science

I was reading an article about how teens got asked to take a survey about the hours of sleep they get. The average teen sleeps about 9 hours, and the least amount is 8. When scientists reviewed all the tests, 900 students got nine hours, while the other 2,800 reported 8. Scientists also asked students what could harm your health. Most of them said drugs, alcohol, and overly-sleep. If a person doesn't get enough sleep that could cause things like harder to learn, and physical abilities. You can get obese and sleeping can throw off your body's chemical balance.

Did you no that Sea Turtles are going extinct? Dr. Wallace J. Nichols said in Net Geo that they were going extinct from people eating them in soups and or turtle stake.

When I read this I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. One, I didn't know Sea turtles were going extinct, and second, I had no idea that people would even consider eating turtles!

If you live in the U.S then you probably don't eat turtle, but people who don't most of the time get very ill or even die from it. Do you know why this is? Well I do, and it is not something you really want to hear, but it is our fault.

Its from the pollution in the water; it is making the fish and turtles sick and then if you eat them you can get sick as well. If you want to know more, click on this link.
Sea Turtle Soup? No Thanks!

On what we did this week we did some work and some more work. We also did homework, not that much though. It was a fun this week (some week). We had indoor recess (also fun (some fun)). I played on computers all 30 minutes (45 min.).

All I did this week at home this very week of all the weeks was sleep, eat, school, eat & sleep. Like all the other weeks this was the most fun of all, a substitute came into our class. He was okay, fine, defined & great. He was a nice guy.

Today was a great day. It was also kind of short today. I got my work done which is great. To end this short paragraph I will say today is over bye.

I read in National Geographic about avalanches. It said that avalanches can be caused on a slope of at least a 25% or more. Avalanches can destroy buildings with slabs of ice or powder snow. Avalanches are the same as 20,000 elephants running down hill.

Dr. Adams studies avalanches by getting buried in one. He is inventing a program that will tell us when an avalanche will occur so it will save many lives. He sits in a shed on the side of a mountain to wait for a bomb to go off to make an avalanche.

Today we made something with one paper clip, a D battery, and a light bulb... What do you think we made with those supplies?

Well I guess I will tell you, but don't try this at home unless you are with a parent and don't try it with the cables from your house or with a car battery or anything bigger than a D battery.

We made the Light come on with a paper clip and D battery. This is dangerous when you don't do it right.

In science class we are studying electricity using a light bulb, paperclip, and a battery. We first figured out how to light the light bulb. It took awhile but I figured out how you put the light bulb on either end of the battery, because there is no top or bottom on a battery, just a positive and a negative. Then take the paperclip on the opposite side of the light bulb and stretch it to the screwy metal part of the bulb and touch it.

At first I touched the paperclip to both ends of the battery and then put the bulb on the paperclip but the paperclip just got really hot. Also an other way it didn't work was just putting the light bulb on the battery. That wasn't even close to working!

Me and my friend also figured out how to use two paperclips, a light bulb, and a battery. It's almost the same way, but the paperclips each touch one side and one of the paper clips touches the screwy part, and the other touches the bottom. It was a really fun project and I loved playing with electricity but it is dangerous to play with electricity.

Today we studied about static and we got to do an experiment on it, and what we did is that we got all kinds of different material and we also got cool balloons. Mine was very cool to me. It is in my backpack right now, but on the experiment we were looking for things that stuck to the balloon and what surprised me is that salt stuck to the balloon and so did the balloons. Why? Because they went away from each other instead of coming together, and then my hair stood up for the rest of the day.

When I went home my mom asked me, "Why is your hair standing up."

And I told her, "Science, Mom," and it was fun.

And she just nodded and said, "Ok sweety, whatever you say."

And then I went to my room and cleaned it, and my mom was so happy she hugged me so much I could have almost popped like a balloon in a dart contest if she squeezed me any harder.
And then I just went in my room and started to draw and when it was bed time my mom came up to me and said, "Guess what we are having for diner tomorrow!"

And I said, "What?"

