On Monday we worked in our project groups and worked on our independent experiment. On Tuesday we set up a telescope and set off our sparklers. Wednesday we worked in our project groups. Thursday we discussed matter and played with dry ice. On Friday we cleaned, revised our Steinbeck inspired writing, and wrote about someone else's photo. For this project my role is a Space Cadet. This week was very successful for us. We learned how to set up a telescope and actually did it. Our task was to read a note across campus with the telescope, the note read, "Andrew Eats Cheese." HumanitiesChemistryThis week I continued my independent experiment. We coated the sparklers thicker and tested one of the thicker coated ones the same day, but it was still too wet, so it just released a bunch of smoke, rather than giving the result we wanted. So we waited until the next day to test them, and they worked! The sparklers released more fire than I would have liked but they were really cool. My group throughout this whole experiment worked really well together.
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Monday we went out and took pictures and processed them in photoshop. Tuesday we watched a documentary on the Pacific Crest Trail and did a different colored fire experiment and my group started our independent experiment. On Wednesday we went to a local photography gallery. On Thursday we wrote in Steinbeck's style and continued our independent experiment. On Friday we tested one of our sparklers and made project job groups and made a plan with them. Unprocessed picture of San Diego Bay Processed picture of San Diego Bay HumanitiesSteinbeck Inspired Writing: There is a valley between green snowless mountains, where lizards bask on sunny rocks, and birds fly down the mountains and through the mile long orange orchards, flying faster and higher to avoid the gaze of a nearby dog, running through the orchards into a ranch. He spooks a horse, the dog keeps running, passing through trees and bushes, coming to a pause at a street. A car races by. He barks and starts chasing it from the side of the road. He tires and heads home, where he is greeted with open arms from his family. Project Specialty - Space Cadet Link to Project Specialty Progress Sheet ChemistryWe tested one of our sparklers and it was very anti-climactic. We didn't coat them enough so it didn't exactly spark, it was just burning. When we lit the burn test, it sparked really well, but the actual sparkler fizzled out. The reason, that I think they didn't work was because we didn't coat the sticks enough. In order to get the results we want we will have to go back and re-coat the ones we have already coated so that they have a thick enough coating so they have the desired amount of spark. Other than the results we got, nothing went wrong during the experiment. My whole group worked really well together and cooperated. Monday we planned field trips for our landscapes and developed photos. Tuesday we worked on our independent experiment proposal and developed photos. Wednesday I wasn't at school. On Thursday we worked on a writing piece describing a landscape panorama and talked about how to take landscape photos. Friday we developed photos, looked at photos of San Diego, and finishedour writing piece on the panorama. HumanitiesChemistryMy independent experiment is making sparklers. We will make the mix, coat the sticks, dry, and test them. I am hoping to learn more about chemical reactions and why sparklers work.
This week we did a lot in both classes. Monday we had a socratic seminar surrounding the statement "People are responsible for their own American Dream. Agree or Disagree," we also made and tested Hydrogen Balloons. Tuesday we had another socratic seminar centering around the statement, "Wealthy people have a responsibility to help poorer people. Agree or Disagree," we also discussed independent chemistry experiments. On Wednesday we talked about what types of writing you like, and researched different types of writing, we also coated papers. On Thursday we did research on one of three places, Owens Valley, Salton Sea, Flint, Michigan. We also did research on the damming of Hetch Hetchy and developed pictures. Friday we continued research on the Hetch Hetchy damming. HumanitiesOwens Valley: What happened? -Water was diverted from the Owens Lake to the City of Los Angeles in 1913, and by 1926 Owens Lake was dry. The dry bed of Owens Lake has produced enormous amounts of windblown dust since the desiccation of the lake. Did we need to do it? -I don't think we needed to dry up Owens Lake completely, L.A. was wasting a lot of the water rather than leaving some for the people who lived there and putting some back into the environment. What is the Water Rights impact? -The water right makes it so that we have the right to make use of the water from a stream, lake, or irrigation canal. -The impact of this right is that we can and will take water we need even if the environment we take it from needs it more. The Owens Valley is a perfect example of this, we didn't think about what taking water from the lake would do to the environment around it, only that we needed it. Now it's a dust bowl and all dried up. What is the landscape impact? -The impact on the landscape that the taking of the water had was that the lake completely dried up and in turn the environment around the dry lake didn't get the water it needed, so that dried up as well, now it is all dried up and wind picks up the dirt and blows it around. It resembles a dust bowl in a way. Damming the Hetch Hetchy: Should we have dammed the Tuolumne River at Hetch Hetchy? -I don't think damming the Hetch Hetchy was necessary, in the article it says that there were other readily available sources, but damming Hetch Hetchy was easitest. They destroyed a beautiful landscape because it was easiest and would make them the most money, rather than choosing another source. Was California meant to support this many people? -I don't think California was meant to support this many people, it does, but possibly wouldn't if we left the environment how it was originally. There would be a lot of cities that wouldn't be here or be as big, so no I don't think California was meant to support this many people. Are our landscapes worth saving? Why? -I think that our landscapes are worth saving because if we keep on the track that we are on, soon there won't be any landscapes left. We are killing the beauty of our state. How should water be managed in California? -I think that we shouldn't dam, but I know that it is a necessity because otherwise we wouldn' t have any/not enough water. I think we have a successful water system but need to build less dams. ChemistryIn order to complete this experiment “Hydrogen Balloons” we had to add substances together to create the correct chemical reaction that would fill out balloons with Hydrogen. First we took C6H8O7 (Citric Acid) and a Magnesium Ribbon. We had to make sure that the Magnesium Ribbon was completely in the bottom of the flask on top of the Citric Acid, we had to make sure that none of the Magnesium Ribbon was caught in the neck of the flask so that it would all dissolve. Next we poured Water (H20) into the flask that held the Citric Acid and the Magnesium Ribbons in order to activate the Citric Acid. Once the Citric Acid was activated we had to quickly put a balloon on the top of the flask to catch all of the Hydrogen that the dissolving Magnesium was releasing. Once the balloon was filled with Hydrogen we tied it off. As a result of the chemical reaction the flask got quite warm and due to Hydrogen being less dense than air, the balloon floated. Once we tied our balloons we attached it to the end of a wooden pole and lit a candle on a fire retardant surface, we then put the balloon over the flame and it popped. When the balloon popped the Hydrogen inside went up in flames, creating Water. After the experiment was completed I had a few questions. What is the lowest amount of heat required to pop the balloon? Is fire the only thing we can use to pop the balloon and have the Hydrogen go up in flames? Why does the reaction of the Citric Acid, Magnesium Ribbon, and Water make Hydrogen as a byproduct? What would happen if we used bigger quantities of the substances and a bigger vessel for the Hydrogen?
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June 2017
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