Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Astronomy, Weather and Climate, Geology, Weathering and Erosion, and Earth's Waters

My favorite topic in the unit about astronomy was black holes and exploding stars. When stars die, they will often explode. Some will form black holes and others may form the beginnings of other stars and possibly another galaxy. Galaxies are systems of stars that make up a certain section of our universe.

http://focus.aps.org/files/focus/v17/st14/big-1.jpg

My favorite topic to learn about in weather and climate were there different types of fronts there are. There are cold, warm, stationary, and occluded fronts. Cold fronts are when warm air rises and cold air sinks. A warm front is where the warm air pushes the cold air out. An ocluded front is when cold air collides and the warm air rises. A stationary front is where cold air collides with warm air.

http://earthstorm.mesonet.org/images/Fronts.gif

My favorite topic for geology was plate tectonics. I learned that years ago, all the land masses like the continents were joined together into one big land mass called Pangea. Wagner, a german scientist, was the first one to find out this information. He found a water dinosaur's skeleton from an ocean in North America in a dry area like Africa. Wagner stated that Pangea moved due to plate tectonics. Plate Tectonics are movements with plates under the Earth's Surface causing Pangea to break apart. Plate Tectonics also cause earthquakes.

http://geology.csupomona.edu/drjessey/class/Gsc101/pangea.gif

My favorite lesson taught through weathering and erosion was erosion. Erosion can erode or wear down rocks at Earth's surface which can cause landslides, mountains, or giant rocks. Mountains and giant rocks can be formed because after years of erosion becasue eroded rocks can "cling' together forming various landforms. Erosions can cause landslides because eroded rocks and other particles become loose and are able to slide down various landforms.

http://admiralexcursions.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/devils-bridge1.jpg

My favorite chapter to learn about in Earth's waters was how we clean our water and where we get our water. I thought that it was interesting learning about how we cleaned and receive our water from. I also found it interesting to learn where we clean our water. Our water is reused constantly and is cleaned constantly also. The cleaning process for water is complicated however it helps us tons.

http://consumeist.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/water.jpg

In conclusion, I have learned so many awesome lessons this year taught by an awesome teacher (Mrs. Casey) and I hope that as I go on to high school that Earth science is this fun and the taechers are as well.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Drinking Water Comparisons (Manitou and Colorado Springs)

Manitou gets its water from the Rocky Mountains from snow melts and natural springs on Pikes Peak. This reservoir is held up high on Pikes Peak and it has more than 720 acres of water. The reservoir also has about 30 acres of national forest. Another example of a water source is the Manitou Reservoir.

Colorado Springs gets its water from reservoirs such as the Rampart Reservoir and the Catamount Reservoir. The Rampart Reservoir is a 500 surface acre lake. It is located between the Air Force Academy and Woodland Park. The Catamount Reservoir is 210 surface area lake. It is located on the North-Slope of Pikes Peak. The Continental Divide is also a big water source for Colorado Springs. Colorado gets 75% of its water from the Continental Divide and 25% from other reservoirs and places.

The similarities between Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs water sources is that they both come from natural resources. It is also one of the purest water because it come from natural resources like snow melts.

https://engineering.purdue.edu/GEP/Spotlights/WaterInitiative/water

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Water Cycle

1. What is the water cycle?
The water cycle is a continuous process in which the water moves through the environment, driven by the sun's source of energy.
2. Does the water cycle have a beginning or end?
The water cycle does not have a start or an end because it is an ongoing process.
3. Starting with a puddle on a sunny day, describe how water might move through the water cycle and eventually fall back as rain.
A puddle on a sunny day may move through the water cycle by evaporation, condensation, and then the water falls as precipitation. The sun will also help with this process because the sun is energy for the water cycle to occur. First the puddle will evaporate into the air. Then it will condensate into a cloud. Finally it will fall as precipitation.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

How Acid Rain Effects the World

Annotated Bibliography

http://www.geocities.com/narilily/acidrain.html
This website explains what effects Acid Rain has on the environment. It gives examples on how trees and lakes are effected by acid rain and it explains that acid rain is a pollutant. It also explains the causes, solutions, and effects of acid rain.

http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/msc/as/as_acid.html
This website explains what the Atmospheric Science Division researches. It also explains how they (Atmospheric Science Division) evaluates the impact of acidyfying emission control programs. This article will also explain what areas are exposed to acidification and why.

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/acid_rain.htm
This website will explain what the causes of acid rain are and how we can prevent acid rain from "striking." It will give examples on what you need to do around the house, environment, or with your automobile to prevent acid rain. It will also explain what acid rain does to sea life, non- living organisms, living organisms, and the environment.

http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/
This website explains the cause and effects of acid rain. It also explains how we measure acid rain. Lastly it explains what is being done recently and today to prevent acid rain from occuring and polluting the Earth.

How Acid Rain Affects the World

Friday, April 17, 2009

1. What specifically about your topic, are you going to research? The topics that I am going to research are "What are the effects of acid rain on the environment."

2. What conclusions did you come to? What do you recommend average citizens do to make a difference? Be specific. This is the main part of your assignment. Acid rain effects the environment by killing trees, forests, habitats, lakes, plants, etc. It effects trees because it kills the leaves and needles on them. It effects lakes because lakes polluted by acid rain will only support the hardiest species. Acid rain is a form of pollution. Plants and animals are also effected by acid rain. Plants that are "hit" by acid rain often either die or their growth spurts are stunted. Many plants are a source of food for a certain animal. When that certain plant dies, that means that their is a less amount of food for that animal that depends on that plant for food. There are solutions for acid rain which include a process called liming, less transportation in vehicles, reducing the use of electric power, reducing power consumption, scrubbers, and catalytic converters. Liming is when you use alkaline substances such as quicklime and you put it into the lake. Using less transportation vehicles will help because it will reduce the amount of emission that is released into the air. Reducing electric power and power consumption will reduce the amount of coal being burnt to produce electricity. Doing this alone will reduce the amount of pollution. Lastly, scrubbers and catalytic converters ensure that the exhaust that comes out of the pipes from automobiles are harmless.

3. What would happen if, worst-case scenario, nobody listened to your recommendations? If nobody listened to my recommendations (worst- case scenario) then the Earth will face constant problems with acid rain. Earth will be polluted and this will have a big toll in our lives in the long run because we depend on the Earth for food, oxygen, water, and a place to live. If Earth gets over polluted than we can't depend on it any more. This also means that their will be less plants and animals because they either lost their habitat or they lost their food.

4.What would happen if, best-case scenario, everybody listened to your recommendations? If everybody listened to my suggestions for acid rain (best-case scenario) then the Earth would face less pollution. There will be less lost habitats and less lost food for the living organisms around us. Lakes, forests, plants, habitats, and trees will be able to grow and live without some of the pollution that roams the Earth.