Buoyancy and Density

        Wow, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Hmm....I know who did this! Who kept me from you guys! It was Newton! I knew he was ebil! Proof! Eh, it was worth a shot, yeah? So, today, obviously, we're talking about buoyancy. Now, I've gotten some complaints that I'm too negative. Well, those people need to deal with it. I'm negative at heart. After all, the life of a pessimist is the best one: either you are constantly being proven right, or you are pleasantly surprised. Okay, now, moving on. We're not only going to be learning about buoyancy, as you should know from the title. We're also going to be learning about...dun dun duuun...DENSITY! AHHH! Let's get started!

        So, buoyancy is actually pretty cool. I mean, most of you should probably know this, but if you don't, then you're going to find out! Have you ever wondered why some objects sink, and some object float, even though some of the objects that float are heavier that the objects that sink?

        Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best example. I mean, obviously a cube is going to sink. But what causes that box to sink? It's not weight, otherwise ships would sink, like the poor Titanic.

        Things float with buoyancy and density. Buoyancy is basically the water or liquid pushing up on an object or living thing, and gravity pushing down on it. For example, a penny will sink in the water because the force of gravity is stronger than the force of water trying to keep it afloat.

        On the other hand, a boat will float. Why? Because of density, which is the mass of an object per unit of volume. Or how tightly packed together an object or living being is. A boat isn't as tightly packed together as a penny, because there's air inside. If there's a lot of people on board the boat, then the boat will sink a bit lower. It there's too many people in the boat, then the boat might sink. That's why you don't get mad if you can't go on a cruise because the people say there's too many people on board, but you know they have extra rooms.

       Let me tell you a story: Archimedes was taking a bath when he noticed that when he got out of the water, there appeared to be less. But when he got back in, there appeared to be more, yet no water tumbled over the sides. Then, he got out of the bath, stark-naked, and ran through the streets, shouting, "Eureka! Eureka! I have found it!" What Archimedes had found was something called the water displacement method. There's another story based on water displacement:

       

A crow was very thirsty, and he flew around, looking for water. He found a pitcher half full of the liquid, and he flew down to drink some. But no matter how much he tried, the crow couldn't reach the water. After a few failed attempts to get the water, the crow had the idea to fill the water with pebbles. When he put a couple in, the water rose. So he kept putting more in, until the water was high enough to drink from.

        Though this story is supposed to encourage young kids to try even when you fail, it also has a bit of science mixed in. After all that, I suppose you can guess what water displacement is, but I'll give you the definition anyway: the water displacement method is used to determine the volume of an object by how much water it displaces, or pushes to the side. I can't really explain it any better than that.

 

        Another thing to know is negative buoyancy, positive buoyancy, and neutral buoyancy. They're easy to remember. Negative buoyancy is when something sinks, such as an anchor:

        Positive buoyancy is when something sinks:

        Neutral buoyancy is when you neither float nor sink:



        Notice how I put a lot of fish up there. Fish have a lot to do with buoyancy. Quite interesting, really, because they have a very unique way of actually swimming. This is just some fun facts: A lot of fish do that do their magic underwater with a swim bladder. A swim bladder is kinda like a human lung: it has an expandable sac. When a fish fills the bladder with water, it can sink to the ocean floor. When it fills it with oxygen taken from the water surrounding it with its gills, or it gets rid of the water in its bladder, the fish has a greater buoyancy, and so it can float to the top of the ocean. But for the fish to stay at a certain level, the fish has to fill its bladder equally, I guess. Really, fish are one of the best examples for buoyancy. We should give them a lot more credit.

Sorry, I thought it was funny.

        You can also test this with an experiment. It's not a difficult one; it's actually pretty simple. All you need is a large bowl of water, or a bathtub, aluminum foil, and pennies. What you can do is make a boat out of aluminum foil, and then place it into the water. After that, you can place pennies into the boat, and see how many pennies it takes to sink the boat. Remember: if your boat looks like this then it'll probably take a lot of pennies to sink it:

        But if your boat is more tightly compressed, with little air pockets inside of the boat, then I'm guessing it won't take a lot of pennies to sink it. And that is an experiment you can try that is simple and informative.

        So, that's the end of this blog. I hope you enjoyed it; I hope you learned something. I look forward to doing another blog, and I hope my next one is just as informative as this one. There are links below, and below those links are videos just in case. I'll also add a link of the story of Archimedes of Syracuse if you want to know the whole story. Or, if you don't feel like reading the story, I'll put up the video. Peace out, y'all!

