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**8/24/2007**
Find a 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:// //An article was read about a newly developed police car that has new features that will help police-officers during criminal chases. Among other features, it can fire three inch diameter projectiles that can be tracked by GPS. It also has a laser light that will help police officers to aim more accurately at the car. This feature would be especially helpful when a criminal is doing something dangerous that might cause the officer to hit an innocent bystander because the officer could fire a projectile at the car, and if it hit, it could be tracked, and caught up to again without the risk of the police officer hitting an innocent person. Unfortunately, this new technology may not be used any time soon because it is unknown what would happen if one of these projectiles hit a human.//

//During the past week in science while projectile motion was being studied, the parabola of a projectile was studied. In the article referenced above, it is clear that someone did a large amount of research and experimenting on projectile motion so that the projectiles would be easier to aim and more likely to hit the car. Also, it would need to have just the right velocity or it might hit so hard it would go right through the car. This example shows that the study of projectile motion could be applied in useful ways including this and other uses.// //Sources:// Cheung, Humphrey. "TG Video LAPD's dart firing, license plate reading, video streaming car." __TG Daily__. August 22, 2007. TG Daily. 27 Aug 2007 <[|http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33491/113/>.] //Comment 1: I think this a great blog. But This is only one paragraph it needs to be spilt in two separate paragraphs. Jason// 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:// //My group and I have just completed the mystery cube experiment. In the experiment, the scientific method was very necessary. We had to first determine the question, or know that the object of this experiment was to figure out the substance of each of the ten cubes. We created our hypothesis with previous knowledge, then did research and formed our final conclusion. Our form of communication was to have it posted on the internet so that anyone could look at it. This experiment was not very difficult. The steps were all clear and simple, the only obstacles were getting the group to work together effectively, and using time wisely. Other than that, all the steps were obviously needed and relatively easy to carry out. The density is very important in finding the identity of an unknown substance because of the lack of variety in some types of material. For example, although wood vary slightly in grain and color, most woods look very similar. However, a wood such as oak is much heavier than a wood such as balsa wood. Also, in metals, many metals other than copper are silvery-gray in color, and with very similar textures. This makes the density essential because otherwise it would be nearly impossible to tell some metals apart. Over all, this was a fun and educational experiment that was useful in helping us to use the scientific method, figure out the basics of using a wiki-space, and manage our time during class wisely.// //Comment 1:// Great job! You just need to cut back little on the paragraph or split in to two paragraphs. The explaintions were you over did it a llittle. You are still a great writer just don't over do it. But still awsome job. Also please do not write in italics. //Jason F.// 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:// //A flame test is a test used in chemistry in which a substance is placed in fire and the color that the substance causes the flame to turn is recorded and based on that, a hypothesis is made as to what that substance was. This is very important to the use of chemicals in fireworks. Fireworks are lit on fire, and shot into the sky, where they theoretically explode. Therefore, when they explode, whatever is contained in the capsule that is exploding has to be interesting colors to make a good firework. To figure out what color a firework will be in advance, you would have to use a flame test. For instance, if you wanted a blue firework, you would first have to figure out what substance turned blue when put in fire. Then you would need to put that substance in your firework so that when the firework explodes, that substance will be exposed to fire, and turn that color, making a pretty firework. If flame testing was not used in the making of fireworks, there would be several disadvantages. Fireworks would have to be shot off regularly to figure out what color a substance would make, or very detailed recording would be needed so that a brown firework was not produced when purple was the intended color. Also, this would probably cause the price of fireworks to go up significantly because of the extra labor needed in the making of the fireworks. Without flame testing, fireworks would be very different than they are today.// //Citation-// //Helmenstine, Anne Marie. "Qualitative Analysis- Chemistry Flame Tests." __About.com__. The New York Times Company. 16 Oct 2007 [|http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110401a.htm>.//]

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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: //Before the reaction, the chlorine is a greenish, toxic gas. The sodium is a silvery metal. When you drop the sodium into the beaker of chlorine, the sodium appears to sink to the bottoms and catch on fire. It continues to burn as long as you leave it in the chlorine. In the reaction, the sodium atom has one electron on the outer energy level that it gives in ionic bond to the chlorine atom. After this occurs, the sodium’s previous outer energy level has no electrons, so its next energy level which is full is now its outer energy level. The chlorine atom previously had seven electrons in its outer energy level, but after the ionic bond it has eight, so both atoms have full outer energy levels. The result of this reaction is sodium chloride, which is a white solid that is also known as simply table salt.//

Comment 1: Great intro. Check your wordage, "//gives in ionic bond to the chlorine atom" and "////which is full is now its outer energy level." You might also want to mention which ion is the cation and which is the anion. What holds these two ions together? What is the fina formula of the compound. Great job overall. Just a few more details. - Joselyn T.//

