Wave Project
The purpose of this project was to demonstrate that each individual could use the scientific method, with an experiment to use it with. For this project, we all studied about the movement of waves, and then each created an experiment that went along with how waves work. My partner and I both created an experiment together, and decided to focus on color waves. We found that each color of light we see is associated with a wavelength. The longest wavelengths are seen as right light. As the wavelength decreases, the color changes to orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and then finally, violet. Seeing this got us interested in rainbows, leading us to create our wave project on the experiment you see below.
Design it Clean Project:
The Design it Clean project was to learn about global water issues and to be able to come up with a solution to solve them. For this project we all got into groups of three or four. Within our groups we chose an area to research, and began learning about the water issues within that area. After hours of research, each group created a water filter to solve the water crisis within their designated area. Each water filter was different, depending on what was contaminating the water in the area each group researched. My group and I chose Kajiado Central District, Kenya. We researched about Kenya and what was contaminating the water, and as we did this we created a group document to hold our research and our design. Our initial design for our filter was to have a water bottle screwed into a bird feeder. Within the water bottle and bird feeder was many layers of cotton balls, activated carbon, sand, gravel, and coffee filters, which all contributed to help clean the water. However, after testing our initial design we soon came to the conclusion that our water filter was inefficient because the water didn't run through it smoothly. Taking this into consideration, we created a new design that you can see to the left. It was a water bottle, with another half of a water bottle attached to the bottom. We put the same layers inside our new design, however made them a lot thinner. After creating our second design, we found that it worked well, so then began to test our filter to see if it actually removed the chemicals and bacteria. After many tests and research, we came to a conclusion, which you can see below in my group document below.
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Snow Science Project:Here is a poster board that I made with my partner, Lily. Our poster was on the warning signs of avalanches, and on it we have the six major signs to look out for, as well as the slope angle. Avalanches are most likely happen on the slope angle of 35 - 50 degrees. However, avalanches are most common on a slope with the angle of 38 degrees. With the slope angle, and the warning signs listed above, avalanches can happen anywhere at anytime, no matter who you are. Here we made a poster, to help people become more aware of the dangers in the winter.
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Reflection: 1. In what ways was Snow Science relevant to your life? Snow Science is very relevant in my life, and it will stay relevant for a long time. I love to ski, and I enjoy the winter more than any other season. Learning about Snow science was very beneficial. It kept me educated on the hazards of skiing, as well as reminded me off all the dangers I need to be aware of when it comes to winter sports. I thought learning about avalanches was very interesting, and it was a great way to start off the semester. I never thought I would be so interested in snow science, and I never thought there would be so many different categories that go along with snow science. This project was a good project, and I enjoyed mostly everything about it! 2. What do you now understand about the role snow and water play in the American West? I now understand that snowfall is the key factor to supplying water to the Colorado River. When the snow melts, it comes down from the mountains, and creates a river running with wild water. This water is distributed between seven states, to help keep everyone in those states healthy, and to help provide them with their needs. Without snow, we would run into major problems, having to do with little water. As climate change happens, we are slowly loosing water. This is a problem that we discussed in class, and was very interesting to learn about. It showed me what is happening, and what would happen in the future. The most important thing, however, is that it taught me that we need to change, and start trying to fix climate change for the better. 3. What is one thing that you particularly enjoyed doing/learning, what is one thing you struggled with/did not enjoy? One thing that I enjoyed was reading the article called Tunnel Creek. It was about a group of professional/well skiers who went into the backcountry and got stuck in an avalanche. It's an intriguing story and it makes you very aware of the possibilities that could happen, no matter how well you think you can ski. This story was a good way to start of the Snow Science Project and I think it helped get a lot of students engaged on the topic that we were learning. One thing I struggled with the most in this project, was keeping up on all of my work. Unfortunately I was out for a week, and I missed learning about a lot of material. I still feel behind, and I don’t understand some of the major key topics that the class learned while I was away. Since I was behind, it made the project a struggle, and sometimes not enjoyable. However, I feel as if I will be able to learn the material if I study like the other class did and take some time to get caught up in the material I missed. 4. What skill (science based or 21st century) did you develop through this material? In this project, I feel as if I was able to develop better note taking skills. We took notes on articles, powerpoints, and on videos. Since we took so many notes, it was at hard at times to keep track of all the different papers. This project also helped me further develop my organization skills. I was able to take notes on the major topics, as well as keep those notes in a separate folder so I wouldn’t lose them. I think being able to take better notes will help me for the rest of the semester, so I know what to write down and how to not get behind when Brian is giving a small lecture or showing a powerpoint. Developing my organization skills will help me for the rest of the semester as well. The system I created for staying in organized in this project ended up being very beneficial, and I am planning on using it in my next projects that follow. |