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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.

8/26/2007
//Entry:// The news article cited below describes how people should be very careful when handling firearms. It states that “any device with which a projectile can be propelled through the air can be deadly.” It also mentions how a young boy was playing with several other children and one child shot the boy in the chest with a pellet gun. The boy unfortunately died. It even states that children enjoy playing with things that are for adults, such as BB and pellet guns. Many dangerous toys, such as these, don’t come with safety instructions and adults don't provide the proper supervision. Overall, the message the author is trying to put out is that parents should be careful when picking out toys for children.

//We learned of several different things that can affect the flight and speed of a pellet from a pellet gun. These things were the angle it was shot at, the velocity, the wind resistance, and gravity. Perhaps the boy was shot in the chest accidentally because the child with the pellet gun shot at the wrong angle. For example he may not have been aiming at the other child at all. Or maybe the velocity was higher than he expected and it shot the boy with more force. The wind resistance could have also affected the path the pellet traveled. Of course the gravity was 9.8 because he was on Earth, but if he was on the moon the gravity would have changed. All of these things could have determined the flight and speed of the pellet as it hit the boy.//

//"Supervision Needed For Dangerous Toys." __Tribune Chronicle__. 26/Aug/2007. Tribune Chronicle. 26 Aug 2007 <[|http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/Editorials/articles.asp?articleID=21400>.]

Julia W//

//Comment 1: Your blog was writin very good, you did not spell anything wrong or leave out any punctuation.// I find this interesting how a boy could have died from a pellet gun. Pellet guns are sold to the public same as BB guns and paintball guns, no training no need of a licenses. I think that they should license BB, Paintball and Pellet guns. //Nathan N// 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:// The scientific method was quite necessary in this experiment because we had to first define our problem and do a little research about the cubes. Then we made our observations of the cubes and hypothesized to what we thought the cubes were made out of. Lastly, we did our experiment and we analyzed our results, just as the scientific method states. Yes, our density cube experiment was difficult because we had to base our hypothesis solely on our qualitative observations of the ten different cubes. Then, once we made our hypothesis we had to find the mass, volume, and density of these cubes in order to find out what the cube was actually made of. Density is a very important factor in finding the identity of any unknown substance because it can help you decide what an object is based on how dense it is. //-Julia W// //Comment 1:// 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 used to find out what an unknown metal is. To do a flame test, you must put the unknown metal into a fire. Then you must observe the flame and note the color change. You can find out what the metal is based on what color the flame turns. Flame tests are related to fireworks because you must do a flame test in order to figure out which color the metal will produce. For example, if you wanted red fireworks you would use lithium carbonate. "Flame Test - DiracDelta Science and Engineering Encylopedia." __diracdelta.co.uk__. DiracDelta. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/f/l/flame%20test/source.html>.] "Chemistry and Fireworks." __Chemistry and Fireworks__. 16 Oct 2007 [|http://www.ul.ie/~childsp/CinA/Issue63/TOC40_Fireworks.htm.] //-Julia W.

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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: When the metal sodium is placed into the toxic gas chlorine, many things begin to happen. When the sodium and the chlorine come in contact, the sodium begins to burn. An ionic bond then forms between the two atoms. An ionic bond occurs when a metal and a non metal are bonded together. Each sodium atom gives one electron to a chlorine atom. This is good for the chlorine because it now has eight electrons in its outer energy level. Sodium now has eight electrons in its outer energy level as well. Because the sodium gave away its electrons, it becomes positive, which means it is a cation. This means that because chlorine gained the electrons, it is negative and a anion. This reaction then forms sodium chloride, or table salt.// -Julia W.

//Comment 1:// Good summary of what happens with sodium and chlorine. The descriptions of all of the terms is very useful and acurate. The only grammar thing that I saw that would be wrong is a anion, it should be an anion. (A little confusing, but proper.) Great job with everything else. (A-) -Andy N.

Comment 2: good job on the blog post. I couldnt find anything wrong. you could post this on wikipedia it is so informtitive. Thomas W

Entry Rewrite: //When the metal sodium is placed into the toxic gas chlorine, many things begin to happen. When the sodium and the chlorine come in contact, the sodium begins to burn. An ionic bond then forms between the two atoms. An ionic bond occurs when a metal and a non metal are bonded together. Each sodium atom gives one electron to a chlorine atom. This is good for the chlorine because it now has eight electrons in its outer energy level. Sodium now has eight electrons in its outer energy level as well. Because the sodium gave away its electrons, it becomes positive, which means it is a cation. This means that because chlorine gained the electrons, it is negative and an anion. This reaction then forms sodium chloride, or table salt.// -Julia W.

