Class Blog
3/22/18
Shannon
New earth like exoplanet
New earth like exoplanet is discovered by European Southern Observatory
A newly discovered exoplanet orbiting orbiting a red dwarf star has been discovered by European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPs). The low mass (similar to Earth’s) exoplanet is said to be close to Earth’s temperature and the closest planet to be like Earth and is only 11 light years away from our solar system which makes this the second closest Earth like planet coming right after Proxima b (Another Earth like planet).
What discovered this exoplanet well it was HARPS which has been monitoring this planet for more than a decade and is said to be the best planet hunter of its kind. Most red dwarf stars experience extreme solar flares but Ross 128 b is a “quiet star”. Being a “quiet star” its planets are thought to be the closest comfortable planets for possible alien life making this find significant.
This is the full article https://futurism.com/discovered-closest-earth-like-planets/
3/22/18
Carissa
The Martian
Recently I watched the Martian, I did not know that there was so much science in the movie. There was things in the movie that we had talked about in class that made me so surprised because I already knew what they were talking about because we have talked about it in class. In my class we were talking about how much you would way on the moon, (or any other planets) and I discovered that you would way the same on the moon that you do on earth it is just a different atmosphere and there is different gravitational pulls on both planets.
The Martian is a movie about a man (Watney) that gets stuck on mars after a huge dust/sand storm, when the rest of his team left him there thinking that he was dead, but little did they know that he was alive and well growing his own potatoes and surviving where no man had ever dreamed of surviving. Everyone on earth thinks he dead to they have a “funeral” for him, not knowing that he is alive. But when people on earth see some of the satellite images they realize that different things have been moved Watney’s alive. Nasa then tries to help Watney get off of mars and through the struggles keeps Watney being alive a secret from his crew for quite a while. After his crew finds out, they try and Nasa tries to get Watney safely back to earth. Watney’s trying to get back to earth takes a series of different steps such as, the journey back to the spacecraft the he landed on mars was going to take 90-sol days. He makes it to the spacecraft and he his crew is walking him through step by steps. He is starting to panic when the spacecraft starts to have technical difficulties. He although is being helped by his fellow crew member (Lewis) and through this he finally makes it back to the spacecraft. When he makes it back to earth he continues his life as a teacher (survival instructor for astronaut candidates) to kids that want to become astronauts.
3/22/18
Rattlesnake Ridge
by: Macy
The Rattlesnake Ridge landslide is a major event going on in the Yakima Valley today. The Rattlesnake Ridge landslide is a landslide composed of basalt sliding on a weaker sedimentary layer sliding at about 1.6 feet per week. The geologists think that the best scenario for this event is that the landslide will move south and accumulate into a quarry. If that happens rockfall would be expected on and near Thorp rd, which has been closed since late December. A low-probability scenario is that the landslide could reach I-82 and impact homes south of the quarry, and even reach the Yakima river. With so much rocks and soil in reaching the Yakima River it could kill fish and other wildlife and it will shut down I-82.
There are many geologists studying the giant crack and trying to give us, the public, answers to when this may happen. The crack was first noticed in October of 2017 and was moving at a steady rate of 2.5 inches per day (study conducted on 1/16/18) and had a theory that the landslide was going to happen early March. As they have kept studying the giant crack the sliding has slowed down and geologist and engineers say there is no answer to when the landslide with happen.
These large land cracks are so large that they can be seen from I-82 on a clear day. The estimated landslide volume is 4 million cubic feet and covers about 20 acres. There are more than 12 companies, and businesses monitoring Rattlesnake Ridge each day. There are many things that can happen with this landslide and there is no telling when it will happen but those businesses have made sure of alternate routes for transportation, evacuation plans, and emergency services have been provided. These people, geologists, and engineers are doing everything they can to provide the public with as much information about the event as they can.
2/27/18
Layla
What is the cause of the floods in California?
California being on the coast may be used to seeing so called “ King Tides”, which are called that because of irregular high tides. This winter, King Tides also known as spring tides are even higher this year due to El Nino, which is causing flooding. El Nino causes changing weather patterns and warm surface on the Pacific, which can lead to increases in sea level.
One difference this year in California is the arrival of El Nino. When El Nino occurs, sea levels on the West Coast are generally higher, due to warmer, expanded ocean waters and changing weather patterns. Tides on top of the sea level is influenced by what is happening with the given time with weather and climate. This means normal tides are higher due to El Nino. On day where there are King Tides they become even higher which causes more flooding.
