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8/24/2007
Find an web article from a reputable news website that contains information about any type of projectile. The article must relate to some science topic this could include something having to do with the projectile of bullets or weapons but should not focus on killing!Write a short (1 paragraph) summary of the article and then describe how anything you have learned in the past week about projectile motion might relate to it (second short paragraph). Finish with a citation to the web article. Enter all of this under "Entry" below.

//Entry:// = = //I selected an article on parabolic flight. Which is when paying tenants get in a specially modified 737 to experience weightlessness The plane climbs up to the proper altitude and then dives in a parabolic motion creating the sensation of weightlessness. In the article a program sponsored teachers to go up in these flights for a week long seminar to help their students learn about space flight.//

//This article relates to what we have learned in class this past week because the flight follows a parabolic motion. This means that the plane goes fast, slow, slow, fast in an arc shaped movement. On the way down the occupants experience weightlessness in stages such as the weight of yourself on the moon, on mars and finally in outer space. One could predict the weight felt in the various depths of the dive. This would be a fun thing to do in class.//

staff report, "Two Worcester Teachers Prep For A Flight Of Discovery." __The Daily Times__ (2007):

//Comment 1: Hey, this is Anna, I am commenting here for the science HW! Great topic and great overall paper, but here are a few tiny things I saw://

~ In the second paragraph, you were describing the flight, and you mentioned slow twice. ~ What would be a fun thing to do in class? (Last sentence in paragraph two) You need to make that more clear to the reader. ~ Try going to the webpage that Ms. Todd posted for your citation, it wasn't so complete.

I didn't see any spelling errors, but I'm not so great at spelling, so I'd send it through a spell check. But VERY good descriptions and a VERY good overall product!!! See you in class!! ~ Anna

//Comment 2:// Hey, I like the topic and the discription of the artical, but you should tell more about why they where geting in the plain. you should also add more the the secound paragraph. you did a grate job comparing to class. Billy b

9/26/2007
Reflect upon the mystery density cube experiment. You may write in first person. Create a long paragraph addressing these questions:

1.) Was the scientific method necessary in this experiment? If not, why? If so, why? 2.) What made this experiment difficult? or was it easy? 3.) Is density very important in finding the identity of an unknown substance? . //Entry: 1// //scientific method was not necessary but it was helpful in this experiment because it helped to keep you ideas in order and help you stay on task.// //The experiment was easy because we already knew some possibilities of what the cubes could be and all we had to do was simply find the density of each cube and cross reference it with the resources of the actual densities of the materials.// //Without the density of the object you could not tell what it was. The volume would not help and the mass would deepened in each object and so only the density would work.//

//Comment 1: Really great writing content, and you have a great vocabulary. There were only a few problems with the paper, such as the format. The paper was supposed to be in paragraph form with no indentions, and some parts of the paper were not so clear. What is a scientific method? What was the experiment, and what were the results? I don't think that you really understood the format for this paper, but the writing was good. But basically, answered all of the questions right. Again, you have a great vocabulary and awesome writing skills. ~ Anna// :D

10/16/2007
What is a flame test in your own words? How does this relate to the use of chemicals in fireworks? Make sure to include your MLA citations you may not use Wikipedia! . //Entry: A flame test is subjecting an element or compound to energy. when the element or compound is subjected to energy it will glow. Nitrogen glows a reddish color when heated. Here that energy is in the form of heat. this comes in handy for fireworks because the gunpowder in the firework is the energy that makes the metals in the firework glow the colors that they do. metals like potassium are used to make the bright colors in fireworks. Titanium is also used to make white sparks. if it werent for this discovery the fourth of july would br rather boring.//


 * I had no citations for this pharagraph.**

//Comment 1://

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11/1/2007
Go to this site: [|http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=55 .]Click on "Watch the Reaction with Sodium and Chlorine" In your own words and in third person, create a blog entry describing the reaction and explaining what is happening in terms of the bonding. Write a long paragraph. Explain in detail.

//Entry: In the reaction sodium had one electron in the outer energy level and wanted to get rid of it. the chlorine had seven electrons in the outer level and so it longed to have one more. the sodium gave its electron to the chlorine and so the sodium became positive(cat ion) and the chlorine negative(an ion). When the reaction happens a fire occurs with the bonding. this heat might help the salt crystals crystalize when they cool. I wonder if the energy form this experiment could have any practical uses.// Thomas W

coment 1: The comment section is mispelled, but there weren't very many spelling mistakes in your entry. Watch your capitalization a little and placing of spaces though. Information was correct, although you were missing what reaction it formed. Good thought at the end, but watch the spelling. What kind of bond was it? Overall good paragraph, but watch the length and capitalization. A-. Grant C.

coment 2: You have all the content, but you need to work your grammar and capatilization. The term is "cation" and "anion". You can also add more length. You also forgot about the part about what happened after the reaction. I also do not understand why you said things like "it longed for another one". Content-wise, good job! -Ian B.

