What's Happening....

We've had some really exciting projects and discussions happening in the science classroom. Check it out!

Physical Science --> Students are learning how color and the elements relate to each other, and are applying that knowledge to designing a fireworks display.

Advanced Biology --> Case studies, with their real world applications and mess solutions, are really bringing out the best in the students. With our focus on body systems, students are getting to grapple with medical mysteries and work cooperatively with friends. It is a win-win.

Earth Science --> Ancient Idaho! Each students took a different era in ancient Idaho history and is designing a "exhibit" for our classroom. Some of these are virtual exhibits (think websites) and some are hands-on models.

Kitchen Biology --> For our bellwork this last week we have been focusing on the science of sleep. We had an amazing student-led discussion today where experiments were proposed, questions were asked, and everyone talked about the importance of sleep. Definitely a subject teenagers can get excited about!

Biology --> Personally, I'm not sure there is a happier sight than kids playing in the dirt. Biology students got to do just that yesterday, as they started both an experiment on seed germination, and planted a container garden that spans the bank of windows in the science classroom. We are very excited to get to taste the radishes and spinach.

Chemistry -->In chemistry we had far too much fun making things implode and explode with the power of gas laws. Ask your student to show you how they can crush pop-cans with ice water.

Metal by Caleb

A metal is a solid that is usually shiny malleable and ductile. Many metals are good thermal and electrical conductors. Malleable metals, such as gold, can be flattened to very thin sheets. Metals are used in almost all things. They are used in most technological devices that are produced.

(The picture above shows different metals that haven't been refined)

          Metals are frequently used to hold things together, or hold things up. Metals are mined from the earth using quarries and mineshafts. There are different types of metal like alkaline earth metals and alkali metals. Alkaline earth metals are in group 2 of the periodic table. Alkali metals are the element found in group 1 on the periodic table.

(In the picture above there are refined metals)

Germination in Plants by Shylo

What is germination in plants? Some ask this question and actually don’t know what it is. Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. What we are doing in class is experimenting to see whether a plant can grow better in light or dark, in cold or hot, etc. We are seeing if they can germinate and we are going to watch them germinate over time.

The class is also growing a garden to harvest and experiment in class what we could do. In class we are learning about plants and their environments and what they prefer to grow best in.

Skeletal System Blog Post by Danielle

Bones in the skeletal system

The human skeleton has 206 bones. There are two layers to the bone. The exterior layer is called the compact bone because it is very dense and compact. The interior layer is called the spongy bone because it is less compact and has a more open lattice structure. In the spongy layer is where red marrow is found. Some of the bones of the human body include: the skull, ulna, radius, tibia, fibula, femur, phalanges, humerus, ulna, clavicle, etc.

The Importance of the Skeletal System

The skeletal system is all the bones and tissues such as; tendons, ligaments, and cartilage that connect them. The skeletal system is a very important structure for the human body. The skeletal system is strong but light. It’s main job is to provide support for our body. Without the skeletal system we would just be big blob of skin and guts on the floor.  Another important job of the skeletal system is to protect our internal organs. An example of this is the skull and how it protects our brain. The skeletal system also provides movement to the human body. They do this by providing the structure for muscles. Tendons are what muscles use to attach themselves to the bone.

How To Keep Bones Healthy

Bones require good amounts of exercise to stay strong and healthy. Walking and other activities like walking are a great way to keep your bones as strong as possible. Another great way to keep your bones strong is by drinking your milk, and by eating other dairy products that contain a lot of calcium. Calcium is important for bones because it helps them stay strong and hardened.

Question: Which part of the skeletal system do you think is the most important to the human body?

Nuclear Power by Steven

Nuclear Power

The topic was about Nuclear power. This is about how we are close to having energy without using fossil fuels. This is also about how we can power cities and the pros and cons to having nuclear power.

With nuclear power we can have nearly unlimited power. Nuclear power is also going to be hard to sustain control over. Nuclear power can cause cancer if a power plant was to leak. Nuclear power plants can be a possible target for terrorists to attack.

My questions for you guys to wonder about is what could you create with nuclear power? How might you be affected by nuclear power plants?

This is an important topic because this could possibly be the way we will power everything. The reason why this is important is because nuclear power can either lead to prosperity or lead to our disaster. 

Long weekends and sunshine

I hope all of you enjoy your long weekend.  Here are some science activities you could do with your kids-

Physical science- the students have been involved in writing children's books about different elements. Have them sit down and read their story to you. We had a great time reading them in class today. You can also ask them about radiation, and which common objects emit low levels of radiation.

