Effect of Concentration on the Rate of Reaction Essay Example

Effect of Concentration on the Rate of Reaction Paper Introduction: In this experiment, we utilized the ability for the iodide ion to become oxidized by the persulphate ion. Our general reaction can be described as: (NH4)2S2O8 + 2KI A I2 + (NH4)2SO4 + K2SO4 (1a) However, we know that in an aqueous solution, all of these compounds except iodine will dissociate into their ionic components. Thus we can rewrite the equation in a more convenient manner: We will write a custom essay sample on Effect of Concentration on the Rate of Reaction specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Effect of Concentration on the Rate of Reaction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Effect of Concentration on the Rate of Reaction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer S2O82- + 2I- A I2 + 2SO42- (1b) It is important however to note that the NH4 and K ions are still in the solution, they are just unreactive. In order to measure the rate of the reaction, the conventional method would be to measure the species in question at certain times. However, this would be inconvenient, especially for a three hour laboratory period. Since the iodide ion can be oxidized by the persulphate ion, we can use sodium thiosulphate to be an indicator of the presence of iodine in the solution. For this experiment, we can simply calculate the rate of the reaction by timing the amount of iodine being produced in several runs. The reaction between iodine and sodium persulphate can be depicted as: I2 + 2Na2S2O3 A 2NaI + Na2S4O6 (2a) Similarly, this reaction above can also be simplified due to dissociation of all the ions except for iodine and persulphate. I2 + 2S2O3 A 2I- + S4O62- (2b) An interesting property of reaction (1) is that it produces a brilliant violet colour. However, this violet colour only results in the presence of iodine, or in other words, when iodine is being produced in the reaction. If sodium thiosulphate is added to reaction (1), than as long as there are two moles of thiosulphate for every mole of iodine, the solution will be colourless because the iodine is being used up in reaction (2). However, as time passes, the thiosulphate must run out at some point, and when it does, the violet colour will appear. Timing how long it takes for the violet colour to appear will allow us to calculate the rate of the reaction. In this experiment, 5 mL was also added in order to provide a more accurate measure of the time at which the colour first appears. Starch is helpful because it forms a blue complex with free iodine. Once we have the time elapsed for each run, we can calculate the rate of the reaction by applying the equation: Rate = -a  S2O8-2 / a  t The change in S2O8-2 is simply half the concentration of S2O3-2 because in reaction (2), the consumption of iodine and persulphate has a 1:2 ratio. Thus, the consumption of iodine can be seen as half the consumption of persulphate (S2O3-2). After calculating the rate of the reaction, the rate constant can be found by using the equation: Rate = k [ S2O82-]m[I-] n By comparing 2 sets of data at a time from 2 different runs, the order exponents m and n can be calculated, and thus, we can write the rate law for the iodide-persulphate reaction. We should also expect that the expected relationships between the concentration of S2O8-2 and the rate of reaction and rate constant might not always be extremely accurate in this experiment. When dealing with ions, we must always consider the ionic strength of the ions involved. The rate of the reaction will increase as the ionic strength gets stronger, thus, we will not always see a perfect linear relationship between [S2O8-2] and the rate of the reaction and the rate constant. The purpose of this experiment was to perform many trials of the same experiment, varying only the concentrations of certain ionic compounds in order to determine the affect of concentration on the rate of a reaction. By varying the concentration of different compounds for each run while keeping other factors constant, we were able to obtain experimental data that would give us a relationship between concentration and reaction rate.

