Weekly Blog 3/25/18

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Image link: https://physics.tutorvista.com/waves/types-of-waves.html?view=simple

Summary: This week we learned about different types of waves and the parts of a wavelength. There’s two types of  waves, mechanical and electromagnetic waves. Mechanical waves are waves that need a medium to pass through. An example of a mechanical wave is a seismic wave which passes through the earth (the medium) and can cause a tsunami. A medium can be a gas, liquid, or solid. Electromagnetic waves however don’t need a medium to pass through. An example of electromagnetic waves is light waves which don’t need to pass through a medium like air molecules.

SP7: Engaging in argument from evidence
In science, reasoning and argument are essential for clarifying strengths and weaknesses of a line of evidence and for identifying the best explanation for a natural phenomenon.

Did you participate in a class discussion providing evidence for your answers, and/or used the ACE strategy in your work?

Yes in class we talked about the different types of waves and why they’re different. We also talked about examples of the waves and why they’re a mechanical or electromagnetic wave.

Weekly blog 3/18/18

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Image link: https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/fall08/articles/fall08pg12a.html

Summary: This week we learned more about sound and we reviewed what we learned previously. This week we learned about how sound travels through the ear. When sound enters your ear it goes in through the outer ear and into the ear canal which leads to the eardrum. After it goes into the middle ear and into the inner ear. Lastly the sound goes to the cochlea which allows your brain to figure out what you’re hearing. What we reviewed is about how sound travels through gases, liquids, and solids. Sound travels through solids the fastest, then liquids, and lastly gases.

SP3: Planning and carrying out investigations
 A major practice of scientists is planning and carrying out systematic investigations that require clarifying what counts as data and in experiments identifying variables.

Did you plan and carry out an investigation?
(Mostly when we do a investigation, lab, or experiment)

Yes we did another lab in class which helped us understand how sound looks while traveling to a solid, liquid, and gas.

Weekly blog 3/11/18

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Image link: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-activities/musical-bottles

Summary: This week we learned more about sound, how we hear it, and how it travels. Some ways that sound helps us is by allowing us to see babies in their mother's stomachs. It can also allow us to take pictures of the unborn baby, this is called ultrasound. I also learned that when sound enters our ears it’s carried to a nerve in the brain that allows us to recognize a sound. Another thing I learned is that when sound is reflected off of a surface it’s called a reflection, or an echo. Sound also allows multiple animals like a bat or whales to use echo location which helps them find food and their family if they get separated.

SP2: Developing and using models
Models make it possible to go beyond things you observe and simulate a world not yet seen. Models enable predictions of the form “if…then… therefore” to be made in order to test hypothetical explanations.

Did you build a model, draw a picture, created a concept map, etc?

Yes this week we needed to sketch a picture of an instrument that we were going to build. Along the way we’ll make changes to our models.