Advanced Biology- we are starting a big unit on body systems. Go on a walk with you student and ask them to explain how bone and muscle work together to let us move! When we act out the motion as we explain it we learn better.

Earth Science- students learned how to be paleontologist by asking a series of questions about a rock. Have your student pick a rock from the yard and walk you through this process- you will be amazed to find out how much you learn about your rock!

Kitchen Biology- we just made bread from our very own sourdough starters this week. Try making another type of yeasted bread with your student, and compare the process and taste.

Biology- students are learning how to classify living things, and as part of that we went protist hunting with our microscope. What other small organisms can you look for on a walk in this area?

Chemistry- we have been learning about different types of reactions, and how to balance chemical equations. Try and brainstorm with your student all the different reactions that take place around you in the world. What elements or compounds are involved?

Silver by Lydia

➔    In class we are covering different elements. I picked Silver because I think it is very interesting. Silver is used in many things you would not expect.

Three interesting facts (I did four.)

➔    Some interesting facts are; Silver is sustainable to water. If you drop it in

      water and/or leave it in the water for any period of time it will not get tarnished or rust. That is why when you wear a “sterling silver ring” it wont rust. Another interesting fact about silver is that it is one of the only elements that can “exist in its native state.” That means that silver can be found in nuggets or slivers, if you look in the right places. My third fact is silver is nontoxic to humans. We can eat it and nothing will happen. Sometimes they even have people eat silver to cure sicknesses. It can kill germs in your body. Last but not least, silver is one of the first five metals to be discovered. It has known to be around since ancient times. There have been things found that were made out of Silver before 4000 BC. Scientist believe it was first discovered around 5000 BC.

Questions to ponder

➔    If we didn’t have silver, what would people have used instead?

➔    What is the boiling point of silver?

➔    What is the atomic number of silver?

➔    What is the atomic mass of silver?

➔    How do people make things out of silver?

➔    Who first discovered silver?

Why is this topic important?

➔    This is important because it is one of the elements in our world. It can help you better understand the world around you. You notice how many things silver is in. Also it makes you start thinking about other elements. The better you understand our universe the better we can take care of it.

Weather by Shylo

What is weather? Well weather is all around you. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc. What we did in class over the past week was we started on a project on tornadoes, wind, life in 2047, how much water plants can live off of, and I did my project on the weather of the seasons and which plant will grow the most. For my project, I noticed that the weather in the summer won’t grow anything. The plant that grew the most was the spring cup. The spring cup grew so much because it had the perfect amount of water and sunlight. The Summer was was under a lamp 24/7 with little water. The fall cup was in the fridge with some water and sprouted a little bit. The winter one had no chance of surviving. The winter cup froze every night and thawed during the day. This shows that the season that plants choose to grow in is spring time. That also shows that plants need water and sunlight depending on the plant; In this case I used Zinnias.

Yeast by Abbey

  Yeast is a very interesting topic that, believe it or not, plays a pretty big role in our life. Yeast is eukaryotic microorganism in the Fungi kingdom. In class we have learned that we use yeast in more than we think. Yeast is such a reliable easy fungi to get to it is very helpful for us. Yeast is a lot more complex than you might think. For example, a sourdough starter can be made using just flour and water with some air. Crazy right!?

            Although there is a ton of different species of yeast found and discovered, there is three main different kinds of yeast. There is bakers yeast, this is used for fermenting and the yeast is alive. Brewers yeast is used for a food supplement it is dehydrated. Last is dead yeasts, it keeps its minerals but it is not able to make bread.

Interesting Facts-

●     There are over 500 species of yeast

●     Yeast may have asexual and sexual reproduction styles

●     It is extremely hard to actually kill yeast

            Now that I have told you a few basics about yeast, ponder this question.. How do we use yeast in our everyday lives?

            Yeast is extremely helpful and beneficial. Yeast helps provide us with many options for food. It is used in baking and fermentation which provides humans with food. It helps us make dairy products, alcohol, and breads. Yeasts are also very common in the environment. Yeast is very hard to kill making it a great,easy source for reactions. 

The diversity of life

One subject that seems to be popping up in the classroom lately is the diversity of living organisms. In Advanced Biology students were  oohing and aawwwing over the different phyla of animals (try googling blue ringed octopus, sea slugs, or sea stars).

In Earth Science we discussed Jared Diamond's Collapse, and how a loss of tree and bird species led to the failure of a human civilization.

In Kitchen Biology students got to smell first hand the diversity of yeast and bacteria species that are in the air around us, as some of the sourdough starters were growing perfectly, and some actually bubbled over the jars with colonies we didn't want growing.

Finally, Biology is learning all about nonliving and living things that can give us disease, such as viruses and bacteria.

What diversity of organisms has shown up in your life recently?

A western tanager in a ponderosa pine- two different species we know well in GV

Conifers by Shyenne

In Advanced Biology we studied conifers. Our class got to be botanists and sort out the different conifers. The project took about a full hour and we almost got all of them right. It was a pretty fun project though! There were all these different ones, you had your conifers, your Douglas firs, there was even a blue spruce in the batch.

            There are some cool things about being a botanist though. Like the fact that you get to sort things into different piles. Some might say that’s not cool or fun but to me it actually is. Another interesting thing about being a botanist is that you can take as much time as you want to feel, taste, smell, and even test to see which group or subgroup they go into. Maybe they are the same species but don’t look alike. Maybe they are different but you get to test this out and learn if they are or not.

            So I have a question. What do you think that the botanists are studying today or recent history?

            There are many different reasons for this topic (botanists) to be important. Botanist have to study species and be able to identify what they are. If they can’t then how can we tell where our future or past is going to go. Is our world changing at all or how as it changed? We can’t answer these questions without our botanists there to help us along the way.

Yeast: Tiny But Mighty, by Sara Jane

            Yeast, though small, makes a huge contribution to the environment and humans. Yeast are the janitors for many habitats. Yeast is beneficial to food because it emits CO2 and contains a lot of vitamins and acids that are good for humans and animals. Yeast is wonderful in the medical field as well as biotechnology. But before all of that- what IS yeast?

            What in the world is yeast? Yeast is a type of single celled, microscopic fungi that is often found in dirt, water, on plants, or even on the skin of humans and animals. Breaking things down to a cellular level, a yeast cell is round and oval shaped. They reproduce by budding (which only takes about 20 minutes), which can be seen as small bumps on the surface of these cells. As stated by an article on HowStuffWorks.com, “The yeast cell is oval or round and has a thin membrane. Under ideal conditions of moisture, temperature, and food supply, it reproduces asexually, by budding. When a yeast cell reaches full growth, a budlike swelling forms on its surface.” If you’ve ever seen yeast that is used for baking, you might think that the yeast are those small, grain-like particulates. In fact, those are HUGE colonies of yeast. Think of the entire population of New York then multiply that number by 3. That is the approximate number of yeast in one of those crumbs. What is yeast? To sum up, yeast is a tiny fungus that reproduces very quickly.

            Yeast maintain the environment. Like other fungi, yeast gets food from organic matter. “[…] they secrete enzymes that break down the organic matter into nutrients they can absorb” states HowStuffWorks.com. Because they feed off of organic matter, yeast often cleans up fallen leaves. This makes room for new growth.

            Yeast in very beneficial in the culinary world. Yeast emits CO2. This CO2 is useful because it creates air pockets in food. The yeast in rolls is what gives rolls their airiness. Yeast is full of vitamin B (10%), iron (1%), and amino and fatty acids. Humans need vitamin B because it helps to convert food into energy, iron for healthy blood, and acids to deteriorate food. Humans cannot make all of the amino acids we need in order to function, and yeast can provide the required amino acids. Yeast does something called ferment, which is the breaking down of starch and sugar. When the yeast ferments starch and sugar, it converts them into carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. This happens because of absence of oxygen and is a process commonly used in making alcohol. Yeast is very beneficial to the culinary world because of CO2 emission and fermentation.

            Yeast in the medical field and the world of technology has been revolutionary. Yeast is helpful in lowering high cholesterol. It is also used in medicine as a source of enzymes, which is a fancy word for proteins. Proteins can enhance immune systems, create hormones, balance pH levels, send out antibodies, and all that jazz. Both the supplement of yeast in our diet and the lack of it are commonly used in the medical field. Too much yeast creates a problem called Candida which, stated by Maura Shenker, “is a fungal overgrowth in your system that can cause fatigue, weight gain, joint pain and symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome.” In order to get rid of Candida, you need to cut off yeast from your diet along with sugars that feed it. Too little iron in the body is easily fixed by eating more yeast. As for yeast behind biotechnology, alcohol isn’t the only thing that fermentation is good for. Fermentation can also be used to make ethanol, which is oil. This makes for fuel that is better for the environment. Once again, we have yeast looking out for nature, as well as our bodies. Thanks yeast!

            Yeast is unbelievably helpful! Because of yeast the environment is clean, our food is airier, and our medicine is more advanced. Now I leave you with this question, without yeast, is our lives easier and healthier?