2/26/18
Irene
Hidden Figures
Did you see the scientific/engineering process? I saw the engineering process in the movie because the ladies that were in the movie were the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history, they were the ones that did the math on how the rocket ship would go around the moon and also when the rocket ship had a problem they were the ones that calculated how they would get back to earth safe. In the engineering process you would have to build the rocket ship and it had parts when they would pass them building the rocket ship and also when they were in space they had to fix the problem that was going on in the ship.
12/22/17
Eden
Science Current Event
A study made by the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that the human brain is slightly squeezed when in zero gravity. They concluded this by magnetic resonance imaging on astronauts brains. The brain shows changes from before and after space missions on an MRI scan in the majority of cases. A University of Florida professor, Rachael Seidler, states "There appears to be increased cerebrospinal fluid and an upward shift of the brain within the skull." This fluid such as the cerebrospinal fluid squeezes the brain affecting the image of brain regions to appear smaller.
A hypothesis is made “that upward brain shift and expansion of tissue along the top of the brain may in result in compression of adjacent venous structures along the top of the head," she said. "While we cannot prove it yet, we suspect that this may ultimately result in a decrease in the outflow of (cerebrospinal fluid) and blood from the head." This fluid can cause a shift in the body that can cause a syndrome called Bird Leg Syndrome, this is because the cerebrospinal fluid affects the face to become puffy and the astronauts legs to become skinny. Other effects is to become less thirsty, dull sense of taste, and stuffy nose.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/01/health/brain-space-astronaut-mri-scan-study/index.html
1/5/17
Zach
The day after tomorrow blog post
The day after tomorrow is a very detailed science movie where this massive temperature drop comes to the North part of the USA. It also hits Canada, and Alaska.
They said that it was the biggest storm surge ever. There were about 3 tornadoes going on in. It put the northern part of the world in a deep freeze. This could possibly happen in the future.If The Day After Tomorrow was set several hundred years in the future, the modeling skill of climate scientists and the computer power available to them might be plausible. Indeed, it would be very exciting to be able to build, run, and analyze models as quickly and with as much accuracy as Jack and his colleagues can. Unfortunately, in the present day, the field of climate modeling works quite differently.
Jack goes on to describe this ancient climate shift. As the world was coming out of the last glacial period, he explains, melting ice sheets added so much freshwater to the Atlantic Ocean that certain ocean currents shut down. Since thermohaline circulation is a major source of heat for the surfaces of continents, the globe was plunged back into an ice age. Jack’s portrayal of the event is surprisingly accurate: a sudden change in climate did occur around ten thousand years ago, and was most likely caused by the mechanisms he describes. To scientists, it is known as the “younger days”
1/5/17
Macy
I am writing about a pig farming documentary called the “Science of pigs”. Most pig producers facility is hard to find and usually never in town unless they have a set up where no viruses can get in. Pigs need fresh air but it has to be clean and they cannot get sick.
One science in pork producing is breeding. You need to have a good boar, male pigs who has not been neutered, to help the sow, female pig who has given birth before, or gilt, female pig who has not yet given birth, produce a big and healthy litter with no complications. When breeding most places use AI or Artificial Insemination to breed their female pigs. Places that keep the boars collect what is needed to breed the females have to process and distribute it to pork producers who hold the females. All in all, it takes good genetics to put the pork on your table.
Another popular sport that includes science is 4-H or FFA where you compete and be judged to have the best pig. It takes good genetics to produce a pig who will compete and win a fair or show. When breeding you have to think about the genetics. Some breeders believe you should get a boar who has very good genetics and genetic history and match it with a gilt or sow who also has great genetics and genetic history to produce a piglet who will get a mixture of both genetics to hopefully be the top hog at all its shows. This method has worked but it is hard to prove it is the best method since there is so many opinions to what the best pig is. The other method is hard to prove for the same reason. Some people will try a different method where they not necessarily a great boar and great female, but ones that will compliment each other. For example, the breeder will choose a boar they really like and find a gilt or sow that is maybe missing something that the boar has. If the boar has really big hams and wide shoulders but doesn’t have a very nice walk and the female is lacking hams and shoulders but has a very good walk up on her tiptoes, a breeder might choose to pair them together. Neither of these methods are guaranteed to produce a great piglet though. I have always wondered if there will be a day when someone proves a method that is consistent in producing top of the line and show winning hogs.
Rylee
Blog post: A thunder egg is kind of like a geode without crystals but an agate like inside.
Thunder eggs are made when big gas bubbles form in lava then sediments cling to the outer area of the agate which then makes it like a geode. A geode is a round agate mostly with a half inch thick outer shell of hard sediments. The almost the only places to find them naturally is Germany, Africa, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Canada and France.
