Category Archives: Science 9

climate in canada

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For this project, I was given a specific area and asked to make a drawing of abiotic and biotic factors that play a role in that area, show how co2 circulates, and write paragraphs explaining the causes of climate change, and the effects of climate change on my specific area.

In my case, I got the West Coast, and attached below is my drawing and analysis of the main causes and effects of climate change, specifically in Canada, or the West Coast.

The largest contributors to the reason being of climate change are fossil fuels, oils, coal, and gasoline. These things contribute to 75% of greenhouse gas emissions, and around 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Greenhouse gas? Greenhouse gas is an emission that traps the suns heat and keeps it on the earths layer instead of letting it escape into space. and that leads to global warming – the world now being at its fastest point of escalation of climate change ever. Natural causes include shifting in the earth’s crust, – otherwise known and plate tectonics – volcanic eruptions, and changes in the orbit of the earth. Though the earth and its climate has been changing forever, burning fossil fuels has over time made humans the leading cause of spikes in climate change.

The biggest risk and effect that climate change has on humans and every other life form on earth is that warmer weather over time, eventually leads to different weather patterns which throws off the earths natural heat balance. Climate change in the West Coast has strongly affected invasive species – and not just animals. Plants have been affected, and bugs especially. This summer there was a huge outbreak of brown marmorated stink bugs. This particular species is usually around quite a lot but was doubled this year as the fall was unusually warm. The grass in places all around the West Coast this summer had thinned out, dried grass, as there was hardly anything to keep the natural plant wildlife hydrated and thriving – most organisms were struggling to survive healthily. Lots of species of fish tend to not stand warmer water, which causes them to migrate further north, away from the warm area, which can result in less business for fishermen.

HCE 9 – english assignment

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The following writing is an analysis of the artwork “Assimilation vs. inclusivity” created by an unknown artist, demonstrated through a poem, relating to a person’s individuality.

Thump, thump, thump.

There goes the beat of my heart.

The beat of my heart, which is jumping solemnly,

A different rhythm than the faces that pace.

Who am I, and why do I hide?

The accidentality of my stolen individuality.

Fatal, but unfaithful.

Who am I, if not you?

Who are we, if not one?

 

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

There goes the beat of my heart.

The beat of my heart which is in sync with everyone around me.

It beats loud, it beats proud.

I am like a growing tree, filled with glee.

I am happy being me.

I am a piece of peace.

As we all will be, flying free.

Modeling Mitosis

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BEFORE: Interphase

Interphase is simply the resting phase of the cell.

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STAGE 1: Prophase

Prophase is the first stage of mitosis – during prophase, the nuclear envelope dissolves/disappears, as well as chromosomes becoming visible as paired chromatids.

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STAGE 2: Prometaphase

Prometaphase falls between prophase and metaphase… it is the stage of eukaryotic division. In this stage, the chromosomes condense, and the cell’s centrosome divides, moving to opposite sides of the cell.

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STAGE 3: Metaphase

Metaphase – M for middle ! Metaphase is the stage during which the chromosomes attach to the spindle fibre’s and line up in the middle.

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STAGE 4: Anaphase

Anaphase – A for away! Anaphase is the stage in which chromosome’s disperse and move away from each other to opposite poles of the spindle fibre’s.

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STAGE 5: Telophase

Telophase is the stage of cell division where chromatids or chromosomes move to opposite ends of the cell. After that’s done, two nuclei are formed.

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STAGE 6: Cytokinesis

Cytokinesis is the end of the cell division cycle. During it, the cell splits into two daughter cells.

solution proposal post

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Define

the main problem:

  • Honey badgers are tough predators of honeybees, and difficult to take care of, so they can become a severe problem. More bees getting hurt/targeted by honey badgers leads to less bees which obviously could develop an even bigger problem. Our motion detector system is going to make a difference by triggering a loud alarm, or loud noises (something that will scare honey badgers away like predators, or just a very loud alarm), to scare away bee predators during the night when there’s no one supervising and protect more bee’s from being in danger. It’ll be camouflaged and there will be a trip wire – not enough to trip on, but enough to set off the alarm, which will then spook or distract the honey badgers enough for them to go away.

