Oil Spill Lab

Problem: The Oil Spill

Guiding Question: Did the oil spill affect the way waves travel on to the beach?

Hypotheses: The more force that is added to the waves/oil the farther it will travel on to the beach.

Materials

Water 2(water2:1oil)

• Olive oil
• Sand
• Clay
• Plastic Bucket

Procedure

1. Get a tub about 8 centimeters deep, fill the tub with base of clay and sand over the top creating a beach like presence?
2. Fill the tub with two cups water and one cups oil.
3. For the testing use four fingers to propel the oil/water, observe data record in notebook.
4. Then try more force by adding 8 fingers, observe data and record in notebook.
5. Add even more force with both hands, consistently move hands back and forth to create waves that continuously go on to the shore.

Testing

Slightly shifting the Bucket Back in Fourth:

I noticed that the water felt a lot thicker than just regular water, when just amount of force was added to the oil/water the waves did not travel very fast. When I was shifting the water the water and oil started mixing in with the sand, which creates a musty liquid color.

More Vigorously:

The water/oil glistened right at level one. When the wave contracted it left a very thick area where the oil was. When I sped up the one handed process I could see that the water was now at the level between 1 and 2. The base of the beach was completely covered in oil, and it looked like it was seeping into the sand.

Very Vigorously:

The more force added left a very large amount to oil between the 2 and 3 level of beach. As I ran my hand against the surface of the sand I picked up so much grease and oil is was crazy! And even10 minutes later the furthest distance away from the water is also streaked with grease.  When I first started this lab the clay that I used was rock hard. When I was poking the sand with a long tooth pick I found that it went all the way through, this means that the oil that seeped through caused the rock heard clay to soften.

Conclusion

When relating this lab back to the oil spill it is quite amazing how much oil sticks to the sand when there is a lot of force. In the Gulf of Mexico about 210,000 gallons of oil was spilled a day, and the only thing that was preventing it going to the shore were these surface barriers. In calm waters this is a great way for the spilled oil to stay in one area, but strong water the barriers are no use. When the water/oil goes over the barrier it is in free range to go anywhere it wants to... and usually that is towards the shore. My experiment showed that when the water/oil is calmly goes on to the shore, it leaves a lot of oil on the sand. My experiment was only with olive oil which didn’t leave any visual mark, although it left a very greasy shore. When I rubbed my finger along the sand I could feel the oil collecting on my finger. Remember that was only with olive oil, imagine with real fossil fuel. So much damage it has done to the environment, so many animals and plants it has left life less because of an oil spill. To conclude my experiment, I found that even though the water was a lot denser, the more vigorously I shook the bucket the more waves it created, leaving the sand and clay extremely greasy.

Further Inquiry

    If I were to do this experiment again I would probably create a barrier and see how much of the water goes over the barrier and on to the shore. I think that this I think that this would be a very interesting experiment because it would show if the barriers worked or not. If they did then great, if they didn’t... looks like we have to do some brain-storming! Next time I would also like to try a different type of oil, maybe the real fossil fuel! I think that would be extremely interesting to find out what the wave would look like then. It is amazing that one mistake in the water, it can disturb not only the environment but it also hurt the economy with the amount of money they are spending on cleaning up the oil spill. I would also really like to research some machines that clean up the oil spill, I wonder if they actually work. If they do, maybe they can clean up other rivers that are dirty-like the Nile. When I was living in Egypt, we weren’t allowed to touch the water because you could get this disease because it was so dirty. Maybe they could use some of the machines that they used to clean up the oil to help clean up the Nile.

Oil Spill on Prezi

Underwater Tidal Farms

        Underwater mechanics are the new generation’s energy producer, the new and improved Tidal Turbines (batteries not included).  This is an invention that could be producing the future’s power; this invention is so simple I bet you wish you could have invented it!  Only nine meters under the water of Manhattan’s East River stands the first actively used Tidal Turbine farm. This turbine farm includes six thirty-five kilowatt turbines that are able produce enough power for two companies or 4,000 homes. The turbines are placed on a rotating platform that faces the tide either coming in or going out. This farming is the equivalent to wind farming, just it underwater. "We don’t require that massive dam construction, we’re just using the natural flow of the stream," said Mark Stover, a vice president at Hydro Green Energy, the Houston-based company leading the project. "Its underwater wind power if you will, but we have 840 or 850 times the energy density of wind." The water in this world takes up seventy percent of the earth’s surface. Now because of new inventions and technologies we are able to control some of the usable power from the kinetic energy that is produced by the sun and the water. Another step forward in our journey to become green!

    Wow! That is an extreme over load of green technology! I had never known that there was such a thing as an underwater farm. I really like this type of green technology, because of so much power comes out of only 6 turbines, I wonder how much power we would receive if we had even more turbines. On the other hand does this affect the environment? When installing such a heavy machine does that affect the ecosystems in the water? When the turbine is sucking the water in, is it like a vacuumed? Does it suck up everything around it? Are the fish harmed in any way? There are so many questions to ask and so little information about this subject, I am craving to know more! I really hope that they are able to continue to build more of these turbines because they provide a reliable source of energy and they are predictable to use, unlike wind power. If we continue in the direction of renewable sources the prices of energy may go down and renewable sources provide less destruction to the earth. GO RENEWABLE ENERGY!

Sites Used:

Greenemeier, Larry. "It Came From the Sea--Renewable Energy, That Is: Scientific American." Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tidal-wave-renewable-energy>.

Wave and Ball Barrier Interaction Lab

Guiding Question
What happens to a wave as it hits a surface it cannot pass through?
 When a wave hits a surface that it cannot pass through it simple bounces back creating a intersecting pattern between the waves. Aca and I did many tests where we both saw that the wave created a very interesting pattern when bouncing back from the barrier. When a wave meets a barrier and it reflects off the surface of the barrier, some of the wave’s energy is lost because of the pressure against the barrier. When a wave passes a barrier or moves through a hole in a barrier, it bends and spreads out. This is called a diffraction. We also saw interference which is when more waves meet, they have an effect on each other.

Does energy (density of the ball) affect the wave’s path?
 In our mini lab Ilija and I noticed that the density of the ball does affect the wave’s path. We used three different types of balls: a medium sized bouncy ball, a light Styrofoam ball, and a small orange light plastic ball. In our experiment the Styrofoam ball and the small orange plastic ball were both every light, the rubber bouncy ball was the heaviest. When we tested the bouncy ball we found that it made the widest triangle when bouncing off the wall.The bouncy ball had the biggest angle of incidence, and angle of reflection.The foam ball made the second biggest triangle when reflecting off of the wall. It had the second biggest angle of incidence and angle of reflection. The small light orange plastic ball made the smallest triangle when we were testing. The small light orange ball had the smallest angle of incidence and angle of reflection. I suppose that this was the lightest or the least dense ball that we had. I noticed that when the ball hit the wall refraction occurred, when it hit the wall the balls slowed down. 

How is the angle at which the ball (wave) hit the wall related to the angle at which it bounces back?
As we found in our testing our lab we found that the angle at which the ball hits the wall it comes back at about the same angle. When testing the lab 10 times each our results ended up to be the lightest and least dense the ball the smaller the triangle the ball would made after the ball reflected the barrier or the wall. We did a little experimenting with the angles we rolled the wall and found that it would reflect off the wall about the same place every time. We noticed that the incoming "wave" reflected off the wall at the same angle. This is because the law of reflection states that the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence. To conclude this lab, I would like to say that it was a very interesting and inventive was to learn how waves reflect of a barrier.

Properties of Waves | S-cool, the revision website

Properties of Waves | S-cool, the revision website

Waves Lab

Waves Lab Conclusion

                We learned a lot from our lab, it was very interesting to see the different tests we could do in order to figure out what waves were.

The first three tests that we did were with no barriers. Aca and found that when one person disturbed the water at a slower frequency it slowed down the waves with a higher frequency. We observed the waves again and saw that the slower wave almost went over the fast wave. In our testing we saw a lot of reflection. We also noticed that when the wave hit the the plastic wall the speed slowed down. When the the waves came together it created a destructive interference, which made the waves slow down. Although the waves did not cancel each other out, it did not cause a nodes.

Then we did sort of a different test, also with no barriers. We put our markers on their sides and disturbed the water at the same time and frequency, these causing waves towards each other. We noticed that when the water’s waves collided, it bounced against each other and went back where the force was coming from. When we increased the frequency, you could still see a slight collision, but the waves with more force went to the opposite side.

One Barrier

 Our first test we created a square with two sides with clay and two sides with the plastic wall. We put our markers in the square and repeatedly created waves. When we were observing this test we found that when a wave is condensed in a small area with barriers, the wave hardly gets out of the small condensed area.

Our next test was a lot like our first test with barriers, the only thing we changed was how far the barriers were away from the walls. As you can see in the picture the wave only gets through the open sides of the square. This test shows us that a wave can’t go through a barrier, it has to go around or under. As the wave slowly went across the pan we found that it got gradually slower, and when it hit the diagonal wall of the wave went so slow that it disappeared.

Our last test we built one clay barrier on each diagonal side with a little space from the wall. We applied the same force to each of the sides seeing if the waves can travel to the middle of the pan. We found that the wave was in such condensed area that the wave couldn’t travel far.This is an example of a refraction, this is when a wave moves from one medium into another medium at an angle, it changes speed as it enters the second medium, which causes it to bend.

Two Barriers

Our first test with two barriers we created a box in the middle of plastic pan and but our markers in corners diagonal from each other. We observed that the waves went to the square, but then immediately bounced back.  When observing the inside of the box, we did not notice any waves. This means, that a closed box hardly gets any waves in it because of the barriers. In this test we saw that the wave created diffraction, this is when a wave passes through a barrier or moves through a barrier it bends and spreads out. The incoming waves did not go through the barrier it went around and created a diffraction. 

The next test that we did was very unusual. We wanted to see if the waves take the shape of the barrier when passing through and around it. We turned our clay barrier into a wave like figure and on one side of the barrier we frequently disturbed the water carefully watching the other side of the barrier to see it the wave came out like the clay wave. We were right! The wave did come out like a real wave! This means that when a wave passes through a barrier it comes out like the shape the barrier is in.This is an example of reflection, when an object or a wave hits a surface through which it cannot pass, it bounces back.

For our last test we created a giant wave that covers about the whole with of the pan, we left just a bit of space from the wall so that we are sure the wave can travel. This test was to make sure that our conclusion was right; Waves take the shape of the barrier when passing. We completed the test with high results! We were right! Waves do take the shape of the barrier when passing! Over all this combination of many labs helped me understand the basics of interacting waves. This was an example of a refraction, when a wave moves from one medium into another medium at an angle, it changes speed as it enters the second medium, which causes it to bend.

Letter to Kinder Chocolate

Hi!
 My name is Blaise and I live in Serbia, I go to an international school and we just recently finished a science project about packaging. Our main goal for this project is to look inside the products packing. I picked the product Kinder Surprise, it was very delicious, but the packaging I found was not very good for the environment. I have come up with some improvements for this product that you can consider.

• Making the shell of the toy thinner, which reduces the amount of plastic you use.
• The paper that you include with the toy should also be recyclable; the plastic glaze that you put over the paper makes it hard to be recycled.

I think that Kinder is a great product, it would be even better if you promoted recycling, and improved your packaging. I hope you have a great day!
-Blaise

P.S

When you refuse to reuse it’s the earth you abuse.

End of the Unit Reflection

Reflect on what has helped you in understanding the "big idea" of the unit.
(Big Idea:  Students will understand the use and management of natural resources, the transformation of resources into human capital, goods, tools and machines as well as sustainable development of human society to maintain the delicate balance between man and the natural environment.)

This has been my favorite unit so far, I have loved learning about the balance between man and the natural environment. A lot of things have helped me learn about the “big idea.” Here are some examples of things that really helped me have a better understanding of this unit:

·         The stories that Mrs. M was a great starter to this unit, it go us warmed up for what we were about to learn.

·         When taking notes in different sections not only did we learn about organisms and habitats, we learned how to take notes in an orderly fashion.

·         We watched short movies in the beginning of the quarter increase our knowledge on how animals survive, and the different types of survival tactics they have.

·         We did projects on little things that helped us see the bigger picture. Julia and I did a project on the Arctic and Antarctic habitat. Not only did we see how a food chain works but also how ecosystems are affected if one population is withdrawn.

·         We made a slight change after the Ecosystems project and did more “earthy” projects, like A World in a Bottle.

·         While continuing with projects and our lab, we had note taking which tied every lose string together.

·         Then we started slowing down and finishing up everything we hadn’t fully completed, and started watching movies that have a lot to do with our unit. I think that this was a great way for us to end such a wonderful unit.

·         Then we had one last project about packaging, which was almost like “Further Inquiry” in a lab. I think that the last project was like the cherry on top, the finishing touch to finish a fine unit.

The reason I used bullet points instead of a paragraph for is because I wanted to show how much we covered in just a semester. I think that Mrs. M did a great job teaching us very thing that she knew, still making class extremely interesting and fun!

Reflect on the unit question (What is a necessity and how does an organism ensure survival of its species within its environment?) and how it relates to the unit title:  Ultimate Survival.

ne·ces·si·ty/nəˈsesətē/Noun

1. The fact of being required or indispensable: "the necessity for law and order".

2. Unavoidability: "the necessity of growing old".

That is Google’s definition of necessity, my definition of necessity is; something that is mandatory for life or vital to a species in order for it to survive. An organism ensures survival of its species within its environment by using its survival tactics that it is born with. For example a Turtle is born with hard shell for it to hide in from predators, and the fox is born with keen eyes and ears to find food. These techniques keep an open balance between the prey and the predator making it so both animals survive and this is what ensures survival. Every organism has a variety of adaptations and a roll to play, each animal has to play its part for the whole ecosystem to function this is call a Niche. All animals are connected in a food chain, they all help each other in some way, just like the whales and krill, and the whales eat the krill, but supply them with nutrients for their food to help them stay alive. Each organism has a very unique characteristic, and each characteristic has its own effect to survive in the environment. Natural selection has a big effect on the survival of a species; their own natural selection helps some animals get their food and other hide from the predators.

This relates to the unit title Ultimate Survival in many ways. Every living thing wants to live, and to do that we do anything we can to survive. The unit title Ultimate Survival relates to how living things do anything to survive. For humans to survive we adapt to our surroundings we learn about our environment just to survive.  

How did the unit question allow us to view survival through The Area of Interaction: Environments:(FOR EXAMPLE:  The effects of one environment on another, the roles our environments play in the lives and well-being of humankind, and the effects of our actions, attitudes and constructs, such as sustainable development and conservation.)
            As we learn about the effects of our human foot print and damages we have done to this world it has allowed us view the earth’s survival in a very concerning way. Our roles in the ecosystems are coming to be so large that can’t keep up. Our vast amounts of deforestation and pollution have gone souring high in the last 50 years. The reason this is happening is because of overpopulation of humans, and with that comes more of everything, more energy, land, and food. These are all factors of the bad effects on the environment. Soon this might lead to going over Earth’s carrying capacity!! That is why we are starting to save and conserve our precious world by creating a sustainable environment and not over use what we have.
What would you have liked to do more of?  Less of? 
            I think that if I were to do this unit over I would do more hands on activities. Since this year we have computers, we are doing a lot on them but I miss the posters and the dioramas we do by hand. I like that we did a little of this in the on the unit, but maybe giving a choice whether you want to do it by hand or on the computer. Like I said, this unit is my favorite unit so far, and I hope the next few years other people will like this unit just as much as I did.


In your point of view, how well did we investigate the unit question, concept, and area of interaction?  Include this in your reflection as well and give specific examples to support your opinions.
            I think that we not only covered our unit question but covered every little detail there was! I think that Mrs. M did a great job of creating such a fun and interesting unit, I really liked it and many other people did to! Creating blogs was a great way for us to post our current events and reflections; I also like how we get to read other peoples writing and thoughts on their blogs!