Category: Science 9

First People’s Principles of Learning

Interconnectedness: 

image cr.

 

Interconnectedness, the way things are connected to each other. Things can connect to each other in any way. Whether it’s spiritual, physical, emotional, anything! In the picture, it shows the connection between the public, community and people. I interpret it as how people make a community and make up the public. Without people, there would be no communities or public.

Another connection I could make would be to the water cycle. The public will be the clouds, the community will be the bodies of water and the people will be individual drops of water. In order to make up the clouds and bodies of water, it needs water which is the individual drops. It is all interconnected. Each drop of water is needed to make up the clouds and bodies of water, like lakes, the sea, oceans, etc.. Without the water, just like with the community, public and people example, there would be no clouds or any bodies of water.

.

image cr.

In the image, it shows people gardening, a house with a solar panel, a windmill and lots more. The people gardening will make a good impact on the future because it’s natural and instead of using store bought fertilizer, they use animal droppings which do not have a negative impact on the environment because it’s natural. This won’t create any extra pollution. There is no car in the picture, but there is a bike which means that they bike where ever they can. Unlike cars, bikes don’t need to use gas to power it which means that bikes also reduce pollution because it doesn’t create any. The house uses solar power and wind power as its source of energy and they’re both renewable sources, unlike fossil fuels. If they this family or small community were to continue to be environmentally friendly like this, the world would not suffer as much ice melting or high sea level rises from the global warming, nor nearly as much pollution as we see today.

This related to work that we’ve done in our class because in the carbon cycle, it is about how energy is recycled and used. This family plants trees which increases the amount of oxygen that can be created. They don’t burn a lot of fossil fuels which decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the air because, instead of non-renewable energy sources that create pollution as their main source, they use solar or wind energy. This way, there isn’t too much carbon dioxide in the air and as the plants take in that carbon dioxide to make it oxygen it is more controlled and it would create a sustainable planet for them to live on. However, not everyone lives like this but if everyone did, or the majority of the Earth’s population did, our planted would be able to sustain us for a longer period of time without as many environmental problems as we face today.

 

Mutation Story

Bloom Syndrome

Hello, my name is Bloom, I am a recessive genetic trait which means that I have been with my host since birth. My mutation is caused by an absence of the BLM protein which helps regulate sister chromatid exchanges, however, without this, the exchanges happen about 10 times higher than the average frequency of sister chromatid exchanged. This mutation causes chromosome breakage to happen more often to my host and my host’s cells are less able to repair any damages to the DNA that are caused by ultraviolet light.

My home is in chromosome band 26.1 of chromosome 15. My host has been small and underweight ever since birth, he is an Ashkenazi Jew with ancestors from Ukraine, which elevated his chances of having me since I am more common amongst people with ancestry like that. When my host goes out into the sun, I create a butterfly-shaped rash across their cheeks and nose because the host is now extremely sensitive to sunlight. Sometimes you can see little blood clots that I cause under the cheeks after my host is exposed to sunlight. I also increase my host’s chance of getting cancer by 100 to 300 more times than a regular person without the syndrome. There is no way to get rid of me or to prevent me, my host must live with me forever unless one day a cure or prevention is found.

I also increase my host’s chance of getting cancer by 100 to 300 more times than a regular person without the syndrome. The fat tissues in my host’s body become thinner and the chromosomes are highly unstable. My host, who is a male, can also have sterility. If my host were to be a female, I can cause infertility because I can make menstruation stop early. There is no way to get rid of me or to prevent me, my host must live with me forever unless one day a cure or prevention is found.

bloom-syndromeImage result for bloom syndrome gene

(From left to right) Butterfly-shaped rash after being exposed to sunlight. The location of BLM

What questions did you need to research in order to create your mutation story?

I researched many questions, such as “What is Bloom syndrome?” and “What effects does Bloom syndrome have?” I also searched the question “Are there any positive effects of Bloom syndrome,” in an attempt to try and find something good about the mutation instead of writing about only negative effects, however, I was not able to find any answers to that question.

What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project?

I looked at Riverside’s database to try and get some information, Google search, and Google Scholar. Google Scholar was something new for me since I had never tried it before, I had only heard of it.

What was the process you used to investigate this topic? How did you verify and cite the information you found?

I started off with getting to know some basics about the syndrome, such as what a person with the syndrome would look like and major effects it would have on a person who carries the disorder. Then, I would research further and double check information that I find by going onto multiple websites to see if the same information would be there. I cited the sites I got information from below and linked them.

How did the process of completing this challenge go? What could you have done better?

This challenge was more difficult than I thought it would be. It was slightly difficult to find what caused the mutation at first, but all I had to do was be more careful when I was reading instead of skimming through. I think I could’ve researched even more and add more of a journey-like plot to the story to make it interesting for the reader.

Sources:

(U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2016) (University of Washington, 2016)  (NORD, 2016)

How Things Work

solar-panel-model

Form and Function: Solar cells, which make up solar panels, use the sun to create electricity. But how do solar cells, or solar panels, do that? Solar cells produce electricity by using the photoelectric effect. The photoelectric effect is light being used to push electrons, which frees them from the surface of a solid, except, there must be enough light to push the electrons. Inside a solar cell, there are two thin layers of silicon crystal- they are placed on top each other like a sandwich. Both top and bottom layers have been treated to have unstable atoms, the top wants to get rid of an electron and the bottom wants to gain an electron. This creates a reaction that encourages the electrons to move in the silicon crystal when the solar panel is exposed to light to make electricity; however, before that electricity can be used, it must go through an inverter to convert the direct current electricity that the solar cells create to alternating current that a house uses.

