Plasticity Lab Conclusion

In science class, we did a plasticity lab with water and corn starch.

Our hypothesis was that the substance, after we mixed the water and corn starch, would be a thick liquid. The data, though, showed something truly amazing. When we held the substance in our open hands, it started to slip in between our fingers, but when we made a fist with the substance in our hands and moved it around, it became solid. When we left our hands open, it went back to a liquid. This happened because the substance had the property of plasticity. Some variables that could have affected the results of the lab were how much water or corn starch we added. If we added too much water, the substance would have been very chalky and probably would not have flowed as well. If we added too much water, the substance would have been too watery and it probably would not have been able to become a solid. We were able to control the experiment because we added the amount of corn starch proportionate to the amount of water in the pan. The substance that resulted from mixing the water and corn starch had the same property as the mantle, which is made of magma. When the magma is under pressure, which it is, it stays as a solid. When it comes out of the crust as lava, it becomes a liquid. This lab taught me how the Earth's interior works.

October Sky

In school, we saw the movie "October Sky" as a character education movie. The movie was about 4 young boys who want to build a mini rocket. After many attempts and failures, they finally succeed. Soon, the whole town gets to know about it and they gather around as the boys launch rocket after rocket. Later, the police arrest the boys saying that they started a forest fire nearby. After their parents get the kids out of jail, they prove that they didn't start that forest fire, using mathematical equations to determine where it landed. The four boys showed perseverence because even though they had to go through all that trouble and failed so many times, they finally finished their rockets and got scholarships after winning in a major national science fair. They also showed cooperation because they were very different and they still worked together to build those rockets.

Response Blog to Darknightxv1

Recently (about 5 minutes ago) I read Darknightxv1's blog on duchene muscular dystrophy, another genetic disorder. This one affects the muscles, and it is caused because of missing genes that are needed to make proteins, which are needed to build and maintain healthy muscles. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this disorder, either. The male population is more vulnerable to it. This disorder makes me feel that I am very lucky not to have this disorder, because if I had it, I would not be able to play baseball, my favorite thing to do. It also makes me feel sad and bad for the unfortunate people who have this genetic disorder.

Cri-du-chat Syndrome

Cri-du-chat syndrome is a genetic disorder that was discovered in 1963. Symptoms of this syndrome include a downward slant to the eyes, mental retardation, slow or incomplete development of motor skills, low birth weight and slow growth, partial webbing of fusing of the fingers or toes, a small head and a small jaw, wide-set eyes, and only one line on the palm. Complications of this syndrome include inability to care for oneself and the inability to function in society. Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for this disorder, but genetic counseling is recommended for parents of children with cri-du-chat. THis syndrome occurs in about 1 in every 20,000 to 50,000 newborns, and it is slightly more common in the female population, which means that females are more vulnerable to cri-du-chat. Cri-du-chat-syndrome happens when there is a deletion of the short arm (p) in Chromosome 5, which occurs at random event during the formation of reproductive cells (sperm and eggs). So far, scientists are still looking to understand this syndrome more so that they can develop new treatments, but they are, as of now, unsuccessful. It is very sad that such a disease even exists. If possible, scientists should try harder and the government should spend more money on research for this disease, for if they find a cure, that will be one of the best things the government and the scientific society could do for the public.

Making My Website

In science class, we got a fun assignment. It was to create a website for our roller coaster (fake one). I have already provided you with the URL in another blog, so check it out. After reading this. In our wqebsite, we had to include how roller coasters relate to science (of course). To make your site, first go to www.webs.com, and enter a site adress (URL) and password. After that, fill out the required information that will appear on the screen (age, username, password, etc.). If you successfully complete the form, you can choose a template. after that, they will supply a list of types of sites, and you have to choose one. Then, you insert all the pages you want and you can customize it by adding a music player and other widgets.
When we wrote how our coaster connected to science, we had to include connections to friction, force, and Newton's Laws of Motion. The forces involved in a roller coaster are acceleration and gravity. Friction between the track and the cars, and between the air and the cars are what keeps the coaster from going on and on. Your inertia is what makes you feel like you're being pressed against the restraining bar at the bottom of the hill and what makes you feel like you're still going up at the top of the hill.
To know more, go to my website:
www.metfan20.webs.com

CitiField

Guess what! The new Mets stadium, CitiField, will open on April 13. I'm going to try to get my dad to get tickets to the first home game. I'm so happy!
As of now, Opening Day is in 39 days, 19 hours, and 48 minutes!

Bail Lowered?: Local News

Today, the bail was lowered for a Parsippany man charged with marijuana possession. The man, Ben Cohen, age 25, was arrested on Monday, charged with possession of marijuana. He was going to sell about 5 pounds, which was all he had with him, within 1,000 feet of a school! The police took over 5 pounds of the drug from him and $95,000 in cash from his house. Cohen was put in jail with a $100,000 bail. In his bail hearing, authorities said that the bail was above the range for his second-degree crime and that Cohen didn't have a previous record. Cohen, taking advantage, said that he lives with his mother and works as a limosine driver. Judge Thomas Manahan reset his bail to $75,000 witha 10% option. Ben's next hearing was set for March 17th.

For more infor mation, go to: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/bail_lowered_for_parsippany_ma.html

My Roller Coaster Website

XY Turtle Blazer

Newton's Laws of Motion

In science class, we are learning about Newton's Laws of Motion. The first law says that an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion at constant velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The tendency of objects to remain in motion or stay at rest is called inertia. Think about this: when you are traveling in a car and the car stops, you keep moving forward and your seatbelt stops youfrom flying out the windshield. You remaining in motion is an example of inertia. When you are riding your bike, the reason you don't go on forever is friction. Friction is the outside force that stops you from going on forever. The second law of motion says that force equals mass times acceleration. Compare a big car to a small car. The big car requires more gasoline to be burned than the small car in order to start moving. The third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example, when you stretch a rubber band, you are exerting a force to stretch it. The rubber band exerts a force on you, and when you let go, the rubber band retuns to its original condition. The three laws of motion were first published on July 5, 1687. The three laws form the basis of classical mechanics (I have no idea what that is) and directly relate the forces acting on a object to the motion of an object. For more information on Newton's Laws of Motion, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_laws_of_motion.
For more information on Isaac Newton himself, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton.

Iran Launches Satellite

On Tuesday, Iran launched its first satellite into orbit. Apparently, the U.S. Department of Defense is very concerned that the development of the rocket that put the satellite into orbit could lead to the development of a ballistic missile system (uh-oh). Officials from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia , and China have all met in Germany to discuss their next steps on Iran. Two U.S. officails had confirmed that Iran had launched a low-earth orbit satellite. There was no weapons activity on the rocket, although it is capable of launching long-range weapons. The name of the satillite was Omid, which means "hope" in Farsi, and was launched on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The rocket was made entirely by Iranian technicians.
For more information on Iran's first satellite, go here:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/03/iran.satellite/index.html

Superbowl 43

I can't believe the Steelers won...

Stem Cell Research for Spinal Injury

The medical world is in luck! A biotech company is going to start the firts ever study of a treatment based on embryonic stem cells. They are planning to use this research to help heal spinal cord injuries. They got permission from the government this week to inject about 10 patients with cells that came from embryonic cells. The patients are paraplegics, which means that they can use their arms but not their legs. Some doctors overseas claim to already use embryonic stem cells, but it couldn't be proven. Embryonic stem cells can develop into any cell in the body, which is really cool. Medical experts hope to use that ability to their advantage by using stem cells to replace muscle tissues that have been lost because of diseases. It seems that once the patient is injected, the stem cells will mature and repair insulation around damagednerves, helping the nerves big time. The study that the biotech company is performing will follow each patient for a year. In addition to this being completely awesome, it will be affordable!
For more information on the stem cell research, go to:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_sc/sci_stem_cells;_ylt=AtlGdBISV91CGFKkOUOVmkcPLBIF.
For more information on stem cells, (I've never heard of them either) go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryonic_stem_cell.

Obama Gets Inaugurated!

I'm sure you must have seen it on Fox, MTV, or CBS, but Obama got inaugurated! On January 20, 2009, the first Black president was sworn into presidency and probably the biggest house I've ever seen. I'm telling you: this man will change America and make it a better place.
First of all, let's talk about his speech. Wasn't it great? I thought it was absolutely masterful. It blew me away! Did you know that Obama's speech was actually co-written by a 27-year-old named Jon Favreau in a Starbucks? How whack is that? Actually, Favreau wrote a few of Obama's speeches while Obama was still running. Jon Favreau is now the youngest chief speechwriter in the White House, ever. Obama had his reasons for choosing Favreau. Obama knew that, facing our current crises, such as the economy and the two wars going on, he would need to kick-start his presidency my motivating the American people. His inaugural speech could pretty much determine how the public responds to him during his first 100 days. I think that the key theme to this speech was was restoring responsibility. That responsibility includes the responsibility of ordinary citizens to get involved with what's going on around them. This guy, Jon Favreau, has been studying Obama's speech patterns and could write a speech that seems as if Obama himsellf wrote it. That is pretty cool. If you want to learn more about Favreau, go here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/barack-obama-inauguration-us-speech.
Now lets talk about the inauguration itself. It was history in the making! It set a new tone to Washington D.C. Obama's inauguration to become the 44th president took place just days before Abe Lincoln's 200th birthday. The theme for the entire inauguration was "A Birth to New Freedom." The ceremony was held on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, and the National Mall served as the public observation area. Obama was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, while Biden was sworm in by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. Obama actually used the same Bible that was used by Abraham Lincoln when he was sworn in! After he was sworn in, Obama recieved a 21-gun salute. Obama's inauguration was so famous, it caught international attention. An inaugural ball was held in London, and over 1,300 people attended. Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram to Obama to congratulate him. Two major news stations in China provided a live telecast, censoring the part where Obama talks about communism. The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands also congratulated Obama immediately after his inauguration. That night, Obama attended 12 inaugural balls. That must have been tiring for him. For more on Obama's inauguration, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_2009_presidential_inauguration.

Wow! I know I'm never running for President!

Exotic Species Feared to Invade Great Lakes

Foreign, or nonnative, species could invade the Great Lakes soon and that would cause significant environmental and economical damage. The National Center for Environmental Assessment gave this warning in a study they conducted. They found 30 nonnative species that pose a threat to the Lakes and 28 other species that are already in the Great Lakes and could spread like wildfire. Feared species of fish include the blueback herring, the monkey goby, and the tench. Some of the busiest ports are potential spots for invading species. These ports include Toledo, Ohio; Gary, Indiana; Duluth, Minnesota; Superior, Wisconsin; Chicago, and Milwaukee. There are already at leats 185 exotic species in the Great Lakes, but only 13 are known to have caused harm to the environment and economy. American and Canadian agencies are already being cautious but it seems that exotic species are still arriving in the Great Lakes. Well, all we can do is hope that nothing happens to the Great Lakes...

For more information, click this link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090108/ap_on_re_us/great_lakes_invasives;_ylt=AvVATGufrEtV_1niZhvE72gPLBIF