Pros and Cons of a Dry Campus Essay Example

Pros and Cons of a Dry Campus Essay Example Pros and Cons of a Dry Campus Paper Pros and Cons of a Dry Campus Paper Essay Topic: Pros and Cons Every year, universities always have the same issue regarding alcohol. Students are constantly getting in trouble for possession or consumption. Here at Eastern Connecticut State University, the policy is a dry campus. This means that alcohol is completely prohibited on campus. There are many opinions when it comes to this choice, as there are also many pros and cons to it. One pro of having a dry campus is that students can find other events to go to. Eastern often offers other events where students can do and socialize, promoting a night without alcohol. Students can also join clubs, intramurals, sports, etc. All of these clubs and events offer a positive influence on the students by keeping them busy. According to a friend and student of the school, one event that the University of Maryland sponsors is the â€Å"Spring Party Challenge. † This is where students are encouraged to throw the best party possible without the availability of alcohol. The winner of this event will receive $300 and two runner-ups will receive $100 each. Although Eastern does not offer an event like this, it does have other fun things to do like the monthly â€Å"Fridays After Dark† events or even free pancakes on Thursday nights sponsored by the Christian Fellowship group. Another pro of having a dry campus is for the school itself. Because more than half the students at universities are underage, having a dry campus is a smart choice for schools. This is because it makes them not liable for any incidents that may happen to their students involving alcohol. With a written document, it’s rather difficult to blame the school for anything that could happen. An issue involving this is the amount of death of college students throughout the years. According to Collegedrinkingprevention. rg, â€Å"1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 died from alcohol-related unintentional injuries including motor vehicle crashes† (article reviewed in 2010, year of statistic not available). The issue here is that by making a school a dry campus, students are more prone to not drink on the properties, thus making it a safer campus. On the other hand, students will go out to drink, trying to avoid getting written up. Students will drive off of camp us to go somewhere else, then having to drive back home afterwards. The problem with this that it will leave students stranded or making poor decisions, particularly without a designated driver. From personal experience, I’ve gotten a ride from a friend who said he was â€Å"alright† to drive, only later finding out that he was â€Å"buzzed. † His reasoning for volunteering to drive was that it was his car and we needed to get back to campus. Once safely on campus, he admitted that he should not have gotten behind the wheel because he knew it was dangerous. If the campus is not dry, then students are more likely to stay on campus to enjoy a few drinks, reducing the amount of drunk driving. Continuing on cons, another reason that students dislike having a dry campus is that they feel as though they aren’t as independent as they like to be. A lot of students choose to live on campus because they want to escape their parents and live life they way they chose. I feel that students should have the choice of drinking or not drinking, regardless of their age. I believe that it should be his/her choice as to whether or not they want to go to class with a splitting headache or if they choose to do something stupid while intoxicated. These students are old enough to make decisions and they should know what is right and wrong. We are old enough to fend for ourselves and to decide what we want to do with our lives. If we choose to spend all our money and skip classes the next day because of alcohol, then so be it. We are making these choices; therefore we should learn to live with the consequences. Personally, I feel that although all these deaths and injuries that occur because of alcohol, is actually the person. Yes there are more alcohol related incidents for college students, but that’s also because these students have no self-control and are not responsible for what they are doing. However, it’s not just happening in college. It’s happening everywhere, regardless of location. I do believe, however, that students who are underage should get punished when caught because they are breaking a law, not just a rule. In conclusion, I am not completely sure whether or not it is better to have dry campus. There are a lot of cons but there are also a lot of pros to it too. I think that it depends on the students and geography of the school.

Respond to the discussion about ethics and God (for online class) Essay

Respond to the discussion about ethics and God (for online class) - Essay Example Response to 2nd comment: Aquinas, like me, believed in God. He explained how humans attain satisfaction and happiness through their belief in God. Whereas I discussed how people would differ in their compliance with ethics through a belief in God. What is common between our views is that a belief or disbelief in God makes a difference. Response to 3rd comment: You compliment your own agreement with my stance on the subject when you say that in some people, â€Å"there is no sense for ethics whatsoever†. It is not that they don’t have any sense. Instead, they don’t make use of it. They may not display ethics either because they don’t believe in God, or else, they don’t fear God even if they believe. Here I don’t mean to say that all atheists lack ethics. There are many who are not believers yet have an intrinsic desire to remain decent in their attitude, and hence display ethics. Therefore, ethics is there in every human being, though its disp lay is governed not only by the individual’s belief in God. There are several other factors involved in it like personality traits, genetic traits etc. It is being hard for you to conceive how psychology is related to God because you tend to see God through the eyes of religion. Also, I don’t consider science in contrast with the concept of God, because many things said in the Holy Books are being proved by science. Response to class-mates opinions: 1. You have agreed that ethics is ingrained in humanity, but you don’t consider it to be dependent upon a belief in God. I would like to ask you if a criminal is smart enough to escape worldly punishment, would he abstain from doing wrong then? Irrespective of the fact that ethics is there in him as he is a human, would he have any respect for ethics? Certainly not! Here you may argue that I am speaking of an ideal case in which the criminal is sure that he will not be taken to task for his wrong deed, whereas in act ual, every body knows there is a strict regulatory system in every country. So you should realize that ethics is not just about abstaining from crimes that are largely visible. Even if someone lies, he disregards ethics. So would anyone care not to lie if it benefits without a fear of God? Certainly not! I agree with you when you say that ethics is in-built feature of humanity. I also agree with you when you say that ethics would exist if God does not in people’s perception. However, you need to realize that humans may have little regard for ethics, without a belief in God. 2. You have also said that a society’s legal system is enough to cause human’s to display ethics in their attitude. And also, you have considered such minor requirements of ethics as speaking truth under the umbrella term of â€Å"basic moral obligation†. I agree to you when you say that people would tend not to disregard ethics in public but would disregard it for basics. I also agree to you when you consider ethics as inside every human irrespective of his/her belief in God. Technically, you have constructed sentences in a way that make me say, â€Å"I totally agree with you!† You already seem to agree that people would disregard ethics if they think God does not exist. Because abstaining from bigger crimes and doing smaller ones does not mean that an individual respects ethics. It is just that he/she fears punishment. 3. I agree to you that religions provide their followers with a sound understanding of ethics. However, such understanding may vary

