Friday, September 9, 2011
Conclusion
Having done so much of posts for science e-portfolio, my view on certain things have definitely matured and I really had fun in researching and finding all the information, then putting them together. That's all for my e-portfolio, Thanks!!!
Reflection on Science Olympiad Course
This shall be my last post for my science e-portfolio. I will be reflecting on the science olympiad course I have been offered to enrich my learning in science. Having attended all of the sessions of the science olympiad course, I must really say that I have learnt a lot and even topics like ecology where I am learning in the normal syllabus, science olympiad teaches this topic more in-depth. I am exceptionally grateful to my science olympiad teachers for teaching me so patiently as I sometimes could not understand the information taught. I enjoyed the biology lessons the most as I feel that biology is more easy to understand for me and may also find it easier to learn because the first topic taught was ecology which I have already learnt when I was in primary school. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the lessons of the other two sciences as well. All the trainers have really spent their time and effort in preparing the notes and teaching us, hoping to finish the syllabus in time so that we can benefit and do well in the quiz which will be given at the end of the course. On the whole, I must say that the course is teaching quite little topics but in detail for all and some even corresponds with what I am learning in the normal school syllabus. I really enjoy this course and hope that I can join it again next year!
Reflection on the year's practical sessions
Firstly, I would like to thank my science teacher, Ms. Lim Jin Yi for making the year's practical sessions a successful one. This whole year, Ms. Lim has been trying her best to teach and impart to the class her knowledge on science and I have definitely benefited a lot under her guidance. However, I feel that the class could be better well-behaved so that all the lessons could be completed on time. It is often observed that the class reaches the laboratory 10-15minutes late and always make a lot of noise when in the laboratory, causing the lesson to not be able to proceed proper. Although some of the worksheets are not completed, I sincerely thank Ms. Lim for going through the concepts of these worksheets in class so that we can learn as much as possible and not lose out in learning. Throughout the lessons in the laboratory, I exceptionally enjoyed pair work when testing the properties of Acids and Alkali where for one of the components, we were asked to test the alkali and acidic solutions with a universal indicator. I really find this hands-on experience fun and also builds up teamwork between students as I split up the job with my partner to ensure that work is completed on time. Overall, I enjoyed the practical lessons and look forward to next year's practical lessons, hopefully with more discipline!
Headaches
Headaches are pain which often occur in the nerves, blood vessels and muscles of the head and neck. However, a headache does not occur because the brain hurts as the brain itself could not sense pain. Instead, headaches can occur due to various reasons which doctors usually classify under primary and secondary. Primary headaches happen but has nothing got to do with the medical condition of a person. Contrastingly, secondary headaches are associated with medical conditions like sinus.
The three types of primary headaches are migraine headaches, tension headaches and cluster headaches.
Migraine headaches may be caused by reduced blood flow to various areas of the cerebral cortex. A person with migraine headache may be sensitive to light and noise, feel nauseous or even experience intense pain on one side of the head.
Tension headaches may be caused by muscle strains in the head and neck or even emotional stress. This kind of headaches causes aching pains on both sides of the head but may lead to intense pain too. Factors like poor eyesight may cause tension headaches.
Cluster headaches are headaches that does not occur only once but occurs many times over weeks or even months. This kind of headache usually happen on one side of the head, around the eye.The cause of cluster headaches are currently unknown.
In contrast, secondary headaches occur due to some issues of the body, for example, flue and these headaches usually go away when the disease is cured.
Reflections:
I did the topic on "Headaches" as I find it very interesting and I am curious to find out why humans get headache out of nowhere. This research shows the different kind of headaches and the cause of the headaches, thus opening up another point of view for me on this topic of "Headaches". Headaches have often brought to human much disturbance and may even make a person feel frustrated easily when down with a headache. Hopefully, this post can analyse the different kinds and causes of headaches!
Referred to: http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/headache/question648.htm
The three types of primary headaches are migraine headaches, tension headaches and cluster headaches.
Migraine headaches may be caused by reduced blood flow to various areas of the cerebral cortex. A person with migraine headache may be sensitive to light and noise, feel nauseous or even experience intense pain on one side of the head.
Tension headaches may be caused by muscle strains in the head and neck or even emotional stress. This kind of headaches causes aching pains on both sides of the head but may lead to intense pain too. Factors like poor eyesight may cause tension headaches.
Cluster headaches are headaches that does not occur only once but occurs many times over weeks or even months. This kind of headache usually happen on one side of the head, around the eye.The cause of cluster headaches are currently unknown.
