Weekly Blog 02/27

Surprise

          This week, one thing that really surprised me was that in Argentina, the court gave rights of freedom and liberty to apes. I was reading in Newsela and I found an article about how the court in Argentina gave rights to apes since they believed that animals should have the same equal rights as humans. I was surprised because I didn't think any court would take this seriously to actually make these court rules. This tells me that many people have a love for animals and respect them. If you believe in something you should make it right no matter how random your idea is. Also, you shouldn't doubt someone just because there idea is different.

Summary

              In this article it was about how an incredibly rare Sierra Nevada red fox was recently spotted in Yosemite National Park. This was the first sightings in about 100 years. Scientists caught two videotapes of a red fox on camera. They are trying to find them more and learn more about them by constantly setting up more cameras and putting hair snares around the cameras. A hair snare is a trap that catches animal hair. The red fox is very rare and it is illegal to catch or trap them. There are under 50 that exist in the world now. “The chance of running into them is very unusual,” park spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.

Citation

"Rare Red Fox Strikes a Pose at Yosemite." Newsela. Newsela, 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <https://newsela.com/articles/yosemite-fox/id/7201/>.

Backwards

What connections can you make between the article you read and work you have read/done previously?

        This article is similar to another article I previously read about white lions and how they are extremely rare. This reminded me of the white lion article because they were both about very endangered species and how scientists are trying to preserve them and study more about them. They were both very similar.

Inwards

Why did you choose this article?

         I choose this article for many reasons. I like to read about articles that I had no idea about before. I think that it is cool to learn about new topics and things that I never even thought of considering happening. Like in this article for example, I found it cool how the fox has rarely ever been seen. Also, I never heard about the fox before now. New topics are more interesting to read about because I am discovering about a whole new thing, not something old that I already know a lot about. Also, new topics are more interesting for me because I get to learn about different things that seem interesting and fun to learn about. 

Outward

How does the information provided in this article affect the future?

The information in this article affects the future because if the cameras and hair snares work scientists would be able to get more information about the red fox in the future and be able to help preserve it. By preserving the red fox scientists would also be affecting the environments future because they are growing the population of a endangered species. With more of that species the environment would be different around there.

Forward

One thing I would suggest to the author to expand the article is to include more actual scientific information about the article. If he/she added more detail about the actual results and information  the scientists have it would make the article more interesting. Also, it would be more informative for readers and would teach them more.

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Matter Spicy Nodes

1/30 Weekly Blog

Surprise

This week one thing that surprised me was how fast my brothers and my kendama shipped. I got a kendama as a present from my parents and the expected delivery date was next Monday. Instead, I got it on Thursday. This tells me that kendama usa ships their products really fast and that next time I should probably expect things to ship or come at an unexpected rate. I should basically expect the unexpected.

Summary

This week we learned about atoms and matter. We had to read about the two topics then once we finished reading we would finish a worksheet. We also created birdbrain accounts and did reading there. I learned a lot this week.

Backwards

In what ways do you think you need to improve?

I think that I could improve by doing my atoms worksheet quicker. I had to finish it on the night it was due at the very last minute before I went to sleep. Next time, I will focus more on my work and get it done quicker so I don't have to worry about homework.

Inward

What did/do you find frustrating about the work done this week?

One thing I found frustrating about my work this week was that on my birdbrain account I had trouble logging in. Eventually, I was able to log in but I still did not finish my work since I got tired and fell asleep. Next time I will do my work first and earlier so i will finish it for sure.

Outward

In what ways does your work meet the standards for this assignment? In what ways does it not meet the standards? 

I think on my worksheets my work met all the standards but my birdbrain assignment did not. My worksheets met all the standards because it was completely filled in, turned in on time, and correct. On my bird brain assignment I did not meet the standards because it was incomplete and not finished on time.

Forward

What would you change if you had a chance to redo the work over again?

If I had a chance to redo the work I did (my birdbrain assignment) I would make sure it was completed and that I tried my hardest on it. Also, I would aim for 100% on the quiz and carefully read the text. Next time we have a birdbrain assignment I will make sure I did this.

Weekly Blog 01/26 Mystery Crystals

Summary

This week we compared different crystals to find the mystery crystal. We had to find out the mystery crystal which was either salt, sugar, msg, or epsom. We performed a series of experiments to find out which one was the mystery. We are still not sure yet though. Everyone in the class still has different hypothesis.

Surprise

This week one thing that surprised me was that the epsom salt was not the mystery crystal. In the beginning I thought it was most likely the epsom salt because it looked most like the epsom salt the most. If was flaky kind of like the epsom salt. When we did a test where we put the two in water, we found that the epsom salt looked nothing like the unknown at all. The epsom salt didn't dissolve AT ALL and just stayed and floated in the water while the unknown dissolved a little bit slowly. The unknown was in very small pieces compared to the epsom salt.

Backward

In what ways have you gotten better at this kind of work? 

I think that I have gotten better at finishing questions on our worksheets. I can now quickly write down informative and specific answers. We often need to quickly finish the worksheets since sometimes we don't have enough time. Usually we answer questions that ask if your hypothesis was correct not correct. For example, after conducting this experiment do you have enough information for sure to tell what the unknown is.

