Last Day of School!!!

Last day of school!!!!!!
I will miss all the 7th graders!!!!
Have fun next year!!!!
Have a great summer!!!
♥♥♥♥

Plasticity Lab

In science class, we did a lab which demonstrated the plasticity of the Earth's mantle. To do this, we used cornstarch and water. We combined them to make it into a sticky, rubbery like liquid which could also be a solid. That mixture was a solid but had the characteristics of a liquid. It looks solid and rubbery, but once you put it in your hands, it feels soft and it starts to get liquid. The mixture was white at first but than we mixed in green food coloring so it turned green. The ooglet looked like a silly putty to me. The heat and pressure on the ooglet made it hard so that it didn't drip off your hand. Therefore, when the heat and pressure is not present, than the mixture would just drip down like a liquid. If you push your fingers on it fast then nothing will happen, it will just bounce on it. Then if you push your fingers in slowly then you finger will start to sink in. The mixture and the Earth's mantle are similar because heat and pressure displays the sphere of the mantle. Also, if there is no heat and pressure, than it will melt just like the mixture did. This lab was so much fun. I wish I can do it again sometime. I learned a lot of information form this fun lab!

October Sky Response(Blog 11)

October Sky

October Sky was an very inspirational movie and I learned a lot about rockets. During the movie, many of the events had occurred and were very fascinating. This movie's time frame was October 5, 1957 in Soviet Union. The movie had a lot of information for science and math. It displayed that a group of boys had a desire to build a rocket and than launch it. Homer Hakim had to go against his father's future plans for him and build his own rocket. His father worked for the coal mines and expected his son to follow his footsteps. Homer didn't do that though. He got his group of friends and learned a bunch of information for rockets and the formulas for it. Homer was never good at math but he learned it in a few amount of time for the science fair. His teacher, Miss.Riley, told Homer and his friends to participate in the science fair. It took them a number of times to build a rocket that actually launched a certain amount of distance. The friends didn't give up at all and kept their hopes high for being in the finals for the science fair. This movie showed all the struggles Homer Hakim faced and how he overcame them to be a smart person. The way Homer Hakim got inspired was by the Sputnik the Russians launched in space; the Sputnik was a satellite. The Sputnik encouraged everyone that anything is possible. for example, going in space in a space shuttle. That way, Homer Hakim thought of making a space rocket. When Homer and his group go to the nationals for the science fair, Homer got picked to go to Indiana and there he explained his rocket. They used alcohol for the fuel and the rocket looked just like a missile. Because of the magnetic force, the rocket curved. There was a fire in the woods which caused the police to arrest them. Quentin and Homer figured out the math formula explaining that they didn't start the fire. That proved their innocence using math. The formula they used proved that the rocket was no where near the woods, so there was no way that they started the fire. Homer's dad got injured from the coal mines. If you breath in all those fumes from the mines, then you can get lung cancer. That could affect your health and your lungs a lot! Therefore, Homer dropped out of school to take his dad's place for coal mining. Homer's dad recovered and came back to the coal mines and then Homer quit coal mines to get back to building rockets.

There were many character education shown or not shown throughout the whole movie. For example, Homer showed care. He showed care because when his father got injured in the coal mines, Homer dropped out of school to take his place. He did that so his older brother Jim didn't loose his scholarship for football. If Jim went to the coal mines, than he wouldn't be able to play football. Homer really cared for his family even though his dad didn't care for him. Miss.Riley showed respect towards the Rocket Boys. Everyone thought they they can't build a rocket but Miss.Riley knew that if they tried they will. Homer had cooperation towards Quentin when no one would talk to him but only Homer did. Homer had self-control when his dad told him that he couldn't build rockets anymore. Homer and his friends didn't get angry, they just found a new place to build it so that it won't be on company's property. Homer's mother had empathy towards the Rocket Boys when Homer's father didn't help them. Another reason she had empathy was because Homer's father started to yell at Homer and told him to get out, but his mother wasn't happy about it. Many people has assertion towards the Rocket Boys and supported them. They got them the materials they needed and helped them through the science fair.This movie was great. Overall, this movie inspired me to not to give up on my goals no matter what I have to face in the front of the world!

