Charity Fair - Project Blog - 11/14 - 11/18

Image Source:  https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7142/6583248381_9f96c1f9b3.jpg

Summary:

Before donating to a charity, you should learn things about it. Things you should know about a charity before donating to it are: their name, what they do, and their mission. Other things you should consider are their statistics in money, such as how much they give and money to raise $100. You should also research on what they have achieved, and what they are currently doing.

Backward Looking:

How much did you know about the subject before I started? I knew a few things about the charity fair project before I started this year, last year. Things I knew about the charity fair last year was that you had to make and sell items you made, and then with the money you have, you donate it to a charity of your choice. Things have gone a bit different with the charity fair this year. I've known some of it before we started. For example, instead of donating to a charity of your choice, you must convince the student council to donate all AdVENTURE's money to one charity, making a presentation/speech. Other things that are different include adding different elements, such as carbon footprint, cost & profit, etc.

Inward Looking:

How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work? I thought that the charity fair was really fun to do, making the products and the elements, and working on the tri-fold poster. My most favorite part of the charity fair would either be making the products(origami) or developing the tri-fold poster. The part I dislike doing for the charity fair was doing the carbon footprint. This was because it was really difficult to do, because some of the products we used didn't show where it was made, taking a long time to finish the carbon footprint, and took a lot of hard work to finish. The part I like most about this project is making the origami and doing the tri-fold poster, since this was the part I was most proud of

Outward Looking:

What grade would you give it? Why? If I were to grade my own charity fair project, I would give it an A. I would give it this grade because I think I did pretty well for the charity fair by adding all the elements with all of requirements, with a bit of extra data. I also think I did pretty well on the tri-fold poster with detailing it. But the main reason I would give myself an A is because of the products. The main reason I would give myself an A is because of the collaboration my team and I did during the charity fair. We communicated when doing all of the elements of the charity fair, talked about all of the requirements and what to do. Saying this, I wouldn't really say that I did really really good on the charity project. There were a bit of some flaws, like miscalculations and making a few mistakes for the cost and profit and carbon footprint.  

Forward Looking:

What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again? There are many things that I would change if I were to to do the charity fair project again. One thing I would change is the product I was selling. I was originally selling origami, but that did not sell much on exhibition night. If I were to sell something different in the charity fair than origami, I would sell something that you could bake, like cookies or cake pops. There aren't many things I would change if I were to do the charity fair again, besides doing some of the charity fair elements again, since I would be selling a new product.

Weekly Blog 12/7 - 12/11 - Dirt On Soil

Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Stagnogley.JPG

Summary: 

Soil erosion usually destroys things, like farms, and causes mudslides. There are many ways to prevent soil erosion. One way is to have plants dig into the soil instead of having trenches. Plants hold down the soil with their roots. Another way to reduce soil erosion is having low incline. That prevents the soil from running down a high incline and making more soil fall, causing soil erosion. Other ways to prevent soil erosion is having different types of soil. Silt, and Silt and Sand mixture reduces soil erosion.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

This week, I obtained my data through an interactive with two different levels. The first level was trying to find out which kind of soil treatment (plant/trench), incline, and amount of water I needed to reduce soil erosion. The second level was basically the same, but with a new variable: soil type. This included sand, silt, or both mixed. I evaluated the validity of my answers by re-checking if each combination of variables were correct, then tested them. I communicated my information by putting my data on a sheet of paper provided, then, I communicated the best variables (soil treatment, incline, soil type, amount of water) needed to prevent soil erosion. 

Weekly Blog - 11/30 - 12/06 - Soil

Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Soil.jpg

Summary:

Soil, like air and water, is a vital resource for life on Earth. It keeps harmful chemicals out, allow plants and crops to grow on them, and clean the air. Soil takes thousands of years to form. Every 500 years, soil grows at least 1 cm thick. Soil is made up of weathered bedrock, and other materials on the surface. Other materials on the surface include sand, silt, and decomposed organisms, air water, and mineral particles. Without soil, life on earth wouldn't be possible.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

This week, I obtained my information on soil through a provided website and textbooks on Earth Science. I also obtained my data by taking down notes from a video about soil. Then I used those notes to gather my data. I evaluated the validity of my data because all the sources of data was provided by the teacher. I communicated all the data I found to my team when we were working on our background research. I also communicated data on my team's background research document, showing the data I have collected.

