The Early Human World - Unit 7

Complex Societies were covered in Unit 7 of The Early Human World. Agriculture of the Americas is distinguished from that of Europe, and includes discussion of the ways that agricultural practices influenced lifestyles in different parts of the world. Early complex societies and varied lifestyles of North Americans before European contact is discussed as well.

The Early Human World - Unit 6

In Unit 6, we studied the big ideas of evidence, movement, and adaptation through stories of Otzi and the Amesbury Archer. We also studied rock art of the Sahara as evidence of life there before the climate changed. Stonehenge and Easter Island remain as mysteries yet to be solved. People were on the move on foot through the Alps as well as on raft in the Pacific. They adapted to conditions in different parts of Rapa Nui, developed farming in the Sahara, and produced technology as seen in the Iceman's Bronse Age ax.

Refrigeration

Did you know that there is no such thing as cold? You're just feeling the absence of heat. A refrigerator takes away heat and pumps it out the back and that's why the back of a refrigerator is so hot.

First, the compressor squeezes the refrigerant hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) so they release heat. The molecules release heat because they are losing kinetic energy and making friction. Then the HCFCs go into the External Heat Exchange Coil and the heat dissipates and the gas cools. Then they flow through the expansion valve to the Internal Heat Exchange Coil. Here they have more room to move so they absorb heat energy and turn it into kinetic energy. Then the molecules flow back to the compressor and it starts all over again.

Below is a model of the refrigeration system that I made using Google SketchUp.

The Early Human World - Unit 5

In Unit 5 of The Early Human World we studied about movement, settlement, diversity, and change among early humans. People moved from Asia into the Americas, and settled in places such as Monte Verde, Abu Hureyra, Koster, and Catalhouyuk. There was constant change among peoples during this time, as well as movement from hunter-gatherer to agrarian societies.

Brownian Motion and Diffusion

Brownian Motion was discovered by Robert Brown in 1827. He was studying plant pollen under a microscope, but he was frustrated because the pollen was moving. The water molecules were bumping the pollen molecules, therefore causing the movement that Brown saw. We tried to see Brownian Motion with talcum powder and dirt suspended in water, but we think our microscope wasn't strong enough.

Brownian Motion can also cause diffusion. Diffusion happens when molecules are bumped from an area of more concentration to less concentration. The movement is called concentration gradient. We experimented with diffusion by putting dye in water and watch it spread out, or diffuse. We put dye in cold water, hot water, and in stirred up water. The dye in the stirred water diffused immediately because the water molecules were bumping into the dye molecules very quickly. The dye in the cold water diffused more slowly, and the dye in the hot water diffused quickly, because when water molecules are heated, they move faster, therefore diffusing the dye molecules more quickly.

We also tried chocolate syrup in water. That took very long to diffuse, and it didn't completely diffuse, but mostly sank to the bottom. The syrup was too dense to be diffused by the water molecules, even when we left the sample out over night. The cold green dye sample did diffuse completely overnight, reaching a state of equilibrium. Equilibrium does not mean diffusion really stops, just that there is no more empty space for the dye to be bounced into by water molecules.

Diffusion happens in our lungs every day. The oxygen we breathe goes through the alveoli and diffuses into the blood, which then goes all around your body.

The Early Human World - Unit 4

Unit 4 of The Early Human World focused on how modern humans emerged. The big ideas covered in this unit were change and creativity, with primary sources documenting the emergence of people in Australia and animals they encountered, the disappearance of Neandertals and emergence of Cro-Magnons in Europe, technological innovations, and cave art.

Energy

The First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy can not be created nor destroyed, but only transform. We made a bow drill to see if we could change muscle energy into heat energy. Actually, all energy comes from the sun, since the food I ate comes from plants, or from animals who eat plants, and plants get their energy from the sun through photosynthesis.

For the bow drill, we took a bow-shaped stick, two blocks, and a straight stick. After stringing the bow-shaped stick, we tried to spin the straight stick with the bow. We got a little bit of heat, but it was hard to do!

The earliest people who made fire this way probably went through a lot of trial and error!

The Early Human World - Unit 3

Unit 3 brought us the characteristics of the hominid Homo erectus and showed migration and fossil evidence from Spain to Indonesia; explained hunting and butchering of large animals by the hominid Homo heidelbergensis; shared anthropologists' ideas of the nature of neandertals, and discussed the characteristics of the earliest humans.

The Early Human World - Unit 2

In unit 2 of The Early Human World, we studied bipedal hominids, the discoveries of Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy) and Australopithecus garhi (Garhi), Old Stone age and tools, butchering animals in Olduvai Gorge, and the discovery of Turkana Boy (Homo Erectus).

How To Become a Fossil

Animal dies- Torn apart by scavengers, stepped on, crushed, scattered by wind or rain

Buried quickly- Good chance of turning into a fossil

Animal rots- Under the protective layer of sand, mud, or ash

Leaves hard parts such as teeth and bones- parts that were alive now just minerals

The Early Human World - Unit 1

We just completed the first unit in The Early Human World, part of the series The World in Ancient Times published by Oxford University Press.

Some of the topics covered were beginnings of the Earth, fossil formation, earliest hominids, relationship between humans and chimpanzees, and Darwin's theory of evolution.

Schools Out!

The 2010-2011 school year is history! Well Done!


Morris Classical Academy is on break - summer session begins in July.


Happy Independence Day!

My book report on Into The Volcano by Don Wood

Into The Volcano by Don Wood is about two brothers, Sumo and Duffy, who leave their town to travel to the island of Kocalaha. There they meet Mr. Come-and-Go and their rich auntie,who lives in a Winnebago.

Sumo and Duffy go on an expedition where they meet Mango Jo, Paulina, and Kaelo. For the expedition, they have to go into a volcano, which proves very dangerous. Sumo gets burned, and Paulina almost drowns. When something happens to Duffy, Sumo must summon up courage he has never had in his whole life. Will they survive, or will their lives be taken in the searing lava? Read the book to find out.

A major theme in this book is self confidence. I like this book because it's a graphic novel, and it has a lot of adventure, mystery, and humor.

Yeast Experiment

Yeast is a fungus. They are one-celled organisms that eat sugar and then release carbon dioxide. Yeast is used for bread making to help the bread rise.

We did an experiment with dry yeast. The objective was to see what type of foods were good for the yeast. We put warm water in graduated cylinders and then put the yeast in the cylinders. Then we put different things in the cylinders. These were our results:

• honey - lots of small bubbles, smelled like bread


• molasses - big bubbles, smelled like molasses

• white sugar - lots and lots of bubbles, smelled like bread


• brown sugar - most bubbles, bubble explosions

The best food for yeast seems to be brown sugar because it is a mix of molasses and sugar.

The Nervous System

There are 3 kinds of nerves in the nervous system. Motor nerves are in charge of moving the body through voluntary and involuntary actions. Sensory nerves are in charge of picking up information from the senses. Connecting nerves connect the sensory and motor nerves to the brain and spinal cord.

For instance, you smell a flower, and the sensory nerves in your nose tell your brain, via the connecting nerves, that you smell the flower. However, sometimes the sensory signals do not go up to your brain. These are called reflexes. Say there is a bee coming by, flying right at your eye. Your eye blinks to protect the eye without you thinking about it. This is because if you did think about it, it would take too long. A reflex signal goes from sensory nerves, through connecting nerves to the spinal cord, then quickly back through connecting nerves to motor nerves that make you blink.

Sensory nerves are all over your body, but you have more in some places than in others. We did an experiment to show this. We opened a paperclip so that it had two points. Placing the points on the wrist, we recorded how many points were felt, either one or two. The feeling changed as the points were bent farther apart. Then we tried a fingertip and knee. Here are the results:

Body Part	Point Distance	# Felt
Wrist	0cm	1
	0.5cm	1
	1cm	1
	1.5cm	2
	2cm	2
Finger	0cm	1
	0.5cm	2
	1cm	2
	1.5cm	2
	2cm	2
Knee	0cm	1
	0.5cm	1
	1cm	1
	1.5cm	1
	2cm	2

We discovered some interesting things in this experiment. The finger has more sensory nerve cells close together than does the wrist or knee. This makes sense because we use fingers to feel things.

Muscle & Bone

Backbones
The backbone is made up of 32 little bones, and helps us bend and twist. Between each bone is cartilage that allows the bones to move around. As an example, we made a model backbone.

We tried bending a straw without letting it break, but we could hardly move it. A bone that can't bend is good for your arm or leg, but not your back.

We cut the straw into little pieces, and strung them onto a string. It was much easier to move this way. This is more like our backbones.















Muscle Fatigue

Muscle fatigue can happen when you do the same thing over and over without stopping, such as working in a factory. We found out about muscle fatigue with an experiment. I opened and closed a clothespin as many times as I could for 30 seconds, and recorded the results. We tried this four times, and the results are below:

1. 76 times
   


2. 73 times


3. 62 times


4. 61 times

This shows that if you do the same thing over and over again, you get worse at it because your muscles get tired. This is called muscle fatigue.

Earth Day 2011

Happy Earth Day!

