The Boffins Portal Team 
When we go out to eat, how often do we worry about food poisoning? You probably shouldn’t worry because HACCP may have you covered. This is a system designed to keep everybody safe so that they can enjoy their dinner out without worrying about falling ill from bad food. But is your favorite restaurant following …
DEFINITION: The placebo effect is a phenomenon where a person experiences a perceived improvement in symptoms or conditions after receiving an inactive substance or treatment, often attributed to psychological factors or expectations. EXPLANATION: Medicines aren’t too exciting, especially when we think of the negative side effects they may cause. But what if we could swap …
In many synthetic chemical processes, reality often doesn’t line up with theory. Real-world chemical reactions tend to throw up results that differ somewhat from what our nicely written chemical reactions expect. For example, impurities get in the way to mess up things. Or the reaction may not run to completion. This leaves stuff behind that …
Cars get their energy from gasoline stored in engines. Solar-powered households get their electrical energy from solar batteries packed with chemical fuel stores captured from sunlight. But how is energy stored in your body for its later convenient use? This is where cellular respiration comes in. Cellular respiration is a collection of reactions through which …
The relationship between two variables can be represented graphically. When the rate of change for both variables is constant, the relationship between these two variables is represented by a straight line. When the rate of change is constantly varying, the relationship between the two variables is represented graphically by a curve. Instantaneous rate of change …
Similarity statements are logical arguments that show how two or more shapes are similar. They focus on two things: the lengths of the sides and angle measures in the two shapes. The similarity comes from the fact that two figures are identical in shape but differ in size. This is due to a scale factor …
The name Ivan Pavlov stirs strong images for many people. He is the famous Russian psychologist who performed experiments that made his dogs salivate each time they heard the bell ring. But why should dogs salivate at the sound of a bell when there is nothing delicious about it? The answer is that Pavlov had …
Levers are simple machines. They form the basis of many of the tools we use in our day-to-day lives. Levers have three basic components: the effort, fulcrum or pivot, and load. Effort is applied to a lever at one point to move a load that is at another point on the lever. The force of …
A linear model is an equation that is used to compare two values i.e. x and y. In linear models, the change between the two values is consistent. This means that the x changes at the same rate in which y changes. These equations can be represented on a graph using a straight line, hence …
Game theory is a process or framework that defines how several interacting choices affect the outcome of something. It can also be considered to be a science of strategy or to some extent—the optimal decision-making of competing but independent actors in a strategic setting. The primary focus of game theory is the game, which often …