Nov, 10 Humanities

Global warming is a very real phenomenon and a very real threat that won't stop unless we get rid of all terrible emissions, like factories and cars. The natural environments are getting less and less, in the meantime iceberg is melts as faster than we can imaging.

Scientists have uncovered proof that polar warming is influenced by humans, http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/30/polar.warming/index.html


Global warming will just going to keep getting worse if we don’t solve the problem. It's unfortunate but true, our generation has to face the beginning of the end of the world.

The Terabithian

It is very important to learn new vocabulary every time we read. Bridge to Terabithia is beautifully written because it uses wonderful words in constructing sentences. It uses words such as “proverbial”, which means very well-known; “cagey”, which means not willing to give information, owing to caution or suspicion; In addition the author uses the word “huffily” instead of annoyed or angry. However, I think that the essential criteria of reading is not only to broaden our diction but also to understand the theme of the book.
The value of friendship is one of the major themes in Bridge to Terabithia. Growing up together, Jess and Leslie trust each other and felt a sense of belonging. This can be seen from the following quote:
“ For the first time in his life he got up every morning with something to look forward to. Leslie was more than his friend. She was his other, more exciting self – his way to Terabithia and all the worlds beyond.”
Bridge to Terabithia
Before Jess met Leslie he felt all alone. In his family, Jess has a father, mother, and four sisters. His father worked every day and was always too tired to pay attention to him when he got home. Sometimes Jess felt lonely being the only male among all those females. At school, Jess had no friends, except for Miss Edmunds, his music teacher. She was the only one to whom he dared to show his real thoughts.
So when Leslie actually appears in Jess’ world, they form an incredible friendship. Terabithia becomes a place where they can exchange their feelings and worries.
Bridge to Terabithia is very important to be read by young people not only because it gives a sense of what it is to be a friend, but it also gives a great example of what kind of person we should be in our lives. First we must show loyalty and devotion before we are able to gain true friendship.
Bridge to Terabithia is also about being different and accepting the differences of others. Jess and Leslie are both very different. Jess loves to draw, but he does not dare to show anyone his talent because he is worried that if he shows his drawings to others they will laugh at him. On the other hand, Leslie is very confident with herself. She doesn’t care about how people think of her. For instance, she shows her comfort by competing with the boys in running. She does what she wants, without paying attention to what views people may have of her.
Furthermore, they have different backgrounds. Leslie comes from a rich family while Jess comes from a normal middle class agricultural family. From the above, we can clearly see that Leslie and Jess are very different in personality, the family they come from and their general background. Yet, despite their differences, they accepted each other and became great friends. This is something worth learning from them.
Thus, either than learning new words from Bridge to Terabithia, I also learned from the theme of the story. This is a book that I would highly recommend to others to read.

Nov. 3 SMASJ Day

What science skills did you use during the SMASH day activity? How do these science skills help us be better scientists?

Tim, Taco and I believe that the fundamental is the most important place in a tower. So we actually spend the most of the time to build up a strong base.

We first think of a supposition and explanation as a starting point for further investigation, which is the word "hypothesis" in Science. This skills help us to be a better scientist because when we guess we actually think.

Liquid Column

Why did some objects sink while some objects floated? Also, why did some objects float in the middle of the columg? Do you think the "mixed" one will separate by Monday?

I believe that the reason why some objects floated because the object is lighter than the liquid. Same idea, some objects sank because the object is heavier than the liquid.

Then what causes “heavier” and “lighter”? It’s all about density. The objects that are more dense than the liquid will sink, and the objects that are less dense than the liquid will float.
So now we can clearly see the red liquid are more dense than yellow one, the yellow one are more dense than the clear one and so on. Therefore, if an object float between red and yellow, the density of that object must be lighter than the red liquid but heavier than the yellow liquid.

I think the mixed one will separate by Monday. Although it mixed but it still has 4 different materials in it.

Is Air Martter?

First, what is matter? Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space by definition. So therefore, everything on the earth that you can see and touch consists of matter. But what about air?

The experiment that we've done in class does show air consists of matter. When we blow air into the balloon the balloon expand, so it shows that air takes up space.
Then if you compare the mass of the balloon before and after it is filled with air, and it'll show that the balloon is more heavy when it has air in it. This shows that air has mass.
If air takes up space and has mass, then air must be a matter, because the experiment shows that.

http://wow.osu.edu/experiments/gases/airhasmass.html
http://wow.osu.edu/experiments/gases/balloon.html