In contrast, secondary headaches occur due to some issues of the body, for example, flue and these headaches usually go away when the disease is cured.
Reflections:
I did the topic on "Headaches" as I find it very interesting and I am curious to find out why humans get headache out of nowhere. This research shows the different kind of headaches and the cause of the headaches, thus opening up another point of view for me on this topic of "Headaches". Headaches have often brought to human much disturbance and may even make a person feel frustrated easily when down with a headache. Hopefully, this post can analyse the different kinds and causes of headaches!
Referred to: http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/headache/question648.htm
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Breakthrough of HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (otherwise known as HIV), is the cause of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This disease is a common disease which up to date, has no cure. It is transmitted through means like sexual intercourse or even transfusion of infected blood. When down with AIDS, a person has a very weak immune system, meaning he gets sick easily and also experience symptoms like diarrhoea and flu-like symptoms. Currently, there are no specific cure to this disease yet, however, there have been some breakthroughs for this deadly disease.
A new drug, code named AK602, was discovered by Hiroaki Mitsuya, leader of the research team at Kumamoto University, at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia. This drug's main feature lies in the fact that it shuts out the AIDS virus at the point when it tries to intrude into a human cell. This drug stands out from the other AIDS medications as the other AIDS medications are not effective after a few days but AK602 reacts to human cells instead of fighting the virus. This drug works in a way where when it is attached to the protein which is the entrance into human cells for AIDS virus, HIV is prevented from entering. The professor said that there is almost no side effects and that it does not cover the whole protein but only closes the specific place where HIV enters, thus the other sections could still function for bodily operations. This drug is the latest breakthrough for HIV and was discovered in 2005.
Reflections:
I did the topic on HIV because firstly, I am currently learning the "surface" of this topic and would like to find out more about it since it is so deadly and there is no cure for it. Also, according to statistics, there are 16,000 new HIV cases everyday and five deaths caused by the virus every minute across the world, thus I see the importance and deadliness of this disease, and made me want to find out more about it. This article has definitely give people a new hope on the topic of HIV which seems to be almighty. Hopefully, this drug could be further developed to another drug which can totally cure AIDS, caused by HIV.
A new drug, code named AK602, was discovered by Hiroaki Mitsuya, leader of the research team at Kumamoto University, at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia. This drug's main feature lies in the fact that it shuts out the AIDS virus at the point when it tries to intrude into a human cell. This drug stands out from the other AIDS medications as the other AIDS medications are not effective after a few days but AK602 reacts to human cells instead of fighting the virus. This drug works in a way where when it is attached to the protein which is the entrance into human cells for AIDS virus, HIV is prevented from entering. The professor said that there is almost no side effects and that it does not cover the whole protein but only closes the specific place where HIV enters, thus the other sections could still function for bodily operations. This drug is the latest breakthrough for HIV and was discovered in 2005.
Reflections:
I did the topic on HIV because firstly, I am currently learning the "surface" of this topic and would like to find out more about it since it is so deadly and there is no cure for it. Also, according to statistics, there are 16,000 new HIV cases everyday and five deaths caused by the virus every minute across the world, thus I see the importance and deadliness of this disease, and made me want to find out more about it. This article has definitely give people a new hope on the topic of HIV which seems to be almighty. Hopefully, this drug could be further developed to another drug which can totally cure AIDS, caused by HIV.
Biology: Why do we have the urge to have sex? What affects the libido of a person?
Many people have sex due to many reasons, for example, some have sex for physical reasons ("I was curious about sex"), while others have sex with a goal in mind (" I wanted to break up a relationship"). This blog post will zero in on the topic of why people have the urge to have sex. To begin, people have the urge to have sex due to this drive called "Libido" which is also the sexual instinct or sexual drive. Different people have different levels of Libido for both men and women and the higher the Libido, the more a person desires for sex. So, what are factors which affect the Libido? (This post will zoom in on why females have the urge to have sex).
Firstly, this sexual drive is affected by minor factors like relationship issues where if the relationship of a man and a woman is not good, the libido for both of them may be low. Also, it is affected by psychological issues like fatigue. It is said that fatigue can decrease a man's sex drive which is caused by factors like illness or even sleep deprived. Psychological issues also cover experience of sexual assault or abuse which leads to the mindset of a person resist sex.
However, the key point on why women have the urge to have sex, lies in the testosterone and menstrual cycle of the woman. Several days before ovulation, it is said that a woman will experience a heightened sexual desire. This cycle has also been associated with changes in a woman's testosterone levels during the menstrual cycle. According to a health journalist,Gabrielle Lichterman, testosterone levels have a direct impact on the sexual drive of a woman as it rise on around the 24th day of a woman's menstrual cycle until ovulation on around the 14th day of the next cycle. Coincidentally, she says that the woman's desire for sex increase consistently during this particular period of time. After ovulation, the testosterone level is the lowest causing women to experience less interest in sex. During this period of time, progesterone levels also increase, resulting in a woman experiencing difficulty achieving orgasm. Although the last days of the menstrual cycle have a constant testosterone level, a woman's sexual drive may increase due to the thickening of the uterine lining which stimulates nerve endings and makes a woman feel aroused.
Reflections:
I decided to do a research on this topic as I feel that many teenagers are always doing the "wrong" thing, engaging in underage sex and this issue seemed to worsen every year. I wonder what causes human beings to want to have this urge to have sex and thus did a detailed research on this topic. Based on my findings, it seems that this sexual drive occurs due to many reasons and it has definitely raised my knowledge on the issue of sex and not just say because people have the urge to have sex so they do it. This topic is also connected to what I am currently learning in school- sexual reproduction. It seems that this urge to have sex for women is also caused by the menstrual cycle of a woman. This research has definitely matured my view on the topic of sex!
Referred to:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libido
Firstly, this sexual drive is affected by minor factors like relationship issues where if the relationship of a man and a woman is not good, the libido for both of them may be low. Also, it is affected by psychological issues like fatigue. It is said that fatigue can decrease a man's sex drive which is caused by factors like illness or even sleep deprived. Psychological issues also cover experience of sexual assault or abuse which leads to the mindset of a person resist sex.
However, the key point on why women have the urge to have sex, lies in the testosterone and menstrual cycle of the woman. Several days before ovulation, it is said that a woman will experience a heightened sexual desire. This cycle has also been associated with changes in a woman's testosterone levels during the menstrual cycle. According to a health journalist,Gabrielle Lichterman, testosterone levels have a direct impact on the sexual drive of a woman as it rise on around the 24th day of a woman's menstrual cycle until ovulation on around the 14th day of the next cycle. Coincidentally, she says that the woman's desire for sex increase consistently during this particular period of time. After ovulation, the testosterone level is the lowest causing women to experience less interest in sex. During this period of time, progesterone levels also increase, resulting in a woman experiencing difficulty achieving orgasm. Although the last days of the menstrual cycle have a constant testosterone level, a woman's sexual drive may increase due to the thickening of the uterine lining which stimulates nerve endings and makes a woman feel aroused.
Reflections:
I decided to do a research on this topic as I feel that many teenagers are always doing the "wrong" thing, engaging in underage sex and this issue seemed to worsen every year. I wonder what causes human beings to want to have this urge to have sex and thus did a detailed research on this topic. Based on my findings, it seems that this sexual drive occurs due to many reasons and it has definitely raised my knowledge on the issue of sex and not just say because people have the urge to have sex so they do it. This topic is also connected to what I am currently learning in school- sexual reproduction. It seems that this urge to have sex for women is also caused by the menstrual cycle of a woman. This research has definitely matured my view on the topic of sex!
Referred to:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libido
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Reflection Term 3 Science Test
This term, I took a science test. Honestly speaking, I am not really happy with my results of 31.5 as I feel that I could have scored higher. This is because I misinterpreted one of the 4 marks question in the paper where I am suppose to describe the trend given but instead, I gave reasons for the trend. Also, I feel that I got this score because I did not revise enough on the topic optics and when I was asked to draw the light rays on the diagram, I drew them wrongly and lost another two marks. In addition, I had a few careless mistakes here and there and thus, got this undesired marks. From the test, I really learnt a lot. Firstly, I learnt that it is very important to read the questions very carefully before answering the question for all the subjects so that unnecessary marks would not be lost. Also, I learnt that it is very important to understand the subjects or topics tested well before going for the test, so that there would not be questions which are surprise to me when I get the test paper as questions can come in many different forms and the most important thing is to understand the concept well and not understand the question we do for practice well. Lastly, I learnt that I should treat every test seriously and check through the paper after completing it so as to minimise careless mistakes as these marks are really wasted if they are lost to careless mistakes. This test serves as a final reminder to me to work hard, and be more careful when doing my end-of-year paper. I will definitely treat this seriously and not repeat these mistakes!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Reflection on issues faced in science
Firstly, I feel that our science lesson is not used to its fullest as Ms.Lim seemed to be able to control only the first half of the class and not the other half sitting at the back who would waste time asking the same questions again and again, wasting precious time, causing the whole class to slow down as a whole, not able to complete the syllabus for the term. I feel that it is the class that is losing out and at the very end, it is our grades which are affected. I think that the teacher could have been stricter with the class and at the same time organise more remedial classes if the syllabus could not be completed, however, not forgetting that not everyone is free on a particular day, therefore, I feel that the teacher should have like two days a week for remedial where the same things are taught so that those who cannot attend the first day can go for the second day or even find out from their friends what they have missed out. Hopefully, from this, we would be able to improve out grades as a whole and live up to our own expections as I noticed that some of us really want to learn but got distracted by the rowdiness of the class. Also, those who are not interested in the remedial can have the will to not go for it so that those who really want to learn would be able to absorb 100% of what the teacher wants to teach.
