The end of my course has arrived and with that the conclusion of my Physical Science blog. My Physical Science blog is a reflection of all that I have learned during these past eight weeks. Science has never been a topic that I favored but I always learn something new and amazing in my science classes. My creating a blog I was able to share the lessons that I learned about everyday events with you all.
In my Physical Science blog there have been several lessons in Physics and Chemistry and a lesson each in Earth Science and Astrology. I attempted to have aim my lessons to questions that everybody has always wondered about but never set about to find the answer, such as my lesson explaining why shower curtain sticks to you and why it looks as if you only see one side of the moon. Other blogs that I have posted provided you with information that I thought you might like to know, such as my blog about how you can memorize the elements in the periodic table and how the Northern/Southern lights are created.
I have never made a blog prior to this assignment. In the beginning, I was completely lost in what a blog was and I was not sure where I should begin. However, once I got started with my blog, I started to enjoy publishing new posts to my blog and sharing with you all what I was learning in my course. By creating this blog I was able to further my knowledge by going further into applying what I was learning. It is one thing to read your text to learn a subject but it is an entire different thing to teach what you are learning to others.
I hope you all enjoyed my blog as much as I enjoyed writing this blog for you.
The information that I provided for all came from my NSCI 101 Physical Science Textbook, Conceptual Physical Science. The citation for all of my blogs has been referenced below:
Hewitt, L.A.; Hewitt, P.G.; Suchocki, J. (2012). Conceptual Physical Science. San Francisco:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Week 7
Welcome to week seven and the introduction of earth science and astronomy. With the end of my physical science course approaching, we had to briefly go over earth science and astronomy.The reading for this week was about rocks and minerals (chapter 21), plate tectonics and Earth's interior (chapter 21), the oceans, atmosphere, and climatic effects (chapter 24), and the solar system (chapter 26). Since we covered two different subjects this week I will an earth science lesson as well as an astrology lesson.
One experience that I would like to have is to have seen the Northern Lights (I'm not interested in going to Antartica so the Southern Lights are not an option), or the auroras around Earth's magnetic poles. The Northern Lights are fiery lights that are best displayed during solar flares, so you have to wait for the best time to go and see them. The lights look so close to you, like you can reach out and touch them, but they are actually so far, far away. The atmosphere is composed of five different levels: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Within the top half of the mesosphere and the thermosphere is an ion-rich region called the ionosphere 80-170 km above the ground. The ionosphere is where the auroras occur when solar wind interact and energize the molecules of atmospheric gases. There are many beautiful pictures of this phenomenon but I am sure seeing the aurors in person would be breathtaking.
Many people believe that when they look at the Moon they only see one side of the Moon. Many people believe this thought because they have been told or lead to believe that the Moon does not spoin on its axis as it rotates around Earth. Contrary to popular belief, the Moon does spin on its axis as it is orbiting around Earth. Why then do people think that they only see the same side of the moon every night? Although the Moon does spin on its axis, it does so very, very slowly. It takes the Moon about a month (about 27 days) to completely spin around. In addition, it takes a month for the Moon to revolve around the Earth. So it takes one month for the Moon to spin on its axis and orbit around the Earth, which is why to many it appears as if they only ever see one side of the moon.
One experience that I would like to have is to have seen the Northern Lights (I'm not interested in going to Antartica so the Southern Lights are not an option), or the auroras around Earth's magnetic poles. The Northern Lights are fiery lights that are best displayed during solar flares, so you have to wait for the best time to go and see them. The lights look so close to you, like you can reach out and touch them, but they are actually so far, far away. The atmosphere is composed of five different levels: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Within the top half of the mesosphere and the thermosphere is an ion-rich region called the ionosphere 80-170 km above the ground. The ionosphere is where the auroras occur when solar wind interact and energize the molecules of atmospheric gases. There are many beautiful pictures of this phenomenon but I am sure seeing the aurors in person would be breathtaking.
Many people believe that when they look at the Moon they only see one side of the Moon. Many people believe this thought because they have been told or lead to believe that the Moon does not spoin on its axis as it rotates around Earth. Contrary to popular belief, the Moon does spin on its axis as it is orbiting around Earth. Why then do people think that they only see the same side of the moon every night? Although the Moon does spin on its axis, it does so very, very slowly. It takes the Moon about a month (about 27 days) to completely spin around. In addition, it takes a month for the Moon to revolve around the Earth. So it takes one month for the Moon to spin on its axis and orbit around the Earth, which is why to many it appears as if they only ever see one side of the moon.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Week 6
Week six was the conclusion of the chemistry section in my physical science course. Before we could properly conclude the chemistry section in the course we had to read about mixtures (chapter 16), how chemicals react (chapter 17), and the two classes of chemical reactions (chapter 18).
My mother has always been the one to buy the groceries. When my siblings and I were younger she would always buy us juice, especially kool-aid, hawaiian punch, and capri-suns. As we got older she cut down on the amount of juice she would buy us until one day she just did not buy us any juice at all. We had noticed that she wasn't buying us juice anymore but we never questioned her about why we were not getting any juice.
As a result, we were left only water to drink. For about seven years now we have been mainly drinking water. My mother no longer buys juice every single time she goes to the commissary. Having only water in the house is normal to my family but not for our guest who get tired of drinking only water.
Since I drink a lot of water throughout the day I notice some things about water that other people might not notice. For example, I notice that San Bendetto branded water has a different taste that Culligan branded water. I refuse to drink San Bendetto branded water because I notice that the water has an unappealing taste, which is why I prefer Culligan or Celtic branded water. Most people would say that water does not have a flavor or taste, but contrary to popular belief, water does have a taste to it.
Water that is safe to drink has been purified by manipulating its physical properties; this water is referred to as potable. Facilities that purify water first collect potable water from natural resources and mix the water with minerals to remove the dirt particles and pathogens. After the dirt particles and pathogens in the water form into clumps, the water is filtered through sand and gravel.
Water gets its smell and flavor when the facilities aerate the water in columns of air. By aerating the water, volatile chemicals that give the water an odor is removed. Aerating the water also allows air to dissolve in the water which improves the taste of the water. So perhaps the reason why San Bendetto branded water taste "nasty" is because the water was not aerated long enough.
The next time you go buy some water, but a couple of different brands of water and take notice of how one bottle of water may taste different from another bottle of water.
My mother has always been the one to buy the groceries. When my siblings and I were younger she would always buy us juice, especially kool-aid, hawaiian punch, and capri-suns. As we got older she cut down on the amount of juice she would buy us until one day she just did not buy us any juice at all. We had noticed that she wasn't buying us juice anymore but we never questioned her about why we were not getting any juice.
As a result, we were left only water to drink. For about seven years now we have been mainly drinking water. My mother no longer buys juice every single time she goes to the commissary. Having only water in the house is normal to my family but not for our guest who get tired of drinking only water.
Since I drink a lot of water throughout the day I notice some things about water that other people might not notice. For example, I notice that San Bendetto branded water has a different taste that Culligan branded water. I refuse to drink San Bendetto branded water because I notice that the water has an unappealing taste, which is why I prefer Culligan or Celtic branded water. Most people would say that water does not have a flavor or taste, but contrary to popular belief, water does have a taste to it.
Water that is safe to drink has been purified by manipulating its physical properties; this water is referred to as potable. Facilities that purify water first collect potable water from natural resources and mix the water with minerals to remove the dirt particles and pathogens. After the dirt particles and pathogens in the water form into clumps, the water is filtered through sand and gravel.
Water gets its smell and flavor when the facilities aerate the water in columns of air. By aerating the water, volatile chemicals that give the water an odor is removed. Aerating the water also allows air to dissolve in the water which improves the taste of the water. So perhaps the reason why San Bendetto branded water taste "nasty" is because the water was not aerated long enough.
The next time you go buy some water, but a couple of different brands of water and take notice of how one bottle of water may taste different from another bottle of water.
Week 5
Welcome to week five and the beginning of chemistry. For our introduction to chemistry we read about atoms and the periodic table (chapter 12), elements of chemistry (chapter 14), and how atoms bond and molecules attract (chapter 15).
