Kendra's Elementary Science Methods 2 Blog

  What did you do in lab today? We reviewed a little bit about the test on Thursday. We also looked at the 100-million-year-old coastline and how geology affects the presidential election during the Obama election. We also looked into when humans, dinosaurs, plants, animals, and the moon were created or first appeared on Earth. We used this interactive website/app to look back millions and billions of years ago to see how Earth has changed over time.  What was the big question? How long ago had plants, animals, and humans been on the Earth?  What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? We did not have lecture this week because of the exam.  Read chapter 6 of the online textbook. What did you learn? The three Snowball Earths occurred between 580 and 750 million years ago. The Snowball Earth was caused by a positive feedback loop (ice formation, increased albedo, and cooling of Earth.  What was most helpful? I thought this chapter was a helpful review of what we d...

  What did you do in lab today? Today in lab, we started out by all sharing our presentations. My group's presentation was on black holes. The other presentations were on life cycles of stars, galaxies, meteors, meteorites, and craters, and our solar system.  What was the big question? What are the life cycles of stars, galaxies, black holes, and inner and outer planets?  What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? When our sun turned on, it likely blew all of the gases off the inner four planets  Red giants burn fuel and lose mass, therefore increasing in size due to less mass  Three primary shapes of galaxies Spiral  The Milky Way  Elliptical Irregular  There are over 2 trillion galaxies  Black holes are the center of galaxies  There are 143 known moons surrounding the outer planets Read chapter 5 of the online textbook. What did you learn? I learned that Hayley’s comet has a return date predicted for the middle of the year in 2061. ...

  What did you do in lab today? Today in lab, we created a scale to represent the distance between the first 4 planets, the sun, and the moon. This scale helped us understand how small the planets and the moon are compared to the sun. It also helped show us the distance between them. We made our planets out of playdough, and then used a measuring tape to measure out the distance. We place our planets all around the bottom floor of Lindquist.  What was the big question? What we think vs. what is real What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? Origin of the Universe (Big Bang) A subatomic particle inflated to an unimaginably huge size in a fraction of a second  Expansion, not an explosion  Earth was created 4.65 billion years ago - not in the Big Bang  Dust and debris - most likely from a former star that exploded  Read chapter 4 of the online textbook. What did you learn? I learned that the four inner planets’ surfaces are rocky, and the four outer planets...

  What did you do in lab today? We did an experiment looking into why the front and back sides of the moon look different and why different parts of the moon have thicker crusts than others. We got to experiment with different thicknesses of the moon's crust to see how craters are created.  What was the big question? Why does the moon have two very different-looking sides?  What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? Earth facing side of the Moon is 200 degrees warmer  There is gravity on the moon, but it is just a lot less than there is on Earth  There are many different theories on how the moon was created  The moon is in its new moon phase just before and after a solar eclipse  The moon is about the size of the United States  Read chapter 3 of the online textbook. What did you learn? I learned that the moon has craters because it lacks an atmosphere to protect it from impact, and there is no weather to erode the craters away. I also learned th...

  What did you do in lab today? I did not have lab this week as it was Labor Day.  What was the big question? What is the future of space travel?  What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? China claimed to be the first ones to go to space  We learned how to figure out how big the Earth is by using a shadow  I learned that the last decade the United States landed on the moon was in the 1970s  Women were preferred to go to the moon because they were lighter, shorter, and consumed less food  It is supposed to take 500 days, each way, to make it to Mars  The USA is the only country that has landed on the moon  Read chapter 2 of the online textbook: What did you learn? I learned a little bit more about the Space Race and all the different people and trials that were involved. I have learned about the Space Race before, but this chapter provided me with a good refresher and introduction of new information. I learned how similar Earth and Mars re...