Experiment on properties of light
This experiment is to prove that light reflected from the mirror is laterally inverted.
Materials:
Pencil
Mirror
Paper
Steps/Procedures:
Firstly, write your name on the paper or draw on the paper. Next, place the mirror upright behind the paper so that you can see the drawing reflected on the mirror. Then, try to trace over the things written on the paper whilst keeping your eyes on the image of the mirror at all times.
Result:
You will find it extremely difficult to trace the things on the paper as the image seen on the mirror is laterally inverted.
Reflections:
I chose to do this simple experiment as kids like us always like to us why does this particular topic or things have these properties. As I am learning light this term, I thought it would be good to prove one of the properties of light: image formed in the mirror is laterally inverted. This experiment is simple but meets its purpose. I hope that this experiment would inspire teachers to do my experiments to prove properties of a particular topic they are teaching so that we students would be able to learn and absorb things faster.
Materials:
Pencil
Mirror
Paper
Steps/Procedures:
Firstly, write your name on the paper or draw on the paper. Next, place the mirror upright behind the paper so that you can see the drawing reflected on the mirror. Then, try to trace over the things written on the paper whilst keeping your eyes on the image of the mirror at all times.
Result:
You will find it extremely difficult to trace the things on the paper as the image seen on the mirror is laterally inverted.
Reflections:
I chose to do this simple experiment as kids like us always like to us why does this particular topic or things have these properties. As I am learning light this term, I thought it would be good to prove one of the properties of light: image formed in the mirror is laterally inverted. This experiment is simple but meets its purpose. I hope that this experiment would inspire teachers to do my experiments to prove properties of a particular topic they are teaching so that we students would be able to learn and absorb things faster.
An experiment on Refraction
Definition: Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed.
Materials needed:
Coin
Bowl
Water
Steps/Procedure:
First, put the bowl on a table and place the coin into the bowl. Make sure the coin is at the bottom of the bowl. Next, keep looking at the coin while moving backwards slowly until the coin is out of sight. Stand at the same position and get a person to pour water into the bowl.
Result:
One can see the coin at that position now (after adding water).
Explanation: As the water is poured into the bowl, the light is refracted. This made the image of the coin "move up" which enable our eyes to see the coin again, however, this image is virtual as it is not the actually coin we are seeing.
Picture of the diagram:
Reflections:
I chose to do this experiment as firstly, I am learning the topic of light and this is one of the components of it. This experiment is one of the many which show refraction of light but I feel that one would be able to understand the "secret" behind refraction of light best through this simple experiments. I have also seen question on this experiment coming out in my practice papers, thus I was inspired to do this experiment. After doing this experiment, I indeed understand this topic better.
Image from:http://www.wisedude.com/science_engineering/refraction_light.htm
Materials needed:
Coin
Bowl
Water
Steps/Procedure:
First, put the bowl on a table and place the coin into the bowl. Make sure the coin is at the bottom of the bowl. Next, keep looking at the coin while moving backwards slowly until the coin is out of sight. Stand at the same position and get a person to pour water into the bowl.
Result:
One can see the coin at that position now (after adding water).
Explanation: As the water is poured into the bowl, the light is refracted. This made the image of the coin "move up" which enable our eyes to see the coin again, however, this image is virtual as it is not the actually coin we are seeing.
Picture of the diagram:
Reflections:
I chose to do this experiment as firstly, I am learning the topic of light and this is one of the components of it. This experiment is one of the many which show refraction of light but I feel that one would be able to understand the "secret" behind refraction of light best through this simple experiments. I have also seen question on this experiment coming out in my practice papers, thus I was inspired to do this experiment. After doing this experiment, I indeed understand this topic better.
