Creature Creations
Your project is due on Wednesday. The format for your project is attached:
Jarvie Stroupe
Watershed
Reporting Category 3; model the effects of human activity on groundwater and surface water.
Food Pyramids
Look at the above website before we get started on our lesson for today. It will review you from yesterday.
Living Systems
We began our study of living systems last week by reviewing the terms Biotic and Abiotic. "Bio"tic means those things within an ecosystem that are living or that once were living. Abiotic refers to those things within an ecosystem that are NOT living. Let us make a chart of the things within an ecosystem that might fit these categories.
Biotic Abiotic
Trees Water
Animals Rocks and Soil
Bacteria Air
Insects Light and Temperature
The list of course, can get much more detailed. So you now have a project to get more detailed. First, log on to the following website:
Make a graph of the biotic and abiotic factors that are found within the swamp ecosystem. Also, read the information that describes the competition going on within the system.
Next, use the magazines onyour table to create another more visual graph of biotic and abiotic factors. Find four for each category and glue them on the paper given to you. You will have 25 minutes to complete this task. The last part of class will be used to play a game showing how organisms compete for resources within an ecosystem.
Light Years
Since distances in space are so very far apart, we need a measurement different from what we use here on Earth. This measurement is referred to as a Light Year. This is the amount of time that it actually takes "light" to travel in a 365 day period. Light is the fastest thing that we can measure when traveling through a vacuum as in space. Sound must have a medium (solid, liquid or a gas) in order to travel, but light does not. The following website will allow you to see different distances
Review for Six Weeks Exam
Your Exam will be over the following points:
Weather
El Nino/Tornadoes/Hurricanes
Seasons
Days/Months/Year
Equinox/Solstice
Basic Science Concepts such as reading thermometers and units of measure
Review your last test for the first two points (weather/El Nino). Some of the questions are directly off the last test.
Here are the points that you need to know about the last unit studied. Copy these notes and then review the websites I have given.
NOTES: The Earth is an oblate spherical which means that the poles are a bit flattened. The Earth has an imaginary line running from North to South and this is referred to as an axis. The Earth is tilted on this axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees. This angle along with the revolution of the Earth around the Sun gives Earth its distinct seasons. The angle itself is the most important aspect, but if the Earth did not revolve then the Earth would not be tilted at different points during the year. The Earth is also split into two halves giving a Northern Hemisphere (this is where the USA is) and a Southern Hemishpere (this is where Australia is). As the Earth revolves around the Sun it tilts toward the Northern Hemisphere (summer). Six months later the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and it is then winter. Fall (autumn) and spring (vernal) are in the middle of these two seasons. Remember, the Earth does not move closer or farther away from the Sun...it is the TILT that makes the seasonal changes. (At this point in the notes you should look up a season diagram on the web. Study it and draw it if you want to study tonight.)
Day = 24 hours=rotation of Earth on its axis
Month = approximately 28 days= revolution of the Moon around the Earth
Year=365 1/4 days=revolution of Earth around the Sun (the 1/4 is the reason we have Leap year...this year is Leap year!)
Equinox; happen during the Fall (autumn) and the Spring (vernal). The days and nights have equal hours.
Solstice; happens during the Winter (shortest day) and Summer (longest day)
Finally remember that near the equator the climate stays about the same throughout the year because the angle of the sun's energy hitting the Earth stays the same.END of NOTES!!!!
You must also review the notes with the moon phase diagrams that I gave you last week. You will have similar diagrams that you will have to decide what moonphase is showing. Review the website from the Blog below and pay close attention to where the moon phases are.
When finished with all that, I need you to learn about the Eclipses and draw a picture on word to show the alignment of the Earth , Moon and Sun. The hints are Solar SME (Sun Moon then Earth) and Lunar SEM (Sun Earth and Moon)
Moon Phases
Seasons
We discussed the reason for day/night on Friday of last week. Important words to remember are, "rotation" and "revolution". "Rotation" is the spinning of the Earth on its axis. This takes approximately 24 hours and is referred to as a day.
