Kinetic and Potential energy | The physics behind trampolines

Potential Energy on Shelves Gizmo : Lesson Info : ExploreLearning by Mary Christine

Many people have been on trampolines before. The springy surface throwing you back up and into the sky everytime you come back down. Not only are trampolines a great way to get moving and have fun, but they also show us a ton of physics. Your kinetic and potential energy changing with every jump. But how? Let's freeze time right as your feet hit the trampoline. There are two types of energy happening because of your recent motion. Kinetic and potential energy. Kinetic energy is the energy that an object has when it is in motion. Otherwise known as the energy of motion. Currently, your kinetic energy is at its peak, just before you hit level ground. Potential energy is an object's stored up energy, what energy the object can use when moving. Your peak of potential energy is the same number as the peak of your kinetic energy, they just happen at two different points. Right now, with your feet at level ground, your potential energy is at 0, a complete opposite of your kinetic energy which has recently reached its max. We start time again and stop it just in time for your feet to be at their lowest point. The trampoline has bent downwards and is just about to spring you back up and into the air. An example of Newton's third law of physics. At this point, your kinetic energy is at 0 and your potential energy is climbing to its max. We let time go again just to freeze it while you are at the peak of your jump. Your potential energy is now the same as your kinetic energy was when your feet were at level ground, maxed out. Plus, your kinetic energy is at the same as your potential energy was when you were at level ground, 0. Meaning that you energy when jumping on the trampoline were opposites of each other at certain points. If that part seemed weird, you might want to stop jumping on the trampoline because these are the formulas for you to use when wanting to figure out potential and kinetic energy of objects. First off, potential, the formula for potential energy is U=mgh, where u is potential energy, m is mass, g is gravitational acceleration and h is height. Now kinetic, the formula for kinetic energy is K=1/2 m(v squared) when K is kinetic, m is mass and v is speed. Using all of this you can jump into physics with a basic knowledge of potential and kinetic energy.

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SP2: Using models

Models help scientists understand a lot of things, it can also help scientists to see how things work and why they work. But models and simulations help scientists when testing things an doing experiments. One of the ways that you can represent kinetic and potential energy is through a simulation type model. Like items on a shelf. When the said items are on the shelf, they have no kinetic energy and the max potential energy, if you knock the item off of the shelf, the potential energy decreases as it falls and the kinetic energy increases as it is falling down until it reaches its max. This shows the pattern of potential and kinetic energy in a visual and interactive model.

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XCC: Patterns

Patterns are all around us. You find them in nature, schedules, and science. One representation of patterns seen in science is kinetic and potential energy. This is a pattern because of the way the values of potential and kinetic energy work. When the potential energy of an object is at 0, the kinetic energy value is at its max. Then when you get to a point where the value of kinetic energy is at zero, the potential energy is the same max value that the kinetic energy value was when the potential energy value was at zero. This can be seen on hills. At the top of the hill, the potential energy is at say, 250 joules, the kinetic energy is at 0 joules. Then at the bottom of the hill, the potential energy is at 0 joules and the kinetic energy is at 250 joules. Then you go up a smaller hill and the potential energy is at 100 joules and the kinetic energy is at 0 joules. Once you reach the bottom of that hill, the potential energy is at 0 joules and the kinetic energy is at 100 joules. This repeats over and over as a pattern.

Force | Pushes and Pulls

Forces and Motion: Basics by Phet

Have you ever seen a Star Wars movie or heard people saying “they have the force”? The Star Wars franchise is famous for its use of the “force”, otherwise known as Jedi’s power to move things without touching them. But out of Star Wars, what is a force? It’s pretty simple, a force is a push or a pull. Really? That’s it? Well yes, and no. Forces may be as simple as a push and a pull, but Isaac Newton describes them as more. Newton has three famous laws that are used to determine forces. Number one, an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. But what does this look like. Take your pencil. Say you dropped your pencil off of the table. Your pencil stays in motion until it hits the floor and stops. You could argue that the floor is not a force, but is it? Right now, as you are standing, their are at least two forces acting upon you. Force number one, gravity. Gravity is currently pulling you down towards the earth’s center. This is what keeps you from floating around. Number two, the push of the floor. The floor is actually pushing you upwards. If it wasn’t, you would currently be sinking down into Earth’s core. This brings us back to your pencil, and Newton’s second law. This law states that F=MxA. Or Force equals Mass times Acceleration. Say that you pencil was the size of the desk you are dropping it off of. This would take a lot more push from the ground, or force, to keep this giant pencil from sinking into Earth’s surface. Which brings us to Newton’s third law. For every action, their is an equal and opposite reaction. Back to your pencil, when you drop your pencil it bounces back up a little bit. This is because of Newton’s third law. The action is your pencil dropping, the reaction is it coming back up and off of the ground in the opposite direction that you dropped it. There’s more to forces than Newton’s three laws.

