Weekly Blog 5/9 - 5/15 - Food Systems

Image source: https://goo.gl/oSC74L

Summary (What I learned):

      When taking a bite out of an apple, do you ever ask: "Where did this come from?". You probably might not have even cared or thought about this question, but an apple, or any food product, goes through a long system to get to your house. This is called a Food System. First, the fruit or vegetable is planted in a farm and is taken care of. After that, the fruit or vegetable is harvested and then taken into a factory. When the food is in the factory, it is processed to either make the vegetable look appealing (like the way you see it in supermarkets) or combined with other food products to make one food product. For example, tomatoes are mixed with spices and other ingredients, such as vinegar, to make ketchup. After being processed, the food product is then stored in a cold, hot, or room temperature area depending on how it is preserved. For example, if you are storing meat or milk, you would put it in a cold area. After being stored, the food product is packaged, put it a truck or some other form of transportation, and put into the market, where you buy it. After you buy the food product, you take it home and consume it. Now that you consumed it, what do you do now? Do you compost the food product or throw it away? Food products get wasted in each step in the Food system. For example, during harvesting, not all fruits and vegetables are picked, even though they are still edible, and those unpicked foods are left to die.

SP-8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information (What I did):

     This week, I obtained information about the food system by researching about it, doing an activity that showed the food system of an apple, doing another activity about learning the food system of chicken products, and discussing this topic with my table mates. When working on these activities last week, I evaluated the information I found by searching up the facts, and then using background information to support it. For example, I learned online that the first step of obtaining chicken products is raising the chicken. To make sure this was true, I thought to myself, is there any steps before raising a chicken? I already know that you need to raise a chicken before you do anything with it, so this information was correct. I communicated the given information by discussing it with my table and adding it to the 'Food System: Apples/Chicken" Chart.

XCC: System and System Models:

     When studying about food systems, I noticed that there was a System and System Models. The System was the food system, which I explained in the Summary, and there were also System Models. The System Models, which made the Food System work, was the Factory, Transportation, Retailers, and Farmers. The Farmers helped create the food, the Factory helps process the food, the Transportation transports the food to where it is, and the Retailers help sell the food to you, and then you eat it. Without these components, the food system would not work.

Multiplier/Conclusion:

     This week, I gathered data about food products and the process they go through to go to your house. I also learned about how much of that food is wasted during this system, how it could be wasted in each step of the system, and how to not waste it in each step of the system. This week, I was also a Wanderer, exploring the information and sharing it with my team.

     

Project Blog 5/2 - 5-6 - Biome Survival Project

Image Source: https://goo.gl/qAHWTT

Summary: 

     The Tundra Biome is the most coldest biomes in the world. This Biome is so cold that it makes it hard for life to live there. This is why in the Tundra there is very little vegetation or life there. If you were to survive in the Tundra, there would be many things to consider, such as: Food, Water, Shelter, Fire, and knowing all the dangers. Besides the cold weather, the Tundra Biome has almost no resources. Although it is abundant with water, it lacks vegetation, which makes it hard to find food or find trees for wood to make fire. It also has many dangerous animals and plants such as polar bears and monkshood. There are also no trees in the Tundra, which reduces your chance of finding shelter and materials.

Backward Looking:

      In what ways have you gotten better at this kind of work? I believe I have improved on researching information on certain topics and text production. I believe that during the project, I gradually started to find reliable information a bit faster. To find reliable information, I would research on one topic, such as 'Dangerous Animals and Plants in the Tundra". I would find one website, write down the information it has on that topic, and find another information with the same information. If the first website I looked up didn't have any matching information, I wouldn't add it. This is how I found information on this project. During this project, I think I got faster at it.

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 feel like the Biome Project was a really fun project to work on. This is because it was satisfying to work on the text product and finish it and learn about the Tundra Biome. The part that I particularly liked was making the text product, mainly because I liked how it looked like at the end and the information it displayed. The part I dislike about this project was the Diorama part. Normally, I would feel happy to work on a Diorama on a project, but I feel like the making of the Diorama didn't go as I thought it would, and I feel like we finished it a bit late(?). Overall, I think I enjoyed most of this project, though.

Outward Looking:

      What grade would you give it? Why? If I were to give a grade on my specific part on the project, I would give myself an A-. This is because I believe I did a really good job contributing to the team and helping them with the project. However, I also believe that I could have done a little better on researching information or doing more work in the Diorama. This is because I believe I could have contributed more into making the figures in the Diorama, since I feel like I didn't my full effort on it. I also think I could have found a little more information on the text-product part.

Forward Looking:

      What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again? If I were to do this project again, I would plan out what I was going to do, the deadlines, what I should get started on, etc. This is because I feel like I didn't plan out as much, which made me feel a bit mad or frustrated at times. I would also like to improve on the Diorama part of the project. This is because I believe things could have gone a little better or I could have improved on that part. The things I could have improved on during the diorama was the materials used or the planning.

Weekly Blog 4/25 - 5/1 - The Tundra Biome

Image Source:

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Alpine_tundra.jpg

Summary:
      The Tundra biome is a biome with low vegetation with cold, harsh weather. This biome is known to be the coldest biome on earth. The Tundra biome is located northern Eurasia, Alaska, and Northern Canada. To survive in this biome, you would need five things: food, water, shelter, fire, and learn about hazardous animals in this biome. To get food, you can hunt animals or pick plants. To get water, you can go to lakes, rivers, or pick up snow, and boil them. To get shelter, you can dig into a mountain with snow, enough to fit yourself inside. You can also create sparks with rocks and make the sparks fall on grass and twigs to make fire. To survive in the tundra, you may also need to watch out for dangerous animals and plants, such as polar/grizzly bears, mosquitoes, monkshood, labrador tea, and Arctic Poppies. These things are necessary to survive in the tundra.

SP8: Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information:

     This week, I continued on the Biome Survival Project. I gathered information on the hazardous animals in the tundra. I found six dangerous animals in the tundra which were: Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears, Arctic Poppies, Labrador Tea, and Monkshood. These things either harm you or kill you. I also helped find information on how to get fire in the tundra and find shelter in the tundra. To get fire, you simply get two rocks and a pile of twigs (Diamond-Leaf, since they burn easily) and grass. then smash the two rocks against each other, creating sparks. Those sparks will fall onto the pile of grass and twigs, creating a fire. To get shelter, find a mountain with a thick layer of snow on the side. Dig a hole into that layer of snow, enough for you to fit in. Then, block the entrance with a rock, and create a vent so you don't suffocate by poking holes on the ceiling. This will expose the inside of your shelter to the air outside.

XXC Cause and Effect:

      This week, I identified a cause and effect system in the Tundra biome. I saw that the Tundra biome was very cold and could sustain very little life. The effect made certain animals and plants survive in the Tundra and some to die. The animals and plants that survive the tundra are either food or harmful. So the effect of the Tundra being very cold was that it made it hard for many living creatures to survive there. When humans challenge themselves to survive in the tundra, they have to survive only with the things in the tundra. The tundra provides very little vegetation and life, making it hard for humans to get food in the tundra. However, there is plenty of snow and rivers to get water from, so the tundra is full of water. The tundra also provided homes for Grizzly Bears and Polar bears, which are dangerous to humans. Harmful plants such as Monkshood and Labrador Tea also survive in the tundra. So the cause is that the Tundra is cold, and the effect is that it is hard to survive in the tundra, and you are left with harmful animals, harsh weather, and very little food. 

Multiplier/Conclusion:

     This week, I learned about the Tundra biome and its landscape. I also learned how to survive in it. Also, this week, I was a contributor, because I found a lot of information that helped my team and I get to where we are now.