Pyrotechnic interview

Interviewing a pyrotechnic.
http://omegapride.podomatic.com/player/web/2009-12-11T11_36_30-08_00

Chemical Reactions Narrative.

Our goal for this lab was to hit the window three times in a row with a cork using chemical reactions. The supplies that we had to work with was vinegar, baking soda, a test tube, and a cork. Our first attempt to hit the window was to have 12 ml of baking soda, and 20 ml of vinegar. That try was pretty good, we got 614 cm. Our next try was way worse. We thought it would be better if we had less vinegar and baking soda. So we put 7.5 ml of baking soda and 12 ml of vinegar. But we then realized that less substances meant less pressure which brought us down to 270 cm. We decided that we should just raise the baking soda to 10 ml and keep the vinegar the same. That was worse than our second attempt. We got 269 cm. This time we kept our baking soda the same and raised our vinegar to 20 ml. That try was almost as good as our first try, because we got 545 cm. We decided that we should keep our measurements the same, but to make a bigger reaction, we needed more baking soda. So we raised it up 2 ml. That was our best so fare. We got 687 cm. Even though we did good on that one, we decided to change it. We left the baking soda alone and lowered the vinegar by 8 ml. We got 150 cm. Next, we put the vinegar back to the way it was before and raised the baking soda by 1 ml. Right as we were about to shoot, our cork got stuck so we got 0 cm as our distance. We had lost hope by then, but then a miracle happened. We hit the window. We hit the window by going back to the basics, which was our first try. Next, we hoped to hit the window again, and we did by keeping everything the same but raising the vinegar by 2 ml. If we hit the window one more time. We would get our extra credit. We used the same measurements, but this time our angle was off, so we only got 540 cm. We used the same measurements once more and we hit the window. We hit the window once more using the same measurements. We only had one more chance to hit the window. We decided to use the same measurements because we hit the window four times with those measurements. We shot the cork and it was about to hit the window, but it hit the metal part of the bottom of the window and bounced onto the window. We thought we lost it, but our science teacher let us have it. So in the end, we got our ten points extra credit for this assignment.

Unicorn Fly Discovered

About 100 million years ago there were dinosaurs. But they weren't the only animals that roamed the planet. Recently, scientist have found a three horned insect about the size of a fly. They call this insect a unicorn fly, but the scientific term for this creature is Cascoplecia insolitis. And because of it's bizarreness, scientist have placed it in a new insect family. The bug has small razor teeth that scientist have believed that it's for munching up pollen and that this insect is a pollen collector. It has most of the characteristics of a fly. A couple of this animals characteristics are that it has long legs, and a spiral antenna. SCientist have found it in an ember so since the animal kept its natural shape the scientists can look at the body parts and do experiments on it to find out more stuff about it.

My link:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48836/description/Unicorn_fly_of_the_Cretaceous

The Scientific Method

In our science class, we have been learning about the scientific method. The first step of the scientific method is to ask a question. This basically means to wonder about what you're doing. The second step of the scientific method is to do research. This means to find out things about your topic. The third step of the scientific method is to construct a hypothesis. This means to make an educated guess about your topic. The fourth step of the scientific method is to test with an experiment. This means to test your notes and see if your hypothesis is correct. The fifth step of the scientific method is to analyze your results. This means to check and see if your results are correct. The sixth step of the scientific method is to draw a conclusion. This means to find out the answer. The seventh step of the scientific method is to see if your final answer is true or false. If your answer is true then you report your results. But if your answer is false, then you have to try again. These are the steps of the scientific method that we learned in our science class.

Why Flamingos Stand on One Leg

Scientists have watched flamingos daily and they've found out that when sleeping, flamingos stand on one leg. But the question remains, why? Matthew Anderson, came up with two theories, one was that sanding on one leg would reduce muscle fatigue and they would be able to run away if a predator came. The second theory was that it maintained the body temperature. So Anderson wanted to test these theories so he watched flamingos over a period of time to see what would happen. As Anderson watched the flamingos and he realized that flamingos run faster when both of their legs are out. So that eliminated one of his theories. So he decided to test the other theory, so he watched flamingos in cool and hot weather and it seems that in hot weather, the flamingos legs are out except for when they are in water, because water is a major heat loss for flamingos. But in cool or cold weather, they stand on one leg to conserve body heat. So in the end, Anderson figured out what the problem was in flamingo stance, and it was thermoregulation.


http://www.livescience.com/animals/090917-flamingos-one-leg.html

Plasticity Lab

In our science class, we did a lab about the structer of the earths plasticity. In this lab, we mixed five teaspoons of cornstarch and twenty milliliters of water together. The we added a couple of drops of food coloring in the mixture and stirred untill hard. We eventually got a solid and a liquid, because it was a solid when you applied pressure to it such as the crust applying pressure to the mantle. And when you let it be, it would melt into goo. And when you hit it or pushed your finger in fast, it would hurt your hand, but when you pushed your finger in slowly, your finger would melt into it. This mixture is similar to the earth's mantle, because, like the mantle it is like an iron liquid.

October Sky

In our unit, we watched a movie called October Sky. In this movie, as Homer {the main character} watches a satellite fly across the sky, he decides that he will build a rocket. Next Homer get his friends to help him and then they get some supplies from his dad's Friend who's a welder. Next he builds his rocket. Unfortunately, his flight didn't go so well. Once his dad found out about this, he threw away all of Homers rocket stuff. But that didn't stop Homer, Homer got all of his stuff and found a new spot to launch his rocket, so it would not hit anything. And after several more weeks and tries to build his rocket, Homer finally got it right. And his first successful rocket flight will be remembered throughout history for the people who saw it.