water crisis

In class last week we learned abut the water. We broke up into groups depending on which thing we want to learn. The choices were women and children, disease, and pollution. The woman and children one was about how woman children hike long distances to go to the nearest water spot and it leaves them open to crime. The disease one was about the diseases in the water and the pollution was about the the pollution in the water. I chose pollution. I chose pollution because i found it interesting that there are chemicals that can change your gender.

  1. how come the woman and children have to carry the water
  2.  what specie does gender bending chemicals most effect
  3. can the polluted water also cause dysentary

 

 

 

making ice cream

This week in science we made ice cream.  I was partners with Brody. First we put we put sugar into a measuring cup. Then we dumped the sugar in a red cup. After that, we took milk, poured it into the measuring cup, and then put it into the cup with the sugar.We stirred it until it combined into milk-sugar. the we poured the mixture into a zip lock baggy. then we took a larger zip lock and added  salt to it and then took the small bag and put into the big bag with salt. shortly after we took a bunch of snow and put it into the salt bag.  we threw it for awhile and then we were done! 

ijen

Ijen ( a volcano in Indonesia) is seen at night with blue streams going  down the sides of it. Many people say that it is lava, but that is not the case. The glow is actually from the light of sulfuric gases. These gases come out of the crevices of the volcano and when the oxygen and the gases meet they ignite a flame. The flames can go as high as sixteen feet!! Some gases condense into liquid forms which allows them to be on fire as they flow down the mountain.

I choose this article because i like all the science behind this national park. i like how the people who wrote this didn’t just say it was blue lava, but actually gave me the facts. i wonder if by swapping a chemical out for another in the sulfur we could to turn the fire black or clear. i wonder if the fire has ever fell on somebody. i wonder if a animal could adapt to be able to drink the fire.

the tale of Archimedes

Last week in science we watched a video about a guy named Archimedes. It was about how his king had gotten a new crown, but Archimedes believed that he had gotten tricked out of his gold. The king said “But that’s impossible we weighed the gold before and the crown ways the exact same amount.” Archimedes replied with “yes that’s true but its possible the gold was mixed with some other type of medal” the king said “can you prove this” Archimedes said no, but there must be a way”. After that Archimedes thought and thought of a way that he could prove that the king was cheated out of his gold. Then when he was in his bath, it hit him! he ran through out the streets yelling Erika! Erika! i found it!!! He told the king immediately what he had discovered. he filled to big crates of water, then he placed a block of gold in one of the crates. The water raised to the brim. he said that if the crown is pure gold it will raise to the brim, if its not pure gold the water in the crate would over flow. He put the crown in bucket and it over flowed and with that the king had been cheated. i wonder how you would weigh something as light as a feather in those times. I don’t think i would have done anything differently. it was satisfying that Archimedes figured it out. i think i participated well.

Owls V.s Crows

This week in science we played a game called owls v.s crows. One side was the crows while the other side was the owls. Shane would read a question and we would find out if it was true or false. If it was false the crows would try to tag out the owls. If it was true the owls would try to tag the crows. If you got tagged you would go to the other team.

I thought it was very fun. I think I participated well in this game. It was satisfying to run around and play in class. I don’t think I would have done anything differently. I wonder how big primeval owls were? I wonder if crows were ever apex predators? I wonder if crows and owls really fight?

Humboldt Penguin

These penguins are adorable, but don’t let their looks deceive you, they are also natural born survivors. They can swim up to 30 miles an hour! Not only that but Humboldt penguins can also dive up to 500 feet below sea level when searching for a tasty snack such as shrimp, fish and squids. Even animals need a break, especially when they have predators. They take a nap on the rocky shore. With their webbed feet and sharp claws they do great on these rocky cliff sides.

 

It was satisfying to know that I have more knowledge than I did before. I participated well in this project. I would have not waited to the last minute to do this project. I wonder how evolution developed the way the penguin is today? I wonder what penguins were like before humans arrived? i wonder why penguins don’t live in other biomes just with different adaptations.

kids.nationalgeographic.com

Sun

Today I read an article on Sun Bears. It talked about how sun bears are omnivorous. There diet consists of leaves, lizards , berries, and insects. But what surprised me most was the fact that they use their claw to rip open bee hives to suck out the honey- they don’t even get bothered by bee stings. A main point in the article was that cultures still poach sun bears and now they are a vulnerable. Another factor is that many cultures still eat sun bears which is not good.

 

I choose this article because I didn’t even know what sun bears were up until now and i thought it would be fun to learn about it. It is important to society because it will make people think before they eat, think before they hunt, and think before they destroy. Poaching is controversial and it is important for society to hear it.

Ecological Succession

This week in science we learned about ecological succession. Ecological succession is about how an ecosystem evolves through time. First, the pioneer species comes, creating soil by breaking down rocks. This is known as primary succession, the first stage of ecological succession. The Ecosystem continues expand until a natural disaster occurs or humans interfere destroying the Ecosystem. At this point secondary succession takes place. Secondary succession is when species return, but this time the pioneer species doesn’t have to break down rock, because the soil is already there!

It was satisfying to learn how lichen and moss spent endless time breaking down rocks. Endless care and effort for 1,000 years. I think i participated well. I do not think i would have done anything differently. if climate change had not happened, what would be the biggest tree ever? Did trees once grow underwater? If so how would they get there nutrition’s? How many rocks do lichen break down a day?     

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

mushrooms

One day in science we made spore prints. To make the spore prints we needed to get a mushroom. Shane handed us a knife to cut the mushroom and we set off. First, I went into the woods to look for a mushroom. I found a mushroom  but I also found blue lichen.  The blue lichen fascinated me so much that I decided to look for more mushrooms. I found Mosie and he said that he had discovered a gray mushroom! Amazed, I went into the woods to find the gray mushrooms. Then I found an orange mushroom and a gigantic mushroom. I gave Shane my mushrooms and she took the stems off each one and put them on a piece of paper. The project was satisfying. I found all these great mushrooms. I think I participated well in this project. I do not think I would have done anything differently. I wonder if some mushrooms can eat bugs? I wonder what is the deadliest mushroom? I wonder what the biggest mushroom is?

parachuting cats in Borneo

In science we learned about parachuting cats in Borneo. It talk about how a deadly virus spread called malaria. The people of Borneo call the the W.H.O ( World Health Organization). The W.H.O decided to spray DDT around the island,it helped for a little bit but then peoples houses fell down. Apparently the DDT also killed a parasitic wasp that was controlling the amount of thatch eating caterpillars. Not only did the DDT effected wasps and mosquito’s it also effected the other bugs that were eaten by the gecko. The geckos could handle the DDT but the cats could not and they died.That increased the rat population therefore infesting the island with rats. So the W.H.O decided to parachute cats into Borneo. After we heard all about that we  had to draw a chain reactions leading up to the parachuting cats in Borneo. I learned that some of the most crazy stuff can be for the greater good. It was satisfying to know all of the things leading up to the parachuting cats. I think I participated very well. I do not think i would have done anything differently. I wonder how they parachuted the cats. I wonder what it was like for the people in Borneo. I wonder if they had to evacuate the island.