Shelby's 8th Grade Page

A Year of Documented Learning

2009-05-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Throughout our 8th grade year, we have learned about many Science topics. These topics include Astronomy, Weather and Climate(Earth's Atmosphere), Geology, Weathering and Erosion, and Earth's Waters.

I believe Astronomy was the most fun to learn about. My favorite subject having to do with Astronomy was definitely learning about the phases of the moon and what causes those phases. My partner and I did a Google Doc presentation on the moon, its phases, eclipses, tides, and spring & neap. I found all this very fascinating.

Earth's Atmosphere is very important. It protects us from UV rays, provides the area where weathering happens, and has 5 layers. My favorite subject was learning about the 5 layers and their purpose. While we learned about this, I did a paper on my blog on the makeup of the atmosphere. Making a pie chart of the gases in the atmosphere was educational in the sense that it informed me on how to make my own graphs, and taught me that 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen.

Geology proved to be very intriguing. My favorite part was learning about Earthquakes and where they most often take place. I also learned some helpful saftey tips on what to do in the emergency of an earthquak. Drop and cover, hide under a sturdy object, be prepared for aftershocks, and more.

Next, we did Weathering and Erosion. Learning about acid was my favorite part. I found the effects of acid rain on plants, rocks, etc. to be very interesting. Acid rain can damage buildings, statues, and wildlife. I was supprised to learn it was us causing acid rain. Acidic rain is due to pollution, burning of coal, etc.

Earth's waters, which we're working on now, was also an education topic. Discovering where are drinking water comes from was my favorite part. As you can see, in the most current blog post before this, Colorado Springs drinking water has to travel a far ways to get to us.

Woo Hoo! Off to high school. =]

Where does Colorado Springs get its drinking water?

2009-04-30T07:38:00.001-07:00

Colorado Springs gets its water mainly from surface water, ground water, and purchased water. 75% of our water comes from many mountain streams (surface water). It is then stored in reservoirs. The reservoirs in this area consist of the Homestake, Fryingpan-Arkansas, Twin Lakes, and Blue River systems. Most of this water is transferred through pipelines that help to protect it from contamination. The water is then stored at Rampart Reservoir and at the Catamount reservoirs on Pikes Peak. We also use local ground water sources, such as wells.

4 Essential Qs

2009-04-27T18:36:00.001-07:00

Essential Questions:
1. I will be researching reasons why people should switch to more fuel-effecient cars.
2. I have concluded there are many reasons to switch to fuel- effecient cars(costs, enviroment, etc.) therefore, people should consider buying more fuel effecient cars such as hybrids, rather than a gas-guzzling car such as the SUV.
3.If, worst case scenario, nobody listened to this advice, global warming would speed up, and our fuel economy would be gtraty damaged.
4. If best case scenario, everyone listened to this advice, global warming would be slowed down, and our enviroment would gradually become less polluted.

2009-04-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

2009-04-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

Annotated Biblyography

2009-04-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=263

This website provided information on fuel efficiency related to global warming. I learned that an average household with two medium-sized sedans emits 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. I used this info to inform people on how poor gas efficiency is effecting global warming.

http://knowledge.allianz.com/en/globalissues/climate_change/global_warming_basics/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=global%20warming&utm_campaign=Allianz%20Knowledge-Climate%20Agenda

This website gave me information on global warming & the greenhouse effect. The end of this century could show an improvement in the ozone, or could end disastrous. Worst case scenario, the global temperature could increase 7 degrees. I used this to inform people on what could happen if we aren't careful.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/192481

We have become very dependent on oil, unfortunatly Americans aren't very fuel-efficient. Most of our oil is imported.(about 60%) This is a huge drain of our economy & if we become for fuel-efficient, we could become less dependant on foreign oil. This educated people on how much we depend on oil, and why its not good.

http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=135

This website provided advice on how to preserve energy, oil, etc. Buying a clean, fuel-efficient car can save gas & cost you less. I informed people on how they can save money, helping them personally, & at the same time, help the environment.

Water Cycle Activity

2009-04-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

The water cycle is the continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface, to the atmosphere, and back. The water cycle has no beginning or end. On a sunny day, a small puddle would evaporate into the air, condense into a cloud, and in the form of precipitation, fall back to Earth.

Observing water's properties

2009-04-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Observing water's properties:

Today we did an experiment having to do with water's properties. In this experiment, we put water droplets on a penny and predicted how many drops the penny would hold before the water overflowed.

My prediction was: If the amount of water drops that could fit on a penny is related to adhesion and cohesion, the penny should hold about 20 drops.

The outcome supported my prediction. The penny help about 21 drops before overflowing.

This happened because of adhesion and cohesion.

Ogallala Aquifer

2009-03-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Shelby, and I am a scientist here to visit Ogallala aquifer. The Ogallala spreads from South Dakota to Texas or the Great Plains. It's the largest source of fresh water found underground. The Ogallala Aquifer is basically a giant sponge. Playas are deposits of rain caught in clay depressions. Eventually the rainwater works its way down from the playas to the Ogallala. Around the Ogallala you will find a large variety of agriculture. For example, cattle ranchers & farmers. Both of these use the Ogallala as a water source for either their cattle or their

crops. Because of widespread irrigation, farming accounts for 94 percent of the groundwater use. The Ogallala is the main source of water for the Great Plains. It is believed that the Ogallala is one of the largest aquifers in the world. I also live in the Great Plains, so I depend greatly on the Ogallala Aquifer as a water source.

This is an example of a Playa.

http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/images/water/playalake.jpg

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Ogallala-Aquifer.html

Earthquake Webquest

2009-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

1.Where do most of the earthquakes tend to happen?

Most earthquakes occur along the pacific plate

2.Why do you think that is?

The plates move in jerks, giving rise to earthquakes

3.What is this area called?

-This area is called The Ring of Fire

4.Where is the earthquake closest to Manitou Springs? What are the details of this earthquake? Would people be able to feel this earthquake? About how much more ground shaking would occur for this magnitude earthquake compared to a magnitude 1 earthquake? About how much greater is the energy released with this earthquake compared to the energy of a magnitude 1 earthquake?

-New Mexico

-36.287°N, 106.475°W, Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 08:02:52 UTC, Magnitude 2.8

-yes

-1.8 more magnitude

-About 64

Earthquake Webquest Day 2

2009-01-21T07:24:00.000-08:00

5.) On Thursday, January 15, 2009, at 10:49:39 AM (MST) an earthquake occurred East of the Kuril Islands. It was 36 km in depth and had a magnitude of 7.4. The earthquake was located at 46.862°N, 155.156°E. The earthquake made its way South of Severo-Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands, Russia, NE of TOKYO, Japan and NE of MOSCOW, Russia.

6.) Earthquakes happen every day and it is important to know how to stay safe when caught in one:

-Drop and take cover

-Hide under a heavy, sturdy object.

-Stay away from glass

-If outside, keep away from un-sturdy buildings

-Be prepared for after shocks

Weather Fronts

2008-12-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

Cold Front-

When a cold air mass & a warm air mass colide, the warm air rises up while the cold air slides under it. These can cause abrupt weather changes since it moves so fast.

Warm Front-
When warm air overtakes cold air & moves over the cold air. The weather is likely to be humid after a warm front.

Stationary Front-
Both cold and warm air meet, but niether one moves the other. This creates many clouds & lots of precipitation.

Occluded Front-
Warm air is caught between to amounts of cooler air. The cooler air pushes the warm air up and the two cooler amounts of air meet and may mix. While the air cools it may rain or snow.

This week, an Occluded Front brought cold weather and then snow to CO.

2008-12-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Sailing Trip

2008-11-20T07:19:00.000-08:00

1st:

Trip Itinerary and approximate latitude:San Francisco 45o N- Sydney 35o S

Travel time: 13 days

Direction traveling: South West

Were you successful? yes

How many attempts? one

How were you successful? I used the winds to my advantage and kept a steady direction

What winds did you take advantage of or compete with during your travel? I mostly took advantage of the Trade Winds.

2nd:

Trip Itinerary and approximate latitude: Havana 27o N- London 55o N

Travel time: 9 days

Direction traveling:East

Were you successful? yes

How many attempts? one

How were you successful? I stayed in one direction

What winds did you take advantage of or compete with during your travel? I used the Prevailing Westerlies to my advantage

3rd:

Trip Itinerary and approximate latitude: Lima, Peru 10o S- Cape Town, South Africa 28o S

Travel time: 15 days

Direction traveling: South, then Northeast

Were you successful? yes

How many attempts? 10

How were you successful? I went around Africa then went Northeast to South Africa

What winds did you take advantage of or compete with during your travel?I took advantage of the Prevailing Westerlies

Atmosphere Paper

2008-11-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

Acid Rain

2008-11-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Define Issue:
Acid rain is rain that contains more acid than normal

List causes:
-Burning of coal
-Pollution
-Rain, sleet, snow, fog, & dry particles carrying nitrogen oxide & sulfur oxide.

Explain Consequences:
-Damaged buildings & statues
-Damanged lakes & ponds
-Plants, amphibians, fish, & insects die

Contribute solutions to the problem:
-Burn less coal

-Use low-sulfur coal

-Use scrubbers(remove most sulfur oxides in air)

Earth's atmosphere

2008-10-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Earth's atmosphere makes our planet different from the moon, or other planets without atmosphere. The reason the moon looks so rough and bumpy, is because of the craters caused by meteoroids. The Earth doesn't get hit by large meteoroids because the atmosphere blocks most of them. The reason the atmosphere stays in place is the because of the Earth's gravity keeping it there. Once again, gravity is something the moon & other planets do not have. Here on planet Earth, we have something called the greenhouse effect. Gases such as CO2, warm our atmosphere enough to sustain life. Of course, the moon, and most other planets are at loss of atmosphere and therefore life on them would be very difficult, if not impossible. Another reason for the difficulty of living on other planets, is since they contain no atmosphere, they do not need the chemicals needed for living beings.

Space Exploration

2008-10-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

2008-10-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

Using Space Science on Earth!

Conditions-
Space Earth

---------------- --------------

-Near Vacuum(empty of matter) - Full of matter
-Extreme Temperature -Normal Temperatures

-Microgravity(weightless) -Has gravity

Space Craft-
-Airtight(keeps in oxygen)
-Well insulated(temp.)

Space Spinoffs-
An item that has uses on Earth,but was originally developed for use in space.

Medical Science Benefits
-Lasers to clean clogged arteries
-Pacemakers
-Batteries for pacemakers
-Computer aided imaging techniques

           Apollo helmet
      Earth- skiing & snowboarding
   Space-astronauts need fog-free sight

                                                       Satellites

Everyday life: Geostationary Orbit: Remote Sensing: The collection of info about

Telephone signals -Orbits Earth at the same Earth and other objects in
Data sent over internet rate Earth rotates. space using satellites/probes

TV signals -Stays over same place

-Makes signal stronger
-Uses remote sensing

Space Exploration

2008-10-01T07:47:00.001-07:00

The Science of Rockets-
There are 3 stages of an atlas rocket. The atlas uses fuel to launch into space. The centaur puts the ship in proper orbit. And last there is the payload. The payload is the actual satellite or space craft being carried into space.

The Space Program-
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's(NASA) job is to explore space. Apollo 13 was an attempt to land on the moon. Unfortunately, an oxygen tank blew, leaving them no choice but to go back. As risky as is was, they made it around the sun and back to Earth.

Exploring Space Today-
NASA has begun to use robots in space. The robots are basically personal assistance. It has a light, camera, and even a videophone. The videophone can make it so they can communicate with each other no matter where they are on the space craft.

Using Space Science On Earth-
Many people believe that the money that is used to help fund NASA should be used for other things, such as schools or medical research. NASA argues that many new technologies used today were discovered in space programs. They also believe that the knowledge they provide, gives us a better understanding of our universe.

Earth's Moon

2008-09-30T16:09:00.001-07:00

Factors That Cause Seasons

2008-09-19T07:48:00.001-07:00

After doing the Seasons in 3D Gizmo, the factors of which cause seasons is clear. The factor that is the overall cause for seasons, is the Axis. When the axis tilts, it points either the northern or southern hemisphere towards the sun. Whichever hemisphere is more tilted towards the sun, is usually experiencing summer. While the hemisphere pointing away from the sun is experiencing winter.

Rotation & Revolution

2008-09-16T16:47:00.001-07:00

Get a Voki now!

Voki

2008-09-16T16:45:00.001-07:00

Get a Voki now!

2008-09-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Perspective

2008-09-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

The book Zoom is a book of perspective. It's overall point is things aren't always as the seem, and sometimes it is better to broaden your view. Throughout the book, everybody made inferences, or make a prediction off of previous knowledge. It was suprising to everyone when what they thought they were seeing, was something completely different.
Anybody has been in a situation, where if they look with a different perspective towards something, you are open to new ideas and opinions. It could be an illusion, or just a conflict you are trying to solve. I always try to keep an open mind, and that helps me alter my perspective.
I'm sure there are many scientists interested in this sort of data. Different perspectives can be useful anywhere from studying the human body, to looking at our solar system. For doctors, a close-up perspective might provide more use, while to an astonomer, a bigger perspective would be better. Speaking of Astronomy, now that we are studying it in class, being aware of other perspectives is important. Because, the Earth up close looks a lot different from farther away.

Enigma Box

2008-08-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

The enigma box can be any type of enclosed box. It has two holes in the top, a big and small one. Then, a tube coming out the bottom/side. The question was, what would happen if you pour water into one of the holes? It wasn't until there was about 470 kg of water in the enigma box the it started to pour out of the tube in the bottom.
I believe the water stays in because, in order for it to drain out of the tube, it needs a bigger tube or hole in the bottom. That way, air can flow into the box and the pressure would be released, letting water out of the tube more easily. I think that is the reason it took so much water was because it could only take so much pressure.
Scientist use 5 skills to understand nature and science. They are observation, quantitative, qualitative, inferring, predicting, predicting, and classifying. During the Enigma box experiment, we used observation, both qualitative and quantitative. We used one or more of our five senses to observe with and without numbers.We also used inferring and predicting. We had to predict what would happen, before and after Mrs. Casey told us info. We used classifying also to try to figure out what was inside the enigma box.
It turns out the Enigma box wasn't a magic trick. Inside, there is a long tube. It starts at the bottom, goes to the top, wraps around, and exits out the side/bottom. The tube fills up as the water pours in. As soon as the water goes over the top of the tube or the "overflow", the water flows through and out the tube.

Welcome

2008-08-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! =)