October Sky Reflection

During the school year we saw the movie "October Sky." This movie is about four kids that live by the mines, and decide to make a rocket. They also get the information that if they win the local science fair they can travel to a different state and to to the finals to show everyone their creation. The four kid's names are Homer Hickam, Roy Lee, Odell, Quentin. When the four kids won the local science fair and the finals, they got many college scholar ships to help them from working in the dangerous and brutal mines. This movie is related to science because they used many chemicals to help them get the rocket to fly and they had to experiment with many different types of metals with different masses to help them get the rocket high into the sky. This movie also has to do with math because, when Homer was accused for causing the forest fire he had to use math to calculate the exact position of the forest fire and the exact position of the rocket to prove that the rocket was not the reason of the forest fire and that they can pursue their dreams to go to college. This movie had to do with character education because the boys never gave up even kept on moving forward no matter how many times their rockets failed to go high in the sky. This movie is something to learn from because no matter what people say or what people don't believe in, you should believe in your self and never give up and keep on trying no matter how many times you fail. The more you fail the more you learn.

Canavan Disease Responce

Having canavan disease is a disease that may cause children not to live up to a double-digit age. Symptoms of Canavan Disease are mental retardation, loss of previously learned motor skills, abnormal muscle tone, and an abnormally large, poorly controlled head. It is also possible to lose all hearing. This disease was discovered in 1931. In my opinion I thought thatthis was pretty disturbing and that it is relly sad that these kids with a disproprtionate head will never be able to live to see their 11th birthday.

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Dwarfism 101

Last week in class everyone in class got an assignment to research a disorder or a disease that has to do with the genetics chapter we have been learning during the month. The disorder that I had to research about is dwarfism or also known as achondroplasia. This disorder is caused when the cartilage(a firm, elastic, flexible type of connective tissue of a translucent whitish or yellowish color)has a problem converting to a bone. This is the cause to having short limbs and short arms. The average height for dwarf male is four feet, four inches. On the other hand, the average height for a female dwarf is four feet, one inch. There are no treatment for this disorder because there is no way to forcibly convert a cartilage to a bone. This disorder happens during the birth process. The mortality of this disorder is that you live a normal life just like a normal person. This disorder happens every 40,000 births. This disorder does not happen for a certain race, meaning it can happen to anyone. Dwarfism also might caused by the molecular level because the parents might not have very well molecules causing the cartilage not to grow. There is no treatment for dwarfism so that means that when you get it you have to live with it for the rest of your life. When I read about dwarfism I got more interested making me want to read more. I was very interested about this topic, because I always wondered what caused someone to have dwarfism. I thought that this was a very interesting topic, and really would like to learn more about dwarfism.


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Rollercoaster Project

In class a couple of weeks ago, our science class made roller coaster out of toilet tissue tubes and other household products that we use in everyday life. As we built our roller coaster we had to think like we were actually making a real roller coaster and using our heads to make a roller coaster that humans would want to ride. While be built our roller coaster we had to think where our point of kinetic energy was and potential energy was. Also we had to think how Isaac Newton's three laws of motion are included in our roller coaster. All in all, this was the best project that we did and something that was educational and fun at the same time.

Hit & Run!!!

28-year old Carlos was struck and killed by a bus and a tractor trailer. This happened when Carlos was in the car with his cousin on their way to New York, when they were arguing. The cousin then pulled over and throughout Carlos from the car, in the middle of the New Jersey turnpike. While Carlos was walking on the turnpike during the night, shirtless, he was struck by a bus and a tractor that was heading on the right lane. The bus driver, Dwight Ormand, carrying nine people in his truck were not injured. The tractor trailer driven by, Margarito Reyes, also did not get hurt. Both Margarito Reyes and Dwight Ormand were not intoxicated themselves. So far the police did not press any charges.

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Down Town Tunnel

Remains of a prehistoric monster snake discovered!!

The monster snake named,Titanoboa cerrejonensis, would way about 2,500 pounds and it would be 42.7 feet long. Scientist believed that it slithered around the planet about 58 to 60 million years ago. Snakes are poikilotherms which means they are cold-blooded, which means to power up their metabolism they need heat from their environment. To add to that, the temperature had to be from 86 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit to survive. The snake's remains were found in a coal mine in South America. All in all, this snake is known to be the biggest snake known to mankind and scientist hope for another one.

Information:http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/02/05/giant.snake.colombia/index.html

Picture:http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/TECH/science/02/05/giant.snake.colombia/art.giant.snake.jason.bourque.jpg