Power Solution Fluencies

Power Solution Fluency 

Kenya and Kiera 

Define: We were asked to come up with and solve a problem regarding technology and power. 

Discover:  

Problem: How can we improve technology so that it is more environmentally friendly? 

Guiding Questions:  

  1. How does technology negatively impact our environment? 

Technology negatively affects our environment by causing heat, water, air, or even noise pollution when it is being used or created. Many resources, such as metals, are also being spent in creating technology and the toxic materials that are used in technology can cause cancer. Being addicted to technology could also result in additional health problems. Also, when old and used electronics such as phones and laptops break and are thrown out, they are usually not disposed of properly and the toxic materials in them make them a hazard to the environment 

2. How have people tried to solve these problems in the past? 

A common problem with technology is the waste that it produces. When electronics get old or people replace them, people tend to just throw technology away which is a problem because it cannot be recycled, and it does not dissolve or compost easily. A solution to this is to sell old devices. This can benefit you because you may be able to profit from selling this item. This benefits others because some people may be in need of a new device and if a shiny new phone is not that important, you can just sell yours to them and that will reduce the amount of new technology needing to be made and the amount of technological waste. Another solution to this is that you can try to maintain it and use it for other purposes. If you can maintain your electronics for as long as possible then it can reduce current waste. If you must get rid of it, research how to dispose of it properly. There are many ways to recycle your electronics. This can allow the expensive parts inside of it to be reused and that saves time and money and now people won’t have a need to make more because they can simply reuse it. Another problem that these solve is that it costs lots of money to make these electronics and it takes lots of precious metals and some toxic materials. 

3. How do problems in the past compare to current issues with technology? 

Now there are less jobs available because certain roles have been replaced by machines and AIs. Another problem that has escalated a lot during the past few years is technology addiction. This has caused issues with learning abilities, reducing attention span, and has become a very common distraction. There is also the problem with cyberbullying and social media. In the past, bullying was not as common because once you were at home, people couldn’t really contact you and bully you. Now, people can message you and contact you at any time and it has led to multiple problems such as mental health issues and in extreme cases, death.  

Dream:  

-A current solution is scheduled screen time. Some parents use this with their children so they can control how much time a child spends on their device and can still have time to be social and get exercise. 

-If possible, it would be more environmentally friendly to walk or take public transit rather than driving because driving costs a lot of money and car gasses cause air pollution. Walking more often can also lead to a more active lifestyle and counts as a source of exercise 

-Instead of throwing away your device, donate it or sell it online so that it can be reused. If it must be disposed, do so properly by bringing it to a recycling center nearby.  

-Leave your phone in a big or in a locker at school/work to reduce distractions and encourage real social interactions with other people. This also can help because your device radiates toxic energy and having it away sometimes can be healthy for you and reduce the risk of cancer, etc.  

Deliver: Our biggest solution to make our use of technology more environmentally friendly is to reduce, reuse and recycle. First off, if we reduce our use of technology then us as humans can be healthier and more social. If we reuse technology rather than just throwing it away, it can reduce the amount of factory use to make more technology. Reusing technology and reusing the expensive parts inside of it can be great for saving money. Consumers will be spending less money on technology and factories will be spending less money on making new devices and parts. ‘ 

Debrief: First off, to solve our problem, we had to come up with a question involving electricity. Then, after coming up with our question, we asked ourselves some questions such as how technology affected our environment negatively, how have people tried to solve these problems in the past, and how do these problems in the past compare to current issues? After researching questions, we began brainstorming solutions for the problem and presented our final solution. Some things we did well is that we came up with sub questions to guide our research and we were able to brainstorm solutions without assistance. However, some things we could improve on is we could’ve probably gotten a lot more research in if we had more class time and we could have been able to look at more aspects of technology. We just wish we had another block of class time.  

Bibliography: 

Author, Guest. “How to Reduce Electronic Waste and Its Hazards to the Environment.” Get Green Now, 20 Apr. 2019, <https://get-green-now.com/reduce-ewaste-hazards/> 

“Free Bibliography & Citation Maker – MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard.” BibMe, <http://www.bibme.org/> 

“Green Computing – Environmental Issues – The Carnegie Cyber Academy.” Green Computing – Environmental Issues – The Carnegie Cyber Academy – An Online Safety Site and Games for Kids, <http://www.carnegiecyberacademy.com/facultyPages/environment/issues.html> 

The Dangers of Technological Development, <https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/technology-dangers/issues.html> 

Californium

Questions: Who discovered Californium?

What is Californium? What are some uses of Californium? What are Californiums properties? What is Californiums most common isotopes?

Where was Californium first made? Where can you find Californium? Where is Californium on the periodic table?

How was Californium made? How much does Californium cost to purchase?

Why does Californium have the name that it does?

When was Californium first discovered/made?

Information: Californium is an Actinide, which means it is a much heavier and way less stable metal. This also mean this element is not found in nature, as it does not occur naturally. It was discovered at Berkeley, California, a city and university located in Northern California. It was first made by a group of scientists including Stanley Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr., Albert Ghiorso and Glenn Seaborg. Californium was made by firing nuclei from helium at curium-242 (an isotope of Curium which a team of scientist, nearly the same as this team, discovered 6 years before Californium). Californium is a reactive metal that is actually quite toxic. Though, it is also a powerful neutron emitter and is quite useful. For example, it is used in portable metal detectors, especially for identifying gold ores, silver ores, etc. It also can detect stress in airplanes. Also, if it isn’t pretty obvious already, Californium is named after where it was made, which would be the state and university of California. Its most common isotopes are Californium-249 and Californium-252. Californium can cost 2.7 billion dollars per 100 grams,which is insane!File:Californium.svg

Reflection: 1) What questions did you need to research your topic? The most significant question that I asked was What is Californium? Of course, all of the questions were helpful, but I got the most out of asking simply what is was because it gave me all of the information that I needed.

2) What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project? I used google to find most of my information which I was familiar with, but I found a helpful video on youtube that I used aswell which I don’t do too often. I usually stick to websites but the video I found helped so that was new-ish for me. I am also familiar with the citation machine that I used (sited below) because we were introduced to it in middle school and used it in other projects.

3) What was the process you used to investigate this topic? At first, I just typed “Californium” into Google to get some basic information, then moved into asking some more of the specific questions to figure out even more about this element.

4) How did you verify and cite the information you found? I verified my information by looking at other websites to confirm that others were saying the same things aswell. If multiple websites say the same thing, then it is more likely to be true. I cited my information using Creative Commons and Bibme. I used Creative Commons to cite my picture and I used Bibme to site the other sources/websites. Unfortunately, neither had a good picture of what Californium looked like, whereas Google Images did, but I figured it’d be wiser to avoid the risk of copyright issues and leave it out.

5) How did the process of completing this challenge go? What could you have done better? Overall, I didn’t have a hard time with the research. Something that went well for me was finding information and citing sources. I had an easy time finding some information since there was lots of sites with very similar information that I used to learn more about my element. Citing sources was pretty easy for me aswell because I had experience doing so, manually and on a cite machine, and I know how to use MLA format so that helped me if there had been an error in the citation machine’s work. But, there was no errors that I was aware of so I’d say I was successful. Something I could’ve done better is starting my research off with some stronger questions which would’ve helped me get maybe some more information. Though, my strategy of getting some background information first did work pretty well with me, I’m open to starting at a new point of view for the next project.

Bibliography:

Citation Machine: “Free Bibliography & Citation Maker – MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard.” BibMe, <http://www.bibme.org/>

Picture: File:Californium.svg”by Albedo-ukr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5

Video: Videos, Periodic. “Californium – Periodic Table of Videos.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 July 2008, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6HyPrTccI>

Websites (sorted alphabetically): “Californium – Element Information, Properties and Uses: Periodic Table.” Royal Society of Chemistry – Advancing Excellence in the Chemical Sciences, <http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/98/californium>

“Chemicool.” Chemicool, https://www.chemicool.com/elements/curium.html>

Google Search, Google, <https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&rlz=1CAHHRN_enUS863US863&sxsrf=ACYBGNRVNFekNEflWjUdYneJMq5-mGgwWg:1569296374610&q=Dictionary&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONQesSoyi3w8sc9YSmZSWtOXmMU4-LzL0jNc8lMLsnMz0ssqrRiUWJKzeNZxMqFEAMA7_QXqzcAAAA&zx=1569296440359#dobs=actinide>

Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “Can You Name the Most Expensive Element?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 28 June 2019, <https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-most-expensive-element-606625>

Study.com, Study.com, <https://study.com/academy/lesson/curium-element-discovery-name-properties.html>