Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Element Poster Project
The students in the Core Chem Class were allowed to choose an element and produce a triptych (3 panel) poster describing the element's discovery, uses, sources, characteristics, and Bohr diagram/electron configuration.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
A ’64 Quake Still Reverberates
by Henry Fountain
The article “A ’64 Quake Still Reverberates” brings up an really important issue about the recent quakes that hit the West coast of the American continent.In 1964, an devastating earthquake with the magnitude of 9.2 hit the South-central region of Alaska, and kills 125 people.This was the second most powerful earthquake after the one in Chile in 1960, that had the magnitude of 9.5 degrees.2014, 50 years after the earthquake in Alaska, a quake hits the coast of Chile, with a magnitude 8.2, killing 6 people.According to new reachers, the Chile`s 2014 quake was caused by the reverberations of the ’64 earthquake in Alaska.The Chile`s earthquake happened along a fault where stresses had been building.These stresses were caused by the slowly dipped beneath one plate and another, according to scientists.They call it the low-angle megathrust event.Along 50 years , the quake in Alaska that caused stress on the fault, and aggravated it , reflecting in earthquakes as the one that rocked Chile.
It is important to know about geology, and understand how the tectonics plate system works.This plates are what cause the earthquakes, and understanding them can maybe help to forecast a big or even normal earthquake that is coming up.To people,specially those who live near geologic faults, its is also important to be aware about it because earthquakes affect many people, specially those who are not prepared, as for example, the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, which killed hundreds of people.
The article written by Henry Fountain describes with a lot of details how do the tectonic plates work.It also give a lot of examples that helped to understand it.I liked how they mention the details of the research and explained how did scientist came to such conclusion.
Printed Body Parts That Work?
Printing
documents from a computer is normal in the life of a basic human being living
in the United States. People would print out diagrams, tables, and other works.
But no one suspected that a person could not only print out figures onto paper
but to recreate the image in a 3D model. The idea of 3D printing has been
expanding for months now, upgrading materials, designs, and efficiency. A
person with access to one of these amazing machines has the ability to “Print”
anything, whether it be machine parts or decorations. But who would have
thought it to be possible to print out basic replacement body parts? That’s
right. It actually is real now. The article I read was “Bone Replacements and Heart
Monitors Spur Health Revolution in Open Source 3D Printing” by Joshua M Pearce
and it gives incredible information about how 3D printing has advanced.
This incredible piece of technology
can effect everyone in our lives in the health world. For instance, say that
you had some freak accident where you needed to replace a bone, or an
artificial heart. With the technology of 3D printing, you can literally print
out new pieces for your body, whether it be bone or other body part. The
possibilities for medical use are endless for the 3D printer. Apparently,
doctors have already seen the potential of this incredible new idea, especially
dentists. In the US alone, thousands “have benefited from 3D printing used
by dentists.”
As for the
article itself, it was great. The author included stunning detail about the
true potential of this device and how it will help us in the future. The way he
worded his sentences were amazing and made it seem that he had full
understanding on what he was talking about. If he were to write another
article, I would definitely read it, that is if I remember his name.
http://www.livescience.com/43787-bone-replacements-and-heart-monitors-spur-health-revolution-in-open-source-3d-printing.html
http://www.livescience.com/43787-bone-replacements-and-heart-monitors-spur-health-revolution-in-open-source-3d-printing.html
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
On Canvas, Clues About Air Pollution
Bhanoo, Sindya N. "On Canvas, Clues About Air Pollution." The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
Have you ever looked at a sunset? Have you ever considered if the colors were brighter than several years ago? Sunset paintings by some of the greatest artists are now cluing scientists into information that might not have been imagined before. In the article, "On Canvas, Clues About Air Pollution" by Sindya N. Bhanoo, scientists such as Andreas Kazantzidis, an atmospheric physicist at Greece's University of Patras, are involved in the research that these sunset paintings are giving significant clues about air pollution. According to Dr. Kazantzidis, "polluted skies result in redder sunsets" and since these artists usually paint what they see, the brighter color was brought to the canvas. This was evident when a volcano erupted in Indonesia in 1815. Afterward, when the ash and gasses from the volcano were released into the atmosphere, the sunsets were of bright red and orange. The paintings from about two years before in this area were not as red. This research was done by analyzing photographs of paintings between the time periods of 1500 to 2000. By examining these paintings and looking at the "red-to-green ratio along the horizon of each sunset", Dr. Kazantzidis and his team were able to make an approximation of how much aerosols was in the atmosphere at the date of each painting. In turn, the amount of air pollution during that time can be estimated.
