Tech:
Click Here
Goals:
1. Stay just as good at communicating with others after the Academy.
Self Assessment:
For this project I think that I had strong points, but a few weak ones. My first strong point was communication. It took a lot of communicating to set up our trip to Six Flags and find a date that worked for everyone. I think that my weak point was that we didn't stay up to date with our project foundry. Though overall I think that this was one of my best projects.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The Movement of Tectonic Plates
Author's Note:
This is an essay I wrote using a report type voice and I'm focusing on formatting.
You watch as the earth cracks right in front of you, you hear the screams of hundreds. The ground is moving and breaking just under your nose and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Once everyone thought that all of the damage is done, the water comes. All of the water comes in huge amounts, crashing at the shore. Each wave is more than twenty feet tall and creating floods in all coastal cities. You think the worst of what has happened in only minutes. Thousands of people's lives are at stake through all of these natural disasters. What caused it is simple, the Earth's tectonic plates were shifting. Earth would be a wonderful place if each plate wouldn't move.
The overall pattern of movement of the tectonic plates is a widening of the Atlantic Ocean and a shrinkage of the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic is widening because sea-floor spreading at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge continues to create lithosphere. The Pacific is shrinking because much of it is ringed by convergent plate boundaries that are consuming its lithosphere.
Tectonic plates have been shifting for millions of years. According to the commonly accepted description of plate movement, all the continents once formed part of an enormous single land mass called Pangaea. This mass was surrounded by a giant ocean known as Panthalassa. About 200 million years ago, Pangaea began to break up into two large masses called Gondwanaland and Laurasia. Though each plate is only able to move four inches apart each year. These masses, in turn, broke up into the continents, which drifted to their present locations.
Each plate movement is a cause and each cause has an effect. The effects of plate movement are scary and depressing times. There can be devastating earthquakes and powerful tsunamis. These disasters cause one twenty sixth of all deaths each year on average. Could imagine being in one of these disasters and not knowing whether your even going to live or not?
Living through a massive earthquake is a great feat. All around the world, four percent of people die each year from disasters tectonic plates cause. While it may not feel it, the earth is moving right below us. It creates earthquakes and tsunamis, but has created the world that we know today.
Sources:
"Online Dictionary." Online Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"Plate Tectonics." UCMP - University of California Museum of Paleontology. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"Plate Tectonics." Plate Tectonics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"Plate Tectonics`." Plate Tectonics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
This is an essay I wrote using a report type voice and I'm focusing on formatting.
You watch as the earth cracks right in front of you, you hear the screams of hundreds. The ground is moving and breaking just under your nose and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Once everyone thought that all of the damage is done, the water comes. All of the water comes in huge amounts, crashing at the shore. Each wave is more than twenty feet tall and creating floods in all coastal cities. You think the worst of what has happened in only minutes. Thousands of people's lives are at stake through all of these natural disasters. What caused it is simple, the Earth's tectonic plates were shifting. Earth would be a wonderful place if each plate wouldn't move.
The overall pattern of movement of the tectonic plates is a widening of the Atlantic Ocean and a shrinkage of the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic is widening because sea-floor spreading at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge continues to create lithosphere. The Pacific is shrinking because much of it is ringed by convergent plate boundaries that are consuming its lithosphere.
Tectonic plates have been shifting for millions of years. According to the commonly accepted description of plate movement, all the continents once formed part of an enormous single land mass called Pangaea. This mass was surrounded by a giant ocean known as Panthalassa. About 200 million years ago, Pangaea began to break up into two large masses called Gondwanaland and Laurasia. Though each plate is only able to move four inches apart each year. These masses, in turn, broke up into the continents, which drifted to their present locations.
Each plate movement is a cause and each cause has an effect. The effects of plate movement are scary and depressing times. There can be devastating earthquakes and powerful tsunamis. These disasters cause one twenty sixth of all deaths each year on average. Could imagine being in one of these disasters and not knowing whether your even going to live or not?
Living through a massive earthquake is a great feat. All around the world, four percent of people die each year from disasters tectonic plates cause. While it may not feel it, the earth is moving right below us. It creates earthquakes and tsunamis, but has created the world that we know today.
Sources:
"Online Dictionary." Online Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"Plate Tectonics." UCMP - University of California Museum of Paleontology. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"Plate Tectonics." Plate Tectonics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"Plate Tectonics`." Plate Tectonics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2011. .
Monday, May 23, 2011
Tuning Fork Experiment
- Variables
- Constant variables
- Tuning fork
- Where I hit the tuning fork on the object
- Independent variables
- The objects
- Dependent variables
- How long the tuning fork made sound
- External variables
- How hard I tapped objects
- Procedure
- Gather materials
- Get stopwatch ready
- Test first object (wall) and time
- Stop stopwatch
- Record results
- Get stopwatch ready
- Test first object again (wall) and time
- Stop stopwatch
- Repeat steps 2-8 with the four remaining objects
- Materials
- Tuning fork
- Wall
- Table
- Notebook
- Natalie's Hand
Problem: How does the length of sound change when a tuning fork is tapped on different surfaces?
