Christina's+Blog+1

= = toc Back to Student Blogs

=Your Blog=

Make sure to follow the instructions on the Student Blog Page

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

//Entry:// Since the transition into the 20th century, cameras have broadened the scope on ballistic testing. For instance, in 2006, a Trajectory Tracker system was made that allows a high-speed video camera to record the flight path of a projectile, and record projectile motion. Also, a new camera has been invented that is capable of shuttering speeds as short as 20ns, which results in blur-free image capture and analysis of objects traveling at up to 4,000 m/s. The only thing in the article that relates to projectile motion is the comment that the cameras are able to track the projectile motion of the bullets. This relates to the fact that if a bullet/projectile is shot into the air, it will have projectile motion. Also, this article relates to the fact that a projectile can be tracked on its projectile motion.

//Comment 1: A couple of things which I would like to comment on are that both paragraphs have only 3 sentences and are therefore too short to be a 'pargraph' (a typical paragraph is 5-7 sentences). Also, many of the phrases in the first paragraph are taken word-for-word from the article, many of which contain multiple multisyllabic words which some people, sometimes including myself, do not know the definitions of. However, the first paragraph is very factual and summarizes the article very well. Also, the second paragraph describes how the article relates to what we learned very well, and the citation is included below. Overall, this is a very good review.// -//Joseph Cornett// 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?

I think that the scientific method was necessary in the experiment, because that way it would help you prove your point. If you display all the information, you have more proof about how your conclusion is correct. This experiment was difficult, because you have twenty choices that you could match up with each cube. Not only did you have to find out the density of the cube, you had to find out the density of all the other materials. I think that density was important in finding out the identity of an unknown substance, because if you tried to find out the unknown substance from mass, for example, it would not work because if an object is bigger or smaller, the mass will change.

//Comment 1:// This looks very good overall. I think that you should explain how the scientific method helps you prove your point. I agree that having 20 different possible identities did make it hard, but what can you do to make it easier? Good example of why you cannot just find the mass to determine the substance. Great job! - Jared

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 where you determine what a chemical is by running it through a flame.This relates to the use of chemicals in fireworks, because if you want the fireworks to be a specific color, you need to run some flame tests on chemicals and see which in is of your desired color. Then, you pack it in your fireworks, and when it blows up, it will light up as the color you want it to be.

"The Composition of Fireworks." __The Composition of Fireworks__. 17 Oct 2007. Imperial College. 17 Oct 2007 <[|http://www.chemsoc.org/ExemplarChem/entries/2004/icl_Gondhia/composition.html>.]

//Comment 1://

Comment 2:

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

Entry: Electricity fuels machines, lights, and many common household objects. It is when electricity particles race into an object and powers it. Some questions that I want to have answered are: How fast can electricity travel? Are there different kinds of electricity? Does electricity need air to survive? How hot can electricity get? If I could investigate any subject area related to energy in my house, I would like to research electricity pertaining to computers and electronics.

Comment 1: Nice Paragraph. I didn't find any grammer or spelling mistakes. Interesting questions. Colin Comment 2: This paragraph has good content. However, you probably know more about electricity than what you wrote down, especially the history of electricity (such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, etc.). I agree with Colin: those are some interesting (and good) questions, and they are specific as well. I only saw one grammatical error (I think it's an error, anyway): when you said 'it is when electricity particles race into an object and powers it', you should have said 'power' as opposed to 'powers'. It's just verb conjugation. Overall, this ia a very good blog post!

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.

Entry: In Graph 1, it shows that from 1950 to the year 2000, the amount of hydroelectric power used increased from 0.1 trillian kilowatthours to two trillian kilowatthours. It also shows that the amount of petroleum and natural gas used increased from 0.1 trillian kilowatthours to 0.7 kilowatthours between 1950 and 2000. Another fact that was shown is that the amount of nuclear electric power used increased from 0.0 kilowatthours to 0.7 kilowatthours between 1950 and 2000. However, the source of energy most used was coal, which increased from 0.2 kilwatthours to 1.7 kilowatthours. The electric source in the US that increased the greatest amount over the time period shown in the graph was coal. Nuclear electric power directly contributes to global warning. About 20% of global warming was caused by nuclear electric power. Some trends I noticed are that coal and nuclear electric power use increased between the years 1972 and 1985, and petroleum and natural gas use took a slight dive in 1984. Hydroelectric power usage wavered between the years 1972 and 1985, and is still wavering up and down. The amount of hydroelectric power and nuclear electric power generation was almost the same during the years 1977 and 1984.

