Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Monday, 5 October 2015
Tuesday, 15 September 2015
Kavya Plate Boundary Excersise
The animation above shows how Iceland was created through two divergent oceanic plates. The plate on the left represents the oceanic North American Plate, while the one on the left represents the oceanic Eurasian Plate. Since the two plates are diverging, they are separating, and the space in the middle leaves magma that is not dense underneath. This is why the magma surfaces, and hardens immediately, which creates rock. This is how the country of Iceland was created in between these plates. The two plates are still moving apart, so Iceland grows approximately 1 centimeter from each side or plate that moves. Iceland will continue to grow this way.
Catalyst 10 9/16/15
Order of the earth's sublayers from the center of the earth outward:
Inner Core, Outer Core, Mesosphere (Mantle), Asthenosphere, Lithosphere
Photo Credits
Inner Core, Outer Core, Mesosphere (Mantle), Asthenosphere, Lithosphere
Photo Credits
Friday, 11 September 2015
How Old is the Ocean Floor?
In science, we have learned about the continental drift, and are learning about the age of rocks in the ocean and on land. This post is about the age of the ocean floor.
This map I have labeled shows the Mid-Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-Indian ridges. At these ridges, new rocks come up from the earth's mantel, and push aside the old rocks. This is why most new rocks are at the ridges, or in the middle of the ocean, and older rocks are closer to land and near continents.
This map shows the Mid-Atlanic ridge, and its youngest and oldest rocks. The youngest rocks in the Atlantic are about 0.5 million years old, and the oldest are about 172 million years old.
This map I have labeled shows the Mid-Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-Indian ridges. At these ridges, new rocks come up from the earth's mantel, and push aside the old rocks. This is why most new rocks are at the ridges, or in the middle of the ocean, and older rocks are closer to land and near continents.
Where are the oldest parts of the oceans?
The oldest the parts of the oceans are closer to the continents and land. There are some exceptions, but in general, the closer you get to continents, the older the ocean gets. This happens because the newer rocks come up to the surface in the middle of the ocean, and push the older rocks aside, and put them near the continents.
Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic ocean basins have the same age and patterns?
In general, all ocean basins follow the same age pattern (that the younger rocks are in the middle) but an example of an exception would be in the Pacific. There are no old rocks at the western outline of North or South America, while there is a huge outward bulge of really old rocks coming from eastern Asia. In this case, it would just mean that the tectonic plate is at the border of a continent. But in the Atlantic ocean, the tectonic plate is exactly between Africa and North and South America.
How does the age of the ocean floor compare with the age of rocks on the continents?
Rocks on land are 2.5 billion years old on average, while rocks in the ocean are 80 million years old on average. Erosion is one factor that tells us why the ocean rocks are so much younger than rocks on land. Since more erosion happens in the ocean with the water, it eats the rocks away, leaving newer or younger rocks. Another factor could be plate tectonics and ridges. When the new rocks come to the surface of the ocean, and push the older rocks aside, the older ones could either go under the surface, where they are not visible to us, or they could form new land (or connect to land), which would become the old rocks on continents.
These questions were the same as the questions in your pre-test. Reflect on what answers, if any, you changed after completing these activities. What did you learn from these activities with GeoMapApp? Did you need a lot of help from friends or your parents or teacher? What do you think helps you learn new material in science class?
I think the GeoMapApp helped me understand the age of the ocean really well, because it was a great visual representation. Before I used GeoMap, I think I had a slight idea about what the answers were, but I wasn't sure, and didn't understand them in detail. I know this because the length of my answers has increased, and I was able to explain my answers in better detail. The one question I was way off on was the third one, because I said that rocks in the ocean were older, but my explanation didn't make sense. So the explaining was really where I grew here. Sometimes, the questions confused me, so I learned some things from my parents and teachers. In science class, I like when we get to have an activity like GeoMapApp on our laptops and be able to go at our own pace. But the big downside of using our computers like this is that if we are doing it at home, we can't ask our teacher about any questions. It's better to do it in science class, so we can ask our teacher to explain something to us, or show us something.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Age of Ocean Floor Pre-Test
1. Where are the oldest parts of the oceans?
I think the oldest parts of oceans are the areas closest to the continents, because that's where the oldest rocks from the mid atlantic ridge are. There might be some sort of connection between the oceans and the rocks.
2. Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic ocean basins have the same age and patterns?
I think they would have to have different age and patterns, because they split into continents/countries at different points in time.
3. How does the age of the ocean floor compare with the age of rocks on the continents?
I think the oldest parts of oceans are the areas closest to the continents, because that's where the oldest rocks from the mid atlantic ridge are. There might be some sort of connection between the oceans and the rocks.
2. Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic ocean basins have the same age and patterns?
I think they would have to have different age and patterns, because they split into continents/countries at different points in time.
3. How does the age of the ocean floor compare with the age of rocks on the continents?
I think the age of the ocean floor would have to be certain age older than the rocks on the continents above it, because the ocean is always there before the rocks are.
Monday, 17 August 2015
Week 2
1. What is the difference between an Observation and an Inference?
An observation is something you notice with your senses, and an inference is the conclusion or prediction you make based on what you notice. An inference is a judgement or educated guess, while an observation is a fact.
2. How can inferences and observations be related? Scientists must use the information they observe (observations) to make a judgement (inference). If you don't have any observations, it's hard to make an inference.
3. Why are both observations and inferences important in science? When scientists see some sort of reaction, or anything happen while doing an experiment, they want to figure out what happened. This is why it is important for them to note what they saw, smelled, tasted, felt, or heard, so they can then infer what that means, and what happened.
2. How can inferences and observations be related? Scientists must use the information they observe (observations) to make a judgement (inference). If you don't have any observations, it's hard to make an inference.
3. Why are both observations and inferences important in science? When scientists see some sort of reaction, or anything happen while doing an experiment, they want to figure out what happened. This is why it is important for them to note what they saw, smelled, tasted, felt, or heard, so they can then infer what that means, and what happened.
Thursday, 7 May 2015
Electromagnet Fishing Pole
In Science, as a part of our electricity unit, we have been making electromagnets. Our mission is to make an electromagnet fishing pole (paperclips and brass fasteners being the fish). The fishing pole also had to have a switch, that turned off the electromagnetism. Here are all the plans I've had, leading up to final design.
We were given a 50cm wooden pole, two AA batteries, and there were other miscellaneous items available to us
First Design:
For this design, things were quite simple. We simply had the battery pack on the wooden pole, and the battery's wires were connected to a steel nail, which had a wire coil coiled around it. We already knew that coiling wire around the nail was required to have an electromagnet. There were two problems with this design: 1. The electromagnetic force wasn't powerful enough. 2. It didn't have a switch. Although these were the obvious issues with this design, we did run into other issues.
Second Design:
We had the same set up as the previous design, but a problem we didn't think we would encounter is having the battery pack mess us up. We tested our fishing rod with and without the battery pack, and the strength of the electromagnet was much higher without the battery pack. The video below explains this. The picture to the left shows two nails together. The thing is, we didn't have enough strength to pick up a large paperclip, so we tried having two nails to get more strength. That didn't make a difference, but the type of nail did. In the previous design, we used a steel nail. Here, we used an iron nail because we learned that iron conducts electricity better than steel. So our second design had two iron nails, no battery pack, and still no switch.
Third (Final) Design:
Our third and final design was our best design. We decided to include the battery pack, because it helps keep the batteries together. What we decided to do was make sure we have a battery pack that doesn't mess things up, by testing multiple battery packs. Since two nails didn't make a difference, we just used one iron nail. For our switch, we used a brass fastener. We had one battery pack wire connected to one side of the wire coil- this was a permanent connection. For the other, we put the battery wire under the brass fastener (that was taped to the wooden pole) and put the wire coil wire under the other flap of the brass fastener. We thought of using a thumb tack or paper clip for this same switch idea, but brass fasteners seemed to conduct electricity the best. So technically, the electromagnetism was going through the brad. That was our final design!
Here is a video of us explaining how our last and final design worked (taken right before the derby):
We were given a 50cm wooden pole, two AA batteries, and there were other miscellaneous items available to us
First Design:
Second Design:
Third (Final) Design:
Here is a video of us explaining how our last and final design worked (taken right before the derby):
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Monday, 6 April 2015
Water Project Conclusion
We finished our water project well, because we had a successful class presentation (we went first) and started donating.
We made a total of $257, and handed out over 250 flyers.
Freya and I decided to split the money to donate so both of us have a chance to donate on the website.
The website says $95.15 because it is in USD (Charity: Water is a US based organization), which is half of our amount.
Finally, I shared the video we made with my family, and it passed our goal of 60 views.
We made a total of $257, and handed out over 250 flyers.
Freya and I decided to split the money to donate so both of us have a chance to donate on the website.
The website says $95.15 because it is in USD (Charity: Water is a US based organization), which is half of our amount.
Finally, I shared the video we made with my family, and it passed our goal of 60 views.
All in all, we enjoyed doing the water project, and it deepened our understanding of a lot of things. The one thing we would do if we had a similar project is plan the expenditures and the profit.
Water Project: Week 4 (Post 2)
We wrapped up our entire Water Project pretty well.
The 5th grade presentation went smoothly, and we ended up earning over $50 in just that day. We had some left over cookies, so we sold them among 6th graders at lunch. this contributed to the $50 at the end of that day.
The poster is for April 8th (the Water Project Celebration day), and the slide show and presentation is for class tomorrow. So we are doing pretty well on time because we just need to finish the poster by next Wednesday.
The 5th grade presentation went smoothly, and we ended up earning over $50 in just that day. We had some left over cookies, so we sold them among 6th graders at lunch. this contributed to the $50 at the end of that day.
Above: Freya and I presenting to Ms. Smith's class.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Water Project Presentations
Today, we are presenting our water projects to our science class. Below is my feedback to all the groups who presented.
Adam-
One well done: I really liked how you described your project realistically, and said what you did even if you had a problem.
One I wish: I wish you could have talked smoother, so that we could hear exactly what you were saying consistently.
One take away to help you in your presentation: Our group made a video too, so I would definitely play at least a section of my video like you did.
Jason-
One well done: I liked how you were really honest about your project, which is good because everyone can learn from that.
One I wish: I wish I could've seen pictures of you doing the project, like the tournament going on.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to be as honest as you were in my presentation, and share more of my failures as well as successes.
Parker-
One well done: It was great how you gave so much detail about the Walk for Water, like showing us the map for it. This helped me get a better idea of what you were doing.
One I wish: I wished you had more pictures in your presentation instead of having just words.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to track each week like you did, to be specific.
Rahini and Zara-
One well done: I liked how you guys had a lot of photos to give us evidence for everything you did.
One I wish: I wish you kept your presentation concise, so we got the information we needed, and you didn't go on about one idea.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would've liked to go through the whole process and show each roadblock we had on the way.
Claire-
One well done: You had a really logical sequence of parts to talk about. I liked how you had your purpose, everything you did, then finally the difference you made.
One I wish: I wished you had a better start or lead to your presentation, so we get some background about your project and what you did.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I thought it was good how you thoroughly went through everything you did for your project, and I should have done that.
Kyndall-
One well done: It was good how you talked about each week in sequence.
One I wish: I wish you had less words on your slides, and more pictures.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I sent emails for my project too, so I would've wanted to include screenshots of those in my presentation.
Arjun-
One well done: Nice job on sharing each thing you did along with why it was successful or not.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos of you doing the project, rather than mostly text.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I wish I was as honest as you were in your presentation about how not everything worked out well.
Erika & Zoe-
One well done: I really like how you guys were honest about your project, and connected that to the overall difference you made.
One I wish: I wish you guys concluded your presentation better so the audience had a better idea of what you did in all.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to talk more about the video I made like you did. You guys talked about the views, and showed us that, which was great!
Mia-
One well done: You are a great presenter, because you changed your tone and volume according to what you were saying.
One I wish: I wish you chose a better sequence to put the parts of your presentation in, because you first stated what impact your product made, then told us what you product was after a few other slides.
Robin, Sophie, and Lilly-
One well done: You guys presented well, and also had a logical order of your slides. I could hear you guys well, and you changed your voice at the right time.
One I wish: I wish you guys talked more about the Dirty Water Challenge in your presentation, because it seemed like a really big part of the project, and I didn't learn much about it.
Seung Min-
One well done: I liked how you had a variety of photos of what you did for your project.
One I wish: I wish you had less text on every slide, and relied on your oral presentation more.
Sophia-
One well done: I liked how you explained everything you did in detail.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos, and also a sample of your t-shirt.
Isabella-
One well done: It was great how you were really really enthusiastic! Your lead, especially really got the audience hooked in, and the sequence you put each slide/section in led to great meaning.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos, so we know exactly what you did and we can see it.
Rohan-
One well done: It was good how you shared what you and your partner liked about the water project, so we got to hear your opinion.
One I wish: I wish you were more enthusiastic and seemed more passionate about what you were saying, rather than looking bored with it.
Ethan-
One well done: I liked how you seemed comfortable with the audience, and made it feel like you were having a conversation, rather than acting nervous.
One I wish: I wish you had more pictures so the audience had a better understanding of what you did.
Adam-
One well done: I really liked how you described your project realistically, and said what you did even if you had a problem.
One I wish: I wish you could have talked smoother, so that we could hear exactly what you were saying consistently.
One take away to help you in your presentation: Our group made a video too, so I would definitely play at least a section of my video like you did.
Jason-
One well done: I liked how you were really honest about your project, which is good because everyone can learn from that.
One I wish: I wish I could've seen pictures of you doing the project, like the tournament going on.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to be as honest as you were in my presentation, and share more of my failures as well as successes.
Parker-
One well done: It was great how you gave so much detail about the Walk for Water, like showing us the map for it. This helped me get a better idea of what you were doing.
One I wish: I wished you had more pictures in your presentation instead of having just words.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to track each week like you did, to be specific.
Rahini and Zara-
One well done: I liked how you guys had a lot of photos to give us evidence for everything you did.
One I wish: I wish you kept your presentation concise, so we got the information we needed, and you didn't go on about one idea.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would've liked to go through the whole process and show each roadblock we had on the way.
Claire-
One well done: You had a really logical sequence of parts to talk about. I liked how you had your purpose, everything you did, then finally the difference you made.
One I wish: I wished you had a better start or lead to your presentation, so we get some background about your project and what you did.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I thought it was good how you thoroughly went through everything you did for your project, and I should have done that.
Kyndall-
One well done: It was good how you talked about each week in sequence.
One I wish: I wish you had less words on your slides, and more pictures.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I sent emails for my project too, so I would've wanted to include screenshots of those in my presentation.
Arjun-
One well done: Nice job on sharing each thing you did along with why it was successful or not.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos of you doing the project, rather than mostly text.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I wish I was as honest as you were in your presentation about how not everything worked out well.
Erika & Zoe-
One well done: I really like how you guys were honest about your project, and connected that to the overall difference you made.
One I wish: I wish you guys concluded your presentation better so the audience had a better idea of what you did in all.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to talk more about the video I made like you did. You guys talked about the views, and showed us that, which was great!
Mia-
One well done: You are a great presenter, because you changed your tone and volume according to what you were saying.
One I wish: I wish you chose a better sequence to put the parts of your presentation in, because you first stated what impact your product made, then told us what you product was after a few other slides.
Robin, Sophie, and Lilly-
One well done: You guys presented well, and also had a logical order of your slides. I could hear you guys well, and you changed your voice at the right time.
One I wish: I wish you guys talked more about the Dirty Water Challenge in your presentation, because it seemed like a really big part of the project, and I didn't learn much about it.
Seung Min-
One well done: I liked how you had a variety of photos of what you did for your project.
One I wish: I wish you had less text on every slide, and relied on your oral presentation more.
Sophia-
One well done: I liked how you explained everything you did in detail.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos, and also a sample of your t-shirt.
Isabella-
One well done: It was great how you were really really enthusiastic! Your lead, especially really got the audience hooked in, and the sequence you put each slide/section in led to great meaning.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos, so we know exactly what you did and we can see it.
Rohan-
One well done: It was good how you shared what you and your partner liked about the water project, so we got to hear your opinion.
One I wish: I wish you were more enthusiastic and seemed more passionate about what you were saying, rather than looking bored with it.
Ethan-
One well done: I liked how you seemed comfortable with the audience, and made it feel like you were having a conversation, rather than acting nervous.
One I wish: I wish you had more pictures so the audience had a better understanding of what you did.
Sunday, 29 March 2015
Water Project: Week 4 (Post 1)
There are four things I really need to focus on for this week. First, making the poster. Freya and I are planning to have a description of each week on the poster with a conclusion about if our project was successful or not. We will type it up, and get the pictures we have and print them out. The poster is due on Thursday, so I definitely need to get started on that now.
Second, presenting to a 5th grade classroom. I just organized a presentation in a 5th grade class for Tuesday. I will make a short presentation, and hand out some flyers. Freya is bringing in cookies to sell and the wristbands. We are planning to sell the wristbands for $3 because we have a lot left and we need to sell them so we don't have a lot left. I realized that it is better to sell them even if we don't make profit, rather than have a bunch left over.
The third thing is preparing my presentation for science class. I need to decide if I am going to use a slide show or anything else. I need to have this ready by Thursday.
The fourth thing is sending the donations in to Charity: Water. We don't have a deadline for this, but we would want to do this as soon as possible. We are planning to give the money to our parents, and they donate by credit card, because it is easiest to donate that way.
I also think that the video I made is a great way of spreading awareness, and it is easy for most people because it is a short video accessible on YouTube. The video currently has 38 views. It is my goal to get it to 60 views by the Water Project Celebration on April 8th.
Second, presenting to a 5th grade classroom. I just organized a presentation in a 5th grade class for Tuesday. I will make a short presentation, and hand out some flyers. Freya is bringing in cookies to sell and the wristbands. We are planning to sell the wristbands for $3 because we have a lot left and we need to sell them so we don't have a lot left. I realized that it is better to sell them even if we don't make profit, rather than have a bunch left over.
The third thing is preparing my presentation for science class. I need to decide if I am going to use a slide show or anything else. I need to have this ready by Thursday.
The fourth thing is sending the donations in to Charity: Water. We don't have a deadline for this, but we would want to do this as soon as possible. We are planning to give the money to our parents, and they donate by credit card, because it is easiest to donate that way.
I also think that the video I made is a great way of spreading awareness, and it is easy for most people because it is a short video accessible on YouTube. The video currently has 38 views. It is my goal to get it to 60 views by the Water Project Celebration on April 8th.
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Water Project Week 3
This week I achieved quite a lot for my Water Project.
On Wednesday night, my mom brought home 160 copies of the flyers to put in people's mail boxes. It took us a while to cut and fold all of the flyers. But here is a picture of all the flyers we made on Wednesday.
It doesn't look like much, but that is 160 flyers. After that, I put them into people's mail boxes. But, there were a few mailboxes left, so on Thursday night, my mom brought some more flyers home. Here is a picture of me handing out the brochures.
By Thursday night, every mail box in my condo had a flyer in it.
I would've liked to pass them out earlier because most people only check their mail boxes once or twice a week, so a lot of people might not have seen the flyers in time for my event. But, the flyers do have information for donations, so some people might email one of us for donations. We had some extra flyers with us, so we were handing them out to anyone near the function room or anyone who came.
This week we held our even in my condo's function room. For the most part, it was successful. The brownies that Freya made sold out in the first few hours, but we were still left with some cookies. The wristbands also sold better than I thought they would. We ended up handing out a whole lot of flyers, which I was really proud of, because the flyers really inform people. They are also something that people can keep, and they spread awareness. I imagined that a lot of people would collect in the function room to watch my presentation and Freya's demonstration for the kids, but it was mostly people coming and going. What we started to do is walk up to people, show them the flyer, and ask them if they want to buy cookies, brownies, or wristbands. This attracted quite a few people. We had some customers that bought in bulk. For example, one man had a dinner party, so he bought eight brownies and three cookies.
Above and to the right is a picture of how we set up our sale. I had prepared a short presentation on the Water Crisis, but I never really gave it. There were a few groups of people who were interested, so I walked them through the flyer, and explained everything in detail, because I had a lot of knowledge about that.
The picture above is slightly blurry, but it is of Freya and I with our first customers. We drew them in by telling them we were selling baked goods for charity.
We didn't want the water filter demonstration to go to waste, since no one was doing it. I realized that no one was doing it because we didn't tell them about it. So there was one lady who's kids really liked our baked goods and kept coming back for them. So we asked her if her kids would like to see a short demonstration, and she was really happy about that.
Another thing we did to draw people in is I made a poster, and put up printouts of the flyers on the window of the function room. Here are pictures of that.
At the end, we made around $200 in total. I learned that you really need to think about how you are going to draw people in. I could've delivered the flyers earlier; asked my mom to inform people she knows in our condo; and maybe even walked around the condo talking to people about it. I expected people to collect in the function room, rather than having groups of people come and go. I didn't think about what other people would come for.
Also, even though we earned $200, we spent a lot of money. We spend $3.30 on each wrist band, and we started by selling at $5, but not many people were buying them, so we dropped the price to $4. The function room costs $40 to book. At first, I was thinking that I would have to earn enough money to pay my mom back for the function room money, but she said that she was like a sponsor for our cause, so we didn't need to pay her back. We are not sure if we are going to pay Freya's parents back for the wristbands.
One thing I would want to change about this week is to divide the work up better. I felt that I was doing most of the work, and my partner wasn't doing as much. What I could've done about this is assigned my partner some of the work I was doing. I felt this because at certain points, I was getting really stressed about it, and my partner didn't have that much to be stressed about at all.
At first I thought bake sales were really generic and not very professional, so I didn't really want to do them. But then I realized that most people really like bake sales, so they are a good idea if you are trying to draw people in.
I will definitely remember interacting with the customers this week. One memorable one was a man who bought things with his family at first. His four year old son came back about 10 minutes later and handed be a handful of change. His dad said it was all of his savings.
To end our Water Project, we were thinking of going to present to a fifth grade class. We could present and sell baked goods there, so we earn more money. If we do make this decision, I think we should act on it quickly because in the past weeks we have been slow at doing things.
On Wednesday night, my mom brought home 160 copies of the flyers to put in people's mail boxes. It took us a while to cut and fold all of the flyers. But here is a picture of all the flyers we made on Wednesday.
