Collapsing Can Lab

Another lab we did was the collapsing can lab. In this lab, we had water in a soda can and we heated it over a burner. We waited until steam started to form and it pushed air out of the can. This took a while because it takes time for the molecules in the water to heat up and start moving around fast to form steam. Once we saw the steam rise, we immediately put it in a bowl of ice water. And when we did, the can collapsed. What really happend was that, like I said before, when we heated up the can, the molecules gradually started moving, forming steam and forcing air out of the can. The steam exerts the same air pressure in the can as it does outside of the can, balancing the air pressure. As the molecules move faster, the temperature of the water increases. We know that when water heats up, and it has reached its boiling point, the water molecules start to expand and steam begins to form. At this point, the water molecules are moving around at a high rate. Once we put the can in the ice water, the molecules experience a sudden temperature change, a sudden drop. They go from being hot to being really cold, from steam back into water really quickly. Now the air pressure inside the can is different from the air pressure outside of the can. When the molecules hit the water, they instantly stop moving fast and slow down. The molecules condense, and it is like a vacuum inside the can. There is no air pressure inside the can like there is outside of it. Now the can can't possibly resist the air pressure. This causes the can to finally collapse.

How Does Popcorn Pop?

To demonstrate radiation, we did a lab the other day. We microwaved popcorn! Interesting lab, isn't it? How can making popcorn be related to science? Well, as we all know microwaves produce heat. That's why we use it to heat up our food! Anyways, the heat transfers from warmer substances to cooler ones, like the popcorn kernels. When the kernels are heated, the molecules in the water that's in the kernels expand and move around, away from each other. This is kind of like a bunch of people put into a hot room. Because it's so hot, the people are going to move around, away from each other so that they don't get too hot. Now let's say that these people are super strong, like superman, and the room go hotter. What are they going to do? Run around, jump up and down, and hit the walls, over and over again until the room breaks and explodes. Likewise, the molecules in the water of the kernel are expanding and expanding. When there's no more room to expand, the kernels finally pop! Thus, creating wonderful, delicious popcorn. Isn't this very "scientificy-ish" ?

Boy Receives Pioneering Stem Cell Surgery

In order to rebuild the windpipe of a 10 year old boy, whose name is not mentioned, British and Italian doctors have performed an impressive stem cell surgery, using stem cells developed from this boy's own body. This boy was born with a deadly condition known as long segment tracheal stenosis, which means that this kid had a tiny wind pipe that would not grow- kind of like breathing through a straw. This boy's condition deteriorated in November even though he has gone through many treatments. So, his doctors contacted Professor Paolo Macchiarini, a stem cell pioneer at the Careggi University Hospital in Florence. A Cardiothoracic surgeon professor said that the boy is recovering well so far. "The child is extremely well. He's breathing completely for himself and speaking, and he says it's easier for him to breathe than it has been for many years," the professor said.

For those who don't know, stem cells are cells that maintain the ability to replicate themselves as well as form other cells of the body. Many scientists and people have put in a lot of effort and money into the research of stem cells. It is amazing how some stem cell surgeries have gone well. I hope, personally, that the science in stem cells improves greatly. This will probably be able to cure many diseases because they'll be able to replace organs that don't function properly. And once this becomes reality, the human life span will probably increase.

Click HERE! for the source/article of this response

Aftershock Earthquake in Haiti

Today morning there was an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude in Haiti. This earthquake was the aftershock of last week's major 7.0 earthquake which effected everyone in the country.

"Aftershocks are earthquakes," said Carrieann Bedwell, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC). "When there's a large earthquake some like to say aftershocks occur because of a readjusting of the fault itself; it continually readjusts because it did have such a large energy release," Bedwell said.

Most aftershocks of major earthquakes are felt around 24-48 hours of the major earthquake. Infact, "even aftershocks are unpredictable," Bedwell had said to LiveScience. "We can predict that they are going to happen, but in terms of getting time and magnitude, that is unpredictable."

The shake was widel felt. It was even felt as far away as Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. However, it wasn't as strong as the earthwuake Haiti recieved last week, which was ten times stronger.

