Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
South American Plate Boundary
Type 1 is the purple line running down the middle of the oceanic plane. We discovered that this area has a higher elevation, making the earthquakes closer to the surface. The land here is younger and there aren't as many volcanoes.
Type 2 is the pink lines around the curve at the bottom and along the left side of the plate. In this area, the sea and land elevation is greatest. The earthquakes are very deep and there is a high concentration of volcanoes.
Type 3 is the yellow line along the bottom and top of the plate boundary. The earthquakes follow along this area, most of them being shallow. There was nothing significant about this area with any other map.
Transform and Divergent Boundary: Our Type 1 according to this map is both a Transform and Divergent plate boundary. This is the red and blue. This is where earthquakes and volcanoes were infrequent. The areas in which there is a Transform and Divergent plate boundary are the areas where there is new land forming and the elevation is the highest. Because of this, there are less volcanoes and the earthquakes follow along the boundary, but aren't as congested. Also these earthquakes are not as deep.
Here you can see that there is only one volcano exists in this whole area which agree with our type 1 observation that there are very few volcanoes.
Convergent Boundary: These next images show the Convergent boundaries in the South American plate. In Convergent boundaries, the two areas collide, so the land rises and the ocean becomes deeper. This proves why volcanoes are at their highest, the land is the oldest, and the ocean is deepest along these boundaries.
Transform Boundary: This is in the areas where there is little activity because the plates are shifting close together. We have seen in some Transform boundaries that there is a lot of activity in both earthquakes and volcanoes, such as the San Andreas fault line. However, our Transform boundaries aren't as active so we do not have as many earthquakes and we have very little volcanoes.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Astronomy
Science is very interesting in the sense that there is so much out in this world, this universe, that is to be discovered and with science these things can be found. Though there is a bunch of concepts and questions that have not been answered yet, science is in the making of resolving those issues. Without science, the discoveries of stars, planets, night and day, etc. would not be very clear to us to this day.
I was very excited to start our section on Astronomy because I love everything about the universe. There is so much to find out in space and it is crazy to realize how much could actually be floating around out there. Astronomy has a lot more to do with observations than experiments, I mean how are we supposed to conduct an experiment on, say, Saturn when it takes ten years to get there? :) The cool thing about Astronomy is that there can be so many hypotheses and so many answers to those observations that the discovery of space is never stopped.
In class we were to do a visual presentation with a partner and a powerpoint on the basic ideas in Astronomy. At first the powerpoint seemed like we were just repeating information we already knew; yeah, the sun rises and then the moon and that distinguishes day and night. However, once we got into lunar eclipses and solar eclipses, and tides, and all that extra stuff it got very interesting. I had known of these topics before, but being able to just research them more intently helped me gain a better knowledge of what each was about and why they happened. Not only did this research help, but all the visual representations we did in class were also very helpful. Between the two visuals of the planets (the walk of the planets and the video of traveling past each planet) it really put into perspective how vast everything is out in the galaxy. But out of all the activities we did through our Astronomy exploration I really enjoyed doing the research on my group visual project and seeing others research. It was nice because I learned new facts about topics that I thought I had a lot of knowledge on, and everyone was actually somewhat intrigued by what they found on their topic. The presentations were very exciting to look at, and the fact that we could ask questions and discuss with each other in the class was nice.
All in all, taking a couple trips out in the galaxy was well worth my time!
Oh, and seeing what would happen if I got sucked into a black hole :)
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Newton's Laws of Motion!
Hannah, Lynn, Katelin
We represented Newton's second law by using the mathematical equation, F = ma, to find the force of the object.
We had to, first, weigh the object and then convert it to kilograms in order to find the mass.
296g = .296 kg
After finding the mass we used the equation to find the force of the object.
F = ma
F = .296 (10)
F -= 2.95 N
We used a spring scale to check our work.
The spring scale hit at about three, meaning we were pretty close in our calculations.
Next we used a battery charged car and a spring scale to measure the force of the car when it has another force acting up on it.
