Scenarios!

There has been a global tragedy and the world’s power grid has been neutralized.  There is no more energy available from fossil fuels. You and everyone in the world are without power.  The government has collapsed and local villages have emerged. You have been appointed leader of your village. You live in a village on the side of a mountain. Your terrain is very hilly and there are many trees. There is a river flows down from the mountain through the middle of the village. Your first job is to secure a power source for your community. Without it you will perish.

There has been a global tragedy and the world’s power grid has been neutralized.  There is no more energy available from fossil fuels. You and everyone in the world are without power.  The government has collapsed and local villages have emerged. You have been appointed leader of your village. You live in a village with fertile soil that receives ample sunlight and rain. Much of the food that was consumed in the United States was grown in this area. Your first job is to secure a power source for your community. Without it you will perish.

There has been a global tragedy and the world’s power grid has been neutralized.  There is no more energy available from fossil fuels. You and everyone in the world are without power.  The government has collapsed and local villages have emerged. You have been appointed leader of your village. You live in a village that is located in a very flat area with an arid climate. There are few plants and not many trees. The topsoil has been eroded away. It’s very sunny and hot there. Your first job is to secure a power source for your community. Without it you will perish.

There has been a global tragedy and the world’s power grid has been neutralized.  There is no more energy available from fossil fuels. You and everyone in the world are without power.  The government has collapsed and local villages have emerged. You have been appointed leader of your village. You live in a village that is located in a very sandy area with an arid climate. There is little precipitation. There are few plants and not many trees. It’s very sunny and hot there.  Dust storms occur here. Your first job is to secure a power source for your community. Without it you will perish.

There has been a global tragedy and the world’s power grid has been neutralized.  There is no more energy available from fossil fuels. You and everyone in the world are without power.  The government has collapsed and local villages have emerged. You have been appointed leader of your village. You live in a village that is located on a fault line. Earthquakes occur in this area. There is a geyser located close by and a hot spring. It is a mountainous region.  Your first job is to secure a power source for your community. Without it you will perish.

Welcome Back!!!!

I trust everyone had a good break. I myself conducted multiple experiments on the golf course. However, there were too many variables. My conclusion is that I must work harder in order to beat Tiger Woods.

We will be studying the Earth, our home sweet home. The Earth has many cycles. We learned about some of them within Ecosystems, but this is just a small piece of the puzzle. Remember that some changes on Earth happen so slowly, that you would not be able to notice it. For example, the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon took millions of years to look the way it does now, and it is not finished. It is still changing. Our job will be to figure out what causes the changes on Earth. Some are fast and obvious, while others are slow.

The first thing we are going to look at is renewable and alternative energy sources.

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect!!!

Here are a few websites that have questions very similar to those you will get during our game!!! You can do these tests online and have them graded!!!

http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/resources/sol/TX/G05S06.html

and on cinch!!!

First Semester Review!!

Okay, here is what is coming up. We are reviewing matter, energy, scientific method, force and motion, ecosystems, and animals/ecosystems interactions. You are going to create a study guide that you will study leading up to our three day game show.  The more you use this, the better you will do on the test.  Here are the things you need to include: (PS this is for a grade BOB!!!!!)

Scientific Method:
What is it?
What is a variable?
What is a conclusion?
What is a control?
What is a hypothesis?*

Matter:
What is matter?
What is mass?
What is volume?
What is density?
What are molecules?
What is a solid?
What is a liquid?
What is a gas?
What is the freezing/melting point of water in Celcius? Why are they the same?
What is the boiling point of water in Celcius?
What is a mixture? How can we separate it?
What is dissolve?
What is solubility? *
What is a solution? How can we separate it?
What is a conductor?
What is an insulator?
What is light energy?
 What is refraction?
What is reflection?
What is translucent?
What is transparent?
What is opaque?
What is sound energy?
What is thermal energy?*
What is mechanical energy?
What is chemical energy?
What is electrical energy?
What is a circuit?
What is an open circuit?
What is a closed circuit?

