Cell Phones (S.S. paragraph)

The advancement in society that I feel has made the biggest impact on society is the discovery of cell phones. These remarkable devices allow anyone to contact anyone around the world in a matter of seconds. Helping with emergencies, cell phones reassure parents that their child will always have a way to contact them if need be. Also, some cell phones contain tracking devices so that you can find the child if they get lost or lose their phone. Cell phones overall help people around the world directly communicate with each other without needing to be plugged in to a wall. In fact, these phones can be brought across the world to another country and will still be able to be used. Cell phones provide unlimited communication and protection for people at a fairly low price. We grew up in the cell phone generation, but how do you think the elder generations survived without even knowing they existed?

Build Your Own Atom

Recently, in Science class, we have been learning about protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons make up the inside of the nucleus, and the electrons are on the outside orbiting around the nucleus. The electrons are also a lot smaller than protons and neutrons. Since we have also been learning about elements on the periodic table, we used both of those skills to create our own element atom using two spheres and different color beads and marbles. The blue marbles were the protons, the white marbles were the neutrons, and the green beads were the electrons. To start building the element, we found the atomic number on the periodic table. This showed us how many protons (or blue marbles) to put into the nucleus (or the inner sphere). Then, we subtracted that number from the atomic mass, which is the total number of atoms inside the nucleus. Doing this gave us the number of neutrons (or white marbles) that belong inside the nucleus. Then, since the element has to have a neutral balance, and the electrons have a negative charge, the number of electrons would balance out the protons. This gave us the number of electrons to put in the outer sphere, which is the same amount as the protons. Then we weighed our elements and recorded our data. I feel that this was a really fun and hands-on way to learn about the making of an element. It also helped us remember the vocabulary, and how to use a periodic table. This is definitely an activity that everyone would enjoy doing again, and it helps drill the information into our head.

to build your own atom go to... http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es0501/es0501page04.cfm

Overweight or Unpopular State?

Many people think that who you are in high school or middle school has nothing to do with who you will become in the future. In a recent study on more than 4,000 girls around the age of 15, this was proved untrue. When weighing the girls over a two year time period, it seemed that their view of their social status affected their weight gain. Those who thought they were extremely unpopular gained more weight than the girls who considered their social status as more popular. The study shows that those who are low in social self-esteem are 69 percent more likely to gain an excess of 11 or more pounds in two years. Though the girls who thought they were more popular did gain excess weight, it was a lot less- only about 6 pounds at the most. None of these girls' were out of the category considered normal weight for their ages, however, people are starting to find out new ways to prevent obesity in teens and boost their self-confidence. Who are they relying on to stop this small but important dilemma? Teachers? Principals? Nurses? Peers? Nope...parents! Parents and influential adults in their lives will impact their view on themselves and their social standings. This may not necessarily be true with all teens, but take some time to view your opinion on yourself. Look in the mirror. (Go ahead, look! I won't go anywhere!) And tell yourself how amazing you are. Because everyone is beautiful..it just depends on if we all see it. But remember, that if you don't see your inner beauty, their may be some health effects that affect your outer beauty!

article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/07/diet.popularityweight.ap/index.html

FUN FROG DISSECTION!!!

Let's play I-Spy! I'll go first. I spy something green and slimey that lives in moist habitats! That's right, it's a frog and we got to dissect them last week in Science class! Before we could dig in, we were showed a video on how exactly to cut the frog. But when we started, it was so much fun! I personally enjoyed finding the different organs and taking them out. In our lab packets, we had to identify the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, fat bodies, and more. I thought it was cool how we could compare the frog's anatomy to that of the human's. For example, we both have mostly the same organs, but completely different body structures since frogs have enormous jumping legs with solid muscles. I also thought the life cycle of frogs was extremely interesting. Over all, dissecting the frogs was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it! At times it could get a little gross, but it was awesome to see the inside of an actual frog! To conclude this blog, I would like to end with a brief message to the dear frog I dissected...I AM VERY SORRY!
http://www.infovisual.info/

1. My favorite TV show is American Idol!!! I love laughing at the horrible singers (not to be mean)! And I like voting with all my friends for the ones I love!


2. My favorite meal is pasta! Since my family is Italian, we have it for every gathering!

3. My favorite nonschool activity is travel lacrosse and hanging out with friends! They're both extremely fun!

4. Someone I look up to is my older cousin who was the second in his senior class and is going to Yale! I want to be like him!

5. My goal for the future is to become a journalist for a famous magazine or newspaper!

6. In the first hour after school I usually do homework so that I have the rest of the day free!

Ringtones: music or a trap?

Most of us teens have cell phones, right? Well, I don't know about you but picking a ringtone is my favorite part! In India, they figured out how to put the new animal ringtones to work. These ringtones make the noises of cows 'mooing', goats bleating and roosters crowing. They are using these to bring leopards toward them, since they are attracted to the animal noises. This is a safe way to attract the cats, rather than use real animals who would be in danger of getting hurt. By bringing leopards to them, they can trap them. Why would they want to do this, you ask? Because many of these leopards have been wandering from the forest towards the village in search of food, which could lead to people killed. In order for the leopards to really get trapped, they fixed the speakers behind a cage. Then, the leopard goes into the cage to look for food, and is trapped. Since this idea, five cats have been successfully trapped, and taken back to the forest and away from the village. I feel that Ahmedabad, India made the correct decision by putting these traps to work becuase they have saved many villagers as well as leopards.

info found from : http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/06/05/leopards.ringtones.reut/index.html

Roller Coaster Madness!!!

For the past week in Science, we have been working on building roller-coasters or skate-parks out of certain materials given, such as paper tubes, tape, straws, and paper cups. My group is creating a roller-coaster. The requirements are to have four hills and bends. We are doing this project to put Newton's laws to the test. By looking at the speed of the marble, we can figure out the highest points of kinetic and potential energy. For example, our highest point of potential energy, or energy that will be used for kinetic energy, is at the very beginning of the ride because it will be pushed down the ride, but it hasn't been yet. Our highest point of kinetic energy was in the middle of one of our fastest hills because it had the highest speed and the most energy.When I went online to find more information on Newton's Laws, I realized that all three are on seperate topics, but they relate in a certain way. They all relate to the world around us and they teach us about speed and velocity. I feel that this project is a fun and efficient way to have us learn about physics and Newton's Laws.
info found from: http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/02144/basics/newton.htm