8th Grade Science Favorites:)

ASTRONOMY: MY favorite section of Astronomy was the moon! And how it goes through so many phases. Well, depending on how the sun faces the moon depends on the phase. If the sun is facing away from Earth then it will most likely be a new moon. Or if the sun is facing directly toward the Earth then it is probably a full moon. The moon is HUGE! Almost 3500 kilometers. There is no atmosphere as well as no water but some ice patches. The moon theory is that a planet-sized object collided with earth to form the moon. The moon also causes tides in the ocean. If you have ever been to the beach you would know that the water comes up the beach a little bit then goes back into the ocean. That is a small tide caused by the moons gravity pulling. All in all, astronomy was by far my favorite part of earth science for my 8th grade year.
WEATHER&CLIMATE: Weather is a big part to earth. There are many kinds of weather types that are classified into to groups. Softer and Extreme. Softer would be rain or snow and extreme would be tornadoes and hurricanes. Also wind helps determine the weather. It also determines the direction the storm travels. Fronts are also the causes for weather. It is like a fight between warm and cool air fighting for first place which causes tension then eventually leads to s storm. The sun also contributes to the types of weather. If it is sunny it could possibly snow but most likely wouldnt because of the heat radiation of the sun. The weather also tells what season it is. The seasons depend of the rotation of earth on its axis.
GEOLOGY: Earths atmosphere is made up of mostly water. Our atmosphere contains Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Argon. These are gases we brethe in and out every single day. Depending on our atmospheres climate, it is affected by the water vapor CO2, CH4, N2O, and SO2. Our atmosphere is not only consisted of gases it also contains dust, rain, snow, and volcanic ash. Earths atmosphere is very different from other planets. Our planets atmosphere actually contains atmosphere. And it is moist unlike alot of planets. The pressure of the atmosphere depends on the height. Like below sea level and above sea level. Geology was by far the most interesting.
WEATHERING&EROSION: Weathering is the decomposition of earth rocks, soils and their minerals through direct contact with the planet's atmosphere. There are 2 types of weathering: Chemical and Mechanical. Mechanical is a physical change such as the breaking down of rocks. Erosion is the removal of rock by wind, water, ice, or gravity. Weathering and erosion section was the funnest but not my favorite. I loved taking videos and pictures of weathering and erosion in my neighborhood and putting them into an I-movie.
EARTH'S WATERS: Water is yummy:) well it was very fun learning about the process of how we get our water. I didn't know there were that many steps to make good drinking water! There are filtrations, chlorinations, and aerations. These steps give us our delicious glasses of water:) Our water starts in a reservoir! Didn't know that one but thanks to earth science i am educated in many things like stars, and water!

All in all, i loved earth science even though i missed quite a bit of the class because i was sick:( i got caught up and now i know ALOT of aspects of science! :)
Thanks Mrs. Casey!

Where We Get Our Water From

About 75% of the water we receive comes from mountain springs in the areas of Aspen, Lead ville and Breckenridge – Colorado. Pipes that transfer this water to reservoirs like rampart and catamount are at the least 10.6 miles in distance.Walking time would be about 1 day and 6 hours. Rampart is a 500 surface acre lake between the US Air Force Academy and Woodland Park. Catamount is a 210 surface acre lake on the North slope of Pikes Peak. From the reservoirs, the water is transfered to water treatment plants before it is received in homes. There are 5 local water sources: Pikes Peak Northern and Southern slopes, Cheyenne Creeks, Fountain Creek, Peakview Reservoir in Monument, and Northfield Watershed. Then there are 4 local ground water sources: Arapahoe (4wells), Denver (1well), Laramie-Fox Hills (1 well), and Widefield (4wells). From these treatment plants, the plant distributes the water to the many homes in the city of Colorado Springs and the border to border cities. Such as Manitou Springs, and Breckenridge.

-Jenna&Grace :)

Water Cycle Active Art

The water cycle is a cycle in which the water moves. The water cycle consists of three steps: Evaporation, Condensation, and Precipitation. Evaporation is when the water is brought up to the sky from water or plants. Condensation is when the moisture from earth forms clouds that carry precipitation. Precipitation is any type of moisture that falls from the sky. Such as, rain, hail and snow. The water cycle begins with Evaporation, then Condensation, then to Precipitation. Imagine a sunny day after a big rain storm, there is a puddle. The moisture in the puddle will evaporate because of the suns radiation then this small puddle of moisture will condense into clouds. The moisture from the clouds will then fall as precipitation as long as its heavy enough. If its not, then it will go back into the clouds. Soon it will be heavy enough to fall as precipitation.

Presentation-Earth Day

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Energy Star-
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=about.ab_index
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Tree Hugger-
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/epa-announces-new-energy-requirements-for-monitors-photo-frames.php
Tree hugger gave me information on how energy star is used in monitors, and digital photo frames. So therefore, energy star can be used in almost everything.

Small Business Trends-
http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/04/energy-star-helps-you-save-money-and-go-green.html
This website mainly describes how you can save money by using less energy, specifically by Energy Star. It can help you save money by bills, and being able to save money rather than use it on energy bills.

Weatherization-
http://www.waptac.org/sp.asp?mc=techaids_estar
This website talks about how these two partnerships came together to help the production of Energy Star. This helped produce many more appliances like washers.

Essential Questions.

Q:What, specifically about your topic, are you going to research?
A: When researching our topic, I will specifically research the many uses of Energy Star and how exactly it helps earth.
Q: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.
A:People use Energy Star for many appliances. Such as dishwashers, washers, dryers, and furnaces. It helps earth by saving energy in households, manufactures, and warehouses. I feel that average citizens should take in the idea of using Energy Star, not only to help the earth but to also help bills. Energy Star can save families a third of there energy bills just from using a brand of appliances.
Q:What would happen if, worst-case scenario, nobody listened to your recommendations?
A:If people dont listen to my recommendation then we could be going on energy overload. It not only waste resources but it effects the health of our planet. Using less energy leads to less power plants and decreased pollution.
Q:What would happen if, best-case scenario, everybody listened to your recommendations?
A: Our planet would have less pollution, which helps humans, animals, and the environment around you. Using energy isn't bad but using to much could lead to bad things.

Penny lab-Waters Properties

I did this penny lab by first collecting the materials of a penny, a cup of water, and a water dropper. I layed the penny on a paper towel then applied droplets of water from the water dropper on the penny and recorded how many drops it took for the water to overflow over the penny. I predicted it would take 3 drops of water but i was way off! I soon discovered it took 12 drops of water for the overflowing to occur. this happened because all the water molecules stick together and create an even bigger molecule which causes it to overflow.