The Safest Place In America Essay 11/20

https://goo.gl/MFLCKy

Position Statement:

     The Safest Place In America (SPIA), is Bismarck, North Dakota. My team and I chose this location for a couple of reasons. One reason is that it isn't prone to that much natural disasters. Another reason I chose Bismarck as my location is why it isn't prone to these earthquakes. Some reasons are because of its locations, its natural features, events in the atmosphere, and more! There are several reasons why Bismarck is the safest place in America

Wildfires:  

    Wildfires are caused in many places in America, but not Bismarck. The reason behind this? Well, a few reasons. One reason is that Bismarck is really cold, which makes it really hard for wildfires to start, and if it does, it might die out in a few moments. Another reason why wildfires aren't really in Bismarck is because it has low vegetation, which makes it hard for a wildfire to start and grow. Other reasons include events in the atmosphere. If a wildfire is small enough, wind in the air can blow it away, and thunderstorms aren't really that sever, which makes wildfires even less common. One last factor is that the Santa Ana winds are nowhere near Bismarck, so a wildfire cannot spread fast enough or be dangerous.

Earthquakes:

   Earthquakes are caused usually near the margin of America, but not in Bismarck. This is because Bismarck is in the center of the North American Plate. That causes that city to be safe from earthquakes, because it isn't near any other plate. In addition to that, Bismarck does not have any faults or strike-slips, which makes earthquakes not really prone in Bismarck. So Bismarck isn't a place for earthquakes, because there is no plate activity nearby.

Hurricanes:

   Hurricanes happen in the east coast of America. There are plenty of reasons why it isn't in Bismarck is not prone to hurricanes. There, the weather is cold, but hurricanes also need warm water to form, but the cold weather makes the water cold as well. It also isn't near the ocean, which is where some hurricanes form. There is also no warm air or water, which is needed for formation of a hurricane. Other reasons include the Coriolis Effect. Also, since there is cold weather, there is little evaporation, let alone having warm water, which makes the chance of a hurricane impossible. The Coriolis effect is low in Bismarck, which makes the chance of a hurricane in Bismarck, again, impossible. 

Conclusion:

    In conclusion, Bismarck is in fact the Safest Place In America, due to the low severity in Natural Disasters, because of its natural features. Because of its natural features, it is only prone to Tornadoes, Blizzards, and Thunderstorms, but they are not severe enough. According to the NY times, Corvallis, Oregon, is the Safest Place In America, but I don't believe this, because Oregon has a few natural disasters, two in which are very severe, while in North Dakota, the Natural Disasters weren't that severe.

The SPIA Decision - Weekly Blog 11/9 - 11/15

Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Bismark,_ND_Capitol.jpg

Summary: 

In America, every state is prone to at least three or more natural disasters. The area in the US mostly prone to Natural Disasters in in the East Coast. Everywhere beyond that is not really prone to Natural Disasters. North Dakota is the state that has three natural disasters. But those three natural disasters weren't that severe, and no state was similar to the information found about North Dakota on natural disasters. That is why North Dakota is one of the safest states in America.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

This week, my team and I obtained information of  where the Safest Place In America (SPIA) is by looking at our maps that we made for our research and used it for our decision of the Safest Place in America. My team and I evaluated validity of our data by checking and looking at the maps and seeing which state had the least, prone to the least, or had the least prone natural disasters. We crossed out every state prone to four our more natural disasters, and found out that every state that we didn't cross out was prone to 3 natural disasters. But the state that was less prone to natural disasters was North Dakota, which had 3 natural disasters, but those three natural disasters it was prone to weren't very severe. We searched deeper into which city in North Dakota was safe, and we searched in the center of North Dakota. There, we found the city of Bismarck, and my team and I finally decided on the safest place in America: Bismarck, ND. I was the one who noticed that North Dakota was least prone to three natural disasters, and I communicated that information with my team and decided on the Safest City In America.

Natural Disasters Research - Weekly Blog - 11/2 - 11/8

Image Source: https://goo.gl/YkRhdu

Summary:

A Natural Disaster is a disaster that is from nature. They can occur in the atmosphere (air), or on the ground. Storms in the U.S usually occur in places where warm, moist air and cold air meet. This is because that a lot of the storms in the U.S (Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Blizzards, etc.) form by warm, moist air, meeting cold air. The Western part of the U.S is not prone to these storms, since there are a lot of mountains there, which makes it difficult for the storms to form. The places prone to storms (East Coast to the Midwestern States) do not have mountains, which allows the storm to form. 

Other disasters, such as earthquakes and wildfires, usually occur in the West states of the U.S These states are prone to wildfires because there is a lot of vegetation which makes the wildfires easier to spread, hot climate, which provides heat to the wildfire and helps it grow, and human-environment interaction. These states are also prone to earthquakes, because the West has a lot of  faults, which is one source of the earthquakes, and the West Part of the North American Plate is pushing against the Pacific Plate, which can also create an earthquake if the two plates release.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate and Communicate Information:

This week, I obtained data for my research by going on provided resources for natural disasters and going on the internet. I also obtained some data from using background knowledge I had from the Plate Tectonics Unit. I communicated obtained information by discussing the data of the research with my team and changing some of the answers as we were discussing our data. We evaluated the validity of our research by discussing it, checking the answers with the teacher, and going on a few sites (last updated 2013-2015) to see if they were all the same answer.

