Reaction Between Persulphate And Iodide Ions Biology Essay

Reaction Between Persulphate And Iodide Ions Biology Essay Persulphate (S2O82-) is reduced to sulphate (SO42-) in presence of iodide ions (I-) in aqueous solution. While persulphate is being reduced, iodide is being oxidised to iodine. The overall reaction equation being: S2O82- + 2I- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 2SO42- + I2 On the other hand, iodine can be converted to iodide in presence of thiosulphate (S2O32-) as follows: I2 + 2S2O32- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ S4O62- + 2I- If iodine indicator is added to the solution a blue colour of the starch-based iodine indicator complex develops after all thiosulphate has been consumed. This is because the starch-based iodine indicator complex is very stable in high concentrations of iodine. The charges transfers and the energy level spacings in the resulting complex correspond to absorptions in the visible part of the spectrum blue. The strength of the resulting blue colour depends on the amount of iodine present. Therefore, the development of the blue colour is useful as it indicates a constant point in the progress of the reaction which can be taken as being representative of the end of the reaction (Practical Booklet p.37). Several kinetic parameters can be easily analysed and determined if those reactions are timed as they progress from start to end, hence the importance of the component time (t) in kinetic studies. By adding a known amount of thiosulphate and iodine indicator, the reaction rate can be determined as it obeys the following rate equation: AIMS This experiment was undertaken to determine the reaction rate, the order of reaction with respect to both iodide and persulphate, and the effect of variation in ionic strength on the rate constant of this reaction. EXPERIMENTAL Methods Procedures An exact copy of the methods provided in the practical booklet is attached to this document as no deviations were made from those given. RESULTS Reaction Time t (min:sec) Tim t (seconds) 1 19:32 1172 2 9:45 585 3 9:58 598 4 25:20 1520 5 33:30 2010 Table Timing of reaction from the exact time of mixing to the time of the blue colour appearance Treatment of results Reaction Solution A Solution B ( + 0.5g iodine indicator) [KI] (mol cm-3) [Na2S2O3] (mol cm-3) [KCl] (mol cm-3) [K2S2O8] (mol cm-3) H2O (cm3) 1 0.05 0.0005 0.100 0.004 25.0 2 0.10 0.0005 0.050 0.004 22.5 3 0.05 0.0005 0.088 0.008 15.6 4 0.05 0.0005 0.050 0.004 27.5 5 0.05 0.0005 0.000 0.004 30.0 Table Concentrations of all substances in the final reaction mixture and water volume to account for dilution to a 50cm-3 final volume. From the rate equation of this reaction: Interpreting the above results, doubling [I-] while keeping [S2O82-] constant doubles the rate of reaction halves t (time of appearance of the blue colour). Doubling [S2O82-] while keeping [I-] constant, also doubles the rate of reaction. The below equation gives the relationship of the variation of rate constant (k) with ionic strength (I): This equation is of type , where k0 is the limiting value of the rate constant at zero ionic strength. where zA and zB are the charges of the two ions involved in the rate-determining step at low ionic strengths. Since [I-] remains constant during each kinetic run, the integrated rate equation is: where a and (a-x) represent [S2O82-] at times t = 0 and t = t respectively. Making k the subject: Hence, for reactions 1, 4 and 5: Per 2 moles of S2O32- consumed 1 mole of S2O82- oxidises iodide because any iodine produced is converted back to iodide until all thiosulphate is consumed. Therefore, adding a known amount of thiosulphate allows to determine the concentration of persulphate at the end of the reaction, when t=t. From 0.0005 mol cm-3 of S2O32- consumed, 0.0005/2 = 0.00025 mol cm-3 of S2O82- were consumed. Therefore the remaining persulphate at the end of reaction = 0.0040 0.00025 = 0.00375 mol cm-3 For reaction 2: For reaction 3: At the start of this run [S2O82-] = 0.00800 mol cm-3 and [S2O32-] = 0.0005 mol cm-3. At the end of the reaction 0.0005/2 = 0.00025 mol cm-3 of S2O82- were consumed. Hence, from the initial concentration of S2O82-: 0.00800 0.00025 = 0.00775 mol cm-3 of S2O82- were present at t=t. Rate Constant Determination The value of k can now be calculated for each mixture. The values were calculated and recorded in the table below: Reaction Rate Constant (k) / mol cm-3s-1 1 2 3 4 5 Table Values of k constant for each reaction mixture Calculation sample: For reaction 1: t = 1172 s Ionic Strength Determination The contribution of each electrolyte to the total ionic strength is given by: Taking into account the dilution of the final volume to 50 cm3 of all electrolytes, and knowing that for 1:1 electrolytes, I=concentration, and