Riccardo's Science Blog

Summary :  So what is an element?  An element is a pure substance that cannot be separated into simpler materials. A pure substance is a sample of matter that only contains one type of atom. Now, the compounds. A compound is created by  two or more different pure substances that are joined by chemical bonds. Compounds can not be separated by physical means. Separating compounds requires a chemical reaction. A mixture is two or more elements or compounds. These are not chemically combined. There are two types of mixtures.  A heterogeneous mixture is the least mixed mixture and is the easiest to take apart. A good way to visualize this would be a pizza. A homogeneous mixture, also known as a solution, can be separated by physical means.    A solution could be  soda or milk. Something similar to mixtures are colloids. A  colloid is when the particles are not dissolved, but they are mixed.   S&EP- Conduct...

Summary: The atomic number is how many protons there are in the atom. There are no decimals because you cannot have a part of a proton. The element symbol is an abbreviation of the element name. The mass number is the neutrons and protons added together, while t he number of protons determines the identity of the atom.  Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different number of neutrons.  All atoms of a particular element have the same atomic number, while i sotopes of the same element have different mass numbers.  The number of neutrons determines whether the atom is stable or not. An ion is made when we gain or lose electrons. When atoms gain electrons they become negative ions. These are called anions, but when atoms lose electrons they become positive ions. These are known as cations. As well as   Dmitri Mendeleev created the first periodic table. He sorted it out off of similar property and atomic weight. S&EP; Arguing From Evidence: In class we ha...

Summary: Atoms are the basic build blocks of matter.  Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a positive charge, while neutrons have a neutral charge, and electrons have a negative charge. You know something is an element if it is a pure substance, made of one atom, and is on the periodic table. While a compound is a combination of two different types of elements. A molecule is two or more of the same type of atom. A molecule can be an element or not. Now it's time for matter, matter is something that has mass and takes up space. Matter can be a solid, liquid or gas. Matter is indivisible and indestructible. All the matter in the world is only made up of about 100 different elements in various combinations. The human body is only made up of about six elements however. SP5: Using mathematics and computational thinking: I expressed relationships between variables by writing mathematical equations. For example, I calculated the densit...

Summary: The reason sea turtles are endangered is all because of humans. Some harm it for its meat and eggs, and others use the turtle for medicine. In addition, they are harmed from boat propellers, and fishnets. As well as the more that beaches get trashed, the population of green sea turtles decreases. This is due to the fact that they need to nest on the beach. With all the space taken up by trash, the turtles have no place to lay their eggs. But not only are they being killed, so is their food. The food source for the green sea turtle, sea grass, is a victim of coastal development. This means there is more pollution and sediment in the water and renders the sea grass uneatable. In 2004, green sea turtles were put on the iucn red list. Even though the iucn only recognized them then, the concern of their endangerment dates back to 1940. Not only are green sea turtles used for medicine and meat, they consume sea grass and keep it healthy. By keeping the sea grass healthy other ...

Summary : Organisms interact with each other in many different ways.    Commensalism is a win, okay relationship in which one organism is benefited and the other is not harmed or benefited. An orchid growing in a tree is a great example. The orchid receives the much needed sunlight while the tree does not care.   Predation is a win or lose interaction. One organism consumes all or a part of another organism. An example of this relationship is a pack of lions hunting a group of gazelles. S ymbiosis is a close and dependent relationship between two different species. The survival of one depends on the other.  Mutualism is a win, win situation where both species benefit. For instance, ants and acacia trees. The ants feed on the tree and the ants act as body guards for the tree.  Another interaction between organisms is competition. This occurs when two organisms fight for basic necessities or resources.  This is a win or lose interaction that...

Summary:  The energy pyramid shows how energy moves from one living organism to another. Each time you move up the pyramid only 10 percent of energy transfers. For example, grass makes its own food and has 100% of its energy. Then a rabbit comes along and eats the grass. The rabbit has 10% of the grasses energy. A hungry fox comes and eats the rabbit. The fox then has 1% of the grasses energy. Producers are living organisms that make their own food, such as grass. Above them are the consumers, (herbivores and carnivores) the living organisms that consume other living organisms to survive. Humans lie atop the energy pyramid with plants at the bottom. Plant are the foundation of the pyramid because they do not need to consume other living organisms. As you may notice, the pyramid gets a smaller area at each level as you go higher. This is because there needs to be a larger amount of plants and less predators. Everything above plants needs it to survive and so on until the to...

Image : Summary : The Punnett square is a diagram that is used to predict an outcome of how a pairs offspring will look. Every person has two alleles, and as they have a kid they pass down one of their two alleles. Depending whether or not you inherit two dominant, two recessive, or one of both, you will have a noticeable phenotype resembling one of your parents. For example if your mom is homozygous for her green eyes, and your dad is heterozygous for his brown eyes, there is a chance that you will get either brown or green eyes. We use Punnett squares to easily the possible combinations that the eye color will be.Your health is not only determined on what your mother does, but what you do after you are born. Your mom decided to eat very healthy while pregnant with you. The result is a perfectly healthy baby, but if after birth you have an unhealthy diet and only eat junk food, you will become obese and have other health issues in your life. A mutation is a change in geneti...