Informative Website

Archimedes of Syracuse Story

Buoyancy Quiz

Really Cool Interactive Site

More Information on Density

SuperSara's Blog

Katie's Blog

Newton's Three Laws of Motion

       

        Hey, guys, guess what? We're going to be learning about this guy who's going to be mentioned a lot. Yep, you guessed it, probably from the title, Isaac Newton! The only reason I don't like the guy is because he's the one who's gonna make us learn this. I mean, seriously, why couldn't he have eaten the apple like any other sane person? Ah, well. No sense moaning over something that won't change, right? Okay, so, obviously, we're going to be learning about the three laws of motion. Again, it's in the title, so if you didn't know that than you really shouldn't be reading this because that would mean you're probably in preschool.

•         Okay, so the easiest way to explain the first law of motion is laziness. Or, the law of inertia. But if you wanna get technical but still make it easy than it's: an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an external outside force. So, basically, if a ball is staying still, it wants to stay still, because it would take it's own 'energy' to move, or to go in motion. But if someone or something else comes along and pushes it, it wants to stay in motion, because it would take it's own 'energy' to stop. The only reason that ball will not continue to move is because of friction and the water molecules in the air.

The First Law of Motion

This is why you should wear a seat belt.

• Newton's second law of motion is basically acceleration. Really, nearly everyone knows the second law of motion, whether you realize it or not. Because really, everyone knows that heavier object need more force to move the same distance as lighter objects. For example, like below, if someone kicks a brick wall, then obviously it's not going to move. But if you kick a soccer ball with the same force, then it will actually go somewhere, and you feel good about yourself not being stupid enough to kick a brick wall to see if it'll move. As for the acceleration part of the thing, acceleration isn't only speed. I mean, a turtle is super slow, but if it moves a little faster, then it'll still be accelerating, even if it only is going two miles per day. The equation for the second law of motion is F=MA which is basically force equal mass times acceleration. By the way, there are three types of acceleration: constant speed, which is when it goes the same speed, negative acceleration, which is when you go uphill, and positive acceleration, which is when you go downhill.

• Example: Mike's car is out of gas. It weighs 1,000 kilograms. Mike is trying to push the car to the nearest gas station, and he makes the car go 0.05 miles per second per second. If you use the second law, you can figure out how much force Mike is applying to the car.

  

  

  The Second Law of Motion

• Newton's third law of motion is for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Pretty self explanatory, but I'm not paid to only give you some self explanatory definitions. Come to think of it, I'm not paid at all...oh, well. Anyway, this is basically like if you have something, say, like a rocket, and it starts spewing out fire, that's the action. The reaction is it lifting off. Simple enough.
  
  

        So, that's Newton's Laws. Cool, huh? Nah, I didn't think so either. I still think he should've become a farmer like he was supposed to, but who cares? I hope you enjoyed the animated pictures. I know I did. By the way, there are links below, just in case. My classmate's links are also below. Should be interesting, since they have different personalities. Oh, and there's also a video, should you be interested. By the way, guys, I'm sorry to inform you that Kevin is no longer at the school. We're all mourning his loss. On a brighter note, we have a new student! I need to ask her for her blog URL, but once I find out, you can be sure she'll be awesome! And, t-t-t-t-t-that's all, folks!

Newton's First Law of Motion

Newton's Second Law of Motion

Newton's Third Law of Motion

Newton's Laws PowerPoint

Interactive Newton's Laws Website

SuperSara's Blog

Katie's Blog

Newton's Three Laws of Motion Song (the dumb video wouldn't let me embed it)

Great Three Laws of Motion Song (again, the video wouldn't let me embed it)



Newton's First Law

      Hello, my readers. So, like I said in my last blog, we're going to be doing motion. And with motion comes a lot of Isaac Newton, who was up to his neck in this stuff. We're gonna be seeing a lot of this dude, so get aqainted. Newton, readers, readers, Newton. Now that you're all buddies, let's start with NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION! (I'm trying to be more positive, but it just isn't working for me, is it? Back to my old me, then.)
        So...Newton's First Law of Motion is: and object a rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion, unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force. So, you may be wondering, Why are you doing this? Good question. It's because I'm in school, so, unfortunatly, I have to do things like math and other school related stuff. You may also be wondering, Is that it? Is there anything else? Is THAT why Newton's famous? Is that all we're learning? All very good questions. So, the answers are: basically, yes, no, not the only reason, and albsolutely not.