rewrite.//In the reaction sodium had one electron in the outer energy level and wanted to get rid of it. The chlorine had seven electrons in the outer level and so it longed to have one more. The sodium gave its electron to the chlorine and so the sodium became positive(cation) and the chlorine negative(anion). When the reaction happens a fire occurs with the bonding. This heat might help the salt crystals crystalize when they cool. I wonder if the energy form this experiment could have any practical uses.// Thomas W

12/18/2007
Our next unit is about electricity and electronics. In first person write a long paragraph about what you know about electricity and what questions you might like to have answered in our electricity unit. If you could investigate any subject area related to energy in the home, electricity, electronics, computers, etc. what would you like to research or investigate?

Entry: I know quite a bit about electricity such as how it flows and things like that. I would like to know the difference between an energy saving and non energy saving appliances. I would like to research this and the cost of using these appliances. Energy saving appliances cast more than conventional appliances. How long would it take to make back the extra money you spent in saved electricity? Would it be a quick payoff of several years or would it take ten or fifteen years, by which time the washer might have broken.

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12/18/2007
Our next unit is about electricity and electronics. In first person write a long paragraph about what you know about electricity and what questions you might like to have answered in our electricity unit. If you could investigate any subject area related to energy in the home, electricity, electronics, computers, etc. what would you like to research or investigate?

Entry:

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1/3/2008
Our next unit is about electricity and electronics. Observe the following graph, Graph 1 and write an analytical paragraph describing what it means. Make sure to address what trends are observed; how things change over time, etc. Write at least five sentences for the following questions. Write in third person. Directly cite data and identify the graph (1). 1.) Which electricity source in the US has increased the greatest amount over the time period shown in the graph? 2.) Which of the sources listed below directly contribute to global warming? Provide evidence and explain using the Internet (MLA citation). 3.) Describe the overall trends from 1972 to 1985 regarding the US's sources of electricity. [|This graph can also be seen at this LINK.]

Entry: in 1950 there was little or no nuclear energy produced. that compared to .8 trillion kilowatt hours produced today. this is an infinetly large increase from 0 to .8. although coal has a much larger percentage of the total outpout it started from a about. the overall trend for all of the sources except form hydro-electric is a moderate to severe increase in consumtion from 1950.

Both coal and and petroleum contribute to global warming because they relase carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This causes a greenhouse efect on the earth. this means that the blanket of CO2 traps the sun's rays against the earth warming it up. This would not be good for plant and animal life because it would change the habitat of the animals to a wetter mr more arid climate.

As shown in graph 1 the trends from 1972 to 1985 there is a severe decline in oil consumption. This could be a result of the oil shortages in that era. hydro-electric power also declined in this time frame. on the other hand coal and nuclear power kept increasing at the same rate as before or possibly a little more sharply. The increase in consumption could be because of the dip in oil consumption.

Comment 1: I like the first paragraph, with vivid vocabulary. I also like how you compare century to century, although you may need to check your capitalization. The end of the first paragraph is a little In-general. The first paragraph is only 3 sentences, but it includes a lot of information. Watch the spelling in the 2nd paragraph, but other than that it is good. It is only 4 sentences long, so again watch the length. The 3rd paragraph is only 4 sentences long, and there are few spelling errors. I like how throughout the blog entry you directly reference the graph. Good Work!

Grant C.

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1/8/2008
Please read the paragraph below about energy use to create electricity from 1972-1985 in the US. Observe that the graph is referred to, there is an introductory statement, supporting statements are backed up with data, and that their is a concluding sentence. This would have been a well written paragraph for question 3 in our previous blog entry.

"As seen in Graph 1, there were four sources of electricity production in the US from 1972-1985. These sources were coal, petroleum/natural gas, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric power. From 1972-1985, the US needed greater and greater production of electricity from these combined resources. This best example of this is that during these years, coal increased from 0.5 trillion kilowatthours to roughly 1.5 trillion kilowatthours. During this same time period hydroelectric sources remained approximately the same at 0.3 trillion kilowatthours. There was a slight increase in nuclear electric power sources from 0.1 trillion kilowatthours to 0.3 trillion kilowatthours during this same time period. Finally, petroleum and natural gas showed the greatest amount of fluctuation during this time period staying about the same from 1972-1980 at 0.4 trillion kilowatthours but then deceasing to 0.3 trillion kilowattthours by 1985. Thus, although greater and greater amounts of resources were needed to produce electricity during this time period, coal accounted for the greatest increase in use." - JT

//**Using the above paragraph as a model, describe the changes in electricity production sources from 2000-2005. Make sure that you reference the graph (Graph 1). Make sure all statements are backed up with data. Make sure you have an introductory sentence and a concluding sentence that provide an overall summary/statement.**//

