Science Memes

Current Event 3: Pumping Well Water Out of the Ground May Be a Culprit in Rising Sea Levels

This article was about how pumping water out of wells for water sources could be the cause of rising sea levels.  After we pump the water out of the ground using an irrigation system, some of it is gone straight back in, which causes is is to be trapped in rivers. This system is used all over the world and is unfortunately, harming the environment, mainly the oceans. This is happening because our world is running out of water resources that we can use for drinking, bathing, and many more things. I feel that this is a good way to remind ourselves that we have to protect our environment and to not abuse things such as natural resources. In the future, we might not have any kind of water source to use at all, so it is important to take care of the one that we already have.

This is the link to the article: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-05/undercover-cause-rising-sea-levels-pumping-water-out-ground 

                                                  

Current Event 2: Microsoft's Newest Gestural Interface Captures Hand Motions By Listening to Them

This article was about how Microsoft opened the idea to use Kinect, but with a microphone. Users can be able to manipulate video games and control their devices with simple hand motion controls. This technology is also able to let users to control their computers using the hand gestures as the SoundWave system emits a constant sound that is altered by the hand movements, the micophone can pick up changes in frequency caused by the gestures. This handy feature is not yey released to everyday PC

computers. It is not stated when the new technology 

will be coming out to the public. As of right now, the team
of researchers are able to make the microphone work with
the device very clearly.

Here is the link to the article: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-05/microsoft-researchs-new-gestural-interface-captures-hand-motions-sound-waves

Current Events: Taiwanese Students Use Personal Seismic Sensors to Monitor Earthquakes.

This article was about students in Taiwan who used their own personal seismic sensors to monitor upcoming earthquakes that were about to strike. They are pocket sized MEMS sensors tat are being mounted to the floors of classrooms and homes so it will be convenient to monitor an upcoming earthquake. They were made on March 26, 2012 in Taiwan. This occured because it was very difficult to determine whether an earthquake would hit. These sensors are being expanded to other places like the Philippines next year.
I believe that these sensors could be a life changing product that could save many lives. Since some countries are not rich enough to use expensive equipment to detect earthquakes, this is a good alternative. It can be also very to use. Countries that are prone to having many earthquakes can have emergency evacuations to save children.

Here is the original article: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-03/taiwanese-students-use-cloud-based-seismic-sensors-monitor-earthquakes

The Atom Song

Here is our song.

Lab Report: States of Matter

In science class, we did multiple labs to understand the states of matter. In one of the labs we did, we observed what changes would take place when we burned sugar. We had to change the sugar cubes physically to get it inside the test tubes, and then we had to change it chemically when we used a Bunsen burner to burn the sugar cubes. In another lab we had done, we saw the physical and chemical changes when we burnt a marshmallow. It changed because when we burnt the marshmallow, the inside of it had turned into liquid. With these labs, I understand the concept of the states of matter a little bit better. I also learned more about physical and chemical changes. I can relate the things that we had done in class to future situations. Some skills I have learned while taking place in these labs is identifying the difference from a physical change to a chemical change.

Extra Credit

For the extra credit, I chose to respond to the quote: “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom” by George Washington Carver. This quote means many things to me. I agree with this quote for many reasons. It mostly means that education gives us knowledge that we can use throughout our lives. If someone is educated, then they will feel more confident about things by using the education that he or she has been given. If someone is not that educated, the person might be more hesitant to do daily things. Also, without education, you will not be able to pursue the careers or basic things that you would like to do. Education is sort of like freedom. Like the quote says, education is the key to unlock that door of freedom that everyone would like. Another thing that this quote could mean, is that others could judge you by the type of education that you have or had. This quote could also mean something specifically to the person who said it, who was George Washington Carver.

Below are more George Washington Carver quotes:

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/george_washington_carver/

Procedure

Procedure for separating a mixture.

   Procedure:

1.     Take out the toothpicks from the mixture with your fingers, put it aside.

2.     Line the funnel with filter paper, put mixture and the funnel in the beaker.

3.     Pour mixture into funnel to extract or separate water from the rest of the mixture.

4.     Take out the filter paper from the funnel, Use magnet to extract iron fillings from the dirt.

5.     Boil the beaker with water on it on a hot plate. Turn on the hot plate, leave it there until water starts to boil and water has evaporated and salt is left.

6.     Clean up.

The seven items in the mixture were: water, salt, dirt, beans, iron fillings, marble rock, and tooth