The scale moved between 3 and 3.5. Since the car has acceleration and is using force to move forward, the spring in the scale also moves back and forth because it is also exerting force on the object. When the car uses force to pull the spring to 3.5 that is showing more force and more acceleration.
We then proved Newton's laws of motion using marbles.
Newton's First Law: An object at rest will stay at rest unless acted about by an outside force.
The marbles stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside force, in this case, another marble.
Newton's Second Law: With more mass an object will have less acceleration or force.
This is an example of two objects of different masses in free fall. Even though one marble has more mass than the other marble, they should hit the ground at the same time because the acceleration of an object in free fall is 10 m/s.
Newton's third law: When an object exerts a force on another object the force is equal.
Since the larger marble has a bigger mass it effects the velocity of the smaller object, making it shoot in the opposite direction.
Lastly we proved Newton's laws using Newton's Cradle.
Newton's first law:
An object at rest will stay at rest...
Unless acted upon by an outside force.
Newton's Second Law: With more force there is more acceleration.
With the force of the first hit, it makes the other side shoot out, showing the acceleration of the object by using force from the first hit.
Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
This shows the action of the first ball hitting the others and making the other end shoot out. They hit back and forth showing the equal and opposite reaction on each side. We slowed the video down so we could see the equal force on each object. We know they have equal force because the first ball goes out the same distance as the opposite ball.
We represented Newton's second law by using the mathematical equation, F = ma, to find the force of the object.
296g = .296 kg
After finding the mass we used the equation to find the force of the object.
F = ma
F = .296 (10)
F -= 2.95 N
We used a spring scale to check our work.
The spring scale hit at about three, meaning we were pretty close in our calculations.
Next we used a battery charged car and a spring scale to measure the force of the car when it has another force acting up on it.
The scale moved between 3 and 3.5. Since the car has acceleration and is using force to move forward, the spring in the scale also moves back and forth because it is also exerting force on the object. When the car uses force to pull the spring to 3.5 that is showing more force and more acceleration.
We then proved Newton's laws of motion using marbles.
Newton's First Law: An object at rest will stay at rest unless acted about by an outside force.
The marbles stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside force, in this case, another marble.
Newton's Second Law: With more mass an object will have less acceleration or force.
This is an example of two objects of different masses in free fall. Even though one marble has more mass than the other marble, they should hit the ground at the same time because the acceleration of an object in free fall is 10 m/s.
Newton's third law: When an object exerts a force on another object the force is equal.
Since the larger marble has a bigger mass it effects the velocity of the smaller object, making it shoot in the opposite direction.
Lastly we proved Newton's laws using Newton's Cradle.
Newton's first law:
An object at rest will stay at rest...
Unless acted upon by an outside force.
Newton's Second Law: With more force there is more acceleration.
With the force of the first hit, it makes the other side shoot out, showing the acceleration of the object by using force from the first hit.
Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
This shows the action of the first ball hitting the others and making the other end shoot out. They hit back and forth showing the equal and opposite reaction on each side. We slowed the video down so we could see the equal force on each object. We know they have equal force because the first ball goes out the same distance as the opposite ball.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
How do we maintain creativity?
This article was actually very interesting to me. I never thought of the concept of "teaching to imitate." I found that statement to be very correct though after reading about the research presented. For example, one experiment used a toy that played music and a set of kids were told how to work the toy. This showed that kids will only imitate what their teacher tells them to do, but they really aren't learning how to solve the problem. I also agree that this method of teaching refrains from creative thinking because we all are trained to do things the way society and school administration wants us to, like the blog was saying, they give us rules to follow and if we don't follow them we are disobedient and obnoxious. In order to get kids to truly learn, teachers have to open their views up and let the students explore and ask questions, and actually get things wrong. This way, students can learn from their errors and come up with better, and quicker solutions. Like in the same experiment mentioned earlier, another group that had the toy were not told how to make it play music, but they found a quicker solution than the ones who were told how to make it sound. Not only proving that kids can discover quicker methods to things, but also that once kids know the answer they won't attempt more options. This article made some very strong and good points.
