Chile's Earthquake

It might seem impossible, but an earthquake actually moved numerous cities in South America. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile moved the Chilean city of Concepcion for about at least 10 feet to the west. This 5th most powerful quake measured shifted other parts of South America as well. For example: Buenos Aires 1 inches to the west, Chile's capital, Santiago, 11inches to the southwest, and greatly moved the cities of Valparaiso and Mendoza, Argentina, too. The earthquake occurred off the coast of the Maule region of Chile. The Nazca tectonic plates and the South American plates rubbed together to create tension between them. Not only did the earthquake moved cities, it also permanently changed the axis and the rotation of Earth. Scientists say that an average day on Earth should have been shortened by 1.26 microseconds after the earthquake. Furthermore, the 7th strongest earthquake in the recorded history, has now permanently changed the Earth's axis by 3inches. The scientists say that the rotation might smooth out, but it is too early to tell.

All earthquakes have had a huge impact on the whole world. I am just really worried that is natural forces like these keep reoccurring it might destroy Earth totally. Whatever is causing all these earthquakes and other natural disasters has to be put to a stop because I have noticed that earthquakes are occuring very frequently. That's why this force should be put to a stop.

Links:

http://www.space.com/news/chile-earthquake-earth-days-100302.html

http://www.livescience.com/environment/chile-earthquake-moved-city-100309.html

http://www.shopequita.com/images/blog/haiti-earthquake2010.JPG

Snowacane and Hurricane

The snowstorm that we had is being called a snowacane in comparison to a hurricane. The storm that we had and a hurricane are very different. These two storms are formed differently too. A winter storm forms when a massive cold air that is full of precipitation moves south from Canada and warm air moves north from Gulf of Mexico. Where the two airs meet is called a front. If the cold air pushes away the warm air and advances it called a cold front. If the warm air overcomes the cold air and advances it is called a warm front. If both the air masses are stationary and neither one advances it is called a stationary front. When it is a cold front either one of these precipitations fall, rain, freezing rain, sleet, or snow falls. Precipitation is when the clouds are too heavy to hold the water that evaporated from the ocean. The water falls in the form of sleet, rain, freezing rain, or snow depending on what kind of front there is. In our case it was snow. Snow is formed when water vapor experiences the stage of deposition. Deposition is when water vapor changes directly into ice, without becoming a liquid first and then falls to ground. When snow falls continuously for a long period of time it is called a blizzard. A blizzard has very strong winds and severe snowfalls. There are three main factors to have a blizzard, cold air surface, moisture, and lift. Lift is when warm air rises over the cold air. As opposed to this, hurricanes form differently.

A hurricane is a gigantic storm that rotates counter-clockwise around an eye. The eye of the hurricane is the calmest part of the hurricane with good weather and slow winds. Also, a hurricane has very strong winds that can be as fast as 75 to 200 mph. A hurricane can form only over really warm ocean water that are 80 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. Furthermore, the wind must be blowing in the same direction to force air upward. Then the wind has to flow above the storm allowing the air below to rise. Humid air that is rising makes the clouds of the storm. Lastly, the light winds from the outside steer the hurricane and let it grow. Even though, these two storms are formed differently they both are affected by the same thing. Changing Global Patterns. Global Patterns are long-term global climates changes that reach far around the globe and affect day-to-day weather.

These storms have another thing in common, they affect the community in a negative way. A snowstorm traps the people inside and causes all kinds of damage to the houses. Moreover, a snowstorm causes accidents on the road when the snow on the ground turns to ice. Also, the winds can be very strong and temperatures can be very low. Similarly, a hurricane can be just as worst depending on the winds and type. A hurricane can destroy forests, hurt people and animals, damage buildings, damage cars, and some hurricanes can destroy houses to an extent that the houses can't be fixed. These are the differences and similarities between a winter storm and hurricane.

A snow storm. A hurricane.


Picture:http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/hurricane-weather-opal.jpg
Picture: http://image-photo.weather.com/E9/40/full/E940D4F0-843E-459E-965A-2F88C66B6A80.jpg
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-04-19-global-climate-patterns_x.htm

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.86f46a12f382290517a8f210b80f78a0/?vgnextoid=91435d795323b110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

Math is EVERYWHERE!

Math is everywhere. We are doing a research project in school and were told to find write about how math is related to the research we did. My topic is Global Warming and it has a whole bunch of statistics. For example: the hot and humid temperatures that we are facing today have risen 1.8 degrees from 1880s (when Global Warming started) to 2006. The Arctic temperatures are soaring. The temperatures rose 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 50 years in the Arctic. This may seem not too much, but it is a lot of degrees in the average temperature rise. Because of Global Warming, people are dying and the number of deaths increase every year. The heat waves caused at least 20,000 European deaths in August 2003. Climate change is responsible for at least 150,000 extra deaths a year, and this number is going to double by 2030 according to the World Health Organization. Now since the climate has changed, there are more storms and natural disasters all around the world. During heavy rainstorms, in more that 700 U.S. cities the sewer systems over flow into the water supplies. Global Warming isn't only affecting humans. Animals and plants are getting the worst effects of Global Waring too. Scientists say that 15-37% of all plants and animals might be extinct by 2050. In addition, 21 kind of fishes have left the oceans that are too hot for them. Also, the glaciers and ice are melting in the Arctic which causes the polar bears and other animals that live in the cold weather to die. This has increased since 2000. One specific animal that has been disappearing very fast is the Pika. Pikas have left 1/3 of their habitats because the habitats are getting too warm. Lastly, Global Warming is affecting Earth's protective layer, the Ozone Layer. This Ozone layer is depleting very fast and without it life on Earth is impossible. The Ozone layer is depleting .5% every year. Less than 10% of Ozone is left over Antarctica. 3% to 7% reduction of the Ozone layer in the atmosphere has already happened. Global Warming needs to be prevented before it gets out of hand and impossible to prevent. If this doesn't happen total destruction of the Earth is what lays ahead.

