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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 (not war, guns, etc.) 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:// In the article “Locked Room Solution” it is talking about the 1936 Locked Room Mystery. The mystery is about a woman who got shot by standing at the open door at a Coal Furnace. In this mystery the big question is how the thin copper casing from the detonator could be turned into a high-velocity projectile. Robert Woods found a theory that could match what happened and tested the theory to see if it worked. //A copper projectile came out and matched exactly the one that was autopsy from the woman’s body. What Woods overall found out was that the explosively formed projectile which gives off a high percentage of the energy turned into kinetic energy.//

//In class this week the group made an experiment and conducted it to see what angle would make a projectile go the farthest. Woods in this article got a hypothesis then did an experiment to test if his hypothesis was right. That is exactly what the class did this week.//

//**Hambling, David. “Locked Room Solution: Killer EFP.” August 21,2007. CondeNet,Inc. 26 Aug 2007 <[|http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/locked-room-m-1.html>/]**//

Comment 1: The style is good, it is in 3rd person and has good grammar. The format could be improved by putting the whole entry in italics, and by signing your name. Content includes everything needed with enough detail and is short enough. Great job! - Sarah_T Comment 2:

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 wasn't necessary for this experiment because we were trying to find which cube matched what material not actually conducting an experiment. If you told someone to find what material each cube was they would be able to find it without using the materials. The most difficult thing about this experiment was getting all the information you needed in a certain amount of time. The density was important for finding out what material goes with what. For example, if there was two materials that looked alike you could not tell them apart. Also, its always good to have more than one way to proove your answer.

Comment 1: Good size. You also did a good job explaining. You were talking about "this experiment", but you said it wasn't really "an experiment". You might want to want to word that differently. You do need to follow some steps of the scientific method, but your right that you don't need to follow all the steps. Your only misspelled word is "proved". Besides that the grammar and spelling all looks right. You did a good job! -Eric S

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 an experiment conducted to see how a compound reacts to heat. When you put the compound in the flame of heat it reacts by you being able to see the color of the compound. You have to make sure the wire is clean and doesn't have any chemicals on it to see the real results. This relates to fireworks because fireworks have all different chemicals mixed together. When the flame ignites and the chemicals react with the heat that is when we see all the different colors in the sky. Fireworks is just a larger example of what the flame test is.

Citation: Brain, Marshall. "How Fireworks work?." __howstuffworks__. 2007. howstuffworks, Inc.. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://www.howstuffworks.com/fireworks.htm>.]

//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: This reaction is wierd because when the sodium goes into the chlorine it right away turns into flames. The sodium makes a chemical reaction with the chlorine. In the reaction with sodium and chlorine it forms an ionic bond between the two elements. Since chlorine is a non-metal and soidum is a metal, that means they have to form an ionic bond. When the ionic bond is formed both of the sodium atoms give an electron to the chlorine to make the chlorine a negative charge. It forms fire because of how much energy is being transferred. The final result of the two bonding is table salt.

Comment 1: You understand the reaction and include everything. You could include things like; exothermic or endothermic reaction and more details about the reaction and the raw elements. Great wording on the bondage, but you never told about the chlorine being a gas. Spelling and grammar was all ok. I would give you an A- as there was some better and worse parts about the entry. Patrick L. Comment 2: You have a good explanation for everything and you have all of the facts right. I agree with Patrick, you have good spelling and grammar but it is not perfect. You have good wording and elaborated on almost everything, so I would give you an A. Not perfect, but pretty good. Joshua K.

Revised Entry: This reaction to me was unexpected. I thought it was unexpected because when the sodium went into the chlorine it right away turned into flames. The sodium makes a chemical reaction with the chlorine. In the reaction with sodium and chlorine it forms an ionic bond between the two elements. Since chlorine is a non-metal and sodium is a metal, that means they form an ionic bond. When the ionic bond is formed the sodium atoms give electrons to chlorine. The sodium atom gives each of the two chlorine's an electron to make their charge negative. Since sodium gives two electrons away to chlorine its charge is positive. It forms fire because of how much energy is being transfered. The final result of the two elements bonding together is 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 experiment this trimester was the chemical reaction. I liked this experiment the best because I have never been able to test chemicals and see the reactions before so it was very interesting to me. Also, I really like working in groups rather than by myself. I think I did well on the quizzes and understanding the material we were learning. I think I could improve my performance in Science 7 by learning more in depth about the materials we were learning.

