrop rather than a potentially deadly volcano. Thus, not fearing an eruption, many people built houses around the base of the volcano. Warning Signs On March 20, 1980, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck underneath Mt. St. Helens. This was the first warning sign that the volcano had reawakened. Scientists flocked to the area. On March 27, a small explosion blew a 250-foot hole in the mountain and released a plume of ash. This caused fears of injuries from rockslides so the entire area was evacuated. Similar eruptions to the one on March 27 continued for the next month. Though some pressure was being released, large amounts were still building. In April, a large bulge was noticed on the north face of the volcano. The bulge grew quickly, pushing outward about five feet a day. Though the bulge had reached a mile in length by the end of April, the plentiful plumes of smoke and seismic activity had begun to dissipate. As April drew to a close, officials were finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the evacuation orders and road closures due to pressures from homeowners and the media as well as from stretched budget issues. Mt. St. Helens Erupts At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck under Mt. St. Helens. Within ten seconds, the bulge and surrounding area fell away in a gigantic, rock avalanche. The avalanche created a gap in the mountain, allowing the release of pent-up pressure that erupted laterally in a huge blast of pumice and ash. The noise from the blast was heard as far away as Montana and California; however, those close to Mt. St. Helens reported hearing nothing. The avalanche, huge to begin with, quickly grew in size as it crashed down the mountain, traveling around 70 to 150 miles per hour and destroying everything in its path. The blast of pumice and ash traveled northward at 300 miles per hour and was a raging hot 660Â ° F (350Â ° C). The blast killed everything in a 200-square mile area. Within ten minutes, the plume of ash had reached 10 miles high. The eruption lasted nine hours. Death and Damage For the scientists and others who were caught in the area, there was no way to outrun either the avalanche or the blast. Fifty-seven people were killed. It is estimated that about 7,000 large animals such as deer, elk, and bears were killed and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of small animals died from the volcanic eruption. Mt. St. Helens had been surrounded by a lush forest of coniferous trees and numerous clear lakes before the blast. The eruption felled entire forests, leaving only burned tree trunks all flattened in the same direction. The amount of timber destroyed was enough to build about 300,000 two-bedroom homes. A river of mud traveled down the mountain, caused by melted snow and released groundwater, destroying approximately 200 houses, clogging up shipping channels in the Columbia River, and contaminating the beautiful lakes and creeks in the area. Mt. St. Helens is now only 8,363-feet tall, 1,314-feet shorter than it was before the explosion. Though this explosion was devastating, it will certainly not be the last eruption from this very active volcano.