Owl Pellets! EWWWWWW

In science class we had to experiment and do a lab with owl pellets. This lab wasn't so lovely either. During the process of taking the pellet apart and examining it, I learned that there are only about four or five animals that are most common in owl pellets. My partner and I had two animals preys inside the pellet. One was a brown rat and the other was a shrew. Inside the pellet, there was a lot of fur that I think belonged to the animals that we regurgitated. This lab was not that neat OR clean either but it taught me a lot about owls and their food.

Class Response About Waves

Learning about waves has been so much fun in the past few weeks. During the experiment with the balls, I learned about mediums and how some types of waves don't carry the medium with them. Also, I learned that there are many types of forms where waves can travel. One of these forms is air. Waves travel in the air when sound is transferred and it travels pretty fast too. Waves travel very fast and easily. I am glad that we are continuing our study on waves since it is so much fun especially with all the experiments! Although learning about waves is a little difficult, it is fascinating and interesting in it's own ways. I love all the experiments that we preform and I think that they make the learning fun. All in all, I think that learning about waves has a great meaning and will help us understand how sounds travel along with other things.

Music Makes Your Heart Healthier!

Researchers have discovered that listening to your favorite music helps your heart become healthier. The music makes your heart open up it's vessels just the same as laughing. In the article, music to your ears is also music to your heart. When you listen to your favorite music, it helps your blood flow more smoothly. Also, when you listen to music that you dislike, that narrows your blood vessels by 6%. The type of music that you listen to doesnt matter as much as the favoritism of the sond and style itself. A lot of individuals might dislike music and think that its just a whole bunch of junk but this new discovery should change their minds. This article gets the point to many people that music isn't just for fun but can also be used and listened to for health and heart issues.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27666479/#storyContinued

Symbiosis (Class Response)

In class recently, we were learning about symbiosis and how it's a way of life. There are three kinds of symbiosis; parasitism, commensalism and mutualism. Parasitism is when one organism benefits and the other is harmed. Commensalism is when an organism benefits and the other is not harmed. Mutualism is where both organism benefit. Symbiosis is an important way of life and if it didn't exist, a lot of organisms would be dead by now. Below are pictures that show examples of symbiosis. A relationship can be between a pumpkin and mold, tree and fungi, a human and a dog and many other relationships between two organisms.

SMART BOARD VIDEO

Smart Board

In science class, we recently received a Smart Board. This board is not just a regular everyday board, this board is technological and is great for science class. Three reasons on why the Smart Board is a helpful tool and resource in science are:

1) You need to visualize things in science and the Smart Board helps you do that.

2) The Smart Board is a fun and easy way to learn.

3) Students' attention is grabbed by the fun and interactive way the Board is used.

Since we have gotten the Smart Board, science class has gotten more fun and the participation is higher. The Smart Board is fun and very easy to use. We can play games and the attention level has increased. I think that the Smart Board is best if used in science and that it has had a great impact on our science class. Our class was one of the three in school who got the Smart Board and it has been wonderful. You can do various things on the Board such as playing games, PowerPoint and many other things. I am really grateful for the Smart Board and I am sure that many other students are too.

(Also, see above for the video/slideshow that I made.)

Consuming Alcohol Causes Brain Damage...

Drinking causes your brain to shrink, so please don't drink. A scientist recently on October 14, 2008 has discovered that consuming too much alcohol shrinks your brain by 1.5 percent. Carol Ann Paul (the scientist who concluded these results) said that the brain shrinks anyways as you get older, but if you are a drinker, your brain will shrink more over time. Although 1.5 percent is not a lot of shrinkage, it has a huge effect over time on the average human being. The scientist also said that the heavier the drinker, the smaller your brain's volume is and that has an impact on you in the long run. People all over the world drink alcohol and there are other symptoms such as death, addiction and many more. From all these symptoms, I personally think that brain volume shrinkage is the most important. If you have less brain volume than most people, you won't be as smart as them. There is no special reason on why your brain shrinks, but Carol Ann Paul has concluded that since alcohol is known to dehydrate tissues, that must be the reason. I don't think that drinking is the right thing to do but people still do it. I hope that that research has opened people's eyes on how alcohol keeps destroying the human body.



http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/10/14/healthmag.alcohol.brain.shrinkage/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Introduction Blog

Hi! It is so exciting to have a blog! I can't wait until we have to work on it and post assignments.