Charity Fair | It Only Takes A Word To Change A Nation

Women Employed Tri-fold by Mackenzie Macdonald

Charities are everywhere, they help with all different things and try to make their community, state, nation, and even the world, a better place. Charities are non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting things or fixing a problem or injustice. Charity Fair is an AdVENTURE event that allows students to research an issue, study and choose a charity, make and sell a product, look at carbon footprints and make an ignite. These products are sold at a student exhibition night, to parents and people, and all of the money goes to the winning charity. The winning charity is decided through the Ignite presentation process. Students will study a charity and make an Ignite presentation to convince people why their charity deserves to win the money. They will present in their classes and their classmates will vote on who has the best charity. Then the winning charity of each class will head off in front of the student council who will, in the end, decide which charity(s) will get the money. But there is more to this project than just charities. Our carbon footprints as humans are huge, we make a gigantic impact on the earth and everything that is on it. Also, there is a lot of business, selling products is a lot harder than it seems, you can't just make a product and put up a booth, there is a lot of advertising and mathematics that goes into making and selling products. You have to figure out how much you are going to sell it for so that you make a reasonable amount of money, but people will still buy it. You also have to figure out just how you are going to make it and how you are going to advertise it and make it so that people want to buy your product. This year, my group and I, choose to make bath bombs for our product. It was a lot of work and took time, but in the end, it was worth it. Our charity, Women Employed, works to get women fair work spaces, equal pay and get young women through college, empowering women and making a difference in their community. We got second in our class with our Ignite Presentation, and grown a lot since we first started.

Backward-Looking

I have definitely gotten better at doing this work over the years. I have improved upon my presentation skills and learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. I have also worked on my time management, which was one of my big goals from years past. I have gotten better and making quality products and working efficiently. It has been a very fun and instructive time here at AdVENTURE STEM and I have had a really good time growing and learning. I think I have definitely grown a lot and can see all of my progress, overall, it was a very successful time at charity fair.  

Inward-Looking

This year, my standards were to make my presentation look really good and get int the class top three, sell out of our products by the end of Charity Fair exhibition night, and to make sure that my work looked good and professional. Finally, I wanted to try my best and have fun this year. I believe that I have not only achieved, but exceeded this years standards. I not only sold out, but sold out less than half-way through the night, I made it into second place for our class and I was able to make my work look great and had an excellent time and enjoyed myself.

Outward-Looking

When people, especially adults, look at my work, I want them to realize just how much of an effort I have put into it and how much I have grown. I started as a fifth grader clutching my script and shaking presenting in front of my own class, now as an eighth grader, I am confident in my abilities and don't even look at my note card. In fifth grade, my products were messy and cute, not neat and professional. I think that I have put a lot of effort into my work and grown, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. I want people to see how going through this program has made me a better person and a better worker, and that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Forward-Looking

If I had a chance to do something like charity fair again, I would like to learn from my mistakes. I would make a product that more people would want or need. I would make sure that my presentation was as perfect as it could be and that I changed it to be better every time that I got feedback or a compliment so that my Ignite could be really great. I think I would also like to spend more time working and improving on something, then going through it, getting an A, and then moving on. Everything has room to be improved upon and I think that that is something that I overlooked this year while I was working on my project. I will always have room for improvement and I think that making those improvements is something that I need to spend ore time doing,

Speed and Velocity | Interpreting distance vs. time graphs

Difference Between Speed and Velocity by Addison Wesley

I am sure you have all heard of speed like the car is going 30 mph or the person is running 5 m/s. But have you heard of velocity? Velocity is the slope of the line at different points on a direction vs. time graph. The velocity is otherwise known as rise over run, where the rise is the y-axis and the run is the x-axis. Speed and velocity are similar but still different. Speed is a scalar quantity because it measures time over distance, but not direction, whereas Velocity, a vector quantity, measures direction as well as speed. Velocity is the line on a direction vs. time graph. A direction vs. time graph will always have the direction or position factor on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. To interpret these graphs all you need to do is to figure out which direction the object is moving relative to the reference point, and how fast the object is moving. First, find your reference point, or this example we'll call it (0,0) Then look at the line, is it sloping up or down from your reference point? This means that it is moving away from your reference point. If it is a line parallel to the x-axis this means that the object has stopped moving at whatever position that they are from your reference point, and not moved for that period of time. Once you know this, you can interpret what the object is doing and how it is moving. But you still have to figure out the speed that your object is moving at. This would be the slope of the line or rise over run, but you just won't be adding the direction. The slope of your line can be calculated using this simple equation: (final y position - starting y position)/(final x position - starting x position). Then, to find the units, look at the bottom of the graph on the x-axis to find the unit of time and then look to the y-axis to find the unit of movement. There you have it, you can now interpret these graphs, you can add in the direction of movement to find the velocity.

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SP: Analyzing Data

Interpreting graphs is one of many forms of analyzing data. Interpreting graphs can help scientists and mathematicians to figure out important details and analyze data. Graphs are a way that scientists can organize and look at all f their data in a way that they can easily understand. Being able to interpret and read graphs is very useful for when you are looking at your or other scientist's, data.  Being able to do all this is a very important skill that is used a lot in the fields of science and mathematics.

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XCC: Structure and Function

Everything thing has a very unique structure and function that fits its needs. This is especially seen in families. Every family has it's own structure and functions in a different way that is suitable for who they are and what they need. But structures and their functions can change. This can be most widely observed in families around the holidays. around the holidays. Lots of different people celebrate different holidays around winter time, even is families celebrate the same holiday, they most likely celebrate it differently. The structure and function of families can change during the holiday season, spending more time with family could cause the structure of the family to strengthen additionally, hosting people over the holiday season can change the function of the hosting family to get prepared and make sure that everything is ready. Structure and function are a huge part of science and show us how things works, families of every kind are a great example of structure and function and how things work, we can learn a lot from families if only we would look further into it.

Motion | Distance, Displacement, Scalars and Vectors.

Have you ever been on a road trip? Have you ever planned one? Well, if you have or haven't, the basic criteria is to stop at different places and get there in the shortest amount of time. You want to spend the least amount of time as you can traveling on highways and the most time doing fun activities. You also would know road trips cover a lot of distance. But what if you could just cut in a straight line to your destination. That would make for a much shorter traveling time. That is called displacement. Displacement is one of the many vector quantities A vector quantity is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction. A displacement is the shortest way to get from point a to point b. A direct, straight line that gets you there in the shortest distance. It has both the distance traveled and the direction in which it is traveling. This is different than distance. Distance is a Scalar quantity. A scalar quantity is a magnitude. It has no direction. It is like if I said, that car is slow, or that mouse is small. Distance and displacement are two common things used to define how far something is traveling and what is the shortest route. But how do you decide if an object is moving anyway? Well, you compare it to a reference point. A reference point is an object that you can use to describe a objects position. Like, that person is 5 feet away from the light post, where the light post is the reference point. Your positions, and whether you are moving or not, depends on your reference point. If your reference point is moving, the distance can be growing or getting smaller, so it is easier to choose a still reference point when wanting to figure out an object's position. So next time you go on a road trip, just remember, there more science in life than you think.