Natural Disasters - Weekly Blog 10/26 - 11/01

Image Source: https://goo.gl/lJ8ZNK

Summary:

   Natural disasters are disasters that come from nature itself. These include: Tsunamis, wildfires, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, floods, etc. These occur due to climate, climate changes, vegetation, environment, weather, landscape, and human-environment interaction. They can also happen because of things in the atmosphere/air, and from space. For example, tsunamis can form from a meteoroid hitting the ocean, These are the reasons why some states in America are prone to these natural disasters and some aren't. Some states have these conditions while others don't. 

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

   This week, I obtained data from my research on Natural Disasters for my Presentation on the Safest Place in America Project. My research included: Describing the Natural Disaster, Where they occurred geographically, and on what conditions does this natural disaster form and why they form. The last thing I put on my research is filling in and coloring which states are prone to these natural disasters. I evaluated the validity of my work by checking two sites that had the same information, and both were last updated just recently and getting my research sheets approved by the teacher which means that my research is valid. Then, I communicated my work by sharing my data that I found with my team, and discussing the information each of us found. 

Plate Tectonics Project - Project Blog - 10/18 - 10/25

Image Source: https://goo.gl/YB4aAO

Summary:

          The Cascade Range, also known as the Cascade Volcanoes, or the Cascade Mountains, was formed over 35 million years ago due to the subduction of the Juan De Fuca Plate and the North American Plate. This subduction formed the 18 volcanoes of the Cascade Range. These 18 volcanoes are either Strato, Shield, Lava Dome, or Cinder Cone Volcanoes. The Cascade Range is currently a convergent boundary. The Cascade Range stretches as far as 700 miles length and has a width of 80 miles. It is located at the North American Plate, but more specifically, between Northern California and British Columbia in Canada. The Cascade Range is the part of the Ring Of Fire, which borders the pacific plate, and is home to a lot of volcanoes that are resting, extinct, or active. The highest point of the Cascade Range is the peak of Mount Rainier, at 14,000 feet above sea level.

Backward Looking:

     In what ways do you think you need to improve? There were a couple of things I think I could have worked on better. One thing was the planning, since during the project, a lot of things weren't planned, and me and my team completed the work out of the recommended schedule, so a few things were rushed. One last thing i'd like to improve is the presentation. I'd like to improve on this section of the project since it wasn't rehearsed, some of our statements and data didn't seem clear to the audience, and we put very little text to each slide, so it took a long time for the slides to transition.

Inward looking:

     How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work? Although there were many ups and downs to this project, I really did enjoy working on the project. My most favorite part of the project was making a model of the Cascade Range, since I really like making models. It also looked good, and was easy to make.. The part I really dislike was working on the presentation, since it was finished after the recommended schedule, and it was pretty hard gathering data. 

Outward Looking:

     If someone else were looking at the piece, what might they learn about who you are? If someone were to look at my project, they may learn that I work hard at projects, I take them really seriously, and I add a lot of quality to my projects. This applies mostly to my model, since I worked really, really hard at it, but some of it applies to the presentation slides that I made.

Forward Looking:

      As you look at this piece, what's one thing that you would like to try to improve upon? There are some things I would really like to improve on. One thing is the scheduling. During the project, I was behind the recommended schedule, so I had to basically multitask. Since I was behind the recommended schedule, the presentation was not as good as I planned it to be. One thing I planned was for the presentation to have a lot of information. One last thing I planned for the presentation was for the script and the presentation slide transitions to sync. What I mean by that is when I was done talking for that particular slide, it would move. But it wasn't that easy, so I really want to improve on that part.

The Cascade Range - Weekly Blog 10/12 -10/18

Image Source: https://goo.gl/nr5vQq

Summary:

       The Cascade Range is also called the Cascade Mountains, or the Cascade Volcanoes. It starts at North California, stretches up North, and ends at British Columbia. It has a total of 18 Mountains. The Cascade Range was formed by subduction of the Pacific Plate (under the) and the North American Plate. It's highest peak (Mount Rainier) is at 14,409 feet above sea level. 

SP2: Develop and Using Models:

    I constructed a physical model to represent a few of the many mountains of the Cascade Range with my team. I made Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Glacier Peak, and added a compass rose. I first molded my mountains with aluminum foil, then I painted it, stuck it onto cardboard, labeled the mountains, and added finishing touches. I can see that I have improved on this practice based on the quality of my model, and how I improved on other things like the labels.

