The Endeavor is Going on its Last Flight

The Space Shuttle Endeavor

         One of NASA's most recently constructed space shuttles, the Endeavor, is going on its last flight in early July.  The Endeavor has gone on 24 trips so far, and has covered over 110 million miles of space.  Fortunately, all flights on this space shuttle have been executed perfectly, and there is very little chance that something will go wrong now.  Right now, Endeavor is up in the air and NASA has two chances to land it in Florida this Wednesday.  If they miss the first one, the second opening will be at 4:11 AM.  If there is a problem with the weather, or if there are kinks in the mechanisms of the Endeavor, the crew may be forced to land in California or Mexico, as they may miss the two spots open for landing in Florida. 

If you want to read more information, go to:  Endeavor Article

Eclipses

What are the phases of the moon?  What causes them? 

The rotation of the moon around Earth and the Earth around sun causes the phases of the moon.  Different sections of the month reveal the moon to have sun reflecting off different parts of it.

The phases of the moon are:

New moon – The whole moon facing Earth is dark.

Waxing Crescent – After the new moon.  A sliver of light shows.

1^st Quarter – Half of the moon is lit up and visible to earth.

Waxing Gibbous – A crescent/sliver of the moon is dark and the rest is light.

Full Moon – The whole moon is bright.  None of it is dark.

Waning Gibbous – A sliver of the moon is dark (on the opposite side of a waxing gibbous)

3^rd Quarter – Half of the moon is dark (on the opposite side of the 1^st Quarter)

Waning Crescent – Most of the moon is dark (opposite side of a waxing crescent)

What are the dangers of viewing an eclipse?

When you look directly at a solar eclipse, it is dangerous because of the corona.  The moon will block the sun itself, but the aura or corona surrounding the sun, as well as radiation, could harm your eyes and even blind you.  When looking at a solar eclipse, you should have the proper equipment so that you can view it without harm.

What causes the TIDES?

The amount of gravitational pull on the moon causes the tides. 

How often do they occur?

They occur every six minutes.

What causes an eclipse?

There are two types of eclipse:  lunar and solar.  A lunar eclipse is caused by the earth blocking the light from the sun from reaching the moon.  Then, the moon cannot reflect light back to earth, making it seem dark.  A solar eclipse is caused by the moon moving in between the earth and the sun.  Since the moon is so much closer to Earth than the sun, it can block the sunlight from reaching Earth.  This will make it seem as if it is night, even if it is the middle of the day.

What is a lunar and solar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse is when the Earth moves between the sun and the moon, causing the moon to go dark.  A solar eclipse is when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, which makes the Earth go dark. 

Which type of eclipse is more common?

A lunar eclipse is more common.

The Moon

1.)     What did you notice about the phases of the moon?   

The phases of the moon really don’t look very different from space, but they are quite different when you’re looking at it from Earth.  Since the moon revolves around our planet, we see different reflected parts of it at different times of the month.  Sometimes, we see the section of the moon that is dark to us, other times, we see half of the moon, since half of the light reflected from the sun is visible to us, and other times, we see what appears to be the full moon, because the whole part of the moon visible to us is reflecting sunlight.

2.)    Why do we see different parts o f the moon each night?

We see different parts of the moon each night, because of the way it revolves around our planet.  Sometimes, we see the parts of it that reflect sunlight, and sometimes, we see parts of it that are dark. 

3.)     What is a lunar month?

A lunar month is the time between two full moons. 

Reasons for the Seasons

Question:  How does the tilt of Earth’s axis affect the light received by Earth as it revolves around the sun?

Hypothesis:  I think that since the Earth wobbles on its axis, these wobbling might cause parts of the Earth to be closer to the sun than others.  This may cause the seasons.

1.)     When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which areas on Earth get the most concentrated light?  Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth gets the most concentrated light on the Southern Hemisphere, whereas when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it has the most concentrated sunlight.

2.)     Compare your observations on how the light hits the area halfway between the equator and the North Pole during winter and during summer. 

In the summer, the area halfway between the equator during the North Pole is more concentrated than in the winter.

3.)    If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat distributed in each square?

 

The amount of heat will have become less, because if the square stretches, that means that there is more room for heat in each square.  The more space there is, the less concentrated the heat is, and the cooler each square will be overall.

4.)    According to your observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest?  Which areas are consistently warmest?  Why?

