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8/24/2007
Find an web article from a reputable news website that contains information about any type of projectile. The article must relate to some science topic this could include something having to do with the projectile of bullets or weapons but should not focus on killing!Write a short (1 paragraph) summary of the article and then describe how anything you have learned in the past week about projectile motion might relate to it (second short paragraph). Finish with a citation to the web article. Enter all of this under "Entry" below.

//Entry:// Specialized Imaging Ltd. has been known for its experience in high speed camera technology and the knowledge of many current research applications. Now, Specialized Imaging Ltd. has successfully made the Trajectory Tracker- a next generation video projectile tracking system that offers high performance and easy deployment on a sturdy, fully adjustable mount. (A.K.A- a high tech video camera that easily tracks projectiles.) In order to have a consistent and accurate tracking of a projectile in flight, the camera has a computer controlled triggered rotating mirror that is right in front of a high speed digital video camera. Also, this new camera will allow you to make observations of projectiles that are up in the air and over 100 meters away, all with tracking accuracy that is better that is .2 degrees over its full scan, (a.k.a, a very good tracking accuracy.) So, this new high-tech camera will allow you to track all parts of a projectile in flight. Pretty cool, huh? This week, my class has been learning about projectiles, and this camera allows you to track them. Then again, what is a projectile? Well, projectile motion is when an object moves through the air at a fast pace. So, a projectile is the same thing, an object that is moving through the air at a fast pace. But believe it or not, there is even more to it than that. Projectiles aren’t always about the object, but the variables that cause the object to land on the ground where it did. These variables include velocity, wind, gravity, and the angle. All of these are very important when it comes to projectile motion. The velocity is the speed that the object is flying through the air. It’s important because if the object doesn’t have a lot of speed, than it won’t get very far, right? But if it does have a lot of speed, it will get a whole lot further. The wind is well, the wind! It affects what direction the object will blow towards while it’s in the air. Gravity is the force of nature that is pulling the object towards the ground. Without gravity, the object would just keep on going forever! Angle is the position that the object starts at. For example, if the object starts off at an angle of 900, than the object will just go straight up and come right back down. Now, there is one more part when it comes to projectiles. It is parabolic motion. Parabolic motion is the motion in which an object starts off going up in the air fast, slows down, starts to slowly head towards the ground, and the ends up going very fast towards the ground for the last few milliseconds. Now, this is the basic parts to projectiles and projectile motion that we have been learning all week. So, this is all the variables and effects of the projectile that the Trajectory Tracker tracks. Specialised Imaging Ltd., "Specialised Imaging To Unveil Innovations In High-Speed Imaging." __Photonics Online__. August 21, 2007. August 26, 2007

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:// In the Density Cube experiment, i believe that using the Scientific Method was extremely useful and important because it gave much more proof as to whether your findings were accurate and correct. It was so useful because if you did the experiment using the Scientific Method, than your findings would be strong and easy to follow for anyone trying to go back and look at the experiment. Using the Scientific Method is great and most of the time quite easy, but the actual experiment was not. Not only did you have to do a great deal of research just to find your hypothesis, but you also had to choose between 20 very different materials. Luckily, you were allowed to use density. Density is very important in finding the identity of an unknown substance because it gives more proof as to whether your choices were correct. This is true because if you found the density of any cube, you could then find the density of what you thought the cube was. Then, you could compare the two densities. If the two densities are the same or extremely close(only a few decimals off) than your cube would be what you thought it was. So density gives you more proof as to whether your findings are accurate.