Their is also a such thing as net forces. Net forces are the sum of all forces acting upon each axis. Things brings us back to you and the battle between the ground and gravity. The fact that you are not sinking into the ground, but not floating off to space is because the force of gravity and the force of the ground have a net force of 0. This is because each force is acting upon you with the same strength. The strength of a force is measured in Newtons or N. Back to your pencil, this time, your are sliding your pencil across the table to your friends. If you picture your pencil on a coordinate grid, it might help you. There are about 4 forces acting upon your pencil. Force one, gravity. For this problem, we will say that gravity has a strength of 150 N. Force two, the push of the table. We will say that it also has a strength of 150 N. Since these two forces are equal in strength and going in the opposite direction, they cancel each other out. This means that your pencil is neither moving up nor down. Force three, friction. The friction of the table is pulling your pencil back towards you, or in the opposite direction that the pencil is moving. We will say that it has a magnitude of 10 N left. Magnitude is the strength of the force as well as the direction. Force four, your push. Your push has a magnitude of 50 N right. Now to calculate the net force. The net force of the y-axis (as we figured out earlier) is 0. Now the net force on the x-axis. Since the two forces on the x-axis are going in opposite directions, we can assign the one going left the negative number. This would make the equation 50 N - 10 N. Then just subtract. The answer would be 40 N right, because that is the way that the pencil is moving. There is a lot to forces, but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty simple. A force is a push or a pull.

S&EP
SP8: Arguing from Evidence

Imagine this, hulk and the avengers are having a tug-o-war. Who do you think would win? I don’t have to imagine this. I argue from evidence when I said that the avengers would win because they are actually applying force, and a lot of it. Whereas, the Hulk is just standing there reading a book. Therefore, the avengers would win because they are actually trying. But not only do forces backup tug-o-wars, they also disprove double-jumping. Double-jumping, as I argued, is not possible. To leave the ground, you need the spring effect of you feet pushing down on the ground and the ground pushing up on you. As you probably know, the air does not push up on you, so for you to jump you would need some kind of solid force underneath you. Therefore, you can’t double-jump.

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XCC: Stability and Change

Forces both stabilize thing and change them. When forces are balanced, they can stabilize things and hold them in place. Just like how the push of the earth and the pull of gravity keep you stable and on Earth’s surface. Or when the push of the table and the pull of gravity kept your pencil still on the table. But forces can also change things. Unbalanced forces cause things to change, especially in position and placing. Unbalanced forces is what causes objects to move and change their position. Like when you are rolling a ball, the ball was unmoving, balanced and stable, but your pushing was an unbalanced force that caused the ball to move, changing it’s position to another place. Forces are part of nature and are everywhere, you don’t have to look for when you want to see it.

Driverless Cars | Are They Worth The Risk?

jpartsch0506
Mrs. Garcia
Science 8
Jan 8, 2019

      Technology is everywhere. We see it in our daily lives as we stare at our phone screens, work on our computers and we will even start to see it whenever we get on the highway. Driverless cars, driverless cars are about to become the next big thing in technology. These autonomous vehicles are a topic of debate amongst scientists, some say that it can help to reduce traffic and accidents, but others disagree, arguing that the technology just can’t do what a human can on the road. Though the thought of not having to be behind the wheel is tempting, the risks outweigh the good, and scientists aren’t even at the point where they can guarantee that there will be less accidents and traffic. Not even counting that the vehicles can’t function properly in situations like heavy rain, snow and other bad weather. All of this adds up to the big question; Are they worth the Risk?

