Class Response Science Blog

Right now in science class we are learning about refraction, reflection, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

Refraction is when energy changes speed as it travels from one matter to another causing the energy to change direction. Refraction only happens when the energy hits the new matter at an angle. This is why it is hard to continue riding a skateboard in a straight line when you go from riding it on the sidewalk to riding it on the grass. This is also why images appear to be broken when they are partially under water and partially in the air.

Reflection is when an image reflects off a surface back into your eye reflection happens every time you look into a mirror or any reflective surface.

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all the possible radiation frequencies. It includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared rays, visible light, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and gamma rays. Radio waves have the longest wavelength and gamma rays have the shortest wavelength. Visible light takes up only a very small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum but it is the only part of the spectrum that our eyes can see.

Social Studies National Blog- Presedential Inauguration

On Tuesday November 20th president-elect Barack Obama was inaugurated. At the National Mall Obama made his inaugural address and took the oath of office officially becoming the president of the United States of America. Then there was a parade then an inaugurational ball. President Obama is the first African American ever to become president so this was an extremely important moment in history.

President Obama gave an well written and very inspiring inaugurational address. It was really nice that he mentioned helping poor nations because I think that charity is important. One of my favorite lines from his speech was " Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met." I liked this quote because it shows that he plans to do something about the crisis America is in and I think that it was really well said. I also think it was good that he mentioned some of the things he planned to do for our country because they were all good ideas. He also mentioned the problems America has to face and that "This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." because these are important parts of his presidency. All in all, Obama's speech was well written and very inspiring.

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/Obama_Inaugural_Address_012009.html

On Tuesday January 20th in front of about one and a half million people Barack Obama officially became president of the United States of America at the National Mall. Obama is the first African American president and has huge challenges to face. but Obama says that America will get through the tough times and that "Greatness is never a given. It must be earned." The crowd at the National Mall was so huge that some people were more than a mile away from the swearing in ceremony and had to watch it on huge televisions all over the National Mall. This is a huge and important event in America's history

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/20/obama.inauguration/index.html

In my opinion the inauguration of president Obama was important event in our history and it is wonderful that we finally have an African American president. I also think that Obama's speech was really good, inspirational, and well written. I know that Obama has many challenges to face and I hope that he solves them. I think that Obama is going to be a great president.

Current Event Science Blog

Nowadays designers are incorporating technology in to their clothing more and more often. An example of this new technology is the M-Dress this dress doubles a a telephone and when it rings you raise your hand to answer the phone. This dress works with any standered SIM card and was produced by UK firm CuteCircuit. Jane McCann who is the director of Smart Clothes and Wearable Technology at the University of Wales predicts that in the near future clothing could have functions such as helping you find your way somewhere, telling you how fit you are, telling you where someone is, or telling you whats on at a museum or club. She also says that while the fitness industry has made alot in the way of wearable tachnology the fashion industry is lagging behind. McCann also predicts that custmization will become popular. Thefashion industry typically uses technology for looks not function. All in all, in the next ten years clothing could be for alot more than just wearing.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/24/future.fashion/index.html

Current Event Blog #2

Scientists have found a creature that there has not been a live sighting of in over eighty years. Some people thought that the wide eyed primate had gone extinct. The scientists found this creature called pygmy tarsiers or Tarsius pumilus at the Lore Lindu National Park on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Pygmy tarsiers have a huge resemblance to the electronic toy called Furby. They have dense fur, large protruding eyes, and they weigh about fifty kilograms or one point seven ounces. The pygmy tarsier has claws instead of fingernails which is unusual for a primate. The pygmy tarsiers features are similar to the Philippines tarsiers features except that the pygmy tarsier is only half the size of the Philippines tarsier. All in all, the pygmy tarsier is a very interesting creature.

Right now in class we are learning about symbiotic relationships. Symbiosis is a close relationship between two organism where one organism lives near, on, or even inside another organism. In symbiosis at least one organism has to benefit from the relationship. There are three types of symbiotic relationships: Mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Mutualism is when both organisms benefit from their symbiotic relationship. Commensalism is when one organism benefits from the symbiotic relationship and the other organism is not harmed. Parasitism is when one organism benefits from the symbiotic relationship and the other organism is not harmed. An example of mutualism would be honey bees and flowers because both the honey bees and the flower benefit in this relationship. An example of commensalism would be humans and the mites that live at the base of your eyebrows because the mites are helped by this relationship and the human is not harmed or helped. An example of parasitism would be a dog and a flea because the flea is helped but the dog is harmed. All in all, I think that symbiosis is a very interesting topic to learn about.

Is scotch tape also an x-ray?

Scientists have discovered that scotch tape can make x-rays. Fifty years ago Russian scientists found that you can get evidence of x-rays from peeling tape off of glass. Now scientists have found that you can get a lot of x-rays if you peel scotch tape in a vacuum; in fact some researchers even made an x-ray of their fingers using that method. The tape did not make any x-rays where there was air though. In a new study the scotch tape was peeled off the roll at about one point two inches per second and pulses of x-rays, that were about one billionth of a second long each, came from very close to where the tape was being peeled. Then the electrons jumped from the top of the tape to the sticky part which was about two thousandths of an inch apart and slowed down. When they slowed down it caused x-rays to come off the tape. People are thinking about how this new discovery could be used to make an inexpensive x-ray machine for where electricity is to expensive or to hard to get. Jamies Hevezi says that this new discovery is "a very interesting idea, and I think it should be carried further in research."

Class Response Blog- Ecology

In science class we are learning about ecology. Here are a couple of important terms we are learning about:
environment- all of the living and nonliving things that an organism may interact with
ecology- the study of the relationships of living things with one another and of living things with their environment
ecosystem- a unit that consists of all the living and nonliving that interact with one another in a given area
community- the part of an ecosystem that is living
population- a group of organisms that are in the same species and that live in the same area
habitat- the place where an organism lives and gets the resources it needs to survive
producer- an organism that can make its own food by using a source of energy to turn raw materials into food
consumer- an organism that is not able to make its own food
decomposer- an an organism that breaks down dead organisms bodies into simpler substances
food chain- a representation of a series of events when food energy and matter are transferred from one organism to another
food web- a diagram that has many overlapping food cahins in it