Charity Fair Project Blog

Summary:
    The Charity Fair. A time of year where we make products to sell for charity. This may seem simple, BUT NO. We first off must pick a charity that suits our passions and our group's passion. Then you must pick a product that correlates with your charities. Next you do tons of things like see the cost and profit of your product. You need to know at what price to sell it at. Then you need to see the charity statistics to check how reliable your charity is. Next we looked at the Carbon Footprint of our product. We have to see how much carbon out product released into the air by traveling to us. We also made special logo's to sell our company to passer byers. We wanted to attract them after all. We continued on that trend and made infomercials about our charities work to provoke emotion in people.  Then  we made an ignite presentation to pitch at the charity fair our product, and especially our charity. Then the icing on the cake we made a beautiful tri fold to show all the work.

Backwards Looking: In what ways do you think you need to improve?
    With many assignments to do there is many ways to make an error. Just a few mistakes that I think I could have improved on but a main one was  my journey of our product. In the journey of our product since we had two products was just jammed into one. That was not supposed to be so and it was intended to have two. I honestly believe that with the two we should have had it would be much more of a realistic representation of just one product. If someone was to want to make one of the two products it would be alot harder to find out exactly the effect of the product you would be making because it is all mixed together. So if I had more time and could improve this work I would separate this into two google maps for my audience to be able to understand more.

Inward Looking: What did you learn about yourself as you worked on this piece?
     During this product I began to find my passion in this sort of work. I figured out that when I find a topic that really matters to me I can drive that passion into things like scripts and presentations. That is why in our presentation we start out by saying why this matters to the group. I believe that when people explain why they are passionate it makes other see how they can be passionate too. My overall strong suit is being able to drive emotion into my words and put meaning to presentations through images and word choice. So this project really was a great example of that skill in my life.

Outward Looking:  What is one particular thing you want people to notice when they look at your work?
When people look at the Charity Fair Project I would like them to see the craftsmanship and creativity it took to think of our products, our logo, and our trifold design. Most things in the charity fair product are put there with much intention. For example all the designs of the necklaces were hand picked and put in to make a great assortment. On top of that the boxes of the design are perfectly fit so it rests perfectly in the bottle and folds up to make a clean design. Then as for our bracelets we made the shrinky dink designs correlate with the symbol of each color on the LGBTQ flag. Red represented with a heart, orange represented with a bandage, yellow represented with a sun, green represented with a tree, blue represented with a star, purple with a dove, and finally indigo with a tea cup.  Then if you see the trifold it has a cloud design making it look like our logo which is a girl  holding a rainbow in her hands like she is a rainbow over the clouds.

Forward Looking: One thing I would like to improve on?
If I could improve I would make sure that communication is the top priority. You never want to retrace your steps or miss the mark on things with a lack of communication. When you understand where everyone is at  then you will know exactly what must be done. Then next step would be clear on what you are doing for the team and if there is a problem make sure you can keep a communication with your team and solve it really quickly.

Should we bring back extinct species? WAC

    

       Imagine, a world where mammoths could roam the earth and passenger pigeons could be sitting on your window sill. This may seem just like a figment of imagination but this could be our reality. Science has advanced so far that we can take steps towards de-extinction which will bring back these animals. Even though this may sound amazing bring back extinct species is bad and will not do our world good. Extinct species will destroy balance in the environment, waste money that could be used to save other threatened species, and create many variables in our world. Even though this may be something that we as people shouldn't do the best way to show you why is by explaining how this would even happen. De- extinction is the idea of using process such as genome editing, cloning, and backwards breeding. In this essay we will talk about these process and of course the biggest question of all, why we should not bring back extinct species.


        First before we get into the debate lets explore how this is even possible. I assure you that this is not just a piece of science fiction but actual processes that are in the works as we speak. First off, genome editing. As stated in the QUEST article, Reawakening Extinct Species in Paragraphs 15 and 16; Using DNA extracted from passenger pigeon specimens stored in facilities like Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum, Novak and Shapiro are putting together as much of the passenger pigeon’s genome as possible.” and “ Once researchers have identified these genes and built them in the lab using chemical compounds, they’ll insert them into the band-tailed pigeon’s genome using new genome-editing technology.” As you can tell the basic idea of genome editing is you take the closest relative of the extinct species and take genomes from the old DNA and combine it with the closest relatives DNA to try and piece together a somewhat perfect replica of the old animal.


         Then next we have cloning. As stated in the QUEST Article Reawakening Extinct Species in Paragraph 6 "To clone the bucardo, the researchers defrosted cells they had obtained from Celia’s skin samples. Using technology developed to clone Dolly the sheep in 1996, they transferred the nucleus from Celia’s cells into cells from domestic goats whose nucleus had been removed (a cell’s nucleus contains its genetic material, in the form of chromosomes). They then stimulated the cells with a jolt of electricity and waited to see which ones grew into embryos. They transferred 154 embryos into surrogate mothers, a cross between domestic and wild goats. A bucardo kid was born in 2003, but died after a few minutes from a lung deformity." Basically you switch the nucleus of the extinct species with the nucleus of the closest relative. Get the egg fertilized and let the baby be born. Since the nucleus is the instructions to create the organism if you give something the instructions to be like a certain thing it will. Then finally backwards breeding. Backwards breeding is when you take the two closest relatives to the extinct animal and breed them together to try and get the traits of the extinct animal in the baby.


           Now that you know how this is even possible let me explain why this is NOT good. First off we have thousands and thousands of endangered species on our planet. As said in the New York Times, paragraph 6, We might soon resurrect extinct species. Is it worth the cost?, “If you have the millions of dollars it would take to resurrect a species and choose to do that, you are making an ethical decision to bring one species back and let several others go extinct,” Dr. Bennett said. “It would be one step forward, and three to eight steps back.”. As Dr. Bennett said it is a moral decision. Our environment is already unstable with all the animals dying and with their habitats being destroyed. We need to make sure our world is stable and ready to add more animals in. Until then unless we need these animals an extreme extreme amount to help us reach that goal then we need to manage what is alive now.


        Next big problem with bringing back extinct species is what will their place be in the ecosystem. For example not saying this is what is going to happen but we bring back the t rex. Well the t rex was built to fight and defend itself from other dinosaurs. Obviously nothing that exist now is up to par in strength or size with any of our old dinosaurs. This would make the t rex the top of the food chain. It would probably end up making more species extinct by eating their entire population then saving them. As said in the SENCER article, paragraph 5, Should we bring back extinct species?, “Lastly, we don’t know the environmental impacts of bringing back extinct species. Would they be invasive? If there weren’t predators for this species, it could become overpopulated. Alternatively, it could become a “new” predator and wipe out other species." We truly have no clue what these animals will do especially since for the older ones most of us weren't alive to see them in action. Why bring something back that would slowly destroy our wildlife?


       Then finally I think we all must admit that we have hurt our planet. We cut down its forest, pollute its air, hunt its wildlife. So one of the biggest question de extinction makes people as is perfectly presented by the SENCER article in Paragraph 1 of Should we bring back extinct species?, “Is it worth the time and the money to bring extinct species back? Is it our moral obligation to bring back extinct species that have died off as a result of human activities like deforestation? What would be the implications?” My thoughts on this question is yes we have destroyed a lot of this beautiful planet but instead of fixing our mistakes little by little we need to look at the bigger picture. If we want to really help our environment and somewhat repay what we have taken we should reduce what we are still currently doing such as cutting down forests, and hunting species to extinction. Once we stop all those things the real problem then maybe we consider taking it a step further and look into extinct species.



       In conclusion, no we do not need to bring back extinct species. They will not be a big enough help that we should put so much time, money, effort and risk into bringing them back. As we covered of course it is possible. A lot of time and effort has already been put into making this research possible, but it isn't what the world needs right now. That research don't have to go to waste. We can use it to improve our medical. For example if your family has a high risk of heart failure then maybe you do a genome edit and take that out of your families DNA pool. As for cloning we could try one that tech is successful to use it in child birthing. You could have someone else maybe carry your baby for you with such technology. Extinct species may one day roam this earth but they should not any time soon.

Should we resurrect extinct species?

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/article_small/public/thumbnails/image/2015/08/22/18/Mammoth-1-NHM.jpg

Summary: I know this topic may make you think Jurassic Park but it is something that will be coming very soon. So prepare yourself for the debate of should we bring back extinct species? First question. Is it possible?  Yes. and is being researched as we speak. Second question. How is is possible? Well there are many approaches scientists have in mind such as gene editing.Gene editing is when you take pre existing genes in de extinctions case the closest relative to the animal and taking genes from the old animal and mixing/editing them. It is like having lines of code. Then deleting a few and adding in new phrases. It changes the code all together. Then you have cloning. This is where you try to make an identical copy of the old creature. The ways they have tried doing this is by switching out the nucleus from the closest relative with the nucleus of the old animal in the starter cell of the baby and fertilizer it and let it be born naturally. Those are just two ways to do it but there are many more ways science is leading us towards the day we could have mammoths or other extinct species roaming the earth.

S&EP: Asking Questions, Defining Problems:
With looking at all these informational articles and sources on this very complex and multifaceted topic we had to look at all the different issues. We needed to see what was really going to need to happen before any of this cool stuff could place a foot on this earth. For example, what would it cost to  bring back these species? It can't be cheap to make all of these crazy things happen. The answer to that is it could cost millions and millions of dollars to get a stable species of lets say wooly mammoths on earth. This of course is a problem because as one of the articles says when you make a choice to spend all this money to bring one species back you are also making the choice to let many other endangered species die off when you could have helped them. Another thought we had to look into is when these animals come will they be an invasive species and help endanger other species? Or will they be the top of the food chain and create a giant trickle effect on an ecosystem? These are the questions we must answer before we bring back any animals.


XCC: Stability and Change:
When it comes to de extinction you have of course many things that are unknown. Since this has never been done before and most of the animals we are looking at came before our time there is a lot of unpredictability. One major thing is what role will these animals play in our world? Most scientists working on bringing back these animals say that they can help balance out the environment and prevent global warming. For example the  wooly mammoth will be put in the Tundra. It would be useful in the sense of stopping global warming because it can stomp down the snowy floor helping lock in the carbon that is trying to come out. There is so much carbon trapped that if it gets loose it will double the amount of carbon already in the air. Yet of course as I said before we can not make promises that these animals won't be an invasive species or a top predator. We don't know how stable the world will be after they leave there effect. We truly must be ready for all that can come with this big change!

The Journey of the Necklace and Bracelet

Summary:
  You have probably seen thousands and thousands of products in your life time. All products have a story. From where their materials were harvested, how they were produced, their travel to the retailer, and being brought to you. Products do tons of moving around, let's explore what these products do to our environment.  First off can you guess what the highest polluting mode of transportation is? If you didn't answer plane then you are wrong. Planes release 0.8 g of CO2/kg per mile they travel. As you know planes travel thousands upon thousands of miles making their CO2/kg per mile extremely high. For example shockingly our simple bracelet and necklace materials produced 21446.2 CO2/kg. This is an insane amount and is the majority of the carbon footprint for our product. Then to sum up the consumption of a train and a car, a train has a release of 0.17 g of CO2/kg per mile they travel. As for a car they release 0.41 g of CO2/kg per mile they travel. In total our product travels 31478.82 miles and the total CO2/kg released is 22247.6122 g.

S&EP: Using Models: Of course as you can see up top I worked with Google maps to track the distance and the amount of CO2/kg released. Google Maps is an interactive map program where you can pinpoint certain areas and connect them to each other. When using this program we had to find exact addresses to be able to locate the specific location of the manufacturer, retailers, and school. You can even use a zoom function so you can have either a large over view or a very specific location like Michaels on Snell. One things about google maps that if very different then any other mapping i've done before is that you can see as close or a far away as you want.

XCC: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity:
In this project we dealt with a lot of quantity. You see to understand how much CO2/kg per mile that is covered on this map we need to know a few things. First we need to know the mileage that everything has traveled. Yet this is not just good enough because everything is not traveling by the same mode of transport. So we had to determine that if a product is travelling from the store to you, you probably got it by car. Then for anything within the country it most likely travelled by train. Then last of all if it is from a totally different country it is probably by plane. Now that you know this you need to find the exact CO2/kg per mile expenditure of each of those modes of transport. I mean could you expect a car and a plane to be the same. Then when you figure that out you have your perfect quantity. Being exact is key.

FLUXX Project Blog

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/hrtg_fluxx.jpg

Summary: Fluxx. The competitive game where with every turn the rules change and the end goal differs. Players have cards that can either hurt them like creepers and some unwanted new rules. Or card that will aid them on the game. Fluxx games all are basically the same. The only thing that differs is the goals and the keepers. Keepers are your key to winning a Fluxx game. On the goal cards you need to find two keepers that match up. Throughout rounds of ever changing rules you do your best to be the first to win. You never know when someone may change the goal and the quest starts over again. Some of the Action cards even mess you up. Like rotate hands or stealing others Keepers. This wonderful game was recreated by my class and I. We picked Science related topics and based the entire themes of the game on that. So welcome to the world of Fluxx!


Backward Looking: In what ways do you think you could improve?
     I believe our cards would have looked really amazing in color. I feel it would have added more of a lively feel to the entire game. Also I feel our lamination could have been improved. Since I had to redo it on some of the cards the ink that transferred from the card to the sheet made it harder to read the card when put back on. If you look at the example up above they are all colorful and bright. If ours had that it would make it look for like the real deal!

Inward Looking:How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work?:
    I really liked  how when we were creating the game we got a good look at first off how this game works. When it came down to actually playing since I had been working on the mechanics for so long it was really simple. Also I think it was a good lesson on how things connect just like the Cross Cutting Concepts. When making goals it took a deeper understanding of the topic and the value of the goals depended on how in depth you went with your ideas.

Outward Looking: If you were the teacher, what comments would you make about this piece?:
     If I were a teacher I would comment on the printing of our cards. I would not comment on how it is not in color though because some people just can't print in color. I would more so suggest that if we are using a darker color that you make sure all your images and works are dark enough and contrast enough with the white background. You want people to be able to see your keepers/images.

Forward Looking: What would you like to spend more time on in school?:
     If I had more time on this project I would have made sure that the card stock was more fun. For example if we had planned the dates better we could have organized a time to use the color card stock and apply them to different types of cards. It would have made our deck pop a little more and possible improved the general aesthetic. Just to make the cards more desirable would be the main goal.

FLUXX

http://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/Fluxx5.0_3D-Contents_sm.jpg

Summary: Fluxx is a game were every round the rules and goals for winning change up. It is a game where you have to see connection between different keepers. This game is a great reflection of Cross Cutting concepts. Keeper goals always have to do with connection two related keepers together to win the game. We have been presented with the challenge of  making a Fluxx game related to a science topic. For example my game is about Astronomy so one of the goals could be collect the Big and Little Dipper.


S&EP: Asking Questions Defining Problems: We mostly  were asking questions and defining problems when making our goals. We of course wanted to make our goals interesting and not too much of a stretch. This did require mixing things around and replacing keepers. It took further investigating even into greek mythology. We say how important or unimportant a keeper was and changed or kept it accordingly. It wasn't just a two second choice but you needed to select your keepers with care so they could fit. Just like a puzzle piece. All the pieces must have a purpose and fit or it just won't work.

XCC: Patterns: Have you ever looked up at the night sky and traced the stars? Well other people had that exact same hobby. You have just made a constellation. Constellations are like the connect the dots of the stars. This makes interesting designs such as the Big Dipper, and Orion's belt. Constellations which ties into my Fluxx game tend to have a background. For example the constellation Hercules connects with the Greek Mythological hero Hercules. Galileo was one of the first astronomers and he looked into the night sky like you may and discovered many things. Like the rings of saturn and Callisto. So next time you are staring at the stars know that their is an entire world up there!

Pingo-uck Project Blog

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TpYStXkReZYrPkGshVuxuReDVsSnhHWD

Summary:
       Met the Pingo-uck. The Pingo-uck is a bird that has pieces from flamingos, flies, peacocks, and parrots. Lets start from head to toe. The head has umbrella like feathers to prevent its body from getting wet. Its eyes are multipfactited to be able to see all around its surroundings.  Then its body is covered in color on the one side to attract mates and the other side grey like rocks to camouflage. It has a wide tail that acts like a flotation device in the water. Then depending on the gender its feet will be webbed for catching fish ( female) or clawed for catching deer mice ( male). Evolution may sound random but this project is supposed to simulate how organisms are so well thought through. For example all the things I listed out to you right now have a purpose and could be added to a future organism that could like a Pingo-uck through Natural Selection. If your dreams of an organism don;t include magic or something that doesn't already exist your ideas may become a reality.

Backward Looking: In what ways have you gotten better at this kind of work?:
This project was definitely a creative curve for me. First just the creation of such a unique creature was something I haven't done before. Especially making a creature fit for an environment that wasn't this overpowered beast. Making something you could actually see in a part of the world is a really special thing and it takes a different level of creativity. Another things this project pushed me creatively to do was draw. Once we knew how this organism would act in the environment I had to use what I imagined its day to day life being like onto paper. Putting the image in your brain onto paper is bringing a world to life. The Pingo-uck was mashing science and imagination and it was awesome!!!

Inward Looking:What was especially satisfying to you about either the process or the finished product? : In the end I found it really satisfying that out of all the groups we were really the only one to really use a lot of hand drawn imagery. Other people just got images from the internet to show in general what they were trying to describe. With hand draw images we could be very exact on what we wanted the view to feel and think when they looked at the image. We could control the image it left in their head and didn't leave them guessing on what we were intending.

Outward Looking: What was especially satisfying to you about either the process or the finished product?: If I were a teacher commenting on our work I would comment on two things. One since the images added a sort of charm to our presentation some slides could have really used more than one image. Since it is somewhat a leverage for us we could have definitely made sure there was more of that to really give a closer and clearer idea of the Pingo-uck.Plus we could have really used practice on our presentation. At some points it became rather repetitive and we could have possibly done without some lines.

Forward Looking: What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next time?: 
Next time I do a project I really hope to bring justice to my creativity. My presentation was fair and I think the slides looked really good. Next time I will make sure the script is more solid and that it matches with the amount of real effort we put in the project. It didn't quite reflect how much thought went into the animal. My goal will to be show my projects worth and create an engaging presentation.

Design an Organism

https://mackenziesdragonsnest.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/delvila-1861317.jpg

Summary:
          You know and love all the classic mystical creatures. If you look closely at each of these mystical creatures you can see pieces of things we actually have alive right now. For example for a unicorn it would be the horse and for the dragon a reptile or bat. It is interesting to think its could be possible to make a unicorn like horse through evolution or a giant dragon like reptile. Organisms you think of can be anything for plausible to insane but you will usually see pieces of the real world organisms within those images.

S&EP: Asking Questions Defining Problems:
       The creature I have been working is called the Pingo-Uck. It is as a female an aquatic bird that is colorful on one side and camouflage on the other. We added some crazy things to this creature but when you draw if back they all have good reason and purpose. For example it has big bug like multifaceted eyes. This is not just to look cool but to give it high perception of its surroundings. Then it has an umbrella like feathered structure atop its head to be able to protect it from the consistent rain. Every detail we had to ask why it was important and why the species would even evolve to have it. The best formula to determine the purpose of each piece of a organism that would be able to exist but not be this over powered beast is quite simple. First ask is this possible. This eliminates any crazy thoughts like magic or teleportation. next ask if its useful. Like rainbow hair that goes all the way down to the floor what would the purpose of that be. if it is just for show and would not assist in any way such as mating of survival then remove it.

XCC: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: When creating an organism you need to know when enough is enough. You need to sometimes put practicality above good looks or cool features. For example if you had a whale would it be practical to give it bright shiny skin? Well of course not. Also think of things like size. if you were to have a real life dragon as something like a house pet you wouldn't want to make it skyscraper big. It must fit its environment. That is the point of selective traits to fit nicely with the environment and increase survival.Just always keep a rule of thumb that whatever it is it must be able to survive in its environment.

Cladogram

https://www.philpoteducation.com/pluginfile.php/1160/mod_book/chapter/1064/5.1.4d-full.jpg

Summary: The Cladogram. The perfect tool to organize common ancestry and progression of traits. For example lets look at the image above. Starting with sharks what the cladogram tells us is that it came earlier then all the animals after it going to the right and that it has a vertebrae.  Now lets skip to the crocodiles . What the cladogram shows us about the crocodile is that it came after everything to the left of the crocodile. Also it had  a vertebrae, a bony skeleton, four limbs, amniotic egg, and eggs with shells. Those were some tips on how to read a cladogram.

S&EP: Using Data: Now you may be wondering how to craft this cladogram. Well you must start with information you know. For example by looking at the animals skeleton you can tell many different things. You can see how many fingers the animal has, has four legs, if its skeleton is made of bones,and  if it has a vertebrae. With these pieces you can already tell where it can generally be placed on the time line. If it has for example four limbs it cant be anywhere below the mark of four limbs because that trait was not developed yet. If you want to get more exact then if the organism is still alive check out other features. Does it have hair? Does it have an amniotic egg? These can also place it further up on this cladogram. Then last of all how did you even get this fossil. From a sedimentary rock most likely. Sediment rocks hold the secrets to when this animal was alive.  Now you have a beautiful cladogram to show you everything you need to know.

XCC: Cause and Effect: Evolution is just a trickle effect. One organism breeds with another and after that if changes the course of that family lines history. Lets say that there is a species of white rabbits and they only ever breed with white rabbits. Then there is no chance for there to ever be brown rabbits. Until one day they do cross breed with a brown rabbit because the white rabbits fur was no longer blending in.  Then now the rabbits will and can pass down traits of brown rabbits. The effect of this new mix is that the white rabbits won;t be as common because first of all now they brown rabbits have started to cross breed with them and also the brown rabbits have better camouflage.That is how evolution changes so quickly and why we have so much diversity. One breeding can change everything.

Proof of Evolution

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ej-HAXuspk/hqdefault.jpg

 Summary: People can say about anything and you can believe it or not. Like I could say that the sky is purple or that the Earth is flat. Yet those statements mean nothing without anything to back it up. That's why when you hear about Evolution the first question you should ask is How do you know? Let's look into just a few examples of how Evolution can be proved. The fossil record; this is when you look at the fossils within layer of sediment rocks and see how the bones of animals can be connected and how they gradually change. Fossils can strongly support that animals evolve over time and how they have a common ancestor. Next we can look at embryology. This is when you look at early development of different mammals and see how similar they look in their fetus shape. It is near impossible to tell the difference between a early pig and a human. This can show that we are possibly related since we look basically the same in the beginning.

S&EP: Using Models: We created a giant poster to organize somewhat of a fossil record. We had the Adventuran fossils all the back from the Cambrian. First we organized them by oldest to newest. Then we can observe how they gradually changed over time.For example over time they split off into two different variations. The grey heads and the white heads all came from one common ancestor. Back in the Cambrian there was only one type of organism. Then it split off after evolution and gradual changes. This activity was supposed to be an example of how a fossil record works and how you can see the relationship between organisms that seem very different.

XCC: Stability and Change: Evolution. The gradual change of organisms. The theory saying that all animals have one singular common ancestor. It may seem random and just a chance change and for the most part it kinda is. How could Evolution have such order when it comes from disorder. Well it actually is somewhat predictable. There is a 50% chance of getting a trait one of the parents have. Its impossible for two brown furred cats to have a white furred cat. Then Natural Selection of course. Something Darwin suggested while observing his finches. His finches were all different across the different island. Natural Selection provided the finches different becks so they could eat what they needed. Natural Selection dwindles down the best in a population for better or for worst.

Natural Selection

http://images.slideplayer.com/26/8702244/slides/slide_1.jpg

Summary: Natural Selection also known as Survival of the Fittest. When you hear the phrase Survival of the fittest you probably think of the strongest,fastest,the greatest. Well that is not quite the case. Survival of the Fittest is when the organisms most fit for the environment will live long enough to reproduce. This is why in the photo above there are more long necked giraffes when short necked. Since the long necked giraffes can eat the green better than the short necked giraffes they can eat and live a long life. Natural Selection is nature's way of picking the best traits in a population.


