Structure of the Earth: Plasticity Lab

We did a lab that showed how the Earth's structure works and how the Mantle has the property of plasticity. Cornstarch also has the property of plasticity. The mixture of cornstarch and water is related to the Earths's mantle because they both have the property of plasticity meaning it is a liquid but sometimes acts like a solid. Just like the mantle, cornstarch has the property of plasticity, which when you add compression, heat, and energy, turns into a solid. The mantle is what holds the Earth together. The compression in the mixture of cornstarch and water is my hands compressing together. In the mantle, the compression is from the earth's core and crust compression together. The heat in the mixture is from my body heat and the heat in the mantle is from the magma from the core and the mantle itself. The energy from the mixture is from my hands moving creating energy and the energy from the mantle is from the tectonic plates moving and the energy from the sun.

October Sky

We watched a movie on May 14th called "October Sky" about a boy named Homer Hickman who liked to build rockets but he lived in a coal mining town where most people were cold miners. His dad wanted him to be a coal miner and he didn't like him building rockets. In the end, the dad did accept his son's rocket building and Homer and his friends won the National Science Fair. This movie has to do with science, math, and character education. Rockets were the main subject in the movie because the boys had to figure out how they could make the rocket fly farther and not hit anything. To solve their problem, they used undiluted alcohol which evaporates quickly. Also, in coal mines there are some dangers involving health dangers and the way they need to be careful in the mines. Health dangers involve black lung disease and cancer. You have to be careful in mines because the rock on top can easily fall on you if you don't know how to mine coal. The character education part of the movie is how Homer made Quinten a little more popular. Homer is also showing assertion to his dad because he wanted to do his own thing while his dad wanted him to work in the coal mine. Homer's dad showed cooperation when he let his son build rockets and he was proud of him too! The boys showed self-control when every time their rocket didn't work they tried to improve it and do better next time. The other boys showed empathy toward Quinten because they realized how it felt to be made fun of. This movie has plenty of information and it is a great movie. So grab some popcorn and a drink and watch the great movie, "October Sky."

October Sky

Response: Turner's Syndrome

I recently read about a sad disease called Turner's Syndrome. Women are the only ones who can get this disease and the symptoms are:

• Folded skin near the neck
• Shorter than average women
• Swelling on hands and feet
• Life is shorter

I still have some questions though. Why does Turner's syndrome only happen to women? Also, is it possible that treatment can help you overcome this disease fully? This disease is not good because you can easily tell if someone has Turner's and women might not want to go out in public. People need to find a cure for Turner's because it might become worse over the years and effect more people. I think this disease is terrible because it risks peoples lives and makes them suffer for the short lives that they have. I do not personally know anybody with Turner's Syndrome but, hopefully they will find a cure for this painful and horrific disease. I got this information from: http://textqueen96.blogspot.com/

Fragile X Syndrome

The topic I researched was Fragile X Syndrome. This was discovered in the late 1970's. The symptoms of this disease is:

• Inherited mental impairment
• "Autistic like" behavior
  
• Delay in speech or language development
• Characteristics of unusual physical or behavioral features
• Can be passed on in a family

There is no specific treatment for Fragile X Syndrome but they are working on making one. There is also no evidence that Fragile X Syndrome causes death. The disease is common. 1 out of 3,600 males have Fragile X Syndrome and 1 out of 6,000 females have Fragile X Syndrome in the world. Males are more vulnerable to get the disease because their immune system cannot protect the disease as well as females can . Whats happening to the inside of the cell with the genes that causes Fragile X Syndrome is that the mutation of the cell turns off and causes the cell to have less of the certain protein which causes the cell to trigger Fragile X Syndrome. There still needs to be more research for this disease because there is no cure yet even if we understand it very well. I feel very strongly about this disease because it is very easy to inherit it. Many people have Fragile X and do not do good in school or in life in general because of their disease. It is possible for a whole family to have Fragile X Syndrome and it's very hard to live a normal life if the disease is serious. For more information on Fragile X Syndrome click here.