//Comment 1:// Good job! You did a great job connecting all the topics. Besides a few capitalization errors the writing style was great. Some things to consider changing are the Scientific Method explanation. You had some sentences that need to be made into two sentences. I also had a hard time following parts of your opinion of the scientific method, try to make it flow a little more. You're examples of density were good, if I had not done this experiment I would know what you are talking about. You may want to use the word compare somewhere to give a better idea. I agree with you when you say that the experiment was difficult. Overall, it was fantastic! -//Caroline W//

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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 to determine the identidy of a substance based on the color it turns when the ionic salt is added to the flame. This is related to fireworks because in order to get the fireworks to change color, you have to add another substance to make it change to another color. To find out what substance you need in order to have the fireworks change color, you will need to do the flame test. Then whatever once you find the color that you want to put into your fireworks, you now know which substance to use. This means that when the wick on the firework burns out and the actual firework catches fire, it will now turn into the color that the substance turned, and will make your fireworks much more pleasing. Helmenstine, Ann Marie. "Qualitative Analysis-Flame Tests." __About.com-Chemistry__. 2007. About.com. 16 Oct 2007 <[|http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110401a.htm>.] -Alyssa P.

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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 Sodium and Chlorine come together to bond, many things happened. First, a very dangerous fiery substance is formed between the two, which then happens to be table salt. Than when the reaction is further looked into, it is found that before the sodium and the chlorine came to bond, they each had a covalent bond within each other. Than finally when the sodium and the chlorine came to bond together, they made an ionic bond. This is because each of the sodium atoms gave away one of its electrons to each of the chlorine atoms. Finally, the sodium became a positive atom, and the chlorine became an negative atom. -Alyssa P. //Comment 1:// You were very accurate about the reaction itself. Overall you had all of the content correct. Pay a little more attention with your spelling. You could also have a little more length to it. But other than that, you have the entry correct. I give you an A- because every thing was right, but some of the spelling was wrong. Good job! -Ian B.

Comment 2: Good response as far as content, but watch the spelling a little. the body length could have been a bit longer, but other than that I like your entry. I would give you an A- as well because the spelling was a little wrong. Good Job! Grant C.

11/08/2007
What was your favorite project, experiment or topic this trimester and why? (projectile motion, density cube experiment, podcasts, chemical reactions, flame tests, etc.) You can also comment about the snakes. What do you think that you excelled at this trimester? How could you have improved your performance in Science 7? (Make sure to check your spelling and grammar).

//Entry:// This trimester, my favorite project was the mystery element project. I liked that I was able to work with one of my friends. I also enjoyed being able to pretty much do anything we wanted with our podcast. But it was helpful that the project was educational, I learned a lot about Argon. Although science has been great this trimester, I could have done a few things better in terms of my homework and studying. I feel that I should be studying at least 10 minutes a night and reviewing my notes, rather than studying the night before the test. -Alyssa P.

//Comment 1:// Alyssa, you are a great friend to have in science. When you comment on my blog I get great feedback, when I miss a class I know I can always come to you for good notes, when I don't understand something you are always there to help me. Thanks for being such a great classmate. //-Caroline W//

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12/18/2007
Our next unit is about electricity and electronics. In first person write a long paragraph about what you know about electricity and what questions you might like to have answered in our electricity unit. If you could investigate any subject area related to energy in the home, electricity, electronics, computers, etc. what would you like to research or investigate?

Entry: I do not know very much about electricity, but I do know a little. I know about tungsten. Tungsten is is light bulb filaments, so it is part of electricity. Also, i know that electricity is used to power energy and power that we use everyday. It is used in our computers, houses, and much more. I our houses, we use electricity to cook, have light, and to have heat. Also i know that electricity comes is somewhat used with lightning. I do not know much more about electricity, and such; I would love to learn about it a lot more. I am actually interested in researching lightning, fireworks, and such. I always thought they were really fascinating, and I would love to learn more about them. //-Alyssa P.//