//Comment 1:// Caroline, You have a PERFECT entry. You did a great job with spelling, but you missed just one comma. That is fabulous! Great job! You couldn't improve on anything more! ~Sydney R

Comment 2: I appreciate how your a delight to this science class. Your always are happy and up for anything. I love that you have great ideas, and help me when I need it. Whenever i'm around you, you always make me happy. Overall, your a great person, and your a great person to be around. Im glad you are in my science class this year, it wouldnt be the same. -Brittany

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: Electricity is a very interesting topic that I have never covered before in school science. I do not know hardly anything about electricity just that it comes from electric outlets. I know that a lot of things use electricity every day. I know that if we didn’t have electricity today we would have a very different lifestyle. My biggest question about electricity is how it is made? How is electricity conducted? I would like to learn about how it is conducted and about it in general.


 * 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: Coal is the electricity source that has increased the greatest amount over the time period of 1950- 2005 shown in the graph. Coal increased from being a little over 0 trillion kilowatt hours to about 2 trillion kilowatt hours. All of the other electricity sources barely increased over the time period and even had decreases every so often. Coal stayed at about the same pace increasing throughout the time period. From 1950 to 2005 coal increased almost 2 trillion kilowatt hours to be the most increased electricity source in the United States.

Coal and Natural Gases are the contributions to global warming on the graph. The cause of global warming is when carbon dioxide builds up in our atmosphere not allowing heat to escape to outer space. Coal and Natural Gases both have carbon dioxide that releases from them. Coal releases over 90% the electricity causes that contributes to global warming. Natural Gases are the cleanest fossil fuels but also helps global warming.

The trends from 1972-1985 for nuclear electric power went up substantially compared to its steady 0 trillion kilowatts from 1950-1970. Coal ever since 1950 has been steadily increasing but since 1972 it started increasing at a higher rate. Petroleum and Natural Gases took a decrease after 1970 until 1985. After 1985 it started increasing a little year by year. Hydroelectric Power stayed at a steady rate throughout all the years. All together there were downfalls and increases in the different electricity source uses in the United States.

Citation: "Causes of Global Warming and globalwarminawareness2007." __globalwarming awareness 2007__. Word Press Entries. 4 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.globalwarmingawareness2007.web.id/archives/causes-of-global-warming-and-globalwarming-awareness2007.html>.]

Comment 1: You wrote in third person, you included all of the data, and your paragraph is very accurate. You managed to get all of the sentences in, but they are slightly short and abrupt. A couple of bad things are that the blog entry does not have references to the graph, but the MLA citations are there. You also describe the differential in electricity used, which is good, but you didn't describe the sources of energy in relation to one another. All in all, your paragraph is good and meets most requirements. Josh

Comment 2: Overall great job. Your data and your information was great. Also you did not have that you got your information from the graph. You also discribed if it took an increase or a decrease which was very good. Other than that it was good just you did not give where you had the source of your information. Great Job- Eric M

Comment 3: "MAY WANT TO HAVE A OPENING STATEMENT. The trends from 1972-1985 for nuclear electric power went up substantially compared to its steady 0 trillion kilowatts from 1950-1970. Coal ever since 1950 has been steadily increasing but since 1972 it started increasing at a higher rate PROVIDE DATA TO BACK THIS UP. Petroleum and Natural Gases took a decrease after 1970 until 1985 PROVIDE DATA. After 1985 it started increasing a little year by year. Hydroelectric Power stayed at a steady rate throughout all the yearsPROVIDE DATA. All together there were downfalls and increases in the different electricity source uses in the United States.REFER TO GRAPH." -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: In graph one from 2000-2005 there are four main sources of electricity in the United States. The four main sources used in the United States in this time period shown in the graph is petroleum/natural gas, hydroelectric power,coal, and nuclear electric power. From 2000-2005 shown in the graph all of the sources of electricity in the United States started to slow down how much they increased. Coal was still superior to all the other sources in the United States. Graph 1 shows that in 2000 coal was roughly at 1.5 trillion kilowatthours. It slowly increased until at 2005 it was at merely 2.0 trillion kilowatthours in the United States. During that same time Hydroelectric Power had a minor decrease and then started picking up slowly again. Shown in the graph Hydroelectric Power was at about 0.3 trillion kilowatthours before it had a decrease to about 0.1 trillion kilowatthours. After the decrease of Hydroelectric Power in graph 1, Hydroelectric Power incresaed to about 0.4 trillion kilowatthours in the United States. Petroleum/Natural Gases throughout its decrease shown in previous years on the graph it had an increase fromabout 0.5 trillion kilowatthours to roughly 1 trillion kilowatthours from 2000-2005. Nuclear Electric Power on the graph stayed at a little more than 0.5 trillion kilowatthours from 2000-2005. Overall, Coal showed the most substantial increase from 2000-2005 in the United States.

