Modeling Tectonics

Cracker can be used to model tectonics because the dots are like the faults. They could be put in frosting to model how the crust sits above the mantel and can move.
Materials:
Graham crackers
Frosting
Wax Paper

1. Convergent: cracker over cracker
2. Divergent: down and apart
3. transvergent: slipped

Alfred Wagner-Continental Drift (not strong enough proof), now we know about  convection currents
Three proofs-rock types (fossils), glacial scars, contents fit together
US Navy discovered Mid-Atlantic ridge and polar magnetism

Earth's Layers-Pizza Model

Land floats on top on the ocean, like the toppings float on the pizza. The cheese is like the oceanic crust and the toppings are like the continental crust. While  the sauce is the asthenosphere because the layers above it float on it. The crust of the pizza is like the mantel of the earth. 

The Life of Zane

Zane was created in a volcano in Zimbabwe as a part of a magma flow with many of his friends.  Zane enjoyed his life as a the stud of the rock world, as a metamorphic rock. He was streaked and beautiful with black and silver lines running across him. By the time Zane had reached his sassy stage, his parents had enough of his antics. In an earthquake, Zane's parents rolled away leaving him exposed to the elements. After years of weather and erosion, Zane was no longer a stud. He became a sedimentary rock, loosing his beautiful streaks and becoming a sandy color. Zane was officially a sandstone, plain and boring. Zane continued to be eroded and crushed by his fellow rocks. Until one day, the Zimbabwean volcano erupted and  Zane was a again a studly metamorphic rock. 

Simulations

Heath Bar (Igneous Rock):
Small crystals-extrusive
mixed inside
light minerals meaning more potassium, sodium, and calcium
Also could use fudge
Rice Crispy (Detritial Sedimentary)
bits and pieces: cereal
glue: marshmallows
Butterfinger (Metamorphic Rock-Schist)
clean, distinct layers that can be separated
andes mints or crayons

Earth's Elements

Held together by bonds

MAKIN' Fossils

What is a fossil?
A fossil is the bi-product of a living thing and over 5,000 years old.
Materials:
Cups
59g Sand
1ibs of Plaster of Paris
1.5cup of Water
Shells
sticks

We mixed the sand and water and the slowly mixed the plaster of paris. We added more water, as needed. Once the mixture was had the consistency of pancake mix, we added the shells and then let it sit over the weekend. TADA Fossils!

Revised:
We used the same recipe for all our fossils. They were all pretty easy to get out, but none of them left very good impressions.
The recipe that worked best was Kelsey's and they uses 1/2 sand and 1/2 plaster, mixing in water as needed.  They were able to get great impressions and got them out easily.

Relative Dating

Relative dating is a way of looking at how old elements of the universe are by looking the half lives of elements. Scientists can tell how many half lives something has been through based of radioactive decay which allows them to estimate how old things are.

What is the Difference between weather and climate

Weather is short term, climate is long term patterns. The climate can be warming, yet  the weather seems to be colder.

Tools:
Air Pressure: barometer
Temperature: thermometer
Humidity: hygrometer
Cloudiness: radar  
Wind speed:
Wind direction: weather vain
Precipitation: rain gauge
Solid:
Liquid:

Eggsperiemnt (Air Pressure)
-hard boiled eggs, flame in bottle, place egg on lip

Prediction:
The air pressure will lower and a seal will be created and the egg will be sucked in.

What happened:
The flame created a quick increase in temperature, so when the seal was created the air pressure dropped so quickly that the egg was sucked into the bottle.

Sling Psychrometer (Humidity) :
We used a sling psychrometer and spun it around for one minute, inside and outside. We compared the temperatures on the dry bulb with the wet bulb to find the relativity humidity.
The air was more humid outside (69) than inside (36).

Measuring clouds:
water vapor, pressure, condensation nuclei(salt, ash, ect)
Water bottle, water, and match
-when you squeeze=high pressure, no clouds, warmer
-let go=low pressure, clouds, colder


Anometer (wind speed): measured with a weather vane
crossing rulers and put cups on each end-count how many  times it goes around

Precipitation:
Wet-rain gauge
can by made with a ruler and cup
Dry-1mx1m snow board

Composition of the Atmosphere

Life, the Universe, and Everything

Creation Myths
1. The Origin of Japan and her People- a deity commanded the land be created .
2.  Ojibway creation story-An animal dove to the bottom of the river to bring soil up so land could be created.
3. Greek myths, three different words that beings would pass through to create life and worlds.
4. An Irish creation story- Life came from the leg of a larger being
5. The Golden Chain-a chain is dropped and an egg is cracked resulting in Earth being developed.

All these tales start with an answer and all of these involved something supernatural and cannot be measured or proven, which refutes all the basic tenants of science.

The Big Bang Theory is reliable because the event can be measured and started with a question. The movement of the solar system leads one to concluded that all the matter in the universe came from one single point. The matter in the universe can be dated and suggests that the first form of matter was very simple and was created at the same time.

http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSIndex.html

If I had $100!

The value of each element of the solar system would be:
Sun: $99.89, which was $0.89 more than I remembered.
Jupiter: 10.6 cents, which was bigger than I thought
Saturn: 3.2 cents
Neptune: .006
Uranus: .005
Small Rocky Planets:
Mars: .00002 cents
Venus:.00003 cents same distance from sun, but much hotter due to rotation and atmosphere
Earth .00003 cents-less than I thought.
Asteroid belt (between Venus and Jupiter)
Commits-made of ice&gas, tail always points away from the sun

Science Misconceptions

What are the reasons for the seasons?
The Earth has different seasons because it sits at a tilt that causes the sun to be strongest at different locations  at different points in Earth's rotation around the sun. The Earth's angle from the sun changes causing different seasons.
What causes the phases of the moon?
The 8 phases of the moon are caused by the relationship between the moon and the sun. The moon tells us time and lets us predict what phase of the moon we will see at what time.

What is Science?

Science is a study of the world around us. Science seeks to answer questions. That is, perhaps, what makes science so complex. Science is a discipline unlike another, due to the fact that so much can fall under the title of science. From biology to geology, there is so much to address when teaching science. Unlike reading or math, science is constantly evolving and a requires the teacher to understand a broad range of topics. One can spend their whole life studying the complexities of one part of the brain, yet teachers must find a way to simplify the material and explain it in a way that allows young children to understand and connect with the material. Many people have a fear of science classes, yet science is one of the most exciting classes to teach and participate in. In a sense, science is everything and therefor anything can be made into a hands-on learning experience. I believe it is the hands-on experiences, that are vital when teaching science, that inspire students to investigate the world around them and see that science is fun.