This information affects humanity in general due to that air pollution is a constant issue nowadays. With these clues, scientists can predict what the pollution status, if any, was before the 1850's since meteorological measurements did not exist until then. They may be able to find a solution to this problem or at least find a way to delay atmospheric pollution from making a greater impact on the earth.
This article was definitely interesting because I would never have thought that paintings of sunsets would give clues about air pollution. Overall, the article was informative and easy to follow. However, it was on the short side, and I did want to know more about the topic, but this field of research is relatively new, so the length is understandable. I would recommend this article to anyone who enjoys science and/or art or is curious about the topic.
Have you ever looked at a sunset? Have you ever considered if the colors were brighter than several years ago? Sunset paintings by some of the greatest artists are now cluing scientists into information that might not have been imagined before. In the article, "On Canvas, Clues About Air Pollution" by Sindya N. Bhanoo, scientists such as Andreas Kazantzidis, an atmospheric physicist at Greece's University of Patras, are involved in the research that these sunset paintings are giving significant clues about air pollution. According to Dr. Kazantzidis, "polluted skies result in redder sunsets" and since these artists usually paint what they see, the brighter color was brought to the canvas. This was evident when a volcano erupted in Indonesia in 1815. Afterward, when the ash and gasses from the volcano were released into the atmosphere, the sunsets were of bright red and orange. The paintings from about two years before in this area were not as red. This research was done by analyzing photographs of paintings between the time periods of 1500 to 2000. By examining these paintings and looking at the "red-to-green ratio along the horizon of each sunset", Dr. Kazantzidis and his team were able to make an approximation of how much aerosols was in the atmosphere at the date of each painting. In turn, the amount of air pollution during that time can be estimated.
This information affects humanity in general due to that air pollution is a constant issue nowadays. With these clues, scientists can predict what the pollution status, if any, was before the 1850's since meteorological measurements did not exist until then. They may be able to find a solution to this problem or at least find a way to delay atmospheric pollution from making a greater impact on the earth.
This article was definitely interesting because I would never have thought that paintings of sunsets would give clues about air pollution. Overall, the article was informative and easy to follow. However, it was on the short side, and I did want to know more about the topic, but this field of research is relatively new, so the length is understandable. I would recommend this article to anyone who enjoys science and/or art or is curious about the topic.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Panel’s Warning on Climate Risk: Worst is Yet to Come
Gillis, Justin. “Panel’s Warning on
Climate Risk: Worst is Yet to Come.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 24
Mar. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
The
article, Panel’s Warning on Climate Risk:
Worst Is Yet to Come by Justin Gillis discusses the growing issue of global
warming. The intergovernmental Panel on climate change has reported that “Ice
caps are melting, sea ice in the arctic is collapsing, water supplies are
coming under stress, heat waves and heavy rains are intensifying, and fish are
going extinct (paragraph 2).” This issue has been widely discussed before, but
experts have concluded that all evidence found proves that global warming is
worsening. Carbon dioxide given off by cars and power plants are the main
contributors. Little is being done to solve this problem, although President
Obama has recently been “trying to use his executive power under the Clean Air
Act and other laws to impose significant new limits on the country’s greenhouse
emissions (paragraph 16). “
This article
affects all of society drastically. Change in climate is predicted to cause a
shortage of food, increase poverty, slow down economic growth, cause diseases
in humans and animals, and many other negative side effects. Farmers in hotter
climates will not meet the rising demand for food because crops will grow less
abundantly. No one can protect themselves from global warming and it will
affect everyone if it is not prevented.
This article was well written and
interesting. The author included details and facts to convince the reader about
the issue. Gillis made the article easy to read and understand while still
providing solid information. One thing he could have done to improve the
article would be to tell the reader what they could do differently to prevent
global warming. Overall the author did a great job on this article and I would
recommend it.
Quick Gains After a Smoking Ban
Kate Braumuller 4/1/14
Block C Mr.
Ippolito
I read the New York Times article, Quick Gains After a Smoking Ban, by Catherine Louis. The article enformed people, in recent
studies the smoking ban has decreased
the number premature births and asthma in the US, Canada and Europe. Less than a year since the smoking an, the
percentage of children born with asthma and born prematurely have decreased
10%. “There
are over a million babies dying of being born preterm every year in the world.
We can make major strides in decreasing that with smoking bans.” Says Dr.
Vincenzo Berghella, (president of Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine). Reasearchers are working on
strengthening their evidence in order to the movement of smoke free laws.
This topic
effects billions of lives. The fact that
banning smoking prevents problems in childrens lives is extremely important.
Knowing the facts, now efforts can be made for smoke free laws. If laws get passed then millions of lives
will be saved.
This article was
fascinating and taught me something new.
It was easy to comprehend and provided with facts about the topic. I liked how the author told about how doctors
and researchers are planning to improve the problem of smoke laws. The article was well written it gave many
quotes from doctors that supported the argument well. I suggest you read this article.
At Airports, A Misplaced Faith in Body Language
Tierney, John. "At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/science/in-airport-screening-body-language-is-faulted-as-behavior-sleuth.html?_r=0
The article, "At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language," by John Tierney, discusses that airport security screeners like to think that they can read body language, but they really can't. The Transportation Security Administration has spent about a billion dollars, training thousands of people who work at the airport, to recognize some common signs of lying. For instance, certain facial expressions and looking upward were taught as common signs of lying. However, despite these efforts to stop terrorists, no evidence has been seen to say that this is an effective program. Even the upward eye rolling is not a sign of lying as studies have recently shown. Experiments have also shown that many people can't tell liars from innocent people. Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at The University of Chicago states, "Body language speaks to us, but only in whispers." Some professors still do believe that liars can be recognized in high stakes situations. They state that laboratory experiments have failed in the past because people were forced to lie about things that didn't matter to them. However, actual liars show more stress in real life situations. Despite this though, the T.S.A still has to prove that their program for recognizing liars, is effective.
Basically all of society can relate to this article. Millions of people take flights out of different airports around the globe every day. There have also been numerous stories in the news about terrorists, hijacked planes, and bomb threats in airports. Even though this article would not put a person at ease about taking a flight, it's important to know what steps the T.S.A has taken to address these problems, even though some of the steps, like trying to identify liars has not been effective yet.
This article was very well written. It gave many examples of why the billion dollar program the T.S.A has been using, has not worked. I also liked how they stated, that despite this, there still might be a way to identify liars in airports. If this was true, it would cause many people taking flights, less stress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/science/in-airport-screening-body-language-is-faulted-as-behavior-sleuth.html?_r=0
The article, "At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language," by John Tierney, discusses that airport security screeners like to think that they can read body language, but they really can't. The Transportation Security Administration has spent about a billion dollars, training thousands of people who work at the airport, to recognize some common signs of lying. For instance, certain facial expressions and looking upward were taught as common signs of lying. However, despite these efforts to stop terrorists, no evidence has been seen to say that this is an effective program. Even the upward eye rolling is not a sign of lying as studies have recently shown. Experiments have also shown that many people can't tell liars from innocent people. Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at The University of Chicago states, "Body language speaks to us, but only in whispers." Some professors still do believe that liars can be recognized in high stakes situations. They state that laboratory experiments have failed in the past because people were forced to lie about things that didn't matter to them. However, actual liars show more stress in real life situations. Despite this though, the T.S.A still has to prove that their program for recognizing liars, is effective.
Basically all of society can relate to this article. Millions of people take flights out of different airports around the globe every day. There have also been numerous stories in the news about terrorists, hijacked planes, and bomb threats in airports. Even though this article would not put a person at ease about taking a flight, it's important to know what steps the T.S.A has taken to address these problems, even though some of the steps, like trying to identify liars has not been effective yet.
This article was very well written. It gave many examples of why the billion dollar program the T.S.A has been using, has not worked. I also liked how they stated, that despite this, there still might be a way to identify liars in airports. If this was true, it would cause many people taking flights, less stress.
This
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