Josh+Blog+1

= = toc Back to Student Blogs

=Your Blog=

Make sure to follow the instructions on the Student Blog Page

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 August 10th, 2007, there was a tornado sighting in Salem, or so they thought. What was thought to be a tornado was actually a microburst of wind. Augie Thomas, owner of East of Chicago Pizza Co. was taking care of a costomer when the door was ripped off of its hinges and the money flew out the door. Augie's wife went to get her grandaughter and the National Weather Service was informed. The NWS observed that the winds of the "tornado" were actually 85 miles per hour, when the winds have to be100 mile/hour.

//Comment 1:// I like that you did your paragraph in third person. First, i think that you should have copied the blog prompt so that it was right there for you to look at and read, this would have minimized the careles mistakes that you made. One of which is, the fact that you copied the whole article, thats not so bad but you also didn't say anything about what this article had to do with what we did in class. Please, next time include two paragraphs, the first one a summary on the article you read and the second one about what the article had to do with the things we did in class.Finally, your had unnecesary information and not alot on projectile motion. You did good on your spelling though! -adrienne b.-k. Comment 2:


 * http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/308800031279476.php." ||
 * || 11/aug/2007. MAYSOON ABDELRASUL. 28 Aug 2007 . ||

9/24/2007
Reflect upon the mystery density cube experiment. 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:// The scientific method was used quite a lot in this experiment. It was used in discovering the densities of the ten cubes. First, it was needed to find the mass of each cube, then the volume of the cubes. Lastly, the scientific method was used by dividing the mass by the volume, to get the density of each and every cube. This experiment was slightly difficult. It was easy finding the volume of each cube, but it got hard when comparing the density of the cube to the densities of everything else in the world. The density is very important in finding the identity of the unknown substances. without the densities to compare off of, the only thing to compare would be sight and touch, and those senses can be very faulty. Comment 1: It had the main point of the essay, but not completely fine-tuned. You have some great wordage though. Your grammar could do with some looking over, but apart from that there was not bad punctuation. You could explain a little better what the scientific method is and the steps you used. 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 tests are used to determine an element from the color of the element when it is burned. Brass is green, and lithium is red, What you do is you dip a //clean// wire into an element and hold it over an open flame. Whatever color the flame turns determines the element, but sometimes it can be unreliable when there are two elements of roughly the same color. Potassium, rubidium, and cesium are roughly the same color of violet and it is easy to get mixed up. I think that in colored fireworks, the firework is lit and when it explodes, there is a little bit of a certain element that explodes as well, making colored fireworks.

http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml." __http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml__. 16 oct 2007. Trinity Mineral Company. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml>.] http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110401a.htm."__ http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110401a.htm__. unknown. About.com. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110401a.htm>.]

//Comment 1://

Comment 2:

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:// It said on the website that it was an ionic bonding between sodium and chlorine. That means that one of them has to give up an/some electron(s) to finish a whole energy shell. Chlorine is in the halogens family and sodium is in the Alkali metal family. Sodium has one electron and chlorine has seven electrons, so sodium will have to give up an electron to get a full energy shell and chlorine has to take one, so they fit together perfectly. It isn't over though, sodium is now posotively charged and chloriine is negatively charged, so they would be magnetically attracted to each other. Finally, when they come together, they make table salt.

//Comment 1:// Your content is well written, and you have a lot of good feedback. It might have been helpful if you had given your thought on what type of reaction it was. You had very true statements and gave all of the correct information. I would give you an A because you had very informational feedback which was true, and you stated what happened in the reaction. -Nikki L

Comment 2:

Entry2: Any non-metal bonded with a metal makes an ionic bond. That means that one of them has to give up an/some electron(s) to finish a whole energy shell. Chlorine is in the halogens family and sodium is in the Alkali metal family. Sodium has one electron and chlorine has seven electrons, so sodium will have to give up an electron to get a full energy shell and chlorine has to take one, so they fit together perfectly. It isn't over though, sodium is now positively charged and chlorine is negatively charged, so they would be magnetically attracted to each other. Finally, when they come together, they make table salt. That happens between sodium and chlorine and makes a chemical bond as well. _ Comment 3:"Starting in 1972, according to Graph 1 GOOD, hydroelectric power was at its highest and it was overlapping with nuclear power on how much it was used DATA?. Petroleum and Natural gas was at its highest as well, almost up with the coal at .7 trillion kilowatt-hours. After 1972, natural gas went down and coal continued at it steady rate up, while hydroelectric power and nuclear power stayed the same. It stayed like that: with coal then natural gas then nuclear and hydroelectric power until 1984 and ’85. Coal was the same as ever but all of the others were exactly the same, at .5 trillion kilowatt-hours"