for 2:1 electrolytes, I= 3 x concentration. Hence, for these mixtures: The ionic strength was calculated and recorded in the table below: Reaction Ionic Strength (I) / mol cm-3 1 0.164 2 0.164 3 0.164 4 0.114 5 0.0635 Table Ionic Strength per each reaction Sample calculation: Calculation of B and k0 In order to determine B and k0 a plot of v.s. logk was plotted. Reaction k(mol cm-3s-1) Logk(mol cm-3s-1) I(mol cm-3) 1 -2.96 0.164 0.288 2 -2.96 0.164 0.288 3 -2.97 0.164 0.288 4 -3.07 0.114 0.252 5 -3.19 0.0635 0.201 Table k constant and ionic strength for each reaction Graph Correlation between logk and ionic strength The correlation is given as being y = 2.6305x 3.7229. Hence: logK0= -3.72 mol cm-3 s-1 k0= mol cm-3 s-1 k0= mol dm-3 s-1 B = 2.63 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Hà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¡ Calculation DISCUSSION (Questions) As stated above: (..) doubling [I-] while keeping [S2O82-] constant doubles the rate of reaction halves t (time of appearance of the blue colour). Doubling [S2O82-] while keeping [I-] constant, also doubles the rate of reaction. Hence, in the rate equation: x= 1 and y=1. The reaction is of first order with respect to and with respect to . As a result, the overall rate of reaction is x+y=2. The overall rate of reaction is of second order in which the rate determining step is: S2O82- + I- à   IS2O83- This is consistent with the rate observed experimentally by comparing mixtures 1 to 2 and 1 to 3. The value of B (2.63) is rather high in comparison with the theoretical value but of same magnitude. As stated above, B is given by where zA and zB are the charges of the two ions involved in the rate-determining step. Hence, theoretically . The value of k0 determined experimentally is rather low in comparison to the published value. k0= mol dm-3 s-1 Published value: mol dm-3 s-1 Some source of error must have influenced this result. Perhaps wrong timing and contaminated glassware would allow a rather faster/slower reaction which results in a different rate constant (k). (Answer to Q1 above.) The ionic strength is the same for reactions 1, 2 and 3. Reaction 4 shows a characteristic ionic strength for the concentrations of ions present in the mixture (Table 2). Accordingly, reaction 5 with no KCl added shows a rather low ionic strength as expected. A variation of Ionic strength vs. Rate constant is notable. With reference to table 5, a decrease in ionic strength accompanies a decrease in the rate constant the lower the ionic strength of a reaction the lower its rate constant (k). It is important to mention that the ionic strength of each mixture remains constant up to time t (appearance of blue colour). This is perfectly understandable because the rate of production of anions is equal to the rate of their expenditure, hence manifesting a constant ionic strength. However, when all thiosulphate has been consumed the ionic strength decreases because an interruption in their equilibrium causes the consumption of iodine to stop. In other words: When the reactions reaches t: S2O82- + 2I- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 2SO42- + I2 I2 + 2S2O32- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ S4O62- + 2I- Thus, at t there is an increase in the amount of I2 and a drastic decrease in the amount of I-. Therefore: At t, which results in a low ionic strength. (Answer to Q2 above) For this experiment, the value of calculated is rather low but positive. All systems tend to progress in a direction of increasing entropy and therefore an increase in the disorder of the system in question. For this bimolecular reaction in solution at 25 °C, the entropy of activation of the rate determining step is positive meaning the final starch-based iodine indicator complex is rather stable because increases in entropy correspond to irreversible changes in a system. This is because the amount of work the system can do is limited because most of the energy was wasted as heat; therefore this reaction is thermodynamically irreversible reaction. (Answer to Q3 above) A reaction which proceeds more slowly with increasing ionic strength is CONCLUSION Aims were accomplished. All kinetic parameters were determined although some major sources of error were present during this experiment. Possible sources of error may include difficult or inappropriate timing (non-digital watches were used). Difficulty to quickly detect the end point of the reaction (development of blue colour) as the rate of reaction to some of the mixtures was very slow; contamination of glassware could also contribute for such errors. Nevertheless, the order of reaction with respect to both iodide and persulphate was determined precisely; and the effect of decreasing ionic strength is known to decrease the rate of reaction.