Comment 1: Caroline, great job keeping in third person, using good spelling, writing more than five sentences, and using okay grammar. I also give you props for using the big words that you used. You did a great job referring to the graph, using the units, and letting the reader know all of this took place in the United States. You did everything correct, you backed up your statements and used evidence. I do not know what you could have done better on because you did a fabulous job. But, you could have used more punctuation like commas and etc. Excellent job over all. -Sydney

Comment 2:

Re-Entry: In graph one from 2000-2005 there are four main sources of electricity in the United States. The four main sources used in the United States in this time period, shown in the graph is petroleum/natural gas, hydroelectric power,coal, and nuclear electric power. From 2000-2005 shown in the graph REPETITIVE all of the sources of electricity in the United States started to slow down how much they increased WORDING. Coal was still superior to all the other sources in the United States. Graph 1 shows that in 2000 coal was roughly at 1.5 trillion kilowatthours. It slowly increased until at 2005 it was at merely 2.0 trillion kilowatthours in the United States. During that same time Hydroelectric Power had a minor decrease and then started picking up slowly again. Shown in the graph Hydroelectric Power was at about 0.3 trillion kilowatthours before it had a decrease to about 0.1 trillion kilowatthours. After the decrease of Hydroelectric Power in graph 1, Hydroelectric Power incresaed to about 0.4 trillion kilowatthours in the United States. Petroleum/Natural Gases throughout its decrease shown in previous years on the graph it had an increase fromabout TYPING 0.5 trillion kilowatthours to roughly 1 trillion kilowatthours from 2000-2005. Nuclear Electric Power on the graph stayed at a little more than 0.5 trillion kilowatthours from 2000-2005. Overall, Coal showed the most substantial increase from 2000-2005 in the United States. PRETTY GOOD JOB, JUST PROOF YOUR WORK A BIT MORE. -JT

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

Entry: A watt is the units in which power is measured in. Just like there is ohm's law to figure out current there is a formula to find the amount of power. The equation to find the amount of power is power equals voltage times current (p= v x I). If there was a lamp with a 200 watt light bulb that burned for 24 hours straight the total amount of kilowatts would be 4.8. There are a few steps to figure out how many kilowatts are used by the lamp. First, there has to be a concept that is understood. The concept that has to be understood is that 1 kilowatt is 1,000 watts. The first step into figuring out the problem is multiplying 200 times 24. The answer after multiplying is 4,800 watts. Then the goal is to find out how many kilowatts it is not how many watts it. So the next step is to divide 4,800 by 1,000 to find out how many kilowatts there are. After dividing the answer turns out to be 4.8 kilowatts.

Comment 1: Caroline, your blog was very well written and has correct information. Your problem was done correctly and you explained it well! I like how for your second sentence you relate the power formula to Ohm's Law. Great job on staying in third person. Your paragraph was the great amount of length. Your overall paper was good! -Brittany W

Comment 2: Caroline, your blog entry was excellent! You did a great job explaining everything except next time try to explain why you did some equations. Other than that you were very thorough and you did a good job staying in third person. Also, you did a good job with spelling and punctuation. Excellent Job!!! --Sydney

__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: Science 7 was very interesting and fun this trimester. I enjoyed doing the complex RadioShack circuits the best. The thing I liked best about the RadioShack circuits was how it was very complex and made you really think about every component you were connecting to the circuit. Snakes aren’t particularly my thing but I think they are fun for the rest of the class to hold while working. I would like to improve in science 7 next trimester. The one thing I would most want to improve on is memorizing terms right when we see them the first time.

Comment 1: Caroline, you helped me understand a lot of things this trimester that I had no clue about. Thank you for always helping me learn new things and being my partner. Also, thank you for making it so when I come to class every day there is a friend there and some one that can help. Thanks!

Comment 2:__

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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: What makes a human being a human being is the creativity they have. Robots can only do what they are told or programmed to do. Humans have the ability to be anything they want to be. Robots are machines, even if they could have feelings and all they still could not make their own decisions without being programmed to know the different situations. The robots that people would not want to see is the ones that are harmful or dangerous. The reason people wouldn’t want to see these robots is because they are machines that are weapons today in wars. A robot that starts out partly harmful can increase to become dangerous and harmful.

Comment 1:

Comment 2: