Earthquake Essay

Francesca

7a

02/06/2012

Science

Mrs. Medenica

Earthquakes

One of the most impressive natural phenomenons is the earthquake. To give a definition of earthquakes I can generally say that earthquakes are the movements in the Earth’s crust. More precisely they are the effect of the release of energy that causes shaking and trembling over the Earth’s surface. Actually they are potent vibrations that go through the Earth’s underground and upwards. The point underground where the earthquake begins is called focus, meanwhile the center of the earthquakes on the crust is called epicenter.

It is important to know what tectonic plates are; they are huge pieces of land that form our planet. Earthquakes occur when two tectonic plates meet, then they cause pressure that leads to a long crack; these cracks are called fault lines; for example one of the most famous is the San Andreas Fault Line in California, USA. Usually the energy waves’ strength makes the rocks near the fault line either shake sideways or up and down, causing earthquake shock waves.

There are thousands of Earthquakes per year, but not all are felt by people or recorded by scientists. Though there are frequent places where they occur, they are: around the Pacific Ocean, others happen in the Mediterranean-Asian belt, some nearby the Himalayan range.

Of course we have some big effects from earthquakes. Some of them are tsunamis, avalanches and fires. Tsunamis are large and fast water waves that cause many damage and kill many people. Avalanches are made of mud and rocks or snow. Fires usually originate from broken electrical cables and gas pipes.

Science tries to predict earthquakes, so they can alarm us before it happens. One way to do it is that they have monitoring stations all over the world, that can record any shock on Earth. The seismograph is a tool used for measuring Earthquakes. A pen is attached to a drum; it draws a line showing the force of an earthquake. Even before the earthquake there are signs which can tell us whether an earthquake is going to occur or not. For example there are foreshocks that are small tremors that happen before. Also the ground swells up and cracks. Earthquakes can be measured, we have two different methods: the Richter and Mercalli scale. The Richter scale is from 0 to 8. Every number is ten times bigger than the previous one. Meanwhile the Mercalli scale is from 0 to 12.

   

Apart from any scientific method some animals act differently when an earthquake is approaching or is about to; pigeons, dogs, snakes and hammerhead sharks do that. In fact they are sensitive to tremors. For example in 1975 in Haicheng, China, people evacuated 2 hours before the earthquake because their animals were behaving oddly.

Here are some interesting facts about earthquakes:

   -Around the world there are some buildings which are build to be strong enough to support      an earthquake. You can found many skyscrapers in San Francisco like this.

   -The most deadliest known earthquake happened in China, indeed 830,000 people died.

   -Before earthquakes a radioactive gas called radon is released from rocks, so scientists monitor water in wells to check the amount of radon in it.

   -The longest earthquake known lasted for 38 days.

As you can see earthquakes have causes and effects and science tries to protect us from them.

Bibliography

"Interesting Earthquake Facts." Find Facts on Earthquakes. Web. 02 June 2012. .

"Earthquakes." Fascinating Facts. New York: Kingfisher, 1999. 14-15. Pr

Bill Nye Video FACTS!!!

-Rikter scale is used to compare an earthquake to another
-Most earthquakes happen in the ring of fire, along the rim of the pacific ocean tecnotic plate
-The epicenter is where the earthquake starts
-When sciencetists look at the earthquakes' timining they can tell where it started
-Magnitude 2 is not twice as big as magnitude 1 it's 10 time bigger, magnitude 3 would be 100 times bigger than magnitude 1
-A object falls the direction the earthquake was
-Plate tectonics float on molten melted lava
-When plates move they make mountain or make faults

National Buoy Data

In science class we had to take a look at a website (http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/) and compare some of the buoys found around the world. When you click on a buoy you'll see what it measures, I took three buoy and wrote down:

• Station Number
• Location
• Owner
• Wave Height (WV)
• Dominant Wave Period (DWP)
• Air Temperature (AT)
• Water Temperature (WT)

I think that buoys help a lot. They help meteorologists, fishermen, and even countries in general. They help meteorologists by giving them a prediction, fishermen or boatmen by saying that today is a good or bad day to go fishing, buoys really help people who are on the beach or want to, they warn you by saying that the water is too cold or that today it's a bad weather so there could be high waves. The most helpful buoys that could save a lot of people lives are the one located in the ocean. They can tell you if a tsunami it going to approach. 
My opinion is that the highest waves usually are far away from the bays. Other than the ones I made I found one near the UK that measured 15 ft. It was the tallest I could find!

Laurientian Fan

Georgian Bay

Aberporth Buoy

AMAZING! Garrett McNamara's Record Breaking Wave Ride

Garrett McNamara an Hawaiian –born and 44 year old man, got in the Guinness World Records! This amazing man was able to surf a wave that was 78 feet tall, though the audience thought of it to be 90 feet tall, anyway this 5-ft10-inch surfer got to break the previous record from 2008!

