5 Units of the Year(last blog post)

For my last blog post I will be telling you all about my 8th grade year with Mrs. Casey.
We went over a lot of information this year. We really covered a lot of ground. 8th grade science was all about the Earth and how it works. In this post i will explain all about what units we researched and what my favorite topic was for each unit learned.
1. Astronomy

The first topic we covered at the very beginning of the year was astronomy. Astronomy was by far my favorite unit to research. There was so much to learn about and throughout the whole topic I just wanted to learn more. I think that astronomy was my favorite topic because I love learning about what is really outside of us. I think it's interesting to learn all about what kind of things there really are out there away from us. Looking at all the pictures from a variety of telescopes from outer space was just so fantasizing.
2. Weather and Climate (Earth's Atmosphere)

Weather and climate was a great unit! Also one of my favorites. We talked about all different forms fo weather and how they all form. It was a lot of fun. My favorite thing we talked about in this unit was all the different kinds of weather. It was so much fun with all the activities we completed and how unique Earth really is.
3. Geology

Geology was kind've interesting. I didn't like geology that much. Looking at rocks all the time didnt really interest me much. However, looking at minerals was my favorite topic! I loved the whole mineral idea! There were so many to research and they were all different and all so unique. They all had there own properties. Studing minerals was very fasinating.

4. Weathering and Erosion

Weather and climate was a fun unit as well. My favorite thing we did in this unit was a weathing and erosion podcast! We all had partners and we got to go outside and take fun picutres of weathering rock and erosion from all around! That project was so much fun! It took a lot of work and effort, but it was by far my favorite. We learned about how water, wind, and ice wear down Earth's surface and how Earth's surface is constantly changing! It was all very interesting.
5. Earth's Waters

Earth's waters was the last unit we did this year. My favorite topic we discussed was how many different types of water there were. They're are lakes, ponds, swamps, wetlands, and so much more! I thought it was a lot of fun to learn about all of Earths water and how we really need to do a better job conserving it.

My eighth grade science year was full of excitement, shocks, and work, but it was most definetly worth it! I loved this year and thought it was the best year of science i've ever done. Blogging was a lot of fun and hopefully a will continue doing it throughout my life!
Thanks Mrs. Casey
2008-2009 Earth Science was greatt(:

Where We Get Our Water From

About 75% of the water we receive comes from mountain springs in the areas of Aspen, Lead ville and Breckenridge – Colorado. Pipes that transfer this water to reservoirs like rampart and catamount are at the least 10.6 miles in distance.Walking time would be about 1 day and 6 hours. Rampart is a 500 surface acre lake between the US Air Force Academy and Woodland Park. Catamount is a 210 surface acre lake on the North slope of Pikes Peak. From the reservoirs, the water is transfered to water treatment plants before it is received in homes. There are 5 local water sources: Pikes Peak Northern and Southern slopes, Cheyenne Creeks, Fountain Creek, Peakview Reservoir in Monument, and Northfield Watershed. Then there are 4 local ground water sources: Arapahoe (4wells), Denver (1well), Laramie-Fox Hills (1 well), and Widefield (4wells). From these treatment plants, the plant distributes the water to the many homes in the city of Colorado Springs and the border to border cities. Such as Manitou Springs, and Breckenridge.

-Jenna&Grace :)

The Water Cycle

1. What is the water cycle?

The water cycle is a continuous process in which water moves through the environment.

2. Does the water cycle have a beginning or end?

The water cycle doesn't have a beginning or end because it is a continuous cycle.

3. Starting with a puddle on a sunny day, describe how water might move through the water cycle and eventually fall back as rain.
If there is a puddle laying on the ground and a hot, summer, sunny day there are a few steps that it must go through before it reaches Earth again. The water will first evaporate. After the water evaporates it goes through a condensation stage. After condensation comes precipitation. This is where the water will fall back to Earth.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Animated Bibliograpy

-http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/

I used this website to help me understand more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It helped me understand the amount of unwanted biodegradable plastic in the ocean. Only a few weeks ago did I first hear about this garbage patch. This was the first out of four websites that I looked up to research the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and I was amazed. How can so much garbage be in the ocean and were still not doing anything about it? I used a lot of useful information from the website in my presentation.

-http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm

The website shown above helped me understand even more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It also showed me how much pollution there is in the ocean. Its intoxicating the water and rapidly killing variates of marine life. Animals will eat this plastic and then, since it is biodegradable, it does not digest. It gets stuck in the animals stomachs and they can end up dying. I used this information in my presentation to help explain how bad this ocean pollution is coming and how it is rapidly getting worse.