Inatimate Object Essay Essay

In my personal opinion, Mr. Rizzo would be a book because there are plenty of things that you can learn from him. For example you can learn life lessons, football, volleyball, and wrestling skills, and math skills. Particularly I think the book he would be, would be a â€Å"Boys Handbook† type. I say this because Mr. Rizzo is a coach of all boys’ sports, is a good teacher at the things he teaches, and is very smart. Rizzo is a pre-algebra teacher in the Brackman Middle School. My eighth grade year having him as a math teacher helped me understand the concepts of algebra a lot better than I did. The way he teaches things he shows examples and works hand-in-hand with a student who may need the extra help (one reason why I believe he’s such a great teacher). Also, Mr. Rizzo showed my class a lot of tips, and tricks that can help you work through confusing algebraic equations. I’m very happy that I was able to have Mr. Rizzo as my teacher because a lot of things he had taught me helped carry through my first Algebra 1 course as a freshman. In this book that Mr. Rizzo may be as an inanimate object, someone could learn math skills, tips, or tricks, like what he verbally taught me in the classroom. Also, Mr. Rizzo is a great athletic coach. He coaches wrestling and football at the middle school level, and varsity volleyball in the Barnegat High school. He had a scholarship for wrestling back in the day, but it was unfortunately taken away after he got into a fight in school and accidentally hit his wrestling coach’s wife in the face as she tried break up the fight that he was in. As a wrestler I know everything I know from Mr. Rizzo. I entered the Brackman Middle School gym my sixth grade year knowing absolutely nothing about wrestling. From then on I just constantly learned move, after trick, after combination, and more from him. As a football player I was coached by Rizzo for only one season when I was in eighth grade. He was my defensive coach for me and the rest of the linebackers. Not knowing much about the position because I used to play the defensive line in recent years, he taught me a lot of new ways to play, holes to hit, coverage zones, and more. I’ve never played on a volleyball team but what I hear firsthand from players of Rizzo’s, is that he is nothing but a good coach. Between talking to Rizzo at wrestling, football, or in the classroom, my mind was always being blown by stories he had to tell about what has happened in his life, his family, what he had been through, and more. He changed my outlook on the future and made me realize that if you don’t work hard to succeed you’ll go nowhere in life. From stories of all the jobs he had worked to support himself and his family, different jobs to do, places to end up in life really showed me that you need to work hard to have a good life. What Rizzo had taught to me over the three years I’d see him on a regular basis, was that whatever you do, you have to put your mind to and give it your all. Also that nothing in life comes easy to you and that you have to work for things. What I learned from him I believe will have a very large and positive impact on my future. In conclusion, if Mr. Derrick Rizzo were to ever become an inanimate object I believe that he would be a book. This book would not be just a regular one, but something can help many people, with many things. It can definitely increase someone’s math smarts by a lot, by helping explain how to work through big problems, how to graph, simplify, and much more. You can learn a lot of tips and tricks in a lot of sports. Different ways to play defense in football, what holes to hit, who to cover, and what to do. In wrestling you can learn takedowns, pin combinations, escapes, and more; and how to play and do things in volleyball. Also, it can really change the way that people may look at life and think about or approach things. It would not only help and positively benefit people; it will also show why Mr. Rizzo is such an interesting person.