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SP: Using Mathematics

Distance and Displacement require mathematics. To figure out distance, you need to add up all of the different measurements to get the overall distance that the object has traveled. For displacement, the easiest thing to do is using the Pythagorean theorem. The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, a squared plus b squared must equal c squared, where c is the hypotenuse. To figure out displacement, just draw a rectangle where point a is opposite point b. Then draw a line through the middle that connects both lines. Then use the Pythagorean theorem to solve for the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse will equal the displacement of your object. But don't forget to add the direction in which your line is moving, this is because displacement is a vector, so it has both magnitude and direction.

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XCC: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Vector and Scalar quantities are used in all kinds of scales. They can be used to figure out small or large things in motion. They help scientists to figure out many different things from Temperature to acceleration. They can be used in simple things like, "My dog runs fast." or "Its 78 degrees outside today" or in more complex ways like, "The car accelerates by 5 miles per hour every time it turns right, and 6 miles per hour every time it turns left." Vector and Scalar quantities help scientist figure out things on all different types of scales. This shows us just how much science is used in our lives and how it affects and changes us.

Our Carbon Footprint | Emissions We Never Realized We Made

Our carbon footprint is bigger than we think. Simple everyday items come from all over the world and pollute the air. This brings up the questions, what do you think should be done in order to reduce the transportation environmental impact? How do you think your answer to the previous question would affect the price of products? These are questions we had to think about as we found where all of our products came from and their journey. Some simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy items lovallay and use items that were manufactured closer to home. You can also buy things from the same store to reduce the amount of carbon released when you are driving. This would affect the price of some of these products because it could be more difficult to make them locally and closer to home, therefore raising the price. But it could also mean that using less transportation costs less money and therefore lowers the price. Overall, I found it surprising just how much carbon we emit into our atmosphere and how far some items travel to get to us.

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SP2: Using Models

We modeled how our raw materials for our project have traveled. We modeled where they were manufactured by purple dots. We then modeled where we bought them with black dots and connected the two with a line to show how far they traveled to get from the manufacturer to the retailer. Then we connected the retailer to the school modeling how the materials got from the retailer to us. This overall modeled the whole journey of our product, from start to finish.

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XCC: Patterns

Every day millions of American's go to the store. Buying things like food, furniture, and other things. People usually go to the store buying food a couple times a week, starting a pattern. They go to the store and buy food, then come back once they run out of something. Creating the pattern of buy, run out, and buy again. This then repeats itself over and over and over again. This creates a ton of carbon emissions, causing a pattern here. They go to the store and emit carbon driving, the store then must restock the food, causing it to emit more carbon. Then in the days, they don't go to the store, they emit less carbon, creating the cycle, carbon, more carbon, less carbon then finally carbon again as they go back to the store to buy more food.

Mantowausu | An Evolution Fantasy

Mantowausu by Jane Partsch

 

Has your imagination ever taken you away to a far-off land, full of different creatures and plants? This leopard went through the same thing, but it wasn't its imagination, it was its reality. A Mantowausu was first a figment of the imagination of me and my team. But we brought it to life with its evolutionary story and history. We gave it a name, home, diet, body, protection and more. Everything that you need to be able to be a successful species. It's habitat full of dangerous things that we had to think about and process to figure out its protection, diet, and predator(s). The food chain already figured out, was a problem that we needed to solve, seeing as our animal couldn't be the almighty animal that rules the forest and is not eaten. It needed to adapt to be able to survive. Its mutations kept it living, while natural selection was fighting for it. The Mantowausu endured a lot, hoping to find a home where it fits. The Mantowausu was part of the quest to understand evolution and the way that it works, changing the course and lives of whole species forever. The Mantowausu has shown my group and me, really just how evolution works and how it changes lives. The Mantowausu and evolutionary fantasy, has come to life. With everything it needs to survive and live on, making for a successful life. In the end, the Mantowausu shall be revealed to the public, as the wonder it really is. This has taught me about the different ways that evolution happens and what evolution does to affect different organisms and ecosystems.

Backwards-Looking

I went through a lot to get to this point. My team and I have figured what animal we wanted to make and it's evolutionary story and background. We then created the slideshow above and made sure to add all of the adaptations and information. Then we decided what our animal should look like and what its name should be. We then decided how we would make our poster and prototype. Then we made a prototype and made it look nice so that we were proud of the work that we did.

Inwards-Looking

I really like this project and am proud of this and like the work that I have produced. I really like the slideshow and the image and all of the work that we put into it. I think that we could have done a little more in the slideshow and the picture could be a little better. Overall, it was a very good project I am really proud of it.

Outwards-Looking

Compared to those groups who choose the same project, we did ours similarly. We all made a poster and a slideshow and an animal. But our animals were different as well as our slides, poster, and presentation. We decided to paint instead of color, our poster. We decided to include bullet points instead of paragraphs. We didn't label our animal's poster, others did. Some did it individually, we did it in a group. Overall, we had a lot of differences within the very similar outcome and project.

Forwards-Looking

If I was to do this project again, I would have changed my slides a little, and added more to the project. I would have added a cladogram and visual representation of the food chain and how our animal, the Mantowausu, fits into it. I would also have added some more images to the slideshow/presentation. I also would have liked to make a website for our animal that went along wth our project further exlaining our anima and it's adaptations. But I think that I managed my time well, which is an imporvement, and worked hard to get this project done and do it well.

Mantowausu | A Flying Rain Forest Cat

Evolution is a huge part of life on planet C. A mysterious, dangerous and interesting alien plant. Full of rain forests, poisonous plants, insects, birds, fish, monkeys, and huge dangerous snakes. On this strange planet, the Mantowausu was born. The Mantowausu used to be a leopard, but when challenged with the harsh and strange environment of Planet C, it chose to take its own course. It started with a mutation, one leopard's DNA was mutated so that it had wings, this trait was passed on and better developed, then through natural selection, those with wings lived longer to reproduce and passed on the trait. Then being separated from Earth's leopards in an act of genetic drift, those Mantowausu's with larger fangs and harder paws, survived longer. Able to catch food and fight back against their slithery predators, they live long enough to reproduce and pass on their traits. The Mantowausu then had another mutation. It now had oils that would release into its fur to keep it dry in the moisture of the rainforest. The Mantowausu has developed a diet for birds, fish, and a smaller monkey if it can catch it. The Mantowausu nest in crooks of trees far off of the ground to avoid the poisonous plants, as the adult's paws are hard, the poison can't enter their body, but the young paws are still soft and vulnerable. Through many adaptations and struggles, the Mantowausu has come to grow into its environment and live a good life.

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SP3: Conducting Investigations

The Mantowausu is a very interesting animal that took a lot of time to create. We had to investigate all of the properties and unique traits that the Mantowausu would possess. We investigated all of the things that the Mantowausu would need to survive and how it would get it. It was a difficult but fun process that I very much enjoyed.

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XCC: Stability and Change

The Mantowausu went through a lot of change to become stable in its environment. It had to adapt and change to fit the climate and ecosystems on Planet C. It also had to keep a stable life and living practice that kept it alive and safe. This was a huge thing. Without change, the Mantowausu would have never become stable enough to continue to live and would have died out. The Mantowausu needed the change to become stable and learn to live in its environment. Change and stability really affect animals and evolution. It is the process in one phrase, changing over time to become more stable and safe as a species.

