In 3 sentences, summarize what you learned this semester.

This semester we learned about temperature, density and heat. We also learned about different properties and phases of matter. Just recently, we learned about how weather affects climate, and about the present day climate in our community.

What was the most challenging part of this semester? Which character trait did you use to overcome this challenge? 

The  most challenging part of this semester for me was making inferences based on observations. Whenever we would come up with an observation, it would end up being an inference, and vice versa. I used discipline and critical thinking to overcome this.

What is one thing that you learned that you think you’ll remember in 5 years? 

One thing I learned that I will remember in five years is all the factors that define climate. I think it is very interesting how much latitude can affect climate.

What is something that you wish you had learned more about? 

I wish I had learned more about specific places and their climate. I really want to dig deeper into what some exotic places are like when it comes to weather and climate.

I can use discipline to make a high quality Data Art final art piece.

For this art piece I chose to use two graphs. The upper one is rising ocean levels, and the bottom graph is global carbon emissions. I decided to turn the ocean level graph into the wall of a canyon because this is an example of a place that will most likely be under water one day. The rock was carved into a canyon by water, and it will eventually return to water. The topographic element of my art piece represents fossil fuels that are underground. On the left side, the ocean is beginning to creep onto the land. I am proud of how I faded the sky to make the clouds look more realistic. I am also proud of the topographic design near the bottom. The most challenging part of this project was to let the colors dry before I added different ones so that they wouldn't mix together. I could have made the transitions between the lines of gray in the sky more smooth. I want to help people understand the situation we are in and are going through. People should know what the future holds when it comes to global warming. I chose to use the color orange to portray anticipation or vigilance. The dark green represents terror, and the light blue evokes surprise or amazement from the viewer. This art piece creates awareness on this issue by giving people a visual representation of the future of global warming.

Learning Target: I can combine evidence-based solutions to design problems (such as constructing an earthquake-resistant building) in order to create  a new design/solution. 

1. Name 3 problems you encountered during construction and explain how you solved them.

• Our paper clips breaking - We used smaller pieces of paper clips, and we were smarter with the placement of them

• We melted one of the straws too much - we reinforced it with tape

• We didn’t have enough string - We used half of the string to reinforce on the bottom, and we used the other half for the net on the top

2. During construction, how did you test the strength and stability of your structure?

 During construction, we tested the strength by placing sandbags on the two levels and shaking the structure. Then we would make changes.

3. During construction, what strategies did you use to strengthen the weaker areas? Why?

During the construction of our structure, we used a heat gun to melt some of the straws and fuse them together. Then we reinforced it with tape. We did this because these areas were the weakest.

4. What are the strongest parts of your building? Why?

The first level is the strongest. This is because we used a method that reinforces the popsicle sticks that hold the first sandbag.

5. What are the weakest parts of your building? Why?

The weakest part of our building is between the first and second layer. This is because we have trusses that are only going one direction, which means that it could twist.

6. Where did you use string in your structure? Why?

We attached our building to the base with string, and we created a hammock out of string to hold the second sandbag. We did this to hold it down.

7. Where did you use tape in your structure? Why?

We used tape in our structure to secure the joints together once we melted some of the straws.

8. If you had 20 more straws and 15 more paper clips, where would you add them? Why?

If I had 20 more straws and 15 more paper clips, I would make the building taller, and add more cross bracing. This would beat the height record and make it stronger.