Math HW11 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Math HW11 - Research Paper Example Management estimates that the average cost of replacing or repairing a defective unit is $20. The units sold and units defective that occurred during the last 2 months of 2008 are as follows. Joyce Kieffer's regular hourly wage rate is $15, and she receives a wage of 1 times the regular hourly rate for work in excess of 40 hours. During a March weekly pay period Joyce worked 42 hours. Her gross earnings prior to the current week were $6,000. Joyce is married and claims three withholding allowances. Her only voluntary deduction is for group hospitalization insurance at $25 per week. Compute the following amounts for Joyce's wages for the current week. (1) Gross earnings. (2) FICA taxes. (Assume an 8% rate on maximum of $90,000.) (3) Federal income taxes withheld. (Use the withholding table in the text, page 483.) (4) State income taxes withheld. (Assume a 2.0% rate.) (5) Net pay. (Round answers to 2 decimal places.) According to a payroll register summary of Ruiz Company, the amount of employees' gross pay in December was $850,000, of which $90,000 was not subject to FICA tax and $750,000 was not subject to state and federal unemployment taxes.

Research paper about water use information in Castle Rock, Colorado

About water use information in Castle Rock, Colorado - Research Paper Example The water consumption in Castle Rock varies by time of year. It increases by 400 percent in summer months in comparison to winter season as people use huge amount in watering their lawns. There are 50 wells in Castle Rock having depth of more than 2000 feet. These wells are capable of producing 18.5 million gallons of water per day. The raw water is filtered and disinfected with chlorine to get rid of bacteria in the water. Castle Rock has 15 tanks spread throughout the town to store 36 million gallons of water (Water Conservation 2011). Watering restrictions in Castle Rock is continuing since 1985. That was mainly to manage peak water demand for watering rather to conserve water consumption. It mainly aimed at specific hours/every-third-day watering program starting from the month of May through the month of September. Castle Rock offers water conservation rebate programs and some of them can be described as rotary nozzles, smartscape renovation, high efficiency clothes washers, rain sensors, and smart controllers (Water Conservation 2011). Castle Rock administration is taking all necessary steps to reduce the consumption of water by providing not only efficient equipments but also organizing workshops to help citizens reduce the consumption of water specifically during summer