And she said,"We are having corn beef hash."

This Saturday I went with my friends to go see the movie 2012. It was the best movie ever. It was about this guy who had a friend in Africa and he owned a copper mine. He said that the heating was unusual, and he wanted to know what went wrong. So he showed the scientist the hole that had water in it and the water was unstable. It was bubbling.

As soon as he saw it he contacted the president. He had traveled in a car 20,000 miles to the White House to talk to the president and he was told to go away.

So now there is a guy whose name I don't remember working for a lame guy that only bosses him around. He is divorced from his wife and only has some time to help and take time with his children. So he goes to his ex-wife to get his children.

They went camping and saw this freaky hobo when they were going to the campground. When they left to go camping, so did his ex-wife and Gordon (the girl's boyfriend). And they went to the store to go and get food and everything. When they went to go get the soup there was a shaking in the ground in the super store and then the store split in half and you could see the lava from the center of the earth.

Mr. Adams and Mr. Andrew both work on studying avalanches from a little shack that probably smelled like old cheese and feet that had been soaked in month-old soup, and it probably smelled like coffee too!! So they monitor avalanches from that teeny little hut. The question is how. How do they make the avalanche go?

Or do they just sit there and wait for it, or does someone go up there and yell at the top of their lungs and then run down the hill or ski down or snowboard down. Maybe they drive down. I don't have a clue, but one thing I know is that this is a dangerous job and I want to be like them when I get older. OH, wait, that was two things, oh well.

Avalanches are very dangerous. There are two types of avalanches: loose snow and slab. Slab avalanches are more dangerous then loose snow. Avalanches usually form when there is a loose layer of snow. Avalanches can move up to 80 mph. They will only fall at a 25 degree angle.

Dr. Adams is a guy who studies avalanches. He makes an explosion and then he sits in a shed at the bottom of the hill. That's a scary but cool job. I think it would be a cool job to study avalanches.

One connection I had with the avalanche story is that my dad told me he got caught in an avalanche when he was younger. Another connection I had with this story is that my dad's friend climbed Mt. Everest, and I bet he saw some avalanches.

If I ever get caught in an avalanche, I will just stay calm until someone finds me. But let's hope I don't ever get caught in one! I learned a lot from this story. I hope I get to read more books about avalanches, so I can learn more about them.

We read an article out of the National Geographic. It was about a scientist named Dr. Adams. He has a shed on a hill and he has special stuff in there. Dr. Adams has a button that he pushes to set explosions to make avalanches.

Here's three facts about avalanches. When snow moves it moves at a speed of 60-80 miles per hr. The largest avalanches weigh about 100,000 pounds! For an avalanche to occur it needs a strong layer of snow, a weak layer of snow, and a trigger to send the snow down the hill or mountain.

I didn't know that snow moves that fast. It doesn't seem like it goes that fast. I wouldn't like to be chased by snow going 60-80 miles per hr. At first I thought that was an error in the article.

I read an article about panda bears and about half of the pandas are dieing every day. Most pandas are kept safe in captivity and when some of the babies are all grown up they are released into the wild. Pandas are a white and black bear that's pretty amazing, and maybe people should stop cutting down bamboo trees because that's their food, and we're stealing it. Not many pandas are going to survive.

You can read the story for yourself.

I read a really gross but interesting article about using cow manure as electricity. The Audet family at Blue Spruce farm owns 1000 cows, and each cow makes 30 gallons of dung every day. At the end of the day they take a giant pooper scooper machine and put it in a giant, concrete, swimming pool-like machine called the Digester. The Digester works by capturing the methane gas that the dung releases and uses it to power generators. The Audets make so much energy they have lots of extra energy to sell.

After they used all the energy from the manure, they take all the liquid from the manure and spread it over their fields as fertilizer. Then they take the dried out dung flakes and make beds for the cows. That sounds disgusting, but apparently the cows like it. I recommend reading this article, but only on an empty stomach.