As a learner, I can completely relate to what this blog talks about. I'm so used to being told what to do and how to do problems that if I am put in a position where I have to figure everything out myself it is extremely challenging. However, when I actually discover something out for myself, I feel much more accomplished and I learn. I remember the concepts of the problem or lesson because I had to really think and explore, rather than just listen and copy. I would have liked to gain better critical thinking and creativity skills as a child, but I grew out of that, and those skills are extremely difficult to just get back.
This impacts me as a teacher because I am now inspired to help my future students become creative and have a strong skill of problem solving without having to lean on adults. I think that, like the blog suggested, all teachers should allow these methods of questioning and exploration in their classroom with their students at a younger age. This way, when kids still have their grand imagination, they don't lose that creativity and yearning for more discovery. It's very important for kids to want to explore and find answers for themselves, and being a college student that got sucked out of that and now regrets it, I want the best for generations to come. So, when I get into teaching, I will take those tips from the blog, such as asking kids what they think the answer is and engaging with a kid on their level, and use them to expand the brains and creativity in my students.
As a learner, I can completely relate to what this blog talks about. I'm so used to being told what to do and how to do problems that if I am put in a position where I have to figure everything out myself it is extremely challenging. However, when I actually discover something out for myself, I feel much more accomplished and I learn. I remember the concepts of the problem or lesson because I had to really think and explore, rather than just listen and copy. I would have liked to gain better critical thinking and creativity skills as a child, but I grew out of that, and those skills are extremely difficult to just get back.
This impacts me as a teacher because I am now inspired to help my future students become creative and have a strong skill of problem solving without having to lean on adults. I think that, like the blog suggested, all teachers should allow these methods of questioning and exploration in their classroom with their students at a younger age. This way, when kids still have their grand imagination, they don't lose that creativity and yearning for more discovery. It's very important for kids to want to explore and find answers for themselves, and being a college student that got sucked out of that and now regrets it, I want the best for generations to come. So, when I get into teaching, I will take those tips from the blog, such as asking kids what they think the answer is and engaging with a kid on their level, and use them to expand the brains and creativity in my students.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Car and Tire... CRASH! (freefall cont.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYz_K3mwq6A
This is further documentation that shows that objects of different masses can fall at the same velocity. This is pretty crazy... watch and see! :)
This is further documentation that shows that objects of different masses can fall at the same velocity. This is pretty crazy... watch and see! :)
Freefall
Hannah Long
Lynn Lopez
Katelin Mitchell
Our definition of free fall is an object that falls by it's own acceleration according to gravitational pull and its mass. While in the process of this experiment, we were trying to prove that objects of different masses should still fall at the same velocity and hit the ground at the same time. However, due to human air, the different objects did not hit at the same time. The two types of balls that were the closest to hitting the ground at the same time were the tennis ball and the bouncy ball, the other objects we dropped were not close at all. We realized that, due to air resistance, the styrofoam balls dropped slower than any other ball we dropped.
Data: D = 1/2at^2
Distance: 10.65 meters
10.65 = 1/2 (10) t^2
= 1.459 seconds
d = 1/2at^2
10.65 = 1/2 (10) 1.459^2
10.65 = 10.64
This video shows a golf ball and a tennis ball hitting the ground at different times.
This video shows two different sizes of styrofoam balls being dropped, one small styrofoam ball and one large styrofoam ball.
We found that only the tennis ball and the bouncy ball were the closest to falling at the same velocity, meaning that they dropped at about the same time.
This video shows that the tennis ball fell the closest to what we estimated in our acceleration equation, the data for the tennis ball fell around 1.3 and 1.4. Pretty darn close!
Our Percent Error is .09%
|known value - measured value|/known value
|10.65 - 10.64|/10.65 x 100 = .094%
This is further documentation that shows that objects of different masses can fall at the same velocity. This is pretty crazy... watch and see! :)
Lynn Lopez
Katelin Mitchell
Our definition of free fall is an object that falls by it's own acceleration according to gravitational pull and its mass. While in the process of this experiment, we were trying to prove that objects of different masses should still fall at the same velocity and hit the ground at the same time. However, due to human air, the different objects did not hit at the same time. The two types of balls that were the closest to hitting the ground at the same time were the tennis ball and the bouncy ball, the other objects we dropped were not close at all. We realized that, due to air resistance, the styrofoam balls dropped slower than any other ball we dropped.