Animals:
What is an ecosystem?
What is a producer?
What is photosynthesis?*
What is a consumer?
What is a decomposer?
What is carnivore? What kind of teeth does it have? Why?
What is an herbivore? What kind of teeth does it have? Why?
What is an omnivore? What kind of teeth does it have? Why?
What is an adaptation? Give some examples.
What is an inherited trait?
What is a learned behavior?
What is an instinct?
What is a food chain?
What is a food web?
What is complete metamorphosis?
What is incomplete metamorphosis?
What is a molt?
What is a non-living object?
What is carbon dioxide oxygen cycle?

You have the next 7 days to finish this!!!! Work together, do drawings, write it, I don't care as long as you know it!!! The man in the picture is El Joven y La Pared!

Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors

Today you will be choosing a biome. Once you have chosen a biome, you will be creating an animal and a plant that will be well adapted to that biome.  You will need to list the following:

At least 4 adaptations and how they help each organism survive.
The instincts that the animal is born with.
The learned behavior that the animal learns from experience.
Is it an herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore. Why?
Is it producer or a consumer? Why?
Does it go through ELPA or ENA?
Does it mimic other animals?

The color of the plant and how it attracts bees for pollination.
The shape of the seeds and how they spread.
The shape of the leaves and why.
The shape of the roots.
The height of the plant.
Is it a producer or a consumer? Why?

Adaptations Questions

Here is the list of questions for your project. Make sure you answer them all!!!

1.     Animal-

2.     Ecosystem where the animal lives-

3.     Adaptations

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

      4. How do these adaptations help the animal survive?

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

       5. Where is your animal in the food web?

       6. What are four other animals in the ecosystem where your animal lives? List at       

            least two adaptations for each.

            a.

            b.

            c.

            d.

        7. Give an example of 2 producers, 2 consumers, and 2 decomposers in your

            animal’s ecosystem.

            a.

            b.

            c.

8. How does your animal’s ecosystem contribute to the carbon dioxide-                       oxygen cycle?

9. Give an example of an organism in your ecosystem that undergoes

incomplete and complete metamorphosis.

a.

b.

10.  What are the learned behaviors of your animal? List as many as you can.

11. Name at least five plants in your animal’s ecosystem and give examples of their adaptations.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

12. List the non-living things in your animal’s ecosystem and how living organisms depend on these for survival.

a.

b.

c.

13. Imagine people move into your animal’s ecosystem. What would happen to the ecosystem?

14. Describe the weather and temperature of your ecosystem. Where is it located?

Adaptations Project!!

Our next project will be over adaptations of animals and plants. To do this, first choose an animal that you are interested in. It can be any animal, as long as it is real and in the wild. Then we will need to find out as much as we can about that animal including:

Adaptations- What does it have that helps it survive where it lives? What is it born with that help it get food or blend in with its environment? What types of behaviors does it have (hibernation, migration, etc)? Things to be considered: teeth or beak size and shape, fur color, paws, claws, eyes, body shape, leg length, size of head, shape of feet, tail, scales, and/or any other structures that can be used to help it live and thrive.

Ecosystem- Where does it live? Why does it live there? How does it live there? What would happen if it was moved somewhere else? What are the producers, consumers, and decomposers in the ecosystem? What are the herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores in the ecosystem? How does the ecosystem maintain balance? How is the energy recycled within the ecosystem? What kinds of plants live in the ecosystems? What adaptations do they have? Name at least 5 plants. How do the living and non-living objects interact in the ecosystem?

Food Chain/Web- Where is it at on the flow of energy where it lives? Is it a producer, consumer, or a decomposer? Is it an herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore? Is it predator or prey? Design a food web for your ecosystem highlighting your animal.

Learned Behaviors- What are some learned behaviors of your animal? How do you know that they were not inherited?