Summary #12 (The Endocrine System)

 Did you ever wonder how you grow? Why does your body changes as you became a teenager. The changes are controled by a chemical in your bloodstream. Your body uses this chemical to control how it works.
 This chemicals are called hormones and they control body functions by influencing how cell works. Only when hormones reach their target they can produce a change in your body. The gland that produces hormones is called endocrine glands and they make up the endocrine system. Every hormone seeks out a target organ- the place in the body where hormones act. A target organ has special receptor cells that respond in a specific way to to a hormone .Too much or even to little hormones can cause serious diseases. Your body depends on a process called biological feedback to determine when to release a hormone and when to stop.
 There are six glands belonging to the endocrine system: the pituitary gland is encharged the body growth, the thyroid gland that controls the rate at wich your cells use oxygen to release the energy in food, the parathyroid gland that help control how much calcium is in your blood, the adrenal glands that control the adrenaline hormone, the reproductive hormone that produce sex hormones, and the hypothalamus that makes hormones that tell the pituitary gland wich of its hormones to start or stop producing.

Summary # 11 (The nervous system)

Your brain is the controlo center of the nervous system, wich is made of nerve cells. Nerve cells receive signals or carry messages and carry them from one part of your body to another.
 Impulse flash along individuals nerve cells, or neurons. Each neuron has three  main parts- a cell body, dentrites, and an axon. There is a gap between nerves and it is called synapse. There are three  kinds of neurons: sensory neurons that control the information from stimuli, motor neurons carry commands form the brain  and spinal cord to the muscles and glands, and associative neurons pass impulses from sensory to motor  neurons. The brain and the spinal cord are the central nervous system. All other nerves are are the outer, or peripheral, nervous system.  The brain is divided in two hemispheres and is protected by the skull. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column.
 The brain also controls the senses.

Summary # 10 (How species change over time)

The differences between size and shape are called variation. Variation is the difference in appearance of inherited traits among the members of a species. An animal that blends with the colorof its surrounding may live longer that one with color that does not blend as well. This ability to blend with the envirment is called adaptation. An adaptation is a variation that increase's an organism chance for survival. There are two main theories that are used to explain adaptation the Jean-Baptiste Lamark theory and the Charles Darwin theory. Charles Darwin also suggested the natural section theory to explain why there is such a great variety of living organism on Earth. This theory divides into four parts : 1. Living thiings produce more young that can survive in the enviroment. 2. There is always a variation among offspring. 3. Some variations in traits enable members of a species to survive and reproduce more succesfully than others. 4. Natural selection is always taking place. Competition is the struggle among living things to obtain the resources they need to survive.
Completely new variations are taken place in offsprings  by mutation.

Summary #9 (Evidence of change)

Have you ever seen a footprint in the mud? A footprint is a kind of evidence that a living thing leaves behind. In ancient animals fossils are the evidence that they existed are fossils. Fossils are traces or remains of an organism that haves been preserved in Earth's crust.
Most of the fossils that we find are of animals that no longer exist in Earth.As changes took place in their enviroment, some species were not able to survive and they become extinct. A some species extinct other developed. The idea that species change over time,resulting in new species is called the teory of evolution. There are two types of way fossils can form: mineral replacement and molds and casts. There are two ways the age of a fossil can be tell by: relative dationg and absolute age. There are other clues of evolution on Earth and they are: similar structures and body parts.

Summary #8 (Using what we´ve learned)

What are some inherited traits that show a parent and child resemble each other? Some traits, such as red curly hair, may appear only twice in several generations. Other taits, such as dimples, may appear in every generation. Why do some traits skip generations and appear in others?

What are some common inherited traits?

Do you have any dominant trait? Freckles, long eyelashes, and free earlobes are some dominant traits. Their oppoite forms- no freckles, short eyelashes, and attached earlobes are recessive.Also diseases such as hemophilia, dislexia, and cystic fibrosis are inherited.

What determines the sex of a child?

Human chromosomes carry genes that control a variety of traits. Human have 23 pairs of chromosomes. One of those pairs determine the sex of a person.They are sex chromosomes and there are two kinds, the X chromosome and the Y chromosome.

Summary #7 (How heredity works)

What is a code? Have you ever made one? Braille is a code that stands for words and letters. The three letter code on bagage tags tell airport workers where to send your bag. Another type of code is found in every cell of your body. It controls traits that develop in every offspring. How do you think it works?

What do you think Mendel's factors are? Where are they? Mendel's factors are inside cells.They are actually molecules founded in chromosomes inside the cell nucleus .Mendel realized that all organism have two copies of each factor-one factor come from each parent. Scientist called this factors genes ( a portion of a chromosome that controls a particular trait).
 How genes control traits? Genes are portion of a long, complex molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. It contains the codes that tell each cell how to operate.The genetic characteristic of every living organism ara contained in the organism's DNA. The DNA's shape looks like a spiral staircase. The steps of the staircase are made of chemical compounds or bases. The four DNA bases are cytosine,adenine,guanine , thymine.

