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Showing posts from April, 2016

Weekly Blog: 4/25/16 - 4/29/16: Biomes

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Image: commons.wikimedia.org Multiplier:  This week I was a mutant, to be more specific a wanderer. I was a wanderer because throughout class I tried to find as many facts as possible. I tried to make my work detailed, descriptive, and something I am proud of.  Summary: This week I was in charge of learning and writing about edible plants in the desert. Even though people seem to think that there aren't many plants in the desert, I found six that would be key to survival in the desert. Fishhook Barrel Cactus Fishhook barrel cacti are one of the plants I learned about. The cactus has hook shaped spines and is around 2 feet in diameter. Red and yellow flowers bloom on top of cactus, along with fruit. The approximate height of the fishhook barrel cactus is 3 feet. Native Americans used the barrel cactus in many ways, like turning it into a stew. In the stew the cactus looked and tasted much like cabbage. Another way to use the cactus is to eat the fruit. The fr

REUNITED (Message In A Bottle)

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     During the 1900's, two wonderful people, Eliza and Nicholas Gallagher, were traveling in a quaint, little sailboat. As two scientists, they had dreams of making new discoveries in the field of oceanography. They lived a simple, but joyous life. They were sailing by the south-east tip of Greenland and for a few beautiful moments the sunset made the ocean glisten, giving it a light that had never shown before, The water was calm, gently carrying the boat along the water. All of sudden, the sailboat started to shake as if an explosion was about to occur. To the side of the boat, a humongous shark shot up from the water chomping at the boat. Both Eliza and Nicholas were so frightened they took a spare bottle and a piece of paper and began to write. As fast as they could they wrote for help, hoping they would survive this attack. Nicholas threw the bottle, and as it plunged into the water he sent a silent prayer for help. Unfortunately, it was all too late and the shark had bit

Weekly Blog: 4/4 - 4/10 Ocean Currents

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Image: en.wikipedia.org Summary: We touched base on ocean currents last week, but this week we focused in on the relationship between ocean currents and wind circulation. When we compared two maps, one of ocean current patterns and one of wind circulation patterns, you could see that they flow in the same direction. Both wind and ocean currents travel in the same direction because ocean currents can be wind driven. Ocean currents are not only powered by wind, they can be driven by temperature, salinity, and density. If you looked closer at the ocean current patterns you could see that they travel in circles, or gyres. In the northern hemisphere the ocean currents flow in a clockwise gyre, while the ocean currents in the southern hemisphere moves in a counterclockwise circle. To understand why the ocean currents move in gyres we conducted an experiment. Ocean currents travel in circles because two winds flow in opposite directions of each other, but not clashing in