By Joshua Santos 2026-6B SCIENCE 

Earth's Development & Mountains - Weekly Blog - 10/5 - 10/11

Image Source: https://goo.gl/nTezW5

Summary:

The Earth was created from debris from the sun. When Earth was created, nickel and rock formed the mantle. It is believed that we got our water on Earth from asteroids that had water in them. The Earth wasn't stable until it was 4.4 million years old. Speaking of Earth, Stratigraphy is the drawing of graphs from mountains and layers underground.

SP 2: Develop and Using Models: 

Me and my table used a drawing of the inside of Mount everest to understand what happened and is happening inside the mountain. We cut sections of papers (that looked like it had layers ad had a legend) that were numbered, put lined up together in order vertically, then taped them together. We looked at the now taped together papers, and saw that rocks from the oceanic crust were at the top of Mount Everest. This was because Mount Everest was underwater before emerging onto land. There were sea creature fossils at the top of mount everest to prove it. 

Plate Tectonics - The Crust - Weekly Blog 09/28 - 10/04

Image Source: https://goo.gl/pxvH0o

Summary: 

Viscosity is the amount of thickness in a liquid. If you put a marble a bottle of oil, you can see that it sinks slowly to the bottom of the bottle. This is because that oil has a lot of viscosity. If you put something in a liquid with a lot of viscosity, it usually is slow in sinking. If you put a marble in a bottle of water, you can see that the marble sinks towards the bottom of the bottle faster than the one in the bottle of oil. This is because water has no viscosity. Viscosity also affects the shape of a volcano. Have you heard of shield volcanoes? They kind of look like this: 

Image Source https://goo.gl/v6Ak0H

More of a flat volcano and not

really a pointy volcano. This is because 

of viscosity. If the magma has low silica and high temperatures, it should be runny lava, which has little viscosity, which forms a shield volcano.

SP2: Developing and Using Models:

    This week, I continued to build my volcano, and make it erupt. Me and my table had 3 bottles of sugar and 3 magma cups. We uncapped one bottle of sugar and put it in the volcano hole. Next, we put a cup of magma into the sugar, and then we stirred it with a popsicle stick. We saw that magma batch #1 was the fastest magma batch to flow down the volcano, meaning that it had little viscosity, and magma batch #2 was the slowest magma batch to run across the magma, which meant that it had a lot of viscosity.

    Another model that I did was the Snack Plate Tectonics Activity. This activity simulated plate-interaction activity. First part I did was putting a thick amount of frosting on wax paper. The frost represented the asthenosphere Then, I put two squares of fruit roll-ups that represented the oceanic plates right next to each other on the frosting. Next, I spread them apart slowly, and slightly pushing them down on the frosting. In between the fruit roll-ups, some of the frosting was exposed and rising. I think this formed a volcano at the process. Another part I did was put a fruit-rollup square and a graham cracker which represented the continental plate right next each other. Then I made them overlap. This was a subduction. Next, I dipped two edges of two graham crackers and I faced the wet edges toward each other on the frosting. I pushed them together, and the crackers started forming a mountain. At the end of this activity, I got to eat all of the remaining snacks used in this activity

Plate Tectonics - Weekly Blog 09/21 - 09/27

Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Plate_tectonics_map.gif

Summary:

Alfred Wegener found that Africa and South America have some of the same fossils and plants. He wondered why. When he was making a map, he noticed that South America and Africa kind of fit like a puzzle. This event led him to discover a huge and massive land: Pangea. Pangea meant "all the land". Pangea was the massive land that eventually split up into seven continents. When Wegener shared his work, no one believed him, so his research went to the trash. 20 years after Wegener died, a man named Hesse discovered that the sea floor spreads and the continents move. When he shared this idea, people believed him and found out that Wegener had the same discovery. Hesse had discovered a part of the earth: Plate Tectonics. Plates are different pieces of the crust or lithosphere. It can spread apart, hit each other, and slip past each other. Plates push together, and when they slip, it causes an earthquake. This is called a strike-slip fault.

SP2: Develop and using models

I constructed physical, mental or conceptual models to represent and understand phenomena when I did an activity that showed the earth's layer's development and how long does one thing take to completely develop (actually, parts of the earth are never completely developed). Another activity done this week was how earth quakes work. Me and my table had two wooden bricks with layered clay stacked on top each other on top of the wooden bricks. Below the wooden bricks, there was a magnet so the wooden bricks wouldn't separate far. Then, we placed toothpicks across the clay. The toothpicks resembled a fence. When we moved the two bricks, I saw that the fence kind of moved past each other as if someone had moved them.

The Rock Cycle - Weekly Blog 9/14 - 9/20

From: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fa/3/36/The_rock_cycle.png

Summary: 

The three types of rock are sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Any of the three rocks can turn into each other. Sedimentary forms when rocks are broken down into sediments and then squeezed together. It takes a long time to get this process done. Metamorphic rocks form when rocks are squeezed by pressure and heat. Igneous rocks form when they are in magma and are cooled. The rocks are usually in volcanoes and when they erupt, the rock is exposed to air, and is cooled, thus turning into an igneous rock. In the rock cycle, heat, pressure, magma, air, wind and erosion help these rocks form into sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.