University project help

Exchange rates, transportation and trade costs all need to be accounted for in the bid. These added costs make cost control (in other controllable areas of the project) vital. Without tight cost control, the company will not be able to compete with bids of domestic firms. 3. Why is cost estimation such an important component of project planning? Discuss how it links together with the Work Breakdown Structure and project schedule? Cost estimation, if done correctly, enables a firm to determine if the project will be profitable, if the company can afford the project and in general if the project is worth ursuing.It also provides the company with a cost range for bidding (in the case ofa customer-oriented project). With respect to Work Breakdown Structure and project schedule, cost estimation is important because it leads to budgeting of monetary and other resources (both material and human). These allocations must coordinate with the Work Breakdown Structure and project schedules prepa red by management to figure out if the required resources will be available as needed. 4. Imagine you were developing a software package for your company's intranet.Give xamples of the various types of costs (labor, materials, equipment and facilities, subcontractors, etc. ) and how they would apply to your project. Potential costs of creating software package include costs of labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment and facilities and travel. Software engineers, developers, computer technicians, trainers (for end users) and technical writers would incur labor costs. Material costs may come from printing and creating installation CDs/ disks, additional mainframe hardware, memory or accessories, and any printing and paper requirements for user manuals.Developers and contractors may require extra space or equipment. Subcontractors may be used to consult on design and implementation. Subcontractors may require costs associated with travel if the firm is not local. 5 Give reasons bot n in tavor ot and against the use ot personal time charge as a cost estimate for a project activity. Using a personal time charge can create a more accurate assessment of time by including a reasonable amount of downtime in estimates of work time.By using the personal time charge, a company can be better compensate for its labor resources, s all time (productive or not) spent on a particular Job is a use of human/intellectual resources. However, from a customer's perspective this charge may appear unwarranted. The personal time charge allows time for unproductive breaks. Customers will most likely be reluctant to pay for unproductive time – resulting in payment disputes. 6. Think of an example of parametric estimating in your personal experience, such as the use of a cost multiplier based on a similar, past cost.Did parametric estimating work or not. Discuss the reasons why. This is a personal example question and should only be applied to students with ome project experience . 7. Put yourself in the position ofa project customer. Would you accept the cost adjustments associated with learning curve effects or not? Under what circumstances would learning curve costs be appropriately budgeted into a project? As a customer, I would not accept fees when the repetitive work (that accounts for the learning curve) is a routine Job for the supplier.The reason for this is that I would be paying for learning effects that others would reap the benefit from. Also, learning effects associated with new employees would be unreasonable to include in project illing. On the other hand, if the repetitive work/learning curve effects were project or customer specific, then budgeting the costs into the project would be appropriate. 8. Consider the common problems with project cost estimation and recall a project with which you have been involved. Which of these common problems did you encounter most often? Why?

Ramses II essays

Ramses II essays While visiting the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, I found numerous works of art that interested me. I was able to appreciate these works more than before because of the knowledge I now possess after having taken this class thus far. Understanding the background, time periods, and history of the works that I was practically analyzing at the museum, made the pieces even more interesting and valuable to behold. The piece of work that captured my eyes the most was the statue of Ramesses II (?). This statue was found at the Heracleopolis, Temple of Harsaphes, in Egypt. This sculpture was made somewhere between 1897 and 1834, during Egypts Middle Kingdom. The artist was probably an ancient Egyptian who was patroned by the Pharaoh Ramesses II himself. According to the museums description of the work, Ramesses II seized this sculpture from a former ruler and the head was replaced to fit Ramesses satisfaction. This is a historical piece to preserve his power and immortality. This statue is an example of freestanding sculpture or sculpture in the round. It has been carved and chiseled out of Quartzite stone. This particular stone is composed mainly or entirely of quartz. The stone is compact and is a form of metamorphosed sandstone in which silica, or quartz, has been deposited between the grains of quartz of which the sandstone is essentially composed. Quartzite has a smooth fracture and is found primarily among ancient rocks. The subject and iconography of the work is to emphasize the success, reign and power of Ramesses II. According to the museums description, the sculpture also functioned as a place for the non-priests of the community to place votive offerings for the gods of the temple. The non-priests were not allowed in the temples hence the sculpture must have been near the entrance of the temple. There is a slab in front of t...