"Global Warning from Electric Power Plants." __Global Warning from Electric Power Plants__. 4 Jan 2008. Faith. 4 Jan 2008 <[|http://mb-soft.com/public2/powerplt.html>.]

Comment 1: Good Job Christina, the third part of your blog was quite impressive with just a few errors. For one, you wrote”some trends I noticed,” you used I even though you were supposed to write in third person. Another minor detail is that you did not reference to the graph, you just stated the data that was on the graph. You did put dates for when the data rose and fell which was good but, one thing you might want to do is add from what year to what year the data rose or fell. Your blog did show a good knowledge of the question and what was intended or the answer of each question. One thing is though, you did not provide evidence for your ideas. You did draw good thoughts and draw god conclusions so, good job! -Myra

Comment 2: I noticed that you used I and you were supposed to write in thrird person. You coud also probably say Graph 1 instead of just graph. You put all of the dates and your knowledge of the question was great good job -Zack

1-8-08

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 sources of electricity production in the US from 2000-2005. These sources were coal, petroluem/natural gas, nuclear electric power, and hydroelectric power. Between the years 2000-2005, the US's use of energy did not seem to increase or decrease very much for all four recourses SP. For instance, coal stayed at around 1.7 trillion kilowatthours, hydroelectric power stayed at around 0.3 trillion kilowatthours, nuclear electric power stayed at around 0.7 trillion kilowatthours, and petroleum and natural gas stayed at around 0.7 trillion kilowatthours PUNCUATION. However, petroleum did shoot upwards SW for a tiny bit from 0.7 trillion kilowatthours during the year 2003 to 0.75 trillion kilowatthours in the year 2005. Even though power useage SP of those four resources shot upwards in the years 1950-1999, it seems as if the power use is finally leveling out. (Perhaps power conservation?) However, coal still accounted for the highest used power. PRETTY GOOD BUT WORK TO IMPROVE YOUR PROOFING. NICE CONCLUDING SENTENCE. - JT

Comment 1: You did a great job writing this paragraph. You had correct grammar, and your spelling was also good. The only thing that i think you could change is that you say "stayed at around" in one sentence. Maybe you could re word that for a couple of those. It sounds repetitive. Joseph

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 SI unit used for measuring electrical power. To find the amount of power used in a circuit, this formula is used: Power=voltageXcurrent. If a 200 watt light-bulb burned for 24 hours, the total number of kilowatt hours it burned would be 4.8 kilowatthours. The formula used to find the answer is: kilowatthours= (powerXtime) / 1000.

Comment 1:

Comment 2:

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 discovered that science isn't as hard as I thought it was. I had a great time learning new things and relearning scientific concepts. Even though I did have some trouble in the electricity unit, I enjoyed learning about electricity. I also enjoyed making circuits. However, I discovered that it is best if I don't become an engineer. (Meaning that I'm not very good at making circuits.) My favorite unit was the acids and bases unit, since I like mixing chemicals and the such. Having Diablo and Peppermint in the science room is very fun. I learned that snakes aren't slimy or disgusting like many say. I look forward to science next trimester.

Comment 1: Christina is a very nice person. She is a great person to have in this class and she is very smart. Christina isa great person to be around and she is very fun to work with. Your a great friend! ~Ruchi

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:

The difference between humans and robots is the fact that even though robots may be able to reason and are self-aware, we have creativity. Also, robots are more sturdy, durable, do not bleed, and are under the control of a human being who can pull the safety switch. Robots that destroy or robots made for the purpose of nanotechnological warfare should not be made, because they would completely destroy our world.

Comment 1:

Comment 2: