Sunday, March 27, 2016

Weekly Blog 3/2716 - Ocean Currents

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Ocean_surface_currents.jpg

Summary

About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered in water. Most of this water is from oceans. Ocean currents are created by density in different bodies of water and wind. While the denser water sinks, the thinner water will rise creating a pattern.  In the northern hemisphere, ocean currents travel clockwise whereas, in the southern hemisphere, the currents travel count-clockwise. The earth rotates west (counter-clockwise) which affects the movement of the currents. Without the earth's rotation, the ocean currents would just travel in the direction towards the equator. Image opening a set of double doors, the right door is the northern hemisphere while the left door is the southern hemisphere. When you open them, the right door goes right (clockwise) while the left door swings in the opposite direction (counter-clockwise).

SP2: Developing and using models

I used models when I planned different routes across the world. My group and I looked a globe model of the world. The model helped us visualize the longest distance we would be able to cross without backtracking our steps on different continents as well as the ocean. I developed models when I drew my own map of the world on a paper. This was to study latitude and longitude lines. as well as geography to further understand the ocean and such. One thing I learned was that all the oceans on earth are connected. The Pacific, Atlantic, Indian etc. oceans aren't really separate oceans, they're parts of one huge body of water. 

XCC: Stability and Change

One thing I noticed is that over time the earth is constantly changing. Scientists believe that approximately 300 million years ago, all of our continents were connected in a sort of supercontinent called Pangaea. Over time, it started breaking apart making the earth we know now. However, one thing that constantly stayed the same is the fact that there is only one actual ocean. During Pangaea, There was one huge body of water (besides lakes, rivers, and etc.) All our oceans are technically still one big body of water.

What is the time scale for this system to remain stable or change?

The system of earth's changing geography takes a long time to change. The earth gradually shifts after earthquakes and such though it takes a veeerrryyy long time. If Pangaea was formed about 300 million years ago and it started breaking up 175 million years ago, that means Pangaea stayed the same slowly moving for 125 million years. As you can see, the geographical changing of the earth is a very slow process.

Multiplier - What type of learner were you this week?

This week I was a creator mutant. This is because I was studying the globes and communicating the information I found to my group. While some people in our group contributed to finding data, others analyzed the data together and wrote down our answer.




Monday, March 14, 2016

WAC - Who killed the fish in the Gray Bay?

3/14/2016
Dear Gray Times Editors,

          This letter will address fish kill problem going on in the Gray Bay. I am pleased to be able to tell you I have discovered the true culprit of the fish kill. Due to the knowledge I have gained over the past few weeks, I can now say for certain that the killer was in fact Golf Course owner.... SANDY TRAPP!! As you know, as of five years ago fish have been continuously dying off at a rate of a thousand per year. I have been conducting experiments and researching to find the cause of this problem. The data which I have received from the fish autopsies has confirmed my suspicions. Out of the 50 fish they tested, 21 were killed by insufficient amounts of oxygen in their waters. Sandy Trapp is responsible for this problem due to 3 important reasons. She has been asking her employees to add absurd amounts of water and fertilizer in the grass, fertilizer contains phosphates which cause chain reactions killing fish, and the fish autopsy proves that most of the fish died from oxygen loss .Now to explain what phosphates, fertilizer, and oxygen depletion have to do with each other.

          With the help of some special techniques, I have uncovered evidence proving that Sandy Trapp's Golf Course water drainage is full of phosphates. Our evidence came from a classified digital source. I found that Sandy Trapp and one of her employees have been found reasoning over the use of fertilizer and water. Sandy first spoke to concerning browning grass at the eighth hole. "It looks like some of the grass out by the eighth hole is turning a little brown. Let's step up the fertilizing and watering around here" he/she suggested. Please note, the employee has asked for his or her identity to remain confidential. Continuing on, the employee replied to Sandy telling her that the water was probably from a dog that slipped past security and peed on the grass. He/She told her the grass would return green naturally. The employee said, "We're already using more than enough fertilizer, and watering too much, in my opinion, I don't 't know where all that water goes". In other words, the employee respectfully declined Sandy's suggestion. This conversation ended with Sandy telling Anonymous that the grass must be kept green at ALL times. She told her employee to forget about the dog and just add more fertilizer and water. The use of the quotes above has been permitted. 

          Fertilizer contains phosphates which are killing fish in the Gray Bay. But how do phosphates kill fish? Well, fertilizer contains substances called phosphates which promote plant growth. By watering the grass too much, all the extra drainage will wash up into the nearby waters affecting plant life since phosphates are mixed in with the drainage. The phosphates will cause algal blooms. Algal blooms are large outbursts of algae plant life. Even with all the fish in the water, there will still be some algae left uneaten. The algae will rot attracting bacteria. The bacteria will eat the rotten algae and deplete the oxygen in the body of water. Without oxygen, fish can't breathe or survive ultimately killing them and decreasing their population. 

         Like I mentioned earlier, scientists have been conducting fish autopsies on different bodies from the Gray Bay. 14 of the fish died from oil-related reasons, 8 from chlorine, 7 from unknown and a whopping 21 from oxygen loss! Out of the 50 fish, 42% of them died. Let's connect some dots shall we? Hmmm, lots of fish are dying from oxygen depletion. Phosphates cause oxygen depletion. Sandy Trapp uses lots of fertilizer in her grass. Which by the way contains phosphates, the things that cause oxygen loss. Which did I mention, fish are dying from? See the connection between these three points yet? Anyway, this piece of evidence clearly states that Sandy has something to do with the death of those 21 (and counting) fish. In the fish autopsy, it stated in the report, " 21 of the fish had clamped fins which indicate that they died from not enough oxygen". Even with all this evidence, people can easily claim that the phosphates in the water aren't coming from them. Let's confirm once and for all that Sandy is for sure, in charge of this mass fish murder. 