Image from:http://www.wisedude.com/science_engineering/refraction_light.htm
Reflection of Term 2 Science Test
Firstly, I am not happy with my science test results this term. Although I got an A1 for science this term, it is a borderline one and my class ranking for science has also dropped by a lot. I think this may be because I did not really understand the topic Light very well which led to the results not really very satisfying. However, I feel that I have already done my best and it is definitely not last minute preparation this time as I prepared two weeks before the test, meeting my science teacher Ms. Lim at least twice a week during this period of time. Till now, I have not really understood where I have gone wrong as my teacher have not gone through the test. However, I feel that I would be able to do better in the next test and I also learnt that it does not really matters when we prepare for the test, but how much we understand the topics tested.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Newton's First Law of motion- law of inertia
Definition: An object stays in the same form (at rest or moving) in the same speed and direction unless acted upon by a unbalanced force.
Have you ever wondered why your body moves forward when a bus brakes and why your body tends to lean back when the bus speeds up? This is because be it an object or a living thing, we tend to "keep on doing what we are doing", which means that we tend to want to stay in the position we are in. The force of the road on the locked wheels provides the unbalanced force to change the car's state of motion, however we have no unbalanced force to change our state of motion. Thus, when the car breaks, we continue in motion, making us lean forward. In this case, seat belt is invented which would provide the unbalanced force to bring us to a state of rest from a state of motion. However, what is unbalanced forces which was used throughout the explaination?
Unbalanced forces are two forces of equal magnitude and are in opposite directions balancing each other. An example is when a book is resting on a table. The two forces involved are the table which pushes the book upwards and the gravity pull which pulls the book downwards. The book is said to be at equilibrium. There is no unbalanced forces acting on the book, enabling it to maintain its state of motion (when all the forces acting on the book are balanced, there is no unbalanced force and thus the book maintains its state of motion).
However, if a person pushes the book and made it accelerate forward, the object is said to be acted upon as there is no other force with equal magnitude and in the opposite direction to balance the unbalanced force.
Reflections: I feel that this topic which have not been taught yet, is quite easy to understand and also very interesting. I chose this topic because I am very puzzled by the fact that when a bus accelerates, my body moves backwards instead of moving forward and vice versa. As I was searching on the internet for the answer, I found this interesting topic- law of inertia. I decided to research more on it and finally found the answer to it. I will continue to research on topics which are linked to our lives as I find them very captivating and I hope you will look forward to my next post!
Sources: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/u2l1d.cfm#balanced
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm
Have you ever wondered why your body moves forward when a bus brakes and why your body tends to lean back when the bus speeds up? This is because be it an object or a living thing, we tend to "keep on doing what we are doing", which means that we tend to want to stay in the position we are in. The force of the road on the locked wheels provides the unbalanced force to change the car's state of motion, however we have no unbalanced force to change our state of motion. Thus, when the car breaks, we continue in motion, making us lean forward. In this case, seat belt is invented which would provide the unbalanced force to bring us to a state of rest from a state of motion. However, what is unbalanced forces which was used throughout the explaination?
Unbalanced forces are two forces of equal magnitude and are in opposite directions balancing each other. An example is when a book is resting on a table. The two forces involved are the table which pushes the book upwards and the gravity pull which pulls the book downwards. The book is said to be at equilibrium. There is no unbalanced forces acting on the book, enabling it to maintain its state of motion (when all the forces acting on the book are balanced, there is no unbalanced force and thus the book maintains its state of motion).
However, if a person pushes the book and made it accelerate forward, the object is said to be acted upon as there is no other force with equal magnitude and in the opposite direction to balance the unbalanced force.
Reflections: I feel that this topic which have not been taught yet, is quite easy to understand and also very interesting. I chose this topic because I am very puzzled by the fact that when a bus accelerates, my body moves backwards instead of moving forward and vice versa. As I was searching on the internet for the answer, I found this interesting topic- law of inertia. I decided to research more on it and finally found the answer to it. I will continue to research on topics which are linked to our lives as I find them very captivating and I hope you will look forward to my next post!
Sources: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/u2l1d.cfm#balanced
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Term 1 Test 1 Reflections
Firstly, I am not very happy with my science results although I got 36/40. This was because I could have gotten first in class with a score of 39/40. There is 3 questions from the MCQ which I knew how to do but was careless. Nevertheless, I have already understood the whole test. This was what I feel is most important in learning-understanding and learning from your mistake. I would not make the same mistakes again after understanding them and I am quite confident in scoring full marks if I were to encounter the questions again.
