Weekly blog 4/29/18

Image: 

Image link: https://socratic.org/questions/which-types-of-galaxies-have-a-clearly-defined-disk-component
Summary: This week we learned about galaxies and reviewed the different planets in our solar system. There’s actually different types of galaxies such as spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, irregular galaxies, and peculiar galaxies. Spiral galaxies are like flat disks that have dust, gas, and old stars in them. Elliptical galaxies are like spiral galaxies but they have less gas and stars, however the stars it has are much older than those of a spiral galaxy. Irregular galaxies are galaxies that were formed by collisions of 2 galaxies. But the galaxy doesn’t have a distinct shape and are more faint than a spiral galaxy. Lastly a peculiar galaxy does have a shape but the shapes that a peculiar galaxy has are just like irregular galaxies, they were created by a collision.

SP6: Constructing explanations and designing solutions
The goal of science is the construction of theories that provide explanations about the natural world.  explanatory power.

Did you explain something through your work?

(This may be when you researched something)

Yes we filled out a google document and we had to use information from a video to answer the questions. We had to put the definitions of galaxies and what a galactic collision was.

Weekly blog 4/22/18

Image: 

Image link: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FusionintheSun.svg

Summary: This week I learned about stars, how stars are created, and what the phases of the moon are. Stars are created by a process called nuclear fusion which has two hydrogen atoms come together to create a helium atom. This process leads to a star burning its energy until it has none left. When it runs out of energy the star becomes a white giant where nuclear fusion is no longer possible. I also learned that when you measure a stars brightness it’s called magnitude. When a star has low magnitude that means it’s brightness is high and when the magnitude is high that means the brightness is low.

SP6: Constructing explanations and designing solutions
The goal of science is the construction of theories that provide explanations about the natural world.  explanatory power.

Did you explain something through your work?

(This may be when you researched something)

This week we had to research how stars are created, the definition of a type of star, and phases of the moon. On a document we needed to answer questions about stars. We also had to explain how some processes worked for stars.

One Man Band Project Blog 4/15/18

Image: 

Summary: This week we did a project where we had to create our own instrument which needs percussion, wind, and string with 3 pitches each. From this project I learned that with string to get a higher pitch you'd need to put more tension and the less tension a string has the lower the pitch. I also learned that for a maraca depending on how big or small the container is, how much material you put into the container, and the material will make the maraca sound like a lower or higher pitch. If you use a different material for the maraca the sound when you shake it could sound different. Then for wind I learned that to amplify the sound you can put the sound through a tube and put a cone at the end.

Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started?

I knew about different pitches and how sound travels, but I didn't know how to really create different pitches on instruments besides with bottles. I also knew how sound can change and how to create different pitches with bottles by putting different amounts of water in them. I also knew that certain instruments were in wind, string, or percussion. Such as drums for example, drums are in percussion and maracas are also in percussion.

Inward-Looking: What did/do you find frustrating about it?

What I found frustrating about this project is that I had to make 3 pitches for each type of instrument. I also had trouble making the wind part of my instrument which I also found frustrating. What I still find frustrating about the project is that I still can't play the wind part that well since it doesn't work 100% of the time. Also that I didn't have a good way of connecting the three maracas and I had to use string to connect them. One more thing is that the first maraca that I made wasn't as good as the 2nd and 3rd maracas.

Outward-Looking: If you were a teacher, what comments would you make about this piece?

If I was a teacher comments that I would make about this piece would be about creativity, the string, the wind, and the percussion. For creativity if I were a teacher I'd say "It doesn't look like anyone else's but it's not very colorful". For string If I were a teacher I'd say "The string is rubber bands which works well and is and sounds like real strings”. For wind I’d say “It isn’t very unique although it does have 3 notes”. Lastly for percussion the three notes do have a distinct difference to them if you listen”.

Forward-Looking: One goal I’d like to have for this week is...

I’d actually like to have multiple goals for this which such as keeping my grade at an A, being more creative with my work, and use my critical thinking skills more. I want to keep my grade at an A because then I’ll have a chance at getting 4.0 at the end of the term. I also want to be creative with my work because it would make my work be more presentable. It can also make the possibilities of what my final product could be more. Lastly I want to use my critical thinking skills more do that I can get better at solving real life problems by solving problems in school.