Hypothesis: I think that the hardest surface will have the longest sound because it won't dampen any vibrations which create the sound.
Experimental Design:
Observations:
Conclusion:
I wanted to see what kind of objects would make longer sounds when a tuning fork is tapped on them. My hypothesis was that the harder the object, the longer the sound. Looking at my data, my hypothesis was supported. The harder objects, such as the wall or the table, had longer sounds than the softer ones.
Once I did more research to find out why harder objects had longer sounds, I found it was because the vibrations weren't dampened as much. So when the tuning fork was hit on the object the object didn’t absorb any of the sound that the tuning fork would make. Though when I tapped the fork on my hand or the notebook, more of the vibrations were dampened because it wasn't completely stiff.
My only external variable was that I couldn't hit the object with the exact same force for each object. I tried to use about the same force with each object, but it wasn't perfectly accurate. Overall, I overcame this variable as best as I could.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Why I Think Saying the Pledge of Allegiance is Wrong
Author's Note:
I wrote this essay about one of the greatest statements in history being untrue to me. I am focusing on organization and formatting.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Many people know this as the Pledge of Allegiance, but I see it as a lie. There are flaws in this statement and kids should not have to say it everyday.
Students all across America are expected to say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday of school. Americans, young or old, have forgotten why we say it. We say it to honor the men and women serving our country, whether here in America or in other countries fighting in the war. In the pledge we say "one nation under God", but would God really want us to kill others? A current example is Osama Bin Laden. Osama killed others, so we killed him. Talk about being a hypocrite. Good or bad, God created people and killing them is stealing from God.
"One nation under God" is just one example in the pledge. Another example is "with liberty and justice for all". The key word in that sentence is all. We do not say with liberty and justice for the good people. Osama was not a good person, but he didn't deserve the unjust murder he got, no one does. Since the pledge is only four phrases long and two are untrue, students should not be expected to repeat it daily.
There are about 70 million kids that say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday. All these kids repeat it because they are told to. How many of them do you think actually know what they are talking about? It should not be required to say, but given as an option. So people can pledge allegiance to a flag all they want, but they should think about what they say before they say it.
Sources:
"Why We Say the Plede of Allegiance." Why We Say the Plede of Allegiance. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=5&sqi=2&ved=0CEsQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgodstopshelf.com%2F2008%2F01%2F22%2Fwhy-we-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-to-our-flag%2F&rct=j&q=why%20do%20we%20say%20the%20pledge%20of%20allegiance&ei=qLjWTaHRCcnq0gGt0PXIBw&usg=>.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sound
Author's Note:
This is a content essay on sound. I am focusing on formatting.
Music blasting out of speakers in your son's bedroom. Girls jumping on beds and running around in your daughter's. Your husband's out back with the lawn mower. You ask yourself if it could be any louder. Then the phone rings. There are too many noises around here. Even the slightest noise makes a bang right now. Crack! You can't stand all of this sound. Sound, while somewhat annoying, is still a quintessential part of life.
While sometimes loud, sound is made by air vibrating. The same is true for sounds made by musical instruments. The difference between noise and music is that musical sounds are organized into patterns that have pitch and rhythm. Noise is just random, unorganized sounds. Sounds are made and move the same way whether they are musical sounds or noise.
Most musical instruments have some device that creates sound waves when moved. Sounds are different because of harmonies, which are higher and quieter sounds mixed in. A musical sound is called a tone and is produced by air vibrating an inevitable number of times per second. These vibrations are called waves. These sound waves must be controlled in some way so that the entertainer can control the volume, value of the tone, and how long it plays.
The number of times that a sound wave vibrates in a second is called its frequency. Scientists even have a name for how they measure the frequency of sounds, they call it hertz. High notes have a higher frequency than lower notes and this changes their shape. Different types of sound waves have different shapes. The pictures shows what sound waves "look" like.
Sounds can be very different from one and other, but all we see, hear and feel is music, noise, and headaches. Also, sounds can be viewed between soft notes, high notes, loud notes, and loud notes. Finally, sound can be measured in cycles by units called hertz.
Sources:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CEkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsound&rct=j&q=sound%20&ei=xXPSTdHRJcXAtgfU0_WuCg&usg=AFQjCNH4Eg2W_vPKvDJ_V-yXGVRmqhLutg&sig2=SfWvCZu0wjV_6_SrPniLlw&cad=rja
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CG8QFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.thinkquest.org%2F26585%2F&rct=j&q=sound%20&ei=xXPSTdHRJcXAtgfU0_WuCg&usg=AFQjCNFzdhgN7kdqGXXpMgUSx543iAilQw&sig2=--AQOqZL3b_Ii-K9Ome9yg&cad=rja
This is a content essay on sound. I am focusing on formatting.
