Plasticity Lab: The Weirdest Thing in the World!

Hi! Today, we did a lab about the plasticity of the mantle. We used Cornstarch, water, a beaker, a spoon, and some blue food coloring. We mixed together about 1/4 cup of water and 1/3 cup of cornstarch. Using the spoon, we combined the two materials. Slowly, the mixture got harder to combine, and, gave the appearance of a solid. We put two drops of blue food coloring to color the, "concoction," and mixed a little more. By the end, we had a mysterous, blue, solid-looking, thing in the beaker. But, you can't judge a book by its cover, right? When I reached my hand into the beaker to grab some of it, it came out like a plastic ball. I held it in my hand, and in two seconds, IT MELTED! Thats right, it looked like a solid, and melted in my hand, like water! My instructor told me that this was called, "plasticity." Apperantly, it was how the mantle inside the earth was like! I pushed my finger in slowly, and the mixture bended around my finger. But, when I pushed my finger in fast, it broke apart. My instructor told me this was, "bending and breaking caused by stress. The same thing happens when the earth goes under stress. The stress by our fingers is doing the same thing as the earth." Isn't that cool?
In my opinion, this was a solid and a liquid. Its a soliquid! I think it is both because it was a solid, but, behaved like a liquid. When handled, this mixture is weird. How is this like the earth's mantle? Well, it is because it was a solid and a liquid. Next thing was isotasy, which explained why everything floated.

October Sky: My First School Movie Review!!!

Okay, so, in homeroom, we watched the movie, "October Sky." It was about a boy named Homer, is a total "jock." But, when watching the Soviet shuttle , Sputnik, fly over the sky of his hometown, the rockets orbit inspires Homer to start Rocketry. So, he does, and him and his friends, Roy Lee, and Odell, and the school math geek, Quentin. They begin experimenting and researching, and makes a rocket, which blows up his mothers new fence. They hike and build a base in a field of rocks, and, continue to test out their, "exploding rockets." Then, when a neighborhood steel man comes to watch their rocket, he tells them that the rockets explode from air bubbles, and, the base metal is too weak to stand the heat. So, the boys take metal from a nearby railroad track...But, they run into more obstacles. If you want more, you need to watch the movie!!
This movie has many Science/Math connections. First off, these boys study physics and engineering to create a rocket that actually flies. Secondly, the towns main business, the coal mine, is serious work. They cut and slay coal to be burned, and even turned into electricity and cement. Next, there is a science fair. Homer presents his knowledge on rockets, and his discovery, and, wins the national science fair. The Russians satellite, Sputnik, also plays an important role in the movie. First, it inspires the boys to start their, "mission." But, later, Homer drops out of school because his father was hurt coaling. He becomes a coal miner. As he goes down the elevator, he sees Sputnik flying, and is heartbroken that he had to give up his education and his dream. Next, these boys prove their innocence using math. Homer and his friends are arrested at school for starting a forest fire with their rockets. After, Homer drops out of school, but, is given a book by his teacher and inspiration, Mrs. Reilly. When Homer is free, he studies Rockets angles and locations. He goes with Quentin, and, find his rocket close to where they predicted it would land. He shows this formula to the authorities, and they predict a flare from a nearby airport started the blaze. Homer shows his invention to the science fair afterwards, and gets back in school. Also, there are health dangers. In the end, there are vignettes on what happens later. You learn that Mrs. Reilly dies of Hodgkin's Disease, a type of white blood cell cancer. She dies shortly after the boys launch their last rocket, the Mrs. Reilly. Another Vignette is about the father, John Hickman, the father who strongly disapproves of Homers beliefs and loves his mine. He dies of Black Lung Disease, which is from inhaling too much coal dust. Its effects are the same as tobacco chewing or smoking cigarettes.
At our school, we use CARES. This stands for cooperation, assertion, respect, empathy, and self-control. CARES is used through this movie. C, for Cooperation, is used with the four boys. Homer, Quentin, Roy Lee, and Odell all worked together to create a successful rocket, and, their invention won them the national science fair. A, for assertion, is used when Homer is with his dad. His dad strongly disapproves what Homer does, and, Homer relaxes himself and ignores it. R, for respect, is used with the peers. The steel man helps the young ones with their rocket. He treats them like grown men, and doesn't look down on them. E, for empathy, is used when Homer drops out of school. Homer's dad gets in an accident, and, is unable to work. So, Homer drops out of school and goes to the coal mine, in empathy of his family and father. And, lastly, S is for Self Control. This is used when Homer is arrested. The authorities arrest him, and, Homer and his friends relax themselves and stay calm, although they are in handcuffs. CARES is really expressed through this movie, and is a good example for Students.
All in all, this movie is AMAZING! It is a must see for others school, or with your family. It is the most wonderful hearwrencher, and is really a half and half. This movie is fantastic.

