A Year of Documented Learning

In my opinion, astonomy was a fascinating subject. I learned The moon does not produce its own light, it actually reflects light from the sun.
The sun hits the moon in different angles which make the moon look smaller or bigger which are its phases. Also I learned that an eclipse is when an object in space comes in between the Sun and a third object. The result is a shadow casted on that object. There are two types of eclipses: Lunar eclipse and Solar eclipse.



As we moved to Earth's atmosphere I really enjoyed learning that The Earth's abundant atmosphere can make life possible here on Earth and not on other planets with no atmosphere.The atmosphere is almost like a force field. It can break small meteorites before they can even hit Earth. The moon in fact has many meteor craters because it does not have an atmosphere. But Earth has received as many incoming meteorites as the moon has; but the atmosphere burns them up before they can land onto Earth. Also the craters on Earth are quickly eroded by weather, which is due to the atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere has many gases that are needed to support life. It is full of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Water Vapors,Carbon Dioxide and other gases. Nitrogen is the most plentiful gas in our atmosphere. It is very necessary to life.

I thought it was facinating and surprising that in a Earthquake you should drop on the floor and cover yourself for protection, If outside stay away from buildings, stay away from glass or anything that can potentially fall, if your in a crowded area stay calm and find the nearest exit, and finally be prepared for the after shocks of the earthquake.

Also In Earth's water I founded it interesting that in Colorado Springs nearly 75 percent of our water comes directly from snow-melt near the Continental Divide. The snow-melts are mostly on the western slope of the Continental Divide as we are on the east part of it. Years ago, the complex water system was built to get water in Colorado Springs. The snow melts melt and gravity pulls them down the mountain and eventually ends up in the Homestake Reservoir. Then, the water travels to the Turquoise Lake which is a holding place for the water. The water keeps moving to reservoirs like Twin Lakes and Bear Creek. Lastly, the water is at the Otero Pump Station and then to Colorado Springs. This is about a 200 mile journey.

Where does Colorado Springs waters come from?

In Colorado Springs nearly 75 percent of our water comes directly from snow-melt near the Continental Divide. The snow-melts are mostly on the western slope of the Continental Divide as we are on the east part of it. Years ago, the complex water system was built to get water in Colorado Springs. The snow melts melt and gravity pulls them down the mountain and eventually ends up in the Homestake Reservoir. Then, the water travels to the Turquoise Lake which is a holding place for the water. The water keeps moving to reservoirs like Twin Lakes and Bear Creek. Lastly, the water is at the Otero Pump Station and then to Colorado Springs. This is about a 200 mile journey.

Pixton

Water Cycle

* What is the water cycle?
The water cycle is a continuous process in which water moves through the environment.
* Does the water cycle have a beginning or end?
No because it is a never ending cycle, like a circle.
* Starting with a puddle on a sunny day, describe how water might move through the water
cycle and eventually falls back as rain
The puddle evaporates into water vapor and travels up to the clouds. The clouds will condensate and eventually will not be able to hold the moisture. it will finally fall back down as precipitation.

* Create a diagram (using Google docs or word) of the puddle to rain scenario you created for extra credit.

Bibilography

A Recycling Revolution
http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-benefits.html
This website helped me learn facts about what can happen if we recycled. As in: Recycling and composting diverted nearly 70 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2000, up from 34 million tons in 1990-doubling in just 10 years. it also told me how we can benefit from recycling in many aspects like new jobs and conserving our resources

Recycling saves energy and resources
http://www.hcdoes.org/sw/benefits_of_recycling.htm
After visiting this website I learned many facts about how recycling saves energy and resources, decreases pollution, decreases tree cutting, reduces reliance on imported oil, and reduces our reliance on landfills. All these components help with global warming and other problems on Earth.

Recycling
http://earth911.com/recycling/
In this insightful website I learned that recycling is a process of taking a product at the end of its useful life and using all or part of it to make another product. Also that recycling reduces waste sent to landfills, and making new products out of recycled ones reduces the amount of energy needed in production. And that it’s important to recycle lots of products, including those that you might not initially think of recycling. This includes batteries, electronics, motor oil, paint and any product that has “Caution” or “Warning” on the label.