Cladograms and Common Ancestors

Cladogram Vertebrata by Biology Dictionary Editors

One of the most common things known amongst people who have studied evolution is that we all share a common ancestor. But how do we figure out which one we are the closest related to? The simplest thing to use is a cladogram. A cladogram shows us traits that certain organisms share, who their closest relative is and what common ancestor is shared most recently between organisms. A cladogram consists of a line climbing diagonally upwards, diagonal lines branching off of the baseline, the name or a picture on the top of one of the branches and a list of traits shared by the organisms as we go further up the diagram, below the baseline at certain points. To make a cladogram you first identify all of your organisms. Then you make a table of the organisms and their traits. Go through the table, it the organism has the trait, put a plus sign, if it doesn't, put a minus and if you don't know, put a question mark. Then make a Venn diagram, but not your usual two circles Venn Diagram. Start by drawing one big circle. At the bottom, put the most common trait and the organisms that share it. Then draw another circle inside that first circle. In this one write the next most common trait and the organisms that share it. Continue to do this until you have listed all of the traits. You are now ready to build your cladogram. Draw a line at the bottom of your diagram, this line represents time. Then draw a line branching off of the one you just drew, for every organism you have. Leave space at the top. You will then look at the center of your Venn diagram, you will most likely have one organism and the trait that only it has. Take that one organism and put it on the line at the front of the baseline. This would be the most recent. Then put the trait that it shares, beneath it where the organisms line meets the timeline. Then move o to the second smallest circle in your diagram. You then choose the organism that is not yet on your cladogram. Place it and the trait on the cladogram. Repeat these steps until all of the organisms and traits are on your cladogram. You can now figure somethings out. At the spot where the organisms line meets the line of time, you will have a common ancestor of that organism and the ones above it. The closer the organism is to this spot, the more recent the common ancestor, the closer they are related. You can also use this to figure out what two animals are more closely related. If they share a more recent common ancestor, they are more closely related. You can use cladograms to sort and classify organisms, as well as figure out things like common ancestors, close relatives and who the organism evolved from. Cladograms tell us a lot of things, no wonder they are so common.

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SP2: Using Models

A cladogram is a big model that helps scientists all over the world to understand organisms. Cladograms help people to figure out many things. But to make a cladogram you need other models. These include Venn diagrams and tables. These are two very useful, visual, diagrams that can help you no matter what you are looking for. Cladograms and the process to get them includes many models that make life easier for people.

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XCC: Structure and Function

Cladograms are a type of structure that has many functions. A cladogram is a simple structure of lines and words. It has many different functions. These include showing us traits that are shared, like spikes, claws and hair. It also shows us who certain organisms are more closely related to. Like Bears and Birds or Bears and Monkeys. They also show us common ancestors, like bacterias and other more recent and complex organisms. Cladograms are simple to construct, and tell you a lot about certain organisms, this is why they are used so often.

The evidence for Evolution | How we know that we evolved

 

Evolution Evidence by Jane Partsch

We know that evolution occurred in earth history. But how and why do we know this? There are 5 things that show us that evolution occurred and that it is happening. This is morphology, the fossil record, Comparative Anatomy, Homologous Structures, and Embryology. Morphology is the change in physical characteristics. The fossil record is observation seen in preserved organisms from the past. Comparative Anatomy is the comparison of living organisms. Differences and similarities in living things. Homologous Structures are structures that have different mature forms in different organisms but develop from similar embryo's. Embryology is the study of embryos. This all tells us that thing have evolved. This is because they show that some characteristics have changed over time. Which is basically the definition of evolution. They compare different things to find out how things are similar and different from each other, showing us ways that certain organisms evolve.

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SP1: Asking Questions, Defining Solutions

Have you ever wondered how evolution works, why it works and how we know that it happened? How do people know that we didn't just land on earth by unknown means, and just look somewhat like animals? I have. But it turns out that there is a ton of evidence on this subject. This evidence supports evolution and not some weird space landing. Evolution does happen, it uses different methods to drive it and evolves life. We will always have questions, and the only way to get rid of them is to define its solution,

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XCC: Patterns

Patterns are seen everywhere every day. Some are small, others are big. Some change your life and some are just part of it. But every day the patterns keep going. Evolution is a huge pattern. Always repeating itself. Changing organisms, then going and changing them again. All in a never-ending cycle, all in a never-ending pattern. Not only does evolution show a pattern, but our evidence of evolution also shows one. The evidence is like a pattern. When you compare human arms to those of other animals, you find that it looks similar, this happens no matter what you compare. Pattern. No matter what kind of pattern it is, humans tend to miss them. But if we took a moment to look around, life's patterns might just give us a clue on how to live ours.

Darwin's Finches | Darwin's Revolutionary Breakthrough On Evolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_finches

Charles Darwin is one of the most widely known scientists around the globe. Charles Darwin made a major step in the realization of evolution and helped us get to where we are, right now, in our studies of it. Without him, we wouldn't know a lot about evolution. Darwin started to come up with the theory of evolution, whilst on his stay in the Galapagos islands. Darwin discovered different species of finches, all very similar, but with different beaks and adaptations. They were different shapes, sizes and differently adapted, but all could have shared a common ancestor. So, why were they so different. The more that Charles Darwin looked into this, the more he found. Darwin used his finches to come with yet another amazing discovery. For Darwin also came up with the basics of the process of natural selection. Darwin found that each beak was different from the other. On islands with lots of rainfall, islands that produced a lot of new soft seeds, smaller beaks were the popular trait. The dominant trait. But on islands that were drier, and produced less, older and harder nuts, the larger beaks were more common. This has to cause some wonder on why, if they were all from the same common ancestor, did they have different beaks. This is because of natural selection. This meant that the finches, all on different islands, started to see changes. For instance, one island gets a ton of rain for ten straight years. Many of the smaller-beaked birds are finding it easier to get food. This soon becomes the growing trait. Since the island can't hold millions of these birds, the birds with the trait that is not needed, starts to die off. Eventually, we are left with the smaller-beaked finches. Another example would be on an island with a drought. The seeds are too tough for the small beaks of the smaller-beaked finches, to break open and eat. But the larger-beaked finches find it easy to open the tough, large seeds. The smaller-beaked finches start to die of hunger, while the larger-beaked finches become more popular and continue to reproduce. Eventually, the smaller beaked trait, dies out and we are left with the big beaked trait. There is a lot of stuff that we can learn from the world around us, we just have to look. Charles Darwin looked in the right place at the right time and discovered something truly amazing, something groundbreaking. He discovered the beginnings of evolution.

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SP3: Conducting Investigations

Charles Darwin's theory was a very complex one. The theory of evolution has many different pieces and parts that must go together to make the picture whole. I conducted an experiment on the many pieces and parts that went into Darwin's discovery of such a life-changing cycle that happens in front of our eyes. I investigated the difference and evolution of Darwin's finches and came to the conclusion that the finches had adapted to become a better fit for their environment. This along with the process of natural selection made the finches what they are today, and gave us our knowledge of evolution.