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Revised Blog Entry: //Before the reaction, the chlorine is a greenish, toxic gas. The soidum is a silvery metal. When you drop the sodium into the beaker of chlorine, the sodium appears to sink to the bottom and catch on fire. It continues to burn as long as you leave it in the chlorine. In the reaction, the sodium atom has one electron on the outer energy level that the chlorine atom takes by forming an ionic bond. After this occurs, the sodium's previous outer energy level has no electrons, so its next energy level, which is full, becomes its outer energy level. The chlorine atom previously had seven electrons in its outer energy level, but after the ionic bond it has eight, so both atoms have full outer energy levels. The result of this reaction is sodium chloride, which is a white solid that is also known as simply table salt.//

=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: //My favorite project this trimester was the density cube experiment. This was my favorite project because it was very unique, and a lot of fun to complete. It was enjoyable to find out information about the block, then research different types of materials, and then make guesses about the material of each block. I enjoy having the snakes in the room. I’m not usually particularly fond of snakes, but I find it fun to handle them, at least for now while they are still small. However, although I like them, I don’t like that they have to eat mice, because I have had pet mice in the past. I think that I excelled at understanding new concepts this trimester. I think that I could have improved my performance in// //Science7 this trimester by starting on long term projects earlier and asking more questions.//

Comment 1: This trimester Elizabeth really put out a lot of input about the experiments. It was very nice having her comments; it helped me understand a lot. Meredith G.

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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 don’t know very much about electricity and electronics. I think that electric currents have something to do with electrons, but I am not really sure. I know that electricity is conducted through some metals, and have done experiments concerning what materials conduct electricity and what materials do not. In this unit, I would like to know what electricity is, and learn more about how it works. I would also be interested in knowing if there are any purposes besides things like lights and heating. Also, I would be interested in learning about how electricity is made, how the energy is converted into electricity, or is it electricity already, and only has to be collected? I would like to research or investigate about how electricity is used by appliances such as lights. I might also be interested in researching how electricity is made from windmills and/or dams. Overall, I know very little about electricity, but would be interested in learning about it.//

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=**1/3/2008**=

Our next unit is about electricity and electronics. Observe the following graph, Graph 1. Write at least five sentences for each of 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. Here is an example statement: "Graph 1 shows that from 1960-1965 there was a steady increase in the use of coal as a source of electricity. It rose from roughly 0.2 trillion kilowatt-hours to 0.5 kilowatt-hours.

[|This graph can also be seen at this LINK.]

Entry: //The electricity source that has increased the greatest amount over the time period shown in Graph 1 is coal. As seen in Graph 1, in 1950 coal was around 0.2 trillion kilowatt-hours. By 1960, coal was already up to 0.5 trillion kilowatt-hours. At the end of the graph, 2005, coal had risen to around 2 trillion kilowatt-hours. Nuclear Electric power started at 0.0 trillion kilowatt-hours, but rose to almost 0.5 kilowatt-hours. Though this seems to be a large increase, it is only an increase of 0.5 trillion kilowatt-hours, whereas coal increased between1950 and 2005 1.8 trillion kilowatt hours, meaning that it increased the greatest amount by far over the time period shown in the graph.//

//Coal contributes greatly to global warming. When coal is burned, it creates carbon dioxide, which is one of the main gases that is contributing to global warming. The carbon dioxide traps the sunlight in the atmosphere around the earth, slowly warming up the whole climate. Coal is also one of the main sources of our electricity as seen in Graph 1. However, demand for electricity is still increasing, and the coal industry keeps growing to keep up with demand, so global warming is continuing.// //Citation:// Content, Thomas. "Our insatiable appetite for coal." __JS Online__. Feb. 10, 2007. JSOnline. 7 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=564173>.]

//There are several overall trends in Graph 1 between 1972 and 1985 regarding the US’s sources of electricity. In 1972, coal was way ahead of other sources, at around 0.8 trillion kilowatt-hours. Close behind it was petroleum and natural gas, at around 0.7 trillion kilowatt-hours. However, by 1985, coal had risen still further to around 1.4 trillion kilowatt-hours, while petroleum and natural gas had fallen to around 0.4 trillion kilowatt-hours. Nuclear Electric Power started out very low in 1972, but had risen to around 0.4 trillion kilowatt-hours by 1985. Hydroelectric power stayed very much the same throughout the time between 1972 and 1985, around 0.25 trillion kilowatt-hours.//

Comment 1: Elizabeth, overall your three paragraphs were great. Your scientific content was wonderful; you did a very good job with writing in third person, and referring to the graph. In paragraphs 1 and 3, you did a very good job referring to the graph and using the information such as dates; however, in paragraph 2, you should try to reference more data such as when things were occurring. You also did a very thorough job backing up your information. You also followed the blog prompt properly and addressed the questions well. You did well on drawing conclusions. Great Job. -Jordan

Comment 2: Great Job Elizabeth! :) Your content was informative. It was good to see the use of data from Graph 1 to support the statements made in the entry. One aspect of the entry that was confusing was when you used the names of the electricity sources without the verb 'use'. What I mean is- when you said "nuclear electric power started out very low" or "close behind it was petroleum and natural gas, at around" it sounded like you were referring to them as nouns rather the the usage of them. Perhaps you could replace the first example sentence I used with "the usage of nuclear electric power start out very low at...". Overall, great job! Keep up the good work Elizabeth!