How to Go Green: Recycling
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/recycling/
This website told me many great new things about recycling. Like how recycling got it's start almost four decades ago, when a U.S. paper company wanted a symbol to communicate its products’ recycled content to customers. That is how the famous symbol for recycling came about. To many people, recycling conjures up the blue plastic bins and bottle drives. But recycling is a design principal, a law of nature, a source of creativity, and a source of prosperity.

Group 3 Presentation

Questions & Answers

Riley's Questions (so far)
Q:What, specifically about your topic, are you going to research? Why it is important and all the benefits people get from it.

A: On the topic of recycling I will research how average people can improve at recycling and why this will benefit themselves and the Earth.

Q:What conclusions did you come to? What do you recommend average citizens do to make a difference?

http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-benefits.html
http://www.hcdoes.org/sw/benefits_of_recycling.htm

A: Well-run recycling programs cost less to operate than waste collection, land filling, and incineration. Also recycling creates four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries. Recycling would improve many things. It would save energy and resources, decrease pollution, decrease tree cutting, reduces reliance on imported oil, and reduces our reliance on landfills.
*For every ton of paper made from recycled materials saves 17 trees, 6.953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space, and 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy.
*Recycling one ton of plastic saves the equivalent of 1,000 – 2,000 gallons of gasoline.
*Making cars from recycling aluminum decreases related air pollution by 95 percent.
*If all morning newspapers in the US were recycled for one day, the equivalent of 41,000 trees would be saved and 6 million tons of waste would never end up in landfills.
Most of the time, unless you live in a rural area, you can separate your recyclable material and put them out on a specific day, just like you put out your trash. Even if your town doesn't pick up materials, there is almost always a place for you to drop them off to be recycled. So you really have no excuse not to recycle.

Q:What would happen if, worst-case scenario, nobody listened to your recommendations?

A:If no one recycled, we would eventually run out of finite resources and space to bury rubbish And then the toxics would be released by burning and our seas wpuld be used as a dumping ground which will kill the fish. If all sealife die, it wouldn't take long for humans to die.

Q:What would happen if, best-case scenario, everybody listened to your recommendations?
We could stop our land fills from getting bigger, saves trees, and have a healthier tomorrow

Penny Activity

At first I thought that only 5 drops would be able to fit on the penny before it overflowed. But as I did the experiment I found that i could fit 13 drops on it. Wow! I think this might have to with precipation because when a cloud gets at a certain point it overflows and precipitates as well.

3 Gorges Dam

As engineers the 3 Gorges Dam is a great example of many solutions to energy and ecosystem problems. the energy the 3 gorges dam produce can give energy to many people in the surrounding area. A hydraulic turbine converts the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy. A hydroelectric generator converts this mechanical energy into electricity. The Chang River is located in the heart of China and runs through the middle of it. It is also the longest river in China.

There are many local farms and a small cities. Many will have to evacuate in order to build this dam. It will help flooding problems and save many lives and agriculture. The vegetation is very green around the river with many small towns, cities, and farms. To see this flooding first hand makes us wonder if the Earth is going through global warming or climate changes. If flooding happens at the Chang River; it might be also happening around the world.

Also, the dam has been known to cause landslides, altering entire ecosystems, and other serious environmental issues. It has led to a particularly strong lake effect. And many waterborne diseases have increased. Because humanity has built this huge dam, it has become China's biggest potential environmental nightmare. But the Government officials have long defended the 24 billion dollar project is a major source of renewable power for the energy-hungry nation.

Earthquake Webquest!

1. Earthquakes tend to happen on the plates of the coasts.
2. I think this happens because the plate tectonics are always in a constant motion
3. This are is called a mid-ocean ridge...
4. 3 small earthquakes occurred on the Ute Pass on January 18, 1997. It shook the area at a magnitude of 3.1. People could feel it but only for a few seconds. 3.1 magnitude could be felt but minimal damage occurs. The Earth shook slightly, so there was energy in the earth=quake.
5. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand at 7:11 on January 18. 2009. These islands are inhabited so there was no casualties or high damage was reported. Earthquakes occur frequently on this sub-tropical island but none are more then 7.0 magnitude usually.

6. If there is an earthquake occurring remember to drop on the floor and cover yourself for protection, If outside stay away from buildings, stay away from glass or anything that can potentially fall, if your in a crowded area stay calm and find the nearest exit, and finally be prepared for the after shocks of the earthquake.