-http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-worlds-largest-dump

This website helped me really understand how terrifying this subject really is. There is a huge garbage dump moving around in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and no one is doing anything. Organizations need to be started and plans need to be made. People need to start figuring out a way to fix this problem or else we all could end up dying from over pollution. I used this website in my presentation to help people understand that we really need to fix this issue and we really need to find a solution soon.

http://blog.mywonderfulworld.org/2009/03/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.html

For the last website I just simply looked to find extra information about the subject matter. I didn't find out anything different, i just found out that this is a very serious matter. We all need to throw in a hand to get this situation under control. We need to find a new way to recycle instead of littering and throwing it all in the ocean. We need to find a new place to put garbage besides burying it inside of the Earth or laying it all in the ocean. I used this website so i could explain in my presentation the subject and what we need to do. I also used these websites of my worst/best-case scenario.

Ocean Polution

Ocean Pollution (The Great Pacific Garbage Dump)

Q. What, specifically about your topic, are you going to research?

A. On our topic of ocean pollution I will research the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.


Q. What conclusions did you come to? What do you recommend average citizens do to make a difference?

URL'S

-http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/
-http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm
-http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-worlds-largest-dump
-http://blog.mywonderfulworld.org/2009/03/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.html

A. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a big patch of garbage, approximately the size of Texas, floating in the middle of the ocean. The garbage patch lies between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands. The dump is full of biodegradable plastic which is rapidly starting to kill the marine life. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and much, much more is only part of what is being discovered right now in the dump. Dead animal species are being found with stomachs full of plastic. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is formed and being formed from ocean currents. This patch is almost like a swirling whirpool of garbage. Marine life is starting to suffer because they are all mistaking garbage with food. Toxins in the water are also causing all sorts of marine life to suffer. In the central North Pacific, plastic outweighs surface zooplankton 6 to 1. Most of the plastic found in the dump is biodegradable. Fish and other forms of marine life then eat these substances which can not degrade in there stomachs which causes them to die. This garbage patch is just about the size of Texas and is rapidly increasing in growth. If we continue to do nothing about this garbage dump, it will contaminate are waters killing marine life and then, eventually, killing us. The only recommendations I can make is to recyle and not litter. You can also join a group to help clean up the waters and find a better place to put garbage other than our Earth's waters.

Q. What would happen if, worst-case scenario, nobody listened to your recommendations?

A. Worst-case scenario is almost every organism on the planet dies from toxis and over-pollution.


Q. What would happen if, best-case scenario, everybody listened to your recommendations?

A. If everyone listened to my recommendations it would be amazing. We all wouldn't die and we would end up with cleaner and safer waters[:

The Roaring 40's

Dear Reader,
The name of the place we are visiting is the Roaring 40's. It is located between the latitudes of 40˚S ad 50˚S, South of Australia. We would come to the Roaring 40's as sailors because these are some of the roughest waves to explore. The Roaring 40's is a strip in the ocean where there are no rocks or landmasses to slow the waves momentum which can lead to rough waters. The waves are cased by high winds the never stop. The shores around the Roaring 40's are rocky and desolate, stripped free of most plant life by the intense waves. The Roaring 40's is varied with squall, tropical thunderstorms, and either rough or calm seas which can double-cross sailors. The Roaring 40's reveals that Earth's waters can be as changing and unexpected as the seasons and the rest of the world around them. The waves of The 40's are always changing and if sailors don't know what to do they can be caught unaware and get into trouble.
~Your friends,
Grace and Audrey

Earthquake Webquest

1. Most earthquakes tend to happen along the plates of the coasts around the world.

2. I think that earthquakes happen most along plate tectonics because that's where the Earth is constantly moving.

3. This area is called a ridge.

4. The earthquake closest to Manitou Springs occurred on Ute Pass. There was a swarm of three small earthquakes on January 18, 1997. People could feel this earthquake, but only for a few seconds. This earthquake occurred at a magnitude of 3.1.

5. The earthquake I will be researching as a magnitude of 7.4 and occurred in 46.862°N, 155.156°E. This earthquake occurred east of east of the Kuril Islands where earthquakes are pretty common and usually earthquakes occurring in the Kuril Islands cause tsunami's.


6. There are many ways to protect yourself from earthquakes. If you are indoors and an earthquake occurs the most important thing to do is drop and cover. You should take cover under a heavy object that is stable. If you are outside you should stay away from tall buildings. You should stay away from glass or anything that could fall. If you are in a crowded area, the last thing you should do is run to the nearest exit because that's what everyone else will be doing. Finally, you should be prepared for aftershocks from the earthquakes. They might not be as big or damaging as the actual earthquake, but they are still dangerous!The most important thing that you need to d during an earthquake is stay calm. It's okay to be afraid, but you need to stay calm.