Adv Science

Summary:  During this week, I reviewed element reactions for my science final project. Our final project requires that we have an interactive "element" (haha see what I did there?) so the rest of the class can be more engaged with the lesson. So for our interactive, we're going with the elephant toothpaste. While researching how the elephant toothpaste works, I learned that in the kid-friendly version, yeast acts a catalyst and the bubbles in the foam from the experiment are a remainder of when the hydrogen peroxide breaks into the water and oxygen. The catalyst is the same when the yeast is swapped out for sodium iodide. I learned that the catalyst is used to speed up the reaction. I also learned that the elephant toothpaste/exploding toothpaste creates an exothermic reaction, meaning the result will give off heat. This is why in the adult version of elephant toothpaste, it is recommended not to touch the foam. (And also because most adult versions use 30% hy

Summary:  During this week, I learned about stress. I learned that when you're stressed out, your brain releases a chemical called cortisol. I also learned that too much stress can cause the hippocampus and your frontal lobe to shrink. This means that nerve connections can be destroyed, which causes heart failure. (Because nerve signals aren't reaching the heart, so the heart stops pumping blood.) SP1: Asking questions and defining problems.  I asked questions such as, "Who named stress?" and "If one stresses about a specific thing, will that thing be worked into their dreams because they worried about it so much?"  Image Link:  Two blood cells met and fell in love... Alas, it was all in vein.

Summary:  During this week, I reviewed scientific material from 6th to 8th Grade for the California state-certified science test. I remembered (or rather, learned again), that ions are formed when an atom loses or gains electrons.  SP1: Asking questions and defining problems.  I asked questions such as, "Why are comets and asteroids discovered when they are far from our sun?" and "What is the density of a black hole?" I asked other question such as, "Will the universe go back to nothing? Will that event be called the Big Crunch?" Image Link:  Why can't you ever trust atoms? Because they make up everything.  

Summary:  During this week, I learned... nothing again. We went over the different types of galaxies, such as spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, peculiar galaxies, and irregular galaxies. (The galaxy shown is the Sombrero Galaxy and is a spiral galaxy.) I know that spiral galaxies have spiraling arms, hence the name spiral galaxy. I also know that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy is also a spiral galaxy and is nearly like the Milky Way except that it has many more stars. SP1: Asking questions and defining problems.  I asked questions such as, "Why are comets and asteroids discovered when they are far from our sun?" and "What is the density of a black hole?" I asked other question such as, "Will the universe go back to nothing? Will that event be called the Big Crunch?" Image Link:  A neutrino walks into a bar... and keeps going.  

Summary:  During this week, I learned... nothing really. I already knew the phases of the moon and I knew the life cycle of a star. So... I'm just going to review what I already know: a star starts out as a cloud of dust and gas. It uses a process called nuclear fusion to help it stay bright for hundreds of years. It is noted that smaller stars tend to live longer than bigger stars because bigger stars burn themselves up too soon (literally). When it comes down to its last bit of energy, it becomes a red giant. Then it becomes a planetary nebula, which is when the outer layers are shed away. Then it becomes a white dwarf, and if it uses all its fuel, it could become a black hole. Stars that have giant explosions are called supernovas.  SP1: Asking questions and defining problems.  I asked scientific questions such as, "How does dark matter interact with stars?" and "Will Andromeda eat up the Milky Way?" (Andromeda is a bordering galaxy that get

DIY Instrument - Project Blog Post Summary:  This project was when we had to create an original instrument using our knowledge of sound. Our instrument had to be able to play three notes. While completing the labs for this project and annotating notes, I learned that a wave has several parts to it, such as the trough and crest. I learned that the crest is the highest part of a sound wave and that when sound waves are compressed, they create a higher pitch compared to sound waves that are less compressed.  Backward-Looking: What process did you go to produce this piece? I went through a long, slightly aggravating process to produce this piece. We did a couple of labs (I actually missed out on one...) to help boost our understanding of the topic, but from having learned about sound last year (with the added bonus of being in band!) I didn't struggle too much with figuring out how I was going to incorporate percussion, wind, and string into my instrument.  Inward-Look