This great event happened in November 2011, in Nazare`, Portugal; known for its very big waves. Garrett was about to take a break from surfing and always failing but his friends encouraged him to take a few more tries, and guess what? That’s when he braked his world record.

Here's the video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dyBzYCEyUlE

Wave Interference- Water Simulation

These are some graphs I made in my notebook:

Making Waves Lab

In class, Catriona and I saw and experimented with waves! We used pipettes and a shallow container with water. With a pipette we dropped a drop and recorded the waves in our packet. We dropped water from all sides of the tank and there we also tried with two pipettes. Also we saw what happened when there were sticks of clay placed in the tank. After we did everything again with a very little styrofoam ball.

When we normally dropped a drop from the sides or from the centre of the tank we saw the wave going around the spot where the water dropped. When it came to the other side of the tank the wave was weak so it didn’t bounce off.

When there was the clay in the tank the wave went around in and if the clay was quite close to the place where the water dropped then the wave would bounce off.

Though, when we tried everything with the Styrofoam ball all that happened was the ball moved, like if it was a boat on the sea.

Also, Catriona and I tried with a paper towel; the waves went over the sunken towel.


Here's the tables with images:

Wave Inference- Water

1)The amplitude and frequency do change the wave. If the drop is too small then the graph shows that the way is not very high, on the other hand if the drop is very big the wave is high. Also the frequency can change the wave: when the frequency is low one wave lasts longer meanwhile if the frequency is the opposite then the graph will show you a lot of little waves.

2)Wavelength is the time between the two highest points among the waves. The wavelength is affected by the amplitude and the frequency of the drop of water.  

  

Astronomy Unit Reflection

Students will understand that scientists are using knowledge they have of Earth’s surface and atmosphere in search of extraterrestrial life. Explain what you learnt.

Scientists have found what is essential to our living on Earth. For example they have found that oxygen is fundamental to us, without it we would DIE; as well as oxygen we also need water. In case scientists would find another planet were the substances are similar to Earth’s that means that human kind could live on it, also it means that some other species (not animal species, but extraterrestrial life) could survive on it, so life is possible on the planet.

Students will understand that the International Space Station and space probes as well as satellites are excellent tools for further space study. Explain what you have learned.

Advanced technology could reach out and give us more information that if us humans do it with any help it would be very hard or even impossible. That’s why the I.S.S. and any other spaceships, satellites, telescope and other tools can help us a lot. An example is the mars Rover: its aim was to see previous evidence of water on Mars.

Mars Rover

What effects are caused by the motions of Earth and the Moon?

Mainly their motions together make the whole day: day and night. The moon, alone, causes the moon phases, tides and eclipses. Tides occur 4 times a day, there are low and high tides. Earth’s motion also causes seasons. They can also cause equinoxes and solstices. When it is summer in the northern hemisphere it is winter in the southern one; the seasons are inverted.

How has the development of technology and space flight helped astronomers learn more about the other parts of the solar system and the structure of the universe?

Technology surely made discovery easier and it helped them know more about different parts of our solar system. Since place is a massive place (we still don’t know whether it ends or not), humans can’t be taken so much away. That’s what space probes are for! If you think of it, the furthest humans could get until now is the moon, but other tools got further.

How are the conditions in space different from those on Earth? How has space technology benefitted modern society?

In space there’s no gravity, oxygen; and other crucial things for humans. The climate is also different, it could be freezing cold (if you are near Pluto) or super hot (near our sun). Space, is much, much, much bigger than Earth.

Space has benefitted us because it expanded our knowledge and we can know more about things which we can physically see.  

Did you enjoy this unit? Did you feel like this was something of importance to your life to learn about? Did you make any connections in your life while you were studying this unit? What are some things you liked and didn’t like? What are some ways for me to improve this unit, other than making it shorter? :)

I like this unit a lot I kind of knew about the planets, but I had no idea what tides were and I didn’t know anything about the moon phases. I think it is an important unit, it literally explains a lot of things. This unit was also very fun, I never got bored. We watched videos and I really like the project we are working on; also I think that the essay a good way to show what we knew. 

Space Exploration Essay

Space is a very interesting topic that everyone wants to know more about; in fact I believe that curiosity led to such topics. Though did you ever think how much money is used for space exploration? According to examiner.com (check bibliography), in 2009 NASA’s budget was 17.2 billion dollars. Couldn’t the money be used for providing education in poor countries or giving them money for research on medicine? Honestly that is too much, part of it can be used to cure cancer and other diseases. Space exploration is very expensive and it pollutes so I think that we should stop exploring for a while and use what we already have and know in different ways.