Impact of technology and science on International relations

Impact of technology and science on International relations Impact of technology and science on International relations Introduction: Science, technology and international affairs influence one another. The impacts of science and technology on international affairs, particularly those of communication and information technologies, are especially penetrating. The interactive effects of science, technology and international affairs are so crucial and extensive that the area needs to be identified as an autonomous sub-control. Its current position as a comparatively abstruse theory, to be charged to experts and kept more or less obscured from the principal body of international relations, is a threatening solecism. These impacts may be categorized as handling through one of four main mechanisms: (1) Altering the building of the international system: its structure, its main constructing theories, and the relations among its factors. (2) Altering the operations by which the international system employs, incorporating administration, diplomacy, war, commerce, finance, trade, policy formation, communications, and the assembling of intelligence; (3) Developing new issue regions, trade-offs and new constraints in the constructing environment of foreign policy, an expression which incorporates not only political constraints on international operations, but also constraints imposed by the laws of natural and social science; and (4) Contributing a source of adjusted realizations, of data and clarity for the operation of the international system architecture, and of new theories and schemes for international relations theory. Aim: The major intention of this project proposal is to carry out the factors that influenced on international relations based on technology and science. And how have significant elements in international affairs evolved as they interact with technological change. Objectives: To understand the project needs, it required collecting the background information through literature survey on international relations and it associated issues. To collect the back ground knowledge on technology and science, required to consider case studies. To make research, need to prepare a frame work with proper research methodology and approach. To critically evaluate the survey results and observations in literature study through discussion and analysis. Research questions: What are the critical factors that need to consider for project international relations when technology and science is the primary concern? What is the significant role of technology and science towards international relations get strengthen? Literature review: Taylor (2004), faces that technological creativity has a great impact on international affairs or relations. Yet, he specifies, international relations intellectuals in common have contributed small amount to the effect of science and technology. International Relations in different nations: According to Eugene B. Skolnikoff, the startling changes in world affairs that began in late 1980’s signaled the end of many of the central elements of postwar international relationships. Momentous and unexpected events in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union occurred at a breathtaking pace, with a spontaneity that tended to obscure the underlying currents that had unleashed them. Many forces were at work in those societies over decades, culminating in dramatic upheaval in essentially all countries of the former eastern bloc. The influence of technological change in the disintegration of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union is but one manifestation of a much longer story in which the results of science and technology have contributed to a profound evolution of the details and substance of national and international affairs. The effects are visible not only in the outcome of the communist experiment but in the countless alterations in the relationships within and among nations and peoples. And that influence is likely to continue to be significant long into the future as the nations of the world remain strongly committed of supporting research. The evidence for the role of science and technology in the evolution of international affairs is pervasive, and most easily seen through dramatic developments that have led global consequences such as the deployment of massive strategic nuclear forces, the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, foreign currency transactions on computerized financial markets in excess of $500 billion per day, or the total eradication of the scourge of smallpox. Relationship between Science technology and international relations: The relationship between international relations and science and technology is not only a result of result of recent advances in science and technology, though the breadth of interaction and the rapidity of change are relatively modern characteristics. The historical examples are countless, ranging from weapons developments that altered the fate of nations and social structures, to industrial technologies that were the basis of revolutions in economy and wealth, to new capabilities in science and technology themselves that led to astonishing discoveries and applications. It was not only the physical developments of technology that had an impact; underlying concepts of science and of the natural world were crucial as well. The intellectual currents of the enlightenment, so much a product of the new ideas of experiment and rationality that accompanied the scientific revolution, served to stimulate massive forces for change in the west. Today, given the scale and organization of the scientific and technological enterprises, science and technology have become arguably the most powerful and persistent factors lending to societal change and, necessarily, to change in international relations. The accelerated commitment of resources and development (r/d) during and after World War II has transformed the relatively haphazard climate of invention and scientific research of earlier centuries. There is now in place a formidable and growing capacity, a system for targeting human integrity toward the rapid expansion of knowledge and the production of new technologies designed to serve perceived or speculative needs. Not only do the products of this system have significant international effects, but it’s very operation leads to international consequences and favors the creation of global markets for its products and for surprising portion of the system, international goals provide the underlying motivation for the commit ment of r/d resources by governments and even by industry. Technical aspects of international relations: The subjects with international consequences that have been massively affected by technological change in recent years are familiar; weapons, communications. The economy, transportation, agriculture, health, space, and others; few, if any, aspects of international affairs have been untouched by science and technology. The effects of the application of technology are so widespread, in fact, and often of such obvious importance in the conduct and evolution of relations among nations, that it is routine for commentators to lapse into florid rhetoric in describing the resulting dramatic change in the international political system. Secretary of George P. Shultz said in December 1987, â€Å"Developments in science and social organization are altering the world profoundly- too profoundly for conventional habits of thinking to grasp. History suggests that mankind rarely understands revolutionary change at the time it is coming about.† W. Michael Blumenthal, Secretary of the Treasury under President Carter said in his 1987 Elihu Root lectures at the council on Foreign Relations in New York, â€Å"I believe there is one circumstance which overshadows all else and has set the current period apart: unprecedented, deep and continual technological change†¦extraordinarily rapid technological change has thrust upon us yet unresolved problems of governance in the national and international spheres. For all that the relationship appears to be self-evident; the extent even of the surface changes in international politics stemming from science and technology proves to be quite difficult to characterize with precision or to assess satisfactorily. It is not hard to draw up lists enumerating international political issues that are affected by technological change, but it is very much more demanding to understand the complexity of the interactions and their more profound consequences for international relations. That understanding is necessary not only to capture the relationship for analytical purposes, but also to assess the true extent of the evolution in international relations and to be able to anticipate, and possibly influence, the future directions and implications of change. It is that understanding of the complexity of the interaction and of the consequences for international affairs that we hope to achieve in this inquiry. Theories of international relations: Curiously, though there have been innumerable policy studies dealing with the effects of technological change in specific policy areas and a small number of works that attempt to look across the board at important policy areas, the subject is largely unexplored from the deeper perspective of the overall effects of science and technology on the