It doesn't look like much, but that is 160 flyers. After that, I put them into people's mail boxes. But, there were a few mailboxes left, so on Thursday night, my mom brought some more flyers home. Here is a picture of me handing out the brochures.
By Thursday night, every mail box in my condo had a flyer in it.
I would've liked to pass them out earlier because most people only check their mail boxes once or twice a week, so a lot of people might not have seen the flyers in time for my event. But, the flyers do have information for donations, so some people might email one of us for donations. We had some extra flyers with us, so we were handing them out to anyone near the function room or anyone who came.
This week we held our even in my condo's function room. For the most part, it was successful. The brownies that Freya made sold out in the first few hours, but we were still left with some cookies. The wristbands also sold better than I thought they would. We ended up handing out a whole lot of flyers, which I was really proud of, because the flyers really inform people. They are also something that people can keep, and they spread awareness. I imagined that a lot of people would collect in the function room to watch my presentation and Freya's demonstration for the kids, but it was mostly people coming and going. What we started to do is walk up to people, show them the flyer, and ask them if they want to buy cookies, brownies, or wristbands. This attracted quite a few people. We had some customers that bought in bulk. For example, one man had a dinner party, so he bought eight brownies and three cookies.Above and to the right is a picture of how we set up our sale. I had prepared a short presentation on the Water Crisis, but I never really gave it. There were a few groups of people who were interested, so I walked them through the flyer, and explained everything in detail, because I had a lot of knowledge about that.
The picture above is slightly blurry, but it is of Freya and I with our first customers. We drew them in by telling them we were selling baked goods for charity.
We didn't want the water filter demonstration to go to waste, since no one was doing it. I realized that no one was doing it because we didn't tell them about it. So there was one lady who's kids really liked our baked goods and kept coming back for them. So we asked her if her kids would like to see a short demonstration, and she was really happy about that.
Another thing we did to draw people in is I made a poster, and put up printouts of the flyers on the window of the function room. Here are pictures of that.
Finally, I finished my movie for our project and uploaded it to YouTube. Here it is.
At the end, we made around $200 in total. I learned that you really need to think about how you are going to draw people in. I could've delivered the flyers earlier; asked my mom to inform people she knows in our condo; and maybe even walked around the condo talking to people about it. I expected people to collect in the function room, rather than having groups of people come and go. I didn't think about what other people would come for.
Also, even though we earned $200, we spent a lot of money. We spend $3.30 on each wrist band, and we started by selling at $5, but not many people were buying them, so we dropped the price to $4. The function room costs $40 to book. At first, I was thinking that I would have to earn enough money to pay my mom back for the function room money, but she said that she was like a sponsor for our cause, so we didn't need to pay her back. We are not sure if we are going to pay Freya's parents back for the wristbands.
One thing I would want to change about this week is to divide the work up better. I felt that I was doing most of the work, and my partner wasn't doing as much. What I could've done about this is assigned my partner some of the work I was doing. I felt this because at certain points, I was getting really stressed about it, and my partner didn't have that much to be stressed about at all.
At first I thought bake sales were really generic and not very professional, so I didn't really want to do them. But then I realized that most people really like bake sales, so they are a good idea if you are trying to draw people in.
I will definitely remember interacting with the customers this week. One memorable one was a man who bought things with his family at first. His four year old son came back about 10 minutes later and handed be a handful of change. His dad said it was all of his savings.
To end our Water Project, we were thinking of going to present to a fifth grade class. We could present and sell baked goods there, so we earn more money. If we do make this decision, I think we should act on it quickly because in the past weeks we have been slow at doing things.
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Water Project: Week 2 (Post 2)
This week we accomplished a few things, but more than that, we got a better sense of what we are doing. In other words, we formed a better plan. The biggest thing I did this week was complete our flyers. The flyers are extremely important because they advertise our cause, which will get people to support it. Below are pictures of the flyer.
Since we are planning an event in my condo, we plan to put a flyer in every resident's mail box. Because the flyers also have information in general, we want to hand them out to as many people as we can.
In terms of planning, as I said, we achieved a lot. This week, we are going to ask the American Club for permission to set up a station in the hallway where we can hand out flyers and have a donation box. We are also planning an activity for kids at the event in my condo. Freya is planning to teach them how to make water filters. We also want to try to make a poster with information for my condo to draw people in to the event. Finally, we are planning to sell baked goods at my condo.
The wristbands might not end up working out because the sellers are not replying. This is ok, because we are finding other things to sell now.
One thing I didn't do this week that I really want to do next week is get down to doing things. This week I sort of took it easily, and went with the flow, but on the weekend I really realized that I needed to get things done. This is especially important since we have a lot to do this coming week.