P.S. I'M NOT DONE YET, PLEASE BE PATIENT!

We're all in Motion...we're all in motion...



30 meter run

         Hiya peeps! What's up? So, unfortunately for me, we're doing physics in science this year... yay....Okay, you caught me. So I'm not exactly excited for this. But, again unfortunately, I'm not the teacher (otherwise there'd be not work), so I can't change that today we're gonna be learning about...MOTION! Yay! So, we're also gonna be learning about speed and velocity, and the formula of motion...really fun stuff. Apparently. So I'm told. Well, let's get started...this'll be...fun....

        Motion is the change in location of an object. So, like, I'm running a thirty meter dash. I started at the start line, obviously, and I finish line, again, obvious. But I changed my location, from one place to another. From my starting place to my finishing place. It's not really, Oh, I'm typing. I'm moving my fingers. Motion! Don't worry if you thought that, though, I did, too!

        Speed is distance divided by time. It's also how fast you're going. Hey, did you know that the peregrine falcon? It's not the cheetah, but of course it took the title, because...er, it was a cheater...yeah, bad pun. Remember: speed=distance divided by time. (S=D/T)

• Average Speed: When your speed increases and decreases. It's when you don't stay fixed in on one certain speed, basically. For example, when you run a mile, you're not going to keep the same pace. You're going to slow down and speed up at one point, right? Or when a cheetah is running. It's going to run faster and slower depending on the stamina and mood.

• Instantaneous Speed: Any speed at any given moment. Like, say Mr. Sellers is going from his home, to the school he works, Shreiner. When he leaves his home, and starts on his way to school, let's say he's going 50 miles per hour. Then, a quarter of the way there, he changes it to 30 miles an hour. At almost halfway there, he speeds up to 45 miles and hour. When he's halfway there, he ups it to 60 mile an hour. Then he slows down to 55 miles per hour. It's any given speed at any given moment. I'm sorry if that was confusing, I couldn't find anyway else to explain it, and Mr. Sellers used this example as well, so don't blame me. 
  
   



•  Constant Speed: When the speed never changes. Like the moon rotating around the Earth and the speed of light. They never change, hence constant speed.



      

        Velocity is pretty east to remember. It's speed and direction. Say you're on a plane. Say you're on your way to London, England (because really, who wouldn't want to go there? They've got awesome accents) and you're going 500 miles per hour, northwest. But then you're plane is crash-landind. Now you're going 1,000 miles per hour, south. You can change, but you have your direction.

        So, that was basically it for this blog. I hope you enjoyed it, really. Even though it was a bit short. Hey, I have some links below in case you wanted to learn more about this subject. Oh, and my classmate's blogs are always available. The links are also below. There'll also be two videos down below. For the first one, I'd advise only watching the first part. It's the best part anyway. So, thanks for reading folks. Or, thanks for being forced to read, folks. Peace out!

Some More Information On Speed and Velocity 

SuperSara's Blog

Katie's Blog

Kevin's Blog

More Speed and Velocity

Even More Speed and Velocity

Again, Speed and Velocity

HELLO! I'M BACK!

        Hiya, people! It's been a while, hasn't it? This summer was awesome, partly because I literally sat in front of the computer and T.V. for most of the summer, and partly because I went to go visit family in Egypt. Hey, I'm sorry for not posting any blogs during that time, but come on, who did? Okay, so sitting in front of the T.V. and computer wasn't all that I did, aside from Egypt. I did go to the Y.M.C.A. and to Borders, because it's closing. Borders! Can you believe it? I'm so sad! But at least I have Barnes and Noble.

        Egypt was fun, though I didn't have any technology for three weeks. The food was great, I was glad to see my family, and I had a great time. 

        So, 8th grade! Cool, yes? My last year here at this school. I'll be sad to go. Very sad. But I'll go to high school, make new friends, leave high school, go to college, make new friends, leave college, get a job, make lots of money, travel the world, and die peacfully in my sleep at a ripe old age. I know that's not gonna happen, but that's besides the point.

