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SODA POPPERS

11/24/09

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Baking Soda Poppers

 

     One day I walked into science class and was greeted by a lab. We were supposed to use anything on our lab table, including a test tube, graduated cylinders, baking soda, and vinegar, to get the cork to hit the window using a chemical reaction. We could also get 10 extra credit points by hitting the window 3 times in a row. My assigned group at Table 6 was Joey Grzelak, Robert Schenker, Nikki Cavott, and myself. We knew that baking soda and vinegar created carbon dioxide. We also knew that the more carbon dioxide was created, the more pressure would build up in the test tube, and that pressure would force the cork to pop and fly farther. What we didn’t know was if a mix of more vinegar to baking soda or if more baking soda to vinegar created more carbon dioxide. Our thinking process was to first do a control test, with equal amounts of baking soda and vinegar. Next we were to do a test with less baking soda and more vinegar, then an experiment with more baking soda and less vinegar to see which helped create more gases. We also planned to jam the cork in so that none of the gas could leak out of the test tube before the cork launched.

     During the first three 2 experiments, Joey was holding the test tube. Both times, he could not get his hand away fast enough and the cork hit his thumb, making the cork travel a smaller distance. Therefore, for the third experiment we had Nikki hold the test tube. She was able to get her hand away fast enough so that the cork could fly freely without any interference. We ran several more experiments, changing the amounts and recording the data. By the sixth experiment, we had found the formula: 18 mL of baking soda and 12 mL of vinegar. The fact that I was now the one holding the test tube may have helped the experiment. The cork reached the window (or the windowsill and wall) a total of 6 times. On trials 6 and 7, we hit the window twice in a row. However, on the third try my aim was off and the cork missed and hit the window. This was a major roadblock for us. No matter what, the aim of the test tube was always a little different, so even if we had the right combination of baking soda and vinegar, the cork would still miss the window. We hit the window several times after that, but never reached the three in a row goal.

First Android, now Google OS?

Google's first mobile OS, Android, was a big hit and was used by numerous new phones, including the Motorola Droid. Now, Google is announcing another operating system, called Chrome OS. However, this time it will be for netbooks (kind of like small computers). Chrome OS will only be available on certain new netbooks, because the operating system is revolutionary. Instead of using a hard disk drive, it uses "cloud computing", so all of the data is stored online instead of on your hard drive at home. Google also promises to have the boot up time to be around 7 seconds, giving users quicker access to their files. While I definitely think this idea is exciting, I do believe there are some downfalls. I think that the program should definitely be available for all computers, not just select netbooks. I would like to test out the operating system without having to buy a new netbook for $300. Another reason Chrome OS might not be such a good idea is that if someone hacks into Google's servers or puts a virus in them, the fact that all the information from the Chrome OS netbooks is stored in them would let the hacker access a lot of computers all at once, or let the virus spread much quicker. While Google says that they will prevent this from happening, but who knows? As noted above, Chrome OS sounds like a great new idea, but there are definitely negative sides to it.

Link:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/20/google.os/index.html

Leech Helps Solve Crime

Today, a man was convicted of robbing an elderly woman's home because of a leech. The robber's name is Peter Alec Cannon. Eight years ago, he and an accomplice robbed an elderly woman's home. When police arrived at the crime scene, they found little evidence except for a leech that appeared to have just bitten someone on the floor. None of the police officers had any bite marks on them, and neither did the elderly woman, so the police assumed it was from one of the robbers. They took DNA from the blood inside the leech and put it into the database. Last year he was picked up on a drug offense. The officers cross-checked his DNA against a database and found the blood that was extracted from the leech. I think it's really cool that a leech could actually help solve a crime. A lot of people think leeches are really disgusting, because they stick onto you and suck your blood. But I think it's awesome that they can actually help people too. I also wonder what other animals might have accidentally contributed to the solving of a crime.\

Link:http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/20/australia.crime.leech/index.html

Mini T-Rex Fossil Discovered

Today an article was published in the magazine Science about a newly discovered fossil of a miniature Tyrannosaurus Rex. This beast, now named "Raptorex," roamed China around 125 million years ago, 60 million years before the real Tyrannosaurus Rex. An adult Raptorex was said to be about 9 feet tall and weigh 143 pounds. Stephen Brusatte, a co-author of the article, said this was about 1/100 of a Tyrannosaurus Rex's weight. Stephen and lead author Paul Sereno were the writers of the article. The fossil was smuggled out of China into the U.S. It was bought in the U.S. by a collector who then donated them to who donated it to science. Scientists say it will be returned to China and put on display. The I think it is really cool that scientists discovered a "mini T-Rex". Scientists should always be on the lookout for cool discoveries like this. I also think that authorities should be more careful with smuggling. If it hadn't been bought by a good person, people might not know about this awesome discovery. I think the science community should be very thankful for this man's generosity and hope for more people like him.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/09/17/tiny.t-rex.dinosaur.discovered/index.html

Plasticity Lab

Recently we did a science lab on the property of plasticity. Plasticity is a property that the mantle of the earth has. When immense heat and pressure act on the mantle, it acts like a solid. However, as if the heat and pressure decrease, the mantle would then act like a liquid. For the lab, we made a substance that also had the same property of plasticity. We did this by mixing 5 teaspoons of cornstarch with 20 milliliters of water. Then we grabbed a handful of the mixture and squeezed it. When we squeezed it, the pressure we applied made the mixture condense and act like a solid. However, as soon as we let go it went back to acting like a liquid. I found this lab very fun ( although a bit messy) and very educational.

October Sky

Recently in class we have watched a movie called October Sky. In the movie, a boy named Homer is inspired by the recent launching of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. He decides to build his own rocket, and enlists the help of several of his friends. Together, they test many different designs for the rocket before they finally make a successful one. Then, with the help of their teacher, Miss Riley, they enter into a science fair and win first prize, leading to national attention and an insane amount of scholarships. This movie connects to science and math in many ways. Rockets connect to the movie because that's what Homer and his friends decided to make. Coal mines connect to the movie because the town that Homer's family lives in is owned by a coal mine, and his father is a worker there. Science fairs connect to the movie because Homer and his friends enter their rocket design into one, and end up winning first prize and tons of scholarships. Sputnik and the Russians connect to the movie because Sputnik was what inspired Homer to build a rocket in the first place. Proving their innocence using math connected to the movie because Homer used his knowledge of mathematics to prove that he and his friends did not start the forest fire, and could therefore continue their rocket building venture. Health dangers connect to the movie because Homer's father's life was later claimed by Black Lung Disease, a disease that often affects workers at coal mines due to the conditions there. Many Character Education traits were also shown in this movie. Homer and his friends had to show cooperation in order to work together and finally design a successful rocket. Homer had to show assertion when his father tried to bring Homer's rocket building efforts to a halt. He convinced his father that the rocket building would not harm the coal mine in any way, and even moved his testing site to an area several miles away from the coal mine to make sure of that. Even though Homer's father did not always approve of the rocket project, Homer still showed respect toward him and called him his "real hero". Homer showed empathy for the Russian worker that helped him build his first rocket when the Russian worker died in the coal mine. Before, he had worked in the shop, but Homer's father switched him into the coal mine. The Russian was given the offer to go back to the shop, but decided to stay in the coal mine because he received better pay. All in all, this movie had many connections to science and math, as well as character education.

Duchene Muscular Dystrophy

Duchene Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disease that causes weakness and wasting in the muscles of people with the disease. Most people with the disease die before they reach their thirties. I feel very sad for the people with this disease. I think more work should be done to find a cure for this disease. Otherwise, many more people will suffer from the symptoms of the disease.

Color Blindness

Color blindness is a genetic disorder that causes people to not see as many shades of colors as usual. Inherited color vision deficiency cannot be treated, but if the color vision problems are caused by a broken cataract, the damaged cataract can be removed. This disease is unable to kill anyone. About 1/212 people in the United States exhibit the symptoms of color deficiency. Males are more vulnerable to the disease, because the disease is carried in the X chromosome. Males only have one X chromosome, while females have two. So if the disease is present in the X chromosome of the male, they automatically have color deficiency. However, for the female the disease must be present in both chromosomes, or else she will not have color deficiency. Even though it cannot kill people, i still feel sympathy for the people who have the worst form of this disease, where they can only see different shades of black and white. As noted above, color deficiency is a very intriguing disease.

Sources: www.webmd.com
www.webexhibits.org

Rollercoaster Website URL

URL:http://rickardodo.webs.com/

Warding off Birds at the Airport

You may have heard of the flock of birds that flew into US Airways Flight 1549, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River. Steve Osmek's job at Seattle Tacoma International Airport is to prevent a disaster like this from happening again. The airport has been trying to do this since the 1970s. They have many methods of to prevent birds from landing at the airport and ward them off. To prevent the birds from landing in the first place, they try to cover up the environments that attract the birds. To make them go away, on the other hand, they fire explosive shells in the air pistols of shotguns. He also has a laser that when shined at a bird, supposedly mimics a predator stalking it and forces it to take flight. Finally, he has a radar to help him spot birds with greater ease. I think that this is a very effective way to ward off birds and prevent them from causing harm. I also think that it is great that other airports are also getting radars to help them deal with their "bird problem". All in all, I think that these are great ways to prevent an accident like US Airways Flight 1549 from occurring again.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/02/11/seattle.bird.radar/index.html#cnnSTCText

North Korean Missles Now Capable of Hitting the U.S.

According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, North Korea has recently spent a great deal of money improving it's land and sea forces, as well its weapons. The is no word yet on why they are doing this, but because they have recently thrown out their peace agreements with South Korea, they appear to be preparing for an oncoming war. One weapon they decided to improve is the medium-range ballistic missile. It is now capable of flying about 1,900 miles which may put U.S. bases in Guam in their range. They also improved their long-range missile, the Taepodong-2, which is believed to have a range of 4,200 miles, which puts even Hawaii and Alaska at risk. I think that this is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. These missiles should be unarmed right now with no questions asked. I can't believe anyone let their weapons advance this far in the first place.\

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/23/northkorea.missiles/index.html

Small Earthquake Hits Denville

On Monday, a earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 hit Denville, New Jersey. One Resident thought a tree had fallen or a neighboring building had exploded. According to seismologist Won-Young Kim the earthquake was very small and it was unlikely the event would cause any serious injuries. I think that the residents are unlucky, because they were hit by and earthquake, yet still fortunate that it was very small and not very damaging. Also, I think people should be more prepared, as Kim said that it was not unusual for earthquakes to occur in that region. All in all, I think that people should still feel lucky that the earthquake was weak and be more prepared if it occurs again.

Sources:
http://www.news12.com/NJ/topstories/article?id=225148
http://www.news12.com/NJ/topstories/article?id=225182

Saving Rice

Thirteen years ago, David Mackill discovered Sub1, the gene that made a type of Indian rice water-resistant. Recently in Davis, California, he and his team successfully introduced the gene to other types of rice. Farmers found the "new" rice to be both high-yielding and good-tasting. These scientists were trying to find a way to make rice, which die after being flooded for just three days, more water-resistant. This is because floods end up destroying 4 million tons of rice every year. By making the rice more water-resistant, more rice will survive and less people will face food shortages. I think that this is very cool. But I also think that water does not result for all of the crop losses, and many other things, such as bugs and droughts, also contribute to crop loss and people should work on preventing that too.

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/29/waterproof.rice/index.html

Obama's Inauguration

On January 20th, President Barrack Obama (then Senator Obama) was sworn into office as the 44th President of the United States. He is the first ever African American President. 1.5 million people from all over the country watched from the National Mall, and from televisions all over the globe.

The first article described what Obama did on January 20th, such as giving his speech, signing his first documents, and watching the inauguration parade. The article also mentioned several quotes that Obama made during his speech, a quote from Oprah Winfrey, as well as quotes made by several foreign leaders such as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who said that Obama was "the hope of our time". The article seems to show a very positive attitude on Obama's Inauguration, showing how happy people were to see a new, promising leader in office.

The second article also gave quotes from Obama's speech, but also mentioned the conditions that Obama has run into. His ratings are very high, and the agreement that billions of dollars would be spent in an attempt to save the economy have given him many assets to complete the goals he has planned for his presidency. He has also inherited the badly damaged economy that he must now fix. It states that, " [Obama's] solution to today's recession and financial-market dysfunction lies precisely in having the government open its checkbook to provide stimulus measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars.The underlying fear, though, is that government now will swing too far, becoming not the solution Mr. Obama wants it to be, but the problem that Mr. Reagan warned it could be." His solution to the crisis could make it better, or in many ways could make it much worse by increasing our country's debt.

I believe that it is great that the United States has finally gotten an African American President. I think that his plans will definitely help our country get back up on its feet and even beyond what it was before this economic crisis. In conclusion, I think that Barrack Obama is exactly what our country needs to become great again.

Sources:
First article:http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/20/obama.inauguration/index.html
Second article:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249771780200427.html

Super Fast Healing?

Recently a team of researchers from the Imperial College London discovered a way to release a lot of certain stem cells which could help heal injuries faster. They were trying to release endothelial progenitor cells into the body of a rat by injecting proteins but ended up also releasing mesenchymal stem cells, which help endothelial progenitor cells repair tissue. I think that this is a great step forward and could really help people recover faster from injuries. However, I also believe that they should test this very carefully before testing it on humans because so far it has only been tested on rats. All in all, I believe that this is a very important discovery.

Hyperlink:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/09/imperial.stem.cells/index.html

Nanodiamonds:How they could prove that comets made dozens of mammal species of species extinct

Eight scientists from several different universities published a finding on Friday about diamonds and how they could show that comets led to the extinction of dozens of different species of mammals on the Earth about thirteen thousand years ago. The scientists looked at layers of sediment that dated about twelve thousand nine hundred years ago at six North American locations. Each time they founded a rich amount of nanodiamonds that are produced under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions that can be created by comets colliding with the Earth. I think that this is a very important discovery and that it could explain many things. I also believe the subject should be studied more to see if there are any other possible causes for the extinction of dozens of mammals species on Earth.

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/02/comet.diamonds/index.html