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Formulas for Various Areas (table)

(Encyclopedia)Formulas for Various Areas 1 The abbreviations used are: b = base (length of any side of a plane figure); a = altitude (perpendicular distance from the farthest point of the figure to t...

echo, in acoustics

(Encyclopedia)echo, reflection of a sound wave back to its source in sufficient strength and with a sufficient time lag to be separately distinguished. If a sound wave returns within 1⁄10 sec, the human ear is in...

fine

(Encyclopedia)fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the altern...

Fastolf, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fastolf, Sir John făsˈtŏlf [key], 1378?–1459, English soldier. He won distinction for his long service in the latter part of the Hundred Years War. He was knighted some time prior to 1418 for ser...

Pérez Rodríguez, Carlos Andrés

(Encyclopedia)Pérez Rodríguez, Carlos Andrés kärˈlōs ändrāsˈ pāˈrās rôdrēˈgās [key], 1922–2010, president of Venezuela (1974–78, 1989–93). An aide to President Rómulo Betancourt, he was secre...

petal

(Encyclopedia)petal, one of the four basic parts of a flower, next innermost organ from the sepal. The whorl of petals is known collectively as the corolla [Lat.,=little crown]. The number of petals is usually cons...

Bouterse, Désiré Delano

(Encyclopedia)Bouterse, Désiré Delano, 1945–, Surinamese military and political leader, president of Suriname (2010–20). He received military training in the Netherlands and was stationed at a German military...

Boutwell, George Sewall

(Encyclopedia)Boutwell, George Sewall so͞oˈəl boutˈwəl, –wĕl [key], 1818–1905, American politician, b. Brookline, Mass. He served seven terms in the Massachusetts legislature between 1842 and 1851, was el...

South China Sea

(Encyclopedia)South China Sea, western arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.1,000,000 sq mi (2,590,000 sq km), between the SE Asian mainland and Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo. It is connected with the East China Sea b...

Agricultural Adjustment Administration

(Encyclopedia)Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), former U.S. government agency established (1933) in the Dept. of Agriculture under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 as part of Franklin Delano Roos...