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.

Severe Weather Project Reflection

12/12/14 Tsunamis

Summary

This week our class worked on our weather projects. My group is doing a weather broadcast. So far over the week I have been researching about tsunamis. I learned many things such as what a tsunami is, the geographical occurrence of tsunamis, and what are the ingredients of making a tsunami. A tsunami is a series of very large waves that are formed by underwater earthquakes. Another thing I learned was that four out every five tsunamis was caused by and in the ring of fire. The ring of fire is an dangerous area where many earthquakes are caused.

Backwards-looking Reflection

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 I started researching about tsunamis I thought they were only very big waves. I knew that tsunamis were very dangerous and large. I already knew what a tsunami was and how it is caused by earthquakes but I didn't really know specifically what caused them or what you should do when a tsunami happens. A cool fact that I learned was that things can catch on fire from a tsunami and that debris floating on top of a wave can catch and stay on fire. I also learned that most tsunamis are caused by the ring of fire.

Inwards-looking Reflection

What were your goals for this week? Did your goals change as you worked? Did you meet your goals?

This week we had to write a daily goal, if we accomplished our goal, what our next steps will be, and any questions we had. So far I have always met my goals. Today we learned about writing SMART goals. S stands for specific, M stands for measurable, A stands for attainable, R stands for realistic, and T stands for timeframed. My goals did not change over the week and I think I wrote very SMART goals.

Quiz Makeup for 5th Weather EdHEADS 12/08/14 Quiz

Here are my answers to the questions I got wrong on the quiz.

How do weather patterns generally move across the United States?
Open the image before answering.

A) West to East

B) East to West

C)North to South

D)South to North

The correct answer for this question is west to east. The reason why is because we receive most of our wind from Alaska. Alaska is on the north west of us and its weather pattern blows east. This is why the weather pattern in the US moves west to east. The answer that I chose on the quiz was east to west. This answer is wrong because the wind pattern in the United States does not go east to west. The reason why is because since we receive most of our wind from Alaska and Alaska is to the west of us our wind pattern is from west to east. If Alaska wa on the east of us east to west would be correct. Since Alaska is on the north west side of the US the weather patterns moving across the US is not east to west. Next time i will be more careful and refer more to my notes to help me answer questions.

To predict the weather, you do NOT need to know which of the following:

A)Front Speed and Direction
B)the Distance of a Front or Weather System from the place you are Forecasting for
C)the Current Weather Conditions
D)the Current Phase of the Moon

The correct answer is D. The reason why is because d is the only thing not needed to predict the weather. You need to have A) front speed and direction because with that information you could more easily keep track of where a storm is going. Also, it is one of the things you need to tell people when you are broadcasting weather. I chose B for my answer. You would need B) the distance of a front or weather system from the place you are forecasting for because with that distance you can tell how far the storm (or any form of weather) is from you and where the weather you are predicting is. Another reason why is because even if you are correctly predicting the weather there you wouldn't even know where you are predicting the weather for. That is why my answer was wrong. The reason why you need to know C) the current weather conditions is because that is the most important thing. You definitely could NOT predict or broadcast the weather without knowing what the weather conditions are. Knowing the weather conditions is the most important thing because without knowing them you would have no idea at all what the weather was like. The correct answer is D) the current phase of the moon. The reason why B is correct is because the phases of the moon has nothing to do with weather like the sun does. Weather does not depend on the moon and the moon does not affect it. The sun on the other hand has a lot to do with weather. Next time when answering a question like this I will read the question and answers a lot more carefully and think about my answer before I answer.

Which of the following systems would most likely have the greatest amount of moisture associated with it?

A

B

C

D

The correct answer is A. The reason why the answer is not B is because up where B blows the air that is where mountains are located. The mountains bolack all the moisture from blowing in. In A however the moisture can blow in freely in and all the moisture is collected. In A there is nothing to hold back the moisture unlike the mountains in B. The reason why my answer C and the option D are not correct is because the H represents heat. The heat sucks up all the moisture so that way there is less moisture. Next time, when I see a question like this I will think carefully about the pictures and observe what is happening and in the pictures.

12/5/2014 Weather

Summary

This week we studied about the water cycle and weather. We finished our water cycle comic strips in the beginning of the week then learned about weather the rest of the week. In class we did a water cycle model that represented the water cycle. We took notes about weather and learned about different things that have to do with weather such as wind speed, temperature, and wind direction.

Backwards-looking Reflection

Have you done a similar kind of work in the past (earlier in the year or in a previous grade; in school or out of school)?

In third grade, I also learned about the water cycle. We also did a demonstration of the water cycle similar to how we did it in class. In art we made posters that show the water cycle. They were cartoon diagrams ssimilarto the comic strips we made in class this week. This year during each topic we learn about we uusuallylook at a powerpoint to learn and take notes off of. This year we have done that multiple times.

Inwards-looking Reflection

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

This week I was really proud of my water cycle comic. It was about Percy the Demidrop and his journey through the water cycle. I named it Percy the Demidrop and his Slippery Adventure! I spent a lot of time working on the colouring making sure it was good quality and looked very nice. I used a lot of important science words such as writing precipitation instead of rain, accumulation, evaporation, and condensation.