Current event # 9

NASA's WISE Mission Offers a Taste of Galaxies to Come

Author: Whitney Clavin

Date: 25 May 2011

Due date: 30 May 2011

This article talks about 9 new galaxies. These new galaxies are near to our galaxy. THE MILKY WAY). These galaxies are different than ours, they have a different color and different size and shape. As we can't see them with our eyes, thanks to the infrared light we can see them. If  we see dusty yellow in the sky that means that a new star or galaxy is forming and if it is blue, it means that is an old population of stars. Wise (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission,) found out about these galaxies. It was launched in 2009.

In my opinion, this article was pretty interesting and it was kind of exciting for me and our planet because now we have other 9 new galaxies. And also, it is pretty cool how a robot found out about them and not a human. I wonder if it is near the milky way  humans could go and see it. 

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110525.html

what i want to know and what iknow

SO i know: that astronomy is the study of the stars and the universe and i know that Neil Armstrong was the first human to go on the moon and we have 9 planets in are solar system.

What i want to know: if there are other planets of course there are but other one that i know and will it really be the end of the world in the year 2011. and will there be another planet like earth.

SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSES

What are eclipses?: 

There are two types of eclipses solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.solar eclipses are events where the moon travels between the earth and sun, lunar eclipses are when the sun and the moon are on the opposite sides of the earth.

Why do they occur?: 

They occur because the Earth and the Moon change positions.

When will the next lunar eclipse occur?: 

The next lunar eclipse will be on June 15.

How often they occur? 

The lunar eclipses are more frequent then the solar ones.

How do we view an eclipse?

We can see the solar eclipse with special glasses.

Does everyone get to see it? 

No.

What are the dangers of viewing an eclipse?

Blindness and damage eyeball.

 

When is the next eclipse?

The next total solar eclipse will occur on November 13th 2012.

What did ancient people used to think the eclipse was?

The ancient people used to think that the eclipse was a bad sign. Usually they were afraid of it. In Ancient Greece, they thought that if they were in a war that something bad would happen if they saw an eclipse. The Chinese had two guesses. The first guess was that the snake attacked the sun and they would make a lot of noise in order to make it go away. And the second guess was that the eclipse were three flames eating the sun.

Moon Phases Lab

For helping us to understand the phases we did labs, we drew and we made blog post on moon phases. Well, I noticed on the animated thing of the moon that it showed when it was day and when it was the night and how much time it took and at what time it was midnight and when the sun raised and when it was noon and when it was time for the sunset. Because the moon goes around the earth and it depends where we live in the world in what part. Well, making the model didn't really help me, but the two things that help me a lot were the video and the simulation. The disadvanteges of making a model and using it are that it can break and we are all using the flash light at the same time and the reflections of the other flash lights confused me. If I needed to make a model, I would draw it just like this:

lab

When it is winter in the northern hemisphere which areas on earth get the most concentrated light? Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?

When it is winter in the northern hemisphere the southern hemisphere gets more light and when it is summer in the northern hemisphere the northern hemisphere gets more light. When it is summer in the northern hemisphere, the northern hemisphere gets more light.

COMPERE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OF HOW LIGHT HITS THE AREA HALFWAY BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND THE NORTH POLE DURING WINTER AND DURING SUMMER?

When it is winter in a area it is halfway between of the north pole and the equator it is dark  and  there is a little light on it. 

If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat disturbed in each square?

There would be more heat in every square.

According to your observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest? Which areas are consistently warmest? Why?
The coolest areas are the ones that are south like the north pole and the warmest are the ones that are on the equator. 

What time of year will the toothpick's shadow be the longest?when will be the shadow the shortest?
The shadow will be the longest in fall and spring and the shortest in summer and winter.

How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the sun's rays? 
The more directly the light hits the Earth the more rays it will receive and there will be more heat.


Use your observations of an Earth-sun model to write an explanation of what causes seasons?

The seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth and the rotational axis.

Conclusion: 
First my partner and I did not get the lab and had problems with it. We weren't the only ones to have problems; other groups too. So the seasons are caused by the earth tilt and the rotational axis and they depend from the position of the earth.
   

reflection on the wave unit (how does the use and study affect social well-being)

In this unit I learned about 3 types of waves (sound waves, electromagnetic waves, seismic waves) I learned that sound waves can't travel through outer space because there is no medium. Another thing I learned was how waves travel and how they work. All waves go through a medium and they carry energy. The electromagnetic waves (ultraviolet, X-rays, infrared, microwaves, etc.) these are some of the electromagnetic waves. For next time I would do more of electromagnetic waves. I learned more things and some of them I didn't know before. Creating the seismograph was vary fun.

For and against food irradiation

Requiring food all to be irradiated	Permitting but not requiring	Banning food irradiation
It can harm people’s health  (con)	We have choice if we want irradiated food or not irradiated food (pro)	It is good because you don’t get harm ( pro)
That it can stay fresh longer time(pro)	Long-term we can compare the effects of irradiated food and not irradiated food (pro)	The food is not fresh it can rot easily (con)
We don’t have choice if we want irradiated or not we can only have irradiated(con)	It kills nutrients (con)	It doesn’t kill bad bacteria (con)
If we irradiated there will be more control (pro)	consumers have not been educated to compensate for irradiation-induced losses elsewhere in their diets(con)
It kills bad cells (pro)	Irradiation can kill insects and pests infesting foods such as grains and flours without leaving chemical residues(pro)
it kills nutrients (con)	You may get affect it or not (pro and con)
People get affected by irradiated food (con)

irriated food

Blog post

Irradiated food

Why do we irradiate food? We irradiate food to preserve it and make it safer for use. Many people around the world get sick from contaminated or spoiled food. Every fruit or food that has been irradiated must be labeled with the label of radiation. On one hand irradiation is very helpful, but on the other it can be harmful because some nutrients of the food are being lost. Radiation kills living cells. People don’t die from irradiated food, but they could get cancer from it if they eat it every single day of their life. We still don’t know all the consequences the irradiation could have on human’s health on long term. There still has to be done a lot of research.

science report (noise pollution )bibliography

"google immages ." google immages . google , 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 1 Apr. 2011.
     <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.topnews.in/files/
     Noise-Pollution.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.topnews.in/
     low-level-noise-pollution-poses-health-risks-2167802&usg=__C06HbllOwMV7Q1jxxHwZxG
     mG4vg=&h=450&w=450&sz=41&hl=en&start=10&sig2=SdRWU2b-991SxDu3XAux1g&zoom=1&tbnid=
     ghX48gbKPRBAPM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=118&ei=Er2VTd-eBYbesgaPp6XGCA&prev=/
     search%3Fq%3Dnoise%2Bpollution%2Bpictures%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D1116%
     26bih%3D441%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch0%2C399&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=853&vpy=17&dur=1031&
     hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=167&ty=128&oei=_LyVTfzzNsPGtAagmozPBQ&page=2&ndsp=13&ved=1t:
     429,r:6,s:10&biw=1116&bih=441>.

	"Noise Pollution Clearing House." No noise. N.p., 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Mar.      2011. <http://www.nonoise.org/>.	"Noise Pollution: Sources, effects and control." Noise pollution. N.p., n.d.      Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/      noip.htm>.

What is noise pollution?

 what is noise pollution:
Noise pollution is a very, very loud noise that makes us irritated, stressed and distracting. It is very harmful to people and animals. That is way it is very important to learn how to protect ourselves. The noise is the product of modern civilization and industrialization.

cause and effect?

The examples for noise pollution are many: cars passing by, airplanes, traffic, horns, sirens, alarms, loud people, children playing, barking dogs, building constructions, factories, industries, etc. Every day we meet with noise pollution, but not every sound will harm us. In order to harm us, we need to be exposed to loud noise for quite a long period or be in the middle of a gun shoot or big explosion. For example, after a night in a disco club or a concert we will hear a whistle which a signal that we were exposed to noise pollution. Long exposure to noise can lead to hearing loss. Although in the beginning people are not aware of it the final phase is to become deaf. 

how do we measure noise pollution?

The noise is measured in decibels. For example, sounds that reach 60 decibels are the sounds of a normal conversation. A whisper would be 20 decibels. Everything that passes 70 decibels is irritating and can provoke damage to people’s health and you might even become death.

interesting facts abut noise pollution?

There are two types of noise, industrial and non-industrial noise. The industrial noise is the noise made by the factories, big machines, etc. The non-industrial noise is the traffic noise, concerts, people yelling, children playing in the park, did you now that sound travels even under water if sound can travel under water it means that even the oceans have sound pollution so fish are even annoyed by the sound and they can even feel it.

Noise pollution can provoke headache, stress, fatigue, insomnia, aggressiveness and physical problems. Noise pollution affects animals and children too. It makes them irritated and nervous. 

Not always the people thought of noise pollution as a problem. Nowadays, there are laws and methods of prevention. The laws suggest to build houses far away from highways, airports and stadiums. People who work in construction or factories should wear earplugs. The buildings can be protected with different types of isolation.

conclusion:

In conclusion, this is a very big problem in the world because it affects human and animal life. We can buy machinery that makes less noise and government could put some rules that in certain periods of a day workers should not work in order not to make more noise. There also should be some laws that protect children from noise. In my opinion, there should be more information about noise pollution. I believe that children in school should be educated about the causes and consequences of the noise pollution. It is important that the government raises awareness about this problem and do all they possibly can in order to protect people's health.

tuning fork lab

Tuning fork lab                       

Guiding Question: How does density of various solids affect the way the sound waves travel from the tuning fork?

Sophia hypothesis:i believe that if the surface is stronger the sound will be lower and if it is thin it will be louder.

Philipp’s hypothesis: Probably if the material is thicker it won’t vibrate that much. I think that solid will make a lower sound. Glass can vibrate better, because it is way thinner. That is why some people can break a glass by singing.

Exploration/plan&to do a test:

Materials:

• tuning fork
• locker
• board
• table
• wall

Procedure:

1) First we need to gather the materials we will need.
2) Second of all test and write down observations.
3) Thirdly we need record and analyze.
4) and then we will do the further inquiry.

Material                                     Density                                      Loudness

Locker	7.85 grams	highest
board	2.8 grams	low
table	0.75 grams	high
wall	3.12 grams	lowest

Analyses&data:

Philipp’s analyses: I figured out that it not always depends how thick or how thin an object is. For example the white board does not vibrate that much and the table makes a higher sound. I thought that the table will make a lower sound than the board but it was the opposite. Also the small tuning fork makes on the different objects sometimes higher and sometimes the lower sound.

Sophia's analysis:what i discovered is that there is a difference on the sound  and the materials of the object made  of,makes  a different sound in some thing it did not vibrate as much other materials.

Conclusion:

Philipp’s conclusion:I think that I learned a lot about sound and that I tested it good. It is interesting what the difference between to different objects is. Also the differences between the two tuning forks are interesting. Sometimes the smaller one is higher and sometimes the bigger one. This was funny and interesting. I liked to explore the density and loudness between objects.


Sophia's conclusion:i conclude that if the object density changes the loudness  of when it hits it. it depends of the object and what it is  made out of.



Further inquiry:

Philipp’s inquiry: I think that I learned a lot. I learned everything about sound and also explored it. I think a made a great job. In the class I worked a lot. This lab is maybe the best  I have ever made. In this lab i tested a lot of different materials and used the best ones.

further inquiry: i believe that doing  this lab i learned more abut more sound waves and how they travel  i tested a lot of different things and different materials (locker table).

summurie of what i learnd on sound section1

one of the most interesting thing that i learn  is that   sound can travel through solid,water and gas and i found out that there  is no sound on the moon i though there was i found that online it was a really interesting thing.and i learn that sound can go through a brick but that was kind of known but it can even travel through solid things that's why i am  saying that but it was really fun learning abute this.

Earthquake safety rules

Rules for home

One of the most important things to remember is (water safety kit and a blanket and some food) don't bring a large amount of it. The second most important thing to do is to move the bead from the window. If you have any pets they will probably start going crazy and bark. If somebody is cooking, try to remember to turn off the stove before evacuating. Stay in cover until the shaking stops. Stay calm and don't start going crazy. Keep a flash light beside bed and shoes to protect your feet . The flashlight should have fresh batteries because in these occasions the electricity runs out.for my home if you are in the top floor you need to go rushing down stairs open the door and go away or there is a door in the backyard you open it and you are already in the street and you would be safe you have to remember to move the bed and take heavy lamps from tables and take pictures from the walls or pictures that are in the wall of your room those are actually the things that are important.

Rules for shoppers 

If an earthquake occurs while you are shopping first stay calm don't rush into the exit doors (injuries occur when people panic and try to leave all at the same time through the same door). Stay away from windows. Another important thing: don't use elevators. The electricity will probably shut down. Stay away from heavy shelves or any shelves so nothing falls in your head. Try to move inside a wall, get under a table and cover your head. For evacuating don't carry anything that's heavy just carry your purse. If your purse is too heavy take things out of it. After the shaking go calmly out of the building and go somewhere out side and stay away from the building.

Rules for school

If an earthquake occurs and you are in school don't go crazy, stay calm and go under a desk and take everything there is on it. Stay away from shelves, hold on to the desk or to a leg of the table. Keep your head down until the shaking stops.

Bill Nye: Earthquakes reflection

In class we watched a video about earthquakes. It explained how earthquakes occur, why do they occur. It talked about seismographs, machines that calculate the earth's movement. The Earth is really flexible. It is made of plates called tectonic plates. As the plates move, they crack and the cracks are called faults. The epicenter is the center of the earthquake. One of the things I liked was the explanation when Bill Nye was in the pool. The water in the pool represented the Earth's interior. It explains why in a volcano eruption we can see the lava coming out from the Earth's crust. On the top of the water he put the map of the world made of board. Every board was one tectonic plate. When the water was moving, the plates moved also.

The video in some parts gave recommendations on how to build your own seismograph.

Wave interaction with barriers

Guiding question: what happens when a wave hits a barier? 

Hypotesis: my hypotesis is when a wave hits a barier sometimes it gose through it but some times it bounces back?

Exploration (plan to do a test):

1) gather materials that you will need to do this lab

2) fill up the recipient (with water)

3) get 3 rolls Plasticine

4) create barrier

5) shake the table (create a disturbance)

6) observe and write down what you see (drawing form or writing or both)

Materials: 2 rolls of plasticine, a recipient, water.

Record and analyze: what I did was having diffrent trials. The first was creating a barrier with one roll. The 4 trial was with 2 (this is what I wrote in my notebook under the picture I drew) (I shake the recipient from one end and it did like the sonic wave. The second trial Ii got the role and put it one side and the other one in the other side, I shook the continer and the two waves crashed one into each other like a car crash or an airplane crash.

Conclusion: in some occasions of the lab my hypotesis was right and in some it was not. It was kind of complicated to descirbe a drawing that you drew in words because it is not the same thing, but I was not wrong in what I said. My hypotesis was actually right.

Further inquiry: if I did this lab again I would draw better what was happening and write better what I drew, but it is kind of hard to draw what is happening. At the end you mange to do it.For me it is easier to say orally than in written what is happening.

Designing a Seismograph Lab

GUIDING QUESTION: How does the movement of the pen/needle work vs. the needle not moving?

HYPOTHESIS: I think it will record the lines, but not properly and all zig zag?

PLAN TO DO A TEST: 

(materials) list the materials that you will use

(procedure) list the steps that you will do for the lab

PROCEDURE: find materials 

                 put materials all together 

                 cut cardboard

                 put paper into the box

                 tape ruler to the wall (tape so the pen can move) 

                 test

                 record

RECORD ANALYZE: look carefully what happens. when you are testing i,t write down what happens and record. When you are done collecting data you sometimes need to do some analyzing.

CONCLUSION: After testing the seismograph my hypothesis was right and wrong. It was right, but not always at zig-zag, our recording was what was the diffrence between when the pen is not moving and when it is moving, we concluded that it would be easier when it was stationary. It was easier to record an earthquake making our hypotesis corecctly done.  

FURTHER INQUIRY: I think it needed to be built a little steadier and better, but it still worked out for us. But it was kind of hard to tape the pen to the wall because we needed to get the exact measure of height. If we built it better, it wouldn't take some much time to do it.

Tsunami Warning System Report

What is a tsunami? Definition and facts

A tsunami is a big wave that causes damage. The word “tsunami” comes from the Japanese language and it means harbor wave. In order to have a tsunami there must be an earthquake. When there is an earthquake the tectonic plates move and a rupture in Earth shows. That causes the ocean to rise. Sometimes it can also be caused by volcanic eruption or a giant meteor crash in the water. A tsunami is not one wave, there are various strong waves. The multiple waves are not all equally strong. The first wave isn’t always the most dangerous. Between one wave and another it can take from five minutes to one hour. A tsunami can reach 30 centimeters in height and it can go 500 miles per hour crossing the entire ocean in one day or less.

What signs tell us that a tsunami is approaching?

There is a series of signs that indicate us that a tsunami is coming. One of them is an earthquake. If there is an earthquake with the epicenter under the sea, it is possible that it will be followed by a tsunami.