Picture 1. Sodium burning in chlorine. Picture 2. Sodium and chlorine bonding.

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 mystery element podcast I did with a group. It was my favorite project because I really enjoyed working with Caroline and Emily. We had a lot of fun and we learned a lot about lithium. We also learned a lot about the elements that other people did. I think I excelled with my knowledge of atoms and the periodic table. I think I could have improved in science by studying a little bit more.

//Comment 1:// Julia, I appreciate your creativity for the Podcast we made. You made it fun and we laughed a ton. You made some great contributions to it. You also made great contributions to the class discussions that helped me to understand some concepts more clearly. -Emily A.

Comment 2: Hey Julia! I like your blog! Maybe you could of added some comments about the snakes, but other than that it is great! Good Job! - Jennifer N.

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 really don't know a lot about electricity. The only things I do know about electricity are what it is used for. It is used in lighting homes, schools, and workplaces. It powers the objects we use in our daily lives such as T.V.s, computers, microwaves, and more. There are several questions I would like to have answered in this unit. I would like to know what electricity is. I would also like to know how it works. If I could investigate any subject are related to energy in the home, I would like to research lightning. I think it would be very interesting to learn about lightning.

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

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 killwatthours to 0.5 kilowatt hours.

Entry: The electricity source that increased the greatest amount from 1949 to 2006 in Graph 1 is coal. It began in 1949 at about 0.1 trillion kilowatthours. In 2005, coal was at about 2.0 trillion kilowatthours. Graph 1 shows that coal as an energy source fell slightly, but it still mantained a steady increase. It also shows that the other energy sources increased as well, but they all had a greater decrease than coal.

Coal burning is directly contributing to global warming. Coal-burning power plants are the largest source of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide pollution is one of the main causes of global warming. To help fight global warming, we should stop using coal-burning plants. If we replaced these plants with cleaner plants, we could still generate enough electricity.

Overall, electricity consumption increased greatly during that time period. Graph 1 shows that hydroelectric power stayed about the same. Petroleum and natural gas decreased. Nuclear electric power increased. Coal increased as well.

"NRDC: Global Warming Basics." __Natural Resources Defense Council__. 09/002/2007. Natural Resources Defense Council. 4 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp>.]

Comment 1: Your third paragraph has five sentences. Some of them are rather short but they are good enough to describe what happened in the period of time between 1972 and 1985. What you could have done to increase the detail of the paragraph is tell how much the different sources went up or down in that time. I still think that this is a good description of what happened in that period of time with the use of different sources. Great job - Andy

Comment 2: Your third paragraph is good, but the last two sentences are a little short. you talked about the graph which is good, and you didnt use I or you. To make it better you should add more detail explaining it more. Overall your last paragraph was well written. -TaZ k.

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 main sources of electricity production in the United States from 2000-2005. These sources were hydroelectric power, nuclear electric power, petroleum and natural gas, and coal. According to Graph 1, the need for these electricity sources stayed about the same from 2000-2005. All of the sources of electricity maintained a small and steady increase. For example, in 2000, hydroelectric power started at about 0.2 trillion kilowatthours. By 2005, it was still around 0.2 trillion kilowatthours. During this same time period, nuclear electric power started at around 0.7 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 and ended up in the same place by 2005. The only two sources that did increase out of these four sources were petroleum and natural gas and coal. As Graph 1 shows, petroleum and natural gas increased from 0.7 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 to roughly 0.9 trillion kilowatthours in 2005. Coal began at approximately 1.8 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 and increased to about 2.0 trillion kilowatthours in 2005. Even though the need for the sources stayed about the same, coal had the greatest increase.

Comment 1: Julia, great work! You referred to the graph often, and backed up all of your statements about the sources. Also, you wrote in third person and went above in content. The only thing that I would suggest is having a longer conclusion. You only have one sentence, I think that if you had more than one it would sound much better and really wrap up your entry. Otherwise, excellent job!:) -Alyssa P.