Discover

info on honey badgers:

  • good diggers
  • thick skin
  • omnivore

predators:

  • hyena
  • hyena wolverine
  • lion

Dream

All three of us originally had plans to change the environment that the bees live in – to make it a safer place. We wanted to figure out a way to either scare off the predators, or alert anybody who was in the area to see what’s going on. After we brainstormed, we concluded to build an alarm using a Micro Bit. We would put it in a box and connect it to a wire that stuck through a hole in the box, which would trail around the bee’s living area. The wire, when stepped on, would pull the Micro Bit, making it shake, and we coded it so that when it does shake, it plays a loud, obnoxious melody through the speakers.                                                                                             

Design/deliver

  • camouflage
  • small
  • encased with something waterproof
  • trip wire/trigger
  • camera
  • sound system

edible DNA

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What is DNA?

DNA is an abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid, and it’s present in all living organisms. If you isolate DNA from a cell and stretch it out, it looks like a twisted ladder. DNA is one of the main constituents of chromosomes in organisms, and it’s also the carrier of genetic information. Now you may be wondering, what does DNA do? DNA does multiple things from giving instructions to make proteins, to giving you your genetics which have been handed down from your predecessors (parents, grandparents, etc.). DNA has a variety of different bases – A, C, G and T. Depending on the sequence of these bases, that is how your genetic code is made. A always binds with T, and vice versa, and G always binds with C, and vice versa (A+T/T+A. C+G/G+C). Other than making our genetic code, these sequences determine the instructions for producing molecules inside our body. Everybody has 23 chromosomes from their father and 23 chromosomes from their mother. 46 in total. These can vary from eye colour, hair colour, height, baldness, heritable diseases/mental illnesses, etc. DNA also copies itself. How? Well, DNA replication has three stages – initiation, elongation and termination. During the initiation phase, enzymes called helicases unwind the double helix of DNA, by breaking hydrogen bonds. To prepare for the next step, the cell creates sequences of RNA called primers. With the primer as a starting point, a new DNA strand begins to rebuild, base by base. The existing strand is like a template for the new one! After elongation is complete, there is two new double helixes which will replace the original one. During termination, enzymes take off a telomere at the end of every replication. That leads to shorter strands after every new cycle. At the end, enzymes called nucleases go over the new DNA/double helix structures and remove any bases that were paired incorrectly. DNA polymerase then fills in any gaps that were left by removed bases, and boom! Replication.

For the edible DNA lab, my partner and I had to make a double helix (DNA) with correctly paired bases using marshmallows and twizzlers. The colors of marshmallows represented the bases such as A, T, G and C.

Currents from the kitchen

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CURRENTS FROM THE KITCHEN

(images at the bottom)

Purpose: Which fruit will produce the most electric voltage?

Hypothesis: My hypothesis is that lemons will have the highest voltage. When we try to power something with a lemon, the amount of acid and sourness, and every aspect of a lemon, will make the voltage act up, and power whatever we are trying to do with the electricity.

Materials:

  • Clipping cords (red and black)
  • Voltmeter
  • Fruits
  • Nail
  • Copper

Procedure:

  • Stick the copper and nail into chosen fruit.
  • Clip the red cord onto one of the metals and then clip it onto the red knob on the voltage reader
  • Clip black cord onto the other metal and then attach it to the black knob on the voltage reader
  • Write down voltages of each fruit you test

 

fruits voltages:

orange –  0.2

apple –  0.2

banana – 0.3

pickle – 0.6

What are the independent, dependent and controlled variables in this experiment?

  • Independent – The independent variable in our experiment was the fruits. Though the metals, cords and voltmeter didn’t move around much, we had to switch the fruits we were experimenting on every time we wanted to find out a new voltage.
  • Dependent – The dependent variables in this experiment were all the different volt charges. All the charges for the different fruits (except for apple and orange) were different, meaning that the number on the scale was a dependent variable.
  • Controlled – The controlled variables were the cords. They played the same roles throughout the whole entire experiment – one clipped to copper, the other onto a nail, and clipped onto the voltmeter. The voltage was changing because the metal was going into different pieces of fruit, but the cords never changed places on the metals, or on the knobs on the voltmeter.

How can we modify our experiment to improve our results?

I think that we could get a bigger scale on the voltmeter, to be able to get as direct onto the amount of the voltage, and that everybody should bring a wider variety of fruits! More citrus fruits, more unique and exotic ones, and also some vegetables like the pickle or the potato.

What could be sources of error or uncertainty in our experiment?

A definite area where people could make mistakes, is attempting to read the voltmeter. I was confused as to how to read it as well until Tristan explained it to Braedon and Braedon explained it to me. Its also possible to mess up the arrangement of the cords – for example, having two black ones instead of one black cord and one red one, or people could somehow put the metals into their fruits incorrectly.

How can I use this in my every day life?

I can use the skills I learned in this experiment in every day life if I ever need to power a light bulb, or for some reason the power has gone out, I can figure out DIY ways to fix it, with regular things I could find around my house, and it’s also just a pretty cool skill to show off, haha.

Conclusion.

I didn’t get to try out our experiment on a lemon, but I think, that in a way I was right. Pickles, like lemons are sort of citric, and sour, and have lots of flavor and qualities to them, and the pickle, out of all the fruits we tried, had the highest voltage. I’m not sure if it was because of the things that I hypothesized, but I would like to say that my conclusion is like a second hypothesis that I want to do research on in the future.

 

IMAGES:

 

 

periodic table reflection

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  • what I know about the periodic table?

I know how to tell the possible charges of elements, and how to make Bohr diagrams of them. I’ve memorized quite a few of the symbols for some elements and I know now that not every symbol is the first letters of the element, which I thought it was before. I know how to tell what form an element is at room temperature, and which rows are periods and which rows are families. I know that the boxes for certain elements are colored differently to symbolize gas, liquid or solid at room temperature!

  • what I need to work on about the periodic table?

I think I need to work on memorizing things faster, as everyone else seems to understand things quicker than I do, and I think it has to do with the fact that I will either memorize things very quickly, or forget something the next day that I thought wasn’t important but then it is. I also want to get better at working with ionic charges and when to add or remove ions, as that still confuses me a little bit!

  • what I wonder about the periodic table

I wonder how we know for sure that no one else thought about this before the famous geniuses who have been credited for it. What if somebody had the same theories, long before all this equipment and intelligence came into play? Is there an element that was maybe discovered earlier on in life, that we no longer have due to the changes in our planet and lifestyle?

  • what goals I will set to understand it better

I will start taking notes in class, and revise things that I think I’ll forget, such as simple details, or due dates. I’m going to do research on the topics of the periodic table I don’t understand, and I really want to focus on not being embarrassed to ask questions or ask for help when I need it, either from our peer tutor, or Mr. Robinson.

my fictional safety story

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SAFE

It was a sunny day in the grade 9 science class, when we were finally doing the lab for which we had all been excited. Mr. Robinson projected the instructions onto the board and laid out all the materials that we would need. Jack and I separated as we walked to get our stuff. He was getting the graduated cylinder, while I was grabbing our safety goggles. We met back up at our lab area and waited for Mr. Robinson to come by with our chemicals. Once we had our flasks filled to the 50ml mark up, he told us to add four drops of our green liquid chemical from the pipettes that he gave us. Jack said I could go first, so I took the pipette and squeezed the top gently, letting four drops fall out into the white powder in our flasks. It all dissolved and turned into an orange goop. Cool! Mr. Robinson gave us permission to move onto the next step, as Jack carefully turned the knob on the Bunsen burner and carefully placed our filled flask over top. Tiny little bubbles started to surface in the concoction, and it got hot very quickly. Once we were done using the Bunsen burner, Mr. Robinson came around and gave us two metal cans. One of them had a symbol on it, Jack observed. We were confused as to what the label meant, so we asked the teacher. “Good question, you guys. This here is a WHMIS symbol. That stands for workplace hazardous materials information system and the symbol on this first blue can, means that this product can damage or be hurtful to the environment or ecosystem.”

we all looked at it once more and noticed the fish and tree, which made sense. “What about the orange can’s symbols?” Amelia asked from across the room. “Those two show that this product is corrosive, and explosive. We manage these with extreme care, okay class?” he spoke slowly, pointing to them each separately we all nodded in understanding.

