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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:// On Wednesday, August 8, 29 rocket projectiles were recovered in the capital after an attempted smuggling of them. Investigators are still trying to find out if the projectiles are dangerous or not. The Criminal Investigation Department said, “It seems that the projectiles are not so dangerous explosives.” The recovery of such a batch of explosives has made the government concerned because they were smuggled in to Dhaka despite tight security. The projectiles were being stored in one of the arrestee’s offices. Investigators say, “None of the projectiles were armed, so there was no danger at the capital at the time” Taught to students was that there are different types of projectiles. The article talks about rocket projectiles which is one type of projectile. There was only one type of projectile, they were almost identical. Some projectiles are used for destruction and terrorism which is probably what these were probably for.

"Headway in probing rocket projectile." __The Daily Star__. 27 Aug 2007 <[|http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/08/11/d70811012113.htm>.]

//Comment 1:// Comment 2:

9/24/2007
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:// A scientific method was necessary because each thing that you do . Any science experiment needs a scientific method. The experiment was fairly difficult because it was not easy doing research for each cube. Also, not all members of the group always cooperated well. Lastly, when finding an unknown substance, the density would be very helpful because in research one could find the density and compare. If the densities were the same, one would know what the object was. That is the same as how the mass would be used.

//Comment 1:// Adam, this is a very good and descriptive paragraph. But, it seemed like you did not completely understand what the scientific method is. You make it seem like it is the planning of the steps when doing an experiment, when it is really the steps you should take when figuring something out. Also, you said that the mass would be used the same way that the density would be used, but the desity would be more important to know. And, you did not mention the qualitative observations at all. Nice job Adam! - Bailey

Comment 2:

__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:// Flame test is a test to determine what a substance is. To set up for a flame test there are a few things that need to be done. First one has to have a nichrome wire and a Bunsen burner. Next the wire must be cleaned by dipping it in hydrochloric acid and holding it in the flame. The flame will turn a different color if the wire is still dirty. When the wire is clean it is stuck in the substance that is being tested and then the wire is held in the flame. Based on what color the flame turns the substance will be known. Different kinds of fireworks make different sounds colors and brightness. The colors in fireworks are produced by different chemicals meeting fire as done in the experiment.

//Skylighter, "Firework Chemicals." Skylighter. 2007. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://www.skylighter.com/mall/chemicals.asp>.//]//

Clark, Jim. "Flame Tests." Flame Tests__. 2005. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group1/flametests.html>.//]__

//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 there are two sodium atoms and two chlorine atoms. Both sodium atoms give up their outer electron to one of the chlorine atoms. After that happens sodium becomes positive and the chlorine atom becomes negative thus the atoms are attracted to each other and bond together. The visual effects are fiery as the sodium bursts into flames when it comes in contact with the chlorine. After the chemical reaction, salt (NaCl) is formed. The bond is an ionic bond because the sodium atoms give up an electron instead of sharing it.

//Comment 1:// Great job! Your analysis was good and you showed a deeper level of understanding as to why the sodium and the chlorine bonded. You also explained the simulation thoroughly. The only thing I was a little confused about was in the second sentence when you said that both sodium atoms gave up an electron, but there was only one sodium and one chlorine atom involved in the reaction. At least this is what I thought because if the reaction was how you put it, it would be NaCl2. However, I might be wrong. You showed a thorough understanding of the subject! Excellent job! (A)-Rachel

Comment 2: Overall you did good. You had no spelling or grammatical errors I could notice. You described the ionic bond fairly well, but you should have described it a bit more. Tell more about it. You pointed out that it was a chemical reaction because NaCl was formed which was good and you had a good length paragraph. I would give you an A. Alexandre P.

Revised paragraph: In the reaction there are two sodium atoms and two chlorine atoms. The one sodium atom gives up its outer electron to the chlorine atom. After that happens sodium becomes positive and the chlorine atom becomes negative thus the atoms are attracted to each other and bond together. The visual effects are fiery as the sodium bursts into flames when it comes in contact with the chlorine. After the chemical reaction, salt (NaCl) is formed. The bond is an ionic bond because the sodium atoms give up an electron instead of sharing the electron. Ionic bonds are less stable than covalent bonds because there are positive and negative charged atoms coming together to form something different.