Data: D = 1/2at^2
Distance: 10.65 meters
10.65 = 1/2 (10) t^2
= 1.459 seconds
d = 1/2at^2
10.65 = 1/2 (10) 1.459^2
10.65 = 10.64
This video shows a golf ball and a tennis ball hitting the ground at different times.
This video shows two different sizes of styrofoam balls being dropped, one small styrofoam ball and one large styrofoam ball.
We found that only the tennis ball and the bouncy ball were the closest to falling at the same velocity, meaning that they dropped at about the same time.
This video shows that the tennis ball fell the closest to what we estimated in our acceleration equation, the data for the tennis ball fell around 1.3 and 1.4. Pretty darn close!
Our Percent Error is .09%
|known value - measured value|/known value
|10.65 - 10.64|/10.65 x 100 = .094%
This is further documentation that shows that objects of different masses can fall at the same velocity. This is pretty crazy... watch and see! :)
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The Social Side of Science
Kelsey Hill
Michela Laverty
Lauren Ingham
Katelin Mitchell
This is a reading from the Understanding Science website that we decided to read and discuss as a group.
We found the beginning very interesting when it describes the difference between a stereotypical scientist and just actual scientists. Scientists are not all nerdy and boring, they do not just sit in a lab alone trying to solve problems. They are highly social and have to collaborate with several people in order to do research. Teaching children that the stereotype about scientists is false, and instead showing students that science can be interesting and involves fun exploration can increase the interest kids will have in science as they grow up.
After reading this article we realized that it relates quite well to class. It went into detail about the processes scientists use and go through and it is very long and specific. We saw that their way of research is very similar to the AMI diagram that we are using. Communication is the biggest process they use because this way they can get different views on research, decrease biases, and make sure that scientific misconduct is kept to a minimum. This is highly important because scientists are extremely passionate about their research and if someone doesn't show respect to work, stay honest, or follow the ethical guidelines the discoveries can be false and cause a disaster.
Another part of the process scientists do frequently is backtracking to previous investigations to solve problems later on. In this article it gave us a couple examples of studies where scientists had to retrace their work because they felt like there had been a mistake. One example was about this scientist, Geoffrey Chang, who had a full research project going on about the physical structures of proteins in cell membranes. After several published articles about his work, he went back to previous research and found that he had a glitch in the computer program he had been using. Discovering that all his work had been calculated wrong, he had to turn around and start all over again, finding where he went wrong and what he needed to change. Even though this news was most likely discouraging, and very time consuming, it shows that the scientific process is still not a strict process, certain steps do not need to be followed right after another to get work correct. Scientists need to bounce back and forth to develop deeper research. Just like these professional scientists, we need to use the same skills so we can learn more about science and open our horizons to new questions and experiments.
Michela Laverty
Lauren Ingham
Katelin Mitchell
This is a reading from the Understanding Science website that we decided to read and discuss as a group.
We found the beginning very interesting when it describes the difference between a stereotypical scientist and just actual scientists. Scientists are not all nerdy and boring, they do not just sit in a lab alone trying to solve problems. They are highly social and have to collaborate with several people in order to do research. Teaching children that the stereotype about scientists is false, and instead showing students that science can be interesting and involves fun exploration can increase the interest kids will have in science as they grow up.
After reading this article we realized that it relates quite well to class. It went into detail about the processes scientists use and go through and it is very long and specific. We saw that their way of research is very similar to the AMI diagram that we are using. Communication is the biggest process they use because this way they can get different views on research, decrease biases, and make sure that scientific misconduct is kept to a minimum. This is highly important because scientists are extremely passionate about their research and if someone doesn't show respect to work, stay honest, or follow the ethical guidelines the discoveries can be false and cause a disaster.