This is the biggest baddest frog. This thing is as big as a beach ball. Science has found a skeleton that is the second biggest frogs ever. They found it in Madagascar. It ate lizards and other small animals. It has a mouth full of teeth. It's called the devil frog. Its relatives live in South America; that is half way around the world!!!!! That's a long way from family!!!

Today I read a story on a giant frog called the Beelzebufo. Also known as the "devil frog," the name “Beelzebufo” comes from the Greek word for devil (Beelzebub) and the Latin word for toad (bufo). This frog weighs up to 10 pounds and is 60 inches long! They think this frog might be one of the biggest frogs that ever existed.

The scientist thinks that at one point Madagascar, Antarctica, and South America were all connected in a way. They are wondering why they did not find this frog somewhere in South America.

Not only was the frog huge, it was powerful, had a protective shield, an extremely wide mouth and powerful jaws. These features made Beelzebufo capable of killing lizards and other small animals, perhaps even hatchling dinosaurs. These features made Beelzebufo capable of killing lizards and big animals.

The largest living frog today is the goliath frog of West Africa, which can be 12.5 inches long and weigh about 7.2 pounds.

If you ever see this frog please call animal control!!! That is most of the facts about this amazingly big frog!!!

If you want to learn more about this frog go to

I read this really good story on National Geographic. It's about giant frogs

I really liked this story. It's about a giant frog that lives in Madagascar, but its relatives lived in South America. The researchers were wondering about that a lot.

This frog is a big frog but not the biggest! The biggest is Goliath frog of West Africa, which can be 12.5 inches long and weigh about 7.2 pounds. The Beelzebufo frog is 4 inches. It isn't too big compared to us, but the Goliath is pretty big.

I went to http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/ and I read this great article about carnivorous plants. It tells how meat-eating plants us tricks to lure insects into their traps. For example the pitcher plant, a insect want to get a drink so they slide in and then the pitcher plant closes it's lid and digests the bug. Also the Venus Flytrap snaps shut when a bug lands on it, and a bug is glued down and digested when it lands on a Sundew.

But my favorite plant is the bladderwort. It's a little plant that grows in a lake and snatches up larvae in 1/50 of a second and is the fastest killer in the plant kingdom. It captures it's pray by waiting until a bug swims by then opens a trap door and grabs it then closes the door before it can get out. That's what I read about carnivorous plants and I recommend reading the stories on the National Geographic web page.

Today I read a story called Mystery of the Tattooed Mummy It was a great story. The mummy was a girl who still had all her hair and had tons of tattoos covering her body. I would tell you her name but the site didn't tell her name. They said that she died very young. They think she died giving birth. But once more they are not sure.

Super MAN is Back! This is a urgent message. Giant Snakes are taking over North America!! You guys better look out. They are pretty sure that that snakes are going to be in Pennsylvania by 2100, and that is messed up because I am from Philadelphia!!

I read a story about a lungless frog. The name of the species was barbourula kellentenensis. The frog story was on this website if you want to read it.

The frog was found in Singapore. The frog was dissected, and they found no lungs. It apparently breathes through its skin. They say that it was adaptation because it was found in cold water and there is high oxygen in the cold water so after time it learned to breath through it skin. It has a low metabolic rate which means it doesn't need a lot of oxygen. I think this is a really great story and you should read it. I was surprised that an animal could adapt to live without its lungs!

I read a cool story called Isty-Bitsy Dino. A guy found a dinosaur fossil just this year. It was REALLY tiny! In fact, it was only four inches tall, and just over two feet from head to tail. It weighed less than two pounds! That's like the size of your average cat. That's one tiny dinosaur. It is said to be the tiniest dinosaur ever to roam North America. They also said that the "tiny" dino was a very fast runner and it could run under bigger dinosaur's legs.

I read a really interesting story about recycling plastic water bottles. It's called Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap?. I thought it was good because it tells how we need to recycle, and how easy it is.

For example: recycling only one plastic water bottle can save enough energy to power a light bulb for six entire hours.
And continue to recycle, because plastic water bottles are turned into your lovely carpets and rugs, to your cozy fleece sweaters.