      Driverless cars just aren’t worth the risk. Millions of people die each year from car crashes, but scientists can’t even guarantee that these cars will fix that problem. Driverless cars can’t work as well in bad weather and are more prone to hitting pedestrians. In the Tech and Innovation Channel Video, The Pros and Cons of Autonomous Vehicles, their guest, Dr. Billy Abraham, states, “...another concern is that if there are not enough autonomous vehicles on the road we'll have accidents because if you don't have 100% autonomous vehicles it means that you know regular cars will bump into you etc….” If there is not almost 100% of autonomous vehicles on the road, the ‘accident free’ side of the argument doesn’t really work because it needs and all or nothing scenario to fully prove it. Also in the Junior Scholastic article Are Driverless Cars a Good Idea?, Section NO by Jamie Lincoln Kitman, it states, “Although Google’s cars have not yet officially had an accident where they are at fault, critics are still concerned about how computer error may endanger lives on the road, particularly at high speeds…” Also in the NewsHour Extra article Are We Ready for Driverless Cars, by Ibrahim Balkhy, it states, “Take, for example, the idea that self-driving cars will lead to tens of thousands fewer highway deaths each year. The truth is, no one knows for sure how many lives could be saved by driverless cars. That’s because data on the role of human error in crashes relies heavily on self-reporting and is therefore incomplete. If many driverless cars are operating in close proximity at high speed, some accidents are likely to involve more vehicles and be even more deadly than the accidents we know today.” Scientists can’t prove that it will help cause less deadly and just less in general, crashes. There are a lot of things that these cars can do, but the promise of no accidents is just not realistic.

      Furthermore, driverless cars are not very good when working in bad weather or harsh conditions. In areas that get heavy rain, bad storms, and snow, driverless cars aren’t the best options. The weather causes disturbances with the cars sensors, thus making it so that they can’t drive safely. In the NewsHour Extra article Are We Ready for Driverless Cars, by Ibrahim Balkhy, it states, “Opponents also question whether driverless cars will be able to operate in bad weather, since heavy rain or snow could interfere with the vehicles’ sensors.” Furthermore, in the Junior Scholastic article Are Driverless Cars a Good Idea?, Section NO by Jamie Lincoln Kitman, “Currently, the car’s sensors are unable to cope with poor weather conditions like heavy rain and snow-covered streets.” Thus, driverless cars don’t work that well in areas that have bad and/or harsh weather. The cars sensors are messed with and can make for bad driving and more accidents.

      Driverless cars will also put people out of their jobs. Since people will have driverless cars that they can summon, there is no more real need for taxi drivers, truck drivers, Uber drivers and other people who make money off of transportation. All that you'll need to do is go into your app and call a driverless car. Thus, many people who used to be those drivers will now be without that job. In the Tech and Innovation Channel Video, The Pros and Cons of Autonomous Vehicles, their guest, Dr. Billy Abraham, states, “...disadvantages of the autonomous vehicles is the fact that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs according to certain estimates about 4 million people are going to lose their their jobs... 29 states in the United States the most popular or the most common job is a driving job so they're going to lose their job so we're talking about taxi drivers we're talking about pilots ok that means for uber and all those apps lose their job  …” Many people drive and do transportation for a living. Once we make driverless cars a things, they won't really be needed to do that any more.

      Another concern is that they won't actually prevent that much traffic. In fact, scientists have found that it will actually create more traffic. This is because humans have the ability to adapt and be creative. If they are stuck at a light, they might cut through a parking lot. They might take a backroad if the interstate is crowded. Scott Le Vine, Alireza Zolfagharib, and John Polak are researchers from the Department of Geography at SUNY in New Paltz, New York, their work plus other studies disproves the theory that driverless cars will make traffic better. The News Atlas article, The Pros and Cons of a Driverless Future, by Tony Borroz, he states, “In every single test, self-driving cars were calculated to create a comfortable, rail-like ride made congestion worse than it would have been in a baseline scenario with people behind every wheel...Going for high-speed rail style of smoothness, those numbers got even worse: Delays increased from 36 percent to nearly 2,000 percent and intersection capacity fell between 18 percent and 53 percent.” It turns out that driverless cars actually caused more congestion and made it so that their was more traffic on the main roads and highways.