        Anyway, it's been two years I've had this blog. Two years! Seems like just yesterday I was making the account at the computer lab! This is my last year doing this, unless I do it when I'm in high school. I might not have the time, but I hope I'll still be able to post blogs. You know, I neber wanted to be an eighth grader. One, because have you seen the math those guys have? And two...well, because I didn't treally wanna grow older. I mean, grown-ups always say to be a kid while you still can, and when I was little, I was scared. But now eighth grade is weird. I mean, when I was in third grade, the eighth graders were so tall! And now, either I'm short, or nowadays, the third graders are tall. Personally, I'm leaning torward half and half.

        Summer was plain awesome! And I know I alread said that. In May, I was sorta sad that school was over, because I wouldn't get to see my friends for the entire summer, and I wouldn't see the whole eighth grade ever again. On the bright side, at least now we'd get some room in the bus and the classes. I mean, those guys took up every avalible space! But I'll miss the eighth grade. We had some good times, though they got us in trouble more often then not. Mostly during hte end of May, I packed for my trip, though I spent a lot of time on the compter, trying to chat my friends when I could on gmail, though most of them were on Facebook.

        In July, I went to Egypt to visit my family. I was so excited to see them, but in the beginnning was kinda subdued, because when you only see your cousins or aunts or uncles or grandparents once every two or three years for only two to three weeks, they sometimes feel like strangers. And when your in your home country, but can't speak their language, you feel uncomfortable, because you don't know what anyone's talking about. But I guess you adapt after a little while. One thing I really don't like about Egypt is their treatment of animals. I mean, I guess they can't help that there's stray animals everywhere, but on my way to Alexandrea, my uncle stopped at a...I guess you could call it a 'zoo'. The animals were miserable. They were cooped up in too small cages, in the heat, with no water. There was wolves, lions, tigers, dogs, snakes, lionesses, birds, foxes, and so on. It was maddening, and I was angry. We had been on the road for two hours now, and my parents, cousins, siblings, aunt, and uncle were hungry, so they bought food from the 'zoo'. To tell you the truth, so was I, but I refused to eat anything from anyplace where animals were mistreated. Here's a quote by someone else who visited one of these 'zoos':  "I am English and I visited a Cario 'Zoo' last year with my Egyptian husband. When I mentioned how badly the animals were treated, not only by the staff, but also by other visitors, his only comment to me was 'they're only animals'. This, I'm afraid, is the feeling of most Egyptians when it comes to most animals in this country. they have no respect for the life of anything, even themseves, and animals come very low on the list of priorities. Don't get me wrong, I love Egypt and the people here but if you are an animal lover this place is not for you." I competley agree with this person. The nerve of that man! Does he perhaps think that because they're animals they don't have feelings?! Hmph.  Anyway, other than that, I enjoyed my stay. My grandmothers are excellent cooks, so it was awesome. But now I have to wait a long time till I go back. Maybe I'll do a blog on my stay in Egypt....

        In July, I went to the Y.M.C.A. a lot, and I watch T.V. and played the computer (no surprise). I did normal stuff kids do during the summer. Pretty easy month. It passed by so quickly....sigh. I also read lots of books and did my summer reading thingy mabob. I knew summer was almost over, so I crammed in as much sleep and fun as I could.

        In August, I was sorta sad, because summer was over, and we'd have lots of homework and stuff that associates with school. But I was also fine with it, because I got to see my friends. We met up at Sparkles, which was super awesome. Debbie and Sydney were there, too.

         

        And, well, that's it for my summer. Boring, huh? Anyway, my goals for this year is to try and raise awareness for saving the animals. I also want to work on being less lazy and doing better in my classes. I'd like to raise money for animals, and to last the year, becuase apparently, this year is going to be harder than last year, and I don't think I'll survive that.

        Note to self: Well, if you survive, congratulations! Neber thought you'd make it. How was Math? Neber mind, this is note. Anyway, please tell me you've finished your story. It'd be great, yeah? You have to save the animals. And please tell me you enjoyed the year! Because this is your last year, so I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you read more books, too. New books. Try hard in high school, really. Because it's gonna be hard. Your sister told me. Well, I suppose she's my sister, too...neber mind. I'm glad you made it this far, don't give up on your job choice! And don't give up on your dream, either! I know it might seem hopeless, but nothing is hopeless, okay? Don't give up, just keep moving forward. Try to live your life to the fullest, and don't pull away from your friends. Because, really, without friends, you're just plain lonley. A lonely life isn't a good one, and I know you want a good life, because I'm you, and you're me, so I know your thoughts, and you know mine. Remember: Keep moving forward, don't look back, and don't have any regrets. Okay?

        So, that's it for this blog. Stay tuned for the next one!