Punishment in America Essays

Punishment in America Essays Punishment in America Paper Punishment in America Paper The corrections system in the United States is known for having the highest incarceration rate than any other country and some people believe our punishments are either too harsh or too lenient. In my opinion I believe it depends on the type of crime correlating with the punishment. Not necessarily all of our punishments for crimes are too lenient or too harsh, I would say it relies on the type of crime committed and even specifically the technicalities of the crime. There will always be room for improvement for our sentencing and punishments for crimes, but our penal ode and our laws are written quite well, its all about how you depict the law and what a Judge decides on as far as the punishment goes. Of course there are many factors that go along with sentencing and punishment, but as a whole, with everything considered, punishment in America seems fair for the most part. Three main crimes related to these punishments are white collar crimes, drug crimes along with more serious crimes that result in the death penalty. Many people in America and some states look at white collar crimes as if they are not nearly as important as violent crimes. Although white collar crimes usually havent effected anyone physically, they still have the capability of damaging businesses along with peoples lives, whether it be financially or Just their life as a whole. White collar crime is a sticky subject because there are even cases that I believe were treated too leniently or some that I thought had a fair punishment correlating with the crime. One great example of a white collar crime that I believe had a lenient punishment is the case of Chalana McFarland. McFarland was a real estate attorney who was accused of committing acts of fraud, identity theft, mortgage cams, money laundering and other equally devastating crimes. McFarland left lenders with $20 million in defaulted loans by using inflated property values and real estate flipping deals. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution for her crimes. (Amanda Haury, Sentences For White-Collar Criminals, Investopedia, 5/12/2012). A crime like this one most likely leaves the families involved devastated financially and can tear a family apart. Events like these cannot be fixed simply, even with restitution. I personally would see to it that McFarland receive a heavier punishment for her actions. On the other hand, the case of Thomas Petters is one I feel was treated fairly well and the punishment went along with the crime. Petters was a business mogul who was accused and convicted of money laundering and fraud in a Ponzi scheme that cost investors over $3. billion of their hard-earned money. Petters was sentenced to a 50-year prison term, although the prosecutors recommended a sentence of 335 years. (Amanda Haury, Sentences For White-Collar Criminals, Investopedia, 5/12/2012). If we Petters were to be rosecuted under the full extent of the law he wouldVe faced a life term in prison, which would have been a waste of our tax money along with putting one more person into our already overcrowded correction system . Our next charge related punishment deals vastly with drug charges and how they are being implemented. Statistically incarcerating thousands of nonviolent drug offenders throughout the past few years has cost our states a massive amount of money that could be used elsewhere in the corrections system. (Margaret Dooley- Sammuli, Drug Penalties, California, Drug Policy Alliance, 12/16/2011). For crimes such as having any kind of illegal narcotic on your person, other than marijuana, its automatically a felony offense with the incarceration period of three months. If we dropped the offense from a felony to a misdemeanor, it would save the state a great sum of money and resources. Going along with that instead of incarcerating perpetrators for a minor drug possession charge, we should implement other state programs such as probation. This frees up our correction system along with our judicial system as well. My argument is that the punishment for these minor drug harges are too extensive and harsh. With the proposal of dropping minor drug charges from a felony to a misdemeanor, this would resolve the problem with the punishment related to this crime. The United States remains in the minority of nations in the world that still uses the death penalty for certain crimes. I along with many people in America today still believe that the death penalty is very important in that we use it as a tool in fghting violent pre-meditated murder. One big downside to the death penalty is the possibility that innocent men and women will be put to death. Also financial cost to tax payers of capital punishment is several times that of housing the perpetrator in prison. The punishment relating to this crime is quite fair, although I believe there are many cases in that a person has committed murder but has not received the death penalty for their actions. Of the 22,000 homicides committed every year approximately 1 50 people are sentenced to death (Death Penalty Facts, California, Death Penalty Focus, 3/31/2009). The only real problem I still see relevant to the punishment regarding any crimes that lead to the death penalty, is that there are still nnocent people being put to death and obviously once this is done there is no reversing this action. Generally speaking I would say the death penalty as a punishment is fair and that we are being too lenient in that people who should receive the death penalty are given a life sentence in prison as an alternative. Overall the three main crimes, white collar crimes, drug crimes along with more serious crimes that result in the death penalty all carry punishments that are supposed to correlate with the crime, with the intention of finding grounds between eing too harsh or too lenient. As weve found white collar crimes usually have fair punishments but can be lenient at times Just because they arent violent crimes and although they arent violent crimes they can still have a devastating effect on peoples lives. Drug crimes are deemed to be too harsh as far as punishment goes. If you are charged with a minor drug possession charge, it should simply be a misdemeanor rather than a felony which would equate to harsher punishment and longer sentences. The death penalty is a punishment which isnt implemented enough, but n the other hand if it is implemented it can have negative effects as in executing an innocent person. Death penalty as a whole seems to be too lenient and doesnt have the effect that it should with our communities. In the end the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and nas many punishments that are considered to many as, too lenient or too harsh, but none the less I feel punishment in America is fair regarding most crimes. I feel there will always be room for improvement and speculation for how our punishments are implemented, but as a ountry, punishment is implemented correctly and fairly overall. investopedia. com/financial-edge/0512/sentences-for-white-collar criminals-too-harsh-or-too-lenient. aspx (Amanda Haury, Sentences For White-Collar Criminals, Investopedia, 5/12/2012) http:// www. californiaprogressreport. com/site/drug-penalties-too-harsh anyone (Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, Drug Penalties, California, Drug Policy Alliance, 12/16/2011) deathpenalty. org/section. php? id=13 (Death Penalty Facts, California, Death Penalty Focus, 3/31/2009)

