Moon

Report of the MOON

Every night, lying on my bed, I would occasionally look up into the sky and observe the moon. My first impression of the moon is that it is very rough and have a lot of craters. The moon does look very rough even from my house.


Evidence of hypothesis:
- It is the largest crater on the Moon and the largest known crater in the Solar System. At 13 km deep, its floor is the lowest elevation on the Moon.



- The other major geologic process that has affected the Moon's surface is impact cratering, with craters formed when asteroids and comets collide with the lunar surface. There are estimated to be roughly 300,000 craters wider than 1 km on the Moon's near side alone.

-The lack of an atmosphere, weather and recent geological processes mean that many of these craters are well-preserved. While only a few multi-ring basins have been definitively dated, they are useful for assigning relative ages. Since impact craters accumulate at a nearly constant rate, counting the number of craters per unit area can be used to estimate the age of the surface.
Other pictures




Conclusion:
-Because the moon surface is rough, the light rays will be reflected diffusely!

Oil spills and its danger!

What does oil do?

Oil is a product that we often use to keep warm, can cause hypothermia in marine animals. As oil mixes with water, it forms a substance called "mousse," which sticks to feathers and fur.
example:
A bird's feathers are filled with air spaces that act as insulation and keeps the bird warm. When a bird gets coated with oil, the feathers lose their insulating ability and the bird could die of hypothermia.

Effects of oil spill:

The effects of an oil spill depend on a variety of factors, including the weather and other environmental conditions, the composition of the oil and how close it gets to shore. But here are some ways an oil spill can impact marine life

1)Poisoning and Internal Damage
Animals can be poisoned or suffer internal damage from ingesting oil. Effects include ulcers and damage to red blood cells, kidneys, liver and to the immune system.

2)Increased Predation
Oil can weigh down feathers and fur, making it difficult for birds and pinnipeds to escape from predators. If they are covered with enough oil, birds or pinnipeds may actually drown.

3）Decreased Reproduction
Oil spills can effect the eggs of marine life such as fish and sea turtles

4）Fouling of Habitat
Oil spills in the can effect ocean habitat, both offshore and onshore.

AN EXAMPLE OF A SEVERE OIL SPILL!!!
- The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill

The oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilled an estimated 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. Hundreds of thousands of birds, fish and animals died right away! The Exxon Valdez oil spill is considered one of the worst human-caused marine environmental disasters ever to occur.

Term 2 Reflections

Term 2 was the most enjoyable but confusing term of the year for me!

I learnt a lot including my favourite segments Acids and Bases, ending chemistry for the year. We then touched on physics,

1) Mirrors
2) reflection and refraction
3) Light

This was the most confusing chapter of the year for me. Physics is a whole lot different from biology and chemistry which requires more concept and application. This really proves to be a big feat for me as i did not go through term 2 that smoothly, facing ups and downs, however, this just makes science more interesting! i faced a lot of troubles and many problems. Luckily, i had friends, teachers and my family members there for me to clarify my doubts and help me with my problems.

During the examination period, i was plagued with the national competitions, one after the other, giving me no time to concentrate and brush up on my sciences which i proved to be rather poor at it then, then i was thinking to myself that if i really did flunk my test, my science examination dream would be flushed away! Therefore, i knew that time management was the key to my term 2 results! My training was 6 days a week, some including morning training! I studied before training everyday to make use well of that time and when i reach home, i will complete my homework. I was indeed worried but had faith that i would do well.

The day came, the test results, the teacher announced the results and to my utmost surprise and joy, i got 3rd in class! The feeling was really so great! I managed to survive through it and even got better results than others who did not have so much training load. It was another high A1, as if a magnet, drawing the exemption of the End-Of-Year examinations closer and closer!

Mirage

Shrimp and goby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR9X3gFTpL0&feature=related

Shrimp is very hardworking but is blind.
Goby can see but is lazy
Both together is a super-team, the shrimp do all the work and the goby be the eyes of the shrimp!
This is a touching yet fruitful video I hope to share with everyone!

TEAMWORK
T à together
E à everyone
A à achieves
M à more

Everyone is gifted in one way or another
goby can see but does not have the hardworking attitude
shrimp is blind yet is very diligent and achieves a lot!
“ one is too small a number to achieve greatness”
“ Unity is Strength, Strength is Unity”
“ 2 minds are always better than 1”
“ Heaven is fair, people are good in their own ways ”


Reflection
Seeing the team together, making up their home and helping each other in needs and time in crisis really warms my heart and make me think a lot. Sometimes in life we all feel we can achieve great heights just by counting on ourselves, however, there are times that we need assistance to climb the extra mile and with friends or any help, we are able to have greater achievements
and also through that process, foster good relationships and also learn to have teamwork which will be essential in our everyday life, whether in work, studies, projects or even games!!

Beryllium Chloride

WHAT SO WRONG ABOUT Beryllium Chloride ?????

Beryllium is a metal
Chloride is a non-metal
Beryllium Chloride should be an ionic bond between a non-metal and a metal
However, Beryllium Chloride and Aluminium chloride are the only exceptions, WHY?

INFORMATION OF Beryllium Chloride

Beryllium chloride is the compound with the formula BeCl2. It is a colourless, hygroscopic solid that dissolves well in many polar solvents. Its properties are similar to those of aluminium chloride.
These reactions are so significant as it is a covalent bond between a metal and a non-metal.
Beryllium chloride is made by the reaction between metal and chlorine at high temperatures:
Be + Cl2 → BeCl2
BeCl2 can also be prepared by carbothermal reduction of beryllium oxide in the presence of chlorine. BeCl2 can be prepared by treating Be metal with hydrogen chloride.

USES OF Beryllium Chloride
e.g
Beryllium Chloride is used as a chemical reagent for refining beryllium ores.

Term 1 Reflections

Term 1 Lower secondary science

I have learnt a lot through my first term in 2011. We started the term with chemistry, learning the subjects

1) Periodic Table
2) Atomic structure
3) Equation Writing

When i was in secondary 1, chemistry was like a pain to me and i dread it so much, but term 1's chemistry lesson made chemistry my favourite science subject!
For Periodic table i learnt about the uses of the periodic table, groupings' relation to its valence electrons etc... I also learnt the presence of protons, neutrons and electrons in an atom, how it relates to equation writing whereby elements are joined to form mixtures and compounds. I stumbled a lot during the whole process and felt really frustrated at times, it is like 2 voices in me, one so tempting, urging me to give up and indulge in games instead, while deep down, a real fiery passion clinged unto me, convincing me to persevere.

As one's passion is the key to success, my interest and curiosity for science has granted me with great results, an high A1 for my test, getting 2nd in class! I reviewed my paper and realised that it was almost full marks, except for 3 careless mistakes! I was with mixed feelings, rather disappointed with myself for allowing such mistakes to happen but also exhilarated over my performance.
In secondary 1, I found it so hard even getting an A1 in science and found myself suffocating between the A2-B4 vortex.

This was a big spur to me as i had the ambition to get exempted at the end of the year, this was a great beginning for me, not only for my academic results, but also the marks the start of a beautiful relationship with science!