evolution of international affairs. It is curious because of the evident centrality of the relationship, whether or not there is agreement on its ultimate significance. Even scholars concerned with theoretical issues in international relations tend to create science and technology as static givens or as emanating from impenetrable black boxes. One of the purposes of this study will be not only to fill this lacuna in the subject as a whole, but along the way to provide a basis for considering science and technology more appropriately in policy or theoretical analyses as the interactive, dynamic variables they are in reality. There is much obviously much in the theoretical literature on international relations that is pertinent and that would illuminate the issues we will be discussing. It would be possible, in fact, to structure along the lines of the debates among theorists. For example, according to differing views of the role of the state or of state or international organizations, both of which have been, and will continue to be, much affected by scientific and technological change. The idea of sovereignty, appearing often in both theoretical and policy terms, does require brief discussion, however, for it is a central element in the nation-state system and is repeatedly cited as having been eroded or at least greatly altered in meaning by technological change. It might easily be assumed that it would figure as an organizing theme in a study concerned with the impact of science and technology on evolution of international relations. The concept is generally thought by theorists, statesmen, and the public at large as fundamental attribute of nations, what Stephen Krasner calls â€Å"the constructive principle of the existing international system†. Methodology: As this project is mainly towards the qualitative research work and which extracts the information analysis from ground level. In this project data analysis point of view, primary data collection is considered where it is with the metric point and literature survey is considered towards the qualitative research part. Qualitative is chosen for project scope area where it deals with the amount of data collection which is not come true with quantitative. Corbin, A. S. a. J. (1998) Researcher want to collect the data from recent articles as well as recent publishers reviews and for primary data collection, he want to choose from different level of people in IT organization like project manager, employee and top level management. So it will be very helpful to analyze the particular point in multidimensional view. It will be more helpful for this research analysis. I had some reference in Indian IT companies, with that I want to go for primary data collection by taking the interviews (Yin, R. (1989)). Data collection is considered as primary and secondary resources. In secondary point, data is being collected in indirect manner where resource will be like books, articles, journals and internet resources (Easterby-smith, R. T. a. A. L. (2002). Primary data collection is the process of finding the data collection from real domain experts by taking the interviews and questionnaire. Then make a comparison study between primary data collection and secondary then make analysis according to the researcher choice with proper evolution. As this project deals the research area of qualitative where there is a lot of scope in mine the knowledge about project task. Interviews are conducted in semi structured pattern where the interview is frame with defined set of questions which is towards the objectives. The most common approach to studying the interaction of science and technology with international relations views the relationship in the context of specific policy areas, typically in relation to pressing policy concerns. A limited number of studies have taken a somewhat broader canvas using a variety of specific policy implications of science and technology as a way of illustrating the growth and change in the matter of international politics and the new relationships and institutions that have been created. These studies have been useful with respect to specific policy implications of developments in science and technology, but they are less satisfactory for our goal of understanding the broader and more fundamental interactions of science and technology with the international political system, and how that system is affected by the continued advance of science and technology. Our primary purpose is not to produce a definitive or quantitative measure of system change; the task would be difficult and the result ultimately arbitrary. Rather, we will explore the nature of the interactions between technological and social factors that lead to evolutionary change, identify the direction and patterns of that change, and record its characteristics. Our focus, accordingly, will be on the patterns of evolution of important elements of international relations as a result of the impact with science and technology. We will consider change in system characteristics or concepts to constitute a definitive transformation only when it is ambiguous. Analysis: The complete project is mainly concerned about the international relations with respect to the technology and science. Now a days, completely world relayed on globalization issues where technology plays vital role in all the fields of development as well as service oriented industries. According to the aim of this project proposal, it must be focused on technology relevant domains as well as current positions with respect to the fields of operations. Even here it required to consider the change management factors according to the change occurred in one sector. So change management plays crucial role in international relations when technology and science came in the primary concern. Researcher point of view, this domain brings very helpful information and prediction policies towards the international relations. For this kind of research, primary data collection is essential where the interpretation is mandatory with respect secondary data which gathered through literature survey. For primary data collection point of view, it considered personal interviews to the professionals in technology end who are worked for research and development sectors. For that researcher is considered information technology field which always keep on upgrading with their technologies and shows much impact on international relations and associated tools. According to the researcher, this research is much towards the real world, so it should be useful for improvement of international relations. Schedule plan and timetable: According to the researcher, this project takes around 90 days of time where the initial stage is completely depends on the requirement analysis of project. Then it will consider the significant study of literature associated with project domains. Then it is required to choose proper research methodology and primary data collection from real domain like surveys and personal interviews. Finally researcher will come to produce the key findings of results with proper frame work also conclusion where all the research work is done under supervision of my project coordinator. References: Cultural Impact on International Relations 2002 (Chinese Philosophical Studies). Edition. Council for Research in Values. Committee on Japan, 1997. Maximizing U.S. Interests in Science and Technology Relations with Japan (Compass Series). Edition. National Academies Press. John R. De La Mothe, 2002. Science, Technology and Global Governance (Science, Technology, and the International Political Economy Series). 0 Edition. Routledge. 2001. International Relations and Global Climate Change (Global Environmental Accord: Strategies for Sustainability and Institutional Innovation). 1st Edition. The MIT Press. Beverly Crawford, 1993. Economic Vulnerability in International Relations: East- West Trade, Investment, and Finance. Edition. Columbia University Press. MIT Political Science: Graduate Studies Fields of Study. 2014. MIT Political Science: Graduate Studies Fields of Study. [ONLINE] Available at: http://web.mit.edu/polisci/graduate/core.html. [Accessed 19 March 2014]. JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie. 2014. JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/20026535?uid=3738256uid=2480264703uid=2uid=3uid=60sid=21103798658603. [Accessed 19 March 2014]. What is the Impact of Science and Technology (NUCLEAR WEAPONS) Upon International Relations?. 2014. What is the Impact of Science and Technology (NUCLEAR WEAPONS) Upon International Relations?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.preservearticles.com/201106208251/what-is-the-impact-of-science-and-technology-nuclear-weapons-upon-international-relations.html. [Accessed 19 March 2014]. GT Catalog : International Affairs : MS International Affairs. 2014. GT Catalog : International Affairs : MS International Affairs. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/colleges/cola/inta/grad/phdintast.php. [Accessed 19 March 2014]. 20th-century international relations (politics) :: Science and technology in wartime Encyclopedia Britannica. 2014. 20th-century international relations (politics) :: Science and technology in wartime Encyclopedia Britannica. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/291225/20th-century-international-relations/32912/Science-and-technology-in-wartime. [Accessed 19 March 2014].

The Mystery Of Drear House :: essays research papers

Virginia Hamilton. The Mystery of Drear House. Greenwillow Books, 1987. 217pp   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In concluding her series of stories about the Small family, Virginia Hamilton compliments the original plot perfectly in The Mystery of Drear House. The books dark secrets begin to slowly unveil and are brought to end with a surprising friendship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book is again set around the house of Dies Eddington Drear, in a current year. The surrounding property and underground tunnels on premises play major roles in defining the plot and motive for the characters bizarre actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main character in the book was Thomas small; he is a young boy about 12 years old. He is shy and timid but is very mature for his age. He sees things for how they should be, and he often gives too much due to his kind-hearted nature. Thomas best friend is Pesty Darrow a girl his age who lives on the property that borders theirs. The Darrows are a feuding family and believe that there is gold buried on the Small’s land. They feel that it should belong to them and pull many risky stunts to try and find it. Mrs. Darrow is Pestys mother and the key to many secrets of the house and the tunnels that were once apart of the Underground Railroad. Due to her mental illness, she cannot speak and remember things clearly. Thomas’s father has known the location of the gold, and being the good man that he is, arranges for the Darrows to find it. He did this so they could live next to each other without feuding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe Hamilton was trying to show that stubborn people with different ideas can over come one another’s differences. She shows how kindness and letting someone know that your care, and to be able to let the past go can bring even the worst of enemies together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book in itself was excellent; I thought it explained and answered many questions and brought the story to a sufficient close. I almost wish it wouldn’t have, the mysteries of the house were quite interesting especially with the relevance to the Underground Railroad and the true history behind it, which she incorporated into the plot.