Ask an Educator...

**Boleslav** · 08-20-2009, 08:19 PM

As some of you may already know, I am a teacher. I've taught at College and High School in Europe and North America.

Since it's "back to school" time, and we have many people in our community who are either students or parents of students, I thought it would be nice to start an "Ask an Educator..." thread to help answer questions, clear up confusions, and provide reassurances to the community. FoxyBunny kindly agreed and let me establish this thread. I hope it can be useful.

Please post any questions you may have here. I will try to answer as many as I can as quickly as I can.

I know that I am not the only teacher in Evony and I strongly invite other educators to answer the questions and provide alternative viewpoints.

Please also know that the law rightfully constrains me from releasing certain information to the public.

Specialized Questions that Require an Answer

so what college should i go to for me to be a surgeon in NA in your opinion (premed) - revo of troy

**revo of troy** · 08-20-2009, 08:21 PM

so what college should i go to for me to be a surgeon in NA in your opinion (premed)

**abracax** · 08-20-2009, 08:22 PM

Why is the sky blue?

**anomous person** · 08-20-2009, 08:29 PM

abracrax im not a teacher but its blue becouse its the reflection of the ocean

**Wesdres** · 08-20-2009, 08:32 PM

this is an odd question, but how do external combustion engines work? (like the stirling engine)

**Boleslav** · 08-20-2009, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by revo of troy

so what college should i go to for me to be a surgeon in NA in your opinion (premed)

I'm not familiar with the college options you have so I would be scared to advise something concrete. I've added your question to my opening post in the hope that someone who is more familiar can offer you advice.

I'd say that when selecting a college you need to consider a wide variety of factors, not just the quality of the program but obviously things like the cost and less obviously things like the quality of their student support and advising services. I'd really recommend visiting the campuses and asking tough questions not just to the educators but also the students. I also recommend talking to as many people as possible, definitely including doctors and medics, about what they would suggest. People tend to be frank about the pluses and minuses of various colleges, they understand the enormity of the decision and your need to make the right choice.

One final point I'd make about colleges is that sometimes the biggest name college or the most expensive college delivers an education less rigorous than their less well-known and cheaper competitors.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific.

**Boleslav** · 08-20-2009, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by Wesdres

this is an odd question, but how do external combustion engines work? (like the stirling engine)

I have no idea, but I'd love to find out!

Reading Abracax's question "why is the sky blue?" made me want to thank him, but also post asking people not to post "homework" style questions, the answers to which could be easily googled anyway. But I think I kinda like these random questions, because as they get answered by other users I learn new things.

**abracax** · 08-20-2009, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by anomous person

abracrax im not a teacher but its blue becouse its the reflection of the ocean

No it's not blue because of the reflection of the ocean. Seems you need a science lesson.

The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.