Halloween Newsletter

This was a magical time of year when I was a kid. All year our parents made us behave and act civilized, but on Halloween they dressed us up in weird outfits and sent us out into the streets to beg for candy!

These days, I get a kick sitting on my porch giving out candy and watching all the little kids in their costumes. (I still shake my head at the high schoolers that should have given this up years ago...)

In this newsletter, we have mostly treats for you but one potential trick. Read on!

Trick or Treat,

Professor Cram

And Then There Were Two...?

At first glance, the news that Thomson is selling their college textbook publishing business seems unlikely to be of much interest to the average college student. However, this may end up being the biggest and costliest trick you get this Halloween.
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Tricks and Treats to Studying

Just run a Google on how to study and you will find over 268 million entries all boasting theories or techniques for success. So what study habits are most effective?
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New Tutorial: Using the Periodic Table

All of our science textbooks have a Periodic Table in the front cover, but neglect to explain how to use the thing. If you take Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, or any other science, you need to check this out.
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Ask Professor Cram: Two Cars Algebra Problem

Dear Professor Cram:

One automobile starts out from a town at 8am and travels at an average speed rate of 35mph. Three hours later a second automobile starts out to overtake the first. If the second automobile travels at an average rate of 55mph how long before it overtakes the first?

Holly F., Madison Area Technical College

Thank you for your interest in College-Cram, Holly, and thanks for your question.

Your question is a variant of the classic A train leaves Chicago going... question you see on tests like the SAT, but do not let that alarm you...
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Ask Professor Cram: Velocity Vectors

Dear Professor Cram:

An executive flew his corporate jet to a meeting in a city 1500 kilometers away. After traveling the same amount of time on return flight, the pilot mentioned that they still had 300 km to go. The air speed of the plane was 600 km/hr for both legs. Assuming that the wind direction was parallel to the flight path and constant all day, how fast was the wind blowing?

Ekta, Middlesex Community College

Ekta, thank you for this physics question involving vectors. Let us see how we can tackle it.
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Ask Professor Cram: Square Roots

Dear Professor Cram:

First I must tell you, that I am so happy to have found your site, it has given me hope that I can learn what I need to advance in my college studies. Here is my question: how do you find the square root of a radicand?

D. B., University of Louisiana

Thank you for your feedback, we love to hear from people we are helping.

To answer your question, there are a couple of ways of finding a square root without a calculator.
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October Newsletter is out

As US mid-term elections approach on the heels of mid-term exams, it occurs to me just how many similarities there are between government and college. In both cases, we've been compelled up to this point to follow along what others wanted from us, but now we're finally in a position to make our own choices (for good or ill). Thankfully, we don't get the chance to change our elected officials as frequently as some of us change our majors!

So as both mid-terms approach, do prepare yourself. Study the choices in front of you and make informed decisions based on individual merits. Above all, don't forget to show up!

Do or do not - there is no 'try',
Professor Cram

Read this latest newsletter, including articles on
how to give a presentation, how to take a test you haven't prepared for, and more.

How to use the periodic table

Most of my science textbooks had a periodic table in the front or back cover. None of them, though, told me how to read the bloody thing. Check out a great tutorial at College-Cram on using the periodic table.

New learning materials on cell biology

We have some new tutorials on cell membranes at our College-Cram Biology page:

Active Transport is the mediated process of moving molecules and other substances across membranes....

Passive Transport is the cellular process of moving molecules and other substances across membranes....

Endocytosis is a cellular process where cells absorb molecules or substances from outside the cell by engulfing it with the cell membrane....

Exocytosis is a cellular process where cells eject waste products or chemical transmitters (such as hormones) from the interior of the cell....

All these and more help students study their biology coursework in less time.