More About Symbiosis

Symbiosis is a relationship between two organisms where one organism lives on, near, or inside the other, and where one of them benefits. There are three types of symbiotec relationships- mutualism (both organisms benefit), commensalism (one benefits and the other is not harmed), and parasitism (one benefits and the other is harmed). An example of mutualism is a clownfish and a sea anemone. An example of commensalism is lichen on a tree. An example of parasitism is fleas on a dog. Some new facts I learned from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis, were that the term "symbiosis" was first used by German mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary in 1879. He defined it as "the living together of unlike organisms." I also learned that the evolution of all eukaryotes (plants, animals, fungi, and protists) is believed to have resulted from a symbiosis between various sorts of bacteria.

I think that symbiotec relationships are very important in the field of ecology. It's also interesting to learn what type of relationship various animals have with each other.

Which Came First- The Egg or the Chicken?

People have been debating over which came first for hundreds of years now, but the truth is that scientists have the answer. Scientists believe the egg came before the chicken because of a discovered nest of a small carnivorous dinosaur. The nest has some bird-like characteristics, so if you take the saying literally, obviously the egg came before the chicken. Dinosaurs were making bird-like nests and laying bird-like eggs way before chickens evolved. So now the question is: Which came first- the dinosaur or the egg?

Before I read this article, I thought the chicken came before the egg. But now I realize that bird-like eggs came before birds and chickens. I hope scientists are able to keep researching so that we figure out if the dinosaur or the egg came first. For more info, go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20081114/sc_livescience/whichcamefirsteggsbeforechickensscientistsnowsay;_ylt=AvGp6zJWT4M7zk6OzFdNXpkPLBIF

More About Decomposers

In science class, we learned about decomposers. Decomposers are organisms that break down the dead bodies of other organisms for energy. A few examples are bacteria, earthworms, and mushrooms. By breaking down these dead organisms, they are "recycling" nutrients. Some new facts I learned from http://www.nhptv.org/NatureWorks/nwep11b.htm, was that decomposers recycle the dead organisms into chemical nutrients like carbon and nitrogen which go back into the earth. I also learned that there are over 1,800 species of earthworms, and that they loosen soil so air can circulate. This helps plants grow.

Gray Wolves Back on Endangered List!

On Tuesday October 14th, the U.S. court decided to put the gray wolf of the northern Rocky Moutains back on the endangered species list. Back in April, groups of people went to protest that the government should put the gray wolf back on the endangered list after the government had taken them off the list two months before. The groups did this beause taking them off the list would result in the shooting of wolves by farmers who think they are a threat to their livestock. The government had thought that the reintroduction had been going well, but some people thought otherwise. In 1974, wolves were disappearing. In 1995, 66 wolves were released into Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, in hopes that they would thrive. Now there are about 1,200 gray wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

I'm glad the population of gray wolves is increasing because I think they are amazing animals. When my family and I went to Yellowstone two summers ago, I had heard all about the reintroduction of wolves around the area. I was interested to learn that they were in danger, and that many farmers saw gray wolves as a threat to their livestock. I just hope that one day, gray wolves will come off the endangered species list for good. For more info, go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081014/sc_afp/usenvironmentwildlifewolves;_ylt=Amq5Sn7llYuCg0dCzCemhQ8PLBIF

Math Is. . . .

Math can be anything from numbers to graphs. Math deals with almost anything in your life. For example, when you go to a gas station, and it says 3.90 for 1 gallon of gas, and you're getting 8 gallons, you would do 3.90 x 8= $31.20. Another example that we talked about in class is when you're at a restaurant and you need to figure out how much to tip the waiter. This is using percents to solve a problem. In math class this year, we learned about percents, fractions, decimals, order of operations, exponents, GCF and LCM, population and sample, scientific notation, and many other topics. As you can see, math can be found anywhere, at anytime.
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More About Oil

In science class, we "drilled" for oil. Oil is formed when dead plants or animals sink to the bottom of the earth, and are covered with sandstone and other minerals. Another name for oil is petroleum. Workers spend thousands- even millions of dollars drilling for oil, and 70% of the time they come up dry! But if they do find oil, they could make a lot of money. $ $ Some types of oils are mineral oils, like gasoline, and organic oils, like vegetable oil. It can be used for fuel, heating, cooking, and painting. Crude oil is used to make plastics and other substances. For more info on oil you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil

An Artic Tale

During 6th grade testing, we watched a movie called An Artic Tale. It was about polar bear cubs and a baby walrus and how they survived while their climate was changing due to global warming. The polar bears needed thick snow to catch fish and seals. The walruses needed icebergs to rest on when they got tired of swimming. But global warming was taking away these priorities. A lot of the snow was melting earlier than it should have. Because of this, one of the bear cubs died of starvation, and the baby walrus almost died. This movie was very touching. I learned that if we keep up what we're doing to the Earth, all of the Artic ice could be gone by 2040. That's just 32 years!! Some other things I learned from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming was that increasing global temperatures can cause sea levels to rise, and it can increase the intensity of extreme weather events. It also can change the amount and pattern of precipitation. So if we stop global warming, we can save the polar bears!

Anthropology

30 years ago, people did not have personal computers. I am thankful that I have one now because I can go on Microsoft Word and type hw. My mom had to use a typewriter. If she messed up, she either had to use white-out or start over. That sounds like a pain! I also like computers because you can check e-mail and play games. Thank goodness for technology!

Math Extra Credit

On March 10, 2008 in Montpelier, Vermont, students took a statewide high school math test. Only 30 percent of the eleventh graders got a proficient or higher math score. In reading, girls got 75 percent, and boys got 59 percent. In writing, girls got 48 and boys got 30 percent. In math, the boys just beat the girls by two points. It was 31 to 29 percent. Richard Cate, an Education Commissioner for the school said that technology can hurt and help. In writing, for example, students are learning text-message language. But on the other hand, computers are very useful. "Even more troubling perhaps is that such a significant percentage of them are substantially below proficient. It isn't like everybody's almost there and they didn't get up. There's a major segment of them that are just completely off the scale in terms of performance," Cate said. He was surprised by the lack of math skills. Cate thinks teachers should spend time on repetitive lessons like multiplication tables and other math exercises.


I'm surprised that high school students would get percentages like that! I do agree with Cate though; I think the teachers should spend time on math exercises. Also, I believe computers can hurt and help. With all the new technology, many students get distracted. I hope Cate can help get their percentages up. For more info, go to http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2008/03/10/test_results_only_30_percent_of_students_proficient_in_math/

Math Extra Credit

What better way to learn math skills than by crawling through a giant kaleidoscope? This new section of the DuPage Children's Museum, called Math Connections is located in Naperville, Illinois. It is planning to open on Monday, March 10. There, kids ages 3 to 7 will explore the foundations of math. The giant kaleidoscope teaches them about geometry and patterns. Many of the other areas are about measurement, balance, and estimation. A balance beam is a fun way for kids to learn the word "equal." Another example is blocks of different shapes and sizes, which teaches spatial relationships and estimation. The director of the exibits, Cynthia Mark-Hummel said, "We provide the kind of experience that will allow them to get to those conceptions with real understanding, not just memorization. We selected ideas we felt would be the most interesting for children." He also said that the exibit provides a fun way for parents to ensure their their kids are exposed to math at an early age, so they will do better in school.

This museum sounds really awesome! Even though I'm too old for the exibit, I would probably enjoy going there and seeing everything, (especially the giant kaleidoscope)! I think this is a good way for young kids to learn basic math skills. For more info., go to http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=148686&src=109

More About. . . . . . Elements

In science class, we have been learning about elements and the Periodic Table. In all, 117 elements have been discovered, of which 94 exist naturally on Earth. The other 23 have been made artificially. This means that they are radioactive, and if they were to be present on Earth, they would have already decayed. The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in the atom. The number of protons in the atomic nucleus also determine its electric charge, and the number of electrons of the atom in the non-ionized state. This determines the atom's many chemical properties. The mass number is the number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus. Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons in their nucleus, but different numbers of neutrons. Most natural elements have more than one isotope. The element with the most isotopes is tin, which has 10.

~~Interesting Fact: The term 'element' was first used by a Greek philosopher named Plato in about 360 BCE.

I find the Periodic table quite interesting and I like learning about elements. It's amazing how there are so many elements, yet there are lots more out there just waiting to be discovered! For more info, and to see the Periodic Table, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_element.

Tree Cloning

In New York on January 11th, city officials chose 25 long-living and "historical" trees to clone. This was for a plan called "Million Trees NYC," which was announced last year. The point of the program is to add a million trees to public spaces over the next decade. Cloning has two stages. First, the cuttings are grafted into roots. Then new growth is later peeled away to make a sapling with the DNA of the original tree. The result is a genetically identical tree. Students who studied agriculture in a nearby high school snipped off sections of new growth, and sent them to a scientific tree nursery in Oregon. If this plan succeeds, the clones of the trees will return to New York in about two years to be replanted. Each cutting will produce ten copies! The trees, including nine species, were chosen for lasting at least a century. One of the oldest trees, called the St. Nicholas elm, is supposedly a tree George Washington had walked under 230 years ago during The Revolutionary War.

Wow! I think this is a great idea because we're cutting down way too many trees, and this will replace them. Trees are important in many ways, and I think this will help. For more information please go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080111/ap_on_sc/cloning_trees;_ylt=AnecSRStja2HK12kAmGLkw4PLBIF