S&EP: Analyzing Data: We did a simulation of the different finches that Darwin observed. Each one having a different beak. These beaks each had a skill in eating different types of foods. Once all the "finches"of each beak type got together and got the average of how much they eat of each type of food we determined two things. One we figured out of all the finches which ones were most skilled in eating certain foods. The "Scissor Beaked Finches" were the most successful , being skilled in three different food types. Then we looked at what each group was eating. For example the "Toothpick Beaked Finches" were not skilled at eating beans. With a large chart of averages you could easily compare the different skills of each bird. The importance of making these comparisons is to see how nature's reason for variety. If all the finches ate one food then there would be competition for this one thing. Yet when there is a variety they all usually have one thing they will eat each. This means that the playing field is even and Natural Selection will do the selecting.

XCC: Cause and Effect: The passing of traits may feel very random. Yet it had simple process that has quite a bit of variables. First you start of we need a male and female of the species. Yet before reproduction happens you must question how these two organisms got to the place they are in. First they needed to be able to support themselves through collecting food and fending of predators. Next they would have to be able to attract a mate. Like with crickets how they will do a song to attract mates. If there traits are desirable then everything is set. Then these two organisms now are set to reproduce. The variables that it takes there is Natural Selection. Pretty interesting right?

Evolution: The Greatest Show on Earth

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Human_evolution_scheme.svg/2000px-Human_evolution_scheme.svg.png

   Summary: This world is always changing. From the advancements in technology, to new culture and traditions. Yet none of those things could even exist if it wasn't for something way way before that. That's where the theory of Evolution comes in. Evolution is the theory that we all came from one single organism and that we continued to adapt to become who we are now. For example how they say wolves are the ancestors of dogs. The wolves got breed over and over again to make mixes of colors shapes and sizes. Then those mixes mixed. So on and so forth. This eventually changed the gene pool enough to make the wide variety of dogs we know and love today. In reproduction  when a  mom and a dad mate they give half of their genes to the child. This makes the child slightly different then both of their parents. This change is evolution. A change in the physical appearance is a change in the gene pool. This change can lead to advancements over time such as resistance to heat or smarter brains.

S&EP: Using Models: In class we did an experiment. This experiments were used to simulate how Mutations in the Evolution. For Mutations we have a certain pool of people that have a set of genes. In the simulation we used M&M's as the people. The different colors representing the different genes. Suddenly a mutation appeared. Mutations occur when there is an error in duplication when the genes are passed from parent to child. This mutations were represented by red hots. Now that Red hots were added to the gene pool there were more options to pick from. This changed our end result. Just like how in real life when a mutation occurs it can pass on further and further and more and more people can have it.

XCC: Patterns: If we look at the theory of evolution it is like a deck. The gene pool is just like the cards in a deck. You do always get 50 / 50 from each parent. Just like how red and black both take up half of the deck it is the same in evolution.  In each of the 50% each parent passes it will give you certain alleles. These alleles are you hand of cards you start off with.  Since it is mostly 50% 50% you can usually have an estimate what our gene deck will look like. Yet evolution is how our deck gets shuffled. This is when traits change. Either through Natural Selection, Mutations, ETC. This changes the balance of  the cards passed down to your children. If you didn't think Evolution matter, it's actually the future of this world!

WAC Is it more important to Reduce, Reuse, or Recycle

         

            Have you ever heard of the 3R's? If not then you are missing out on the three ways we preserve our very planet. These superheros for our planet are no other than Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Without them our planet will not be able to be here for our children and our children's children. This trio is immensely powerful when it comes to preserving this planet from greenhouse gases, landfill waste, and overall destruction of the Earth's well being. Now let's look a little bit deeper into what the 3R's can really do.

1. Reduce:

     Reducing is the process of eliminating ever consuming product. This may include "Taking shorter showers is one way to reduce consumption of water" as suggested in the SENCER Article Is it more important to Reduce, Reuse,or Recycle? by California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery in Paragraph 2. Reducing eliminates our waste problem from its source.

2. Reuse:

Reusing the the process of buying a reusable item and using it again and again. This may include buying a cloth bag to carry your groceries instead of buying a paper bag every time or “Drinking water from reusable water bottles reduces use of plastic bottles.” as suggested in the SENCER Article Is it more important to Reduce, Reuse,or Recycle? by California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery in Paragraph 2.

3. Recycle:

Recycling is the process of taking an item that can be re purposed and recycling so it can be melted or formed into something new that can be used again. As said in the Article What is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle by Bethany Wieman for SF Gate in Paragraph 4, “The recyclables are then sorted, cleaned and turned into marketable raw materials --- for example, paper is turned into pulp and plastics are melted down."

     Now that you know a little about each of the 3R's you may be having your mixed opinions on which is best. Let me clear that up for you. Reducing is the most important of the 3R's. Still not convinced and need some proof? You got it! 

   First let's do a process of elimination. Our first victim Recycling. It may seem like a great idea. Use the old and create the new yet most of what we recycle never even makes it to the recycling plant. " The US exports most of its plastics for recycling to China, but they still end up in landfills" states the video Math of Trash by KQED The LOWDOWN at 1:36. That means even if we do recycle when it gets sent over to be converted into something new most of it ends up in a landfill anyways. Next have you ever tried recycling a plastic bag, I know I have. Hear what the Article Reduce, Reuse, Remove the Cellophane: Recycling Demystified from NRP has to say about plastic bags. “ Don't recycle plastic bags, even if they're full of newspaper. They gum up the whole processing system." Now if we can't even recycle a plastic bag without jacking up the system who says what else is non recyclable that we never even knew about!

Next victim is Reuse. Reusing sounds fine and dandy, I mean don't fix what's not broke. Yet there is so much more than that to it. To start the SENCER Article Is it more important to Reduce, Reuse,or Recycle? by California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery in Paragraph 4 it states “  "For example, some may think that continuing to drive an older car or buying a used car is a good illustration of reduce and reuse.  However, newer models of cars are more fuel efficient than their predecessors, thus buying new cars helps to reduce fuel usage.” So keeping that car isn't really helping the environment as much as you think. On top of that in that same article and in Paragraph 4 it also states “Continuous use of some plastic bottles can lead to health risks if they are made with cheap plastic or if harsh chemicals leach out of those containers with increased use.” So on top of having to carry around the exact same water bottle for years you are hurting yourself and possibly poisoning yourself!

Now there is only one standing. Reuse. Reducing again is the process of not using as much resource to begin with. In the video Math of Trash by KQED The LOWDOWN at 1:02 it says “ Americans create the most trash in the World” Even on top of China who has the most people we still manage to waste more. To be exactly in that same video at :16 it says “ Yearly, America makes 160 Million tons. That’s the weight of about 91.5 million cars” That is absolutely insane. Plus, “ 69% of Trash goes straight to Landfills” as said at :38. It is inevitable to see we are wasteful and are doing a lot of hurt to this planet. So why do we use all these tactics that still allow us to waste. Like recycling doesn't mean we stop creating more and more waste we just decide to throw it into a different colored bin. Then having older cars or other less efficient products is taking up resource that we are not very abundant in, and if you get poisoned by reusing a bottle then that takes resource to make sure you don't stay ill. Reducing insures that we get this problem from its root. We tactile the real issue that we are just getting thing we don't need to.

In conclusion Reducing is most important. It tackles the real problems and stops the issue from the source. Once we get the idea in our head that we don't to waste as Americans 160 million tons and destroy our planet then we can get somewhere. We want our planet to be here for our children and our children's children. Even though each of the 3R's does help our planet it is clear that they have there faults. With Reducing its simple and easy. No strings attached. Just being conscious of what we buy can make a world of difference. Thank you Reducing for saving our planet one decision at a time.

    

Geologic Time Project Blog

Summary: Geologic time.  The history of well everything. From the creation of the Earth to this very moment in time. Now lets do a run down of the time line. It starts with the Precambrian Era. This is the creation a time when single cell organisms were all over. Only creatures of the sea really existed. Next the Paleozoic Period. The time of change. During this Period the fish vertebrates evolved and the first organisms walked on land. Even the supercontinent Pangea was formed. Next we move to the Mesozoic Period. This was the time of the Dinosaurs. Now that organisms were striving reptile like animals called the Dinosaurs ruled the planet. Plants thrived and the super continent had its big break up. Then the mass extinction struck of course causing the death of all the dinosaurs as we know them. Then finally the Cenozoic Period. This is when the world started to look more like it does currently.  Humans appeared along with many mammals. Those Humans and Animals evolved and the rest lead up to where we are right now.

Backwards Looking:  In what way have you gotten better at this kind of work?
During this process i've learned a lot about Persistence. Persistence is what group projects require. You need to be able to do the work you need to do no matter the struggles. You have people that depend on you and because of that you need to pull through. I've learned that even when it may be difficult. In that regard I am so much better at Teamwork because of it.

Inward Looking: What did I find frustrating?
I found it quite frustrating when I ended up having to do more work then what my fair share was. It ended up taking a lot of my time. It was just very frustrating to take on work that was not meant to be my own. Yet of course going back to Persistence that hard work and time I put in wasn't worth nothing. Now that the time has passed even if I was frustrated before the project is better for the sacrifice I made of my time and a little bit of my sanity.

Outward Looking: What do student particularly notice when they look at your work?
 When the students ended up looking at my groups work they noticed especially one thing. How much time and effort my team put into it. They could see it in our design choice. They could see it in the booklets of info that we had. They could see in in our clay models and pop ups. Every aspect had love and care put into it. It is very clear to everyone that we had effort beyond what was required of us.

Looking Forward:  What's the one thing that you have seen in your classmates' work or process that you would like to try in your next piece? 
Next time I do a piece of work I may want to add some things I saw in my classmates work. For example I especially admired my classmates artistic work on this project. I would want to make it more detailed and more colorful. I would want to add more interactive pieces to my work. Maybe popups on the side or true or false questions. I feel that adds life to a project. Next time I work on a project like this I want to add those things. 

Geologic Times

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Geological_time_spiral.png

Summary: Geology. To break it down Geo means Earth. Then logy means study. So together it is the study of the Earth.  The real questions is what is their to study? Well so many things. We actually have 4 major periods of the earth's existence to look into. We will mostly be looking into the Paleozoic Period. To start the Paleozoic Period was a period of rapid change. It consisted of 6 major times. The Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian,Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian. Each period having an advancement such as some form of evolution or new creatures appearing. They do always say there is a lot to learn from history. Maybe we can learn from the history from millions of years ago.

S&EP: Communicating Information: This week we used Communication through our data sheets. We first had to collect information from multiple sources. Draw conclusions. Then write down the final answer on the data sheets. We even ended up getting these sheets graded for how much informations we collected and successfully communicated through writing. We answered questions all about the time periods such as what the climate like, or what landmarks existed. We used our evidence to communicate this clearly. I couldn't see a clearer example.

XCC: Stability and Change: If you know anything about the Paleozoic period you know it was all about change. This period was filled with sudden and quick changes such as evolving and new creatures. From sea creatures and the first land animals . Especially with the example of evolution this is a slow change over time to turn one thing into another. well slow in our minds but in the grand view of our history it was very quick and almost in a blink. Even the continents had their own changes. Pangea was formed during this time. Pretty incredible if I do say so?


What was I this week?
I was an Initiator. I found myself going home and telling my family about the awesome things the Paleozoic Period had. I brought it up in conversations. I became this week more and more interested with this Period.

Rock Cycle

Summary: The Rock cycle.  Metamorphic, Igneous, Sedimentary. We know them all. Do you know how they get there? That's what our lovely rock cycle is for. From weathering, erosion, pressure and heat these rocks can change the way they look. Let walk through how lets say a sedimentary igneous rock could be turned into a sedimentary. First of all the igneous rock has to start out as magma. That magma will go to the surface through eruption. Once it cools it turns into a solid rock on the outside of the volcano. After a while it begins to weather by rain and wind. It turns into soil. The soil gets broken apart by erosion and those smaller pieces of the old igneous rocks turn into sediments. Finally they get compacted by some pressure and tada you got some sedimentary rock. This is just one example and any type of rock can turn into another type but that the basics of how the rock cycle works.

S&EP: Using Models: In science class we used the model of starburst. If you look at the images you can see. Those were our models of a metamorphic rock, a igneous rock, and a sedimentary rock. As you can see a metamorphic rock is quite flat and compressed. Then the igneous is glossy and was very hard. Then last but not least the sedimentary was pieces together and held together by little pressure. Each Starburst formation has the semi characteristics of the rock it represents. We used these models to understand how they transform and what you must do to make them different.

XCC: This week we used Cause and effect. In the rock cycle cause and effect is a big deal. For each small step in the process adds to what the rock will end up becoming. For example if you put a sedimentary rock under a lot of pressure that pressure will transform it into a metamorphic rock. The cause of the change from the pressure and the effect is a different rock. A consistent change in type means many steps of cause and effect. That's why this week we say and understood cause and effect in a different way.

Science and Engineering Practices Rethink

Question 1: The 8th grade class writes explanations about why a light source is needed for a person to see an object. In their explanations students provide evidence from an investigation as well as scientific ideas to explain why this occurs.

I answered that this practice was Planning and carrying out investigations. The right answer was actually Constructing Explanations. It is definitely Constructing Explanations because the 8th graders wrote explanations on why a light source is needed for someone to see an object.  They even used the proper ways of Constructing an explanation. They used the data and research they got from their investigation and came to that conclusion. 

Question 2:  After wondering about how the size of a magnet affects the number of paperclips it can pick up, a group of students develops a procedure that answers their question. They gather data and report back to the class.

When I originally answered this question  I said it was using Mathematics and computational thinking. It now after readying it has clear signs of being the correct answer Planning and Carrying out investigations.  First of all lets start they had their investigation with testing to see if the size of the magnet effected the amount of paper clips. They even planned it out by having a prompt question going into the investigation. They carried out the investigation by gathering up this data and reporting back therefore completing and answering the question the investigation prompted. Also on top of that they created a procedure to accurately be able to test this kind of investigation.

Question 3: Students in Mrs. Garcia's class use a class chart of what different animals eat and group the animals in different ways based on their food sources. Students then discuss which animals would be affected if changes occurred to different food sources.

When originally answering this question I thought it was Developing and using models. Now clearly I can see it was most definitely  Analyzing and Interpreting data.  First of all the students created a list of the different animals and groups and what they eat. This is not quite a model since a model is organizing a set of data and this is not as much of that. The students did however use the things they wrote to understand the effect of the changes in different food sources. They looked at the list Interpreted that these different facts, foods, and animals had to do with each other. They looked at relationships through analyzation. This makes it pretty obvious that Analyzing and Interpreting Data is the best answer.

Question 7: 
In science class, a group of students builds prototype for a magnetic levitation train and then use it to explain how forces interact to keep the train elevated.

Even though I answered that it was  Constructing explanations it now clearly is Developing and using models. The group of students created a magnetic levitation train as a somewhat simulation for why  forces interact with the trains continuous levitation. All the boxes seemed checked. First they had a discovery such as the relation between force and the train. Then they picked a model to best represent this such as a model magnetic levitation train. Then It explained their thinking. 

Question 8
A group of 7th graders creates and analyzes graphs of the data from an investigation about the relationship between a ball's mass and its speed down a ramp.

Originally I answered Analyzing and Interpreting Data but now after seeing the answer I can tell it was actually Using mathematics  and computational thinking.  First of all the students used math by comparing the balls mass to speed down a ramp. This requires very specific mathematical equations. They also used and created a graph to organize the math and conclusions they came to. That's why this is Using Mathematics and computational thinking.

Why I returned to AdVENTURE?

 Why I Returned to AdVENTURE

     I returned to AdVENTURE because this school has lots of opportunity for me.  It has creative outlets others school couldn't provide. Project based learning where I can use my problem solving skills and collaboration to get the job done. I have many close friends and relationships here that I value highly. I have built a community with the students in my grade after so many years we are like a family.

    This program has produced some of my best work. From videos to stories this school has been a place for me to discover my skills. I may have never know my passion for writing. I have also meet so many people that in the future I would team up with again to create professional work. I have built connection that aren't just friendships but valuable assets for me to use later in  life.

This program has a lot of great teachers. Each one providing a good view on the world. I have learned how to do algebra, making videos, creating video games, writing stories and more. At my old school I didn't learn this much and when my class got stuck on something we didn't move on. This school lets the kids who need more help get it and the kids who are striving having great challenges.

 These are just a few reasons I returned to AdVENTURE. I'm sure this year will make me love it even more. I've learned about collaboration, creativity, and so much more. AdVENTURE will always be a special place to me. My middle school home. That is why I returned to AdVENTURE.

Environmental Accords

https://law.marquette.edu/sites/default/files/photo/environmental-law_22.jpg

Summary: These are the laws of the land. Literally! To preserve our planet cities, urban areas and most importantly urban villages must follow. The Environmental Accords include things like preservation of natural space, use of local grown foods and water uses cuts. Even we have to consider their importance. So lets get right into how we used these.


S&EP; Conducting Explanations and Designing Solutions:
     The environmental accords are all something to consider when designing an area. During our Urban Village project we were assigned the task of designing a village that also includes these accords. For example in our urban village we will use natural lighting to conserve energy. If we really looked deep enough we could probably get a system to make our pool eco friendly to conserve water. When designing we just had to look beyond the accord by applying it to our village.

XCC: Cause and Effect: As I talked about in my last blog we all have and effect on our environment. Its like the butterfly effect. Lets just say you decide to not throw away some trash this morning. Well that trash can be eaten by a bird. That bird could easily die knocking the food chain unbalanced. Now since that bird is not eating the bugs the bugs can start reproducing more. Then the bugs need room to live and they start eating our crops. Then over a course of a long time we all dont have any food because you decided not to throw your trash away. Just be careful every choice matters. Make wise ones.

Human Effect

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3706/10094847976_ea9fc35fca_b.jpg

Summary:Deforestation. Mining, Overfishing, and ,Global warming. These are all examples of things Humans do to hurt our environment.  Every choice we make can either deteriorate our world or help sustain it. For example, using air filters or properly disposing our waste is positive. I have also seen how cutting down trees, using fossil fuel, creating more factories, are bad for the environment. Lets explore more examples of  this Human effect.

S&EP: Asking Questions Defining Problems. How hard could it be to sustain a society? I mean you just build homes a few farms, a power plant and you're golden. Well... not exactly. Believe me I would know I played a game this week all about Human Sustainability for 17 minutes straight. I didn't even win. You may feel like you could last a while but really there are so many factors to keep in mind. Every building every action you make has some positive or negative effect on the environment. If you build a cattle ranch its causes greenhouse gases, water depletion, and loss of species  in that existing area. Nothing is easy.

XCC: Stability and Change: As we have been talking about any decision that may seem small may have a world of difference. For example if you cut down that big oak tree on your front lawn it could cause many things. One it can heat up the are around it making the ground and even the over all air quality warmer. This can lead to more use for air conditioning during summer times. Which then causes more energy use for your house hold. On another perspective it can harm the insects and organisms in your grass. They could start dying off because of the heat. This means the food chain is now imbalanced and the grass begins to die as well as the organisms. Just becasue you decided to cut down that oak tree all of this happened. That's the Human effect.

The ph Scale

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Indicateur_chou_rouge.jpg

Summary: You're trapped in a room and a cloaked figure is giving you 3 jars. One jar is filled with an acid that will burn right through you! Another is filled with a base liquid that with a sip you will be as good as gone. Then of course one is filled with a neutral that will let you go home free and alive. So which one do you pick? Well luckily I have my ph meter always with me... but I don't know how to use it. Well not until this week's science class! There are clear differences when using a ph scale. The left side of our scale is our acids. These come in colors from red the most deadly to dark pink.  Then we have the the very middle a ph of 7 this is our lucky neutral our salvation in this case which is usually in some form of purple. Then on the far right we got our bases. These come in a range from blue to yellow. Now let's see if we can survive this crazy dilemma.

S&EP; Analyzing Data: Now we have used our ph meter on each of the three test tubes. The ph scale identifies 3 colors. We have in the first tube a dark green color.  Lets start there. Since we know the right side of the scale is bases and the left is acids we need to remember the colors connected. Well do you remember that the bases are from the range of blue to yellow. Well if we refer to the image above we can see that this vial is not for drinking. Ok 1 down 2 to go. You see we did processes like this this entire week except we were  not risking our lives more so our grades.

XCC; Stability and Change: Stability. We all want that right. Something to depend on to feel complete. Well atoms are just the same. That why we have acids and bases. Acids can help give to your needy atom to become complete. Then we have our bases that get your greedy atoms that got one too many to ease up their load and be complete. See its easy as pie. Don't try to put acids and base in your pie they will not make that complete!

Mr. PobbleBot

http://wp.streetwise.co/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2017/03/bannerFB2-630x239.jpg

 Summary:  Did you ever expect Chemicals to be this fun. Chemical Reactions are everywhere in our world. Well let me tell you all about how chemical reactions and games doesn't have to be like the combination of noble gases and alkali metal( not likely). Legends of Learning is a website designed to improve your education and understanding about topics like Chemical Reactions.

S&EP: This week we explored Conducting Investigations. This week  we got a wonderful opportunity to ask the creator of Mr. PobbleBot some questions about his game. I think this was almost like an investigation because we got to learn about the path he took to create a game that would engage the students. It really helps me understand that the topics im learning now could lead me to a path such as game creation. It was so amazing to learn about game creation in general.

XXC: This week we explored Cause and Effect. Other than Legends of Learning we learned about Exothermic and Endothermic. We all know the Law of Conservation.  No energy can be created or destroyed. So in every chemical reaction the energy needs to come from somewhere. When we have our Endothermic Reaction it needs extra energy or more so it takes in more energy. So where does this energy come from? Actually the energy comes from the air around your reaction. The atoms pull in extra electrons from the other elements around it. This therefore makes the reaction colder. Then we have Exothermic. Exothermic reactions actually expel energy. This means the reactions will put protons and electrons. This therefore makes your reaction colder.

Relationships and the Elements

http://theloveatomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/logo.png

 Summary: Isn't bonding great? You have probably seen it everywhere. Especially in Hollywood. Relationship after Relationship. Lets talk about some types of Relationship. First of all the classic , your 1 + 1 = 2. This is when two people/ elements combine together in a relationship were they can create something entirely new. Of course we know that not relationships work so we have the decomposition of a relationship this is when those combined elements split apart once more and become single. These are just two examples of kinds of combinations. There are so so much more. I think this just got interesting....

S&EP: This week we explored Asking Questions and Defining Problems. This is a question that all Sieber fans have been asking for years. Why oh why did Selena and Bieber break up? Just kidding but we did ask ourselves how do our atoms relationships compare to that of Selena and Bieber's. Different elements combine to become complete. That's why maybe one element sees another that will make it become closer or fully complete in its most outer energy level, sorry but old relationship over. That is considered a Single Displacement. Then lets say that sad rejected element finds some other element to complete them. On top of this being a happily ever after for all the elements its also considered a Double displacement.

XCC: Matter matters. You even matter. Plus us and anything that has mass is Matter. That's why when we are looking into atoms its almost as if we are looking at tiny pieces of who we are. We can see how we are connected. How everything is built upon something smaller. Understanding the connections that are within our world such as the connections elements can have. Neat right?

Women's Rights Article Blog

http://act4entertainment.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Womens-Rights.jpg

Summary: Women's Rights is everywhere. The problem affects each and every one of us. This article covered how Women's Rights affect our women college students. They interviewed women and there were a wide range of ideas/ opinions but they all cried out one thing " We deserve better". Some came from religious standpoint and others standing for protection and safety. Did you know that annually there are 250,000 cases of attempted rape against women. We all deserve better and its time for the world to show it.

Zimmerman, Eilene. "On Campus, Embracing Feminism and Facing the Future." The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2017. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.

S&EP: This article used Conducting Investigations. The author of this article had been curious on the opinions of women college students. The best way to get anything done is to go out and do it so she did just that. They looked deeply into their sides on a women's roles, wage gaps, and even religious standpoints. She discovered that " Women now account for the majority of college students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 11.3 million of them as compared with 8.7 million men. And 63 percent identify as feminist." These facts made her want to explore more on these minorities feelings. Change has to be made and shining a little light always helps everyone.