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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: Graph 1 shows mostly all of the electrical sources increasing. Coal increased the most within Graph 1. It started a steady increase in 1960-1965. It rose from about .2 trillion killowatthours to .5 kilowatt hours. Over the entire time period,coal increased 1.7 trillion kilowatt hours. Graph 1 shows that coal rose from .2 trillion kilowatthours to 2.0 kilowatthours. Many of the electrical sources shown in Graph 1 are directly contribute to global warming. When coal is burned to be used as fuel, it produces a greenhouse gas(carbon dioxide), which is linked to global warming. Coal also produces sulfur, nitrogen oxide, and mercury; which can pollute the air and water. Petroleum and Natural Gases are what people put in cars as gas, which causes pollution in the air; which causes global warming. Nuclear Electric Power helps the environment; it is not linked to global warming. Hydroelectric power can produce pollution, which can lead to global warming. Graph 1 shows that from 1972-1985 the trends of the electrical sources went both up and down. Coal went up, slightly down, and back up again. Coal looked like this for the entire time period(1972-1985). Petroleum and Natural Gas went slowly down during 1972-1985. Nuclear Electric Power went up during 1972-1985. Hydroelectric Power went at a steady rate during 1972-1985. Citations: ("Coal Energy." __EIA__. Feburary 2007. EIA. 4 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/coal.html>.)]

("Nuclear Energy." __umich__. University of Michigan. 5 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/nuclear.htm>.] )

("Petroleum data, reports, analysis, surveys." __EIA__. EIA. 5 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/info_glance/petroleum.html>.)]

(Perlman, Howard. "Water Use: Hydroelectric Power." __USGS__. Monday, August 28, 2006. US Department of the Interior/ US Geological Survey. 5 Jan 2008 <[|http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuhy.html>.)] -//Alyssa P.//

Comment 1: Alyssa, you did a good job of writing this blog entry. You wrote in 3rd person and you directly cited the graph in your entry. You also mentioned correct dates from the graph. Your data also backs up your statements, and you followed all of the scientific writing styles. The entry you wrote has the correct number of sentences and the content you wrote matches the questions.Your thoughts also make sense and everything you wrote is complete. I would not change anything about this entry. Great job! -Ian B.

Comment 2: Wow Alyssa, I'm just wishing that I had wrote more to have my entry look more like yours. Everything you wrote is precise and descriptive, and you did very well citing your sources and making sure each answer was long enough and with enough description. Good work! Andy N-

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 1, there were four main sources of electricity production in the United States from 2000-2005. These sources were coal, petroleum and natural gas, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric power. During these years, there was a variety of increasing and decreasing of production. In 2000, coal was at one of its peaks with roughly 2.0 trillion kilowatthours. Then for the next five years coal was steady, and ended with 2.0 trillion kilowatthours. Petroleum and natural gas were just going back up after a huge drop in 1980. Petroleum and natural gas started with 0.5 trillion kilowatthours in 2000, and ended with just under 1.0 trillion kilowatthours in 2005. Therefore, Petroleum and natural gas rose roughly 0.5 trillion kilowatthours. In 2000, nuclear electric power was becoming steady after rising for a number of years before. In 2000, nuclear electric power was at around 0.7 trillion kilowatthours. In 2005, it was exactly the same; 0.7 trillion kilowatthours. Also in 2000-2005, hydroelectric power had a short drop, and was then steady until 2005. In 2000, hydroelectric power was at around 0.2 trillion kilowatthours. In 2005, it was at 0.3 trillion kilowatthours. Therefore hydroelectric power didn't rise very much, but it did increase by 0.1 trillion kilowatthours. All of the electric sources were at their low or did not increase by much during this time period, except for one. Coal was at one of its peaks, and therefore proved to be the greatest in use during 2000-2005.

Comment 1: Good job Alyssa! You included data to back up your statements. You referred to the graph and you wrote in 3rd person. However, I think you could improve on making your sentences more clear. Other than that, good job! -Julia W.