Forward

One thing I would like to improve upon is ...

One thing that I would like to improve upon is to after I finish the experiment clean it up quickly so I have more time to finish the worksheets. Since I think that I need more time to finish my worksheets I will clean up quickly.

Inward

What was especially satisfying to you about your work this week?

This week I really liked how my table was very careful on the experiments. For example, when we measured the 10 paperclips with the powders we made sure they were very even and accurate.

Outward 

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? How was it similar or different from others?

Most of the time everyone did their work the same way since we followed the same instructions. We probably did not make it exactly the same though. Some groups may have put in slightly different amounts of powder into the cups.

Weekly Blog 01/16 M&Ms

Surprise

This week one thing that surprised me was that I had a green tea flavored cake for my birthday that actually tasted good. I have never ate a green tea cake until now. I thought it was going to taste bad and bitter since it was tea flavored but surprisingly it was DELICIOUS!!!!! It wasn't too sweet  or too bitter. I learned that I shouldn't be picky about food and try everything because sometimes things can taste better than you expected.

Summary

This week we continued doing M&M science in our chemistry unit. We did science experiments mostly involving how fast the color coating of M&Ms dissolve and will they form the line if we change different variables. We also practiced writing hypothesis and recording observations as well as drawing pictures to illustrate our conclusions. On Tuesday we did our last M&M science experiment. I had a lot of fun this week.

Backwards

How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before?

Before we started our chemistry unit I knew a lot about the scientific method already since we studied it earlier in the year. This helped me refresh my memory about the procedures and other stuff. In my old school science was not a important subject and we did not perform experiments often. I learned that we can only have ONE variable and that a variable is something that you change or control in a experiment. I also learned that M&M colors don't mix if put together in water. A interesting thing I learned was that when you do experiments you test something but do not take notes, when you do science it is like performing a experiment but recording all the information you gathered.

Inward

What was especially satisfying to you about your work this week?

One thing that I was really proud of this week was my experiment data pictures. I think I drew them very detailed and accurate. I was also proud about my notes. I made sure I had everything written down that was required and I also wrote down things that interested me such as the chemical change that happened in class. green + clear vinegar = red + yellow ammonia = green + red + vinegar = orange

white powder + water + red/orange/brownish = dark purple 

Outward

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? How was it similar or different from others?

Most of the time everyone did the experiment the same way but sometimes we all did it differently. Sometimes we did it differently because each table group had to write their own instructions. Because of this not everyone did the experiment exactly the same way. Everyone did certain things differently though. For example, everyone wrote their own hypothesis. Even if two people said yes for the experiment they would probably each have a different reason why.

Forward

What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week? 

A goal I would like to complete next week is to turn in all my data completed and on time. I also want my data to be more specific when writing down observations.

01/09 M&Ms

Surprise

           On Friday, we did an experiment asking if when two m&ms are put together will the colors blend. My hypothesis was that they will blend together and form a new color because when you put together watercolor paint together the color does blend and also because they are made from the same ingredients and food coloring. I was very surprised when we conducted the experiment because instead of blending together like I thought it would the colors just stopped moving and started moving in a different direction. Everytime the colors touched it just made a barrier between the colors. The colors are like oil and water, they never can blend and always stay separate.

Summary

          This week in class we started out chemistry unit. We worked on doing M&M experiments. Each day we had to perform a experiment and write down data. All the experiments were about the dissolvement of the colors on the M&Ms. I reviewed the scientific method and learned about how to conduct a successful experiment and write a good hypothesis.

Backward-Looking

How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before?

          Before we started the chemistry unit I didn't know much about performing experiments except for my knowledge on the scientific method. We learned about the scientific method in the beginning of the year but after that some of the information was forgotten. Thats why we had to review the scientific method. Now I know that in a science experiment you can only have ONE variable. A variable is  a thing that you change in an experiment. With more than one variable your experiment will be unfair. I also learned that when you place to different colored M&Ms in water the colors will not blend together.

Inward-Looking

What did/do you find frustrating about the work done this week?

This week I found only one thing frustrating. When we performed the M&M experiments it was hard to drop the M&M where you want it to go. On the experiments that used only one M&M it was hard to get to the exact middle. When we used two or more M%M we tried to make the experiment fair by making them the same distance from the second line in the racing M&Ms. Everytime we drop them into the water they slide in a different direction. That's why in racing M&Ms the green won because it was closer to the second line than all the others.

Outward-Looking

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? How was it similar or different from others?

             Yes in most experiments. For most of the experiments all the tables followed the same instructions and did the experiment the same way. The only thing we did different was that we used different colored M&Ms. In one of the experiments though we all wrote our own instructions. All the groups probably had the same idea but did the experiment a little differently.

Forward-Looking

What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week?

        Next week my goal is to do my blog on Wednesday, turn in all my data, and make sure to bring my science notebook everyday. Instead of doing my blogs on Friday I will do them on Wednesday. Also, I will continue to turn in my data every day. I will ring my science notebook to take notes or refer back to my notes for help.