International Space Station
ISS

                                                                               

So the question is: Is the big amount of money worth it? You may be wondering, what is the money used for? The money is used for various things like: Building spaceships and space probes; providing safety for astronauts; material for testing and doing experiments; money for the gas and the training for the astronauts. However, other than sending humans into space there are two more options: doing exploration from Earth (through telescopes) and using satellites.

One of the goals of scientists in exploring space is finding another life, when it will be found; it will mean that human will be able to live on that planet.

Three benefits of sending humans are that the astronauts can see what is going on, on Earth. Also humans can do things whereas machines can’t. Lastly human are more effective than using satellites, which kind of relates to the previous advantage.

Contrary to that there are 3 drawbacks. During the launch of the spaceship with five humans inside, they can all die because of a problem that caused an explosion. It is not enough – scientists can think that there is another planet, but after a long time we still didn’t found it. If you think of the rocket launching, how much gas is emitted from the rockets, what about the birds on the trees or the fish in the ponds?

National Aeronautics and Space Administration-
NASA logo

If I were the head-master of a country, the top five things I would spend money on are:

• Very good quality and efficient telescopes for exploring space on Earth.
• Getting rid of space junk.
• Animal-saving associations.
• Planting trees and plants to reduce the CO
• Finding another planet to live on.

   The first thing is using good telescopes to make accurate research from Earth so that there won’t be any life in jeopardy. The second thing is getting rid of space junk; we are already polluting Earth- no need to also pollute space! Thirdly I would give money to animal-saving associations (WWF), animals need help. Second-last I want to plant trees, so that we can reduce CO₂, it is very important. Lastly, as some people think, in the case the sun will explode we will need to search and live on another planet.

The SDSS-III Telescope

How can you know more about space?

Kids can know more about space by going to a planetarium, using a telescope, visiting space centers.

So as you can see there are goods and bads (pro and con) in space exploration and limits, though there are more important things.

Astronomers Detect Signs of Life on Earth by Looking at the Moon!

With an unusual source of light: Earth’s Shine, or light from Earth reflect back to us on the moon, Michael F. Sterzik, Stefano Bagnulo, and Enric Palle explain that it is way of understanding the correct amount of vegetation and cloud cover. Stuart Gary (author of the article) explains how it works: “Light passing through the Earth's atmosphere contains a tell-tale spectrum revealing the elements within the gas. It is also strongly polarized by scattering from air molecules, aerosols and cloud particles, and by reflection off the oceans and land.” This technique is called spectropolarimetry This technique allowed them to know more that they wouldn’t have known without it. Some molecules are: ozone, oxygen, methan and water vapour. These analysis consented to find out ocean surface, clouds and vegetation. 

A Moonth of Phases

A Moonth of Phases

Observations

Analyze & Conclude:

1)   The Earth was the big plastic ball, the moon was the smaller one and the sun was the flashlight.

2)   I didn’t see anything I saw the sun but nothing reflecting in the moon. In fact if you see in the drawing above number 4 is all shaded that means that we can see it. (the gray represents how much part of the moon is unseen.)

3)   Number one represents a waxing crescent; meaning that it is growing (waxing). Number two a full moon; from Earth you can see the whole moon, since the moon is behind Earth all the sun can reflect on it. Number 3 a waning crescent; waning is decreasing, so it is about to be a new moon. And number four a new moon; the new moon is when the sun can’t reflect on it because of the moon’s position.

4)   From space view you would see both sides: dark and brightened. Tough if you look at it as if you were on Earth, you would see all the phases, the moon would start to be very bright and the get darker as it moves.

5)    From space view you could always see half and the dark part isn’t caused by an eclipse.

6)    It helped me a lot so that I could see how everything works. How the moon rotates, the names of the different phases of the moon, why sometimes we see a waning gibbious and sometime only a crescent. Maybe the whole model wasn't as accurate, though it was very helpful, for me!

Lab Report- Reason for the Seasons

Guiding Question: How does the tilt of the Earth’s axis affect the light received by Earth as it revolves around the sun?

Materials:

•    Flashlight

•    Paper

•    Pencil

•    Protractor

•    Toothpick

•    Foam ball marked with poles and equator

•    Acetate sheet with thick grid lines drawn on it

Tape the acetate sheet to the head of the flashlight

Procedure:

   1)Tape the acetate sheet to the head of the flashlight

         2)Carefully push the pencil into the South Pole in the foam ball, it represents Earth

         3)Use the protractor to measure 23.5^ tilt of the axis of your Earth

         4)Hold the pencil at 23.5^ angle at about 15 cm from the sun

         5)The squares should show up on the earth. Move the ball closer if necessary.