Response to Fragile X Syndrome

            This blog was about fragile x syndrome. I feel very bad for anyone who has fragile x syndrome. I would never like to have that. Whoever has it, I hope there is a cure to help you. Even though it is bad, the good thing is that it doesn't affect your life span. There are many treatments and soon there will be a cure for it. There are also many symptoms from this disease. Some symptoms are depression and broken speech. I learned a lot of information from this blog about fragile x syndrome. Since the scientists are trying to study animals for this disease, that is a great idea. I hope everyone feels the same as me and I hope fragile x syndrome will be less every year! This blog was very good and I got to learn a lot of information I didn't know before.

Blog: http://dog-lover6164.blogspot.com/

Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis was discovered in the 1949s and also by Dr.Dorothy Hansine Anderen. Even though it was discovered later, cystic fibrosis was around since the Middle Ages. There is a lot of information on cystic fibrosis that has been discovered by now. The symptoms and possible complications of being a patient with this disease is mostly in the liver, lungs, and pancreas. The mucus becomes thick and sticky and because of that, the lungs may get infected then get damaged. The taste of skin is salty and persistent coughing. You can get pneumonia with cystic fibrosis. Wheezing or shortness of breath, or even poor growth or weight gain in spite of really good appetite. You can get bronchitis.. On top of all that, the men or female can become infertile with this disease. There is no cure for this disease but you can get treatment for it. Some treatments are antibiotics or postural drainage which is chest physical therapy. The mortality for cystic fibrosis are that many die at a young age. Some are in their 20s or 30s and they die from lung failure due to cystic fibrosis. Even though they die young, the most common age is 37. Because of the treatment they go under, the patient has a chance of dying around their 40s or 50s. This disease is kind of popular in the U.S. and in the world population. In the U.S., the population is about 30,000 children and adults and in worldwide it is 70,000 people of all ages! That is actually a lot if you think of it. There are many parts of population which is vulnerable to cystic fibrosis. It is mostly vulnerable to us, children. 1 in 2,500 births in the U.S. have cystic fibrosis. Mostly, it is common in Caucasians (1 in 3,300). Native Americans (Pueblo - 1 in 4,000; Zuni - 1 in 1,300). It is less common in Americans of Hispanics (1 in 8,000), Africans (1 in 15,000), and Asians (1 in 32,000). Several mutations has occurred. At the molecular level, the genes are all mixed together and tangled. A genetic mutation stops the production of a protein in cells of the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. Two working copies of gene are shown, but only one is needed to prevent the cystic fibrosis. There are no extra copies of genes, however, in some people there may be an extra one. In order to develop new treatment, the doctors need to know the patients medical needs, nutritional needs, and emotional needs. I feel very upset for those who have this disease. I hope someone finds a cure very soon. Cystic fibrosis is not contagious and can not be transmitted from one person to another! Cystic fibrosis is a deadly disease but never lose hope because one day, you never know, a cure will surely be discovered!

SOURCE: 

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cf/cf_what.html

http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/

http://www.ygyh.org/cf/whatisit.htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/cystic_fibrosis/article.htm

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=cysticfibrosis

http://pw1.netcom.com/~yourman/webdoc1.htm

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/Mosby_factsheets/Cystic_fibrosis.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cystic-fibrosis/ds00287

http://www.fountia.com/who-discovered-cystic-fibrosis

http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002233.html

Science Blog 8 (Class Response)

In science class, we just finished learning about how roller coasters work. My roller coaster was The Leaning Tower of Terror. We had to make a website for our coasters and talk about it. In the website we had to add a lot of information so that we can catch the visitor's attention to our coaster. The first information we had to add was the name of our roller coaster. Then we had tell where it was located, what days it opens and what time it starts. We even had to have the admissions fees for single person or a group deal. Then the website should contain the following information: at least two pictures, how force is used, hoe friction is used, and how Newton's Three Laws of Motion are used. Our website should have almost all the information a real roller coaster website would have. The reviews of the riders' should be there too. The most important thing the website should have is a section on "all about our coaster" and two facts about it. Overall, the roller coaster activity was so fun and I learned a lot! I now know how roller coasters REALLY work and all the math and science behind it!

Social Studies Blog 3

On Sunday morning two teenagers were arrested for stealing a bus and taking it for a morning-ride in Monroe Township. The 15-year-old Old Bridge resident on the bus, accidentally pushed the panic alarm button which went straight to the police. Then the cops were informed that one of the bus was missing from Oak Tree Schools from Applegarth Road.The two males inside didn’t stop when they were told to. Eventually the bus stopped on Cranbury-South River and the two males were arrested. They were sent to juvenile for a lot of reasons. Some were, for stealing a bus, eluding the police, and for driving a motor vehicle without owner's permission. The police also charged them for a theft of bus from the Monroe Board Of Education.
My opinion on this was that they were just being "dumb" and decided to do this. It was very wrong and very unnecessary. It was good that they got charged with some of those reasons! Those two people were doing the wrong thing so the police did made the right choice. Overall, those two people should learn their lesson and not make the mistake again after coming out of juvenile!

SOURCE: http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2009/02/school_buses_involved_in_three.html

My Roller Coaster Website

The Leaning Tower of Terror

Science Blog 7 (Current Event)

Ants Tricked Into Raising Butterflies

WHO: Jeremy A. Thomas of Britain's University of Oxford and the Journal Science

WHAT: Butterflies are tricking ants to feed their young ones and give special treatments. The European butterfly Maculina give out a scent which mimics the ants and then make themselves at home in the ant's nest. Once they become a caterpillar, they beg for food just like an ant does. When the ant queen make subtle sounds for the worker ants, the caterpillars learned those mimics too. If there are any food shortages, the nurse ants would kill their own larvae to feed to the caterpillars who are pretending to be the queen ants. The real queen ant and the caterpillar would be in different colonies so they don't see each other. Then for an experiment, a butterfly pupa who was pretending to  be the queen ant was placed in a chamber with the real queen ant and other worker ants. The real queen ants started to attack the caterpillar, but the workers helped the caterpillar by attacking its own queen ants.

WHEN:Thursday February 5, 2009

WHERE: Washington

WHY: The real queen ant was placed with the workers and the caterpillar because it was an experiment. It was an experiment on to check who the worker ants would help more and who they would think their own queen ant was.

MY OPINION: That was a smart idea because it is so "cool" on how the caterpillars could learn everything an ant knows. The caterpillars are really smart and can learn things fast. Since they have to get used to an ant life, it must have been really difficult for them to do that. In my opinion, caterpillars seem smarter than ants. Overall, this was a great article to write about because I learned a lot on the way some caterpillars and ants live.

SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29038257/

Social Studies Blog 2

Synagogue Attacked in Venezuela

A group of 15 people who were  armed, vandalized Caracas' oldest synagogue. Those people wrote graffiti such as "We don't want murderers," and "Jews, get out." They shattered religious objects and spray-painted the walls. The Jewish leaders called this the worst attack ever on their community. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro promised that the attack would be investigated. Because of that incident, it forced the synagogue to cancel Saturday's worship. All this happened on Friday 31, 2009. 

In my opinion, I would say that whoever did the attack were really not smart. Why would you attack a place where people go to worship. The people who attacked it, are not people who others should follow! I strongly disagree to those who think that destroying a place where others go to worship is fun. I dislike those people because you should never do anything to temples or churches or anywhere where you can worship to god. It is a wrong doing and very cruel! Why would anyone even think about to destroy a place like the synagogue! 