Re-Entry: Graph 1 shows that in between 2000 and 2005 there has been a slight increase in power consumption. CAPITALIZE between 2003 and 2005 Petroleum consumption has risen to 1 trillion kilowatt hours from .9 trillion kilowatt hours. Coal on the other hand in the same time frame has dipped from 2 trillion kilowatt hours to 1.9 trillion kilowatt hours. Nuclear has remained at around .5 trillion kilowatt hours for the discussed five years. Hydro-electric power has remained more or less at .25 trillion kilowatt hours for the last five years with a slight dip down to .1 trillion kilowatt hours in 2001. Overall the trend has been rising from 2000 to 2005. BE A BIT MORE DESCRIPTIVE REGARDING THE DIFFERENT SOURCES. ELABORATE. - JT

2/05/2008
What is a watt? How do you calculate the amount of electrical power that is used in a circuit? Finally, if a lamp with a 200 watt lightbulb burned for 24 hours straight (you forgot and left it turned on), how many kilowatt hours would it use? Make sure to write in complete sentences and in third person. Explain how you calculated the amount of kilowatt hours that would be used in the question above.

Entry: A watt is a unit of power. It is determined by this equation: P=IV or power is current times voltage. A kilowatt hour is the amount of kilowatts or one thousand watts produced in an hour. The of200 watts took 5 hours to make 1 kilowatt. In all it made 4.8 kilowatts over a 24 hour period at a rate of 0.2 kilowatt hours.

4/22/2008
Go to: [|The Tech Museum: Robotics]. Spend 10 minutes browsing the information and museum. Answer the following blog prompt in complete sentences and in third person. Create a full paragraph. If in the future machines have the ability to reason, be self-aware and have feelings, then what makes a human being a human being, and a robot a robot? Explain. Are there any kind of robots that shouldn't be created? Or that you wouldn't want to see created? Why?

Entry: I think that in the future when very little seperates humans from robots there will only be a few things that define the difference. The first is compassion. I think that robots will never be able to love or care for anything. The second thing that will define us will be anger. I think that no matter how many time you call a robot a pile of wires, it will never begin to spontaneously attack you. I think that the only type of robot that should not be made is one that is desinged to cause as much death and destruction as possible.

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Comment 2: Go to: [|The Tech Museum: Robotics]. Spend 10 minutes browsing the information and museum. Answer the following blog prompt in complete sentences and in third person. Create a full paragraph. If in the future machines have the ability to reason, be self-aware and have feelings, then what makes a human being a human being, and a robot a robot? Explain. Are there any kind of robots that shouldn't be created? Or that you wouldn't want to see created? Why?

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Comment 1: Thomas, good job on answering the questions, but I have a few tips: You wrote "The of 200 watts took 5 hours to make 1 kilowatt" which is an awkward to me. Also, you said 2 kilowatt hours at the end, which has no purpose. I am just wondering why you threw that in there. Other than that, good job speaking in third person (But be more thorough in explanations). -David

Comment 2: Thomas, you need to elaborate on what a watt is, it answers the question but what does a watt measure exactly? You could answer that next time. Good job on describing how to determine the amount of watts in a circuit. There is an awkward sentence where you say "the of200" you'll want to fix that. The strongest part of your entry is your answer but you need to elaborate more and fix your grammar. -Andy

2/28/2008
This trimester we started by finishing up our chemistry unit by doing an acid/base experiment. After this, we started our electricity/electronics unit in which we first made basic series and parallel circuits with buzzers, speakers, motors, and lights. We applied ohm's law to these experiments. Following this, we started working on the Radioshack Electronics Kits where we made complex circuits that had a variety of functions- blinking LEDs, screeching speakers, analog to digital converters, etc. The technology we used this trimester included the pH probes that we connected to our computers to get the pH of household chemicals, using the wiki to create an class test review sheet, the Radioshack Electronic Kits, and creating collaborative lab reports in the wiki for our electronics unit (instead of a formal lab report).

//__In this blog prompt, please write a paragraph long entry (5-6 sentences with a intro and concluding sentence) that addresses what you enjoyed during this trimester and what you have learned. You can also comment on what you would like to improve upon for next trimester or what was difficult for you. Feel free to comment on our snakes- Peppermint and Diablo if you would like to as well as the technology that you enjoyed this trimester. Please check your spelling and grammar as this blog entry may appear in your end of trimester comment. You may want to write it in Microsoft Word to check the spelling, etc. and then copy it in the blog.__//

Entry: We have done many fun things in Science 7 this trimester. I have enjoyed all of the material but I do have a few favorite things we did. I enjoyed the pH probes and thought it was a really fun way to learn the pH of objects and fun to compare it to the litmus paper. I also enjoyed watching the snakes Peppermint and Diablo grow this trimester. My favorite thing we did this trimester was making the purple cabbage juice to use in the acid/base experiments even though it did not give very consistent results when used with acids. I really enjoyed this trimester and hope the next one is just as fun.

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