         6)Observe and record the shape of the squares at the equator and the poles

Observations:

SUMMER:     

•     The most direct sunlight is at the equator
•     Is summer the shadow is longer
•     At the equator the squares are ‘squares’ and at the edges they aren’t

WINTER:      

•    The most direct sunlight is at the equator
•    In winter the shadow is shorter
•    At the equator the squares are ‘squares’ and at the edges they aren’t

Analyze:  

   1) When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the north gets the least sun and the south by the equator gets the most sun. In the summer the North gets the most concentrated sun and the south has average sun.

   2) The light is stronger at the equator and the squares are more ‘squares’, meanwhile at before the light disappears the square are more in a rectangular form.

    3) The heat in each square is less when they become larger

    4) The warmest place is the equator it always receives lights, at the poles it is the coolest, but it also depends on the season, in summer the north pole gets some light, but not much.

    5) In the winter the shadow of the toothpick will be the shortest and in the summer it will be the longest.

Conclude:

When the squares are longer that area is colder, though when they are more squarer the area is hotter.

    The tilt and the revolution around the sun. The revolving causes the axis to either be near or far from the sun. Near is sunlight and far is winter. The hemispheres are opposite seasons (ex: northern is summer southern is winter at the same time). The sun hits the earth at an angle because of the axis this creates direct and indirect areas of sunlight. The more direct the sunlight the warmer it is.

Lab Report- Bamboo Life

Guiding Question: How does the type of substrate affect the growth and living of a bamboo?

Hypothesis: I think that the substrate affects the growth of a plant. Only soil as a substrate will make the growth rate of the bamboo decrease. Rock, some soil and water will increase the growth rate but not a lot. Normal water (which is normal for the bamboo) won’t affect it a lot because it is its normal rate.

Materials: bamboo, rock, soil, water and vase (any type of recipient)

Variables:

***Controlled: amount of water, temperature, amount of sunlight, oxygen available

***Manipulated: substrate (soil and water; rock, soil and water; water)

Procedure:

1)    Set up the different recipients with bamboo and the different types of substrate

2)    Put them all together making sure nothing is different between them

3)    Measure leaves and stock on first day

4)    Record and observe during the following days by pulling the leaves up

5)    Make a chart showing the growth

Data Collection:

(Observations)

For now the bamboo are surviving, not one is yellow. On the bamboo which has rocks, soil and water is growing roots at the sides. The one who grew the most is the soil and water one. The one who grew less is the one with only water. Soils and water grew 7 centimeters more; the water, rocks and soil grew 4 centimeters and the one with only water grew only 2 centimeters.

It is now Day 8 and the tallest one is the one with rocks, water and soil. It grew 6.5 cm in 2 days. For now I can tell that the one with only water didn’t grow a lot.

Day 12:

·         Soil and water: 120 cm

·         Water, rocks and soil: 114.2 cm

·         Only water: 85.1 cm

Day 14:

The water, soil and rock one is growing, but today I had some problems measuring it because the other two are shorter than last time. I think that the soil and water one could have settled in.

Day 17:

All of them are growing at a more-or-less steady rate.

What I noticed since the beginning is that all the bamboos with different types of substrate grew much faster, meanwhile now they’re growing at a steady rate but not much.

Presentation of Data:

(Graph)

Data Analysis:

My aim of this experiment is/was to see which substrate makes the bamboo grow at a faster rate.

My graphs show how much a bamboo with the different substrate grow in 17 days; even though not all of them had the same height at the beginning to understand which substrate made the bamboo grow faster and more in those days I subtracted the height of the bamboo on the 17^th day by the height of the same bamboo on the first day.

The one which grew less was the one with only water. The second one was the one with soil and water and the one which grew more in 17 days was the bamboo with rocks, soil and water. It grew 14.1 centimeters! So if it grew at a steady rate it grew 2.014 each day.

Bamboo	Only Water	Soil and Water	Rocks, Water and Soil
cm of total growth	4 cm	10.5 cm	14.1 cm

Conclusion:

What I think made the bamboo with rocks, soil and water grew faster was that the rocks were keeping the water at a certain level so that not much was absorbed by the soil. Since not much was absorbed by the soil the water was able to reach the roots. Also, the bamboo with only water couldn’t absorb the minerals present in the soil, which is richer in minerals than water. In the sample where there have been also rocks, the corrosion of water in the rocks might have brought into the water more minerals needed for the bamboo growth. So the conclusion is: the more environmental biotic and abiotic factors there are the more minerals are found, so the plant’s (in this case the bamboo) growth increases faster.

Further Inquiry:

If I was able to make another sample I would either made it with sand and water or with rocks and water.  

What I noticed in this experiment is that in the very first 5 days it grew for each one of them a lot, but then it slowed down. One possible reason of this is because the heat, since my project started when the heaters in the room were off, after a few days they were turned on.