We handled the cans carefully, spraying each of the continents inside of the flask, and everything went perfectly as planned. Well, except for when John’s shirt caught on fire… I made sure to yell quickly “Someone get Mr. Robinson!” as he had left the class, before running to the fire blanket and smothering John in it. No one ended up hurt at the end. When we were done watching the chemical reactions, we poured our liquid down the drain like Mr. Robinson instructed us to and turned the sink on to douse the drain with water. We put away our equipment and sat at our desks, starting our lab write up…

UNSAFE

I was sitting at my desk with Fatima when Mr. Robinson suddenly announced that we had a lab today. What? I didn’t know. He had not prepared us for this. The rest of the class looked just as shocked as I did when he announced this, but nonetheless we all took out our devices and stood up to start the lab. “You’ll need one Bunsen burner, a 1000ml beaker, a 250ml beaker, and a petri dish”. Everyone scuttled off to the table with the equipment, as Fatima and I followed behind. We saw a box of goggles on our way there but decided to ignore them – Mr. Robinson did not mention us needing them. As soon as we had all four pieces of equipment, Mr. Robinson gave us the chemicals, and we started to mix them into the 1000ml beaker. Mixing was taking too long, so Fatima just went ahead and poured it into the smaller beaker. We set the beaker on top of the Bunsen burner and cranked it all the way up. But that caused the contents to foam up and go everywhere. In a hurry to clean up, I leaned down and my hair brushed against the tip of the flame, and it set on fire! Afraid, I grabbed the piece of hair, but that just burned my hand. When I noticed Mr. Robinson was not in the class, I started to panic. What now? I though to myself. I ran into the middle of the room and Brooke sprayed me with the fire extinguisher. When Mr. Robinson returned to the class, his face dropped. “What happened here?!” he asked, worried. After we had explained our problem, he got a more disappointed look on his features. “These chemicals clearly have the flammable symbol

on them, you guys” we all looked down at the box and noticed a symbol. We had never learned about it before, and we just chose to ignore it. Not smart. After Mr. Robinson told us more about WHMIS symbols, we put away our lab equipment and washed the sink, but then we heard Miller start yelling; “Ow! Ouch! It burns!” we all turned our heads towards him to see that he had wiped a random clear liquid off the counter with just a paper towel. Mr. Robinson sighed, and hurriedly took Miller out of the class to take care of his finger. Once we were all calm and seated, we began our lab write.

 

 

Well, that could have gone better…

my wonder question / how will change in climate affect bee’s?

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assess

Climate change can’t affect blind bee’s, (because there are none) but it still affects bee’s. It will affect the environment in which they live in, use to build their homes, and feed themselves. It will change the temperatures in which they live, and make it harder for them to heat up their hive during cold weather, and cool it down during the summer. I’d assume bee-keeping helps quite a bit, because those bee’s will have the resources they need with the help of the humans taking care of them. We need to help make climate change a smaller problem, or soon it won’t be just us that it’s harming – it will be the things that help nurture the earth and nature.

critical questions

  • can bee’s be blind?
  • what are bee’s every day tasks?
  • how will climate change, change every day nature and life
  • how will change in climate affect bee’s in their every day job?
  • what can we do to help?

tools

  • Google
  • Pexels
  • Easy Bib
  • Gale Engage

citations/sources

Abj. “The Tasks of a Worker Honey Bee.” American Bee Journal, 21 Oct. 2015, https://americanbeejournal.com/the-tasks-of-a-worker-honey-bee/#:~:text=Young%20worker%20bees%20engage%20in%20nest-based%20tasks%20while,cleaning%20and%20food%20handling%2C%20and%20%284%29%20outside%20tasks.

Jan. “Are Bees Blind? Let’s Take a Closer Look.” One Honey Bee, 6 Oct. 2021, https://onehoneybee.com/are-bees-blind-lets-take-a-closer-look/.

Pittman, Teodoro. “Bee Temperature Tolerance (What Temperature Kills Bees?).” Misfit Animals, 6 Dec. 2021, https://misfitanimals.com/bees/bee-temperature-tolerance/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20bees%20die%20when%20it%E2%80%99s%20too%20hot.%20At,honeybee%2C%20can%20withstand%20temperatures%20up%20to%20152.6%C2%B0F%20%2867%C2%B0C%29.

Cook, Kristi. “Honey Bee Starvation: This is what happens when supers are not added when the nectar flow gets going.” Countryside & Small Stock Journal, vol. 106, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2022, pp. 28+. Gale In Context: Canada, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A714185239/GPS?u=43riss&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8ae4d8f6. Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.

all photos are from sway suggested !