Other signal is the one that animals send us. For example, the elephants are able to hear or predict it and their reaction is to move away from the approaching noise. This is both a safe and not safe sign because we can’t trust animals. Monitoring their behavior can warn us of earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.

Some people even report that before a tsunami they heard weird noise like freight train.

Also, some tourists have said that they were looking at the sea from the beach and they could see that the ocean was retreating. They could see that the wave was not coming back and it left dead fish and algae on the seafloor. When the water retreats there are about five minutes before it comes back with all its power and drone everyone.

In Japan tsunamis are frequent. So the government puts out signs of evacuation routes on surrounding hills.

What are the benefits of these methods?

It is important to predict earthquakes and tsunamis because in that way many lives can be saved.  Tsunamis surge vertically as high as 100 feet (30 meters). They can cause the sea to rise no more than 10 feet (3 meters). If you feel an earthquake, do not stay there and look at the waves. Start running and go to higher parts of the city.

Reefs, bays or river entrances can slow the tsunami. Computers help in analyzing the risk of tsunamis of every earthquake.

Limitation factors

When the ocean is deep tsunamis can travel unnoticed on the surface. Geologists, oceanographers and seismologists work together to analyze and predict tsunamis. However, a tsunami cannot be precisely predicted. The biggest problem is that we cannot exactly predict the tsunami in advance. If you see that a tsunami is coming there is not much time to run away. On the other hand, if you are near a river or a stream that lead to the ocean it is possible that a tsunami can approach. Tsunami waves are very fast and get to the shore going 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) so it is often too late to run away when you see one.

What impact does a tsunami have?

            One of the most damaging tsunamis on Earth was the 2004 that killed 40,000 people. It took place in the Indian Ocean, near the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 26^th of December. In 1782 there was a big tsunami in South China Sea. Some of the consequences are that there are many injured people and many people lost their lives. People are left without shelter because the tsunami washed out their homes, markets, hotels, etc. It is a difficult situation because people are starving, there is no running water and the dead bodies start to decompose. Without medical care people can’t survive. There are a lot of contagious infections. A lot of people died because they didn’t pay attention to the warning signs. They stood on the beach watching this natural phenomenon.

Conclusion

            I learned new things about tsunamis. I find it very interesting and important to know about tsunamis. As we can’t predict a tsunami, we have to learn about it and understand the signs that the nature sends us.

Bibliography:

"The Deadliest Tsunami in History?" National Geographic. N.p., 7 Jan. 2005. Web.
     23 Feb. 2011. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/
     1227_041226_tsunami.html>.

Tsunami." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
     wiki/Tsunami>.

"Tsunamis: Facts About Killer Waves." National Geographic. N.p., 14 Jan. 2005.
     Web. 19 Feb. 2011. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/
     1228_041228_tsunami.html>

Finding the epicenter

Guiding question: how can you locate an earthquake epicenter?

Hypothesis: my hypothesis was that all the circles would meet in the middle?

Materials: drawing compass whit pencil outline map of the united states

Procedure: make a copy of data table showing difference in earthquake
Record and analyze: I saw that when i was making the three circle I needed to have the exact amount of meters between one city and the other one it made a triangle at the end where the earthquake was the sizes of the circles where different one from the other one was small one big and one medium.

Conclusion: my hypothesis failed because I though it would meet more in the middle at the end it met in Kentucky I tough it would meet Kansas city my lab was positive and it did not fail and it went well at the end.

Further inquiry: if I did this lab again i would do it all over. I'm not saying that the answer I got was wrong but I did not like how I did it and I would put more concentration on it and work more time on it

lab

lab report

guiding question:how will the wave effect the needle and the paper?

hypothesis:i think that when i do the disturbance the needle will fall from the paper and float alone whit out the paper under it.

materials:tub,water,needle,paper.

waves made by	hand
trial 1	the needle sank whit the paper
trial 2	it sank again
trial 3	i saw it was not working

conclusion:at the end of a lot of trials i understood that it was not working so my lab did not work at the end so i gave up.

Wave simulator reflection

I learned new things whit that site. It was cool looking at waves and sound and light. I saw in the waves pert that some of the waves were bigger and some smaller. It was really interesting looking at the amplitude of the wave and the frequency. It made me understand better what was a frequency and amplitude of the wave. I first started playing around with it to see what could it do whit that. At the end I got the habit of using it and I started looking at the graph, the frequency level and the amplitude of the wave.

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/wave-interference