Another part of the process scientists do frequently is backtracking to previous investigations to solve problems later on. In this article it gave us a couple examples of studies where scientists had to retrace their work because they felt like there had been a mistake. One example was about this scientist, Geoffrey Chang, who had a full research project going on about the physical structures of proteins in cell membranes. After several published articles about his work, he went back to previous research and found that he had a glitch in the computer program he had been using. Discovering that all his work had been calculated wrong, he had to turn around and start all over again, finding where he went wrong and what he needed to change. Even though this news was most likely discouraging, and very time consuming, it shows that the scientific process is still not a strict process, certain steps do not need to be followed right after another to get work correct. Scientists need to bounce back and forth to develop deeper research. Just like these professional scientists, we need to use the same skills so we can learn more about science and open our horizons to new questions and experiments.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Creativity
Ok, so first I would just like to say that this man is quite funny. He is very interesting to listen to.
There is no way that I would disagree with him about the arts needing to be a necessity and the fact that creativity is being brought out of kids as they grow up instead of expanded. I think that it is very important that the arts be even with mathematics and science. When he began talking about the importance of dance and theater I was so pleased! It is very important that educators praise these arts just like the others, and like he said, they should motivated it in learners even more. I could relate very well to the story he told about Gillian Lynne. She is a fantastic choreographer, but when she was younger her teachers thought something was wrong with her because of her fidgeting. Well, I move a ton. Everywhere I go I'm fidgeting, but just like Ken Robinson said, dance is a way of learning. People can learn through dance. I love how he used dance as an example, but that's probably just because I'm a dancer and can personally relate.
Ken had mentioned that kids are born naturally with creativity and talent, which I believe is true. Kids have the best imaginations and are eager to try and do almost anything. I also agree with Ken when he said that children get scared out of being wrong the more they grow up. When you're a small kid, it doesn't matter if you're wrong, just as long as you say something it's good. However, as you progress through education, you become timid and afraid of what people will think or how they will react once you speak your mind.
I feel like everyone just conforms to what the world wants, not what their creativity or curiosity is asking of them. Why are teenagers so frightened of getting up in front of the class to present something? Why are teenagers worried to listen to what they enjoy, so instead they listen to what is "in"? It's because this essence of being creative and different has been changed to needing to be right. Creativity has been brought out of the picture. Education should really bring back the arts in schools and make them just as important as math or science. Arts are important!
There is no way that I would disagree with him about the arts needing to be a necessity and the fact that creativity is being brought out of kids as they grow up instead of expanded. I think that it is very important that the arts be even with mathematics and science. When he began talking about the importance of dance and theater I was so pleased! It is very important that educators praise these arts just like the others, and like he said, they should motivated it in learners even more. I could relate very well to the story he told about Gillian Lynne. She is a fantastic choreographer, but when she was younger her teachers thought something was wrong with her because of her fidgeting. Well, I move a ton. Everywhere I go I'm fidgeting, but just like Ken Robinson said, dance is a way of learning. People can learn through dance. I love how he used dance as an example, but that's probably just because I'm a dancer and can personally relate.
Ken had mentioned that kids are born naturally with creativity and talent, which I believe is true. Kids have the best imaginations and are eager to try and do almost anything. I also agree with Ken when he said that children get scared out of being wrong the more they grow up. When you're a small kid, it doesn't matter if you're wrong, just as long as you say something it's good. However, as you progress through education, you become timid and afraid of what people will think or how they will react once you speak your mind.
I feel like everyone just conforms to what the world wants, not what their creativity or curiosity is asking of them. Why are teenagers so frightened of getting up in front of the class to present something? Why are teenagers worried to listen to what they enjoy, so instead they listen to what is "in"? It's because this essence of being creative and different has been changed to needing to be right. Creativity has been brought out of the picture. Education should really bring back the arts in schools and make them just as important as math or science. Arts are important!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Video Dicussion!