SP8: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information:

This week, I completed the Rock Cycle Cartoon. I gathered all my data by rolling die and going to the location it tells me to. For example, I started on the soil table, I rolled the die, it told me that pressure occurred and that I had to go to the Earth's interior table. Then, I wrote down each event and where I went to in order. I evaluated my data by reviewing the data I had just obtained. Then, I communicated my information by drawing it on a cartoon, which showed what event happened, and where I went to next. 

Scientific Method Cartoon - Weekly Blog 09/08 - 09/11

From: https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3702/11966956746_f2f6c82752_o_d.jpg

Summary: 

This week I made a Scientific Method Cartoon. This followed the new scientific method. I made a draft of my cartoon, and once it got approved, I could move on to my final draft of my cartoon, which is the image above.

Backward Looking:

I have done a similar project like this before last year, in 5th Grade. It was like this one, but it was a cartoon about the water cycle. It had more steps to it and had a different character, which was a rat in drop. That project is similar to the Scientific Method Cartoon and I kind of remember the water cycle cartoon ever since we did this project.

Inward Looking:

If I were to compare this project with something, I would compare it with the Water Cycle Cartoon. I would compare both of them because they are similar. The Scientific Method Cartoon has more slides and has better drawings compared to the Water Cycle Cartoon, which was still good, but was a bit worse in drawings than than the Scientific Method Cartoon, and had less steps which isn't really bad. The only changes I could see are the drawings, since I could see that they have improved.

Outward Looking:

In this project, I would give myself an A. I would give myself an A mainly because I am satisfied about what I made during this project. But also, I think that I did a good job with the drawings and text. Not just those, but also the dialogue. It's not the best drawing, but its good.

Forward Looking:

One thing i'd like to improve upon is my drawing and dialogue. Yes, I know I said they were good to me, but I would just like to improve on it. Also, I would want to make my text more readable because they were not easy to read.

Paper Airplane Experiment - Weekly Blog 08/31-09/06

From: http://res.freestockphotos.biz/pictures/15/15343-illustration-of-a-paper-airplane-pv.png

Summary:

Different kinds of paper made into paper airplanes fly different distances. It depends on their weight, air-resistance, how people throw it, wind, weather, etc. If you don't have a fair test (for example, flying each paper airplane each with a certain force), you won't get accurate results. Once you are done with your experiment, immediately write down your results. After you are done gathering your results, analyze it, see if it matches your hypothesis. If it doesn't, then change your hypothesis and you experiment again. If your results do match your hypothesis share it, or else there is no point in actually making the scientific investigation at all. 

SP8: Obtain, evaluate and communicate information:

My team and I completed a paper airplane experiment which tested which type of paper flew the farthest as a paper airplane. We obtained the information by making experiments and measuring how far the paper airplanes went. We evaluated our data by discussing the results that we got during the experiment. We also Communicated our information by putting our Question, then a Hypothesis, to 

our Results and Conclusion on a poster. When we were putting our data on a poster, we discussed how we should put them in order. 

Scientific Method 08/24 - 08/28

Image source: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcToR5ENzMjfVnQH7M92dnAuAqRo7Aj-ckTVle-lj3c-7sc0PUJU

Summary: 

The scientific method always starts with a question or problem based on an observation. There are many different orders in which it could be. The summary of the steps are the Observation, Define Question, Research, Experiment, Gather data, make conclusions, and then share your work. There are also a new and old scientific method, but we talked about the new scientific method this week. The NSTA said that "There is no fixed sequence of steps that all scientific investigations should follow". I think this means that there is no real way that you should make a scientific investigation. You make your own, but you can follow other paths.

SP8: Obtain, evaluate and communicate information:

I completed The "NEW" Scientific Method sheet and thought about the order of the steps with my partner that I worked with. We talked about the steps and how they should fit in order. I also completed the Scientific Method Refresher. I obtained information by clicking on provided links and gathering my data there. I evaluated my work by often talking to the person sitting next to me and often talked about some of the questions. I communicated my information by sometimes sharing my ideas with my table mates.

Goals for 2015-2016

My goals for 2015-2016:

 -Improve on my Math grades and work (compared to last year).
- Learn how to make better art in art class.
- Learn new cool techniques and facts in all subjects
- Learn a lot more than last year in all subjects
- Type faster than last year
- Improve my grades from last year
- Achieve the highest rank (aka Arch Mage) on science

If all of this happens, I'll celebrate with cake.