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200309/r9763_382063.jpg (Picture)

Water on the Moon!

It is now official that there is water on the moon. Scientists have now confirmed that there is water on the moon and not only a little bit but a significant amount. When the LCROSS probe impacted that moon at the southern pole in order to find any signs of water, this discovery was made.

"Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit, we found a
significant amount," said Anthony Colaprete.

When LCROSS probe impacted the moon looking for signs of water, it collected a sample so the scientists could test it for any signs of ice water. When tested the sample contained ice water. This was confirmed by two of scientific instruments. Based on the measurements, there is about 100 kilograms of water on that particular spot the moon. This is about a dozen 2-gallon buckets. Even though this might not be very much water, it was a good amount in a 20-meter crater. Scientists also predict that there might be more water on the moon in different spots. For example: The permanently shadowed craters at the southern pole of the moon. These craters might contain frozen water. The excitement doesn't stop here. Water was also detected by a NASA-built instrument on board India's Chandrayaan-1 probe and other spacecraft. Furthermore, scientists think there there might be other compounds where the LCROSS probe impacted the moon, besides water. Scientists aren't really sure of what these compounds are yet.

Even though water was found on the moon, there many more questions to be answered about this topic. For example: What state is the water in? The water might be filled with dirt molecules from the moon. Another questions is: How did the water get there and how long has it been on the moon? Scientists predict that the water has been on the moon for billions of years. Also, the scientists don't know how the water got there, they have a couple of different hypothesis about the subject. Finding water on the moon changed the scientists view of the moon completely. They are saying that the moon isn't just a dead planetary body anymore.

Scientists are planning to send astronauts to the moon again in 2020 for extended missions on the lunar surface. They say that the water discovered could be water that is drinkable and used for other causes. Even though they now know there is water on the moon, this wasn't discovered until a week after the impact made by LCROSS probe. NASA plans to launch LCROSS and its sister, LRO, in June.

http://www.livescience.com/space/091113-lcross-moon-crash-water-discovery.html

Picture from: http://moonpark.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/moon32.jpg

Chemical Engineering

This Podcast is about chemical engineering. The podcast describes chemical engineering, what a chemical engineer's salary is, what companies are hiring chemical engineers, what contributions chemical engineering provides to the society,and etc. Orangemath96

Observing Changes in Matter

Currently, in our Science class we have been studying Physical and Chemical properties. Furthermore, we did 1 very interesting lab to go along with the tasks and other labs we have been doing. The lab was called Observing Changes in Matter . For this lab we made physical and chemical changes to the sugar cubes that were given to us. First we had to observe the sugar cubes by taste, hardness, texture, color shape, and size. Then, we had to take two of the sugar cubes and crush them in the mortar and pestle until they were fine white powder. Lastly, we took a bit if the sugar and examined the particles of the sugar under the microscope. After that we drew a diagram of what the crushed sugar cubes looked like under the microscope, in our notebooks. Having completed part A of our lab we answered the questions that went along with part A on our lab paper. When we started part B of our lab, we first, put the last two sugar cubes in a test tube and attached the tongs to the test tube. Also, after that we held the test tube over the Bunsen Burner in order to burn the sugar cubes. Next, our teacher broke the test tube for us in order to make it easier for us to observe the new substance that formed inside the test tube. Lastly, we took a sample of the new substance, from the broken test tube, and observed it very carefully, like we did for crushed sugar. In doing this lab I had a fun time and I learned more doing it physically than reading on it in the book.

There were numerous facts that I learned during this lab. One interesting fact that I learned is that after the sugar was thoroughly burned, there was only pure carbon present in the test tube. Another fascinating fact that I learned from the lab was that the molecular make up of the substance changes completely when it is changed chemically. I also found out that when we burned the sugar, it turned black and brown and when looked at it that way, you couldn't even tell whether what substance was. The website that I researched had many interesting facts. For example, when a substance is chemically changed, energy is absorbed or released, but no loss in molecular weight occurs. Lastly, another fact that I learned from my research is that when the substance is chemically changed the new substance differs from the original substance in the energy it contains.

In my opinion, this lab was a fantastic way to learn about Physical and Chemical changes and properties. It was a pleasure to do this lab with the people at my lab table. I enjoyed watching the reaction of the sugar cubes when they were being burned by the Bunsen Burner. Also, it was actually frightening to see the reaction of the new substance in the test tube after we burned all the sugar, too. It was cool how the sugar turned in a new substance when we didn't put anything in the test tube besides the sugar cubes. The lab was very entertaining and a great way to learn about physical and chemical changes through a hands-on activity.

http://205.201.216.162/upload/image/CAMPFIRE.jpg
http://www.learner.org/courses/essential/physicalsci/images/s4.ice_melt2.jpg
http://www.reference.com/browse/chemical

The Goblet of Fire

There are many books that connect to Science in many way. For example I am reading the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with connects to Science. One reason that this book connects to Science is because in the book Harry and his friends have Portions classes. In Portions class they mix substances together in order to form antidotes for poisons. They mix together different substances which is causing the substances to change chemically, which is a part of Chemistry, which is a part of Science. That's exactly what we are doing in Science right now. Even though the book doesn't directly connect to the world of Science, it does connect to Science in one way or another. There aren't many connections in the book, this was just one the connections I could find.



http://myhero.com/ReadingRoom/books/harrypotter2.jpg

( Link for the picture)