The lesson planned for the week and the readings from the textbook were not all that interesting. In fact, all of the material that was covered during the week was a review of what I had already learned. However, one topic that got me thinking was the elements and the periodic table. there are over 100 known elements organized in the periodic table and people are still trying to find natural elements and create other elements!
It amazes me how some people have actually memorized the periodic table and are able to recite the elements from memory with perfect pronunciation. How are the able to to memorize all of the elements and perfectly with recite them when half of the elements get you tongue tied when you try to pronounce them? Now most people know the common elements and what they are found in. To name off a few there is hydrogen and oxygen which together make water. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, a combination of carbon and oxygen. Iron is found in meats and beans, calcium is found in dairy products, potassium is in bananas, and salt is a mixture of sodium and chlorine. Silver and gold make beautiful jewelery and neon can be used for neon lights. Other elements that may know or recognize are the elements that may be named after a place or person such as neptunium (Neptune), plutonium (Pluto), americium (America), curium (Marie/Pierre Curie), californium (California) and einsteinium (Albert Einstein). But what about the other elements that you can only imagine how they are pronounced praseodymium, molybdenum, darmstadtium, or roentgenium.
One fun way to try and remember all of the elements is to sing them. Now there are many different ways to sing the elements but the most entertaining song is "The Elements" by Tom Lehrer. "The Elements" song stimulates your interest in trying to memorize the elements and sing along with the song. I have tried several times to sing along with the video and I always get tongue tied because it's very fast, no breaks, and some of the names are hard to pronouce. However, I did master the two lines. "There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium..." and thats all I can do. Here's the site for the song with lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFIvXVMbII0&feature=fvwrel
Another thing that amazes me is how detailed the organization of the periodic table is. At first glance, the elements of the periodic table are arranged from ascending order of their atomic mass and then grouped as either a metal, metalloid or nonmetal. Upon further investigation, the elements are organized into horizontal rows called periods and vertical columns called groups. The elements within a period have little changes in their properties, however when you go down a column the properties of the elements are almost identical. To add on another level, there are also blocks within the periodic table and the elements within these blocks have similar chemical properties and the same number of valence electrons.
There has been a lot of work and energy put into the elements and periodic table that has gone unnoticed. The elements and periodic table initially may be uninteresting but when you try to memorize the elements and figure out the arrangement of the periodic table, it becomes a work of art.
The lesson planned for the week and the readings from the textbook were not all that interesting. In fact, all of the material that was covered during the week was a review of what I had already learned. However, one topic that got me thinking was the elements and the periodic table. there are over 100 known elements organized in the periodic table and people are still trying to find natural elements and create other elements!
It amazes me how some people have actually memorized the periodic table and are able to recite the elements from memory with perfect pronunciation. How are the able to to memorize all of the elements and perfectly with recite them when half of the elements get you tongue tied when you try to pronounce them? Now most people know the common elements and what they are found in. To name off a few there is hydrogen and oxygen which together make water. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, a combination of carbon and oxygen. Iron is found in meats and beans, calcium is found in dairy products, potassium is in bananas, and salt is a mixture of sodium and chlorine. Silver and gold make beautiful jewelery and neon can be used for neon lights. Other elements that may know or recognize are the elements that may be named after a place or person such as neptunium (Neptune), plutonium (Pluto), americium (America), curium (Marie/Pierre Curie), californium (California) and einsteinium (Albert Einstein). But what about the other elements that you can only imagine how they are pronounced praseodymium, molybdenum, darmstadtium, or roentgenium.
One fun way to try and remember all of the elements is to sing them. Now there are many different ways to sing the elements but the most entertaining song is "The Elements" by Tom Lehrer. "The Elements" song stimulates your interest in trying to memorize the elements and sing along with the song. I have tried several times to sing along with the video and I always get tongue tied because it's very fast, no breaks, and some of the names are hard to pronouce. However, I did master the two lines. "There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium..." and thats all I can do. Here's the site for the song with lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFIvXVMbII0&feature=fvwrel
Another thing that amazes me is how detailed the organization of the periodic table is. At first glance, the elements of the periodic table are arranged from ascending order of their atomic mass and then grouped as either a metal, metalloid or nonmetal. Upon further investigation, the elements are organized into horizontal rows called periods and vertical columns called groups. The elements within a period have little changes in their properties, however when you go down a column the properties of the elements are almost identical. To add on another level, there are also blocks within the periodic table and the elements within these blocks have similar chemical properties and the same number of valence electrons.
There has been a lot of work and energy put into the elements and periodic table that has gone unnoticed. The elements and periodic table initially may be uninteresting but when you try to memorize the elements and figure out the arrangement of the periodic table, it becomes a work of art.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Week 4
For the first four weeks of my course we learned about physics. To properly conclude our time in physics there has been plenty of reading for us to finish: (Chapter 7) Heat Transfer and Changing of Phase; (Chapter 8) Static and Current Electricity; (Chapter 9) Magnetism; (Chapter 10) Waves and Sound; and (Chapter 11) Light.
In our weekly thought conference we were presented with a scenario and were asked to provide an answer. The scenario given was: Suppose at a restaurant you are served coffee before you are ready to drink it. For it to be as hot as possible when you are ready for it, would it be wiser to add cream to it right away or when you are ready to drink it? Explain. I prefer hot chocolate, tea, or cappuccinos over coffee, but I am sure the majority of people must have coffee in the morning. I will also make the assumption that most coffee people may not have time to drink their coffee right away because they are busy taking care of other things (i.e. getting dress, getting the kids to school etc.). So they make their coffee to go and wait until they are all settled down before they drink their coffee. For you coffee drinkers, I provide you the answer to how you can keep your coffee as hot as possible so that when you are ready for your coffee it is not cold. When you get your coffee you should add your cream right away instead of waiting until you are ready to drink your coffee. But why?
Besides Newton's Three Laws of Motion, Newton also discovered Newton's Law of Cooling. Newton's Law of Cooling explains that if an object is hotter than its environment, then it will cool to match the environment's temperature; the same is applied to objects cooler than its environment. The rate at which the object cools is based on the temperature difference between the object and its environment; the greater the difference is the greater the rate of cooling.
When coffee is first brewed its hotter than the environment's temperature; assuming that you are using liquid cream that has to be refrigerated, the coffee cream will be colder than its environment. When the coffee and cream are separate they cool/warm quickly because they have a great rate due to their great temperature difference. However, when the coffee and cream are mixed together the cooling rate is smaller because their temperatures have balanced each other out. With a smaller a cooling rate, the coffee with cream takes longer to reach the environment's temperature, thus your coffee stays hotter longer.
In our weekly thought conference we were presented with a scenario and were asked to provide an answer. The scenario given was: Suppose at a restaurant you are served coffee before you are ready to drink it. For it to be as hot as possible when you are ready for it, would it be wiser to add cream to it right away or when you are ready to drink it? Explain. I prefer hot chocolate, tea, or cappuccinos over coffee, but I am sure the majority of people must have coffee in the morning. I will also make the assumption that most coffee people may not have time to drink their coffee right away because they are busy taking care of other things (i.e. getting dress, getting the kids to school etc.). So they make their coffee to go and wait until they are all settled down before they drink their coffee. For you coffee drinkers, I provide you the answer to how you can keep your coffee as hot as possible so that when you are ready for your coffee it is not cold. When you get your coffee you should add your cream right away instead of waiting until you are ready to drink your coffee. But why?
Besides Newton's Three Laws of Motion, Newton also discovered Newton's Law of Cooling. Newton's Law of Cooling explains that if an object is hotter than its environment, then it will cool to match the environment's temperature; the same is applied to objects cooler than its environment. The rate at which the object cools is based on the temperature difference between the object and its environment; the greater the difference is the greater the rate of cooling.
When coffee is first brewed its hotter than the environment's temperature; assuming that you are using liquid cream that has to be refrigerated, the coffee cream will be colder than its environment. When the coffee and cream are separate they cool/warm quickly because they have a great rate due to their great temperature difference. However, when the coffee and cream are mixed together the cooling rate is smaller because their temperatures have balanced each other out. With a smaller a cooling rate, the coffee with cream takes longer to reach the environment's temperature, thus your coffee stays hotter longer.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Week 3
Welcome to my first official Physical Science post. This is my third week in Physical Science and we have spent the week learning about (Chapter 4) Gravity, Projectiles, and Satellites; (Chapter 5) Fluid Mechanics; and (Chapter 6) Temperature Heat and Thermodynamics.
Without further ado, I present to you your first weekly physical science lesson. An element that is a part of my course is Thought Conferences where we are expected to answer at least three Thought Questions. One of the questions that we were able to choose to answer was: Why do shower curtains always seem to cling to the person showering? The answer to this question was one that I have always wondered about. Before we moved into a house that had shower doors, we had shower curtains. I remember spending a great portion of my time in the shower trying to keep the shower curtain off of me. I would get so annoyed with the shower curtain because it seemed like no matter where I moved the curtain just kept coming back for me and sticking to me. Now that I have shower doors, I no longer have this problem. Nevertheless, I am sure that some of you do and would like to know why.
The answer to "why the shower curtain always seems to stick to the person showering" was found in Chapter 5 and was explained by a Swiss scientist, Daniel Bernoulli. Bernoulli was rather fascinated in fluid flow in pipes and with his studies he discovered Bernoulli's principle. Bernoulli's principle states that: Where the speed of a fluid increases, its internal pressure in the fluid decreases.
Well what does that mean and how is that relevant in answering why the shower curtain sticks to you? There is pressure everywhere around us caused by the air, this pressure is called atmospheric pressure. We do not feel this pressure because our body exerts the same amount of pressure back, so for the most part we are unaware that the atmospheric pressure exists. There is also pressure in fluids, which is dependent on the speed of the fluid. Fluids that are moving fast exert a low pressure and fluids that are moving slow exert a high pressure. In other words, if a fluid is moving fast it does not take much pressure to keep a continuous flow; if a fluid is moving slow than it takes more pressure to keep a continuous flow.
When you shower, there is a change in pressure occurs. There is fluid pressure in the shower caused by the running water and atmospheric pressure outside of the shower stall caused by air. Most people run their shower on full blast, so you have water running at a high speed. As mentioned, fluids with a high speed exert a low pressure, so the pressure in the shower stall is lower than the pressure outside of the shower stall. As a result of the pressure outside of the shower stall being greater than the pressure in the shower, the shower curtain is pushed in. When you add a wet body to a shower curtain being pushed in, you get shower curtains sticking to your body.
So now you are aware of why your shower curtain keeps sticking to you when you are in the shower. A solution to how you can keep the shower from sticking to you is to not run your shower as high. If you run the water lower than you usually would, the fluid pressure would be greater and more equal to the pressure outside of the shower stall. If the pressure in the shower stall and the pressure outside of the shower stall are balanced, then the shower curtain will not be pushed in and stick to you.
Without further ado, I present to you your first weekly physical science lesson. An element that is a part of my course is Thought Conferences where we are expected to answer at least three Thought Questions. One of the questions that we were able to choose to answer was: Why do shower curtains always seem to cling to the person showering? The answer to this question was one that I have always wondered about. Before we moved into a house that had shower doors, we had shower curtains. I remember spending a great portion of my time in the shower trying to keep the shower curtain off of me. I would get so annoyed with the shower curtain because it seemed like no matter where I moved the curtain just kept coming back for me and sticking to me. Now that I have shower doors, I no longer have this problem. Nevertheless, I am sure that some of you do and would like to know why.
The answer to "why the shower curtain always seems to stick to the person showering" was found in Chapter 5 and was explained by a Swiss scientist, Daniel Bernoulli. Bernoulli was rather fascinated in fluid flow in pipes and with his studies he discovered Bernoulli's principle. Bernoulli's principle states that: Where the speed of a fluid increases, its internal pressure in the fluid decreases.
Well what does that mean and how is that relevant in answering why the shower curtain sticks to you? There is pressure everywhere around us caused by the air, this pressure is called atmospheric pressure. We do not feel this pressure because our body exerts the same amount of pressure back, so for the most part we are unaware that the atmospheric pressure exists. There is also pressure in fluids, which is dependent on the speed of the fluid. Fluids that are moving fast exert a low pressure and fluids that are moving slow exert a high pressure. In other words, if a fluid is moving fast it does not take much pressure to keep a continuous flow; if a fluid is moving slow than it takes more pressure to keep a continuous flow.
When you shower, there is a change in pressure occurs. There is fluid pressure in the shower caused by the running water and atmospheric pressure outside of the shower stall caused by air. Most people run their shower on full blast, so you have water running at a high speed. As mentioned, fluids with a high speed exert a low pressure, so the pressure in the shower stall is lower than the pressure outside of the shower stall. As a result of the pressure outside of the shower stall being greater than the pressure in the shower, the shower curtain is pushed in. When you add a wet body to a shower curtain being pushed in, you get shower curtains sticking to your body.
So now you are aware of why your shower curtain keeps sticking to you when you are in the shower. A solution to how you can keep the shower from sticking to you is to not run your shower as high. If you run the water lower than you usually would, the fluid pressure would be greater and more equal to the pressure outside of the shower stall. If the pressure in the shower stall and the pressure outside of the shower stall are balanced, then the shower curtain will not be pushed in and stick to you.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Introduction
Hello! My name is Kalia Kelly and welcome to my blog about Physical Science. I am a student at UMUC Europe and am currently enrolled in NSCI 100, or Introduction to Physical Science. Throughout this course I will be learning about the concepts of physics, chemistry, earth science, and astronomy. In addition to the themes that will be covered in this course, I will be required to complete a research project.
The course research project is designed to reflect what we have learned throughout the course and how the teachings can be applied to our daily lives. There were several options for what we can do for our research project; among these options was the choice to create a blog. Initially, I had winced at the idea of creating a blog because I was not sure of what a blog really was. To add to my lack of knowledge of what a blog was, I was not even sure of how to create a blog. Nevertheless, I figured that I could add to my education by learning what a blog was and how to create a blog. So here I am!
In addition to the goals that my research project will accomplish, my Physical Science blog will also provide the answer to questions we have all wondered about. Science is not a topic that I thoroughly enjoy, but every once in a while I come across a topic that catches my interest. These moments typically take place when I am reading my text. While reading, I may come across an answer to a question that I have always wondered about or a fact that was unknown to me before. I like to share these moments with my mom and call them her "daily physical science lesson." Now that I am creating a blog I hope that I will have a bigger audience to share these "daily physical science lessons" with. For the sake of my blog, I will refer to these lessons as weekly physical science lessons because my posts will be published weekly rather than daily. I hope that you all enjoy what I have to share with you and learn a few things that were unknown to you before.
The course research project is designed to reflect what we have learned throughout the course and how the teachings can be applied to our daily lives. There were several options for what we can do for our research project; among these options was the choice to create a blog. Initially, I had winced at the idea of creating a blog because I was not sure of what a blog really was. To add to my lack of knowledge of what a blog was, I was not even sure of how to create a blog. Nevertheless, I figured that I could add to my education by learning what a blog was and how to create a blog. So here I am!
In addition to the goals that my research project will accomplish, my Physical Science blog will also provide the answer to questions we have all wondered about. Science is not a topic that I thoroughly enjoy, but every once in a while I come across a topic that catches my interest. These moments typically take place when I am reading my text. While reading, I may come across an answer to a question that I have always wondered about or a fact that was unknown to me before. I like to share these moments with my mom and call them her "daily physical science lesson." Now that I am creating a blog I hope that I will have a bigger audience to share these "daily physical science lessons" with. For the sake of my blog, I will refer to these lessons as weekly physical science lessons because my posts will be published weekly rather than daily. I hope that you all enjoy what I have to share with you and learn a few things that were unknown to you before.
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