Reasons for the seasons

Guiding Question: How does the tilt of the earths axis affect affect the light it affects at it rotates around the sun?

When it comes to winter in the northern hemisphere, which areas get the most concentrated light? When it is winter in the norther hemisphere, it is summer in the southern, meaning that area has the best concentrated light. Areas near the equator are the brightest and warmest, and the south pole receives the least amount if light and is the coldest. On the other hand, in the northern hemisphere there is much less light. there is some near the equator and almost nothing in the north pole.

Compare your observations between the way the light hit the equator during winter and summer between the north pole and the equator In summer, the northern hemisphere is tilted slight towards the sun, therefore there is more light in the north pole and everywhere from the equator up. In the winter, the northern hemisphere is tilted slightly away from the sun, therefor there is less light. There is hardly any light in the north pole and not very much from the equator up.

If the squares become larger from the light on the grid, what can you infer about the heat of the light shining on it? If the size of the square gets larger, I can probably conclude that the heat bearing down on it is warmer. Because of the light shining on it, it will get warmer and the grids will grow bigger.

According to your observations, which areas on earth are warmest? which areas are coolest? I would say that the areas closest to the equator are the warmest because no matter what season it is, most of the concentrated light always shines in that spot. The coldest areas on this planet are probably the poles. Because even in summer, hardly any light reaches there to warm it up.

What time of year would the toothpicks shadow be longest? When would it be shortest? I would guess that the time of year when the shadow is longest would be summer because that's when the most light would be shining on it, and because light can't break through barriers, it causes a shadow. Which means that the time of year when the shadow would be shortest would be winter because little light is shining on it.

How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the suns rays? The more concentrated the light from the sun is, the brighter and straighter the squares will appear on the earth. The angle of light will cause the squares to appear stretched or faint when it comes at it from a slight tilt.

Use information form your observations to write an explanation of why the seasons change
Because of Earth's orbit, the southern and northern hemisphere will alternately tilt towards or from the sun. The light and heat reflected from the sun is what causes the seasons. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, it's either summer or spring, and when it's tilted away it's either fall or winter.

What did you notice about the phases of the moon? I noticed that the phases of the moon changed according to the way the sun shone on them. When the moon orbits, it doesn't spin the way our earth does, so we only see one side of the moon. As it circles around the earth, the shape of the earth effects how much sun will be shining on it, therefor how much light we see on the moon. The amount of light reflected off off of the moon is what causes the different shapes, and therefore the phases of the moon. I noticed that when the moon was closest to the sun, we see a new moon because the light is shining on the other side, and when the moon is farthest from the sun, we see a full moon because of the angle that the light is reflecting off of it. Why do we see different parts of the moon each night? We see different phases of the moon each night because the sun is always shining on the moon at a different angle. When the moon is closest to the sun, we see a new moon. When the moon is farther away, we see a full moon. The crescent moons we see are when the moon is half way between the sun and the earth and is either angling towards a new moon or a full moon.
What is a lunar month? A Lunar month is about the time measured that it take for the moon to rotated fully around the earth once. The moon takes about 29.9 days to make a complete orbit around earth, so our lunar months are around 30-31 days. How does the moon, sun and Earth interact to cause so many things to occur? What causes an eclipse and tide? The moon and sun are the reason for many of earths natural phenomenons. Since the begging of time, people have wondered about the phases of the moon, what causes the eclipse, and what causes the changing tides. The moon, sun, and earth are the reason for all of these things. The amount if light reflected on the sun is the reason for the new, full, and crescent moons. The earth also plays a part in the moon cycle. The earth will stop or block the light, and the rotation of earth will effect how we see the moon and how close to us it is. The earth blocking out the sun is what causes the eclipse of the moon. Every few years, the sun, earth, and moon will come into a prefect alignment, and the earth will block out all light from the moon. As they come together, the earth reflects a shadow on the moon, making it disappear for a few hours without any light. The moon is also what causes the changing tides. The pull of gravity let off by the moon effects the water cycle, causing high and low tides.

Wave unit reflection

How does the use and study of waves affect societal well-being?: The study of waves has many effects on different parts of our societal well being. It can effect our health, safety, and even our mental well being. By studying the electromagnetic spectrum, we have discovered many new ways to explore space, the human anatomy, cures, etc. Radio waves have helped us in many different waves. Without radio waves we wouldn't have any radio or TV, therefore information wouldn't be passed on or shared as easily, and people would be un- informed about important events or discoverys. Microwaves are a common household product that makes jobs around the home simpler. Infrared waves provide a source of heating, and are also used for military purposes. We have created infrared that gives us a clear view of how hot or cold something is. Visible light is the light that we see, and without it, we wouldn't be able to survive. Ultraviolet rays are the next wave in the electromagnetic spectrum, and one of the most important. Ultraviolet rays come from the sun, and these rays allow plants and animals to thrive. Without Ultraviolet rays, nothing would live. The next and most powerful wave in the electromagnetic spectrum is the Gamma Ray wave. By exploring Gamma rays, we have learned a lot about space. By harnessing the power of Gamma rays we have been able to look into the deepest and most complicated places in space such as black holes or supernovas.

By studying seismic and water waves, we have been able to make many breakthroughs in the study of earthquakes and tsunamis, which could potentially save millions of lives. We have discovered how fault lines work, and what the changes in them can mean. We know have divised warnings that give people enough time to flee or at least prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis, and we have also come up with many different ways to measure them, like the rector scale. By learning the effects of these waves, the way they travel, and different defense mechanisms against them, we can assure a safer community for citizens all over the world.

