Browsing category archives: Science 9
Electric House- Solution Fluency
Define We were challenged to look at our Electric House projects, and think of ways to make them ‘greener’ towards the earth and its environment. We had to pretend there was a family living there, and select the best deals and best ways to save energy. One of the challenges in doing so was that the cost of the item, whatever it may be, was expensive, and installing the item was an added cost. Buying things that are good for the environment are costly, and because of this, people often stick with the things that are cheaper, and may be harmful towards the Earth.
Discover- I looked at the pros and cons of various different energy saving ideas, and often a con was how much it would cost to buy.
Dream- these are the ideas I researched briefly –
-Solar panels into the roof-https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-solar-energy.php , https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/053015/pros-and-cons-solar-energy.asp
Pros-No contamination, renewable and sustainable, installs on rooftops (saves money and space), reduce electricity bills, low maintenance, silent,
Cons-Only used during daylight, cost to install, large area to setup, expensive for storage
Cost-
-Low flow Showerheads-http://blog.teakyourshower.com/2014/02/pros-and-cons-of-low-flow-shower-heads.html , http://www.poolesplumbing.com/plumbing-tips/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-a-low-flow-shower-head/
Pros-Saves money, easy to install, inexpensive, drop overall house water usage by 40%, cut down on energy usage, about $20 to buy
Cons-Time lag from when you adjust temperature, water cools faster than regular showerheads
-Replace incandescent bulbs with other types-https://www.electronichouse.com/home-lighting/pros-cons-type-light-bulb/
-Incandescent
Pros-Bright light
Cons-Wastes energy
-Florescent
Pros-Color temperature good, no audible noise
Cons-Don’t have big range of light
-LED
Pros-Excellent color rendering, efficiency, long life (decades)
Cons-More expensive than the light bulbs mentioned above,
-Install dimmers-http://ezinearticles.com/?Pros-and-Cons-of-Installing-Dimmer-Switches&id=6666820
Pros-Save money, control over how much light is in the space, can work with various remotes, can be installed in every room, increase lifespan of bulb
Cons-May not work with all lights in house, hard to install, have to pay someone to install,
-Install motion sensors-https://www.doityourself.com/stry/indoor-motion-sensor-lights-pros-and-cons
Pros-Save energy, don’t have to look for a lightswitch,
Cons-Lights turn on when you don’t want them to, lights turn off when you don’t want them to
-Use bubble wrap on windows- https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/How-to-Bubble-Wrap-Windows
Pros-Easy to put up, keeps heat in, lets light into rooms during winter, can buy lots of bubblewrap for cheap
Cons-Reduce visibility,
Deliver- These are the 3 ideas I narrowed it down to
https://www.doityourself.com/stry/indoor-motion-sensor-lights-pros-and-cons
The pros of using sensor-activated lights include that you save energy, since the lights will not be in use when you don’t need them. Another perk is that you also don’t have to look for a light switch since they turn on automatically, also the price for installing and buying them is an average price,
A few miniscule cons are that the lights could turn on when you don’t want them to, and that the lights can turn off when you don’t want them to
http://ezinearticles.com/?Pros-and-Cons-of-Installing-Dimmer-Switches&id=6666820
The pros to this option is that you can save money, and you can control over how much light is in the space. These can work with various remotes, can be installed in every room, and often increase lifespan of each light bulb
The cons to this option is that it may not work with all lights in house and these can be hard to install yourself, so you’ll have to pay someone to install them which can rack up a hefty fee. The cost is between $13 and $40 so this can get very expensive depending how many switches you have.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-solar-energy.php , https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/053015/pros-and-cons-solar-energy.asp
The pros of installing solar panels include that there is no contamination found, and it is renewable and sustainable. You can installs solar panels on rooftops, and it saves money and space inside the house. It also reduces electricity bills since you are creating your own, and it is generally low maintenance and close to silent.
The cons of installing solar panels includes that it is only able to be used during daylight, and there is a large cost to install them. You need a large area to setup the panels. If you live in a forest and trees block out the light, this would be not very useful for you to install.
Ending Statement- I would choose the best 3 options and discuss It with the family living in the home. I would then go out and find the most reliable brands with the best value for the prices.
Electric House Project 2017
This week, we were challenged to make, wire, and model a house with an electric circuit. Before starting the project, my partner and I thought that it would be quite easy, and we originally focused more on the design and decorations of the house rather than the wiring.
Project Questions-
- You have three lights bulbs. All have the same intensity when lit. Explain how you can prove that they are connected in series by unscrewing one light bulb. You can tell that they are connected if you turn one light off and the rest turn off as well.
- You have three light bulbs. All have the same intensity when lit. Explain how you can prove that they are connected in parallel by unscrewing one light bulb. You can tell that they are connected via parallel if you unscrew 1 light and the other 2 remain on.
- You have three light bulbs. Two are connected in parallel. This parallel combination is connected in series with the third light bulb. Describe the relative intensity of each bulb. One out of the 2 lights in parallel has the brightest intensity. The other 2 lights are more dim.
- In question number three, describe the relative intensities of the two remaining lit bulbs if one of the bulbs in parallel was unscrewed. The intensities of the last bulb in parallel would still be the brightest.
- I think that I collaborated quite well. My partner mostly focused on the wiring of the house, but I helped with the house structure, layout, and planning of where the wiring would go. This was a successful collaboration, and I feel that we worked well together. I feel as though I could have helped with the wiring more, but with the time we had, we had to spread our abilities over the course of the whole project. I focused mostly on getting the marks for appearance and she focused more on the marks for our circuits. Overall, we were compatible and had the same train of thought while problem solving.
Static Energy in Real Life
Trends on the Periodic Table
The Periodic Table is arranged according to the atomic number of each element, and each atomic number explains the amount of protons that an atom has. Each atom has the same amount of electrons as protons, so it also lets us know how many protons and electrons there are. The Periodic Table is also sorted by recurring chemical properties, and electron configurations.
The elements in the Periodic Table can also be divided into 4 groups. Main group elements, transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides. Main group elements include the active metals on the very left side of the table, as well as metals, metalloids, and non-metals on the far right side. Transition metals include metallic elements that serve as a bridge, or as a transition between the 2 sides of the table. The lanthanides and actinides are at the very bottom of the table, and are sometimes known as inner-transition metals, because they have atomic numbers that fall between the first and second elements in the last 2 rows of the transition metals.
Metals are materials that have good electrical and thermal conductivity, and are generally hard, opaque, and shiny. They are normally malleable, and are found in the middle of the Periodic Table.
Metalloids are chemical elements which have properties between metals and non-metals, or is a mixture of both. Metalloids take up the place on the right side of the Periodic table.
Non-metals are chemical elements that lack the properties and attributes that a metal has. Non-metals are good insulators of heat and electricity, but they have low elasticity.
Families are vertical columns in the Periodic Table that have similar properties. They are normally numbered 1 through 18, but some scientists use roman numerals. IA is made of alkali metals, but IIA is made up of alkaline earth metals, VIIA is made up of halogens, and VIIIA is made of noble gases. The families have the same amount of valance electrons, and looking at the Bohr models, you can see that the second family, which has Beryllium, Magnesium and Calcium all have full outer shells, plus 2 valance electrons, and the rule applies for the rest in the family.
Periods are horizontal rows that are numbered 1 to 7, 1 being where hydrogen is, and 7 at the bottom on the left side of the table. Elements in the same period have chemical properties that are not that similar. In period 3, sodium (Na) and magnesium (Mg), both tend to lose electrons when they react, but sodium loses 1 electron while magnesium loses 2.
Ion charges affect the element in many ways. For example, Group I, or alkali metals, have a +1 ionic charge, Group II (alkaline earth metals) has a +2 charge, Group VII (halogens) has a -1 charge, and Group VIII (noble gases) has a 0 charge, a neutral charge. To find the ionic charge of an element, you have to look at the Periodic Table, often, elements found to the left, which are metals, will be positive, while elements to the right, which are non-metals, are positive. Some metals have more than 1 ionic charge. Transition metals normally have more than 1 ionic charge.
All elements in nature are reactive chemically, except for Noble gases. The elements’ atoms tend to either gain, lose, or share electrons in order to make sure they have full outer valence shells. The highest reacting elements include potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, carbon, zinc, and iron. The least reactive elements include tin, lead, hydrogen, copper, silver, gold, and platinum. Elements who are willing to give, take, or share electrons to complete their incomplete valance shells are more reactive than noble gases, who have full valance shells and do not wish to take, give, or share their electrons, which are therefore nonreactive.
Information Fluency
While I was researching my element, which was Silver, I had to ask questions like..
-What is the atomic structure, what is the exact description of the element, how can I find the uses of it? I had to look up some questions several times to find a correct wording for it.
I didn’t really use any new tools to complete this project, but I had never done a Science Project using a template for a cube before, so I also had to plan out where I wanted all the facts to go.
First, I went about filling in a page on a notebook for the questions and answers assigned, I then circled the important and relative information to the project, so I had to decide what the most important and useful information and knowledge was for the project, in order for all of my findings to fit in the space provided.
I looked at the information I had written down in my notebook, and went to many different websites that I had seen show up on the first page of results for google. I checked the main things, like atomic mass, the electron structure, and how many protons, neutrons and electrons there were, because some websites are not reliable, and I looked at the bottom of each site, since some had been officially registered under certain education licenses.
I think the process of completing this went quite well, although next time, if I ever do a project like this again, I need to plan out where the information goes into a neater format, and make sure to do a better job of outlining the printing. I found it easy to find information that, once I checked other websites, was factual, and I was surprised by how easy it was to make a QR code for 2 Youtube videos.
Science Inquiry Project
Solar Eclipses
A solar eclipse is a type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and when the Moon partially or fully blocks the Sun.
A picture of a total solar eclipse.
Kinds of Solar Eclipses
There are many kinds of solar eclipses. 
Partial-When moon partially covers the sun’s disk and casts only a special kind of shadow down onto the Earth.
Annular- When the moons disk is not big enough to cover the suns disk and the outer edges of the sun remain visible to form a ring that looks like fire, in the sky.
Total- When the moon completely covers the sun, you can see a total solar eclipse if you’re in the place and path where the moon casts its darkest shadow.
Only visible from in the part on Earth where the shadow of the moon falls, and the closer you are to the center of the path of the shadow, the bigger the eclipse appears to be
For a solar eclipse to take place, the moon, sun and Earth must be aligned together in a perfect or near perfect straight line that astronomers call ‘syzygy’. It happens around New Moon every lunar month.
Our moon is the right size, when it passes in front of the sun, it exactly covers the sun’s central disk, letting the corona shine out around it. The two bodies aren’t the same size, the sun is times the diameter of the moon, but it’s 400 times farther away from us, so it appears to be the same size.
The motions of the sun, moon and earth are brought into the correct placement once every 18 months.
Sources/citations
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar-eclipse.html https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-who-what-where-when-and-how https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse