Phản ứng hóa học là quá trình phá vỡ các liên kết trong chất đầu và hình thành các liên kết mới để tạo thành sản phẩm. Sự phá vỡ liên kết cần cung cấp năng lượng, trong khi sự hình thành liên kết lại giải phóng năng lượng. Cho biết năng lượng liên kết trong các phân tử $O_2,N_2$ và NO lần lượt là 494 kJ/mol, 945 kJ/mol và 607 kJ/mol. Biến thiên enthalpy chuẩn của phản ứng là

$N_2$(g) + $O_2$(g) $\stackrel{}{\to }$ 2NO(g)

My father was an enthusiastic traveller, but as he got older, he increasingly suffered from what he called “travel fever,” a vivid term for the acute anxiety felt before a journey, essentially due to uncertainty about all the things that could go wrong. Sadly, this eventually stopped him from going on holiday. Then I, too, started to suffer similar apprehension, so I consulted a psychotherapist. She recommended a small piece of cognitive behavioural therapy, which involved acknowledging the mental and physical symptoms of anxiety, but telling myself that these were essentially indistinguishable from feelings of excitement about the prospect of a journey. This reframing of my feelings has been reasonably effective – it’s one way of dealing with uncertainty.

It’s not just the uncertainty of travel that we all have to face. None of us knows what is going to happen, or what is currently going on outside our immediate knowledge, or the vast majority of what has happened in the past. Uncertainty has been called the “conscious awareness of ignorance,” and there is a lot we are ignorant about. We must navigate through life without complete information, and this fundamental uncertainty is an inescapable aspect of human existence.

We all have to live with this uncertainty and, as a statistician, it’s been my job to try to analyse data and assess some of the risks we face. (I)But some deal with uncertainty with more equanimity than others. (II) Psychological studies, as well as our own experience, reveal a wide variation in people’s responses, including those that are cognitive (how we think), emotional (how we feel), and behavioural (what we do). (III)For example, when faced with uncertainty, do you deny it or acknowledge it, does it put the wind up you or make you courageous, do you try to avoid it or approach it?(IV)

Of course, your response may depend on the context, just as an individual’s appetite for risk-taking can vary across different areas of their lives. I have known people who seemed to take huge physical risks, yet were very cautious with money. Numerous scales have been developed to measure how well people can deal with uncertainty, based on responses to statements ranging from “Unforeseen events upset me greatly” to “When it’s time to act, uncertainty paralyses me.” Those who score highly, and find it difficult to tolerate uncertainty, may also be at increased risk of clinically significant anxiety and depression.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a factor influencing people’s responses to uncertainty in paragraph 3?