          During an interview, Sandy told the reporters "The Golf Course is on the other side of the hill,
and our water doesn't even drain into the pond! Besides, we already know who's really guilty. It's the killer cow patties and the dirty sock juice from the laundry! ". This makes sense, at the cattle ranch they have to feed there coews with grass right? That menas they also use fertilizer. The phosphates could have easily been from them. Right? Wrong. Though phosphates from the cattle ranch makes sense, I have proof that it isn't from them. A team of scientists have conducted an experiment .
that tests the level of phosphates in certain water samples. They tested 3 different water samples, all of which were from possible suspects living around James Pond (the place where the phosphates are  coming from). By placing an indicator in the water sample, you are able to see if the water has high or ok levels of phosphates. If the sample changes color, then your water has too many phosphates. The only sample that changed color was the .... Golf Course. that proves that the phosphates are coming from Sandy. Also, if you remember correctly, during her chat with her employee, the employee talking about how she didn't know where their draiage went. If they didn't know where their water drained into, how did she know that it didn't drain into James Pond?  Time to review all of our newfound information.

          We know that Sandy Trapp puts excessive amount of fertilizer and water in her green grass. Fertilizer contains pohphates. A chemical that promotes plat growth leading to the death of fish. in the recent fish qutopsy, 21 out of 50 fish died from oxygen loss. Oxygen depletion claimed the lives of most fish tested. Sandy Trapp puts uses deadly fertilizer. Fish are dying due to phosphates and fertilizer in James Pond. The Golf Course is located right next to James Pond. Hmmm. Even better, our experiment shows the Golf Course is the only place near James Pond with too many phosphates in its drainage. All this evidence clearly points to how Sandy Trapp has been killing fish just by producing her green grass. One solution I suggest is to invest in artificial grass.. This way, the grass will always be green, they don't have to spend as much time taking care of it, Sandy wont have to hire people to water her grass, and she will save money by not having to buy fertilizer. Even their water bill will go down drarastically. Not only will artificial grass benefit the Golf Course in so many ways, it will also save the lives of fish in the Gray Bay.


Sunday, March 13, 2016

Weekly Blog 3/13/2016 - The Gray Bay

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Water_pollution_fish_kill.jpg/1024px-Water_pollution_fish_kill.jpg

Summary

As of 5 years ago, fish in the Gray Bay have started to die off. This is due to several reasons such as chlorine, low pH levels, sediment, and phosphates in the water. Chlorine gives fish chemical burns. It will burn the fishes gills. The chlorine is let into the water by the water slide. One interesting fact is that the water slide opened up at the same time the fish started dying. The second contributor to the death of the fish is low pH levels. The lower the pH level, the more acidic the water is. Water with too much acid can prevent fish from reproducing as well as kill them. Acid rain is causing the acidity in the water. Phosphates causes things called algal blooms. With too much algae in the water, fish wont be able to consume it all so a lot of it will rot. The bacteria will then eat the rotten algae and multiply. With so much bacteria in the water, the germs will cause oxygen deprivation which will kill the fish. As you can see, the murder of all this fish in the Gray Bay is caused by many different factors.

SP3: Planning and carrying out investigations

I planned out investigations when I read different files about Phosphates. I had to read these files so I could understand the meaning of my data that I collected from the experiment I was about to do. I carried out an investigation when I conducted experiments to find the culprit of the Gray Bay fish kill with my table group. In this phosphate investigation, we measured the phosphate levels in water drainage from the Gold Course, Small Town, and Cattle Ranch. We found that the place where the phosphates in the James Pond water was coming from was the Golf Course. 

XCC - Cause and Effect

One cause and effect relationship I noticed during class was the chain of events that occurred in the gold course leaving phosphates in James Pond. The events started with a dog. When the dog started peeing on the grass in the golf course, the green grass turned brown. Because of this, the owner of the golf course, Sandy Trap ordered her employee Mo Lawn to add more fertilizer and water to the over watered and fertilizered grass. After that, Mo Lawn did as she was told. However, that caused the excess water to drain into Jame Pond. Since fertilizer contains phosphates, an algal bloom occurred in the Pond creating lots of algae. At first, the algae will increase the population of fish. Even with lots of fish, they wont be able to eat all of the algae so the algae will rot. Like I described earlier, bacteria will come and so on. As you can see, by peeing on the grass, the dog has apparently killed several fish. This example of cause and effect is extremely long.

Explain how this relationship helps you "take over the world" - Habits of mind (extra credit)

This relationship demonstrates how small actions can lead to big problems. It teaches me that whenever a do work, I should always be careful and pay attention to even the smallest details to make sure everything is right. When you are ignorant to problems, it may lead to harder problems. Another thing I learned was that I when I solve problems, I need to think of the effect it will have on everyone. For example, Sandy Trap did solve her browning grass problem. The bad part is that she caused another problem by acting hastily. You won't be able to take over the world if you don't pay attention to everything and think about something before you do it.

Multiplier - What type of learner were you this week?

This week, I think I was a creator mutant. This is because I contributed to the class discussions and review of what we are learning about in the beginning of every class period.