Weekly Blog 05/29/15

Surprise:
Context: I was surprised when I was reading an article about what killed the dinosaurs.
What: I was surprised when I found out that climate change and cannibalism killed the dinosaurs along with the asteroid.
Why: This is surprising because I only thought that the asteroid killed all the dinosaurs
Tells: This tells me that I should look for more ways on how a certain thing happened before I jump to answers.

Summary:
Cameron Keady in the article, "What Killed The Dinosaurs?"  analyzes the other events that happened that caused the dinosaurs to die out

Citation:
Keady, Cameron. "News." What Killed the Dinosaurs? Cameron Keady, 30 July 2014. Web. 26 May 2015. <http://www.timeforkids.com/news/what-killed-dinosaurs/167841>.

Backward-Looking:

I knew that the dinosaurs died because of an asteroid long time ago. What I know now is that cannibalism and climate change helped make dinosaurs extinct along with the asteroid.

Inward-Looking:

My choice of this article reveals me as someone who is interested in how some certain things happened, like how dinosaurs became extinct.

Outward-Looking:

This article affects the community because it informs them that the asteroid wasn't the only event that happened that caused the dinosaurs to die out.

Forward Looking:

One question I have for the article is if there are more events that caused the dinosaurs to die out. To answer myself, I would say that there are more events, but it hasn't been discovered or mentioned in the article. 

Weekly Blog 05/22/15

Context: I was reading the article "A Galaxy Far, Far Away | TIME For KidsSurprised: I was surprised when I found out that people found out about the youngest and most far galaxy in the universe that we can find right now.

Why: This is surprising because I never new that a galaxy this young and far could exist. Also, I am surprised because I have never seen a galaxy with that color. 

Tells: This tells me that I should maybe research about the latest things discovered about space or on Earth.


Summary:
Zachary Humenik in the article, "A Galaxy Far, Far Away | TIME For Kids" discusses about a new galaxy found in 2013 that is young, and far away.

Citation:
Humenik, Zachary. "A Galaxy Far, Far Away." A Galaxy Far, Far Away. Zachary Humenik, 6 May 2015. Web. 19 May 2015. <http://www.timeforkids.com/news/galaxy-far-far-away/239171>

Backwards Looking Question 1: Some information that I knew before I read the article was that galaxies were being discovered, and some of them were unique in many features. I did not know that a galaxy mentioned in the article could actually be that far away.  

Inward Looking Question 3: I chose this article because this article seemed very interesting and I wanted to learn more about galaxies being discovered.

Outward Looking Question 3: This article affects the future because it tells us to research more about this galaxy so we can understand it, and if we understand it, we can learn more about other galaxies.

Forward Looking Question 2: I would tell the author to expand this article by adding any research on this galaxy.

Weekly Blog 05/14/15

Context: I was reading the article: "Faster than light travel: are we there yet?" when I was surprised 

Surprise: I was surprised that water and glass can slow down light speed

Why: This is surprising I thought that nothing can stop light

Tells: This tells me that I should sometimes experiment things if I do not know something (if feasible)\

Summary: 

Author Robert Scherrer in the article, "Faster than light travel: are we there yet?" explains about the speed of light and how it is not feasible right now. 

Citation:

Scherrer, Robert. "Faster-than-light Travel: Are We There Yet?" The Conversation. Robert Scherrer, 8 May 2015. Web. 14 May 2015. <https://theconversation.com/faster-than-light-travel-are-we-there-yet-41112>.

Backward Looking Question 1: I knew that light was the fastest thing in the universe so far. I also knew that it is not possible to match the speed of light.

Inward Looking Question 3: I chose this article because it seemed interesting. I also wanted to learn a bit more about light speed. 

Outward Looking Question 3: This information provided affects the future because it tells us there is no light travelling in the near future. It also tells us we need to find many ways to possibly make light travelling possible. 

Forward Looking Question 2: I would tell the author to expand the article by explaining light traveling a bit more. I would also want to know a bit more on how light travel is not possible yet.

Weekly Blog - 05/01/15

Context: I was gathering data for my project when I was surprised
Surprise: I was surprised when I found out you can actually use water to spin the electric generator.
Why: This is surprising to me because I never thought that water could possibly be used in generating electricity
Learn: This tells me that there could be many ways to find an alternative to electric generators (anything in general) that I couldn't have thought of possible

Weekly Blog | 04/17/15

Context: I was surprised when I was sitting and listening in class.

Surprise: I was surprised when I found out how challenging the CST sounds.

Why: This is surprising because I need to get a good grade on the CST. 

Tells: This tells me that I should prepare more by playing zondle.

Weekly Blog - 04/03/15

Context: I was building my electrical invention when I was surprised.
Surprise: I was surprised when I found out how hard it is to make an electrical invention
Why: This is surprising because I did not think of making my own electrical invention hard.
Tells: This tells me that should be prepared next time when there is a project.