11/08/2007
What was your favorite project, experiment or topic this trimester? (projectile motion, density cube experiment, podcasts, chemical reactions, flame tests) 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:// I liked the chemical reactions unit this trimester. It was cool to watch the chemicals react. I liked all of the other units: I liked the fire in the flame tests, and i likeed projectile motion, but this unit stood out slightly more than all of the rest. This unit was the most sciency I thought. Chemicals are cool. I was pretty good at chemicals and atoms and all of the rest of the periodic table related stuff. I am good with atoms and chemicals. This trimester was really good and I think I did very well in science this year so far.

//Comment 1://

Comment 2: __--__

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 that energy cannot be destroyed or made by anything, but it can change form and be shaped into different things. Electricity is energy that fuels electronics such as televisions, computers, and cell phones. Electricity can also be in the sky as lightning bolts or friction down on Earth. Electronics I know are the invention of the century. Kids these days have cell phones that can go anywhere and every home has at least one computer and at least two televisions. If I was going to make an investigation, i would investigate behind and outlet, by a TV, and at the generator outside because that is where the concentration of energy is most likely to be.

Comment 1:

Comment 2:

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: On the graph, coal is the electricity source that has increased the most throughout time. As shown in Graph 1, coal went up steadily from .9 trillion kilowatt-hours to 2.3 trillion kilowatt-hours. It was consistent enough that I could have predicted it. All of the electric sources started about the same power being used, at .2 trillion kilowatt-hours, but coal is head and shoulders above the rest. It is about twice as much as the highest of all the others. In global warming though, nuclear electric power was the leading electrical power source of global warming. It was followed by coal and then natural gas, whereas hydroelectric power contributes little or none to global warming. On Graph 1 though, it shows that coal is used more, so technically, coal is causing global warming more than nuclear power. Nuclear power releases more carbon per unit, but there is more coal. Coal releases more carbon than natural gas and oil. Starting in 1972, according to Graph 1, hydroelectric power was at its highest and it was overlapping with nuclear power on how much it was used. Petroleum and Natural gas was at its highest as well, almost up with the coal at .7 trillion kilowatt-hours. After 1972, natural gas went down and coal continued at it steady rate up, while hydroelectric power and nuclear power stayed the same. It stayed like that: with coal then natural gas then nuclear and hydroelectric power until 1984 and ’85. Coal was the same as ever but all of the others were exactly the same, at .5 trillion kilowatt-hours

Comment 1: Josh your blog is very well written. You wrote very well in 3rd person and never alternated between 1st and 3rd person point of view. You wrote 5 well written sentences explaining the graph's trends above and backed it up with evidence from the graph. The information in your blog is exactly what it's suppose to be content wise. I think you could make your sentences a little more clear, for it was hard to understand a few. I had to reread a few sentences even though your content was very good. Overall, your blog is great! - Caroline H.

Comment 2:Your blog was written in 3rd person and had no grammatical errors. You directly reference the graph and used information from the graph. You backed up all your statements with info from the graph. You followed the blog prompt well and stayed on topic. Your thoughts made a lot of sense since they were backed up by info from the graph. Your conclusions made sense and were drawn from the graph. Good Job! Patrick

Comment 3: "Starting in 1972, according to Graph 1, hydroelectric power was at its highest DATA and it was overlapping with nuclear power on how much it was used. Petroleum and Natural gas was at its highest as well, almost up with the coal at .7 trillion kilowatt-hours. After 1972, DATA BACKING UP THE FOLLOWING natural gas went down and coal continued at it steady rate up, while hydroelectric power and nuclear power stayed the same. It stayed like that: with coal then natural gas then nuclear and hydroelectric power until 1984 and ’85. Coal was the same as ever but all of the others were exactly the same, at .5 trillion kilowatt-hours. OVERALL STATEMENT ABOUT THE TRENDS SEEN." -JT __-__