Sound waves are the last unit we studied. Sound is the reason for many of life's most beautiful components. With sound, we create music, laughing, and other beautiful noises. But sound is also the reason for many physical and mental illnesses. Noise pollution is a component of sound scientists are currently looking into. Noise occurs when a sound has no notified timbre and the pitch isn't pleasant. Noise pollution can be anything from the sound of a jackhammer in the streets to extremely loud music. It can result in hearing loss, changes in behavior, and mental illness from feeling powerless against it. We are currently looking into how to prevent noise pollution or at least lessen it. We have come up with things like headphones and soundproof glass that are the basics of what could stop noise pollution.

What did you learn during the unit? I learned many things throughout this unit. Not only did I learn that things like sound, light, and even earthquakes travel through waves, but I learned a lot about how they travel and what components effect the way they reach or effect us. At the beginning of this unit, I had no further knowledge about many of these waves or the way they traveled. At the begging, we learned that there were three basic types of waves, transverse, longitudinal, and combination waves. We learned that many waves need to travel through a medium, like air or water, and that these waves are called mechanical waves. Later on in the unit, we learned about how water waves, sound waves, and light waves travel, and what kind of wave they were. We also did essays and reports on how waves can effect us and the people in our community, and how science is being applied in the study of these waves. We learned all of the basics of waves, but also how they effect me, my family, the people in my community, and people all over the world.

What did you like? Some of the things I really liked about this unit were all of the projects we did. We didn't just sit and take note, but we got to do cool experiments that allowed us to visualize the things we were learning. An example of this would be when we were learning about the way transverse waves travel, and we filed a bucket with water and set up barriers. This was how we learned about diffraction, and we had a lot of fun doing it. I also liked how we didn't just learn the basic properties of waves, but we learned how they effect us in our communities and how science is being applied to helping us stay safe.

What would you change or add for next year's grade 7 students? My favorite part of the unit and what I feel was the most enjoyable part of the unit was the Food irradiation debate. Next year, I think the students should be encouraged to debate more during the unit.

Food iradiation Post

In order to introduce this topic, we read a section from our science textbook explain what for irradiation was, the way we used it, and some of the pros and cons. Afterwards, we discussed the reading in class. We then spilt up into two groups, for irradiation and against it, and looked up information to debate with. I as partnered with Mafia Turner and Luka Jukic to fight against Food irradiation. Once we discussed it, we found that there were many problems regarding this topic. Some of which were that it may cause cancer after a long period of time, but we aren’t completely done studying it so we don’t know all of the effects it has on people. Studies have been shown that animals that ate irradiated food have had problems like premature death, rare form of cancer, liver damage, and vitamin deficiencies. It is also very un- ethical. Food irradiation is caused when food is charged with gamma rays. In order to provide the appropriate environment to do so, governments have to sacrifice millions of dollars, which damages many already broken economies. It is also forcing family farmers out of their business. The big corporations that are domination the food market are no match for local organic farmers, which is now forcing people out of their jobs. Also, it is bad for the environment. The process produces waste, and the way we dispose of it often takes a toll on the earth. Often times, we dispose of the waste by burring it deep under the ground. On top of all that, it’s not 100% successful. The process doesn’t always work and it doesn’t kill off all of the bacteria, including those of which cause mad cow disease. It also kills up to 10% of the healthy vitamins and minerals in your food. But not all of the effects of food irradiation are bad. Every year millions of Americans get sick or doe because of spoiled food. Food irradiation kills up to 99.9 percent of the bad germs that cause illness on food without causing any excess substances in the produce. Although there are risks, it is proved safe by many governments and is legal. Food irradiation is expensive, but the average American wastes around 5-7 billion dollars on spoiled food, and food irradiation is proven to keep food healthy and edible for up to ten days longer by preventing sprouting and ripening in food. We have a long way to go in perfecting the study of food irradiation, but it hasn’t been proven to cause any immediate health risks and irradiated food isn’t proven to be radioactive. Although there are many cons to food irradiation, there are many pro’s to the process as well. This is why we have made a proposal to the government that we feel is a good compromise to both the people that believer there is nothing wrong with irradiation and the side that feels that it is wrong to enhance our produce.

Dear Food and Drug Administration,

The seventh grade students at the International School of Belgrade have recently debated both the pros and cons of food irradiation, and we have come up with a compromise to suit both parties. We feel like before we sell anything edible to consumers, there should have been a complete study testing for both the long and short term effect the product with have on the consumer, the consumers family, and the consumers loved ones. It is only fair that the consumer knows what he/she is eating and the chemical that are going into his/her body. Also, we feel that once all studies are finished, it would only be appropriate to clearly label all irradiated foods. We feel it is also important that wholesome organic food is available at a reasonable price and that the industry of food irradiation doesn’t dominate the produce market. We hope that you will respect our wishes or at least take them into consideration.

Thank you for your time,

-Seventh graders at the International School of Belgrade.

I believe that scientists had very good intentions when working on the field of food irradiation, but it will be the intentions that kill the organic industry. I feel like charging our food with electromagnetic waves is complete abuse of science. Food irradiation was invented so that food would stay fresh longer, therefore making it simpler to package and ship or trade with other states or countries and also to reduce the amount of money spent on spoiled food. And although it does fill its purpose, we are not done studying all of the effects and are not sure what the effect it will have on people is in later life. Not only could it be dangerous, but I have mentioned many of the moral, ethical, and environmental issues it has on people, the economy, and the environment. If I were to have a choice of buying either irradiated food or organic food, I will usually stick with organic foods because I am confident of the chemicals that both me and my family will be eating.