Today we will be discussing Seasons and what causes them. The Earth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle. This angle allows different intensities of the sun on different parts of the Earth throughout the year. If it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, then it will be summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
We refer to Australia as being "down under" because it is on the other side of the Earth (the southern hemisphere). The following website gives an example of this season switch. Try to find out which city matches the correct graph on the chart. It will require a bit of thought , but make sure that you see what the temperature is in each city during the winter and summer. If it is colder in the summer, then it http://will be in the Southern Hemisphere. sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/javalabs/java12/seasons1.2a/applet12a.htm?ASPIRE_Session=859bbd91880d301f0ed408462b0b0558
Now I want you to research the difference between a solstice and an equinox. Find the dates for each for this year of 2012. Blog your answers.
Blow Me Away
The Fujita Scale is used to categorize tornadoes. However, winds are found in other weather situations also. Hurricanes cause damage through the wind speed and aftermath of flooding. The Beaufort Scale was set to create a scale of wind speed by observing everyday occurances. You will be given a packet of matching cards to attempt to match properly. After your first try, check it against the scales below.
Hurricanes are fed by warm water over oceans. The following website is simple, but clearly stated. We will go over it but it will be here for you to review later.
Add a comment listing your two favorite hurricane names after reading that section of the website.
Then play the "Aim the Hurricane" game. You will see familiar symbols that you are to use on the map.http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/kids/movncane.htm
Your homework is two part: the back of the paper allows you to graph the progress of a hurricane. Remember our experience with latitude and longitude.
Twist and Shout
You can adjust the wind speed on this interactive site and create different levels of tornadoes. They range from F0-F5, with F5 being the most intense and destructive.
Last year was one of the deadliest years for tornadoes in the US. Review the following site for a chart and videos. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/04/28/us/tornado-deaths.html
Read over the following safety tips. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html
You may want to look up other sites for more information. Create a safety flyer for a building that you choose. Along with the safety information, list five things you should take with you as an emergency kit. Discuss this on the blog with others if you would like before finalizing your list. This will be due by the end of class Friday.
Cold/Warm Fronts and Jet Streams
These are the notes that we will be working off of today.
We will be taking a few quick notes on this topic and then we will do a demonstration of jet streams with a blow dryer and a ping pong ball.
Ring of Fire and Earthquakes
Find the definition of the Ring of Fire and its location. Add "plate tectonics" to your search or you will get informaiton on Johnny Cash's song!!!
Find any information that you can over the volcanic action within this area.
Now go to the following site and look up the recent earthquakes worldwide. Write down the date and time/latitude and longitude/ and magnitude of 5 earthquakes within the last five days.
Mapping
We will be looking at and discussing the longitude and latitudes of the Earth today. Please log on to the following site.
Find the longitude and latitude for the following cities across the world. Enter the information in the blog comment section.
Arp, Texas
New York City , New York
Los Angeles, California
Lima, Peru
Beijing, China
Sydney, Australia
London, England
Kalabo, Zambia
Now look at the Texas map and locate Dallas, Houston, and El Paso.
Find the distances from Tyler to each of these places. Enter this information in the blog comment section also.
When you are finished you may go to this website and experiment with the locations. See if it will help you locate the Ring of Fire.
Convection/Confection! Which one is sweeter?
Remember when I told you that science is somewhat fluid in that it is ever moving and changing shape? Well this is once again shown through the development of the Plate Tectonic Theory. Wegener's ideas were very controversial because he didn't have an explanation for why or how the continents moved, just that there was observational evidence that they had. Once a theory is established, others move in to either try to prove it or disprove it. Although Wegener's "continental drift" theory was later disproved, it was one of the first times that the idea of crustal movement had been introduced, and it laid the groundwork for the development of modern plate tectonics.
Later evidence emerged that suggested convection currents within the Earth’s asthenosphere could be the driving force behind the movement of the plates. This occurred in the late 50's and early 60's. Of course new technology helped the research move along quickly.
We looked at the lithosphere yesterday and and we saw that it includes both the crust and a small part of the mantle. The lithospheric plates do not randomly meander about the Earth's surface, but are driven by internal forces. The mantle (specifically the asthenosphere) is believed to move in circular motions. We will demonstrate this with a quick experiment that shows convection to be like liquid boiling on a stovetop. The heated liquid will rise to the surface, cool, and sink back to the bottom of the pot, where it is heated and rises again. This is called convection, and it is the process that occurs in the mantle to bring about the plate movements. However, the heat source within the Earth is radioactive decay of minerals and residual heat from the formation of the Earth instead of a hotplate like the water.