Earthquakes sound serious, especially if it's at a high magnitude. I, personally haven't experienced one, but considering how almost half the world is trying there best to help the Haitians. I think it's great that people around the world are helping. This promotes world peace. I also hope that Haiti, its people and as a country, will recover as soon as possible.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK!!!!!

Radio Podcast with General Pediatrician Natalia Sommers.

Click the link to listen to a clip of a radio interview with general pediatrician Natalia Sommers!

This is the link of the radio interview with Natalia Sommers...







*Note: This is NOT a real radio interview*

Cork to a Window: Class Response

Today, we did a lab which involved baking soda, vinegar, a test tube, and a cork. And can you guess what we had to do? We had to mix certain quantities of baking soda with certain quantities of vinegar into the test tube, cork it, and then watch the cork fly. But, here's the catch! We had to figure out how much of each substance we should mix and find out at what angle we should hold it in and at what height in order for the cork to pop up and hit a window which was about 686 cm away from us. Plus, our goal was to hit the window at least three times in a row. Tricky, huh? Not for our group... at first. We were able to hit it on our first try. However, we accidentally tweaked the measurements a little, which we shouldn't have done, or were too late to put on the cork. On the contrary, our third try was a success, whereas the forth wasn't. And so the pattern continued on and on until we started hitting above the window. We later discovered that we were holding the tube too high and the angle was too vertical. We then tried holding the test tube a couple of inches lower, and reduced the slope of the angle. Finally, our last try was a success, but we were unable to hit the window three times in a row due to lack of time.
What is the science behind this? Well, we mixed baking soda with vinegar, forming the substance CO2, widely known as carbon dioxide. Because this chemical change is occurring in a confined area (test tube with cork covering), pressure builds up. As the pressure builds up, the change and its reaction continues. More and more gas forms and there's nowhere else for the gas to go. Therefore, the pressure builds and builds until there's so much pressure that it pushes the cork up, forcing the cork to travel great distances, or just a couple of feet away depending on the proportion of the baking soda and the vinegar. However, if the proportion's too large and if there's too much pressure, the test tube might explode, causing the glass to shatter all over the place. As a result, people performing the experiment might get hurt so it's always important to wear goggles, or gloves perhaps. So be careful, and have fun!



















Information was recieved from personal experience and trusted resources, and was not recieved from any printed, broadcasted, or online resource.

Human Evolution: Are Humans Still Evolving?

Did you know that our human species, homo sapiens, is still evolving? Scientist led by Stephen Stearns of the Yale University say that if the natural selection of fitter traits is no longer driven by survival, then it is because of the differences of women's fertility. "Variations in reproductive success still exist among humans, and therefore some traits related to fertility continue to be shaped by natural selection," Stearns says. In fact, women who conceive more children are more likely to pass on traits to progeny. Stearns' team conducted an experiment with 2,238 postmenopausal women who were participating in the Framingham Heart Study. They examined the women's height, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and the amount of offspring they had produced. Their observations included that that it was the stout and slightly plump women who had more children. If the trends were to continue with no cultural change in the town for the next 10 generations, by 2409 the average woman in Framingham would be 2 cm shorter and 1 kg bigger, have a much healthier heart, have its first child five months earlier, and enter menopause 10 moths later than the average woman today. However, the rate of evolution is pretty slow. Even the minor of changes, such as cultural factors and natural eating and sleeping habits, could affect the trend. On the contrary, ever since the Industrial Revolution modern humans have grown stronger and taller, making evolution seem as if it's making people more fit. Evolutionary biologist from the University College London Steve Jones argues that variations in female fertility are much less of a significant factor than the differences in male fertility. "While it used to be that men had many children in older age to many different women, now men tend to have only a few children at a younger age with one wife. The drop in the number of older fathers has had a major effect on the rate of mutation and has at least reduced the amount of new diversity - the raw material of evolution. Darwin's machine has not stopped, but it surely has slowed greatly," says Jones .

But evolution is a long process. The predictions we make now are only predictions, and may not even occur. for example, the genetic traits of the parents play a big role on the offspring. It may be in the father's gene to have high blood pressure and cholesterol amount; and the mother may only be 5'2". The child may have high metabolism, thus causing it to not be overweight. In addition, the lifestyle of humans is constantly changing. Many people are getting less and less sleep, and it is when you sleep that the growth hormones travel in your body. Since transportation has become much easier, people are getting less exercise. Also, humans in selected areas are eating even more than before, causing rapid weight gain. All these factors apply in evolution. Evolution is the change that species go through to make living easier. So as lifestyles change, especially during this period of technology and easy living, the human body will also change in order for it to be compatible with ever-changing lifestyles.