Social Implications: The social implications of solar cells will vary depending on the area. For example, in a colder region where there is a lot of rain and little sun, a solar panel may be useless, whereas, in a warmer area, the solar panel would get a lot of sun and be a great energy source. Another implication could be the price. Solar cells are usually sold in panels or in a solar array and for some people to want them \ installed on their house, it would be a lot of money being spent all of a sudden, typically being around $19,500. Since the price is pretty high, developing countries might not be able to afford it, so it may not be beneficial to all countries. Although the prices for a solar array to be installed on homes have been dramatically decreasing, they are still quite pricey but once they are installed, energy and be produced by whoever owns them for free. Also, these solar panels are not all “invincible”, many parts of the panels need to be replaced. For example, an inverter would require to be replaced in about 10 to 15 years; however, many companies offer a roughly 25-year warranty for homeowners who would like to buy and install an array installed on their home. There is even the chance of being paid back by companies, if the solar system on their house produces extra energy, they can get money by selling the extra energy.

Ethical Implications: The higher demand for solar panels have lead to a decrease in solar panel prices. This is good for the earth as we are making more environmentally friendly energy, but for the people working in factories that produce energy, it may not be. There would be a decline in people working in factories that use non-reusable energy if solar power increased and because a primary source of energy.  Solar panels are very useful and can create a lot of energy, especially during peak sun hours, especially if they are installed facing the right way. According to the Pecan Street Research Institute, houses with solar panels facing the west produced up to 49% more energy than panels facing toward the south. A rise in solar power being used also affects our surroundings and us. With less pollution, the air becomes better quality and the risk of respiratory issues from pollution becomes lower.

Environmental Implications: By using solar cells, it will help the environment by a lot. Solar cells run solely on the sun’s energy and do not need gas or other polluting resources, which lessens pollution and helps the environment.  Especially over time, if more buildings continue to add solar panels, there could be a drop in fuel prices and air pollution. In addition to the drop in fuel prices and pollution, it could also affect public health and the food that people eat. The global warming being caused today is raising food prices and encouraging water shortages, with solar panels being installed, this would no longer be such a big problem as the world starts to cool down.

Reflection: The model most definitely turned out better than we thought it would have. I would have liked it if we could’ve found a way to not let each layer of the model to be floppy or to dangle toward one side, if it were firmer. I think the questions were rather well answered. My partner and I worked together very well and combined ideas thoughout the project. We kept in contact even outside of school which was very convenient for if one of us wanted any changes to be made.

Partner: Rose

 

 

 

 

Science App Review

Define/Discover:

I need to find an app that will help me throughout my science 9 courses. Is this app 100% free? Will it help explain anything that I do not understand? Would I be able to use it beyond my science 9 class? Is it available on both computers and phones? Will it work without Wi-Fi?

Dream:

If I could find an app that can answer any questions and that I can use for as long as I need to, I would have a reliable source to help me throughout the year. I could go straight to the app to help me understand anything that I don’t. If the app does not require Wi-Fi, I could still work on my school work while I am away if I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

Design:

I will search google and the play store and read other reviews online about each app and decide which one is the most helpful. Another thing I will be looking for is what the app provides and how helpful it will be for me if I don’t understand something. Hopefully, this app does not require Wi-Fi all the time or at all.

Deliver:

The app that I chose is Khan Academy. It is a free app available on Android, Apple and Windows stores for everyone to download and online as a website. It provides video lessons on a variety of subjects, including science, for a variety of levels. Another feature the app provides is practice questions to make sure that you understand what you just learned. You can download “your list”, which you need to add your own lessons to, to keep learning even when you don’t have Wi-Fi.

2016-10-26-1

This is the app running on my surface, it also works in tablet mode. You can see it divided into 3 sections; learn, new & noteworthy and downloaded videos.

screenshot-2016-10-26-20-57-07

Here is the website. This page is the progress page, which is the homepage for people who have created an account.

screenshot-2016-10-26-20-57-31 2016-10-26-2 2016-10-26-3

Top left: The website version of the biology page. Top right: This is the physics page in the app showing all the videos. Bottom left: This is a page that shows all the video lessons in this category in the app.

2016-10-26-4 screenshot-2016-10-26-21-20-10

The left is the app version of a video lesson and the right is the website version of the video lesson.

screenshot-2016-10-26-21-00-30

Here is what the practice questions page looks like on the website. I believe that there are no practice questions available on the app version.

Debrief:

This is a wonderful and simple app/website to use for if you ever need help with school work or even if you want to learn by yourself. It’s amazing how this app can help you all the way to college or university tests, such as the MCAT. This is definitely an app that is 100% free, can explain anything you don’t understand, use beyond the science 9 class and use without Wi-Fi. However, I wish it was possible to have the practice question on the app as well because it wouldn’t be much use only watching the videos and not practising what you just learned to show that you understand it. I also wanted more subjects to be available, such as social studies or English, which I think would render the app to be even more useful.