Journal #12

I am Electron, I have a configuration
When using me you must take into consideration,
My charge will always be negative
And I don't get along with Proton 'cause he's my relative.
I'm thought to be an elementary particle,
Maybe you'll read more about me in an article
But before I go
You should really know
If you need to find me come to my kingdom,
I'll be orbiting the nucleus of my atom.

Natural Hazards: This picture is my group heating up our water bat...

Natural Hazards:
This picture is my group heating up our water bat...: This picture is my group heating up our water bath at 70 degrees celsius which in turn heated up our test tube which contains the chemical ...

Natural Hazards: Conclusion to Cetyl Phase ChangeOnce the Cetyl Alo...

Natural Hazards: Conclusion to Cetyl Phase ChangeOnce the Cetyl Alo...: Conclusion to Cetyl Phase Change Once the Cetyl Alochol was added to the hot water bath which was at a temperature of 70 degrees celsius it ...

Journal #11

Wind Power

Wind power has become a very popular source of energy, by 2011. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing energy sources worldwide. Wind power is a source of energy which is clean and renewable. There are two kinds of wind turbines. The most common turbine is the horizontal wind turbine. These specific turbines create friction with the wind, using the angled blades, which results in movement of the turbine creating energy. This is an invention which is more environmentally friendly, compared to imported fossil fuels.  Nearly 2% of the United States' electricity come from wind turbines. This number has increased significantly in the past few decades. I believe that the government should encourage the use of wind power, because they are a clean energy source. Money from taxes should be put towards renewable energy sources, such as this. In the long run, it will make an immense difference in the well being of out planet.

However, it does not seem that things are looking up for wind turbines. Since 2009, there has not been a high demand on turbines. Because of the economy, many farmers have either stopped buying the turbines, or stopped the use of them because of their expenses. In addition, there have been found two major problems that come along with this energy source. One problem, being the weather. Obviously, there will be days when the wind does not blow in certain areas. This means a certain population will not receive electricity for however long there is no wind blowing. This is a problem. To solve this problem, there must  be a backup power plant which uses imported fossil fuels. Although, I believe that instead of using a power plant, the backup should be another renewable energy source, such as hydroelectric power. This way, no fossil fuels would need to be consumed.

The second problem with wind turbines are the location. It is hard to find a location for them because they are extremely large and noisy. As a result, wind turbines are generally put on empty plains, where the wind blows the most. However, it is not on empty plains where energy is needed. Energy is needed in large cities, tens of hundreds of miles away.

No matter the problems, I still believe wind power should expand throughout the world. We should take advantage of all the renewable energy sources such as this, in our planet.

Sources:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/wind-power/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=wind%20energy&st=cse
http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/articles/how_do_wind_turbines_work.html

Journal #10

The article I read about was on hydroelectricity. The power of water comes from the water cycle; evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. This energy can generated into electricity by dams. This is a renewable energy source, and is very environmentally friendly. It's becoming more common world-wide. 19% of electricity is hydroelectricity around the world. In the U.S, between 7% and 9% of electricity is hydroelectricity. However, it has the possibility to create a greenhouse gas. It's caused by when dams are built on a riverbed, the vegetation around the dam flowing into the stream.

source: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/hydroelectric-power/index.html?scp=1&sq=hydroelectricity%5D&st=cse

Journal #9

On Tuesday when we went into the lab, I learned a lot about being careful with my research. Before the lesson, I found myself spending a lot of time on wikipedia for research. Also, I would navigate on invalid sites, without knowing they were invalid. Now when I research I know my information will be more thorough because I know what to look for to make sure the website is useful.
Although, much of the criteria does not apply to blogs. On blogs such as Tumblr, one can find a variety of pictures. This does not mean that all the pictures or information is true. Even though there is a search box, and most of the links work, everyday people write on these blogs. Meaning much of the information would most likely be incorrect. So I would recommend not to write a chemistry or english paper, with the source being any kind of blog.
One website I often go to (not for pleasure but for school purposes) is CNN.com. Even though the domain name is .com, the website is very well organized and was created by people who know what they're talking about. (Reliable) One can find a wide variety of topics to choose and learn from while on the site.

Journal #8

Nowadays, colleges are looking for a lot more than SAT scores to accept students into their schools. This week we read an article about students creating apps for software such as Ipods and Ipads. One thing that I think would intrigue colleges, would be to see if a student creates some sort of app. The apps that students are creating today, help things are campus more efficient. For example, students being able to notify the school when  things around campus are broken down.
Other than apps, there are many ways to call the attention of college administrators. Being a club member shows colleges that you are interested in  helping the environment, cancer awareness, or whatever your club is about. Lastly, being captain of a school sport can also be an eye opener for administrators. This shows not only how one excells in a certain sport, but it shows leadership qualities which is a good quality to have.

Journal #7

I think the most useful part of POGILs, is that we're put into groups. This way we can put all our brains together to try and figure out a problem. The least useful part of them, is that we are asked to complete them with no prior knowledge of the assignment. I find it very difficult to teach myself the new material. Because of this, I usually am not able to complete the packet to the best of my abilities, since I'm not sure of what I'm doing. This is a challenge because no matter how hard I try, if I don't do well I know that it will hinder my grade.
I would improve these activities by being able to choose our groups. I find it difficult being put into random groups because it's hard to work with people you aren't comefterble with. By being able to choose our groups we can work with people we are familiar with, and we know we work well with. Being familiar with our group members would help me learn better.

