A Year of Documented Learning

Throughout this school year, we have studied the many aspects of Earth science, from astronomy to Earth's waters, from Earth's atmosphere to Geology. There were (of coarse) particular lessons that stood out among others throughout the year.

1) Astronomy- I particularly enjoyed the unit on astronomy. We studied The sun,the phases or the moon and space exploration, yet my favorite lesson was that on the heliocentric and geocentric theories. I found the history of these theories to be particularly fascinating. Geocentricity is the theory that the Earth is the center of the universe and everything revolves around it. This theory was widely believed in the middle ages, yet now almost everyone believes the theory of geocentricity, the theory that the sun is the center of our solar system.





2) Atmosphere-This year, we also studied Earths atmosphere, a topic from which I learned a lot. I particularly enjoyed learning about the different layers of the atmosphere. The first layer is the Troposphere inside of which weather occurs. The second layer is the Stratosphere, the layer that jets fly through. This layer absorbs harmful rays from the sun because the ozone layer is located at the bottom. Next is the Mesosphere, the layer that burns any meteor or rock fragments coming to Earth. The fourth layer is the Thermosphere, the layer that space shuttles orbit in and auroras occur. Last is the Exosphere, the layer where the atmoshere merges into space.




3) We also studied geology, learning of plate tectonics, earthquakes and different types of rocks and minerals, yet my favorite subject was the types of volcanoes. We learned that there are three types of volcanoes- shield volcanoes, cindercone volcanoes and composite volcanoes. Shield volcanoes are gently sloping hills from which lava may flow. cindercone volcanoes are volcanoes that erupt once, yet usually are very explosive. They may erupt lava, ash and bombs (very large rocks). Composite volcanoes are tall, cone shaped volcanoes that may be calm or explosive.



4) Another topic that we looked at was weathering and erosion- two processes that work together to break down and carry away the rocks and sediment at Earths surface. I particularly enjoyed learning of the different types of mass movement( processes that move sediment downhill). These include landslides-the quick movement of rocks and soil downhill, mudflows- the downhill movement of water, rock and soil, slump- a large mass of moving material and creep- the very slow movement of rocks and soil.



5) The last and most recent topic we studied was Earth's waters. I enjoyed learning of the unique properties of water. Water is "the universal solvent meaning it can dissolve many different substances. Water has specific heat meaning it is the only substance found in both solid, liquid and gas in normal temperatures on Earth. Water also has high surface tension, meaning it sticks to both other water molecules and other substances.

Manitou and Colorado Springs drinking water

Manitou's primary water source is the Manitou Spring reservoir, located in the national forest. This reservoir is closed to all recreational activities. From the reservoir, water is sent to the water treatment plant and purified, than being sent to Manitou residents, making them among the first to use this water. Colorado Springs gets nearly 75% of their water from snow in the mountains. This water travels about 200 miles through 25 reservoirs and dams before reaching Colorado Springs.






http://coloradospringsasource.googlepages.com/SportsRec-CrystalRes.jpg/Sports

Water cycle

1. The water cycle is a cycle of the movement and actions of water over the coarse of time. These actions include evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

2. The water cycle has no begging or end, for it is a cycle and repeats itself.

3.A puddle on a sunny day would, because of the sunlight, turn to gas or evaporate. As it moves into the sky, it forms a cloud and eventually attaches to a particle and condensates. Once it becomes too heavy, the cloud breaks down into particles(known as precipitation) and likely form more puddles.

Recycling

Annotated bibliography

http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html
oberlin.edu was a very helpful source for my project. This website shared a lot of information and statistics about recycling and accesive use of products by Americans. This website also listed the main products that can be recycled.

http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html
This website also gave a lot of information, yet it focused on the use of materials in America and how, if everyone were to recycle, the world would become a better, safer and healthier place. This website really helped to put into prospective How much people waste that they could recycle.

bfa.sdsu.edu/recycle/pdf/flyer1.pdf
This website was helpful because it gave a list of specific, household items that can and should be recycled. It also gave a list of items that should not be disposed of and, if they were, could cause major destruction to nature and our world.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2308897_recycle-home.html
This website helped me to understand not only how one could go about recycling by collecting certain materials and sending them to a plant, but how to recycle everyday on a personal scale. This website highlights the non-traditional ways to recycle such as composting biodegradable substances.

What it means to be green

essential questions

1) Q:What, specifically about your project are you going to research?

A:I am going to research what objects can be recycled and the statistics of recycling and trash in America.

2) Q: What conclusions did you come to? What do you recommend average citizens do to make a difference? Be specific.

A: Almost anything can be recycled in some way, yet, what specifically can be sent to plants and be restored and reused includes paper, aluminum, other scrap metal, plastic, glass, plastic and rubber. Recycling these products and more can help reduce the amount of trash that goes into landfills and dumps, for every American adult disposes nearly 600 times his/her weight in trash every year. If citizens were to begin recycling just some of their trash, the amount of trash that goes into landfills and the amount of raw resources used to produce recyclable products would be reduced immensely.Each human uses approximately one one hundred foot tall douglas fir tree worth of paper and wood products each year. If more people were to recycle these paper products, we would not cut down as many trees to produce them. People can easily recycle products by collecting them and bringing them in to a local collector(sometimes stores)of recyclable products.

3) Q:What would happen if, worst-case scenario, nobody listened to your recommendations?

A: If nobody listened to my recommendations, than the amount of trash that goes into dumps would increase rather than decrease. The amount of trees used would increase and the amount of trees cut down each year would also increase.

4) Q:What would happen if, best-case scenario, everybody listened to your recommendations?

A:If everybody were to listen to my recommendations, than the amount of trash in landfills would be reduced, less natural resources would be used and we could begin to focus on other problems with the Earth.