Bacteria 11/10

Last week we watched a Ted Ed about bacteria. It showed us the amount of human cells in a body and the amount of bacteria in a body. Human cells are outnumbered. Ten to one. It also showed the amount of genes in a body and the amount of bacteria genes. We have around twenty thousand genes. All the bacteria in a body have twenty million. The Ted Ed also talked about how bacteria communicate. They use chemical molecules in a process called quorum sensing.  Another thing that they mentioned was that when bacteria want to make us sick, they send messages to each other and attack all at once. But, certain people are working on a type of medicine that deafens or prevents the bacteria from communicating.

We learned a lot about bacteria. We learned that there are some that are good and others that are bad. We learned that they have a way of communicating. We also learned that when we take too many antibiotics, it kills to many of the good bacteria. Also, the bad bacteria adapts and evolves into super bugs. That’s why people are working on a new type of medicine. Watching the video, I was surprised by  a few things. One of the things I was surprised by was how many bacteria to human cells there are. It’s strange, thinking about how we are more bacteria than human. Another thing was that they can actually communicate. How long will it take to develop the new medicine? How small is the smallest bacteria? What type is it? Good or bad?

 

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Poison Making 11/3

Last week, we made poison. We made the poison using spotted knapweed. Spotted knapweed is a plant that shoots out poison through it’s roots. It does that to keep other plants away from, it which gets rid of competition. When we had finished collecting a lot of spotted knapweed, we put it in a pot of boiling water, stirred it, and let it steep. When it finished steeping, we poured out the now brown water into two jars. Then, we poured ten milliliters of it into one of the two dishes of radish seeds, and ten milliliters of water into the other. We had put the radish seeds, paper towels, and water into the containers a few days before, so by now, the seeds were starting to sprout. When we poured the poison in, nothing changed, except for the color. I wasn’t surprised, because it probably needs a few days to really make a noticeable change.

We learned a lot about poisonous plants. We learned why they create the poison. We learned which types of plants create the poison. We also learned that what we do to one of the radish dishes we have to do to the other. Like if we add ten milliliters of poison to one, we have to add ten milliliters of water to the other. Or else the results will change. During class, I was a little surprised by that. I thought that we would just add poison to one and nothing to the other, but now that I know, it does make a lot more sense to add something to both. After last week, I will now know about all the different types of poisonous plants, like spotted knapweed, glossy buckthorn, marigold, sycamore, etc. Now, when ever I walk through the woods and see one of these plants, i’ll know that it’s poisonous. I’ll also know why more plants aren’t growing near it. When we were collecting spotted knapweed, we saw a lot of it growing close together. Does that mean that the spotted knapweed poison doesn’t affect other spotted knapweeds? Why or why not? Also, would one type of poison kill a different type of poisonous plant? What would happen if a spotted knapweed and a glossy buckthorn grew close together?

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Fruit Dissection 10/20

Last week in class, we dissected a few different types of plants. We got partners, a tin of plants, a knife, a cutting board, and a sheet of paper to write about the plants on. It was really cool cutting open the plants and looking closer at what was inside of them. Before we were given the plants, Shane showed us this slide show that explained the different parts of plants we eat. Like how broccoli is a flower, papaya is a fruit, brussel sprouts are leaves, asparagus is a stem, and sweet potatoes are roots. An interesting thing that I learned about asparagus was that when it makes your pee smell different, only people with certain genetics can smell the difference. When we were cutting open the different plants, I noticed that while vegetables can be categorized into different groups, fruits are their own category. I also learned that we tend to overlook certain things about plants, like banana seeds and vegetable categories. Also, it was really interesting cutting open plant and unleashing different smells from them. We also got to eat pieces of them.                     We learned a bunch of new stuff last week. One thing that surprised me was the fact that only certain people can smell asparagus pee. Another thing was learning about vegetable categories. Another thing was how juicy some plants were, I thought that they would be a lot dryer. After last week, now, whenever I eat a vegetable, i’ll know what it is. Flower, leaf, stem, or root. It’s kind of cool knowing that there is more to vegetables then just plants. When we were cutting, one thing we could have done differently is that instead of cutting the juiciest fruit first and getting the juice all over the other plants, we should have cut something less juicy first, like bananas. Where does the asparagus genetic come from? Why does an orange smell stronger on the inside than the outside? Why are banana seeds so small?

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Elk Bugling 9/29

Last week, the eighth grade class drove two hours to a cabin by Pigeon river. We went there to see elks bugle. Before we bugled, we went on a long hike through the woods. When we got back, we had some free time. After free time we ate tacos for dinner. When dinner was over and everything was cleaned up, we drove on a lot of dirt roads to get to the bugle area. I was surprised that we didn’t get lost. When we got to the place, we didn’t hear any bugles at first. After twenty or so minutes we started to hear a lot of them. We even heard a crazy amount of coyote howls. Once we got back to the cabin, we made a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and popcorn. The cabin was in the middle of the woods, so at night we could hear coyotes howling. At night, it was really cold, and the beds were very hard. In the morning, we had to wake up at seven to make it back to school in time for pizza lunch. On the way to school, we stopped by a breakfast place called Roast and Toast. We then drove back to school.
During elk bugling, I learned that humans are the most dangerous animals on the planet. I also learned that without scavengers like crows and ravens, the world would be disgusting. Another thing I learned was that if you poop in the wild and don’t bury it deep or take it with you, you are contaminating the environment. I was surprised by how high the elk bugles were, I thought that they would be a lot deeper sounding. I can use what I learned in real life by knowing that cities are a lot more dangerous than the woods at night. I also now know not to poop in the woods. One thing that satisfied me at elk bugling was hearing so many of them. Another thing that satisfied me was beating Duncan at chess, even though he told me all of the moves. One thing that I would have done differently is I would have moved around less and made less noise when we were bugling. How different would the world be if there were no scavengers? Why is a elk bugle so high? Which animals would be affected if someone did poop in the woods there?

Solar Power Cars 9/22

Last week during class we built solar cars. We were given partners, instruction sheets, and supplies. It was fun learning how to put the cars together, and I learned some interesting things about solar cars and energy. One of the things I learned was that if the cables connecting the solar panel to the car are in the wrong places, the car will go backwards instead of forwards. When building the solar cars, I got to experience problem solving, and hands on learning. Another thing that I learned was that although balsa wood is very light, it is also very dense, and when you are cutting it you have to be very very careful. I also got to experience a lot of teamwork.
Last week I learned a lot of new things, like how solar power works. I was surprised by a few things, and one of the things was that it matters a lot which way the cables are clipped on. I can use the things I learned about in class in real life. Like teamwork, and how solar power works. I will need to know about solar power, because fossil fuels are causing global warming, and solar power does not. At the end of building the cars, it was satisfying testing our car and seeing that it worked. I think that I participated a good amount. One thing that we could have done differently was getting less distracted. I wonder how the places of the cables changed the direction of the car? How different would the outcome of the car be if the wood wasn’t balsa? What would happen if the solar panel was smaller? Anything?