Comment 2:

Re-Entry: As seen in Graph 1, there were four main sources of electricity production in the United States from 2000-2005. These sources were hydroelectric power, nuclear electric power, petroleum and natural gas, and coal. According to Graph 1, the need for these electricity sources stayed about the same from 2000-2005. All of the sources of electricity maintained a small and steady increase. For example, in 2000, hydroelectric power started at about 0.2 trillion kilowatthours. By 2005, it was still around 0.2 trillion kilowatthours. During this same time period, nuclear electric power started at around 0.7 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 and ended up in the same place by 2005. The only two sources that did increase out of these four sources were petroleum and natural gas and coal. As Graph 1 shows, petroleum and natural gas increased from 0.7 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 to roughly 0.9 trillion kilowatthours in 2005. Coal began at approximately 1.8 trillion kilowatthours in 2000 and increased to about 2.0 trillion kilowatthours in 2005. As you can see in Graph 1, the need for these sources stayed about the same. However, the need for coal increased more than the other sources.

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 of measurement for power. The amount of electrical power can be calculated using the formula, power = current * voltage or watts = amps * voltage. If a lamp with a 200 watt lightbulb burned for 24 hours straight, it would use 4800 watts. This means that it would use 4.8 kilowatt hours. This problem was solved by first multiplying 200 * 24. That answer is the number of watts used. Then to find the number of kilowatt hours, you must divide 4800 by 1000. It must be divided by 1000 because 1000 watts = 1 kilowatt. The answer is then 4.8.

Comment 1: Good job, Julia! You answered the questions thoroughly and used third person.I think that in the third sentence, you should use "watt hours," instead of just watts, so that it will be more clear to the in further steps. Also, I think that you should order your steps differently. Maybe you should put the answer first, and then explain ALL of the steps, instead of doing half of them before you give the answer and half of the steps after you give the answer. After reading the blog, it is clear that you understand the material. Just a few clarifications on the units and your steps would improve it even more! Good job using a consistent third person! :)

-Emily

Comment 2: Excellent Job! I really liked how in your second sentence, you explained the equation using current, power, and voltage, but then also explained it using watts, amps, and voltage. Some things that I would fix are in your third and fourth sentences. I would replace the word //it// with lamp, I think that would make those sentences more clear. Also in your sixth sentence(That answer is the number of watts used.) I would tell what the answer is, even though you said it earlier on in your blog. I think that this would make it easier to understand. Also, i would again suggest what Emily was trying to tell you. I agree with her that maybe to make your entry a little easier to understand and follow, I suggest changing the order in which you explained your answer to the problem. You might start with the information that was given to you in the question, and then work your way to show you found your answer. Otherwise, great job! You wrote in third person throughout the entire entry, and it really showed the you understood the material. Good Job! //-Alyssa P.

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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, I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot too. The thing I enjoyed most this trimester was building the circuits with the Radioshack Electronics Kit. I learned a lot this trimester, including how to build circuits, Ohm's Law, and the difference between parallel and series circuits. Next trimester, I would like to improve on calculating resistance, current, and voltage because it was difficult for me. I worked very hard to maintain my grades because science is very difficult for me. Overall, I think I did very well in science this trimester and I had a lot of fun too. - Julia W.

Comment 1: Julia, you were a great partner in the Radio Shack experiment and I enjoyed having you in my class and you helped me a lot when I needed it. Thanks! I love ya babe! - Anna J. =]]]]

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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: In the future, it will be hard to distinguish between robot and human. The one thing that will separate the humans from the robots is creativity. Humans have the ability to “think outside the box,” whereas robots will not. Robots will also be hard and sturdy, making it hard to hurt them, unlike humans, which can get hurt very easily. Robots that are used to complete all daily tasks and chores for humans should never be created. Robots that can complete a couple of chores would be fine, but people need to get exercise and fresh air or else they will become overweight and incredibly lazy. Robots that are perfect would be terrible. People make mistakes and that is what helps them grow as people. If robots didn’t make any mistakes, they would not learn from mistakes like humans do. Robots that could reproduce would also be a disaster. If robots could reproduce, they would multiply quickly and might eventually overthrow the human race. Humans could be turned into slaves, being tortured by the robots, until eventually, there would be no humans left and the world would be run by robots.

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