My favorite stone is the thunder egg because it has nice agate formation and does not have crystals. Thunder eggs are two different types of rocks igneous and sedimentary that is what makes them special and different from other rocks and minerals. There are three different types of rocks igneous metamorphic and sedimentary.
Layla
What is the cause of the California wildfires?
There have been countless wildfires in California, but was is causing it? But for California to have wildfires now is unusual. This activity comes mostly thanks to dry conditions in the region, and because of Santa Ana’s wind. The wind from Santa Ana is common in March through October, but not in December. At their most power, the winds can cause destruction and can knocking down trees and power lines.
The wind also dries vegetation which causes it to burn. At the time of a fire, the winds can also transport flames from one place to another. This year in California, was the second hottest and dry year. To contribute to that downtown Los Angeles just received only 0.11 inches of rainfall since the beginning of October. Typically the regions west season, which leaves a lot of material to burn.
Tyler
12/11/17
The Rock Cycle is a group of changes. Igneous rock can change into sedimentary rock or into metamorphic rock. Sedimentary rock can change into metamorphic rock or into igneous rock. Metamorphic rock can change into igneous or sedimentary rock.
Igneous rock forms when magma cools and makes crystals. Magma is a hot liquid made of melted minerals. The minerals can form crystals when they cool. Igneous rock can form underground, where the magma cools slowly. Or, igneous rock can form above ground, where the magma cools quickly.
Pablo
12/11/17
Trophy hunting may cause extinction
Trophy hunting is an important industry a greater land area of Sub Saharan Africa is conserved for hunting than is protected in national parks and it is thought to have little effect on well managed harvested populations because off take rates are low and usually only the males are targeted.Using a computer simulation model however the researchers were able to predict the impact of selectively targeting males on the basis of their secondary sexual traits and how the environment affects this.
In conclusion, I think that hunting is fun but we should only be able to shoot a certain amount of animals a year so the population does not go extinct.
Raymond
Science and Star Wars “Helper Droids”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cve9M8RxFE
In this episode of Science and Star Wars, Anthony and 2 members of the R2 D2 club work together to build their very own astromech droid with a raspberry pie and Watson, IBM’s AI.The droid that was built, R3, could snap photos, wave, and can open its compartments. There are also other robots in the episode like factory robots, a car robot, and other robots as well.
A raspberry pie is a recent type of computer which is just a few chips and ports that could connect with other electronic components. Watson is IBM’s AI which was designed for Science and Star Wars which is currently connected to massive television screen, serving the
Jakob
12/11/17
Material Science
Material science is what anything is made of. We study whatever it is that we have selected and pick out all the little parts of that object. It is also categorizing what object goes into what section. There are 4 sections for solids. The sections are metals, ceramics, composites and polymers. Ceramics are durable and strong, but also brittle. Metals are hard, shiny, and opaque (not see through). Polymers are light, tough, long-lasting, recyclable, easy to form into shapes, and cheap. The last one, composites, are made from 2 or more basic material and can be man-made or natural.
11/17
Raymond P.5
Watch the video and read the blog post below.
11/16/17
Alessandra Pd. 6
The Martian
In the movie, after becoming stranded on the surface, Watney resorts to using a combination of his own excrement, water, and Martian soil to grow potatoes. Perhaps one of the best factual aspects of the film is the accuracy of the travel time between Earth and Mars. While some science fiction films have the characters whizzing from point to point, "The Martian" reveals the brutal reality of spaceflight: It would take about eight months to get to or from Mars with current technology. Mars has tornadoes in the form of dust devils, whirlwinds that whip up debris on the surface. They can be up to half a mile tall, although still relatively wispy, so they might not look quite as dramatic as in the movie. But they are impressive nonetheless, and in 2005 the Spirit rover actually managed to capture one in action on the surface.
The idea of using an inflatable habitat, which is what is used in "The Martian," is one that is being seriously considered. Indeed, soon an inflatable Bigelow Aerospace module will be attached to the ISS, and a descendent of that could be used on Mars. Whether an inflatable habitat could cope with having a flat floor on Mars is another question, as inflatable things tend to want to form a ball, and in the thin Martian atmosphere, the pressure on a habitat with an Earth-like environment inside might be too much. When the communications system at Watney’s habitat is destroyed in the (questionable) storm, he has no way to communicate with Earth until he goes to pilfer Pathfinder and Sojourner, the lander and rover that touched down on Mars in 1997. They went silent on the surface after just a few months.
11/08/17
Macy Pd. 6
In class we are working on conducting a earthquake proof building out of straws, tape, wire, and paper. We have a $500 budget and work labor is $100. You also have to remember where you put your packet and not to lose it or else it costs $500, all of your money. The first thing we had to do is draw a prototype. I knew right away I wanted to put multiple braces to make mine very sturdy and strong. If I wanted to do that I would have to watch how much I am spending because tape and straws would start to add up. I was a little nervous about it but I felt I could do it.
