Astronomy Wonder Project

What happens when matter goes through a black hole and how do scientists find this out?

Answer: When any matter is close enough to a black hole, the extreme gravity of the black hole will spaghettify the mater by stretching and pulling it into a long strand that is then pulled down into the black hole, and can never come back out. Scientists know this by many years of research and data collection, by watching black holes closely and using powerful telescopes and satellites, to moniter how a black hole works.

I have always been curious about black holes and what happens when objects go through them, and so for this inquiry project, I decided to find out what really happens.

A black hole is an invisible place in space that has such a strong gravitational pull that even light cannot escape. They are formed by a star that is compressed into a much smaller, very dense object. When a star reaches the end of it’s life it explodes in a supernova, and sends some of the outer layers of itself outward, and its core compresses into a tiny ball. Because the star was so big and has been compressed into a object sometimes millions of times smaller, it has a gigantic gravitational pull.

The Event Horizon is a line on a black hole, where anything beyond that line is unable to ever get back across it. The black hole has such a strong gravitational pull, that inside the event horizon even light cannot escape. Outside of the event horizon, there is an accretion disk, which is a ring of gas and dust that is collected. When any matter is close enough to a black hole, the gravity of the hole will pull the the matter closer and closer, and will stretch and pull it into a long strand that is then pulled down into the black hole. This is called spaghettifcation, as the matter is stretched into a very long strand, and can even be pulled so far apart that is is the molecules lined up.

Black holes give off radiation and gamma rays but both of these forms of energy are invisible to the human eye. When a star and a black hole are very near to each other, light is given off but usually in the form of X-rays. Scientists observe black holes by monitoring the radiation that comes from the black hole, and to do this, they use X-ray satellites and telescopes to watch for the levels of radiation. Gamma rays are also sent from black holes and can be detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope, and the European Southern Observatory. Another way scientists can spot black holes, is if they see a star that is moving with a strong force of gravity as if there is a large object close. Because black holes are invisible to the human eye, scientists will use X-ray telecropes or satellites to see if there is radiation coming from the object, and moniter for waves of gamma rays or X-rays.

Desmos Portrait 2018

For this assignnment, when I was figuring out what equations to use, I looked back on what types of equations would create what shape, and I followed the patterns that would help me create my desired shape. First I started by creating my head, and then the rest of my body. These were the easier steps and I made it fairly quickly. Then when I was creating my facial features, it got a lot harder. The equations had to be more complex, and I tried my hardest to figure them out, but whenever I wasn’t able to figure it out, I asked my classmates, and if they also did not know, then I researched what would create the shape I wanted. I had a few aha moments, and it was when I finally figured out how to create the circles that I needed for my eyes. I was trying to figure it out, but both my eyes would end up too big or too small and both centred on the y axis. I did not want this, and so I kept changing the equations, and finally figured it out. I mostly used trial and error, as a strategy, because often the shapes would be slightly off where i wanted them to be positioned, and so I would change a few of the numbers, until I got what I wanted. This assignment definitly helped my further understand relations and functions and graphs, and it was a fun activity to help me get a better understanding.

 

Garibaldi Lake Task

For this assignment we had to figure out how much water the barrier at Garibaldi Lake holds, and what would happen if the barrier broke.

To find out how much water is in the lake, I had to calculate the volume. From the dimensions on Wikipedia, the surface area of the lake is 9.94km squared, and the average depth is 119m. So first I have to convert 9.94km squared into metres squared.

9.94km squared = 9 940 000 meters squared.

So then I had to multiply 9 940 000 x 119 to get a total of 1 182 860 000 meters cubed.

I wanted to figure out the volume of Garibaldi Lake, so I needed 1 182 860 000 metres cubed to be converted into Litres.

So 1 182 860 000 meters cubed = approximately 1 trillion Litres.

So the volume of Garibaldi lake is approximately 1 trillion Litres.

1 Litre is equal to 1 kilogram. So Garibaldi lake flowing out is around 1 trillion kg. A skyscraper weighs approximately 222500000 kg. So 1 000 000 000 000 divided by 222500000 = 4 494…. Now imagine 4 494 skyscrapers falling down on you. That is how much weight it would be if Garibaldi Lake flowed out.

If the barrier at Garibaldi Lake were to break, a huge portion of the 1 trillion Litres would flow down into Squamish and flood the surrounding area. Because the lakes floor is not flat, there are parts that are deeper than the barrier, so if the barrier were to completely break, the deepest parts of the lake would not flow out. After doing some research, I found out that Steve Quane did a study on Garibaldi lake and found out that the energy of the lake flowing out, would be 200 times more energy than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That is a really scary thing to think about, and because we live so close to this natural danger, it is a threat that needs to be assessed often to make sure that it is safe and that there is not a high risk of the barrier breaking.

Sources used:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garibaldi_Lake

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Barrier

http://www.squamishchief.com/news/garibaldi-lake-a-ticking-time-bomb-1.1753732

 

Image Citation:

Arnold, Dan . “Panorama Ridge at Garibaldi.” Dan Arnold Hiking , www.darnoldhiking.com/garibaldi.html .

 

Gene Drive 2018

DNA Model

DNA structure assignment:

In this activity we made a DNA structure out of coloured marshmallows and liquorice . Each colour of marshmallow represented either Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Adenine.

DNA is structured in pairs of bases, so Adenine pairs with Thymine, and Cytosine always pairs with Guanine. DNA is shaped in a double-helix, and there is DNA in every cell exept for red blood cells. DNA can make two trends from the existing one strand, by unzipping itself, and because each base only pairs with the opposite base it wil create an identical copy of the DNA. DNA contolls information for how an organism can survive and reproduce. This project was very interesting and definitly helped me further understand how DNA is structured.

English 10 Synthesis Essay – “What effects does racism have on a person?”

I was very happy with my mark on my synthesis essay, and two things that I did very well was integrating quotes properly, and writing a good conclusion that makes the reader continue thinking after finishing reading my essay.

On future essays, I would like to improve on my intro sentence, and make sure to integrate my essay topic sentence in a way that intrigues the reader when starting to read my essay.

 

 

 

What Literature Has Taught Me About The Effects Of Racism

Racism has been around forever, and has effected individuals, and humanity as a whole. In “The Watch”, Elie was snatched from his home and his family and friends were killed in the concentration camps during World War II. During that time humanity lost more than 11 million Jewish people, and many more homosexuals and disabled people. All these people were killed or tortured, because of their differences. In Indian Horse, it describes the abuse, trauma, and racist mistreatment that the aboriginal kids went through. Saul and many of the other Aboriginal kids were raped and beaten. Many of the kids killed themselves because they wanted to escape their reality. Children were taken away from their families so the “Indian” in them could be erased. In “What Do You Remember Of The Evacuation”, the young Japanese girl and her family were forced to leave their home and all their belongings, and go to an internment camp. This girl ended up feeling ashamed of her skin which is horrible because it’s something she can’t change. She and her family were treated like animals because they weren’t white. Forever, people have treated others with racial discrimination, because humans aren’t able to look past their differences. Humanity has lost millions of people, due to genocides, or people ending their own lives because they weren’t treated properly. It makes me sad to think that after many killings and genocides because of racism, humans still aren’t able to look past the colour of each other’s skin, or the differences between people. Everyone should try to treat others with respect, and “treat others the way you want to be treated.” No one wants to be treated differently, so everyone should work hard to create a world where everyone tries to treat everyone equally.