Rising Water

Hello! Today is a Monday, and maybe if you've been reading my blogs you may have noticed that on Mondays, I have Science! We're going to have a special experiment on Wednesday this week (something to do with dry ice!) so be on the lookout for a blog about that.

Anyway, let's talk about today. We just did a small experiment in which we had the following materials...

Materials

Candle

Petrie dish (or a bowl/plate works fine too)

Water

Cup

Lighter/Matches

What was our aim?

To see what happens to the water level when the candle is covered

Hypothesis

I predict that the gas from the fire will just form an interesting looking pattern.

Something that looks similar to this.

What is happening inside the cup?

Essentially the flame of the candle is consuming the oxygen.  As you can in the picture above, it talks about high pressure and low pressure. While the cup is on the flame, the pressure is high, and when you release the cup, the air gets cold and that's what causes low pressure. So basically the air is expanding and the water is contracting.  When you do the experiment, you can see tiny bubbles escaping under the cup which shows that the increased air pressure from the heated air as the candle burns. Once the candle runs out of oxygen, the candle burns out and the remaining air inside cools down.

Conclusion

As soon as we covered the lit candle with the cup the water started to rise a little, maybe even bubble before the candle went out in less than a few seconds. Not much happened in today's experiment but like I mentioned earlier, this was just a small one for today.

Here's a video you could check out of someone do this experiment so you can visually see what we did! 

Goal Setting 2021

 Kia ora! Once again for term 2, I've created another goal-setting document for term 2. Below, you can read about my subjects this year, my learning work-ons, and the ambitions I wish to have done by the end of this term.

I usually like to set a high standard for myself but in the past, sometimes when I would force myself to do too much I'd just end up putting pressure on myself and not getting anywhere. So, this term I've decided to do what I think will help me best. 

What are your goals and ambitions for this year?

Dilution and filtration

Hola! On Wednesday last week, my science class did an experiment! We used a chemical called Copper nitrate, we also used water. We diluted the solution 4 times. After that, we made a little cone out of filter paper, put it in a funnel and poured our solution in. Why did we do that? Over the next few days, crystals should've formed. 

Looking back today. there are small crystals along the side of the filter paper. I think that the experiment has worked. 

Questions - 1. Which test tube had the most concentrated sample of Copper nitrate?

The first test-tube had the most concentrated sample of copper nitrate.

2. When we added water what were we doing to the concentration of the solution?

We were diluting the solution 

3. Which concentration of copper nitrate formed the most precipitate, why do you think this is the case?

The last one, by the 4th test tube copper nitrate, had been diluted x1000. 

Solvent: The liquid

Solute: The solid you are trying to dissolve.

Filtrate: Separating the solute (solid) from the solvent (liquid).

Precipitate: When a solid forms in a liquid.

Water Boats

 Hello and welcome back to Term 2! First period I have Science and for our first task this term we used bunsen burners and made little containers out of paper and looked at how long our container would hold up against fire.

Aim: Designing a container out of paper that holds water and doesn't catch on fire.

Method: We first designed the container that we thought would hold water, second we set up all our equipment, turned on the gas and put our container on the tripod, lastly we turned off the gas when our container started to collapse or go up in flames.

6 things we used: Bunsen burner, beaker, A4 paper, water, heat mat, tripod

Results: My container withstood the fire for about 15 seconds.

Conclusion: Our containers base wasn't as strong as we would've liked it to be. It got through the paper in a short amount of time. Something I would do differently next time is create layers and make the base stronger. One tip I would give to someone doing an experiment is to make the air hole is closed (labelled in the diagram).

PE & Athletics Day

Konnichiwa! Today I'll be telling you about what we did in PE over the last few weeks! Since Athletics Day was coming up, my class practised all sorts of activities that we'd have to do. The athletics events that I have learnt this term are, shot put, discus, 100m sprint, long jump, high jump and relay.

Shot put - Whenever you're doing shot put, make sure to hold the shot put behind your ear with your elbows up and give a big push. 

Discus - Hold the discus carefully with your fingers wrapped around. When getting ready to throw, swing your arm, and when ready throw! Make sure to use your arm and leg power (bend your knees a little).

100m Sprint - Be ready to listen for the whistle, clap or whatever sound. Run your hardest and try to focus on your breathing.

Long Jump - In long jump, you use your lower body to help you run and jump farther. Make sure to have a good run-up.

High Jump - For high jump, you must also use your lower body to help you jump higher. If you're going to be landing on your back, using the muscles in your upper back may help.

Relay - In relay, as your partner is getting closer, start jogging, and as soon as you get a hold of the batten, run! But still, remember to focus on you're breathing.

Athletics Results

Long Jump - 2.10m

Shotput - 7.5m

Discus - 4.8m

Conclusion

I really enjoyed participating in a variety of things to do in the past weeks! I was punctual by coming to PE every lesson and having my PE gear. I also really enjoyed Athletics Day! Our Kahui had a chant that we had to say when the relays were on near the end of the day. Everyone was cheering and supporting one another. It was also cool to see so many people in their Kahui colours.

Getting Help

 Kia Ora! Today in Health we've been given a task to find 2 or 3 agencies in Christchurch that could help a teenager with mental health issues.

Agencies

1) Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support located on 357 Madras Street

This agencies services are mostly free. This is great because there would be no pressure to keep paying for sessions. MHAPS provides a range of programmes plus a series of individual single subject workshops. These small group events are designed to improve people’s understanding of mental health and addictions. As a person becomes more aware of their own reactions to stress and trauma these programmes assist them to develop effective recovery and wellbeing strategies.

2) Canterbury Men's Centre located on 21 Marshland Road

The Canterbury Men’s Centre takes care of Canterbury men in pursuing our aim of Happy Healthy Canterbury Men. They also take care of men that have experienced sexual trauma at any time in their life 

Canterbury Men's Centre also do research, support men’s sheds, produce The Blokes Book, produce The Fun for Older Men book.

3) Mental Health Education & Resource Centre located on 116 Marshland Road

The Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC) provides information, a free public library, as well as professional development and community education about mental health, wellbeing, mental illness, and addiction. Their services are available to everyone, including those who may be affected by mental illness, seeking wellbeing for themselves or others, and those working in the mental health or social service sectors.

Heart Dissection

Ni Hao! In Science, we did a heart dissection! You may have seen my blog about my chicken leg dissection in which I stated that for my next experiment I would've liked to do something more interesting like an eye or a heart.

Aim: to look at the structure of the heart

Method: Gloves, scalpel, tray, scissors, tweezers, cleaning supplies, newspaper, and a Heart!

1) Put newspaper on your tables and put on gloves

2) Get a tray

3) Get one piece of each instrument

4) Send one person in your group to collect the heart

Process

1) Cut off the fat

2) Cut down the aorta into the left chamber, which is the large chamber

3) Fibers in the heart (strings) help to keep the structure of the heart together

4) Found the pulmonary artery which flows blood into the lungs

Conclusion

The heart looked quite interesting especially when I pulled it apart. It was cool to look through all the arteries and examine all the fibers.