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Water Project: Week 2 (Post 1)
On Tuesday, we decided not to go on with the website. We made this decision because the website takes a long time, and it wasn't really needed. We decided to ask if we can host an event to make people aware at the American Club. We will ask for permission some time this week or next week. We also wanted to host an event in my condo, that will be centered around making people aware. If they really are interested, they may donate.
What we will be working on this week and this weekend are:
-finishing up our video
-getting permission to present in certain places
-planning presentations
-making posters
-making pamphlets
Another thing we are doing tomorrow is sending in our wrist band orders. We can get them made in less than 5 days, so we are sending in our designs. The wrist bands will be blue, and will have a slogan surrounded by a water droplet on each side. We will sell the wristbands at our events and on the school selling day.
What we will be working on this week and this weekend are:
-finishing up our video
-getting permission to present in certain places
-planning presentations
-making posters
-making pamphlets
Another thing we are doing tomorrow is sending in our wrist band orders. We can get them made in less than 5 days, so we are sending in our designs. The wrist bands will be blue, and will have a slogan surrounded by a water droplet on each side. We will sell the wristbands at our events and on the school selling day.
Saturday, 7 March 2015
Water Project: Week 1
In Science we have been assigned the Water Project. All we have to do is make some sort of difference for water related issues. So, there are really a lot of ways we can go with it. We get a month to work on the project, and have to do something, and make a presentation for it. For the project, I am working with Freya (her blog: http://sb-sas44584.blogspot.sg/) Part of the assignment is also to make at least one blog post a week explaining what we accomplished that week and any possible road blocks we hit during that week too. So here is Week 1:
This week we figured out that making people aware was our number one priority, and donating is our second priority. We agreed upon that because we thought that simply getting people's money is like "giving them a fish", but making them aware is like "teaching them how to fish". For example, if you have a huge event that attracts a lot of people, but they might not know what the event is for. If you talk to people about the issues, then a seed is planted in their mind, and later that person can take their own action. We do want to have a fund-raising event, but we are not sure what exactly we should do for the event.
What I mainly did this week is research. I wasn't planning to make a video, but I ended up starting to make a video. Freya already knew a water crisis organization called Water Aid. We contacted them this week with some questions. With my research I found an organization called Charity: Water, and I really like them because of the ideas they support and their model. So, if we do raise money, we would want to donate to one or both of those organizations.
To the left is a screenshot of our Water Project Notes document. This is just a way to stay organized. It has all of our research, ideas, and reminders. For example, we listed organizations we might donate to with their websites. We also have some ideas for events we might have.
The picture to the right is a screenshot of the Instagram account Freya and I made to advertise our cause. This is really important because if we do have an event, we need to advertise to get people to show up. We know that a lot of students in our school have an Instagram account, so this would promote our project in the school. You might notice the profile picture in this screenshot. Right now, it just says 'The Water Project' with a drop of water. We were trying to make a logo to brand our cause. We realized that only after we do more research to specify our cause, can we make a really nice logo. So, we decided to use this logo for now. We made this logo entirely by ourselves using Google Drawings, but we have no copy righted images. The video post is a short clip from our upcoming video.
(Follow us! https://instagram.com/thewaterproject2015/)
Another thing we did was start making our website. In math, I recently made a website for a project using Wix HTML Editor. The website making site works really well, and it's easy to edit their templates. Again, we need to do more research and specify our cause to continue with the website.
One thing I didn't do this week that I want to to next week is get things done. At the beginning of this week, I though I would I have a lot of time later on. But I realized that I have gotten slightly behind. I want to manage my time better this week by working step by step and working a little every night. I realized that there is actually quite a bit of work to do. Our last week is Spring Break, and I don't want to have a whole lot to do then.
This week we figured out that making people aware was our number one priority, and donating is our second priority. We agreed upon that because we thought that simply getting people's money is like "giving them a fish", but making them aware is like "teaching them how to fish". For example, if you have a huge event that attracts a lot of people, but they might not know what the event is for. If you talk to people about the issues, then a seed is planted in their mind, and later that person can take their own action. We do want to have a fund-raising event, but we are not sure what exactly we should do for the event.
What I mainly did this week is research. I wasn't planning to make a video, but I ended up starting to make a video. Freya already knew a water crisis organization called Water Aid. We contacted them this week with some questions. With my research I found an organization called Charity: Water, and I really like them because of the ideas they support and their model. So, if we do raise money, we would want to donate to one or both of those organizations.
