SCIENCE SKILLS AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD

We have learned about the science skills and the scientific method. This is very important, because they help us in our every day life and also while realizing science experiments.

SCIENCE SKILLS:

*OBSERVE: using 5 or more senses.
*INFER: you suggest a possible explanation of an observation.
*ESTIMATE: careful guess.
*MEASURE: exact information (include number and unit).
*PREDICT: you state what you think might happen in the future, based on past experiences.
*CLASSIFY: group things depending on how are they alike.
*HYPOTHESIZE: suggest an answer fro a problem.
*RECORD AND ORGANIZE: record observation (tables, charts, graphs).
*ANALYZE: study data to look for trends or patterns.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD: In the scientific method you follow the same steps to find a solution (steps to prove a hypothesis).
In the scientific method we have 7 steps that we need to do to make our experiment succesful.

PROBLEM:
HYPOTHESIS:
MATERIALS:
PROCEDURE:
DATA:
ANALYSIS:
CONCLUNSION:


--> To find another web page about the scientific method you can on the link below and learn new stuff about it !!!!
>http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml

Would you like to play a game about the scientific method? click HERE!!!! > http://www.studystack.com/matching-2497

STRATIGRAPHIC COLUMN!!!

Also this year in 8th grade we have learned in science about the stratigraphic column. An stratigraphic column is a drawing that geologists do that describes what rock in a cliff wall or underground look like. When other geologists see this drawing they can understand the geology of an area, they can see the type of rock, the sediment and also the environment of deposition (and they don't need to see the rocks).

We have study some lithologies. A lithology is the drawing for the specific rock (it can be metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rock) ... also the lithologies can have fossil in it.
for example: fossiliferous sandstone.
Also the age of the rock depends on were it is located in the stratigraphic column, the one at the bottom is the oldest and the one on top is the youngest. Usually the rocks in the stratigraphic column are numbered from (1 being the layer on the bottom).

We have learned how to recognize some types of lithologies and learned the different types of environments in which they are deposited and the kind of sediment they have. For example:

SHALE

sediment:clay

environment of deposition: river or lake.

SANDSTONE:

sediment: sand

environment of deposition: river, ocean or lake.

CONGLOMERATE:

sediment: gravel

environment of deposition: river.

COAL:

sediment: plant remains

environment of deposition: swamp

When we see the drawings we can determine all this kind of stuff and we don't need to see the rock itself. The stratigraphic column is very useful for geologists and for us, it can help as understand many things of our environment.

Would you like to learn more about rock? .. here is a fun way to do it click in the link below it

> http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-games/rocks-game.php

(click here to learn more about stratigraphic column> http://www.annalsofgeophysics.net/Stratigraphic_Column.html)

ANTARCTICA !!!

Antarctica is a very interesting place that we should know about. it is the fifth largest continent and situated over the south pole. It has two large indentations; the Ross and Weddell seas and their ice shelves. In the middle we have the trans antarctic mountains (range of mountains) that separate the east and west of Antarctica. It formed part of Gondwanaland (one of the two big continents that formed Pangaea, the other one was Laurasia). It is also important to learn about the dangers of Antarctica and man made atmospheric problems (acid rain, hole in ozone layer and the green house effect) so that we can prevent having all the problems they cause. Antarctica also has a great different variety of natural resources.



The man made atmospheric problems is the acid rain. The hole in the ozone layer and the green house effect. This problems are really harming all of us, the hole in the ozone layer is allowing harmful UV rays to reach the surface of the earth producing skin cancer ans cataracts. Also the acid rain, it is produces by the burning of fossil fuels, when they burned it releases mostly CO2 and two other harmful gasses (SO2= sulfur dioxide and NO= nitrogen oxides). Acid rain causes lakes to become acidic and many plants and animals die, also kills trees and damages marble statues. The last problem is the green house effect, it is produces mainly by the raise of CO2 in the atmosphere due to the burning of massive fossil fuels in the last 2 hundred years. This will cause rise in temperature which is then like to cause changes in climate and weather patterns all over the world and possible flooding due to the polar ice caps melting. This problems are really damaging our world and we should try to protect them so that it wont continue harming our environment.

In Antarctica we can find many natural resources. We can find gold, oil, gas, copper, magnesium, magnesium, uranium (very important resources found in Antarctica) and other valuable metals. We can find important organisms like krill's, that are a shrimp that is eaten by whales, birds, some penguins and squids. Krill's are the most important zooplankton species associated with sea ice and play a key role in the Antarctica's food web. A very interesting fish we can find there is the Antarctic fish, it is the best adapted animals to live in the cold in our planet. Antarctica is also consider a desert because it has less then 254 mm of annual rainfall precipitation, average annual rainfall is only about 50 mm less then the Sahara, but there is little evaporation.

There are many other really important and interesting thing about Antarctica that we should get to know.

would you like another fun way to learn about Antarctica... click in the link below.

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz3008802272288.html

If you click here you can learn more about Antarctica's wildlife.

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz3008802272288.html

Introduction Project

Hi, my name is Gaby Donoso and I am a student from 8th. I am going yo create a blog about some topics about science. I will be talking about some topics of Antarctica, about it's climate, weather phenomena also the ice bergs you we can find there and its natural resources. Also i will be explaining what is the scientific method and explain its steps. Another topic I will be talking about is the stratigraphic column, explaining the stratigraphic column and saying the older and younger layers of the column. Many things may be explained by learning about this subtopics I told you about. I hope you like the information and comment about it.

During this project I was assigned to create a blog and become an expert in my subtopic so I can explain many people about "science at work" that includes the stratigrapahic column, scientific method, Antarctica and science skills. My role, the school hired me (my company) to find different ways for kids to learn to learn the science stuff, but also find many and interesting ways so that they would learn and have fun doing it. The situation is that my company helps schools and kids all around the world helping them getting better skills in science by learning in my page. Goal, is to create the blog, including excel work and other programs that will help the teaching. The audience is all the people who decide to visit the blog,it would give you a variety of information and it will teach you many things.

In the blog, like I said before is to include many variety of programs. I will include and excel page to have graphs about Antarctica's facts that is really important to know so that it wont damage more. Also I will be doing a poster including pictures about it, pictures about an stratigraphic column that will explain more the information so that it would explained all the topics better. I hope hope you enjoy the blog and learn many different things about science.

Thank you.