Mr. Bent’s Edublog Page

Today we discussed Tsunamis, and many of the misconceptions that people have about them.  The Tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004 killed more than 225,000 people.  You can read about the Tsunami here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake

Tuesday evening may provide a terrific “light show” for those of us that live on the East coast (as far North as Southern Maine) when NASA tries to launch an orbital rocket from its facility in Virginia.  Read about it in this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090501/sc_space/glaringrocketlaunchcouldsurpriseeastcoastresidentstuesdayevening

Today we finally fully launched our Project Research.  Students were hard at work on computers, planning out research, designing poster boards, organizing information, etc.  For the most part, everyone did a great job.

We also discussed a couple of key features of Microsoft Word, particularly formatting pictures so that they fit better when you import them into a document.  Don’t forget, if a picture is giving you a hard time (it is hard to move without disrupting the text in the document), click on the picture, then right mouse click, “edit”, “format picture”, “layout”, and “in front of text”.  If you do this, you’ll be able to move your pictures around Word more effectively!

Some students are using Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.  Others are using InspireData software.  Overall, the project ideas seem great.  Let’s hope that we can put them all together nicely, in time for Open House on May 7th!

Here’s another couple of crazy cars to look at.  Perhaps we’ll see them when we head back outside:

We started the car study data collection today.  We went to the front of the school and focused on 4 main areas, car color, car model, distractions, and car sizes.  This data will be used partially for open house projects, but also for end of the year PowerPoint presentations that each group will complete.

Matt O. started his data collection on vehicle speed, as we used a hot wheels radar gun to collect this data.  Tom H. helped him with this.

You should be getting information related to your project at home (pictures, articles, etc.), and binging this into school ASAP.  I fully expect that everyone has information to work with when they come into class.

Have a nice (and hot) afternoon.  Tomorrow will be much colder.

To see a video of someone reviewing the Hot Wheels Radar gun and comparing its accuracy to that of a police radar gun, click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTpwIqwlC0

Mr. B

Here is a link to an article about a very strange fish.  The fish has a see-through forehead, like a windsheld!  It lives at depths of about 1800 feet + and is found in the Pacific Ocean.  Check it out below!

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20090318/Note3.asp

This image was taken from the article below.

We have been talking about magnetic field reversals in class (a little), and I told you how complex this stuff gets.  Still, TRY to work your way through the article to see if you can piece together anything from it that makes sense.  You will notice many of the words that we have used in class, and maybe you can gain some understanding from reading it.  I sort of did…………….

http://www.physorg.com/news159704651.html

This photo is taken from the article below.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_sc/eu_britain_new_planet

The crazy thing about this stuff has to do with HOW they discover such planets.  According to the article, “the telescope has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wavelengths.”   I can’t even imagine how complex, particularly in mathematics, such discoveries must be.  Still, some of you that I have met this year might be the next great astronomers that will help discover still more planets, and perhaps even get us to them!

READ on!

Mr. B

Today we completed a class activity that focused on various elements of Plate Tectonic theory.  Here is a link to the site that we visited:

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/chapter08.cfm

Here is the worksheet that we used:  plate-tectonics-on-the-web

Today in class we learned about Hot Spots; places on Earth where volcanoes form nowhere near plate boundaries.

To learn more about Hot Spots, check out this animation:

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/geo/egeo/flash/2_10.swf

Mr. B

Today in class I introduced Plate Tectonics to the students.  We discussed Rift Valleys, Subduction, Plates, and a bit about volcanoes & earthquakes.  We also defined Plate Tectonics, and wrote about how the theory was developed from both Continental Drift & Ocean Floor Spreading theories.  Here are a couple of links that might help you understand the topic better.

To watch an animaton of subduction click here:  http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0902/es0902page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization

To watch an animation of plates moving apart click here:  http://www.wwnorton.com/college/geo/egeo/flash/2_6.swf

To watch an animation of the formation of ocean crust, click here:  http://www.wwnorton.com/college/geo/egeo/flash/2_7.swf

For more general information about Plate Tectonics and some general cool oceanography info, click here:  http://www.extremescience.com/PlateTectonicsmap.htm

Here is a link and a picture about some of the stuff that we’ve been talking about in class:  evidence collected after Wegener’s death to help prove the theory of Continental Drift and later, Plate Tectonics.

Pillow Lava Quicktime Video Link:  http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04fire/background/volcanism/media/pillow_lava_video.html

Source:  http://www.waterencyclopedia.com

Today we learned about many of the strange geologic features on the ocean floor.  We focused on pillow lava and hydrothermal vents, and discussed how the discovery of these features proved that the ocean floor is volcanically active.

Please click here to see a great site about Hydrothermal Vents:

http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/vents/index.html

Today I was very proud of all of you, as you did a great job on the Type 1 and 2 papers that were given.  I haven’t finished reading/grading all of the letters, but most of you wrote terrific letters and I have enjoyed them so far!

I introduced the submarine vessel ALVIN today in class.  Please go to the following link to find out a bit about this incredible piece of science equipment:

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8422

This link (also found on the same page as the above link), features an interactive tour of ALVIN (requires a flash player plug-in):

http://www.whoi.edu/home/interactive/alvin/

If and when you comment on this stuff, please include whether or not you would venture into the bottom of the sea in this vessel.  I think that I would, but I’m not quite sure……

Take a look at this article and some of the pictures.

The story is found at boston.com here:  http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/red_river_flooding.html

This picture is from the same article.

Here is a link to one of my favorite videos, the sort of creepy song called “I’m all you can think about.”

Strangely, my daughter thinks that it is funny, especially the part when the guy’s head is on a cat’s body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5lSXFa5CY4

Here is the Pangaea animation that I went to in class today.  It is a flash animation, and ironically, it is spelled Pangea.  Hmmmm…………

http://emvc.geol.ucsb.edu/animations/flash/pangea.swf

Here is a link to a Yahoo news article about the most recent eruption of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090323/ap_on_re_us/alaska_volcano

Photograph by J. Warren, Redoubt Volcano, AK, April 21, 1990

Today we learned a little about a key contributor to the geological sciences: Alfred Wegener.  Students read an article and/or watched a brief video clip that gave them a small idea about Wegener’s career.  After this, we discussed why it might have been easier to retain information from a reading selection vs. a video.

Here is a link to the Wegener article (This is a PDF Document).  We only covered page 1 of this article:

wegener-article1

This is a link to the video.  It might work, although I’m not sure if you have to be a member of teacher’s domain to view it.  The video is a quicktime file:  http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.earthsys.wegener1/

To do some extra credit work, read pages 2 and 3 of the article provided above.  Follow the directions on the assignment when completing your writing.  Print out the instruction sheet and hand it in with the writing piece by Friday, April 3rd.

Mr. B

This is a link to a funny cat video.  If you love cats, you’ll think that this is hilarious.  This is my favorite cat from the video.

Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvo-g_JvURI&feature=related

Well, we’ve finally made it to Spring!  That doesn’t mean that our snowfall  will necessarily end.

Click on the link below for more details about Equinoxes.  This site includes a Spanish version if anyone is interested.

Happy Spring!

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/uts/equinox.html