Journal #6

1) The last time I made a difference in the life of more than one person was two weeks ago, when i was volunteering at Neighbor to Neighbor. Neighbor to Neighbor is a food pantry in Greenwich, where students can go to volunteer their time, to organize and fold clothing, as well as work in the food pantry helping people check out, and restalking the shelves. This makes a difference in the lives of people because without our help they might not have food on the table for their familiy, or clothes to keep them warm.
2) If we don't begin producing graduate and doctoral students in the field of science, many things could happen to the U.S. There would not be as much funding for science any longer, because the government would see the loss of intrest in it, and think it's not important anymore. This means we as society would not move along further technologically. Meaning we would never find cures to diseases such as cancer, or the common cold. Everything in science would be affected. Nobody would be able to find out more about our past, nor move along with the future.

Journal #5

From the beginning of the school year until now, I am content with my grade in chemistry. This year in science class I've been focusing on specific skills in order to become a better student. I've been trying to take more notes during class; that way when I come home to do homework or need to study for a test my notes are clear and I understand what I need to know. Also, when I study for a test or quiz I've been reviewing not only my notes, but all the worksheets we've completed in class.
Even though I'm happy with my preogress report grade, I can always do better. I want to improve my grade by completing my homework before the morning it's due. (For example, what I'm doing now...) I think that if I do my homework earlier on in the week and don't procrastinate, I won't forget to do it last minute. If this does happen, instead of procrastinating even more, I will try to write the journal assignement as soon as I can to have the least amount of points off as possible.

Journal #4

There is a buzz of a new technology that can be used instead of school books, called e-textbooks. E-textbooks are electronic text books that schools around America have been debating whether to use or not. This futuristic concept may seem efficient, although I question its effectiveness. Certain states in the U.S are coming to the conclusion too soon, that their schools should adapt this new way of learning. E-textbooks should be evaluated before being put into practice.

                Schools have been taking action too soon, when they found out about the electronic text books. “The Florida legislature passed a bill requiring the state’s schools to replace all paper textbooks with digital editions by 2016” states Carr in his article Schools, beware the e-book bandwagon. These measures are too drastic.  Carr also explains the differences between regular text books and e-books. While reading a regular text book, a reader has the freedom to read as they please; from jotting down notes on the pages to physically flipping back and forth through the pages. (With a normal text book,) “… adapts readily to whoever is holding it.” Whereas with the electronic book, the reader must adapt to it. Also, being an easy online access, things such as game advertisements, or Facebook become distractions to reading.  A student in a recent study simply explains, “E-books divide my attention.” During another study, a group of students were provided with Kindles in order to read. The Kindle stopped being used or was abandoned by nearly two-thirds of the students at the end of the school-year.

                The argument saying e-books are new, avant garde pieces of technology, still stands true. Carr states in his article, “They can be updated quickly with new information… They reduce paper and photocopier use. And they’re lightweight freeing students from the torso-straining load of book filled backpacks.” All this is true. If electronic books were being used, worldwide, it would be an international breakthrough. The use of paper would be scarce. Billions of pages for text books would not need to be printed. However, despite the wonders it would do for mother nature it is not worth it.

                I do not find electronic text books easy to study from. Personally, I can get very distracted. I find it easier for myself to be reading from a piece of paper in front of my own eyes; away from any internet distractions. I believe there are many other students like me, in this aspect. So if every state in America decides to get rid of traditional text books, many students will not be satisfied. Studying for ourselves, is a tedious, difficult task. With electronic text books, everything will become twice as hard as students will have to learn to adapt themselves to a new way of learning.

                Even though I do not believe in the universal use of electronic text books, I do find other technology useful to education today. For example, computers. There are many things we can do with computers, one being typing this response. Another being watching videos online, for a class like science. Previous years, I have done lab experiments online as well. Even though some ideas we learn about such as in science we cannot do hands on experiments in class, we use technology in order to watch videos about them, or do lab experiments. 

Chemistry: Density Lab

Chemistry: Density Lab: In the density lab we recorded data of the mass and volume of 4 different sized cylinders of a specific material. To measure the mass we us...

Natural Hazards: Densities for Mysterious Substances

Natural Hazards: Densities for Mysterious Substances

Journal #2

BP Oil Spill 2010
In the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida had been created a group of 4,500 unemployed workers who joined together to clean up the oil spill. In each state, the workers cleaned the oil form the coastal beaches, raked and shovled debris, used power washers to clean rocks, and much more. Each worker was payed $18 per hour. To prepare for this work, they had to complete four to fourty hours of training, depending on the type of job they were assigned. With the 11.5% unemployment rate of the time, I believe it was a great way to help unemployed citizens work. Although there were jobs to be done at the source of the problem; simply cleaning out local beaches from the oil was a big improvement from the incident.

source
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/08/smallbusiness/bp_hiring_unemployed/index.htm

Journal #3

The density of honey is 1.432 g/cm3.
The density of soy sauce is .98 g/cm3
The density of olive oil is .914 g/cm3
If we were to put all three of these liquids into a container, they would seperate themselves due to their density. The order of the ingredients would be honey (on the bottom), soy sauce (in the middle) then olive oil (ontop).
The reason for the separation of the liquids is because the substances that are less dense float, while substances that are more dense sink. Honey would be on the bottom because it's density is greater than the other two substances. Olive oil would sit ontop, because its' density is much less than the other two products. Lastly, soy sauce would sit in the middle its' density is inbetween honey's and olive oil's.

sources:
http://physics.info/density/

Goals for my sophmore year

There are many goals that I hope to accomplish this year. My main goal, is to get more involved with things around me. Other than dancing at my dance studio Allegra four times a week, I'm also on the school dance team. I plan to stay active in a school club called Roots N Shoots, which focuses on projects helping out community, as well as some countries in Africa. On the weekends, I plan to volunteer at a local charity organization named Neighbor To Neighbor. Also, I'm looking into a school program that helps kids with special needs get active, and into the Special Olympics. Even though I've heard that sophmore year is the most difficult year academically, I hope to be able to keep my grades up, and balance everything out.