Click Here! for the link.

"Surviving H1N1-- with baby in belly"

Several months pregnant, Amy Wolf has been watching the news for updates on the H1N1 virus, commonly know as the swine flu. Every time she'd watch or read the news, there would be something about pregnant women getting this flu. In fact, pregnant women are at a higher risk for getting the flu. Between April and May, 34% of pregnant women with were hospitalized; by June 6 died.

"I never heard of something affecting pregnant women more than anyone else" says Wolf.

The swine flu is a hot topic for pregnant women. Here are some questions that were asked.

Is the H1N1 vaccine safe for pregnant women?

Yes, it is safe and recommended for women who are pregnant. In fact, 120 expectant mothers are to participate in clinical trials across the country.

Should I get that swine flu vaccine or the flu shot?

The CDC recommends both.

If I get the swine flu vaccine while pregnant, will it protact my baby?

Dr. Buddy Creech says, "One of the things the body does very well is give antibodies to the babies." Also, women who get the flu shot while pregnant help build immunity while pregnant for their child which is he;pful during the first few months of their lives.

I think that the media is making a big deal out of the swine flu. They are scaring their viewers and putting unnecessary thoughts into their heads. However, it is also important for expectant mothers to beware and watch out. They should avoid highly populated areas where the swine flu has struck.

Click here! to view the website where I got the information from...

Plasticity

The mantle exhibits the property of plasticity. Plasticity is when liquid sometimes acts as a solid. To get an understanding of what plasticity is and how it works, we did a lab on plasticity with corn starch and water.

When you dip your hand in the mixture, it feels like a liquid. But when you stirr the mixture, it feels chunky. I would describe this mixture as liquid, unless squeezed hwere it turns solid. If you were the poke you finger very quickly, then the mixture seems solid.

This miwture is very similar to the earth's mantle because when you apply pressure, heat, and energy to both, they harden.

Response to October Sky

         Recently, we watched the movie October Sky. This movie is about a kid named Homer Hickam's ambition about rockets after he observes the Sputnik in an October night flying through the stars. He then is inspired to create a rocket of his own with the helps of his friends, Roy Lee and Odell, along with science geek Quintin. They form the Big Creek Missile Agency (BCMA), a rocket launching spot. Unfortunately, his father John did not approve of this and wanted his son to pursue the Coalwood (of West Virginia) tradition to work in the mine. The disadvantages of working in a mine is that it is likely to get killed by accidents and coughing due to breathing in coal dust. Homer and his friends use the successful rocket they built and compete in a science fair and win. Because they won, one of them gets to go to another big science fair in Indiana and wins there again! This movie connects to science, math, and our character education.

         October Sky relates to science because of the movie having to do with rockets. The boys try many times to build a successful rocket with correct proportions and eventually succeed. Along with rockets, there are coalmines. Many of the citizens in Coalwood work in the towns' well-known coal mine, hence the name "Coalwood". Coal is a very useful rock in science. Coal is also used to power trains, as electricity, heat up places, as well as being given to people on the "Bad List" by Santa Claus. In the scene where they show Sputnik also relates to science as Sputnik being the first human-made object to orbit the Earth.

           This movies involves math Homer uses the equation from the book Miss Riley gave as a birthday present to prove that one of the boys' rockets didn't cause a fire. When, Homer drops out of school in order to work for the mine because his dad is unable to work due to injuries in the mine, in his spare time he figures out a very difficult equation with no help. 

             The movies also exhibits character education when the boys show empathy towards Quentin, a science geek by letting him join their group.  In addition, towards the end of the story John shows cooperation by finally attends his son's last rocket launch, thus given the honor to push the button in order for the rocket to take off.

              October Sky is a wonderful movie to watch. It's also inspirational because it shows that even an ordinary boy can pursue his extraordinary dreams. For further information, this movie is based on a real story with the real Homer Hickam. So why don't you rent this movie and watch it!