Okay, so take your average plastic water bottle and fill it a quarter full with pure oil. That's how much oil it takes to make that one single bottle.

Oh I know what you're thinking, "The water in the plastic water bottles are better for us than the water from the tap." Well believe it or not, you're wrong. True, the water from the bottle is pretty good for you (just about as good as tap) but what about when the nasty chemicals that are in the bottle itself? The real thing that happens in most bottles is that those gross chemicals leach into the water.

Ever heard of a bacon clock? Well I have. Haven't you? Click this link - http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/MoreStories/New-alarm-clock.

Read this story about a kid that designed a clock without a alarm; instead he used the aroma of bacon.

I read an article about a frog that lived along time ago, its name is Beelzebufo. A team of researchers found a fossil of a giant frog that is as big as a beach ball. The fossil was found in Madagascar. They say it should be in South America because its just like the Pacman frogs. They don't know how Beelzebufo got to Madagascar. Beelzebufo is 16 inches long but weighs only about 10 pounds.

The biggest frog in the world is the Goliath. Its 12.7 inches long and weighs up to 7.2 pounds. Beelzebufo is only 3.3 inches longer then the Goliath frog. Beelzebufo s 2.8 pounds more then the Goliath frog. The Goliath frog is close to Beelzebufos height and weight.

I thought that this article was really cool because I like stuff about historical creatures.

For more information about Beelzebufo go to http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Beelzebufo

I read an article on how kids watch too much TV. When I read it I was amazed how many kids watch TV. 6,700 kids watch TV. From 2-5, kids of that age watch 32 hours of TV. Kids from 5-11 watch 28 hours of TV (wowsers that's a lot).

I probably watch at least 12 hours of TV a day, but hey, I also have to do homework. if this sounds interesting to you, then you can go to the article yourself at: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/news

You can also read some other stuff every day, like news, and they have games, too.

I read a story about junk food, and an experiment having to do with rats eating junk food & your pleasure centers.There were two groups of rats. One group ate junk food and the other ate nutritious food. What they fed the junk food rats was cheesecake, bacon, and Ho Ho's (I don't know what those are). The junk food rats ate more and more than the other group. The story is called Junk Food Junkies.

I realized how junk food addiction is close to drug addiction! Plus, you eat bad things for your body just so you could feel good. I would prefer an apple over a burger.

The spotted hyena is one of the most dangerous hyenas. It can take down a whole water buffalo, but the only way to take it down is in a pack. They also run after animals until the animals get tired of running.

The spotted hyena has been spotted eating pots and pans because it is so hungry, and it can run up to 30 miles an hour, and it can eat bones, fur, meat, and did you know they eat beetles and berries.

The most part that scares me is how fast it can run and it can eat bones, so when I read that part I imagined that it caught me and ate me whole and when they laugh, it's like they are laughing at you. And if you see a wild animal please stay away.

According to Frightful Animals In National Geographic, the Gila Monster is one of the most dangerous lizards in the world. This monster let's off venom when it bites its prey. This is no lizard to mess with. This monster goes after small rodents like mice, rats, and stuff like that, but it does like reptile eggs and quail eggs, too. The monster's predators are the coyotes, the Great Horned Owl, and desert snakes.

A GILA MONSTER usually moves slowly. However, this monster can sprint 15 meters (49 feet). I didn't think that this monster moves slow, and that coyotes go after poisonous animals.

IF THIS ANIMAL IS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, CALL SOMEONE AND LOCK YOUR DOORS AND ALL YOUR WINDOWS AND DOORS!!!!!

SUPER MAN THAT OHOO!!!!!

According to "Frightful Animals" National Geographic, a constrictor snake would not, repeat, not be a good house pet at all, because it squeezes its prey until it stops breathing, and then it swallows its prey whole! I think that this snake is a very frightening thing to get near.

According to "Frightful Animals" in National Geographic I think the coolest animal was the Goliath Bird -eating tarantula. This big scary spider is bigger than your foot !