Sunday, February 22, 2009

Class Response Science Blog #2

Recently in Science class we have been building roller coasters out of everyday supplies such as soda bottles, cardboard boxes, and paper towel rolls. Then we would see if a marble could get all the way through the roller coaster. These roller coasters displayed friction, force, and Newton's three laws of motion. Friction slowed down the marble as it was progressing through the roller coaster because friction is when the imperfections and ridges on objects rub against each other causing the objects to slow down. The marble used force as it was being pushed down the roller coaster because force is a push or a pull. Newton's first law of motion is shown on my roller coaster because the car keeps moving until it is slowed down by friction and then finally stopped at the end of the roller coaster. This is because Newton's first law of motion says that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest until an unbalanced force is acted upon it. According to Newton's first law of motion the marble would have continued moving through the roller coaster forever had it not been acted upon by friction. Newton's second law of motion is shown on my roller coaster because the amount of force of the marble is equal to the the amount that the car accelerated times the mass of the marble. This is because Newton's second law of motion says that force equals mass times acceleration. Newton's third law of motion is shown on my roller coaster because the marble is exerting force on the roller coaster and the roller coaster is exerting force on the marble. This is because Newton's third law of motion says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As you can see, my roller coaster is a perfect example of an easy way to display many elements of science.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Local Current Event S.S. Blog- SB Students Witness histori Moment

The morning of January 18, 2009 a group of forty-four students from South Brunswick High School and six chaperones left for Washington D.C. to see the Presidential Inauguration. During their four day trip they visited many locations such as monuments and the National Portrait Gallery. The trip was expensive at five hundred and twenty five dollars per student but they felt that it was worth it to see that influential moment in history in person. The group had to wake up at four in the morning and it was extremely cold but in the end it was worth it. Many students were touched by President Obama's speech. For instance, junior Saadia Ahmad said ”So much of what he said I felt applied directly to me. I felt what he said and I was shivering, but not from the cold. When you’re moved by something and it gets to you, it just makes you think everything applies to your own life and you want to try to make a difference.” Saadia also said ”The whole time I knew that this was something really important. I just focused on everything that happened so when I look back on this in 20 or 30 years I’ll remember how I felt that day. It’s something that I always want to remember.” All in all, this trip was defiantly a day that all forty-four students will remember.

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/01/28/south_brunswick_post/news/doc4980d5734f93c267502322.txt

Current Event Science Blog

Mount Redoubt, a volcano in Alaska, is expected to erupt extremely soon. In fact, scientists predict that this could happen within days or weeks. Scientists expect this because there have been a lot of little earthquakes and the magma is nearing the surface. This is a risk because Mount Redoubt is only about one hundred miles southwest of Anchorage. When the volcano erupts it could send huge clouds of ash all over Alaska. Judging from past eruptions this ash could shoot up to forty thousand feet in the air. Ash is mostly made of silica which is similar to tiny pieces of glass. The ash would take about three hours to reach Anchorage. Ash could be a concern because ash can be dangerous to breathe in and can damage cars if it gets into the engines. A dangerous effect of ash is that it can get ruin or stall the engines on planes. That is why no planes will be allowed to fly in the area if the volcano erupts.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/02/02/alaska.volcano/index.html

Sunday, January 25, 2009

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.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

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.

Friday, January 9, 2009

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