=**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 there 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 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 and greater production of electricity from these combined resources. This best example of this is 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, between 2000 and 2005, there were four electricity sources, coal, nuclear electric power, petroleum and natural gas, and hydroelectric power. Coal was the greatest producer, producing about 2.0 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2000. The use of Nuclear Electric Power and Petroleum and Natural Gas were both at around 0.6 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2000. Usage of Hyrdoelectric power was around 0.3 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2000. None of these four electrical sources increased more than 0.1 trillion kilowatt hours, but coal was by far in the highest demand, being 1.0 trillion kilowatt hours above the next highest electrical source. Despite the rise in demand of all 4 of these electrical sources, coal was in the most demand by a large margin between 2000 and 2005.//

Comment 1: Elizabeth, great job! Your entry was thorough and contained good information and data from the graph to support your statements. There were just a few things that would make it better. Perhaps you might want to add the increase from 2000 to 2005 for nuclear electric power, petroleum/natural gas, and hydroelectric power because you only provided the production data for the year 2000. All other information was really good. One grammatical item that you might want to fix is in the second sentence when you say //"Coal was the greatest producer, producing"// because of the repeated usage of the word produce. Great job! :) -Rachel

Comment 2: Sentence 2: I don't think it's producer, that would be like "GE" or something like that, maybe you could use, 'use.' You might also want to say in the third sentence I think that you should somehow show to the reader that Nuclear Electric Power and Petroleum and Natural Gases aren't the same thing. You could do this by putting a slash instead of another 'and' after Petroleum. This way it would read, "Nuclear Electric Power and Petroleum/Natural Gas. I'm not sure if this would be gramatically correct but if you said Petroleum and Natural Gases, but that might make it flow more. In sentence four USAGE. You might want to say The usage, it sort of sounds like your taking notes now. You might want to combine the last two sentences, it said that coal was the biggest twice. Overall AWESOMENESS!!!!!! -Meredith

Re-Entry: //As seen in graph 1, between 2000 and 2005, there were four electricity sources, coal, nuclear electric power, petroleum and natural gas, and hydroelectric power. Coal had the greatest usage, around 2.0 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2000. The use of Nuclear Electric Power and Petroleum/Natural Gas were both at around 0.6 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2000. The usage of Hyrdoelectric power was around 0.3 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2000. None of these four electrical sources increased more than 0.1 trillion kilowatt hours, but coal was by far in the highest demand, being 1.0 trillion kilowatt hours above the next highest electrical source. Despite the rise in demand of all 4 of these electrical sources, coal was in the most demand by a large margin between 2000 and 2005. GREAT JOB- 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 light bulb 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 measure of the power used by an electrical device. To calculate electrical power in a circuit, the equation: “Power is equal to voltage times current” should be used. If the lamp burned for 24 hours straight, you would use 4.8 kilowatt hours. The calculation used was 200 times 24 to get watt hours. This is 4,800 watt hours. Then divide by 1,000 to get the kilowatt hours. The answer is therefore 4.8 kilowatt hours.//

Comment 1: Great job Elizabeth! You answered all the questions correctly and thoroughly. Next time try to write in third person for the entire paragraph, in the third sentence you wrote the word you. Don't worry though, this was your only grammar mistake and it seems like a simple oops! The equation used to answer the final question was explained using the correct steps and produced the correct answer! It was hard hard to find much else wrong with this entry! Super work! :)

-Rachel

Comment 2: Elizabeth, this blog entry is overall very good and percise. There were few things that were awkward or wrong, which very very hard to find. First off, I'm going to have to agree with Rachel and say that you need to write in 3rd person. Next, you should maybe include the abbreviations for voltage and for current. Once you fix these, it will be perfect.

 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).
 * 2/28/2008 **

//__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 really enjoyed this trimester of science. I especially like learning about electricity, and creating circuits on the circuit boards. I also enjoyed learning about electronics and how they work. I started out not knowing anything about how electricity worked, and ended the trimester being able to make a Light-Dark detector and calculate current, resistance, and voltage in parallel or series circuits. Next trimester, I would like to improve on my researching and writing lab reports. I have also enjoyed having the snakes, and watching them grow at an astonishing rate. Overall, I think I did pretty well this trimester and I learned a lot.//

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Elizabeth was born a leader. She's very good at keeping Rachel and me on track. And even with that she's very nice and supportive! I don't know what our group would do without her. Thanks Lizzie!

-Meredith (& Rachy)

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 if future machines can reason, be self aware and have feelings, then I think that they will be nearly identical from humans. I think that the main difference will be that their intelligence has been created by a human, not by themselves. Human beings do not have to be taught or programmed to have feelings, it is just automatic. To me, that would be the main difference between robots and humans if robots can reason, be self-aware, and have feelings. I think that robots that could not be turned off or stopped from doing whatever they please. I think that robots that are capable or hurting humans should not be created, because then if the programming went wrong, they could become very dangerous and destructive.

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