Areas in the north and south sections of Earth, such as the north and south poles, are consistently cool.  This is because even when our planet tilts towards the sun, they do not have the highest concentration of sunlight.  This means that they will not be as warm as other parts of the Earth.  Areas that are consistently warmest are those near the Equator, in between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.  This is because since they are in the middle of the planet, the tilting of Earth won’t really affect them.  They will always have a fairly high concentration of sunlight. 

5.)    What time of year will the toothpick’s shadow be longest?  When will the shadow be shortest?

The toothpick’s shadow will be longest when the Earth model is tilted toward the sun, because the there will be the farthest distance from the base of the toothpick to the section of the model that is in shadow.  The toothpick’s shadow will be longest during summer for the northern hemisphere, and shortest in the winter. 

6.)    How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the sun’s rays?

The amounts of heat and light received in a square relates to the sun’s rays, because since the earth is round, the squares must bend.  Some of them become gooey rectangles.  This means that sunlight must also bend to cover Earth.

 

Conclusion: 

The Earth’s tilting causes the seasons.  This is because since our planet is on an axis, part of it will always be tilted away from the sun.  If the Earth never tilted, either the northern or southern hemisphere might be too cold for human habitation and we wouldn’t have the seasons.  Since this is not true for Earth and our planet tilts so that part of the year, the northern hemisphere is closer to the sun, and another part of the year, the southern hemisphere is closer to the sun, we have the seasons.  My hypothesis was semi-correct.  I think that I guessed what was happening, but I didn't know how to word it correctly.  I said "wobbles," when I think I meant "tilts." 

 

Waves Unit Reflection

Unit Question:  How does the use and study of waves affect societal well-being?  

          The study of waves affects societal well-being in many ways.  When we study seismic waves, we are able to understand more clearly when and under what circumstances tsunamis might occur.  The study of microwaves led to the development of the microwave and cell phones.  Because we understood the way radio waves worked, we were able to transmit information over long distances.  Also, when we study waves, we learn which ones are bad for us, and when we learn that, we can take steps to prevent injury.  

          It's better to be prepared when a tsunami hits the area you live in. Since they are such huge waves, they can cause a lot of destruction, destroy tons of homes, and kill hundreds of people.  Once humans understood that there are ways to detect tsunamis before they hit land, many lives were saved.  Scientists were able to figure out when a tsunami was coming using bottom sensors, and then they could alert the people in the city about the giant wave.  Some people might only get a few minutes of warning, but each second counts when you're talking about tsunamis. This was good for society.

          The reason we are now able to heat food in a matter of minutes is because of a man called Percy Spencer.  He figured out that microwaves can be used to make food hot, and voila - the microwave oven was created.  This proved to be very effective and good for society.  However, later studies show that the radiation from the microwave oven has many bad effects:  it can cause cancer, make vegetables lose their vitamins, be the source of certain diseases, and much more.  Studies are still underway to see whether or not the microwave isn't as safe as we once thought it was, but now people are aware of its dangers.  Since we now know what the microwave can do, we can protect ourselves from it.  This knowledge is good for society.

          The reason people can use satellites is because of the study of waves.  Satellites are used for a myriad of everyday things: electronic navigation systems, Google Earth, TV, and more.  Without waves, we would have none of those luxuries.  The study of waves has improved human life on Earth by a long run, and we should continue to look into this science.

Other Questions:

1.) What did you learn during the unit?

          I learned SO much during this unit.  I learned about how waves travel (through mediums in transverse, longitudinal, or surface waves), what causes them (disturbances caused by an energy source that causes the medium to vibrate), the different types of waves (seismic, water, electromagnetic, and sound), the properties of waves (amplitude, velocity, etc...), the parts of the ear (ear canal, ear drum, hammer, anvil, stirrup, cochlea, etc.), and the parts of waves (trough, crest, etc.) 

2.) What did you like?

          I especially liked the beginning of the unit when we drew those pictures of what we thought waves were, and then the end when we looked at our pictures, and we - or at least I realized how ignorant I'd been of waves back then.  It was actually pretty eye-opening about how much I don't know.

3.) What would you change or add for next years 7th grade students?    

          If I could change anything about this unit, I would give more time for people to study the electromagnetic spectrum.  Even though all the groups gave those presentations, information doesn't really stick in your head as much as when you do the research yourself.  There is a saying: "Tell me, and I will forget.  Show me, and I may remember.  Involve me, and I will understand."  During the electromagnetic spectrum part of the unit, there was a lot of showing and only a little bit of involving.  I noticed that I really didn't remember as much information as I had on other waves. 

Here is my brainstorm: