exams

I believe we have exams for the same reason we have averages. The whole point is to summarize what you have learned from that certain class into one test or grade. They help you wrap up the whole curriculum and prepare for the next class (if the class you're taking is a prerequisite). Exams also help you to prepare for when you have to take short courses and have to study a whole bunch of stuff you don't know in a short amount of time. Plus it gives the teachers a last chance to torture their students.

Favourite Learning

My grade eight year is almost over and so far I've learned a lot. One of my favourite learnings about atom structures. The science behind it was fascinating because it described why certain things existed and why they were the way they were. Especially when it came to the bonding chapter when I looked at the reason water has so many special qualities because it's a polar bond. I look forward to hopefully finding out more about how atoms work and their smallest parts.

Word

Words are used every day. People say words can be a powerful weapon or something great to brighten someone's day. My view on it is that they are simply a tool, and like a tool, they can be used to destroy or construct. Nowadays you see lots of "verbal warfare" where people just go back and forth at one another using their words to destroy. This is often seen in lots and lots of TV shows as a form of entertainment the most infamous being Jerry Springer.

ernfrirood light

Infrared light has a frequency below what we can see in the visible spectrum. It is often used for heat imaging cameras and night vision goggles. Almost everything emits infrared light of some sort. Infrared is also used in TV remotes and some fiber optic cables. Infrared is also used to discover different parts of the universe.

redbull jump

Felix Baumgarter jumped from a space balloon and broke the speed of sound. That took a lot of science. I'm not sure how he could go so fast while spinning but it's amazing. I wonder how fast he could have gone if he hadn't spun out of control and stayed aerodynamic.  I also wonder if the scientists assigned to this project or something knew that he would reach that speed. Nonetheless it was a cool thing and I'm glad he did it.

Viral Soldiers

Jyoti Madhusoodanan writes in the article "Viral Soldiers" that the future of fighting bacteria may just be viruses. Also known as "bacteriophages" these viruses attack bacteria and input their own genetic code. After the bacteria has made as many viruses as possible, it explodes and releases all of the new bacteria inside of it.  Bacteria is not as new of an invention as we think. It has been recorded as useful as early as 1610.  Back then they used viruses found in feces and used it on diseases including dysentery and staphylocuccus skin infections. I'm not sure if this is going to work, if it's gonna be a distant future, or if it's simply jibberish. I hope that it will work soon because of the of the biotic resistant bacteria forming.

Madhusoodanan, Jyoti. "Viral Soldiers." Scientist Jan. 2016: 26-33. Print.

waaaaaaves

Looking at all of the different wave pool technologies and all the different ways that waves can be made to look at and study the way water behaves. I think that there are many benefits to this just because water is what makes up a large part of our planet and I figure if we find some major beneficial discovery, then it would impact us a lot. I also think that they are pretty to look at. It's interesting to see that most of the wave pools or wave tanks or ripple tanks or whatever they're called (wave-o-matics?) are in Japan, Britain, or Norway. I'm not sure if this is because of the funding that is set apart for science or because they are interested in this more than other things.

D.C.

Soon we will be off to DC on a trip to tour the memorials and sights. I am very excited because I don't have to do schoolwork (unless we have some worksheets we have to do🙄). This is my first time stopping in DC although I have driven through it before. I am so excited to get up at 5:30 and sit on a bus with a whole bunch of other middle schoolers that probably got around 6 hours of sleep.  I think that most of the memorials will be nice to see in person, because it gives a deeper perspective of when you just seem them in person.

rise against hunger thoughts

I think that it's very cool that rise against hunger is actually taking a stand against hunger and not just complaining about it.  I also think that it is quite interesting that they take volunteers to pack and such. It was quite fun doing work with my friends and packing meals. I think that it is a worthy cause. I hope that rise against hunger continues to do what they are doing

wow what great benefits

Lately, my grade has been combining different subjects. I find this to be (most of the time) unecessary and with no benefits for the most part.  Although there are exceptions, such as using mathematics in science, most of the time the subjects should stick to themselves because that's what the teacher specializes in and if you are graded for a different subject than the one you're in, than the grade doesn't properly reflect how good or bad you are in that subject.  Things that may be related should be mentioned, but you shouldn't spend a science unit on a history subject unless you're only looking at the science of it. And if you are having a joint project, than the project should be graded separately, not as a single grade that they share.  Say I write a paper for any subject, the punctuation and spelling should affect your english grade while your research and point prove the other subject. Some may say that being graded on punctuation will prepare you for what they do in college, but that's what my english class is for.

PARACHUTE

This is sketched out design of our parachute:

This is a picture of the finished product:

Basically, the design of the parachute was just attaching three garbage bags to the passenger (a dinosaur named frances john) through fishing line. We dropped the air resistance module (ARM) from a balcony and continued to watch frances drop to the ground. He didn't die because I cleverly covered him in tape padding. Although we probably could have done better, I am proud of our baby and the way she performed.

Hey man, what's the Neal?

Neil Gorsuch was Mr. President Trump's Supreme court nominee. After researching into Gorsuch's views and beliefs, I find that he is a strong textualist, which I think is an amazing thing, because the constitution is what made this country great, why not look back to it? He also disbelieves in euphemism, which I can get behind, because if no one insults anyone or uses any "not so good words" then everyone'll be a pansy. I think that if you don't agree with Trump's pick, then you should find something good about him. There's always something good for someone about someone.

mars introduction

“It would be great some day to have astronauts in a rover on Mars. But just about anyone except an oil company executive would say it’s more important to have 50 million solar powered vehicles in the United States.” says Brad Sherman, a United States representative. I agree that  while an intriguing idea, the costs associated with the colonization of Mars far outweigh the benefits for our species as a whole.

Best Invention

My father thought that either penicillin or lightbulbs were the most important inventions contributing to our modern society. He thought that lightbulbs were quite important because they increased our efficiency after or before exponentially and let us have longer days.  Penicillin gave us the ability to overcome what now seems like minimal diseases and eventually eradicate multiple of them. Overall, both of these things were revolutionary developments that increased our population and working time. These type of developments are the ones that truly let us progress as a whole.

SNOWFLAKES

Snow is formed somewhat similarly to rain, except the water crystallizes and becomes ice. It starts out as forming as a hexagon that grows larger and larger. Eventually, the ice begins to branch off of the point of the hexagon, simply because that is the farthest point away from the mass. It branches off again and again until it finally either becomes structurally unstable or falls from the cloud in a snowstorm.  I am actually not sure if the water crystallizing lets snowflakes form without particles, but I am guessing that they still would because the ice has got to start somewhere.

The Effects of Space

In this chapter of Physical Sciences, I will be most excited to learn about the physical and mental effects that space has on the human body. Especially the travel to mars and all of the time spent alone in zero gravity. If astronauts are driven insane by the trip to mars, how are we ever going to get there?And to even further places? Do the space-foods have enough nutrients or variety to keep a full grown man physically stable? Can an astronaut bail out of their spaceship and survive from so many feet up if they have the parachute or another method of slowing the descent? I have no clue.