plasticity! :D

Recently in science class, we experimented with something called plasticity. We basically, simulated how the Earth's mantle moves. We made a mixture of water, corn starch, and food coloring. Adding the food coloring however, was optional. Mixing the water with the corn starch was slightly difficult. Once it was fully mixed, we were dealing with a substance that was half liquid and half solid. Our group mixed a little too much water in, however we were still able to see how this substance was both liquid and solid. When the starchy water was in our hands it was solid and when our fingers spread apart, it would slip through like a liquid. Actually, a drop of the mixture fell onto my shirt. After a a few seconds, the drop solidified. After a while, the water and corn starch actually dried onto my hands. The cleanup for this lab was different than usual. Using water on the tables would only make cleanup more difficult. Undoubtedly, doing this lab was an excellent way to see how the mantle moves.

October Sky

Recently, the Omega Unit has watched a movie called "October Sky". This movie features important connections to science and math. It also includes connections that can be made to character education and the C.A.R.E.S. acronym.

Character Education
C.A.R.E.S.
C.cooperation
A.assertion
R.responsibility
E.empathy
S.self-control

Several instances in "October Sky" had the viewers thinking about the aspects of character in the "C.A.R.E.S." acronym and other important facets of character. Some of these instances include:
-determination: Harvey showed absolute determination to learn about rockets in the beginning. Then he persisted and tested out different model rockets.
-respect: Homer respected the principal when he was questioned about his rocket in school, even though he already had a teacher's permission to bring it in.
-cooperation: The boys worked well together in the process of building the model rockets.
-responsibility: The boys took the responsibility of warning the train that the train tracks were unsafe to ride on.
-responsibility: Homer showed responsibility by temporarily dropping out of school to work on the mine in place of his father.

Science and Math Connections
Several science and math connections were made in "October Sky."
One connection to physical science is related to the rockets. The rockets that were launched in the sky had to come down because of gravity.
A connection that can be made to another type of science in this movie, is chemical science and the incident in the science classroom in the movie. A chemical reaction was made in the sink and caused a fire.
A math connection is made to parabolas. There was a parabola involved in the path of the flight of one of Homer's rockets.

Response to : Cystic Fibrosis

Blogger, Ashanima posted information on Cystic Fibrosis. Being that Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disorder, I feel that it the victims absolutely do not deserve to suffer the horrid consequences of this disease. Cystic Fibrosis causes the victim to die at the age of thirty-seven. That is a horribly young age to die at. The symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis are harsh on the individual. The fact that it causes 30,000 deaths annually is absolutely depressing. According to this blog, the pain that the individual has to withstand is unbearbable. All in all, I feel absolute sympathy for those affected by Cystic Fibrosis. They have done nothing to attain this disease, for it is simply in their alleles, and they must suffer a great deal.

Ashanima's Blog.

Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome was discovered in 1959 by Jerome Lejuene. This gentleman discovered that Down Syndrome results from having an extra chromosome. Symptoms of Down Syndrome include certain heart malformations, short stature, weak muscles. They will have short, wide necks with excess fat and skin, short arms and legs. It can induce eye conditions and celiac disease. Down Syndrome occurs when there is a second, or even third copy of the twenty first chromosome. Treatments for this disease include vocational training. Vocational training can better the development of children with Down Syndrome. It is imperative that the child with Down Syndrome has regular medical checkups. The average lifespan of an individual with Down Syndrome is 49 years. Down Syndrome occurs one in every 733 live births. This would mean there would be about 5,429 cases per year. Currently, there are 400,000 people living with Down Syndrome in the United States. Down Syndrome can occur in people of all races and economic levels. However, Down Syndrome occurs more in births of children who have mothers under thirty-five years age. As mentioned before, at a "molecular" level Down Syndrome occurs when an individual has two or three copies of the twenty-first chromosome. Personally reflecting on the information on this condition, I feel that Down Syndrome is terrible. Especially since it can affect the victim, only by having an extra copy of a chromosome. I would love to find out more information on this genetic disorder. I hope that more can be found out on Down Syndrome in the subsequent years.

DNA Animal Cell Conclusion

It was hypothesized that if the procedures were followed through correctly strands of DNA would be visible in the sports drink. Observations of this experiment included that as the sports drink was spat back into the cup and poured into the test tube, it was noticed that the color or the sports drink was less blue, and particles were visible throughout the liquid. As the lysis was added, the amount of the liquid in the test tube increased to 9mL from 7mL. As the tube was incubating in the beaker for fifteen minutes no differences were really taken note of. It has been considered that the DNA strands were not visible, because the test tube was taken out of the beaker more than it should have been. Possibly the lysis and the sports drink had not been combined exactly right. The reliability of this experiment is not the greatest, because some directions on the procedures may have been mistaken by the experimenter. However if procedures are followed carefully, the lab shows a pretty good reliability. This experiment was controlled by the fact that everyone had the same sports drink, the same amount, and the same amount of lysis. The cups and test tubes were all the same throughout. From this lab, it was learned that lab procedures must be followed precisely. However by observing another's DNA experiment, it was also shown how DNA strands from our cells appear.

Social Studies Blog 3 (international news)

Wildfire in Australia!

During the weekend of February 7, in Australia a horrid wildfire took the lives of 210. This fire will continue to kill more if the nations arid, dry conditions carry on in the southeast of Australia. So, what this means is that unless Australia receives some rainfall this wildfire will continue to blaze on. In fact Stuart Ord quotes, "This is how it will be until late March-early April unless we get some rain."

Following is the damage done by the wildfire:
2,029 homes were destroyed recently
Previously this number was 1,800.
Reparing this damage would cost in US Dollars about $504 million.
1.1 million acres have been destroyed since November.

A repeat of February 7 is what Ord called a "worst case scenario." Temperatures would rise up to 115.5 degrees Fahrenheit and wind speeds would pick up to about fifty miles an hour. However the next "major challenge" was Friday which would present temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and wind speeds of thirty-one miles per hour.

"We have to do our very best to manage both the fatigue amongst our crew but keep going hard enough so we can contain these fires and prepare for Friday," says Russel Rees the County Fire Authority.

Hopefully Australia will be ready to take on these challenges.

Link to Original Article:
Australian wildfire danger looms for months: officials.

Roller Coasters and A Website!

Recently in science class, we have been building roller coasters and setting up small business websites for these roller coasters.

Building the coasters:

During the process of building the roller coasters we discovered more about the physics of roller coasters and the necessity life skill of money management. The physics was taught by forcing us to label the highest potential and kinetic points and having to answer inquiries about the following:
-Newton's laws of motion
-friction, mass, and acceleration

Sample Website Question:

How is Newton's first law of motion used?

The cart will stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. The cart will remain at constant velocity unless friction acts upon it.

Making websites for the small business roller coasters was a good experience. We learned how to add pages, upload pictures, and even add extras onto the website. Though there were a few problems in the process of creating the website, we had figured out how to solve it by simply switching browsers. I think that creating websites is an important skill that we should all have the opportunity to learn.

Money Management

While building roller coasters, we needed to purchase certain parts to build them with. So, we had to use none other than the fabulous currency of OMEGA MONEY. We had to learn how to earn enough and how to use it wisely so that we would have enough money to buy the parts that would make a superb roller coaster. We unfortunately did not have much money. However, with what we were given we learned how to purchase just the right amount of parts with money to spare.

Overall, the roller coasters combined several skills that all turn out to be useful. We used some creativity, common sense, money management, and learned how to make a website!