Adv Science

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.  I...

Summary:  During this week, I learned about electromagnetic and mechanical waves. I learned that a mechanical wave needs a medium to pass through. I learned that an  electromagnetic wave didn't need a medium to pass through--since radiowaves are electromagnetic waves, they can pass through space easily. I also learned that the trough was the lowest point of the wave and that the smaller a wave was, the higher the frequency would be. I learned that a frequency measured how many waves passed in one second. SP1: Asking questions and defining problems.  I asked questions such as "How would people measure radiation waves?" and "How would people identify a surface wave." I also asked questions such as "Are there any special devices to measure different waves?" Image Link:  What did the beach say to the wave? "Long tide, no sea."  

Summary:  During this week, I learned that if you hit an object against a hard surface and stick it in a glass of water, it will actually cause the water to jump. Another thing that I learned was that when the ear detects sound waves, there are tiny hairs inside of the ear past the eardrum that turn the waves into vibrations, which nerves send to brain, and the brain analyzes that as sound. I also learned that there are three tiny bones inside of the ear that help pass along the vibrations. SP3: Planning and carrying out investigations.  I carried out investigations when I completed a lab involving tuning forks, ping pong balls, and a cup of water. I tested things over and over again and revised my thoughts when I found that you had to hit a tuning fork in a specific area for it to vibrate enough to get the water to jump out of the cup. Image Link:  What do you get when you drop a piano down a mineshaft? A flat miner.  

Summary:  During this week, I learned that sound travels 18 times faster through solids than through air. Another thing I learned was that when you hit a glass bottle filled with water, a solid sound is produced (meaning that is it not wispy, like a flute sound) because the object hit the glass, causing it to vibrate, which causes the water to vibrate, and the water causes the air to vibrate. The sound is sharp at first and then becomes quelled because it travels a little bit more slowly through the water and then even slower through the air. SP1: Asking questions and defining problems.  I asked questions such as, "How could one produce a sound that mirrors guitar strings?" and "How would you be able to tune an instrument to make it go back to its natural state-- would you push in to make it sharp/flat, or push out to make it sharp/flat?" Image Link:  I had to make these bad chemistry jokes because all the good ones Argon.