Next, I would like to talk a little bit on my study method. I feel that this study method of now should be changed as it is just last minute revision by writing down all the notes on the textbook, powerpoint slides and worksheets. This gives me an opportunity to read through them thrice before them. 3 days before the test, I did not really understood the topic and could not even differentiate proton number with mass number etc. However, this method of mine is not bad if I were to start preparing before the test. I would not repeat this mistake again and look forward to the next test.
Next, I would like to talk a little bit on my study method. I feel that this study method of now should be changed as it is just last minute revision by writing down all the notes on the textbook, powerpoint slides and worksheets. This gives me an opportunity to read through them thrice before them. 3 days before the test, I did not really understood the topic and could not even differentiate proton number with mass number etc. However, this method of mine is not bad if I were to start preparing before the test. I would not repeat this mistake again and look forward to the next test.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Sneezing Myths and Facts
Why do we sneeze?
Ans: The medical term for sneezing is “sternutatory reflex”. Sneezing places a lot of stress on the body and air pressure is also place on the eyes. Sneezing is stimulated by a tickle in the nose. It helps us to clear germs and bacteria in our nose, at the same time, take in oxygen. Sneezing is something we have no control over.
Myths and Facts of Sneezing
People believe that sneezing has so much pressure that it pops your eyes out and may be deadly while others think that it is just a reflex and some people can even sneeze with their eyes open. Others think that we close our eyes when we sneeze because our body wants to protect our eyes from the germs and bacteria released from our nose by the powerful sneeze.
So... which belief is true?
The website http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112390/sneezing.htm feels that sneezing is a reflex and so is our eyes and that we have no control on whether we can close our eyes or not when we sneeze.
It feels that people who do not have reflex can sneeze with their eyes open while others try to close their eyes to prevent their eyes from popping out.
It also feels that "Your eyes don't really pop out" when we sneeze.
This website disagrees with the fact that people close their eyes to prevent the germs and bacteria which is released from the nose after sneeze from affecting the eyes. It feels that our eyes is constantly in contact with germs and bacteria all the time.
The website http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/22468 has comments of many internet users.
One strong quote from this website is "It is unclear, but scientists theorize that we close our eyes to protect them. We may be protecting our eyes from microorganisms and particles from our sneezes," said Dr. Bonnie Henderson, director of comprehensive ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Others feel that it is a natural human instinct to prevent our eyes from popping out.
Another user feels that the air pressure our eyes experience is not strong enough to pop our eyes out.
In contrast, a different user states the evidence of Adolf Hitler making use of sneezing as a torture tactic by forcing his prisoners' eyes to open with toothpicks and sprinkling pepper under their noses to make them sneeze. This made their eyes partially pop out.
Many different people have many views and evidence for the fact of closing our eyes when we sneeze. However, which do you think is true? A warning to readers: Please do not try sneezing with your eyes open as it may really just pop your eyes out.
Reflection/Feelings:
I feel that sneezing would really pop our eyes out as it is strongly supported by the torture tactic Adolf Hitler used on his prisoners. As this is most probably recorded in history, it is more truthful and reliable. Like what my primary school science teacher said, sneezing is a kind of reflex which is so strong that it may pop your eyes out. I did not believe her initially but believed her after researching. Although there are other views on the facts about sneezing, I feel that the most convincing one would be that if you open your eyes when sneezing, your eyes would pop out. It is actually up to individual's beliefs and no one really knows the fact behind it. Nevertheless, sneezing would definitely benefits our body.
Source:http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/22468
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112390/sneezing.htm
Ans: The medical term for sneezing is “sternutatory reflex”. Sneezing places a lot of stress on the body and air pressure is also place on the eyes. Sneezing is stimulated by a tickle in the nose. It helps us to clear germs and bacteria in our nose, at the same time, take in oxygen. Sneezing is something we have no control over.
Myths and Facts of Sneezing
People believe that sneezing has so much pressure that it pops your eyes out and may be deadly while others think that it is just a reflex and some people can even sneeze with their eyes open. Others think that we close our eyes when we sneeze because our body wants to protect our eyes from the germs and bacteria released from our nose by the powerful sneeze.
So... which belief is true?
The website http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112390/sneezing.htm feels that sneezing is a reflex and so is our eyes and that we have no control on whether we can close our eyes or not when we sneeze.
It feels that people who do not have reflex can sneeze with their eyes open while others try to close their eyes to prevent their eyes from popping out.