Cast List:
Jake Gyllenhaal Homer Hickam
Chris Cooper John Hickam
Laura Dern Miss Frieda Riley
Chris Owen Quentin Wilson
William Lee Scott Roy Lee Cooke
Chad Lindberg Sherman O'Dell
Natalie Canerday Elsie Hickam


Directed by Charles Gordon
Created in 1999
Read the book by Homer Hickam

My thoughts.....

I read tinkywinkyx123's blog the other day. There was something posted on Celiac Disease that really caught my attention.

Her Blog:
tinkywinkyx123


Well, based on her description, Celiac Desiese affects the small intestine. When these people eat food with wheat, (bread and such), it becomes a toxin. The patient gets bloating, and other extremely uncomfortable symptoms. Personally, I have heard of this disease before. And, the effects of having a simple PB&J sandwich are disastrous. I feel bad for people with this disease. For starters, they can never have the things people enjoy, such as, lasagna, pasta, bread, or a simple grilled cheese sandwich or burger. Instead, they have to eat other things. I would certainly love to help people with this genetic disorder. It would be fantastic if scientist were able to create bread or other meals that contain glutton, without the glutton. Get what I'm saying? Good. I, personally, have a few questions. Doesn't glutton contain fiber? And starcheProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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3F How do people with this disorder get this necessities? Do they need a pill or something? Also, if a child gets the disease, what exactly is included in this diet? I would certainly like to know. Thinking about this disease, its really not that bad. These kids can live a regular life, just, with a diet. So, I would definitely love to meet someone with this disease. I can learn something new. This disease is sad, but, there is always somewhere over the rainbow, where doctors find a cure.

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)

 Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is a rare, genetic disorder that affects boys within the ages of four to ten years. Basically, it is a disease that causes the loss or destruction of the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells in the brain. It also causes the progressive dysfunction of the adrenal gland. That makes long, fatty chains of acid form, and damage nerve cells, which leads to slurred speech, deafness, blindness, coma, and eventually, death. The mortality of this disease is over 85% of its patients.  ALD was discovered in 1993, which is recent. So, if you inferred, there is still a whole lot unknown about this disorder. At first, children seem "normal." But, as time goes on, they get behavior problems, such as ADD or ADHD, temper tantrums, and poor performance in school or other assignments/tasks. But, as time goes on, more symptoms show up, such as gait, auditory and urinary disturbances, slow progressive stiffness, weakness in the lower limbs, disorders relating to attention deficit, and hyperactivity. Eventually, the child's fatty acid levels rise, bringing destruction to the brain. This can be found during a CT scan or acid tests. The disease only appears in males, due to having two X chromosomes. Women can only be carriers, because they have one X chromosome. The disease happens in 1-20,000 children in the United States. On the molecular level, this disease is caused by an AG deletion on the nucleotide 1801-1802. This only happens on two X chromosomes. There is still much to understand about this rare disorder, but, a few treatments are available now. For example, patients can be put on steroids, a diet of low fat and bone marrow transplant. The most recent cure, which only works if discovered early enough, is called Lorenzo's Oil. With a combination of regular cooking oils, this can out balance the developments of fatty acids, and, bring the acid level back to normal. This was discovered by two parents wanting to cure their child, Lorenzo. 

Sources:

www.clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/170.php

healthlink.mcw.edu/article/921176192.html

Youtube: Lorenzo's Oil part 1