Today we took a hike and saw a variety of birds in the meadowlands marshes:

Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Warbler (can't remember what kind)
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Robin
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow
Red-Winged Blackbird
Canada Goose (including nest w/eggs)
Shoveler
Deerkill
Plover
Mallard Ducks
Comorant
Merganser

The Snow Man

The snow softly swishes on the ground.
I see the snow.
The snow sound calms me down.

A serene world comes,
Where the snowmen softly glide on ice.

Isn't it nice
To glide on ice
And spin thrice
And land with a thump
And a whoosh again, whoosh again
Whoosh again, whoosh again.

Inside you drink cocoa and eat popcorn.
Pop!
He fills it to the top.

And the snow goes whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whossh
As the wind blows it away.

Weathering

Weathering is the chemical or physical change of rocks.

Physical changes can happen when water gets into rock cracks, then freezes and expands to make the cracks bigger. Wind can wear away rock and make holes. This picture shows a rock worn away by wind. Gravity can also contribute to weathering by causing landslides.

Chemical changes transform rock without actually breaking the rock. A metaphor for this would be charcoal turning gray as it burns. A chemical change that you might know is oxidation, also known as rust. Oxidation happens when oxygen is combined with another substance, usually metal, and the metal turns brown and gets weaker.

Another chemical change is acid rain, which forms when sulfuric and carbonic acid combine and make rainwater more acidic. Carbonic acid can also get into rock and form caves.

Density

We measured the density of a bolt and a lego.

First, we figured out the mass of each using a triple beam balance. The bolt's mass was 96.85 grams; the lego's mass was 2.1 grams.

Next, we found the volume of each by submerging in a graduated cylinder of water. The bolt displaced 15ml of water; the lego displaced 3ml of water.

To get density, divide mass by volume, or D=m/v.

The bolt's density is 96.85/15 = 6.456 g/cc.
The lego's density is 2.1/3 = 0.7 g/cc.

The bolt is a lot more dense than the lego. This makes sense because the bolt is solid metal, but the lego is hollow plastic.

We tried to measure a packing peanut, but discovered it was biodegradable when it disintegrated in the water! It also floated. If we were quicker, we could attach a heavy washer to it to get the peanut under water, but then we'd also have to measure the mass and density of the washer too.

Energy Resources

Energy may be created by using fossil fuels. The fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. These are nonrenewable resources.

There is also nuclear energy which is created by either splitting atoms (fission) or joining them together (fusion). The downside to nuclear energy is that it's chemicals are harmful.

Solar energy is energy from the sun which is collected by solar collectors such as solar panels.

Hydroelectricity is energy created from water. Geothermal energy is energy from heat deep inside the earth. Wind energy is created through the use of windmills.

Biomass or wastes are animal waste, wood, or garbage that is burned to create energy. Bioconversion is when biomass is changed into a liquid or gaseous fuel.

I Have A Dream

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The most famous part of the speech includes these words:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

In this part of the speech, he hopes that the future generations to come will not misjudge each other based on skin color.

Dr. King also quoted the Declaration of Independence. He said, ...this note was a promise that all men, yes, black men and white men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... He also quoted the songs My Country Tis of Thee, and Handel's Messiah.

Dr. King effectively used repetition, such as the line "I have a dream today," familiar quotes, imagery, and metaphor to explain what was happening to African Americans, and what he dreamed might happened in the future.

Canada

Canada is huge. In fact, it's the second largest country in the world, after Russia. Canada has ten provinces, which are New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, British Colombia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland. Canada has large areas of rugged tundra, so most people live in the southern part of the country.

The first settlers were native peoples, who came over from Asia through Alaska. Then, in the year 1000 A.D., the Vikings came over from Scandinavia and settled Vinland, now Newfoundland. About 600 years later, Samuel de Champlain came from France and founded Montreal, now one of the largest cities in Canada. On July 1, 1867, Canada gained its independence. That day is now called Canada Day.

Canada has a government like ours, but they have a prime minister instead of a president. Also like the U.S.A., the economy is a mix of manufacturing and service industries.

Canada has a beautiful landscape but also has a interesting history.

Inertia

Newton's First Law of Motion says that objects at rest tend to stay at rest until a force pushes or pulls the objects.

To demonstrate this, I put a piece of paper on an upside-down cup, then put another, right-side-up cup on top of the paper. When I just pulled on the piece of paper, the top cup fell. However, when I held the piece of paper out and hit it with a really quick downward motion of my free hand, the paper came out without the top cup falling over!

This happened because the paper moved fast enough to overcome the friction between the cup and paper, but too fast to overcome the inertia of the top cup, so the top cup stayed at rest. This trick also worked with a piece of satin and a smooth TV tray. I was able to drop coins into a jar and keep books on the table. Using a cloth dish towel and a fabric bench top didn't change much, but the books moved a little more because of the increased friction.