Summary #6 (Predicting Traits)

What determines how offsprings look? There are two possible factors for a trait. Each parent, like a coin, haves two factors for a trait. A scientist named Punnett discover a way to predict how will be the outcome of crossing two different forms of a trait. This method was named Punnett square. There are other methods such as pedigree that are used to trace the history of traits in a family. In pedigrees some individuals are called carriers. A carrier has inherited a factor for a trait but does not show it.
Some inherited traits do not follow the patterns of heredity. There are some dominant factors that do not mask completely the factors for the other form of the trait. This genetic pattern is called incomplete dominance. Heredity is difficult to predict because traits don't always come in two forms.

Summary #5 (Learning about genetics)

What are some characteristics that parents pass along to their offsprings? We know they usually resemble to their parents, but not exactly. How this passing of traits work? The traits that are passed along are called inherited traits hair color, eye color ,and dimples are examples.

The first scientist to study genetics was Gregor Mendel in the 19th century when he realized experiments with different garden peas. Since his work has became known he is consider the father of genetics. His experiments showed that the offsprings of parents that have different forms of the same trait are hybrids. He also dicovered wich are dominant and wich are recessive traits. There have been other people studiying genetics since then such as: George Washington Carver and Luther Burbank.

Gregor Mendel

Summary #4 (Geological Time)

If you look closely at a rock wall you may see that there are huge deposits of rock sediment built up one layer on top of the another. A mighty force of erusion dug throw the area and left behind what we can see. In this exposed wall we can see a geologic column.

When people dig through rock layers they found fossils. They help us to see what animals live in the past and how were their surroundings.Fossils can provide clues to rock's relative age. For example if they are index fossils they can help us to know why they became extinct. Fossils have became very useful in scientific studies.

Summary #3 (The Rock Cycle)

What is happening here?Have you ever wondered how rocks are formed? What kind of processes form rocks? Rocks we see today may have a history that goes back in time and place. Rocks may be formed by: volcanic eruption,by being squeezed together with other rocks, or can change from one kind into the other. Rocks can change over and over in a process called the rock cycle. The rock cycle has no beginning and no end. This prosses proves Eath started totally molten. There was no solid. Perhaps the very first rocks to begin the rock cycle were igneous rocks.

Summary #2 (Lift,Carry, and Drop)

There are many forces acting on the surface of Earth changing its shape. These forces are able sculpt the surface. Even while forces are acting to build a mountain, processes may be working to wear it down. This forces are for example: gravity, wind, and water. An example of this processes is when glaciers carry soil and rocks and drop it in another place when they melt.

Summary #1 (Building Up and Breaking Down)

Have you ever realized that two mountains even if they are of the same type, look very different one from another?What kind of processes may be responsable for the forming of mountains? Mountains are formed by diiferent processes for example: the folding of different rock layers by beeing squeezed together. As there are processes that are working to build up some others are working to break down such as weathering. There are two types of weathering. The growing of roots is an example of one type; mechanical weathering. The other type is chemical weathering that is the responsible of cavern formation.The final result of weathering is soil.

Technology at classrooms

In the past years the technology use in classrooms has increase. The cardboards and scale models have been replaced for power point presentations, videos  and web blogs. Some teachers try to include this new technology in their classes, but others prefer to use the old method. This new technology give more learning opportunities to students.

What method do you think is more efficient for learning the traditionals or the new ones?Why?

Science video project #1 final version

Sience video project #1 (survey preveiw)

2010 A.I.P.C.V. Familiar Fest

This year's familiar fest theme was: "A journey in time". In the familiar fest was food selled, games,contests, and a marathon. There were presentations from every class in the school. Also, stands were organized outside every classroom with alusive decoration according to the theme assigned. I am happy to announce that my grade (sixth grade) won the stand and presentation contest in their category. Our theme was; "The aztec empire".

Vocabulary #15 (Building up and breaking down)

Definitions:

1. fold mountain: a mountain made mostly of rock layers folded by being squeezed together
2. fault-block mountain: a mountain made by huge tilted blocks of rock separated from surroundings by faults
3. weathering: the breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces by natural processes
4. erosion: the picking up and removal of rock particles
5. soil: a mixture of weathered rock, decayed plant and animal matter, living things, air, and water
6. soil horizon: any of the layers of surface to the bedrock below
7. groundwater: water that soaks into soil and rock by collecting in spaces between rock particles
8. humus: material in soil formed by the break down of plant and animal material.

Sentences and illustrations:

1. The most common type of mountain is a fold mountain.

2. A fault-block mountain is made by huge tilted blocks of rocks separated from surrounding rock by faults.

3. Weathering is one of the main forces that are breaking down Earth's surface.

4. Erosion is the picking up and removal of rock fragments and other particles.

5. The end result of weathering is soil.

6. Slowly the soil develops distinct layers, called soil horizons.

7. A groundwater system is something like a river system.

8. Soil can be improved by adding humus.

Vocabulary #14 (Volcanoes)

Definitions:

1. hot spot: a very hot part of the mantle, where magma can melt through a plate moving above it
2. vent: a central opening in a volcanic area through wich magma may scape
3. lava: magma that reaches Earth's surface and flows out of a vent
4. crater: a cuplike hollow that forms at the top of a volcano around a vent
5. cinder-cone volcano: a steep-side cone that forms from explosive eruptions of hot rocks, ranging from particles to boulder
6. shield volcano: a wide, gently sloped cone that forms from flows of lava
7. composite volcano: a cone formed from explosive eruption of hot rock followed by a flow of lava, over and over
8. geothermal energy: heat from below Earth's surface

Sentences and illustrations:

1. A hot spot is a very hot part of the mantle.

2. Vents are central openings found in volcanoes.

3. Lava reaches the surface and erupts through a vent

4. Craters are found at the top of volcanoes.

5. Cinder-cone volcanoes are formed from volcanic eruptions.

6. Shield volcanoes are formed from flow of lava.

7. Composite volcanoes may have beutifully symmetrical shapes.

8. Today scientists are trying to find ways to use geothermal energy.

Vocabulary #13 (Earthquakes)

Definitions:

1. fault: a huge crack in the crust, at or below the surface, the sides of wich may show evidence of motion
2. focus: the point where an earthquake starts, where rocks begin to slide past each other
3. seismic wave: a vibration that spreads out away from a focus when an earthquake happens
4. epicenter: the point on Earth's surface directly above the focus
5. aftershock: the shaking of the crust after the initial shaking of an earthquake
6. seismograph: a sensitive device that detects the shaking of the crust
7. magnitude: the amount of energy released by an earthquake

Sentences and illustrations:

1. There are three kinds of faults.

2. The focus is usually bellow the surface.

3. Seismic waves travel trough the crust.

4. Is in the epicenter where people feel first the ground shaking

5. Aftershocks continue the damage of an earthquake.

6. A seismograph shows patterns in the waves that arrive.

7. The height of a wave on a seismograph is a measure of the magnitude.

Vocabulary #12 (Moving Plates)

Definitions:

1. crust: Earth's solid, rocky surface containing the continents and ocean floor
2. original horizontally: the idea that many kinds of rock form in flat, horizontal layers
3. continental drift: the idea that a supercontinent split apart into pieces, the continents, wich drifted in time into their actual location
4. sea-floor spreading: the idea that new crust is forming at ridges in the sea floor, spreading apart the crust on either sides of the ridges
5. magma: hot, molten rock below Earth's surface
6. plate tectonics: the idea that Earth's surface is broken into plates that move
7. mantle: Earth's layer beneath the crust
8. subduction: where plates collide, the sliding of a denser ocean plate under another plate

Sentences and illustration:

1. During a suden motion of the crust an eathquake or volcanic eruption occurs.

2. The twist or tilted of the rock are signs of original horizontally.

3. Alfred Wegener reasoned the continental drift idea.

4. The sea-floor spreading model was suggested in early 1960's.

5. Magma flows up through the cracks, cools, and hardens into new solid material along the ridges.

6. In late 1960's scientists develop the tectonic plates model.

7. Paltes move around on the lower potion of the mantle.

8. Subduction is part of a cycle.

Vocabulary #11 (Galaxies and beyond)

Definitions:

1. galaxy: a large group of stars held together by gravity
2. Milky Way: our home galaxy
3. spectrum: a band of colors made when white light is broken up
4. expansion redshift: the shift of a spectrum of a galaxy toward longer (redder) wavelenghts due to the expansion of space
5. Big Bang: the beggining of the universe, when the density of the universe was very high
6. background radiation: electromagnetic radiation left over from the big bang
7. quasar: an extremely bright, extremely distant, high energy source

Sentences and illustrations

1. Our closer galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy.

2. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.

3. The heated gases of stars produce waves of light, this light produces a spectrum.

4. The expansion redshift is called redshift because the light's spectrum has been shifted to longer wavelenghts.

5. The universe has expanded ever since the big bang.

6. The background radiation is energy left over from the beggining of the universe.

7. Quasars have the size aproximately of the solar system.