Science - The Great Race

My car consists of two big tires, two small tires, two popsicle sticks, rods to hold the wheels together, and little brackets to hold the rods and wheels in place. First, I took two small yellow rods and glued them on either sides of the popsicle sticks. I then attatched the two wheels in the front by pushing them into the rods. Next, I added a yellow bracket to connect more rods to each side of the back rod. After that, I pushed two big wheels into the extended rods on both sides of the back of the car. To hold the wheels in place, I took two small black clip brackets and pushed them on either sides of the wheels with a little room for the wheels to role around.

My car demonstrates Newtons First Law. Newtons First Law states that "An object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion at constant velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced force". When I hold my car on top of the ramp, it is at rest and has potential energy. When I release the car from my grasp , the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy and the car starts moving. The outside force, or in this case my hand, is what triggers the car and makes it move. After a while, the car will start slowing down. This is because of friction. Friction, in this scenerio, is the unbalanced force. Friction between the wheels of the car and the surface slows the car down and eventually brings it to a halt.

Literature - 5 Fables

The first fable is called The Wolf in Sheep's Clothes. The moral of this fable is looks can be deceiving. The wolf tricked the sheep by leading the lamb away from the sheep and eating them. The next fable was The Four Oxen and the Lion. The moral is that there is power in numbers. When the four oxen were together, the lion couldn't do anything to them. When they separated, they were less powerful so the lion got them easily. The third fable was The Fisher and the Little Fish. The moral is even a little bit is good. Just because something is small doesn't mean it isn't enough. The fourth fable is The Crow and the Pitcher. The moral is that even if you think something is impossible, it probably isn't. The Crow found a way to get water. The last fable is The Fox and the Goat. The moral of this story is don't trust everybody. The fox tricked the goat and pulled him right into a trap.

Literature - Wooden Bowls

This story was very interesting and I really liked it a lot. It shows how anyone will get hurt if you ignore them. It also shows that spending time with family, especially helping out elders, is a very important part of life. Without love and family, you wouldn't have any memories to share with anyone. The part when the old man let out a tear really made me feel bad for him. This connects to cares with responsibility. The little boy was responsible and made his parents realize how badly they were treating their elders. This also connects to empathy because the little boy put himself in the shoes of his grandfather and realized that it wouldn't be good to sit alone and eat. This connects to my life because I have a great-grandmother that lived with me and my family until 2008. She is pretty old but we don't treat her badly. We help her as much as we can. She isn't as confused or weak as that old man is though. My grandparents also stay with us and my family and I also help them out as much as we can. Spending time with family is important.

Science - Ask a Geneticist?

I learned many new things while reading these websites. One thing that was shocking to me was that how simple organisms such as bacteria only have a single chromosome while more complex organisms such as humans have many chromosomes. I also learned a little bitabout the genes of chimpanzees and humans while reading this. I learned that chimpanzees have 48 chromosomes while us humans only have 46. Similar species have similar numbers of chromosomes. We used to have the same number of chromosomes as chimpanzees about 5 to 8 million years ago but as we evolved, our 2 chromosome combined. This was really interesting to me. Another fact that really shocked me was that the number of species you have does not determine the complexity of the species. For example, a goldfish has 94 chromosomes while we only have 46. We are definiely more complex then a goldfish. Another species that has more chromosomes than us is a type of fern. This fern is called an Ophioglossum Reticulatum and it has 1,260 chromosomes!!! We are also obviously more complex then a fern.

Sources: http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=69
http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=184

Science - Basic Genetics

Source: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/tour/

I learned and brushed up on many things from this website about heredity and traits. First of all, heredity is the passing of traits from the parent to the child. We inherit traits from our parents and we pass them down to our children as well. One fact I learned about heredity is that when sperm and egg cells (only have one set of chromosomes each -- 23 each) combine, they make a new single cell called a Zygote. The Zygote has two sets of chromosomes (46 chromosomes). Another thing I learned about heredity is that parents "contribute" chromosomes to each new child of theirs randomly. This is why every child has a unique combinations of traits. Some children will resemble the mother while others resemble the father. Some babies might not resemble either paent. They will be unique -- "a product of the new combination of chromosomes."

Traits and heredity have a lot to do with eachother. A trait is a notable feature or quality in a person. Traits are passed down from generation to generation. There are different kinds of traits. One kind is physical traits. These traits are characteristics of one's physical makeup (ie. hair color, eye color, height). Another kind of trait is behavioral trait. This is basically the characteristics of the way one acts. There is one more type of trait that I actually didn't really know about. I learned more about it by reading this article. This trait is called Predisposition to a Medical Condition. This is basically an increased risk of getting a certain type of disease (ie. Sickle Cell Anemia, Cystic Fibrosis, Heart Disease, Cancer, and Certain kinds of Mental Illness).