Outline and critique the subjective interpretation of probability Essay

Outline and critique the subjective interpretation of probability - Essay Example In normal conversations, one might say â€Å"the storm will hit the city†, usually, the person does not imply that the storm hitting the or not hitting the city is a random factor and that the odds presently favour, such a person in normal conversation qualifies the statement to a degree of confidence. When in a newspaper it is written â€Å"the most probable explanation† of the Mother Gaston Boulevard Street in Brooklyn, New York is that it was named after Mother Rosetta Gaston. The statement does not imply that Mother Rosetta Gatson is not favoured by a random factor, but it is pretty much the most plausible reason that can be given to the evidence, which disputes others that are less likely. Subjectivist Probability This category implies a situation in which an argument may be allocated whatever the circumstance, even when no random process is involved, in a bid to show the subjective plausibility, or the level to which the argument is aided by the existing evidence. In a number of situations, subjectivist probabilities are taken to imply the degrees of belief, defined in the manner in which an individual is capable of gambling at certain odds. ... Mathematically, this can be defined as P (A) = NA N The mathematical definition has its limits, which was not taken into account, the theory failed to consider numbers that could run to infinity and merely considered finite number of possible outcomes. There are some random games for instance as tossing of a coin-like object until it gives a tail might run into endless set of outcome- infinite outcomes. Additionally, one may need to determine beforehand all the likely outcomes are equally plausible without depending on the concept of probability to avoid circularity for example by symmetry concerns. The frequensists suggests that the likelihood of an occurrence is the relative frequency over given number of times, which is the relative frequency of happenings after repetition of a process over considerable amount of time, given similar conditions. The occurrences of events are presumed to be under certain random physical phenomenon which is basically not knowable. Outsides the confin es of theory and into the real world, tossing of a dice and spinning of roulette wheel can be examples of such. Other scientist suggests that the radioactive decay might be included as a possible example under the frequency probability. Frequency theorists argue that when one is tossing a coin, the probability of getting a tail is 1/2, they don’t rely on the simple explanation of chance, but rather on the expectation that a repeated series of numerous trials show that the empirical frequency will ultimately converge to the limit ? as the number of tossing goes to infinity. The mathematical definition hence becomes, therefore P (A) = P. this approach is not without its set back, infinity is assumed

Epigenetics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Epigenetics - Research Paper Example Such environmental factors may include their lifestyles, the foods they eat or even the use of make up. Powerful abnormal persistent memories may lead to changes in one’s behavior. Chromatin modifications relate to learning and memory and could therefore help give an insight into relation between memory and drug seeking behavior (Malvaez, 2009). Individuals addicted to drug use may end up having memory lapses. After extended periods of abstinence, a relapse may occur. This is because relapse may be caused by exposure to external forces previously associated with the drug use like places, people or paraphernalia. (O’Brien, 1988) There may be no history of a disease like cancer in one’s family. However, if one lives a life that predisposes them to conditions that may facilitate spread of cancer, the disease will crawl into their systems. You are born with family history but your lifestyle dictates who you become. The Environment and lifestyle, it could be healthy or unhealthy largely affects the concept of epigenetics. Family history may therefore not play a big role in shaping what one eventually becomes. We’re born with genes of the family. However, our lifestyles end up dictating what we actually become. Besides, our environments end up playing a role in what we become. Environment can be social or natural. If identical twins adopt lifestyles completely different from each other, say one is physically active and the other is not, the physically active one is likely not to suffer from cardiovascular diseases unlike the physically inactive one. With regard to life expectancy, our grandparents may have lived longer than the subsequent generation. This may be due to the lifestyles the grandparents lived which could have impacted on their genes and thus were subsequently passed to the next generations hence manifested