The picture to the right is a screenshot of the Instagram account Freya and I made to advertise our cause. This is really important because if we do have an event, we need to advertise to get people to show up. We know that a lot of students in our school have an Instagram account, so this would promote our project in the school. You might notice the profile picture in this screenshot. Right now, it just says 'The Water Project' with a drop of water. We were trying to make a logo to brand our cause. We realized that only after we do more research to specify our cause, can we make a really nice logo. So, we decided to use this logo for now. We made this logo entirely by ourselves using Google Drawings, but we have no copy righted images. The video post is a short clip from our upcoming video.
(Follow us! https://instagram.com/thewaterproject2015/)
Another thing we did was start making our website. In math, I recently made a website for a project using Wix HTML Editor. The website making site works really well, and it's easy to edit their templates. Again, we need to do more research and specify our cause to continue with the website.
Below is the video clip I mentioned before.
One thing I didn't do this week that I want to to next week is get things done. At the beginning of this week, I though I would I have a lot of time later on. But I realized that I have gotten slightly behind. I want to manage my time better this week by working step by step and working a little every night. I realized that there is actually quite a bit of work to do. Our last week is Spring Break, and I don't want to have a whole lot to do then.
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Science- Organisms Under A Microscope
Above is a video of Turtle Water. I notice mainly green blotches and small tiny green moving organisms.
Global Water Crisis:
The Global Water Crisis is a crisis about how so many people lack water, and get water related diseases. According to the World Bank and World Health Organization, 2 billion people lack access to clean water, and 1 billion do not have enough water to meet their daily needs. Organizations are trying to help with this by doing things like building wells in countries that face the water crisis.
Water is extremely important for humans; first of all our bodies are 60% water; and we use water for things like cooking, cleaning, etc.Today, people waste water a lot. We waste water when we don't drink it, but more consequentially, we waste a lot of it on produce. The average hamburger takes 2,400 liters or 630 gallons of water to make.
Dirty water can also cause various diseases. Every minute, one child dies from a water related disease, and 1 out of every 5 child deaths is from a water related disease.
photo credits: http://becausewater.org/global-water-crisis/what-is-the-water-crisis-2/
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Tracking the Disease- Science
On Day 0, four people were infected, which was approximately 19% of the class. On Day 1, 11 people were infected, around 52%. 17 people were infected on Day 2, which was about 81%, and on Day 3 21 people or 100% of the class was infected. The graph above shows the number of people infected on each day in blue. It shows the percentage of people infected with the red line. Here are some questions we had to answer.
1. If you were trying to avoid catching a disease, what could you do?
I would wear a mask or other disease protection, because I know that in reality we don't share saliva with people, but we touch them. Using this protection can stop these diseases from spreading from person to person.
2. Imagine you are the health director of a health department in the town where the disease is spreading. It is your job to prevent people from getting sick. Explain what you would recommend to try to prevent people from getting infected.
I would recommend that people wear disease protection, and stay clean by washing their hands often. This is because soap can disinfect our skin when it is dirty/infected.
To see more of my graph, and another graph I made, click this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nVj1HWWDXNtGstZJJLfB0RMx43mOuxApzKY_OneFugw/pubhtml
Friday, 21 November 2014
Chemistry Homework-Questions
1. What are the three (main) states of matter?
solids, liquids, and gasses.
2. Explain the properties of a solid, liquid, and a gas. Talk about the movement of particles.
Solids- hard; particles are in a tight, organized arrangement
Liquids- free flowing; fluid; particles are close to each other, but not in a tight arrangement
Gasses- particles move rapidly, and have much larger spaces between each other than liquid or solid particles
3. Changing the state of matter is a physical change. When energy (in the form of heat) is added or taken away matter can change from one state to another.
It will be a physical change because you are not changing the chemical build-up of the matter, you are just changing the form it is in. Adding or taking away energy can change the state of matter. For example, if you add heat to ice, you get a liquid (water), and if you have enough heat, the water will turn to a gas. An example of taking away energy is condensation. You are taking energy away from the gas to turn in into a liquid.
solids, liquids, and gasses.
2. Explain the properties of a solid, liquid, and a gas. Talk about the movement of particles.
Solids- hard; particles are in a tight, organized arrangement
Liquids- free flowing; fluid; particles are close to each other, but not in a tight arrangement
Gasses- particles move rapidly, and have much larger spaces between each other than liquid or solid particles
3. Changing the state of matter is a physical change. When energy (in the form of heat) is added or taken away matter can change from one state to another.
It will be a physical change because you are not changing the chemical build-up of the matter, you are just changing the form it is in. Adding or taking away energy can change the state of matter. For example, if you add heat to ice, you get a liquid (water), and if you have enough heat, the water will turn to a gas. An example of taking away energy is condensation. You are taking energy away from the gas to turn in into a liquid.
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
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