What do I want to Do when I grow Up?

If you ask this question to a 1st grader they will give you an answer right away, but once you get to be our age this question is harder to answer. It is more true to life and is something that will happen fairly quickly. Well now about what I want to do. I have thought alot about this and have determined that I definitely want to finish high school and go on to college, of course. I want to either be a surgeon or a veterinarian. I love animals and have a care for people. I want to be able to help save lives. It would be a cool job because you would be able to see the benefits for your work and know that you have helped someone. Science would be a big factor in this because you can not go into doctor or veterinary work without knowing science. I said that my favorite activity was reading, and reading would help me understand what I was doing better by reading books about the topics of my work.

My Favorite Activity

This topic was kind of hard for me because I have so many things I like to do, like tennis and flute. But, once I thought about it a little bit I decided that reading is my favorite pass time. I enjoy reading so much because it is a way for me to be alone and get rid of the troubles of life for a little while. When I read I get so into the book that it feels as if I'm there, and I usually drown everything else out (which can sometime get me into trouble). Reading, for me, is a way to relax and relive stress. It also puts me into a fantasy world, and we all need that every once in a while:)

Chemical Reactions

My favorite chemical reaction would have to be (as many people have said) H2O, also known as water. Water is a very essential part of our lives. It keeps us alive, not to mention that it's very refresing on a hot day. It keeps our planet healthy and green. By washing our hands with water we are heathier. It keeps animals alive , some of which are the source of some of our food. Without water nothing on our earth could survive.

Models and Why We Use Them

The link I found (here) was based on models and how they are a very important part of science. This site defined a model as "any simplification, substitute or stand-in for what you are actually studying or trying to perfect. " Models are seen almost everywhere and a lot of times we don't even know we are using them. For example a map is a model of the city we live in. Models don't have to be complicated, even scientific ones. Most models in and out of science are very easy for us to use and understand. Like the article said "The periodic table is a model people use to predict properties of elements." Science isn't the only place you can find models. You can find models in advertising, architecture, cooking, and many other jobs. For example architects use blueprints as models of what they are building and cooks use a recipe as a model of what they are making.

Now the big question. Why use models?
We use models simply for the reason that they help us understand things better. They cut down or enlarge things that may be too big or too small to see without using a model, examples of these are a model of the solar system or a model of an atom. Models can also be used as a substitute for the real thing when it isn't practical to use the real thing, like a model of an animal or a model of a human that a doctor might use.

(Just a personal note, I found a few examples in the article that I found a little questionable. One example that I found a little strange was one that said that margarine is a model of butter.)

Why do we learn science?

Science is an important part of our daily lives. Without it we wouldn't know much about the world around us. Without science we wouldn't have electricity and the nice houses we live in today. Science also is a great contributor to the medicines that make us well when we are sick. Science helps us investigate things that we observe with our senses (like it says in this link). Science also lets us know how things work, so that we can stay away from the things that are harmful to us, like Marta said in her blog. With science we can experiment on things that we would never have even known about without it.

It is important to learn science so that we can understand the world around us. Without science it would be hard to learn and make good decisions. Science is a fundamental and important part of our daily lives.

Global Warming: Fact or Fiction?

I agree with Mr.Voight that this topic is becoming too much of a political battle, and should wholly be based on science. But now my opinion on the topic. I do think that greenhouse gases are entering the atmosphere, and that could be a prime factor of global warming. But I think that it is more likely a natural occurrence, though there are many natural occurrences it could be. There have been times when the Earth has gone through dramatic climate changes like the ice age (cooling of the Earth) and the "warm spell" between ice ages (warming of the earth), that are kind of like what we are going through. It could also be the changes in the earth's orbits like the shape of the orbit and the tilt of the earth, that cause the Earth to get different amounts of sunlight at different times (to find out more click here). A change in the sun's intensity could also affect the sunlight received by the Earth, which can cause warming or heating. Just because I don't think that global warming is necessarily caused by humans (although we most likely contribute to it), I think we need to take precautions and try to fix what we are doing that could be harming the Earth.

Change and the Electromagnetic Force

Electromagnetic charge basically means that opposite charges attract. An example of this would be when the electrons and protons in atoms attract, because electrons are negative and protons are positive. I think Katie also put this one in her blog, but magnets either attract or repel depending on whether the two magnets are opposites of each other, or not. A real life example of electromagnetic force would be when you tear saran wrap off the roll it causes static electicity which makes the two sides want to attract and stick together.