It also feels that "Your eyes don't really pop out" when we sneeze.
This website disagrees with the fact that people close their eyes to prevent the germs and bacteria which is released from the nose after sneeze from affecting the eyes. It feels that our eyes is constantly in contact with germs and bacteria all the time.
The website http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/22468 has comments of many internet users.
One strong quote from this website is "It is unclear, but scientists theorize that we close our eyes to protect them. We may be protecting our eyes from microorganisms and particles from our sneezes," said Dr. Bonnie Henderson, director of comprehensive ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Others feel that it is a natural human instinct to prevent our eyes from popping out.
Another user feels that the air pressure our eyes experience is not strong enough to pop our eyes out.
In contrast, a different user states the evidence of Adolf Hitler making use of sneezing as a torture tactic by forcing his prisoners' eyes to open with toothpicks and sprinkling pepper under their noses to make them sneeze. This made their eyes partially pop out.
Many different people have many views and evidence for the fact of closing our eyes when we sneeze. However, which do you think is true? A warning to readers: Please do not try sneezing with your eyes open as it may really just pop your eyes out.
Reflection/Feelings:
I feel that sneezing would really pop our eyes out as it is strongly supported by the torture tactic Adolf Hitler used on his prisoners. As this is most probably recorded in history, it is more truthful and reliable. Like what my primary school science teacher said, sneezing is a kind of reflex which is so strong that it may pop your eyes out. I did not believe her initially but believed her after researching. Although there are other views on the facts about sneezing, I feel that the most convincing one would be that if you open your eyes when sneezing, your eyes would pop out. It is actually up to individual's beliefs and no one really knows the fact behind it. Nevertheless, sneezing would definitely benefits our body.
Source:http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/22468
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112390/sneezing.htm
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Osmosis & Diffusion Science Experiment
Materials needed:
Potato strip
Concentrated Salt Solution
Weighing Machine
Steps/Procedure:
Put the potato strip into the concentrated solution for 10 minutes, taking out the potato strip from the concentrated salt solution every 2 minutes to weigh the potato strip. The potato strip would shrink and the weight of the potato strip would decrease steadily.
Explaination:
Osmosis moves down a water potential gradient, with a partially permeable membrane (potato) in this case. The potato strip has higher water potential than the concentrated salt solution. Therefore, the water/moisture of the potato strip moves out of the potato strip to the concentrated salt solution until the water potential are about the same.
Reflections:
As I feel that this topic would be taught this year, I read up on the topic first and understood it. Next, to further understand the experiment, I did an experiment. By doing this, I could really remember the theory behind it as I have done hands-on and captured the theory into my brain. This experiment is truely enriching as it is not only fun, enjoyable, but helps to learn as well.
Potato strip
Concentrated Salt Solution
Weighing Machine
Steps/Procedure:
Put the potato strip into the concentrated solution for 10 minutes, taking out the potato strip from the concentrated salt solution every 2 minutes to weigh the potato strip. The potato strip would shrink and the weight of the potato strip would decrease steadily.
Explaination:
Osmosis moves down a water potential gradient, with a partially permeable membrane (potato) in this case. The potato strip has higher water potential than the concentrated salt solution. Therefore, the water/moisture of the potato strip moves out of the potato strip to the concentrated salt solution until the water potential are about the same.
Reflections:
As I feel that this topic would be taught this year, I read up on the topic first and understood it. Next, to further understand the experiment, I did an experiment. By doing this, I could really remember the theory behind it as I have done hands-on and captured the theory into my brain. This experiment is truely enriching as it is not only fun, enjoyable, but helps to learn as well.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Chemistry Experiment Cleaning Coins
Materials Needed:
Old Coins
1/4 Cup of white vinegar
1 Teaspoon Salt
Non-metal Bowl
Water
Objective:
Clean the old and dull pennies using vinegar to make them "blink" and shine again.
Procedure:
1) Pour the vinegar into the bowl and add salt.
2) Stir the solution.
3) Put 4-5 pennies inside the solution.
4) Wait for about 10 seconds.
5) Take the pennies out and rinse them in water.
6) Observe (You should be able to notice the coins become shiny again).
Reason:
Vinegar is an acid and reacts with salt to remove the dullness or remove copper oxide which was making the coin dull.
Now, some questions to ponder about...
1) Will other acidic stuff like lemon and orange work in this experiment?
2) Can this experiment be done on other old coins and work as well?
3) Does it matter if I add more salt or more vinegar in this experiment? Does it affect the results?