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XCC: Stability and Change

Change happens all around you. leaves change color, people change age, seasons pass by and organisms grow. But somehow, our world stays stable. The change not being able to throw Earth off. Just like evolution. Evolution is a change in the gene pool after a long period of time. Change in the gene pool. This change helps the organism become more stable in their environment and situation. It helps to keep the organism from toppling off of its stand, into total chaos. Evolution is the change that allows stability of a species to be possible. We evolved from apes but were able to stay stable and alive. With the help of evolution, we are where we are today. We are who we are today. Without stability and change, our world would be plain and boring. Nothing new and a big old mess. We take change in different ways, depending on who we are, how big it is and how much it affects us, our lives and our feelings. But we always seem to let little things pass by, and not notice the things and cycles and process within them. Keeping them changing and stable.

Evolution, The Greatest Show on Earth

What is Evolution? by yourgenome.org

When life started, we had only single celled, simple, life forms like bacteria and algae. How did we get to a point where life is so diverse, different and complex? Evolution. Evolution is a change in heritable traits that can be seen across many generations. It is change that happens over time. Lots, of time. You have most likely changed and are different than your great grandparents. Over a long period of time, you changed. This change might be seen in your mother, and possibly, in your kids. This is evolution. You have a change in your heritable traits that can be seen across many generations. But why did change happen? What caused the evolution? There are five main driving forces of evolution. Natural selection, mutations, genetic drift, genetic flow and mating choice. Mating choice is when you mate with a person because they have the same trait as you or a trait that you like. This means that you are choosing to pass on a certain trait. If this happens for long enough, one trait starts dying off, and the other thrives. Evolution.

Genetic flow is when people, carrying a certain trait, enter a different population. It then introduces that gene into that population's gene pool, therefore causing people to get that trait. A black fly decides that it is going to go and live in a blue fly population. The black fly mates with a blue fly, and the black fly trait enters the gene pool. Overtime, more of the blue flies, start to turn black because of the black fly trait. Evolution.

Genetic drift is the gradual loss or increase in genes in a population. Therefore causing certain traits to become more or less common, making changes in the heritable traits that the population has. A green eyed person mates with a blue eyed person. The offspring has green eyes. The blue eyed trait starts to die out in the population until it is gone and people continue on with their lives and live without it, changing the way that the population looks. Evolution.

Mutations are random changes in the DNA of a person. These can be good, bad or neutral. These new changes in the DNA can be passed on through the population, eventually changing it. The cat population has pointy, straight, ears. One cat is born with floppy ears, it's offspring now has floppy ears. This new trait is added to the gene pool and becomes more common in the population, changing the way that the cats looked. Evolution.

Last, but not least, natural selection. Natural selection is where there are at least two traits in the gene pool and one helps the organism survive better than the other. The part of the species with the bad trait dies off before they can reproduce, the part of the species with the better trait reproduces more. Therefore, the trait that is more successful will become more common and be passed on more, making it dominate and change the population. An island is home to a species of birds. They come in two colors, green and blue. The blue birds get eaten more often because they stand out more. The green birds mate and their offspring are green. The blue bird trait eventually dies out because the environment can't support their reproduction, and they die too soon to reproduce often. The green bird trait lives on, making the population be all green. Evolution.

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SP1: Asking Questions, Defining Problems

What is Evolution? How does it happen? And why does it matter? These questions are shown through millions of years of history, and all throughout today. Evolution is a way that a population changes due to mating choice, genetic drift, genetic flow, mutations and natural selection. Without evolution, we and many other species, like dogs, whales and more, wouldn't be here. This planet has changed throughout time, and with it, we came. We may be a small bit of it, but we are in Earth's history because of evolution. By studying these questions, I have formulated my own opinions and definitions, about evolution and the beginning of life.

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XCC: Cause and Effect

Evolutions is one of the biggest examples of cause and effect in life. It show the basics of cause and effect. Mating selection, is the cause of a trait to become more or less common, driving evolution and effecting the way the population is. Genetic flow causes different traits to be added to the gene pool, driving evolution and effecting the population by adding diversity. Genetic drift causes certain traits to increase or decrease in size or number. Effecting the populations size, diversity and traits. Natural selection can cause whole traits and parts of populations to disappear, lost to evolution. Effecting whole parts and systems within a population. Evolution causes life to be the way that it is now and causes it to change going forward, making it better and diverse. Effecting the way that life is lived and populations grow. All we can say is that evolution, has taken us a very, long, way.

WAC | We are not part of a 6th mass extinction

              There have been 5 documented mass extinctions. But people are wondering, are we part of a 6th mass extinction? And if we are, is it because of us? No, as a matter of fact, we aren't part of a mass extinction. In the AEON article We are not edging up to a mass extinction by Stewart Brand it says, "Viewing every conservation issue through the lens of extinction threat is simplistic and usually irrelevant. Worse, it introduces an emotional charge that makes the problem seem cosmic and overwhelming rather than local and solvable. It’s as if the entire field of human medicine were treated solely as a matter of death prevention. Every session with a doctor would begin: ‘Well, you’re dying. Let’s see if we can do anything to slow that down a little.’” We aren't in a mass extinction, we have polluted the Earth, cut down animals habitats and just straight up killed animals and plants. But even with all of that, our actions are a fraction when compared to the events of mass extinctions in the past.

                 Over our time on Earth, species have gone extinct and their numbers have dropped. But these numbers are nothing compared to the numbers of the past. They are only a fraction of the destruction. In the Atlantic article, Paleo Expert: Earth is Not in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction by Eric Worrall, it says, “‘So you can ask, ‘Okay, well, how many geographically widespread, abundant, durably skeletonized marine taxa have gone extinct thus far?’ And the answer is, pretty close to zero,’ Erwin pointed out. In fact, of the best-assessed groups of modern animals—like stony corals, amphibians, birds and mammals—somewhere between 0 and 1 percent of species have gone extinct in recent human history. By comparison, the hellscape of End-Permian mass extinction claimed upwards of 90 percent of all species on earth.” Also in the Newsy article, Scientists Can't Agree If We're Really In A Mass Extinction by Sarah Schlieder it says, “Stewart Brand, president of the Long Now Foundation, says current rates don't signal a mass extinction because the past five wiped out at least 70 percent of all species in a relatively short time. He says current rates are too slow for us to be in the middle of one.” We may have killed species and caused them to become ‘endangered’ or ‘threatened’, but our actions are a fraction of what happened in the other 5 mass extinctions.

                Many people are interested in conservation and keeping animals alive and well. Fortunately, we have enough time to do this. If we were in an actual mass extinction, by this time, when we are noticing it, it would be well on its way and irreversible. If we were in a mass extinction, conservation would not be as big as it is now, and things would be dying at a higher rate. In the Atlantic article, Paleo Expert: Earth is Not in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction by Eric Worrall, it says, “‘People who claim we’re in the sixth mass extinction don’t understand enough about mass extinctions to understand the logical flaw in their argument,’ he said. ‘To a certain extent they’re claiming it as a way of frightening people into action, when in fact, if it’s actually true we’re in a sixth mass extinction, then there’s no point in conservation biology.’” Another thing is that in the AEON article We are not edging up to a mass extinction by Stewart Brand it says, “The five historic mass extinctions eliminated 70 percent or more of all species in a relatively short time. That is not going on now. ‘If all currently threatened species were to go extinct in a few centuries and that rate continued,’ began a recent Nature magazine introduction to a survey of wildlife losses, ‘the sixth mass extinction could come in a couple of centuries or a few millennia.’”The rate of extinction is simply not moving fast enough for us to be in a 6th mass extinction, we don’t have enough organisms gone in the amount of time since we evolved on this planet for us to be in a mass extinction.