Weekly Blog 03/25

Context: I was surprised when I was experimenting with the circuits making parallel/series circuits.
What: I was surprised that the energy is shared in series/parallel circuits.
Why: It was surprising because I thought every circuit had the same, powerful power.
Tells: This tells me that I should not jump to conclusions. It also tells me that I should research about it before making a conclusion. Or it could tell me that I should experiment on something IF I had the materials.

Weekly Blog 03/20 - Build The Best Electromagnet Blog Post

I think I would choose a refrigerator magnet because it contains electromagnets, containing some copper and maybe some Aluminum. I think that these 3 materials would make up the best electromagnet because based on my research, I discovered that copper has a really strong voltage on AC and DC and Aluminum has the 2nd strongest voltage on AC and DC on an interactive I was on.

Weekly Blog 03/13

Context : I was experimenting with magnets when I was surprised.
Surprise: I was surprised when I discovered that magnets were strongest at the poles
Why: I was surprised because I thought magnets had the same magnetic force anywhere
Tells: This tells me that I should experiment more before I make conclusions.

Summary: This week, I learned about magnets. I also learned that they were strongest at the poles, and that they could destroy and ruin devices if they connect to it.

Backwards Looking:

What resources did you use while working this week? Which ones were especially helpful? Which ones would you use again? I used a magnet, a paperclip, washers, and household materials(spoons, cups, rulers, wood, book, etc.). A magnet was very useful along with the paperclips and washers. I want to use those next week.

Inward Looking:

Have you changed any ideas you used to have on this subject? How/Why? I had the idea of using computers to research about the magnets. Now I changed my idea of not using computers, because magnets can destroy devices and hard drives. 

Outward Looking:

 What grade would you give yourself? Why? I would give myself an A. I would give myself an A because I know I did a good job on the experiments and filling/turning in the sheets.

Forward Looking: 

What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week? A goal I will set for myself next week is collaborating a bit more with my classmates. I would set this goal because I think I did not collaborate as much as I wanted to.

Weekly Blog 03/06

Context:  I was surprised when I was gathering facts on my mineral. I was researching about my mineral on the provided resources

What: I was surprised when I saw that halite can produce hopper crystals. A hopper crystal looks like a skeleton of a crystal.

Why: It was surprising because I did not know minerals can make special types of crystals. 

Tells: This tells me I should research about something to learn more about the facts.

Summary:

I learned about the mineral I was studying- halite. I also learned some things such as its transparency

and how it makes crystals.

Backwards Looking: What problems did you encounter while you were working this week? How did you solve them? While studying halite, I encountered a problem. I had a problem finding the conductivity. I solved them by carefully checking every resource.

Inward Looking: What did/do you find frustrating about the work done this week? : I found finding the conductivity on halite frustrating. I also found the little space I had for the magazine and information frustrating, too.

Outward Looking: If you were the teacher, what comments would you make about your work this week? If I were the teacher, I would say I did a great job on gathering my info. I would say the same to my magazine, but I needed a better job on my background, and how I would make the magazine a bit better instead of just stating facts.

Forward Looking: What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week? My goal next week is to learn more about my mineral or more minerals. Also, another goal I would like to set is being accurate and fast in gathering info.

Weekly Blog 02/27

Context: I was on my computer, studying about the rocks in science class when I had the surprise.
What: The surprise was that I found out there were many ways to identify a mineral.
Why: It was surprising because I thought you can only know it is a mineral by its looks
Tells: It tells me I should study into more in something before I make a conclusion

This week, I learned about how to identify a rock. I also learned about some words related to identifying a rock such as: Streak, Luster, Structure, etc.

Backward Looking: How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before? I knew that minerals were really expensive to buy and I thought that every mineral had to have a shiny texture. I now know that minerals do not need a shiny texture to be one.

Inward Looking:  How do you feel about your work this week? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? I feel about good about my work this week. I particularly like doing the Mastermind game and sheet because I feel like being a scientist discovering minerals. I dislike the huge amount of minerals having do be identified- I like and dislike the mastermind .

Outward Looking: If you were the teacher, what comments would you make about your work this week? I would say I did a good job doing part of the sheet, though I did not finish identifying the minerals. I also would say my notes were quite good. Last, I would say that I did another good job on the other sheets of the rocks. 

Forward Looking: What would you change if you had a chance to redo the work over again? If I could redo the work again, I would continue on identifying the minerals. I would redo this because I did not get a chance to identify all the minerals. I would also redo this because I want to know all the minerals in this game.

My element baby book - oxygen

To see my friends baby book, click here

Matter Spicy Nodes

Weekly Blog 1/26

Context: I was surprised when I was doing the atoms sheet at school.
Surprise: I was surprised when the atoms activity said there are 100 types of atoms.
Why: It was surprising because I thought there was only one type of atom that made everything
Tells: This tells me that I should learn more about a fact when it is told

 I learned about matter states (such as plasma). I also learned about types of charges of atoms and the periodic table. 