Reflections:
This experiment clearly shows the reaction between acid and salt- solution to removing copper oxide. This experiment is very useful and interesting as a teaching tool (if possible) as just talking about chemical equations in class can be very boring. Doing the experiments for the students to see, they could understand the lesson better. I hope to have more experiments in time to come, maybe to prove chemical equations or just to show students how the chemicals really react with each other. This kind of experiment would be able to capture the attention of the students, making it a fun learning experience for the students!\
Source: http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/pennychem.php
Old Coins
1/4 Cup of white vinegar
1 Teaspoon Salt
Non-metal Bowl
Water
Objective:
Clean the old and dull pennies using vinegar to make them "blink" and shine again.
Procedure:
1) Pour the vinegar into the bowl and add salt.
2) Stir the solution.
3) Put 4-5 pennies inside the solution.
4) Wait for about 10 seconds.
5) Take the pennies out and rinse them in water.
6) Observe (You should be able to notice the coins become shiny again).
Reason:
Vinegar is an acid and reacts with salt to remove the dullness or remove copper oxide which was making the coin dull.
Now, some questions to ponder about...
1) Will other acidic stuff like lemon and orange work in this experiment?
2) Can this experiment be done on other old coins and work as well?
3) Does it matter if I add more salt or more vinegar in this experiment? Does it affect the results?
Reflections:
This experiment clearly shows the reaction between acid and salt- solution to removing copper oxide. This experiment is very useful and interesting as a teaching tool (if possible) as just talking about chemical equations in class can be very boring. Doing the experiments for the students to see, they could understand the lesson better. I hope to have more experiments in time to come, maybe to prove chemical equations or just to show students how the chemicals really react with each other. This kind of experiment would be able to capture the attention of the students, making it a fun learning experience for the students!\
Source: http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/pennychem.php
First Post (Straw)
Experiment Materials Needed:
Straw
Water
Cup
Question:
Why doesn't the water in the straw "drop" when the straw is held in the air if I cover one of the opening of the straw?
Answer:
Air pressure is the main concept behind this. As air is a matter, it experiences gravity as well. Since gravity is strongest near the earth's surface, it holds the atmosphere which contains different types of air and is closest to the earth's surface. This pushing force of the air is called air pressure.
This experiment is to explore air pressure. As you hold your finger on the opening of the straw, the air in the straw could not escape. Air pressure is when air presses down on the Earth's surface. Therefore, when you hold one of the opening of the straw, the water would not drop down as it is "protected" from the weight of air, not experiencing air pressure. However, when you release the finger, there would be air pressure, pushing down the water into the cup.
Reflections/Learning Point:
Air pressure happens because air, which has mass, experiences the pull of gravity. This experiment clearly explains this to me through visually. It is a very good experiment to show air presssure in the simplest form. Another experiment to show air pressure would be the "killer straw" experiment. I feel that this experiment is very interesting and this experiment was done by me when I was an adolescent. I did this experiment unknowingly as I was playing with my straw and water then. I did not expect this to be able to enlighten me in the concept air pressure. I really like this kind of "learning from "life" experiments" style of learning!
Source: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem99/chem99313.htm
Straw
Water
Cup
Question:
Why doesn't the water in the straw "drop" when the straw is held in the air if I cover one of the opening of the straw?
Answer:
Air pressure is the main concept behind this. As air is a matter, it experiences gravity as well. Since gravity is strongest near the earth's surface, it holds the atmosphere which contains different types of air and is closest to the earth's surface. This pushing force of the air is called air pressure.
This experiment is to explore air pressure. As you hold your finger on the opening of the straw, the air in the straw could not escape. Air pressure is when air presses down on the Earth's surface. Therefore, when you hold one of the opening of the straw, the water would not drop down as it is "protected" from the weight of air, not experiencing air pressure. However, when you release the finger, there would be air pressure, pushing down the water into the cup.
Reflections/Learning Point:
Air pressure happens because air, which has mass, experiences the pull of gravity. This experiment clearly explains this to me through visually. It is a very good experiment to show air presssure in the simplest form. Another experiment to show air pressure would be the "killer straw" experiment. I feel that this experiment is very interesting and this experiment was done by me when I was an adolescent. I did this experiment unknowingly as I was playing with my straw and water then. I did not expect this to be able to enlighten me in the concept air pressure. I really like this kind of "learning from "life" experiments" style of learning!
Source: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem99/chem99313.htm
Introduction
Hi Guys! This shall be the platform where my Science E-portfolio would be at. Enjoy the posts!!
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