                Some people say that our carbon dioxide levels and greenhouse gas emissions could and are causing a mass extinction. They believe that our carbon leaks and emissions are causing a sixth mass extinction. In the MIT News article, Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction by Jennifer Chu it says, “Taking this reasoning forward in time, Rothman predicts that, given the recent rise in carbon dioxide emissions over a relatively short timescale, a sixth extinction will depend on whether a critical amount of carbon is added to the oceans. That amount, he calculates, is about 310 gigatons, which he estimates to be roughly equivalent to the amount of carbon that human activities will have added to the world’s oceans by the year 2100.” Well, this evidence and prediction does seem good, the problem is that this would have already happened if we were in a mass extinction. He states that this could happen by 2100, but that is in almost a century and might not even happen until later on. His argument is good, but it does not show that we are currently in a mass extinction.

                Finally, we are not in a 6th mass extinction because of global warming. While we are in global warming, that doesn’t mean that animals will all die and we will go with them. In the AEON article, We are not edging up to a mass extinction by Stewart Brand he says, “But just because organisms are sensitive to change doesn’t mean they are threatened by it. Any creature or plant facing a shifting environment has three choices: move, adapt or die.” Also, “Evolution is far more rapid and pervasive than most people realize. The activity of all organisms all the time is summarized in the title Relentless Evolution (2013) by John Thompson. As Chris Tomas, a conservation biologist at York University in the UK, told New Scientist last year: ‘It is only recently we have come to realize quite how much evolutionary change is going on.’ What we might be seeing in response to climate change, he suggested, ‘is starting to look very much like a global acceleration of evolutionary rates’.” Global warming may be a big thing, and it is very important. But Global warming does not mean that we are in a 6th mass extinction, we are just going through a rough time.

                There has been 5 devastating mass extinction recorded in Earth’s history. They wiped out many species and organisms completely with only room for those who clung to life and struggled to survive. But we will not be made the 6th. While many people say that the evidence shows this, the evidence does the opposite. Life is lived happily when optimism is part of the equation, all the news about the 6th mass extinction is putting unnecessary fear into people. Global warming and animal conservation is an important topic and people should care about it, but not because it could cause a mass extinction because it is important to care. Many people think different things, we all have different views, but that is part of being human. So next time you think about the dinosaurs, be glad that you aren’t in their situation.

Geologic Time

Geologic Time Project by Mackenzie Macdonald

Have you ever wondered what life was like in the past? Like how would it have felt to be your parents growing up when they did? But have you ever wondered as far back to roughly 4.6 billion years ago? Why 4.6 billion years ago you may ask? Well, that was when the world started. This was during the Precambrian. The precambrian lasted from 4.6 billion years ago till 544 million years ago. During the longest era, Earth was formed and single celled organisms evolved. Life on Earth started. Next is the Paleozoic era. This era lasted from 544 million years ago, till 245 million years ago. This period is split into seven periods, the most for each of the eras. During this era, the continents formed, reptiles and amphibians evolved and life on Earth became bigger and more complex. The first cone bearing plants evolved and life started to speed up. Next came the Mesozoic era. The age of the reptiles. This era is split into three period and lasted from 245 million years ago until 66 million years ago. This may be the most famous and well known era from before humans evolved. Many dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Flowering plants evolved as well as birds and even mammals. Pangea was formed and broke up, at the end of this era there was a mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs and many other organisms. The last era is the Cenozoic era. The Cenozoic era lasted from 66 million years ago until present day. There were ice ages, mammoths and saber toothed tigers. Plus Homo Sapiens evolved, which started the ruling of humans and ended the animals time alone, unbothered on Earth. Earth's history has lots of chapters, each of them at least as interesting as the last. I can't wait to see how this chapter unfolds itself.


Backward-Looking

In the past I have made posters and boards. I think I have improved upon making this work by making it neater and better planed out. I spent more time on this poster making sure my drawing and writing was neat and that everything was in the right place. I layed stuff out and moved it around till it fit and looked nice. I also took time on my writing and was more creative than usual.

Inward-Looking

What was especially satisfying to me about the end result of the project was that it looked really nice, neat and creative. You could tell that it took people a long time to make it. The poster looked about how I imagined it and I was proud about the work that I did. I put a lot of effect into it and it payed off.

Outward-Looking

If someone who didn't know me looked at the piece of work that I made, they would most likely learn that I am hard-working and that I put a lot of effort into what I do.They would probably see that it just have taken a lot of time to do and that it was hard. This would show that I worked hard and put a lot of effort into the work I produced. Also they would see that it looked neat and that it looked pretty good, which usually means that someone put y=time and effort into something.

Forward-Looking

When I look at my piece, one thing that I want to improve upon is making it look more cohesive. Well the parts of the project all look nice and neat and like they could go together. I wish that it would look more thorough and have a lot more in common. I feel that as a whole it was good, but that is one thing that could be better.

The Mesozoic Era

Geological Time Scale by Andrea Perez

Earth's history is split into many pieces. This is called the geologic time scale. The geologic time scale is divided into four main parts, the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The Mesozoic Era lasted from 245 million years ago till 66 million years ago. The Mesozoic is divided into three parts. The Triassic age from 245 mya (million years ago) till 208 mya, Jurassic age from 208 mya till 144 mya and the Cretaceous age from 144 mya till 66 mya. During the Triassic age dinosaurs, turtles crocodiles and cycads first evolved, along with the rare early mammals. It also included the first bird who's name translates to "Ancient Winged Thing" . The Triassic age also included the breakup of pangea and the separation of the continents. In the Jurassic age giant dinosaurs roamed the land causing the Mesozoic to be nicknamed the age of the reptiles. During this time period the continents had now divided themselves in half to make Laurasia and Gondwanaland. The last and final part of the Mesozoic era was the Cretaceous. During this time period mammals became more common as well as flowering plants like the magnolia. This was also the time of the famous mass extinction that wiped out many species as well as the dinosaurs. The Mesozoic era is part of our Earth's history and a very important one at that.

S&EP: SP3: Planning and carrying out investigations

I planned and carried out an investigation of what life was like in the Mesozoic Era. I investigate what life had evolved and gone extinct during this era. I also investigated the weather and climate as well as major changes such as the mass extinction. There is a lot to learn about the Mesozoic Era and all that lived during it, and all that had happened. The Earth's History is interesting and full of surprises and puzzling events.