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Re-Entry: In Graph 1, there were four main sources of electricity production in the United States from 2000-2005. These sources were coal, petroleum and natural gas, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric power. During these years, there was a variety of increasing and decreasing of production. In 2000, coal was at one of its peaks with roughly 2.0 trillion kilowatthours. Then for the next five years coal was steady, and ended with 2.0 trillion kilowatthours. Petroleum and natural gas were just going back up after a huge drop in 1980. Petroleum and natural gas started with 0.5 trillion kilowatthours in 2000, and ended with just under 1.0 trillion kilowatthours in 2005. Therefore, Petroleum and natural gas rose roughly 0.5 trillion kilowatthours. In 2000, nuclear electric power was becoming steady after rising for a number of years before. In 2000, nuclear electric power was at around 0.7 trillion kilowatthours. In 2005, it was exactly the same; 0.7 trillion kilowatthours. Also in 2000-2005, hydroelectric power had a short drop, but was then steady until 2005. In 2000, hydroelectric power was at around 0.2 trillion kilowatthours. In 2005, it was at 0.3 trillion kilowatthours. Therefore hydroelectric power didn't rise very much, but it did increase by 0.1 trillion kilowatthours. All of the electric sources were at their low or did not increase by much during this time period, except for one. Coal was at one of its peaks, and therefore proved to be the greatest in use during 2000-2005. WONDERFUL- 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 a unit of measurement for power. The amount of electrical power is calculated by multiplying current and voltage using this equation: P=I*V. Therefore, if a lamp with a 200 watt light bulb burned for 24 hours straight, it would use a certain amount of kilowatt hours. The amount of kilowatt hours is calculated by first multiplying 200 and 24. The answer ends up being 4800. Now, this is not the number of total kilowatt hours. The amount of kilowatt hours is now calculated by dividing 4800 by 1000, because there are 1000 watts in each kilowatt hour. The actual amount of kilowatt hours is 4.8.

Comment 1: Great Job! The only suggestions I have is to include units for current and voltage when you are explaining the equation I*V=P and to add a concluding sentence because I felt like the paragraph just ended. You don't have to change this but I suggest you say the answer ends up being 4800 //watts.// Don't forget to sign your name, otherwise excellent blog entry! -//Caroline W//

Comment 2: Good job! You wrote in third person well and solved the equation correctly. I think you did a very good job in explaining the steps you used to come up with your answer. But when you said, "the answer ends up being 4800" I think you should have included a unit. Then you said "Now, this is not the number of total kilowatt hours." If it isn't the total number of kilowatt hours, what is it? I think you should have included that it was the number of watt hours. I also think you should have included the units for current and voltage when you were explaining the equation. Also, maybe you should have turned your last sentence into more of a conclusion statement to end your paragraph smoothly. For example, you could have said, "in conclusion, the actual amount of kilowatt hours is 4.8." But other than these things, good job! -Julia

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 was a really great, especially with science class. I really enjoyed the electronics unit. At first, I thought that it would be really complicated and hard. After reading through the handout given, and doing one of the circuits, it was a lot easier. Now, I feel a lot more confident with making these types of circuits. I also learned a lot about the different pieces needed to build these circuits. I was able to learn about resistors, capacitors, LEDs, and much more. Although, I had trouble keeping up with the electricity unit. Next trimester, I hope to study a little bit every night to keep up with every unit that we are in. All in all, science this trimester was a great experience and I only hope that next trimester is just as great. //-Alyssa P.//

Comment 1: Alyssa, you did a very great job this year. I always enjoyed having you in my group because you were a great addition. You always added useful information to lab reports and overall data. You are also very creative when it comes to writing. You are very smart also!!! Thanks for being an awesome person! Keep up the great work. -Rabiya S. 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: In the future, it looks like future machines may just have the ability to reason, be self-aware, and have feelings. This means that the line between human beings and robots may blur. This may result in human beings becoming robots. But is this possible? Robots may have traits like of humans, but they will never be able to become full humans. This is because robots have to be programmed by humans. Robots are machines, and machines are made by humans. Also, robots will not be able to possess the full traits of humans and become humans because they do not have one important trait that humans have. This trait is creativity. Humans have lots of creativity, they have the ability to create things and think of new ideas. This is why robots exist! If humans didn't have creativity, then they would not have been able to think up the idea of robots, or have the creative skills it takes to make them. Therefore, robots will not be able to become humans. So, robots that exemplify humans,(robots that look and act like humans), should not be made because they are not true humans. All in all, robots are great, but they do not have the potential to ever become full humans. -Alyssa P.

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