Science Class Response

My favorite class activity we did so far this year is the Owl Pellet Lab. Before doing this lab, I didn't really know what an owl pellet was. I never really heard of it before. After I heard we were going to do this lab, I asked my friends what it was and the way they described it led me to believe it was just extra waste. I then learned otherwise.

When I found out what an owl pellet was, I wasn't to enthusiastic about digging through fur and bones. After starting, I realized how interesting was. I never knew how much a skeleton could tell me about what and owl eats. I really enjoyed putting the owl pellet together. I hope I get to do another exciting activity like this again this school year.

Science - Current Event (2)

The Saiga, one of Asia's most craziest animals, is also one of the most endangered. Scientists are trying to protect these Saiga Antelope in Mongolia's Gobi Desert by attaching high-tech GPS collars to them. The scientists attached them to 8 of these animals already. This GPS collar will help the scientists keep track of all the people. Millions used to live on this planet 15 years ago but today, only a few thousand are left to survive. Poachers (illegal hunters) kill them and use their horns for medicine. If these animals die off, the deserts will be empty.

I think this is a good plan. They can come up with a better one as time goes by but for now, scientists need to do all they can to keep these animals alive. The tracking device will help scientists keep track of the Saiga and they will be able to know where they are.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Saiga

Science - Current Event (1)

Are Wolves the Pronghorn's Best Friend?

This article is about how wolves help pronghorn's survive. It is about a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society about the decline in another species. This species is the pronghorn. There research told them that wolves actually help the pronghorn's survive. This is because the wolves kill and eat coyotes who eat pronghorns. (Wolves don't eat pronghorn's because it is not sufficient for them because they are so big. In the article it said, " It would be like trying to feed an entire family on a single Big Mac.") There was a research done over a three-year period in Grand Teton National Park. What they did was they radio collared more than 100 fawns in areas with no wolves and areas with wolves. They found out that only 10 percent of fawns survived in areas without wolves and 34 percent of the pronghorn fawns survived in areas with wolves. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced and as a result, the pronghorn population increased by 50 percent. As a result, there are now less then 200 animals in Grand Teton National Park ( Part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem).

I believe that this affected the whole ecosystem. Since there are more pronghorns around, the animals that eat the same food as the ronghorns will not have a sufficient amount of food to eat because they will be out numbered by these unique North American animals that resemble African antelope. I don't think this is right. It is not fair that the other animal populations got reduced because of the pronghorns. I think that the pronghorn population should be reduced. This would also mean reducing the wolf population. Basically, I think both the Pronghorn and the Wolf population should decrease.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303145300.htm

Literature - Thought for the Weekend - 10/30/09

At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?

The Right One.

Literature - Bullying (Man's Inhumnity to Man)

We all know bullying is wrong but we all do it anyway. Each and every person has bullied someone at least once. It could be as simple a s name-calling. Everyone has done that in their life. We always have assemblies and speeches about bullying and how it is really bad but after those speeches, we don't actually take action. I mean, we would probably stick up for our friend is he or she needed it but most people probably wouldn't stick up for someone every time they see someone getting bullied if they don't know the person. No matter how many assemblies and speeches people have on bullying, it is probably never going to stop. For example, in Slake's Limbo, Slake always gets picked on because he is an easy target and is poor. Another example how Robert always gets picked on because of his appearance in the book, The Wave.

Literature - Summer Reading Question

What sort of person do you imagine the author of the novel to be?

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

I imagine the author of the book to be a very adventurous person. The way the she wrote the book and the details she added makes me believe that. The author is also creative because how she ended the book was really interesting and smart.

Welcome Scientists

My favorite subject is science because I am just very interested in that subject and I have liked it since I was little. I like to read a lot but I never had a favorite book. I read books all the time that I love a lot and always remember but out of all of them, I don't have a favorite book. My favorite food to buy in the cafeteria is a chocolate chip cookie! On the weekend when all my chores are done, I like to spend time with my family or be with friends. If I won a free airline ticket to any place I wanted, I would go to Paris because I have always wanted to go there since I was little. My favorite color is Sky Blue. I already have a pet which is a dog named Toby. If I could get another pet it would be another dog. I don't know what I would name him or her because I would have to look at the dog before naming him or her. This year, if I work hard enough, I hope I get good grades on everything.