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11/08/2007

What was your favorite project, experiment or topic this trimester and why? (projectile motion, density cube experiment, podcasts, chemical reactions, flame tests, etc.) You can also comment about the snakes. What do you think that you excelled at this trimester? How could you have improved your performance in Science 7? (Make sure to check your spelling and grammar).

Entry: This was a very good Trimester. My favorite project was when we did the reactions because there were many times when something caught on fire. Also, they were cool. The snakes were a great addition to the science room. Diablo was my favorite snake because he was active all the time. I excelled in the homework even though we did not have a lot of it which I was thankful for. I could have studied more when it came to quizzes.

Comment 1: I appreciate Adam's resourcefullness in labs and in general. He has helped me many times on group projects and contributes a lot. Keep it up Adam.

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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: I do not really know anything about electronics, but I do think that it is cool. One question I would have about electronics is how it works meaning how does static electricity happen and why does it concentrate itself. I would want to investigate about how the electricity powers something and make something that electricity would power. If that would happen it would be awsome.

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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: The graph shown is telling about how much electricity each substance produced from the tear 1949 to 2006. Coal was the greatest conductor producing a total of approximately 2 trillion killowathours.The worst producer of eletricity was hydroelectric.It produced less than .5 trillion kilowatthours. Petroleum and Natural gas and Nuclear electric power were the other sources.

Questions:

1. As shown in graph one, coal increased the greatest amount from 1949-2006. In 1965 coal was producing half a trillion kilowatthours. In 2000 its production increased to two trillion kilowatthours a total increase of 1.5 trillion kilowatthours. The other substances increased about .5 trillion kilowatthours. Coal use does not stop increasing, so it will keep increasing in years to come if we do not change our source of electricity.

2. Coal is the source of global warming. As it produces electricity, it releases CO2 which forms a layer above the earth trapping heat, causing the earth to get hotter and hotter. As shown in graph one, coal produces the most kilowatthours, so it releases a lot of CO2. If coal use does not go down, global warming will keep getting worse. That is why we need to use a source of electricity that does not produce CO2.

3. In 1972, many things happened. First, the use of Natural gas decreased and the use of nuclear power increased. Also coal, one of the big causes for global warming, usage increased. All of that happening produced more electrcity, but made the air dirtier. The earth was getting worse.

__Hawkins, David. "Coal and Global Warming."__ http://www.e2.org/ext/doc/hawkinscoal.pdf;jsessionid=C6DA58284EEE34295FF8E25D7F08446F__. 16 Feburary 2005. 4 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.e2.org/ext/doc/hawkinscoal.pdf;jsessionid=C6DA58284EEE34295FF8E25D7F08446F>.]

comment 1: There was alot of missing things from your third answer. First of all you didnt reference to your graph at all.You didnt use any data to describe the trends of major sources of electrity in the U.S. If you would do this again use a measurement in this case it would be trillion kilowatthours. You can also talk about all the sources, where they started from and how they ended in the span of 13 years. The last sentence didnt really make sense, and wasnt on topic. You had 5 sentences but i think alot more words and meaning to those sentences would've made this great. -John

Comment 2: I found some problems with your entry. First of all, I think it is was too short, even though you did 5 sentances, it seems like you really rushed it, making sentences really short just to get to five. Also, the question asked about the differences from 1972 **to 1985** and all you said was "in 1972". Furthermore, you didn't refer back to the graph at all, and you didn't describe anything. Example: "Also coal, one of the big causes for global warming, usage increased" you were talking about the usage of coal rising, yes, but you didnt tell by how much it rose, nor did you put any units. (trillion killowatthours). I found 1 spelling mistake, and some grammar mistakes. -griffin

Comment 3: your paragraphs on the questions seemed to not be very well thought out. I feel you should have fleshed out your paragraphs more and added more detail. Also, the paragraphs did not flow very well, and your thoughts on the topic seemed to be more of a rough draft than anything else. In addition, your spelling was not very consistent. However, you did not make many spelling errors. I know you can do better. -jackson

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.**//

Entry: As shown in graph one, there was not much change in the overall production of electricity. The biggest change came from petroleum and natural gases which increased from 0.6 - 0.8 kilowatthours from 2000 - 2005. The other three sources of electricity stayed pretty much neutral from 2000 - 2005. Hydroelectric power stayed at roughly 0.3 kilowatthours. Coal only increased from roughly 2.0 - 2.1 kilowatthours. Nuclear electric power stayed at roughly 0.8 kilowatthours. All in all, the years from 2000-2005 were not much for electricity.

