Earth and Environmental Blog Week 22

Monday or April 18, 2016 C.E.:

Today we started notes on Unit 9 Section 1. I think we will only do one section in the next units because we don’t have enough time. The section is about the weather. We talked about the different types of clouds and precipitation. Clouds cannot form without dust or other small particles. Water condenses onto them and that is how clouds form. We also talked about the three types of clouds, Cirrus, Stratus, and Cumulus. We also talked about fog and how it forms. I am quite excited about this unit. Our teacher, Mrs. Giacomelli, told us that we would be able to go cloud gazing. Too bad we don’t have clouds right now.

Tuesday or April 19, 2016 C.E.:

Today we did a lot of notes. We looked at all the types of clouds again and went more in depth into the unit. We talked about Latent heat. Latent heat is the heat that is taken in or released when water undergoes a phase change. If water evaporates, it takes heat from the environment. This is why we are cold when we are wet. We also talked about saturation. Saturation is the point when air can no longer hold any more water vapor. The warmer the air, the more water vapor it holds. If air is cooled, it condensates quickly because it reaches its saturation point. This happens when water condensates on a glass.

Wednesday or April 20, 2016 C.E.:

Today we took some more notes. We talked about how the dew point is the temperature that air must cool to in order to reach saturation. Fog often forms at dew point, but quickly disappears when the ground below it is heated by the sun. We also talked about absolute humidity and relative humidity and adiabatic and advective cooling.  Adiabatic cooling happens when rising air cools as it expands. Advective cooling occurs when air moves alongside a cold surface. Absolute humidity is a measurement of the mass of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is the percent of water vapor in the air, with 100% being the saturation point. We also started the Air Pressure Lab. It contains many small stations.

Thursday or April 21, 2016 C.E.:

Today we took some more notes.We studied temperature inversion. Temperature inversion happens sometimes when a warm front comes in. Normally, temperature decreases with altitude. In special circumstances, a warm air mass moves up and stops convection in the area. This sometimes traps smog in cities. We also talked about how severe weather happens when cold, dry air masses mix with warm, wet air masses. Also, rapid convection can cause cumulonimbus clouds. These can cause anything from thunder and lightning to hail and tornadoes. Today we also worked on our stations. I am almost finished.

Temperature Inversion

Friday or April 22, 2016 C.E.:

Today we had a substitute because Mrs. Giacomelli had already left for the Science Olympiad competition in Raleigh. I wish the contestants luck! I finished the stations. After this, we worked on blogs and reviewed the unit.
Summary: This week was a good week. I finished my blog faster and worked efficiently. Next week, I aim to finish my blog a day earlier, as this will help me complete other things. 

Earth and Environmental Blog Week 21

Monday or April 11, 2016 C.E.:
Today we did a lot of notes for the next section of the atmosphere unit. We talked about how air has weight and that it is similar to the ocean. We also talked about air pressure, and that it is not constant. We then went into detail of each layer. We also talked about the differences in temperature of the layers. Between the Troposphere and the Stratosphere is the tropopause. The air in the two layers doesn't mix because of their temperature differences. Sometimes ash or another airborne particle makes it into the stratosphere. It will usually stay up there for years. I found this quite interesting. Now the studying for the test shall begin.

The atmospheric Layers

Tuesday or April 12, 2016 C.E.:

 Today we completed the study guide for Friday's test. It was more difficult than the notes. The study guide also had things about the next unit on it. The next unit has things about clouds, but we were still able to answer them because we have learned about clouds before. Essentially all of the other questions in the study guide were similar to those we have done before, except that they had a little more application, and were phrased differently. After this, I had a little extra free time, which was also nice.

Wednesday or April 13, 2016 C.E.:

Today we took our Vaseline air quality samples back in. Ours had an extremely small amount of airborne particles. Even those inside had more. Some of the inside samples had nine or so one average. We had two. The ones outside had around forty. I think this is because the trashcan has very little air circulation. It was really cool when we looked at the particles inside the microscope. At the end of class we put all of the things people had into a table in order to make a graph next class.

Thursday or April 14, 2016 C.E.:

Today the rest of the class looked at their samples. One group had seventy particles! Theirs was outside, obviously. The sample was also right in the path of the wind. The sand and dust probably took flight with the wind and fell onto the vaseline, which is why they had so many particles. After this, we typed in all of the rest of the data into our tables. We then we created our air quality graph. It was quite striking to see that the outdoor ones had so much more particles. We also reviewed for our test tomorrow. I think I will do good, but we will see.

Friday or April 15, 2016 C.E.: 

Today we took our Unit 8 Quiz on the Atmosphere. I thought it was quite easy and that I will do good on it. We had less short answer questions than normal, so I was done faster. We had to construct a graph on air pressure instead. I think I will get a 100%.
Summary: So it turns out I did get a 100%. I am thrilled! This really brought my grade up a lot. This week was a great week. I just need to make sure I finish my blog on time next time.

Earth and Environmental Blog Week 20

Monday or April 4, 2016 C.E.: 

Today we reviewed our information for Unit 8 quiz. It is about the atmosphere. The first section begins talking about the atmosphere. The second section, which we will learn about after this quiz, just goes into more detail on the structure of the atmosphere. We reviewed the composition of the atmosphere. It is 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.9% Argon, and 0.1% trace gasses (Neon, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide). We also reviewed the origin of the atmospheres. There have been three atmospheres. The first appeared after ancient volcanoes released gasses in a process called outgassing. This was blown away by a large meteorite. Then a new one formed similarly. This was changed by Cyanobacteria which added the present levels of Oxygen to our atmosphere.

Tuesday or April 5, 2016 C.E.:

Today we started a new lab. It is the Air Quality Lab. We will be measuring the air quality of different areas in the school. We taped a clear plastic sheet to an index card. We put a dab of petroleum jelly on each plastic sheet and hung them in different places. I hung mine up inside the dumpster because my original idea was already taken. When we take them back in, we will look at the amount of particles that are stuck to the jelly. We will then compare the different places together.

Wednesday or April 6, 2016 C.E.: 

Today we took our Unit 8 Section 1 quiz. I think I did well on it. I don't think I got a 100, but I still think I did well. The test had some questions that are harder than normal. The problem is that one multiple choice question missed is four points. This is a lot so there is no room for error. This test was about the application. We could not just memorize the definitions and make it through this test, so I think it is a good test.

Layers of the Atmosphere

Thursday or April 7, 2016 C.E.:

 Today we didn't have school because of IOWA Assessments.

Friday or April 8, 2016 C.E.:

I scored a 96% on my test. This is not good or bad. I missed one multiple choice question, but that isn't really that bad. We reinforced our samples with duct tape so they wouldn't fall down. It didn't seem like there were many particles in the trash can. Maybe this is because there are no airborne particles or moving air, just heavy bags of trash.We also started the second section. It is about the structure of the atmosphere. We also talked about how the atmosphere is like an ocean of air, and that we live on the bottom of it.
Summary: This week was a good week. I did ok on my quiz, but I still could have done better. I made a careless error and thus I got a 96%. I have to stop making these errors next time.