Oil digging!

Digging for oil is the way we collect oil, but finding oil is a whole other story. In science class we did an activity on how to find and dig oil. First, we learned that oil is created by dead marine life that was exposed to heat and pressure for millions of years. That is called a source which is one of the three components you need to find oil with. You also need an oil reservoir which is a space underground that holds the oil. The third component is a trap which is a lid over the reservoir that keeps the oil in the reservoir. Later, we were given three maps that said source, trap, reservoir. We then traced each map which made one big map and with that map we found sweet spots which was when all three components overlapped and lots of oil should be there. Then we went to different lab tables and decided on where we should dig for oil and started digging. For the first hole we dug we hit oil!The total cost we spent on the first hole was $825,000. For the next hole no oil but the third one oil. Holes four and five no oil. It was fun but expensive for a low estimate.

Water Cycle Demonstration

The water cycle is a natural cycle that purifies water. It is the evaporation of water into the air which will then travel to other natural water reservoirs such as lakes and clouds. In the first part of the demonstration some kids were given cups that said cloud and others got plastic spoons. The ones with plastic spoons were to take water from a certain reservoir and go to another. As a cloud you had to take water from the plastic spoons who represented evaporation. When clouds got full you dumped the water into the reservoir you were assigned to. After this a reservoir got extremely low while others were filled and some not changed. Then humans were added and at the rate humans took water they would be flooded soon. Finally, pollution was added. By the time the demonstration was over almost all of the reservoirs had pollution in it while some had barley any water left. Again the humans were flooded with pollution. This activity showed how the water cycle should always be balanced or there will be consequences.

The Phone

Without the phone communication would be slower and not as efficient. Thirty years ago it was known as a rotary phone. Even through you had to turn a big dial it still got through. Then, there was the car phone thrity years ago. Although, it was not wireless and few people had it, it helped the idea of the cell phone. Phones could only hang up on walls but now they can go anywhere. From the rotary phone to now the phone is the greatest invention of socitey because without it communication would be very slow.

Grades slip on math tets in vermont.

Poor results in math tests make Vermont public schools get teachers thinking of ways to raise their math scores. Only 30% of eleventh graders were passing or higher in math. Boys had 31% average in math while girls had 29%. Teachers think they should use daily exercises with basic facts. The most troubling was math. Most of the students are not even on a scale of performance. It's that bad.http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2008/03/10/test

Math teacher with a 1.45 million dollar grant!

http://www.edu/~ndworks/one 2006-7.pdfProfessor Frank Connolly has guided talented undergraduates in math and bring them to graduate math classes. He has been doing this for 16 years now. For all his efforts he has been given $1.45 million grant from NSF. He's now using that money to fund SUMR ( Seminar for Undergraduate Mathematical Research) which will help students find the "beauty of math" As Connolly says. Some 46 students have already gone for higher math degrees. That's a good way to start.

Popping Fun!

This was an experiment I will never forget. My group was doing well until our last shot. We kept getting six-hundred and over. Then we found the golden amount. It was 16ml of baking soda and 10ml of vinegar. My group was able to hit the window twice in a row. The third time we got way to tense and the angle of the test tube went too high. The rest is all history. It was a very sad moment. I don't know if I will ever get over it. I learned that the high pressure made the cork pop. It was popping fun!

Trump SoHo worker went falling to his Death!

On Monday, January fourteenth, a construction worker fell to his death. This accident happened at the Trump SoHo complex. What happened was the crane was operating from the top floor while other workers were pouring concrete into the building. Then, the crane slipped and caused wet concrete and debris flying everywhere. Three workers fell and one fell the full forty stories to his death. The other two were caught in the safety net and were critically injured. Yet, there is more troubling news. The building was already issued several citations. The one that really upsets me is the one for operating a crane in an unsafe manner. The cause of the accident was a faulty crane. A city panel is going to a hearing on the citations on January twenty-fourth. We can only hope for the best.http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4135518