XCC: Cause and Effect

Cause and effect is a very important part of our lives and living itself. Many things have happened in our lives, and these were all caused by something. In the Mesozoic era, in the cretaceous time, there was a massive extinction. This is believed to be caused by a massive meteor that hit the earth millions of years ago. This massive extinction was thought to be the effect of the meteor that hit Earth and exploded just off the coast of current day Mexico. Thanks to a meteor, we no longer have to live with Tyrannosaurus Rex's and other dinosaurs. That must have impacted our lives as well.

Rock Cycle and Determining Relative and Absolute Age

A Sticky Cycle By Jane Partsch

The rock cycle is a very interesting cycle. It happens all around us and shapes some of the biggest landmarks in the world to day. From the eroded rocks of the grand canyon, to the sculpted beauty of Mt.Rushmore and the famous Mt. Everest. Rocks are all around us changing everyday. But even though they are changing. the help us to determine things that won't change, like our past and the past of planet earth. Rocks help scientists to figure out the relative and absolute age of different fossils and things that have happened on planet earth. But what is Relative and Absolute age. The relative age of something is how old it is compared to something else. Like how I am younger than my sister, but older than my brother. Absolute age is the age of something since it was first made. Like that painting is 126 years old. Rocks help scientists to figure out the relative and absolute age of things by showing use different layers that all represent different time periods. In sedimentary rocks, columns and groups of fossils help to show use the relative age of different organisms that lived on planet earth. This is because if the first layer of rock is the oldest and the top layer is the youngest, we can determine which fossils are younger than other one, and which are older depending on what layer they are found in. In other rocks, layers can represent what the earth was like at that time period. It also helps us to figure out relative ages of certain things like the San Andreas fault line. The San Andreas fault line is younger than the rock that it cuts across.This is because the rock had to be there to have the fault cutting across it. You can't rip a paper if you have no paper to rip. Overall, rocks all around the world help scientists figure out what happened in the past, and what could happen in the future.

SP3: Planning and carrying out investigations

I planned and carried out an investigation of how fossils and different rock layers help us to figure out what happened in the past and what could happen in the future. I was also able to organize different layers of rocks based on the fossils and the knowledge that I had about different species like ourselves, the homo sapiens. I figured out that scientists can learn things about our past and apply them to the future because what happens now, must have happened in the past and the other way around. 

XCC: Patterns

We see patterns all around us in life. From birthdays, to weekly events and different ways to count things. Patterns are all around us. One of the patterns that I see most in my life is going to school. This is something that repeats on the same basis and for a long period of time each year. Monday through Friday. The first day through last. Repeating and repeating and repeating itself. Seeing as I go to school, this pattern is a big part of my life and will soon upgrade itself to being work. Working Monday through Friday the first day till last. This is a pattern that I find to be like background noise. Basically, waking up every morning to go to school is routine for me. It is not a big deal for me that I go to school. It is just something that I do. School itself is big, but going is not. It, like many other patterns, is something that is not as noticed as other things, but they still are a big part of our life.

Why I came back to AdVENTURE

AdVENTURE STEM by @AdVENTURESTEM

This is my fourth year here at AdVENTURE. I came back to AdVENTURE because I love how the program has PBL - Project Based Learning - I also like how you move teachers but stay with you class because that way you can do more cross-class projects and work in the same groups. It also helps to get to know new people and make more friendships over the years. I love this school because I love my teachers and what I am learning about STEM (Science, Technology,  Engineering, Math) and how to use the things I learn, in everyday life. This helps because the older I get the closer to becoming an adult and having to really use all these skills, I get. Over all it is a very good school.


I like the PBL learning because I feel like it helps to learn things more deeply when you are collaborating with people that have different opinions. This helps to build up teamwork and the understanding of different views. It also helps to know more than one view on a situation or problem because then there are more possible ways to solve it and you can learn different things. I also like PBL because it allows you to learn hands on. This helps me better understand what I am working on.

I also love all of my teachers and the whole STEM set up. I like the STEM set up because you learn about different skills that are very useful and come in handy later on in life. I also like the STEM set up because it prepares you for a life of living in a technology based world. It helps me to better understand technology and how it works. I have learned and will learn lots more skills that I will need to use later on in life.

For this last year at AdVENTURE I want to reach some goals. I want to get Valedictorian and continue my all A's streak. I also want to be able to break one of the girls mile records because I am 3 seconds away from the first one. This year I also want to become the class representative to be in student council. I want to achieve a lot this year an I know that with my teacher help, determination and all that I have learned, I will be able to meet my goals and continue to work hard.

AdVENTURE is a amazing school. I could not have chosen better. This school has prepared my for life later on and being able to find my place in the fast growing, technological world. I have learned a ton and have been taught to strive for greatness. I love this school and will be sad when the end of the year rolls around and I have to say goodbye. I love AdVENTURE, this is why I have decided to stay at AdVENTURE for as long as I have.

Jane Morris Goodall | An important asset to the scientist community

Jane Morris Goodall has accomplished so many things since she stepped foot in Tanzania in 1960. Jane Morris Goodall studied chimpanzees in the wild for just about 55 years. At first, success was not an option. When Jane Goodall started to try to study the chimpanzees of the park, they ran away and hid from her. They were not used to humans being so close to them. Jane Goodall once noted that she could not get within 500ft of their eating area without them abandoning ship. After months of hard work and patterns of showing up, the chimpanzees finally started to get used to her. During her life, Jane Morris Goodall went to many private schools at a young age, before being advised to go to a public college. Jane went to college and earned her Ph. D. at Cambridge University. She started out working as a secretary at Oxford University and also worked for a London based documentary film company. During and after her work in the field, she did visiting professorships in zoology at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. She also did a visiting professorship in psychiatry at Stanford University. Ever since her time in the field, many things have been named after her. Things like the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School and the Jane Goodall hiking trail in Ontario, Canada. Jane Goodall has done amazing work, she was the first to discover that chimpanzees eat meat and use/make stone tools. Up until this point in time, we thought that this was a human characteristic. Jane Goodall has changed the way that people look at chimpanzees and think about evolution, she proved that we are not much different than chimpanzees, our closest animal relative.

S&EP
SP8: Communicating Information

I communicated information about how Jane Goodall is a very important scientist when I talked about Jane Goodall on video about how she was and still is important to the scientist community. I also communicated what she accomplished and why that is important through my scientist wanted poster. This showed how she was important and what she did during her time in and out of the field.

XCC
Cross-Cutting Concept: Stability And Change

At the end and beginning of the school years, I tend to get more stressed out about things. This comes a lot from change. In the middle of the school year, everything seems to be more stable, you are used to your class, teachers and the work that you have to do. Whereas, at the beginning and the and of the school year, there is a lot of change. Change in teachers, classes, classmates. This also seems to throw off all of the patterns that you have established. There are more projects and things you have to do that come in a big load. Then, at the beginning of the year, there is a lot more paperwork that you have to bring home. Overall, all the things that you are used to, seem to get messed up. This becomes more stable in the middle of the year, when there is less paperwork and the projects and time between each project thins out so there is less work for the amount of time. You get a more stable ratio of work to time in the middle of the year, which is the things that I think makes the middle of the year more stable then the beginning and end.