Music blasting out of speakers in your son's bedroom. Girls jumping on beds and running around in your daughter's. Your husband's out back with the lawn mower. You ask yourself if it could be any louder. Then the phone rings. There are too many noises around here. Even the slightest noise makes a bang right now. Crack! You can't stand all of this sound. Sound, while somewhat annoying, is still a quintessential part of life.
While sometimes loud, sound is made by air vibrating. The same is true for sounds made by musical instruments. The difference between noise and music is that musical sounds are organized into patterns that have pitch and rhythm. Noise is just random, unorganized sounds. Sounds are made and move the same way whether they are musical sounds or noise.
Most musical instruments have some device that creates sound waves when moved. Sounds are different because of harmonies, which are higher and quieter sounds mixed in. A musical sound is called a tone and is produced by air vibrating an inevitable number of times per second. These vibrations are called waves. These sound waves must be controlled in some way so that the entertainer can control the volume, value of the tone, and how long it plays.
The number of times that a sound wave vibrates in a second is called its frequency. Scientists even have a name for how they measure the frequency of sounds, they call it hertz. High notes have a higher frequency than lower notes and this changes their shape. Different types of sound waves have different shapes. The pictures shows what sound waves "look" like.
Sounds can be very different from one and other, but all we see, hear and feel is music, noise, and headaches. Also, sounds can be viewed between soft notes, high notes, loud notes, and loud notes. Finally, sound can be measured in cycles by units called hertz.
Sources:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CEkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsound&rct=j&q=sound%20&ei=xXPSTdHRJcXAtgfU0_WuCg&usg=AFQjCNH4Eg2W_vPKvDJ_V-yXGVRmqhLutg&sig2=SfWvCZu0wjV_6_SrPniLlw&cad=rja
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CG8QFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.thinkquest.org%2F26585%2F&rct=j&q=sound%20&ei=xXPSTdHRJcXAtgfU0_WuCg&usg=AFQjCNFzdhgN7kdqGXXpMgUSx543iAilQw&sig2=--AQOqZL3b_Ii-K9Ome9yg&cad=rja
Rihanna
Author's Note:
This is an essay about Rihanna's life. I am focusing on organization and using a report type voice.
Walking up to the stage, ready to perform in front of thousands viewers. The drums start, then the guitar, finally the piano. Then she starts singing, her voice static-free and smooth. Her voice is clear and annunciated. Every word she says sounds magical. To think from where she was when she was growing up, to where she is now, is breath taking. This performer was Rihanna. Rihanna is the greatest female artist of our generation thanks to her life, her style, and her voice.
Rihanna had gone through a lot growing up. She was born in St. Michael Parish on the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is the oldest of the three children in her family. Rihanna's childhood was marred by her father's struggles with addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine and her parents' marital problems. Her parents divorced when she was only 14 years old. Rihanna also struggled with migraines for several years during her childhood, a condition she attempted to hide from her friends and classmates so that they would not think she was abnormal.
As she was getting older, Rihanna turned to singing as a release from her troubles at home and school. Rihanna and two friends formed a band. When they were 15 years old, they scored an audition with music producer Evan Rodgers. Rogers was impressed by the young, beautiful, and phenomenally talented Rihanna. Less than a year later, when Rihanna was 16 years old, she left Barbados to move in with Rogers and his wife in Connecticut and work on recording a demo album.
In January 2005, Rogers landed Rihanna an audition for Def Jam Records and its newly minted president, the legendary rapper Jay-Z. The legend was every bit as wowed by Rihanna's stunning voice and commanding presence as Rogers had been two years earlier, and he signed her on the spot. Only eight months later Rihanna released her first single, "Pon de Replay," that skyrocketed to number two on the Billboard singles chart and announced Rihanna as the next big pop star. Her first album, Music of the Sun, released later that month. Music of the Sun, reached number ten on the Billboard albums chart and also featured the single "If It's Lovin' That You Want." Rihanna released her second album, A Girl Like Me, the next year, spawning two major hits in "Unfaithful" and "SOS," Rihanna's first number one hit.
Even though Rihanna is all glitz and glitter now, growing up with the family and life she had was not easy. Rihanna was very lucky to get a chance to perform for Evan Rogers who made her hobby a career. She stunned rapper Jay-Z with her voice and went on to even greater accomplishments. Through thick and thin in her life she could always turn to music and feel relieved. Rihanna is not just another singer she has become a legend.
Sources:
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Dogs
Author's Note:
This is a cinquain poem about dogs.
Dogs
Gentle, fun
Running, playing, jumping
Small dogs are cute
Canines
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