Maddy's Elementary Science Methods II Blog

 Lab: This week in lab we worked to look at some data from different articles while also conducting our own research to prove that climate change is happening. My group read the article from Radio Iowa and wrote this summary: " More likely to be dangerously hot, could affect our livestock and resources as we farm for a living, could result in more flooding too. WE ARE SCREWED but there are adaptations that we can make to reduce greenhouse gases. " Our website had little to no actual data. From there, we split into bigger groups doing research on precipitation changes in the state of Iowa and how we could use this data to prove climate change and write a climate statement. Some of the data pieces that I wrote down include: June 2019 - “Iowa has had 50.73 inches of precipitation from June 2018 through May 2019 , about 16 inches more than normal” Number of Days with total precipitation greater than or equal to 3.00 cm In 1895-1909 the number of days were between 7-9 days.  Sinc...

Lab: Climate is a 30-year average - if weather is my moon then climate is my personality Climate change is 99.9% human-caused.  If we are talking about climate change then it has to happen over time, a weathering event like snowing in June is not considered climate change. To teach climate change you have to make it personal or else your brain does NOT care Have to make it personal: IOWA Driving Question: is the Goldfinch, Iowa’s state bird, in danger, and how do we know? What could we measure?  Going to collect and record data Quiz - use data to tell us if Goldfinch is in danger - but have to relate it directly to our data.  Measuring and Mapping Precipitation in Iowa: We want to determine how the number of days with heavy rainfall has changed over time? What does heavy rainfall mean? How many inches of rain is considered “heavy” - more than 1.5 inches in a day DSM Centerville Indianola Row Avg. Avg. of First 5 years 2.8 days 6 days 2.6 days 3.8 days Avg. of Last 5 years...

Lab In lab we started by talking about the law of superposition... everyones fav! This law basically states that the older stuff is at the bottom and the longest is at the top. We used this to work to place different layers of rock in order from oldest to youngest based off different photos. Immediately, I was taken back to my ninth grade earth and space science class and I could remember doing exactly what we were doing in lab, but back in early high school... props to Ms. Howlett :)  Then we moved into talking about different characteristics that sand from different places had. We looked closely at sand from beaches, dunes, and rivers around the world. Our group decided to look at each group and write down observations about each sample. All of the different rock types were from different areas and all had different colors, were different shapes, and just looked different. We came up with some characteristics for sand found in rivers, dunes, and beach's.  River Sand Characte...

Lab In lab this week we worked to create different types of rocks including sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. To do this, we used different colored starburst to represent different material being mixed together and used different methods to do so. The igneous rocks are hot and cool and some metamorphic rocks are created from heat but not melting, so we used both a candle and torch to mimic the heating of the rocks. For the sedimentary rocks we squished them together using different amounts of pressure to create the different types of rocks. We also used a bit of heat to cement the materials together.  Lecture Earth/Volcanoes On fault lines Either sliding by  Pulling apart  Or smashing into each other  Earthquakes in the US Due to fracking  Unstabilizing the Earth Plate Tectonics When plates smash together we get mountains Two kinds of plates When two of the same type of plates hit each other, they create a set of mountains If they’re opposite they cre...