First I cut my straws for my first story, has to be stories tall, and got my tape. I built 2 squares for the bottom and top of the story and then connected the corners of the squares. I did this for 2 more stories. Once I had all 3 stories I put a straw from one corner of the 2nd story to the opposite bottom corner on 1st story to work as the first brace. I did the same thing for the opposite side. I had gotten my 2 braces on there and had about 10cm of tape left so I put a little bit on each intersection that looked a little loose. Once all my tape was gone all my straws were very sturdy. When I tested I was very lucky I put that extra tape on because around 25 seconds of shaking my structure started to wobble a little.
I ended up only spending $460, including $100 worth of labor, and if I had to do anything different I would try to cut all my straws so they would be more even and it would balance a tiny bit better. I would also maybe use that extra money to buy more tape to put on my structure and buy 4 more straws to make 2 more braces from the 2nd to the 3rd floor.
This is somewhat how my design looks except its 3 stories and the braces are inside.
10/20/17
Ivan, pd. 5
This week, we learned about the Continental Drift Theory. In 1910, Mr. Wegener formed an hypothesis which stated all the continents were once joined together in a giant landmass. He named this landmass PANGAEA( means”all land” in Greek). Between 200-300 MILLION years ago all the continents were one big continent. What is the Evidence for PANGAEA and the Continental Drift Theory?
Evidence #1: Fit of the Continents-Some of the continents look like they fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
Evidence #2- Fossils Fossils were found of the same plants and animals on many different continents.
Evidence#3: Rocks There are any mountain ranges with lined up perfectly when the continents are put back together into Pangaea. They also have the same rock types, structure & ages. In other words: SAME rocks, different Mtn. Ranges.
Evidence #4: Climate- When glaciers move over rocks, they leave scraps marks. By looking at these scraps marks on rocks, we see evidence that there were glaciers covering parts of several continents at the same time.
Carissa, P.4
According to “Science fun for everyone” there is many fun little experiments that you can do as I was reading through the website I was thinking to myself “Wow I would love to do one of these experiments!” There is also different tabs in the website such as “Jokes” and “Trivia” including the “Experiment” tab. In Jokes there is a joke that goes like this, “Q. What’s worse then finding a worm in your apple? A. Finding half a worm in your apple!” If you go to the link below you can see for yourself how many little fun things that the author of the website has included in the tabs.
There are many different ways that you can do experiments, you can do them with someone or you can do them by yourself. You can hypothesis and try new things either way you can have fun. For the website that I used there is a way that you can sign up using your own email, through this email you can get updates in the science world and get discounts, also through via. Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. You can be a volunteer through this website. You can also find out what Jr. Scientist Academy is. If you go to the website below you can see the Schools tab you can look through the different teaching methods or learning methods for the Pre-school, elementary, and after school experiments/fun things to do in the science world.
Annalise, P.5
The experiment I used was “ The exploding lunch bag.” I chose this because I wanted to do something easy but fun. So I googled easy science experiments and I found this and I decided to do this one because it seem interesting and fun to do. When I did this experiment I was expecting a bigger explosion but it wasn't as big.
This is experiment wa so fun and the steps that I used were so clear these were the directions
- Go outside – or at least do this in the kitchen sink.
- Put 1/4 cup of pretty warm water into the bag.
- Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water in the bag.
- Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue
- Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it.
- You will have to work fast now – partially zip the bag closed but leave enough space to add the baking soda packet. Put the tissue with the baking soda into the bag and quickly zip the bag completely clos
- Put the bag in the sink or down on the ground (outside) and step back. The bag will start to expand, and expand, and if all goes well…POP!
9/14/17
Remy, Period 2
Today is September 13, 2017 in class we conducted an experiment we had 2 of the same colored skittles and we were trying to find out if it would devolve quicker in hot water or cold water. So each of us made an individual hypothesis and we tested it. We first documented after 3 min and the hot water was winning then we documented it after 5 min and it devolved faster in the hot water. We also made a drawing of what it looked like. Then we said whether or not our hypothesis was correct or incorrect and made a conclusion using the notes we took during the 3 min and 5 min documentation.
7/26/17- Mrs. Kipperman
Good afternoon! Believe it or not, I am so excited for the school year to start! My goal is for the blog to be 100% student written. This will be a place for students and families to stay in the loop about what is happening in class. Please review the Blog Post Guidelines for ideas about things to write about. To submit a blog post, please complete the Submit a Blog Post Google Form.