Meredith
Kelsey
Lauren
Hayden
Katelin
The video was very interesting and creative. It kept us all entertained, and we all thought it was very intriguing. It was helpful that there were exciting images to keep us thinking about what he was discussing. The main idea is that we are stifling children's creativity, and that the education system is set up similar to a factory. Every learner is just designed to move through the same system, and they are "programmed" to think that the more they are educated, the more intelligent they are, forming the phrase "seniority". Basically saying that one who is higher in the educational system is smarter than anyone who is lower in the process. However, this is not always the case. This system has made everyone think that without a degree, without going to college, one cannot gain a good job or start a business, etc.
Another topic is Standard Based Testing. By forcing these tests on teachers and students, it makes teaching abilities and fun ways to learn disappear, it takes the creativity away from learning. It takes the leisure away from exploration in class because teachers plan the entire course around the test, if their students do not pass the standardized tests they are the ones who get punished. This isn't fair to students or the teachers. Because of this technique, kids only learn what they need to learn for the test, after the tests are over all the information those kids "learned" escaped their brains. Students just move through the movements of school, but it doesn't mean that they actually retained all the information taught in the class. Teaching and learning has become a chore for students and teachers, instead of an exciting discovery for everyone.
We disagree from a teacher's point of view and a student's point of view that Standardized Testing is hurting the education of kids, not increasing the intelligence of them.
This video proposed a large amount of discussion and it was very much appreciated by our group. It definitely had a massive impact on all of us.
Kelsey
Lauren
Hayden
Katelin
The video was very interesting and creative. It kept us all entertained, and we all thought it was very intriguing. It was helpful that there were exciting images to keep us thinking about what he was discussing. The main idea is that we are stifling children's creativity, and that the education system is set up similar to a factory. Every learner is just designed to move through the same system, and they are "programmed" to think that the more they are educated, the more intelligent they are, forming the phrase "seniority". Basically saying that one who is higher in the educational system is smarter than anyone who is lower in the process. However, this is not always the case. This system has made everyone think that without a degree, without going to college, one cannot gain a good job or start a business, etc.
Another topic is Standard Based Testing. By forcing these tests on teachers and students, it makes teaching abilities and fun ways to learn disappear, it takes the creativity away from learning. It takes the leisure away from exploration in class because teachers plan the entire course around the test, if their students do not pass the standardized tests they are the ones who get punished. This isn't fair to students or the teachers. Because of this technique, kids only learn what they need to learn for the test, after the tests are over all the information those kids "learned" escaped their brains. Students just move through the movements of school, but it doesn't mean that they actually retained all the information taught in the class. Teaching and learning has become a chore for students and teachers, instead of an exciting discovery for everyone.
We disagree from a teacher's point of view and a student's point of view that Standardized Testing is hurting the education of kids, not increasing the intelligence of them.
This video proposed a large amount of discussion and it was very much appreciated by our group. It definitely had a massive impact on all of us.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wonderful Things I Enjoy
My insane cat Rafiki. Why is she named Rafiki? Well because she has six fingers and five toes, she has hands like a monkey, so we named her after the baboon on The Lion King. She acts like she is so special. She runs around in circles up and down the furniture, and she lays right on the inside of our stairs so she can attack you as you walk down them. She is so entertaining to be around. Such a dorky cat, a dorky cat that eats a lot.
One of my top favorite songs! These men are AMAZING and I love to sing and dance to this lovely musical piece. :) Just listen. It's beautiful.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Science Definitions
I believe Science is a way to experiment and test different theories to learn what works best in certain situations, and to discover several ways to solve those theories. While studying Science, the goal is to create new hypotheses and then gather information from the observations to find new answers. Science shows how life works, how the universe works, how the sun and the moon and the planets are aligned. This is all conducted through observations and experiments, allowing more and more undiscovered pieces of life to be better understood. My experience with Science has been both negative and positive. Negatively, Science has always been harder for me to get into, making the work seem harder than it really was and making the course drag on. However, in a positive outlook, I did find one area in Science that I enjoyed, which is astronomy. Everything about the planets and stars takes my breath away, reminding me that there are greater and more fascinating changes happening that are out of this world.
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