Comment 1: Overall, good job Adam! You used third person, directly cited the graph, and used 2000-2005 to show the time period which you wrote on. You could have added the name of the four different energy sources at the beginning of your paragraph to specify which four sources you studied. You also should made a mistake on the units as it's TRILLION kilowatthours. Last, you could put much more detail in the change in electricity use with the different sources instead of rougly stating the electricity produced during those five years. Other than those few tweaks, you answered the question directly and used proper grammar.

Comment 2:

Re-Entry: As shown in graph one, there was not much change in the overall production of electricity from the four sources of electicity in the graph. The sources were coal, petroleum and natural gases, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric power. The biggest change came from petroleum and natural gases which increased from roughly 0.6 - 0.8 trillion kilowatthours from 2000 - 2005. The other three sources of electricity stayed pretty much neutral from 2000 - 2005. Hydroelectric power stayed at roughly 0.3 trillion kilowatthours. Coal only increased from roughly 2.0 - 2.1 trillion kilowatthours. Nuclear electric power stayed at roughly 0.8 trillion kilowatthours. All in all, the years from 2000-2005 were not much for electricity WHAT DOES THIS SENTENCE MEAN?. ACTUALLY i FELL THE TAKEAWAY POINT IS THAT THE DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY HAS GRADUALLY RISEN AND THAT COAL IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE. WORK ON YOUR INTERPRETATION. - JT

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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 the unit for electrical power. To calculate power the formula is power = voltage * current. A lamp with a 200 watt lightbulb that burned for 24 hours straight uses 4.8 kilowatthours. To find that you do power * hours divided by 1000 because of the kilo meaning 1000. Power is the watts which is 200 and hours 24.

Comment 1: Overall, good job, but try and be more descriptive. It gets confusing after the second sentence. Try and dividing your sentences into two sentences. Try and write it step by step. So, for example, instead of writings, "To find that you do power * hours divided by 1000 because of the kilo meaning 1000", you could write, "To find how many kilowatthours it uses, you multiply power times hours and then divide the answer by 1000. This is because one kilowatt is 1000 watts." Also, you didn't write in third person and you don't have a concluding sentence to wrap it all up. Other than that, you answered the question well and everything was pretty straightforward. -Alexandre

Comment 2: Good job Adam, it sounds like you understand the stuff. There are just a few things I suggest, it's a little short so elaborate as much as you can. All of it makes sense, but sometimes you could make it make more sense. For example in the second sentence instead of saying "To calculate power the formula is power = voltage * current," you could say the formula for power is power=voltage (which is measured in volts) times current (which is measured in amps). Also you could rephrase...almost everything. In the last sentence it would probably be good to say the answer again. Overall you had good info. -Meredith

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: I enjoyed most of the things that we did this trimester. My favorite activity was making circuits on the circuit board. The snakes, Peppermint and Diablo were awesome. I think that I can improve on the labs that I did by answering all parts of the questions. If I can do that, I will improve my grade a lot.

Comment 1: Adam, you are a great student, and you are also very fun to work with. I hope you have a great time next trimester! -Sahil

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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: There is a pretty big difference between a reasoning, self-aware, feeling robot and a human being. First of all, robots are not living, breathing creatures, they are machinery and if they can do all of that stuff, it was a human that programmed it. Humans have skin and blood and lungs. Plus, robots could not die permanetely, their batteries could be replaced. A military robot should never be invented because it could promote any sort of wat and that is bad. An example would be, the terminator because all it really thinks about is killing the person it is assigned to, any means necessary.

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