Jane Goodall

Dame Jane Morris Goodall, born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, is a primatologist and anthropologist that is known for her study of chimpanzees in the wild. She was born on April 3rd, 1934, and first set off to Tanzania in 1960. She started her study of wild chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She would work with, protect and study chimpanzees for about another 55 years and start and work alongside many programs like the Jane Goodall Institute. Jane Goodall is still a highly honored and recognized personal of the scientific community and has received many awards and titles over the years. She was married twice and had one child alongside her work in the field. The first time she got married, she was married to Baron Hugo Van Lawick on March 28th, 1964. They had a son, Hugo Eric Louis, in 1967, only 7 years before the couple divorced. She then got remarried to Derek Bryceson in 1975. They worked together at the Gombe National Park for several years until Derek sadly died of cancer. Overall, Jane Goodall's work in and out of the field is highly recognized and much appreciated. She was awarded so many awards that she can document about 2 per year for about 26 years. Jane Goodall studied, protected and worked with chimpanzees over many years, because of this we have many things that we can now understand.

S&EP

SP6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Through my research, I was able to define why and how Jane Goodall is famous and important to the scientific world. I was able to get a better understanding of what she accomplished and discovered over her many years of research. I explained through my work why Jane Goodall is very important to science and why she deserves the recognition that she has.

XCC

Cross-Cutting Concept: Patterns

During the first couple months of research, Jane Goodall had very little to no success. The chimpanzees were not used to her and were very scared to come by her. Eventually, Jane was able to establish a pattern of when she showed up and where. This was able to show the chimpanzees that she was no threat. This then leads to her getting more involved with them and later, welcomed into their family. She also had to establish a pattern of getting back to the chimpanzees every morning in the same spot so she knew where they would be and so they knew where to find her. This helped her spend more time with the chimpanzees instead of chasing them around the forest. She was able to use patterns to help her become close to the chimpanzees which were a huge game changer that allowed her to study chimpanzees very well.

Tsunami proof house

Tsunami's are terrible natural disasters that happens when an underwater earthquake creates a huge wave, this wave sometimes crashes into land destroying everything in its path. Thousand of people die through tsunami's and their is not much people can do about it. We built a tsunami proof house that would withstand the pressure and water of a tsunami. We made it a triangle with the point facing the ocean so that it would split the oncoming wave as it crashed towards the house.We made the roof a slant but still a rectangle because this way it would allow the wave to crash on top of the house but all of the water would slide off of it keeping the roof in tact. We decided to make the house out of metal in the real life situation because it is a very accessible resource and common in Japan. The place were we choose our house to be in. We used plastic to represent the acrylic windows that they use in the aquariums because it is very strong. Tsunami's are very dangerous and the best thing you can hope to do during one is get as far away as possible. The strength of the tsunami crumbles buildings as the water drowns houses. But with the technology of the house it is able to withstand the dangers of the tsunami.

Backwards-Looking

Whilst building our model we used a variety of materials. We used pop-sicle sticks, wood, fabric, clear folders and duck tape. I think that the wood and the duck tape were some of the most useful materials because it was strong and water proof, which it just what we needed. I feel as though I would use all of the materials that I had used in this project, again. It was a good structure that did what it was supposed to do and I like that.

Inwards-looking

I think what was especially satisfying about the end result of the project, is that our house survived the tsunami. It was the feeling that it worked that made me happy. This was because just about anyone can come up with an idea and put it on paper, but not even close to that number of people can actually build their ideas and have them work.

Outwards-Looking

I think that when someone looks at my project, I want them to see how much hard work and time was put into the project. I would want them to notice how everything fit together and had a purpose and job in making sure the the house survived the tsunami. Over all I would want people to notice that a lot of hard work was put into the making of this project and that it was thought about.

Forwards-Looking


If I got to do this project over again, I think that I would have spent more time on the little things and not just the big important ones. Things like making the inside look nice, or duck taping the base of the house to make it a little more water resistant, or adding more furniture. Basically I would want my house to actually look and function like a real house. It obviously doesn't have to have electricity or those kinds of things (all though that would be cool), I just want it to feel more like a home, not just a cool looking structure.

Science WAC Should we increase the usage of nuclear energy?

Should we increase the use of nuclear energy?

Have you ever turned on the news and seen things about a nuclear plant explosion? Or new government costs to sustain a nuclear plant? About places evacuated because of harmful nuclear waste? If you’ve seen it or not, whether the news reported it or not, this is happening. We may need a energy source that does not produce greenhouse gases, but nuclear is not the way to go. It is just to dangerous. With high costs, high risk of explosions and endangering the environment, it is not worth it. Nuclear energy has some good qualities but it is just not worth the bad.

Nuclear energy is very expensive. It can cost billions of dollars to build, upgrade, maintain and clean and store nuclear waste. Imn the article “Waste, Families left behind as nuclear plants close.” by Frank Morris it says, “Brock Lindau has spent almost his whole career at Fort Calhoun power plant. He helped install almost $700 million worth of upgrades to the plant.” This means that at just one nuclear power plant they spent almost $700 million just on upgrades. This shows that nuclear power plants are extremely expensive. Also in the video “Nuclear Energy: Is Fission the Future.” by Flipside Science, Scientist Dan Kammen says, “...And nuclear is very expensive.” This shows that it has been proven and is not a secret that nuclear is a very expensive energy. When you look on the whole of the situation, all of the nuclear power plants could cost well over a trillion dollars if you add all of the costs together. All that money to produce 20% of the Earth’s energy. It’s just not a good deal.

Even though it is very expensive and has many risks, people still believe that it may be a good source of energy. People say that it is a way that we can efficiently produce lots of energy without producing greenhouse gases. In the article “Waste, Families left behind as nuclear plants close.” by it says “A decade ago, low-carbon nuclear power had a bright future, as a tool to fight climate change.” But just how much would you be willing to risk just to be able to get a carbon free energy. People have died because of issues that have happened with nuclear energy power plants.

Nuclear energy also has a very high risk. Producing more nuclear waste then we know how to handle and the ability to cause massive explosions. It is just to easy to go wrong. In the article “Water, Soil and Radiation. Why Fukushima will take decades to clean up.” by Geoff Brumfiel it says, “Five years after an earthquake and tsunami caused a series of meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan… But there are still some problems.”  In that same article a man named Dale Klein, a former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commision, speaks. He says, “ Perhaps the biggest problem is water,”  That same article also says, “It also says, “Groundwater from nearby mountains constantly seeps through the ruined building before spilling into the ocean...so far efforts to stop it have been only partially successful.” This means that sites like Fukushima that have exploded face a series of problems and some of them are really hard to fix. Another problem that Fukushima and pother exploded power plants are facing is soil. In the same article by Geoff Brumfiel a person named Azby Brown who is with the nonprofit organization Safecast says, “There are now about 9 million bags of decontamination waste from all over the prefecture that are being consolidated into these vast fields with these pyramids of radioactive waste,” This means that they have just piles upon piles of contaminated and decontaminated soil just sitting around and not being cleared. Explosions are really harmful to the environment and things around it. That’s not even including humans.