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28953460/

Science Blog 6 (Class Response)

Waves

Right now in science we are learning about waves. A wave means a disturbance that transfers energy from place to place. The three types of mediums that waves travel through are gasses, liquids, and solids. The properties of waves are amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and hertz. When waves move through a medium, the waves may be longitudinal or transverse waves. Longitudinal waves are waves where the motion of particles in a medium is horizontal. Transverse waves are where the motion of particles in a medium are up and down. Crest is the highest point of a wave. The trough is the most maximum downward motion by a particle in a wave. Frequency is measured in units called Hertz. The wavelength is the distance between two consecutive corresponding points in a wave. In order to find the speed to a wave, you have to do frequency times wavelength.

I think that learning about all different kinds of waves is fun because you get to see how waves actually move. Some of the types that we learned are mechanical and electromagnetic waves. There is a lot more to learn about waves that I still don't know yet. I hope to learn more about waves as we go on in this chapter.

The Inauguration (S.S. Blog)

The inauguration this year means to start with a new beginning and change the way we live today! The first African-American president to be chosen is this year which is President Obama. The Inauguration this year was to make Barack Obama the new president and Joe Biden the new vice president. This is not a big and eventful day for only Obama but also for all those who wanted a change in the world. The big day began with some of the current senators' and governers' coming onto the balcony of the Capitol building. Followed by the oath of President Obama and Joe Biden, then the speech of Obama. After that was the parade from the Captiol to the White House. http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGxHZR (take a look at the speech of President Obama.) The Inauguration is very important because that speech starts the new beginning of everyone and the change.

The first article, "Obama Plays to the Crowd at Inauguration Parade" talks about the parade from the US Capitol Building to the White House in the armored limo. They stepped out of the limo on Pennsylvania Avenue. Re-enactors from a black Civil War regiment; World War II's surviving Tuskegee Airmen; Freedom Riders from the civil rights movement all marched. President Obama watched the rest of the parade from the viewing stand in front of the White House. There were over 13,000 participants in the parade from all 50 states. During the 15 minutes when President Obama and Mrs.Obama, people were on the rooftops and balconies. That was alot of people and very crowded. It was even very noisy with all the cheering and clapping.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/20/obama-exits-limo-greet-parade-watchers/

The second article, "Online Inauguration Sets Record" talks about how people broke the record of the amount of people watching online. Over 7.7 million people watched the Inauguration live online, and then over 27 million watched it over the whole day. For the first time online, people carried video feeds on their front pages. That is five times the previous record set on Election Day. During Election Day, it was only 5.3 million people online. President Obama's Inaugural made the history for the amount of people watching it. Some of the sites froze due to the cause of so many people watching it. The Internet's top 40 sites slowed down by as much as 60 percent even before the ceremony started at 11 a.m.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/21/inauguration.online.video/index.html

By looking at the impresive hard work President Obama is doing on his first day and the inspirational speech he gave, I think that he will show the world that it was a good choice to vote him. A man who can turn the whole world and economy to a better and a safer place to live. That's why President Obama was a great choice of president. He can and will, together change the world! "Yes we can, yes we will, and we will do it together!" ~President Obama

Science Blog 5 (Current Event)

Tourist finds soldier's bones at Civil War site

WHO: Battlefield Park Superintendent John Howard, archaeologist, and a visitor.

WHAT: The visitor found the remains of a Civil War Soldier. There were bone fragments and an uniform button. The National Park Service archaeologists found more bone fragments, buttons and a belt buckle. Those items established that the young man was from New York. The bones are sent to Smithsonian Institution for analysis, but the name of the soldier is unknown.

WHEN: They found everything in October but got more details in December-January.

WHERE: At the Antietam National Battlefield in western Maryland, near a groundhog hole.

WHY: The visitors were probably there to visit and look at the battlefield. Since that visitor found it near a groundhog hole, than there must be more.

MY OPINION: I think that it was really good that the visitor found this because then the battlefield would be really popular. The article even said that it was one of the bloodiest war. According to that, there might be more unknown soldiers there but you never know. Overall, I learned a little about the war just from this article.

SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28562487/