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 seen in Graph 1, there were four electricity sources for the U.S. There were: Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hydroelectric power, and Nuclear power. Coal was the greatest source, averaging 2 trillion kilowatthours of electricity used. Graph 1 also shows that Petroleum and natural gas was overlapping Nuclear power at the average 0.6 trillion kilowatthours over the five year span. The last and the least is Hydroelectric power. It was used the least, and went down in usage in 2000, but it sprouted back up to be used very consistently for three years: from 2001 to 2004, and then the demand went up for electricity and went up 80 billion kilowatthours, which, according to Graph 1, ended Hydroelectric power's use at .3 trillion kilowatthours. Overall, Hydroelectric power was the only source of energy that stayed consistent for the full five years. All of the others had their ups and their downs.

Comment 1: Josh- You did a great job with your analysis. Sometimes though, you just describe the trends and don't provide data from the graph. One such example is "It was used the least, and went down in usage in 2000, but it sprouted back up to be used very consistently for three years." You describe the trend, but you don't give the amount of kilowatt-hours. You also stated that hydroelectric power's ended at 0.3 trillion kilowatt-hours. I recommend you say that the end of the graph data for hydroelectric power. Overall, a great entry with exemplar grammar!

Comment 2:

Rewrite: As seen in Graph 1, there were four electricity sources for the U.S. There were: Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hydroelectric power, and Nuclear power. Coal was the greatest source, averaging 2 trillion kilowatthours of electricity used. Graph 1 also shows that Petroleum and natural gas was overlapping Nuclear power at the average 0.6 trillion kilowatthours over the five year span. The last and the least is Hydroelectric power. It was used the least, and went down in usage from .2 trillion kilowatthours to .1 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 to 2001, but it sprouted back SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE up to be used very consistently at .15 trillion kilowatthours for three years: from 2001 to 2004, and then the demand went up for electricity and went up 80 billion kilowatthours, which, according to Graph 1, ended Hydroelectric power's use at .3 trillion kilowatthours. Overall, Hydroelectric power was the only source of energy that stayed consistent for the full five years. All of the others had their ups and their downs WORDAGE. CONCLUDING SENTENCE ABOUT OVERALL ELECTRICAL SOURCE USE DURING THIS TIME PERIOD.

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 that that measures power. How to calculate the power of the amount of electrical power used in a circuit is by multiplying the current by the voltage. If a lamp with 200 watt light bulb burned for 24 hour straight it would equal 4.8 kilowatt hours. To find this answer, multiply 200 watts by 24. That equals 4800 watt hours. To get it to kilowatt hours divide 4800 watt hours by 1000. 4800 watt hours divided by 1000 equals 4.8 kilowatt hours.

Comment 1: Great information. Your calculation of the kilowatt hours was very good. A little bit more context would be good, but other than that it was great.-Eric M

Comment 2: it is all accurate and correct, but i think you could explain a little bit more. //Aaron Rushin

Comment 3:// Good Job. The first thing I noticed was that at the beginning of your blog you repeated the word that. You did a great job of explaining how you came to the final answer. I could easily undertand all of what you were writing and i was very impressed with your work. -Connor

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: This trimester in science was fun and exciting. My favorite part about this trimester was making smoke with the short circuit. I enjoyed electronics this trimester, but I mostly enjoyed making the circuits with the Radioshack Electronics Kit. It was cool to make something that works. I liked working in groups so we could collaborate and catch each other’s mistakes. The snakes were also pretty cool ; they brought some excitement to the class. Some of the technology we used was: the pH probes, the science wiki, the Radioshack Electronic Kits, and even Synchroneyes using the chat. This trimester was very fun and full of learning, and I look forward to next trimester.

Comment 1: Josh- Great entry, the only grammar comment I have for you is after cool, the colon should be directly after, without a space. One suggestion is to explain what was hard for you this trimester and what you could impove upon next trimester. Overall, well written and very thoughtful -Richard

Comment 2:__

___

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: A human will have a heart, and will be born, while robots are scrap metal that weren't supposed to be made. All robots are not supposed to be made, but they are nice to do what humans are too busy to do. They are not good for humans because humans won't experience anything, the robots will live the lives of the humans. -josh

Comment 1:

Comment 2: