Angry Birds - The Next Advance in Physics?

Okay so, maybe it's not the next great advance in physics, but it is something. Physics can be a confusing, but could games like angry birds help?

From Angry Birds to Cut the Rope, they all abide by a few core principals of physics - like gravity, inertia, and momentum - to give games a feeling of real-world predictability, but a true sense of incalculable chaos. So every time you calculate your bird toss in angry birds, and predict which way the bricks will fall, physics. In cut the rope, as OmNom's candy swings back and fourth on a rope, you'll have to compete with gravity, which is always trying to pull the sweet down; momentum, as you swing it back and forth; inertia, if you run out of slack on the rope, i mean you can't get much more physics into a game!

However much we like to say we don't need science, and we don't use what we learn in class in the real world, we do. It may not be Einstein level but it is still science. We definitely use science all the time, without having to play on our i-pod, but maybe this will help kids understand just how important, and easy it really is.

-Krystin

Chemistry i-Pod apps

Do you find it hard to learn chemistry? Or is that you are someone who is looking to improve on their knowledge of chemistry? Or maybe someone who wants to work with the molecular structure in three dimensions.

http://www.allthatisapple.com/2011/06/7-ipad-apps-chemistry-students-should-check-out/


I-Pod has seven new apps, all for chemistry. We all knew that there was more then angry birds, and facebook, but this is something not many know about. With these seven games you have the opportunity to get a "hands-on" experience of everything from assembling molecular compounds and designing buffer solutions, to allowing two or more users to interact with the same molecule at the same time. These apps are something that can be extremely helpful to high school students and chemistry students. I know that the buffer game would have helped me a lot. This is an ever changing world with technology everywhere. This allows us to use it to out advantage. Combine work with play, and see what else is out there. You might find the newest physics app, or a useful optics game that can help you to grasp the concepts a little better. Use the technology given to us, and make your life a little easier. I though that this was a really cool way for high school students to better understand the concepts taught in class. Not everyone learns the same, so having a visual/hands-on resource might just be what those students lacking need.



-Krystin

'Eyeborg'

http://theweek.com/article/index/218689/eyeborg-the-man-with-a-robotic-video-camera-eye

Could you imagine, recording everything you see just by looking? That became possible for a Canadian gentleman named Rob Spence. Rob is filmmaker who lost his eye in a childhood accident. Instead of replacing it with an ordinary glass eye, he worked with a group of engineers to produce a robotic eyeball that is both a video camera and a wireless transmitter. My view on this subject is borderline 'yay' and 'nay'. I think instead of just settling for a prosthetic eye that has no value, Spence came up with a creative idea to support his current condition. Especially since he is interested in the whole sci-fi experience. It also makes his career a lot easier, and is a great advantage. On the other hand, the mini video camera is not too visually appealing. Regarding the public's privacy is another factor to take into consideration. People Rob interacts with won't know whether they are being filmed or not. Even on a typical day, people on the street easily can be caught on camera without them even knowing.

This relates to both topics we discussed in our optics unit; parts of the eye and lenses.

-Vishana.M

Chemistry Experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10EnRI80zvk&feature=related

WATCH THIS! IT IS SO COOL!
This is a science experiment by the famous Steve Spangler. Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. He was the one who conducted the well-known experiment of Mentos and Coke. He started off his career as a highschool science teacher, and later progressed to becoming the founder and CEO of Steve Spangler Science, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of educational toys and kits and hands-on science training services for teachers, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Wired and TIME Magazine where online readers voted Steve Spangler #18 in the Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year for 2006. He has appeared on numerous television talk shows such as Ellen.

This experiment shows the reactions of chemicals, when one is combined with natural resources such as water and sand. This would make an excellent chemistry experiment aside from the obvious corn starch slime. Spangler took simple components with easy access, to conduct an extravagant experiment, which really gets people thinking. Before pouring the sand into the water, Spangler sprayed something called ScotchGuard on it. ScotchGuard is a brand of stain repellent, used on fabric and carpets to prevent stains from spills. The chemical properties react with the sand to create that effect.

-Vishana.M

Names Proposed for 2 New Elements on Periodic Table

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/science/names-proposed-for-new-elements-on-periodic-table.html?_r=1&ref=chemistry

This is my response to an article I came across on The New York Times website.
This article is about the new proposed names for the 2 new elements on the periodic table. After years of hard research and checking data, it was declared official by the chemistry union and physics counterpart that two new elements have been created. Due to the experiments by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. Elements 114, flerovium (atomic symbol Fl) and 116, livermorium (atomic symbol Lv) are currently under consideration. The chemistry union has opened a five month comment period to see what the public has to say. According to the article, the chemistry union is very picky and strict on their rules for naming elements, therefore the proposal of the names is enough to cause hysteria. They went from 50 possible names, and narrowed it down to 2. The propsed names have an explicit connotation. Livermorium is named after the laboratory and city where it is located. Flerovium is named after the founder of the research institute, Georgi N. Flerov.

Let alone the name proposals, but the fact that there is going to be a new addition to the periodic table boggles my mind! The periodic table that people of our generation and older grew up learning about, is under construction. The answer to the frequently asked question by highschool students, "Why are there empty spaces?" or "Why aren't they in numerical order?" is finally being displayed. This event establishes the advancement in chemicals in the modern day.

-Vishana.M

Name a Species!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/10/your-chance-name-a-species
This is something I found to be pretty cool. There are 10 new British species, that are endagered or threatened, waiting to be named! The link above basically explains that they are conducting a competition to find names for these endangered species, and that this event was proved to be a hit from previous years. The rules and regulations are posted on the site. If you are interested, feel free to put in your suggestions by clicking on the link and following the listed instuctions. The winner receives a certificate from Natural England!

Sacculina carcini

-Vishana.M

Climate Change Rate Could be Faster Than Thought

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/11/climate-change-china-carbon-emissions



Tons of pollution surrounding China Central Television building in Beijing

We all knew it was coming... just not this fast. Climate change is progressing quite rapidly due to China's carbon emissions. Their emissions were 20% higher than previous predictions. China alone produces a quarter of mankind's carbon pollution! The impacts of this include extreme weather conditions, a significant increase in climate, intense droughts and floods, and impacts on crops. In the conducted study, researchers found that between 1997-2010, there was a large gap in China's carbon emissions. Approximately a 1.4 billion tonne gap. Due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, there is a rapid growth in emissions, resulting in the earth warming up by 2 or more degrees celcius! Coal is a key factor in China's high carbon emissions. China is already above the U.S as greenhouse gas polluters.
I dislike promoting worry to others, but this issue is something to be taken seriously. Here are a few steps that I came up with to help the current situation:

1. Avoid purchasing imported products.
2. Buy locally grown foods and locally manufactured products.
3. Inform friends, family, colleagues etc. about the positive actions you perform.
4. Spread awareness on public media/ social media sources.

This relates back to our climate change unit, where we focused on the greenhouse gas effect.

-Vishana.M

Hasbro Fights Climate Change

http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/03/hasbro-fights-aliens-deep-climate-change/

          The popular toy and game company Hasbro, has taken a stand against climate change by performing multiple actions. For one, they have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent between the years 2000- 2007 and is meeting their goal to continue to cut down their emissions by 10 percent from 2008- 2012. Hasbro is taking this ongoing issue into serious consideration, and promoting prevention to its consumers and competition. With big companies such as this one taking a stand, as listed above competition companies will be motivated to “go green” resulting in many greenhouse emissions being reduced. They are also eliminating the amount of unnecessary packaging material and using environmentally friendly alternatives.
          Compared to other toymakers, Hasbro is already well advanced in being eco-friendly, but they have taken the extra step, and is bringing awareness to their younger audiences. A film soon to release featuring their grossing product Battleship, we will be excited to see the army using less harmful gases and chemicals in the movie. Personally, I think Hasbro has made a remarkable contribution to saving our earth and is a leader in the business world. Not only are they doing a good deed, it is a great tool for being recognized by environmental organizations and gives them positive publicity. To me, when a company has a good reputation and has done things to benefit the world as a whole, they become a preferred choice of products. For example, if two companies like Febreeze and Glade have identical air fresheners, I would start to look at the company’s accomplishments and reputation before I select the air freshener to purchase.
          Hasbro was recently awarded the “Excellence In Greenhouse Gas Management” honour by the EPA’s new Climate Leadership Awards program. They also have future plans to eliminate PVC from packaging of core toys and games by 2013. This event relates to a short film we watched in this course called The Story of Stuff. The article talks about the consumerist society, and Hasbro’s influence on their production and consumption.

        This relates to our climate change unit. Unecessary packaging material causes more production, resulting in higher pollution fumes from the factory.

-Vishana.M

Animal Hybrids Connection To Course

All the animal hybrid stories connect to our discussions in class in our biology unit about hereditary genes. Like where humans get there eye colour from. The zorse and the jaglion are very similar. The zorse's stripes and structure come from hereditary genes from the zebra and the horse. As explained in their own posts, different parts of the hybrid are father/mother and the 2 specific animals dominant.

-Vishana.M

Zorse: Interesting Animal Hybrid

A Zorse is a hybrid- which you can probably tell by the name- is a mix between a zebra and a horse. It takes the colour of the horse and the zebra sire gives it the stripes. The zorse approximately three times stronger than horse! Its average height is about 13-16 hands. The zorse is like a 'one man dog' in that it chooses one best friend who should be the person who trains the zorse and who handles it on a daily basis. They are also excellent at jumping, driving, and trail. Zorses were first bred at the turn of the 19th century in South Africa in a government sponsored program. There are a few zorse breeding associations in the US, and are for sale to the public. They are not a very popular breed, but have been displayed in reality shows, such as MTV's My Super Sweet 16. Combining two beautiful mammals with intricate patterns, prints, and colours results in a luxurious and exotic must-have zoo animal! They're eye catching, and seem to be a noble and loyal breed. My personal thought... I WANT ONE!

-Vishana.M

Miracle Hybrid Story- Jaglion

This intense cat may not look familiar to you. That is may be because it is a hybrid called a "Jaglion", a mix between a jaguar and a lion. Jaglions have a jaguar father and a lion mother. Personally, I think it'll be amazing to see in person, being a fan of African cats myself. In fact, this beauty can be found right here in our very own province of Ontario! Her name is Jahzara. She was born on April 9, 2006 at Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Barrie. She has a sister named Tsunami, her mother's name is Lola, and father's name is Diablo. The amazing tale of Jahzara is truly considered a miracle. Jahzara and Tsunami's birth was unexpected. At the sanctuary, they do not breed animals, and try to prevent natural conceivement from the animals, but Lola and Diablo were insepperable. They arrived at BCWS weeks apart when they were mere cubs. They grew up together as youths, and developed a strong relationship. When growing into adulthood, staff tried to seperate them to prevent having babies. Although when they did seperate them, both cats suffered severe depression, and Lola even stopped eating. So they reunited, and all was well. When Jahzara and Tsunami were born, staff was unaware, and when they found the jaglions, Lola was with her daughter Tsunami, but Jahzara was abadonned in the cold weather by Lola, and was left in the foreground barely breathing. But as a lot of stories, it turned out to have a happy ending. Both babies are happy and healthy, and Diablo and Lola are not in the same space, but are right next door to each other. Lola is eating, and both 'love birds' are happy and healthy as well. Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is not open to the pulic, but private tours are welcomed to be scheduled. For more info about the sanctuary, visit their official website at: http://www.bearcreeksanctuary.com

- Vishana.M

Introduction

So this is Krystin West and Vishana Manoo's It's a Science Thing final summative. We have decided to compile a series of article responses, opinions, pictures, and so much more to show everything we love about science. This is for our Portfolio assignment. There were so many things we could do, but using social networking, and combining that with school is a more fun, creative, and well easier thing to do ;). All teenagers can blog, and post, tumblr and twitter, so that is exactly what we intend to do. Thank you for taking the time to read out blog, and listen to our opinions, and look at our pictures, and whatever else is on here. So without further adieu, It's A Science Thing with Krystin and Vishana
                                                                                                                                                                      -Krystin