Physics Fun- The Great Race

My car was made from materials in my house. For the body of my car, I found a leftover PVC pipe from a project I had done before. I used PVC because it has a lot of mass. Then, I cut into a 8-inch piece using a saw. After, I drilled holes into it for the wheel. I had trouble finding things for wheels and axle, but I realized that I could use K'nex pieces and that wheels came with them. Since I didn't have a certain type of piece, I used tape for one part. My car was already done, but when I tested it on a flat surface, one wheel wasn't touching the ground. I had messed up while drilling. So, I drilled new holes into the back but guess what? It messed up again. Then, I tried again. Third time's the charm.
My car is an example of the first two of Newton's Laws of Motion. The first law states that an object will remain in rest unless another force acts upon it. So, my car will keep going until friction and gravity slow it down completely. The second law states that Force=Mass x Acceleration. This applies to my car because if I add more mass to it, it will have more acceleration. Thus, my car is an example of Newton's Laws of Motion.

Maxims/Morals--Literature

The Fox and the Goat-

I think that the maxim of this fable is "think before you act." I think this because the goat did not think and jumped into the well without knowing for sure if the fox was telling the truth. If the goat had thought, why haven't i heard about the drought, or at least asked someone else if this was true, the goat wouldn't have ended up how he did; in the well.

The Crow and the Pitcher-

I think that the maxim of this fable of this "don't give up." In the fable, the crow does not give up to get the last bit of water. He finds a way to get the water to the top. In fact, he is half-dead of thirst when he does this.




The Fisher and the Little Fish-

In a way, I think that the maxim of this fable could be "don't procrastinate." I think this because if the fisher had let the little fish go, he might not catch it later. In other words, doing things "now", is better than later, because later, you might not have enough time or next time it might not happen the way you want it to. In the fisher's case, later he might not catch the fish so it is better to keep the one that he has now.

The Four Oxen and the Lion-

I think that the maxim of this fable is "do everything little by little." I think this because when the Lion attempted to attack the four oxen at once, he failed, so he went and attacked the four oxen one at a time when they were at separate corners of the field and succeeded. Therefore, doing everything little by little is more helpful and pays off more than tackling something big in one attempt.



The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing-

I think that the maxim of this fable is "don't depend on trickery." I think this because at the end of the fable, it said that the wolf had good meals for sometime. That meant that something bad happened and the shepherd found out that it was the wolf. So, by using trickery, you can easily get "found out."

Ask A Geneticist- Science

The first interesting thing I learned from these articles is that one human chromosome is really made up of two chimp chromosomes. That means that the chimp chromosomes are actually smaller. Also, our genes only differ by 1.2%.

Other than that, I learned that we have many different chromosomes instead of just one long strand to increase our differences. Only complex organisms like humans have more than one.

Literature- Wooden Bowls

This story is good; it tells people that they shouldn't be selfish and only care about themselves like the son and daughter-in-law did by moving the grandpa to his own table. Additionally, the story represents responsibility because the people in it were responsible to make the grandpa feel better. They made the grandpa sit at a separate table so they are responsible of it. Also, I think the story can be related by C.A.R.E.S with empathy, because at the end when the 4-year-old boy is making a little bowl, the parents started crying. They felt bad that the grandpa wasn't sitting with the family. After this, the parents let the grandfather sit with them even if a fork or spoon fell; they didn't care anymore. The lesson that the story teaches is that since our parents do so much for us, when we grow up, we need to help them back. It will make them very happy and us too.

Traits And Heredity (Genetics Homework)

While reading "What is Heredity?" and "What is a trait?", I learned two very important facts. I already knew what a trait was, a notable feature in a person that makes them unique, but I learned something else. I never knew that there were only three types of traits. There are physical traits, characteristics of one's body(hair color, height...), behavioral traits, characteristics of how you act, and finally predisposition to a medical disease, a risk of a child getting a certain disease that can be passed on. From "What is Heredity?", I found out that humans have two sets of 23 chromosomes. When parents conceive a child, they each give a set to the child. Therefore, the child gets some of the same traits as the parents.

Robotic Clam

Mechanical engineers are working on robotic clams that one day will help dig up and detonate buried underwater mines. They could also serve as robot subs or deep-sea oil drilling. The robots are being designed after the razor clam because it is one of nature's best diggers. The clam digs with two motions. One is pushing upwards with its foot and a synchronized push down. Inspired by this, researchers have created a simple robot about half the size and are testing it in the salt water of Cape Cod. The experiments show that it digs as fast as the real one. It is small light weight and does not use a lot of energy. The clam equally works as well in sand, mud, and cohesive soil. As well as exploding mines, it was suggested that it could serve as a light weight anchor that could dig itself into submarines.
          I think that this idea is really good. This clam will help detonate mines and even help with underwater scientific research. Also, it is good that they designed it after another clam because it would make it easier to build the robot. They would have to just rebuild the parts on the clam. All in all, i think that the RoboClam is a good idea and will help scientists to complete research.

Class Response-Owl Pellets

On Monday, November 9, we started dissecting owl pellets. We did this to find out what owl's ate and how it is connected to a food web. One thing we learned is an owls diet. Owls mostly eat shrews, mice, moles, and most rats. I got this information from the papers we got giving us basic information about owls. Most animals have something that owls don't, a crop, which allows animals to store food for later consumption. Since owls don't have this, their food goes directly to their digestive system. I also learned that when owls swallow their pray whole, the bones and fur get stuck in their gizzard for 10-20 hours. After that, they are regurgitated into pellets. Owl pellets are masses of bone, teeth, hair, feathers, and exoskeletons from the prey the owl ate.
I think that this activity was fun and helped us learn about owls. We learned many facts about them. Also, this activity is related to food webs, habitat's, and parasitism. All in all, doing this lab was productive and a fun way to learn about owls.

The Truth About 2012 Doomsday Hype

             December 21, 2012. On this day, scientists predict that the world will end or at least cause some type of destruction. There might be cataclysmic volcanism or a great flood. One reason that they think this will happen is because of the Mayans. Apparently, their calender ends exactly on the 21st of December 2012. The Mayans never said that the world will end, but that is what people infer. They don't know what other meaning it could have. Another reason is that a non-existent planet supposedly discovered by the ancient Sumerians, called Nibiru will encounter the Earth and wreak havoc. So, will doomsday really happen or is it just another failed prediction?

             I think that all of this is untrue and nothing will happen in 2012. I say this because I have learned that before there have been many doomsday predictions, 10 to be exact, and they all have failed. Also, in the article, it states that the Mayan calendar ends like our calendar and probably just starts all over again. All in all, I think that nothing will happen.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/091105-2021-doomsday.html

Summer Reading Question

Question: What connections were you able to make while reading the novel?

While reading The Thief Lord, I made connections with another book called SCORPIA. Both books take place in Venice and involve a mystery in them.

Bullying (Man's Inhumanity to Man)

Society or our school can't put an end to bullying because even if they make a rule, people will break that rule.

Welcome Scientists

My favorite subject is Literature because Mr. Kokopelli is very funny.

The best book i ever read was The Last Olympian.

My favorite food to buy in the cafeteria is Pasta.

On the weekend when my chores are done, i like to go outside.

If I won a free airline ticket to any place I wanted, I would go to France.

My favorite color is orange.

If i had a dog i would name it Tom.

This year, if I work hard enough, I hope i get straight A's