Pizza as the Earths Crust

The dough or crust is a representative of the mantle, this holds up the earth. Next layer is the asthenoshere, this is represented by the sauce of the pizza. It allows the crust to slide. The Oceanic crust is represented by the cheese. Finally we have the continental crust, that is represented by the toppings. It is the top layer.
YUMM!

Story of a Rock

Long ago there was a magma flow, it was a a nice magma flow, it flowed fast red and hot. However one day the flow started to slow as the tectonic plates shifted back together. It was a shame to loose such a nice magma flow, but out of it came something even more awesome. Out of the magma came Marty the extrusive Igneous rock. He was a nice rock. Because he was on the surface of the earth he cooled very fast and as it cooled a lot of gas escaped and thus he formed a very porous rock with small crystals. Marty sat on the side of the volcano for years. Scientist Steve came by and would look at Marty. But after years and years of sitting on the hill side he was beaten and whipped by wind and rain. Marty didn't mind it too much, because he looked forward to being transformed. The transformation we speak of is the slow process of being chemically transformed into a wonderful Sedimentary rock!

Simulations, Models, & Analyses

Simulation of Igneous Rocks
Heath bars can simulate Igneous rocks. The inside candy has very small crystal size so that makes it a extrusive formation.
Peanut brittle, fudge, and sea form candy are other examples that could be used in a class

Simulation of Sedimentary Rocks
Rice Krispise are a great example of a Detritial sedimentary rock. They are made up of bits and pieces and held together by the marshmallow.
The other form of Sedimentary rock would be chemical sedimentary.

Simulation of Metamorphic Rocks
Butterfingers are a great examples of a metamorphic rock, in specific it is a schist which is a type of Folicated schist. Meaning that you can see the bands of minerals.
Anything that goes through a heat and pressure change would be a good example to use for this.

Making fossils

What is a fossil?
A fossil has 2 requirements.
1. It has to be to be the remains of a once living organism.
2. It has to be 5,000+ years old

Our ingredients to make a fossil
1 lb bag of plaster pairs
1.5 cups of water
150 mL of sand
large cup to mix in
Cups that come off easy to make the fossils in
Shells (To fossilize)
And a whole lot of Love and fun!

The Outcome!
Well, they didn't turn out so hot. We got some small half pieces but they are a little lame. Our Mix seemed very chalky, they cam out easy, but with sub par impressions. The group that got good impressions used about 1:1 sand to plaster they added water as needed. They also used bigger shells that were easier to find and break out. SCIENCE!

Relative Dating

What do you know about RD?
Relative dating, to the best of my knowledge is using rocks and ice pack to determine the age of something. I have mostly heard it being used with rocks to determine the age of the earth.

We Discussed
Stenos principals of continuity.

Weather and Climate Day 1

What is the difference between weather and climate? 
When I think of weather I think of the day to day temperature and precipitation. Climate I think of as what the average conditions are in a given area. How much rain and what the average temperature is in a given region.


Egg Fire!
Prediction: I think that the  fire will be put out and the egg will stay on top of the glass.

Actual: The flame heated up the air inside very quickly, when the flame went out the temp. dropped quickly and a low pressure zone was created. This sucking the egg into the jar.
*To get it out you need to blow into the jar to created high pressure inside. This will push the egg out.


Hygrometer
With two thermometer (one with wet goze on it) spin them around on a stick for one minute and record the temp. Use the chart to find humidity.
Inside- Dry: 21
           Wet: 12
  Humidity: 36%
Outside- Dry: 15
              Wet: 15
  Humidity: 90%

Cloud Chart


Wind speed: Anemometer (Cup on sticks)
Precipitation: Rain Gage (Liquid) and Snow board (Solid).

Earth's Atmosphere Composition

Pie chart of the composition of the earths atmosphere.

Life, the Universe, and Everything

1. Ex nihilo- A example of this would be the christian creation story where God created everything from nothing. That is what the word ex nihilo means in literal translation "From nothing".

2. The second creation myth can be seen in the Native American background. In this story a the muscat was the only animal that could dive to the bottom of the lake and return with soil in his hand. He gave his life to do so though.

3. In Greek mythology, a being would have to pass through 3 different worlds to finally arrive at the final place.

4. Irish myths explains how a mans leg was chopped off and life was sported from that.

5. Indian creation story told how a egg was cracked and that lead to the formation of the universe.

I think a very reasonable explanation of how our galaxy was formed would be the rotation and spinning. A "Big Bang" could have started the elements and particles in space spinning. As things started spinning faster and faster, particles would then collect in a central location. Over time that central location would form into a sun, and different solar systems.

If I had $100

If I had $100 where would the money go to by percentage in our solar system, given according to mass.

My Thoughts 
Sun= $50
Asteroid belt and comets= $1
Other 8 Planets split= $49 not evenly though

Actual Answers
Sun= $99.85
Jupiter= $.106
Saturn= $.032
Neptune=$.006
Uranus=$.005
4 inner planets together= $.00066

So I was way off!

Astronomy Questions 1/30

What is the reason for the seasons?
    The seasons are earth are caused by the tilt of 23.5 degrees off its access. This causes the angel of refraction to greater in the winter for the Northern hemisphere, so less heat is absorbed because the energy is spread over a greater area. The earth is actually closer to the sun in the winter for the Northern hemisphere.

What causes the lunar phases?
    Lunar Phases are caused by the rotation of the moon around the sun and the sun light being reflected off the moon. At a new moon, the moon is between the sun and earth there for it can be seen from earth because it is over powered by the sun, and not reflecting any light onto the earth. at first and third quarter, it is to the side of the moon. Then at full moon the earth is between the moon and the sun.

What is Science?

Science is a very unique discipline to me because it is very intellectual class, forming hypothesis, thinking what will happen, and finding things to test. However at the same time it is very hands on. Science is not something one can fully learn by just reading in a book. It is a  class where hands on learning is so important. I believe the best way to learn in science is to actually do it yourself. I think this is what sets it apart from other disciplines where you just sit in a class and read out of a book. This makes the teacher less of an actual teacher and more of just a facilitator. They are there to spark the ideas and then let the students roll with it.