Nuclear power plant explosions can mean serious health issues and death for humans. In the article “What’s next for nuclear” by Gabriela Quiros it says “The worst one to date happened with a devastating explosion and fire at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine in 1986, which released radiation across Europe.Twenty-eight rescue workers died from radiation exposure. Other health effects started to show up a few years later.” In that same article Dr. Lydia Zablotska, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco says “The primary finding so far is an increased risk of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases in those who were children and adolescents at the time of the accident,” This means that not only does nuclear explosions affect the environment it affects the health of humans.

Humans do need a efficient source of energy that is clean. We need a good alternative to fossil fuels. But unfortunately nuclear energy just does not seem as though it would be to great of a substitution. It may not produce greenhouse gases, but it does produce nuclear waste and when you look at the big picture, nuclear waste can be much more harmful. Also it costs millions, billions and maybe even trillions of dollars just for a small amount of nuclear power plants, imagine if that number doubled. Plus with fossil fuels it is very inexpensive. On the whole, with the risks, expenses and environmental issues, we need a different alternative. Until that is made possible we need to stick to fossil fuels.

Nuclear Energy

http://freevector.co/vector-icons/shapes/science-symbol.html

Do you know what nuclear energy is? There are two types of nuclear energy. One is nuclear fusion, the other is nuclear fission. But let's back up a few steps. Nuclear energy is a clean energy source, meaning it does not produce carbon dioxide like fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is made in nuclear power plants across the globe and is used to produce about 20% of our energy. Now back to fission and fusion. These are the two different ways that nuclear energy is made. Let's start with fission. Fission creates energy by using a proton and a certain type of uranium. The proton hits the uranium molecule that splits the uranium molecule into two pieces and produces more protons. This all comes with a ton of energy. This heats water, which makes steam, which turn a turbine which then creates electricity. Then their is fusion. Hence the name his does include things fusing together. This is where two different molecules are fused together, this then creates a lot of energy that is used in the same process to create electricity. They both produce a lot of energy and a lot of Nuclear waste. Many people believe that the fact that it does not produce greenhouse gasses and is very efficient that it is a good idea. Others think that the risk of the nuclear waste is not worth the benefits. There can and have been bad accidents with nuclear power plants and nuclear waste. Almost all of them caused peoples death and damaging the environment. So where do you stand? Are you for or against it?

S&EP
SP3: Conducting Investigations

I answered the question of whether I was for or against nuclear energy when I investigated the subject of nuclear energy. I investigated what the ups and downs of using this energy. I also investigated how it works and why it is better than some other sources. This helped me to understand where I stood

XCC
Cross-Cutting Concept: Cause and Effect

In the process of nuclear fusion and fission there is cause and effect. To starts of with fission the proton crashes into the uranium which then causes it to break in half. Then that causes energy which causes the heating of water, this makes steam, steam then powers a turbine which then makes electricity. This is the same with nuclear fusion except for instead two molecules fuse together to create the energy.

Plate Tectonics

All of the continentes sit on tectonic plates. Each year they move a tiny but. They move just as fast as fingernails grow. (Which by the way, is not fast). They mostly move in a range of 2-6 centimeters per year. Have you ever wondered why there are so many earthquakes here in California? This is because we sit on a fault line. Which is the outcome of a transform boundary, where two plates slide past each other. We have this faultline because parts of california sit on a plate boundary. This is the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.

S&EP
SP3:Conducting Investigations

I found out about the different plate boundaries and where they were when I investigated where each one was. I also was able to figure out how fast each plate moves. I also figured out what direction each of them were going. This is useful to predict things like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

XCC
Cross-Cutting Concepts: System and System Models

Tectonic plate movement is like a system. Caused by the convection currents in the mantle, the plates move and collide or diverge. If one thing in the system goes wrong, the whole things could stop. It the plates did not hit each other, they would eventually have to stop diverging. Then what would they do? If the convection currents stopped flowing the plates just wouldn't move. Tectonic plates is an intricately woven system.

Plate Tectonics Quiz Regrade

Convergent boundaries is the correct answer because these plate boundaries can form volcanoes which is the a path way for magma to push itself up onto the earth's surface. This now makes sense to me that I am looking back into my notes.

Convergent boundary is the correct answer because not all plates go towards each other. Take Divergent boundaries, they go away from each other. Therefore not all plate boundaries come together or go towards each other.

Transform boundary is the correct answer because transform boundaries slide past each other making fault lines. Also, when they slide past each other they create earthquakes. Therefore California would sit on a transform boundary.

Tectonic Plates

                      Forming Mountains                                           Subduction zones

             
                Divergent Boundaries                                                  Materials Needed




                 Spreading Frosting                                                   Transform Boundaries

Have you every felt an earthquake before? Or seen a volcano erupt? Did you ever wonder why those things happen? Well the reason that these things happen is because of plate tectonics; The movement of the different pieces of crust caused by the convection currents of the mantle. Before we get into plate tectonic and earthquakes and volcanoes, lets look at it's history. Plate tectonics was discovered back in the 1900's by a scientist named Alfred Wegener. He first discovered that the plates moved when he looked at a map and realized that some of the continents looked like they could fit together. After a long time and lots of research Alfred Wegener was able to fit the continents together AND found lots of evidence to prove his point. Like fossils of dinosaurs that couldn't swim but were found on two sides of the ocean. Or rock formations of the same type from the same time period but on different continents. Though he had a lot of evidence, he still did not now how the continents moved. When he presented his idea's to the world of science he was laughed at and not taken seriously. It was only after Alfred Wegener died that scientists were able to discover tectonic plates. For, it was not the continents moving, it was the tectonic plates they sat on that was moving. But overall Alfred Wegener was right, Pangea, his super continent, was an actual thing.

Now that we have the background of plate tectonics, we can talk about what it is. Tectonic plates is the name that we give to the pieces of the earths crust. Now these plates move because of the convection currents in the earths mantle. You can't see them move, but you can feel it. This is where plate boundaries come in. Plate boundaries are the places where to plates meet. There are different types of boundaries that all give different results. There are divergent boundaries; where to plates push apart from each other and create mid-ocean ridges and valley rifts. There are transform boundaries; where to plates slide past each other and create fault lines and earthquakes. There are oceanic and continental crust collision boundaries; where oceanic and continental crusts collide and the oceanic crust goes under the continental crust and gets recycled back into the earth. This creates subduction zones and sometimes volcanoes further inland. Then there is continental crust collision boundaries; where to continental crusts push against each other to create mountains. So next time you see that there is going to be an earthquake in your area, you can thank Alfred Wegener for the heads up.

S&EP
SP2: Building models

I showed my work through a model when I did a lab on plate tectonics. I used frosting as the mantles and gram crackers and fruit roll ups as the crust. I then represented each type of boundary and what the affects where. After this I had a better understanding of how the plates moved and how that affects the earth.

XCC
Cross-Cutting Concept: Cause and effect

The whole process of plate tectonics is a big cause and effect story. You see, every type of boundary or way that a plate moves affects things. For example, at a transform boundary when the two plates slide past each other it then creates fault lines and earthquakes. The cause being that the plates are sliding past each other and the effect being the fault lines and earthquakes. This cause and effect is true for all kinds of plate boundaries. You just have to plug in the information, like the movement of the plate, and then what does that movement of the plate do to the earth, like form mountains or volcanoes.