      Their is also a concern when it comes to hacking. Now days, hacking is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. It has been brought up at a political level and is a major problem. Now that our cars will be hooked up to some kind of internet, their is the possibility that they can be hacked, this would then make for a big problem with driverless cars. You wouldn't want someone who has an intention, that is most likely other than your own, having control of the vehicle that you are in. People could use this the wrong way and cause big accidents and issues. In the Tech and Innovation Channel Video, The Pros and Cons of Autonomous Vehicles, their guest, Dr. Billy Abraham, states, "...one of the concerns is that people will be able to hack and even route your  car to a different direction [from] where you want to go..." This means that people could control your car and use it to do stuff for them. This would mean that your life is potentially in their hands. Many people would agree that they wouldn't want someone else controlling where they are going and altering what they were supposed to be doing while in their car. This brings me to legal issues, along with the issue of hacking, another is insurance. If two driverless cars crashed into each other. Who would be responsible? Who's insurance would pay? In the PBS NewsHour's article, Are we ready for Driverless Cars? by Ibrahim Balkhy, he states, "...The question of legal responsibility also remains a sticky issue. If one of these vehicles collides with another, or with a human-driven car, whose insurance pays the claim? If a police officer pulls over a driverless car, who gets the ticket?..." Hacking could also cause accidents, which could make legal issues, this could become a big issue in the future of driverless cars.

      Many people argue that they would rather have driverless cars on the road than 16 year olds and 80 year olds. Many people would agree with this statement. They say that they would feel more safe and comfortable in a driverless car than behind an older person or new driver. They believe that they might reduce the number of accidents because people wouldn’t have older or young drivers on the road that can’t drive that well. In the Wired article, Puny Humans Still See The World Better Than Self-Driving Cars by Aarian Marshall, the author states,‘"You’re probably safer in a self-driving car than with a 16-year-old, or a 90-year-old,...”’ Nonetheless, many people also say that the majority of people would rather have middle aged people on the road that are responsible, rather than driverless cars. They say that middle aged people are more reliable than the driverless car. Plus, middle aged people make up the majority of people whom are driving on the road. In the Wired article, Puny Humans Still See The World Better Than Self-Driving Cars by Aarian Marshall, the author states,  “...says Schoettle. ‘But you’re probably significantly safer with an alert, experienced, middle-aged driver than in a self-driving car.”’ Driverless cars may be a good replacement for people who aren’t as good as driving, but not for those who are.

      Furthermore, driving involves a lot of sensing, hand signals and sight. Drivers can communicate to each other, pedestrians and bikes. There are also pot holes, stop signs, and faded lines that indicate the lane that you are in. Scientists are concerned that the driverless cars won't be able to sense these thing and communicate how drivers would on the road. “Still, many aspects of driving depend on small gestures and signals. Would a driverless car know to stop or slow down for a construction project? Other situations like giving the right of way or waiting one’s turn at a stop sign appear to be issues of judgment that would be hard to perform without a human brain.” states Ibrahim Balkhy in his article Are we ready for Driverless Cars? Additionally, in the article Are Driverless Cars a Good Idea by Junior Scholastic, the author states, “Then there’s infrastructure to consider. Many driverless cars require smooth roads, with clearly painted lines, to safely position themselves. Potholes and other irregularities could become even greater hazards. Our infrastructure is already underfunded. Where will the resources come from to maintain and repair roads and bridges to this new, higher standard?” It is hard for these driverless cars to sense all of this stuff. It would be unreasonable to keep all of the roads neat and cared for, it would also cost a lot of money and time. Thus, driverless cars would not be as good on the road as human drivers.

      Driverless cars do have their upsides, but the downsides are clear. Driverless cars are hackable, puts many people out of their jobs, doesn't really prevent accidents and could cause more fatal ones, causes more traffic and makes for more time on the road, don't work well in harsh or bad weather, can't communicate and be as aware as human drivers, and cause many questions when it comes to legal responsibility. Driverless cars just aren't as good as an alert, middle aged, well taught human adult. Instead of spending so much time on crafting driverless cars, they should spend more time properly teaching people to drive and drive responsibly and safely. The bad parts of driverless cars outweigh the good. So the next time that you pick up your car keys and get behind the wheel, just be glad that the wheel is still there.

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.

S&EP
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.