Backward Looking: How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before?

I knew about atoms and what it was made of. I also knew about the periodic table and a few of its elements. I did not know that the periodic table was made up of non-metals and metals. 

Inward Looking: How do you feel about your work this week? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? 

I think I did pretty good on my work this week. I particularly like doing the atoms sheet and the atoms activity. I liked doing the atoms sheet and activity because the atoms sheet was fun to study on and the activity was fun along with the added voice to help me learn more on the activity. 

Outward Looking: What grade would you give yourself? Why?

I would give myself an A. I would give my self an A because I am sure I did a good job on answering the questions on the sheets. I also got pretty nice scores on the activity quizzes (total 13/16).

Forward Looking: What would you change if you had a chance to redo the work over again? 

I would redo the quiz. I would redo the quiz because I am not quite happy with the score I got. I would redo the activity quizzes because I now know the answers to the questions and I would like to the redo them to get a better score.

1/23/15 "Powder Experiments"

Surprise:
Context: I was surprised when I was experimenting to see which powder was the mystery powder.
What was the surprise?: I was surprised when the mysterious powder that was different from the powder I first thought it would be.
Why I was surprised: I was surprised because I thought that Epsom salt would be the mystery powder but now I think that it is Salt.
What it tells me: It tells me that I should look more closely into the powders

This week, I learned about what powders look like when they are viewed by a magnifier glass. I also learned what happens when you crush the different powders.

Backward-Looking: In what ways have you gotten better at this kind of work? I gotten better at this work by gathering data that I expected that I would get. I also gotten better at this work by making more fair experiments.

Inward-Looking: What does your work this week tell you about yourself and how you learn? It tells me that I can make fair experiments. Also it tells me that I can gather data on an experiment

Outward-Looking: Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? How was it similar or different from others? I did the same work as others in gathering the data. It was different from others by explaining the details in the data.

Forward-Looking: What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week?  One goal I would like to set for next week is cooperating a bit more in the experiments. Also I would like to set trying to make my experiments more fair.

Weekly Blog 1/14 - M&M Experiments

Context: I was observing the amount of sugar changing the M&Ms dissolve rate when I was surprised. Surprise: I was surprised that my hypothesis on the sugar and M&M experiment. Why it was surprising: It was surprising that my hypothesis was incorrect. I thought that the sugar would not affect the dissolving of the M&Ms. What this tells me: This tells me I should know that some things can change the experiment results.

I learned about what happens to M&Ms when it is put in water with different variables. I also learned about how one variable effects the results of an experiment.

Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before? 

I knew that M&Ms dissolves in water when put in them. I also know that the temperature of water affects the M&Ms dissolve. I also know what happens when M&Ms are put in a cup.

Inward-Looking: How do you feel about your work this week? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why?

I feel that I did kind of a good job on making my hypothesis and a good job on the experiments. I particularly like doing the experiments. I really liked everything I did this week, so I don't have any dislikes.

Outward-Looking: In what ways does your work meet the standards  for this assignment? In what ways does it not meet the standards? I think the experiment meets the standards for this week. I think collecting my data might not meet the standards. I think this because I don't think I recorded much data as I expected.

Forward-Looking: What would you change if you had a chance to redo the work over again? I would change the data I wrote down on my experiment. I would change it because I did not record much data I was expecting. I would try to give more details on my observations.

Weekly Blog 01/09

This week, I was surprised because I thought the M&M would only change color, instead, it changed color (to white, then brown (chocolate)), dissolved, changed the color of the plate and the water.

I learned what happens to an M&M when it is placed into water. I also learned about matter.

Types of matter:

Backward-Looking Reflection Question 1 On Class Website: How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before?

 

I only thougt of matter to be a type of invisible gas. I did not know matter was solid items that could be weightable. Now I know the properties of matter, and what the physical properties of matter.

Inward-Looking Reflection Question  1 On Class Website: How do you feel about your work this week? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? 

I feel that I did pretty good about my work this week. I particularly like doing the expirimenting. I don't think I have any dislikes. I like doing the work this week because I got to expiriment (especially) and got to write down my data.

Outward-Looking Reflection Question 3 on Class Website: What grade would you give yourself. Why?

I would give myself an A. I would give myself an A because I think I did a good job with some of the expiriments. I also think I did a good job collecting the data and writing down my observations.

Forward-Looking Reflection What would you change if you had a chance to redo the work over again? What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week?

If I started over, I would try to make the expiriment a little bit more accurent (Fair). Also, if I started over, I would add more to my data. One goal I would set for my self next week would be to improving to expiriment more fair.