Plankton Racing

My plank tone was two post it notes together. This allowed a large surface area to make my plankton to sink slowly. The only worry was that the paper was not to turn and had to be pushed in evenly. The plankton's sinking time was taken for a distance of 35.5 centimeters. My average time was 18.3 seconds, which revealed a speed of 1.94 centimeters per second. Other supplies were tested but I bent and tore so may supplies that they became useless and would not sink slowly so I just kept it simple to use paper. The most interesting thing about this project was how to make everything try and work by adding and reducing weight and trying to make spikes like real plankton use.

Plankton Race ABSENT

I was not able to participate in the plankton race because I was not in class in Friday. I did not simply skip school. It was a good day to begin with. English class was easy and we played soccer in Personal Fitness and I was doing amazing. I scored six goals and I was looking forward to my Thanksgiving Break. Well, I got too cocky and tried the infamous BICYCLE KICK and landed straight on my head. It hurt soooooo much but I got up and shook it off and went to eat lunch after the bell rang. I ate lunch and got a MAJOR headache and had blurry vision and extreme tiredness. I HAD to go to the nurse, so I did. She knew something was bad so she had my mom pick me up to go to the doctor. He took one look at me and made me get a CAT scan and they found blood in my brain so I was rushed to the hospital. They found something in my brain too but it was unsure to be blood, a bruise, bone or something else but I was diagnosed with a BAD concussion and have to get continually checked out every week or month or so. Therefore I was not able to use any electric device with a screen until Sunday (Today). I cannot do anything active or drive until Wednesday so there is my exciting/ sad story about the start of my break.

Plankton of the Sea

The two main types of planklton are the phytoplankton and the zooplankton. Both of these plankton are vital members to the oceanic ecosystem as they are the base of the food web for the majority of marine life. One issue in which plankton face is sinking. These drifters need to stay with the current at the surface of the water. Therefore, without the plankton, there is no food or nutrients for the other organisms. The most interesting thing about plankton that I learned was that there are multiple types of zooplankton. This proves to me that I underestimated the necessity and importance of plankton by the manipulization of the TV series "Spongebob".

Freeday Yeti Lobster

The Yeti Lobster was discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean. It is thought to be blind and it has fur-like hairs on it's limbs. These limbs help detoxify the poisonous water in whihc it inhabits. The Yeti Lobster is interesting to me because it seems to unique to be real, therefore since it was discovered in 2005, this shows that there could be more wonders which have yet to be discovered.

Saltwater Crocodile

The saltwater crocodile can adapt to both saltwater adn freshwater as it inhabits freshwater rivers in the tropical wet seasons but can venture out far into the ocean if needed. During the wet seasons, the crocodiles find mates and defend the nest for their eggs until they hatch. The mother will stay with the young for several months after hatching to help teach them to hunt and adapt. Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles today and they are extremely territorial, so they often attack humans because they see them as prey in their territory. The saltwater crocodile is endangered, but it is at lower risk of extinction. In order to protect these monsterous miracles, poaching can be prevented and wildlife reserves can be an effort to help these animals peacefully reproduce.

Boat Racing

I chose the design with two floats on the sides of the boat in order to keep balance. I used heavy styrofoam in order to be able to float while easily holding twenty marbels and the wax paper sail helped catch the wind better. The keel and rudder helped keep balance and I felt it helped that they were physically inseperable form the boat. The wooden sticks used to hold the sail were lightweight in order to help move faster and also stay sturdy enough to catch the wind. This worked for our project, but it was not the fastest. If i did this over, I would find lighter materials to make the boat sail faster so it wasn't so sluggish. The most interesting part of the project was the excitement and suspense of seeing if the boat worked or not.

Plankton Red Tides

Phytoplankton are a microorganism that are able to produce an algal bloom called the Red Tide. Red Tides rapidly grow in water, which are algal blooms that display a red or brown color. This problem is caused by unclean water, which directly affects its ecosystem. Red Tides can cause oxygen depletion in the water and can harm animals that depend on that certain water system for nutrients.

Submarines, Secrets, and Spies

The Thresher and the Scorpion submarines were both lost at sea along with its crew. Confusion erupted due to insufficient information how both submarines plunged and imploded. The Thresher could not withstand the pressure of the ocean and the Scorpion was said to have been struck by its own torpedo. Another submarine belonged to the Russians and it imploded as well but America had already put microphones in the ocean floor so they knew where it was. America wanted the submarine because they believed it had nuclear missiles and codebooks that could be used against the Russians. Therefore the Glomer Explorer was built to find "sediments" and "coins" in the ocean for materialistic uses. This caused other countries to invest in more oceanography projects. During the stealthy retrieval of the submarine, the sub dropped a nuclear warhead. It did not explode but I would've definitely panicked if I were on the Glomer Explorer at the time.

FreeDay Megaladon

The Megaladon was the biggest marine predator that ever existed. It was about 60ft long and weighed 100 tons. It fed on giant whales easily and was the apex predator of its time. It had teeth that were over a foot long and tore through cartilage with ease. The only theory of why this genuine predator became extinct was because the Ice Age killed most giant whales, which was the main food of the Megaladon's diet, therefore the Megaladon is gone forever.

This Blog is Bull Shark

The bull shark likes to roam in shallow, warm waters, predominantly in Africa. The bull shark is also a worldly traveler as it has appeared in the US, Brazil, and other coastal hot spots. The sharks like to mate in late summer and carry live young for 12 months until birth. They may give birth to 4 to 10 live young at a time. Bull sharks adapt to waters in order to feed as they like bony fish and even other sharks. The bull shark is the most common attacker among people as it feeds at dawn and dusk throughout the world. It is a natural predator and will eat nearly anything which moves or flees as it uses the bump-bite technique to devour its prey. The best and most assuring ways to prevent shark attacks are to not swim in the ocean at dusk or dawn and don't swim when a sighting of a shark has occurred.

Chemosynthesis

CHEMOSYNTHESIS is the act of using chemicals and nutrients for energy instead of sunlight. Organisms that live beneath the surface are able to create energy through chemicals, which are a necessity for their survival. CHEMOSYNTHESIS changes the way scientists study life because if there is another energy source, then the theory of life on other planets may be proven. If there is life on other planets, then there could be even MORE life on our planet that we have not discovered. Thus, CHEMOSYNTHESIS makes scientist ponder the endless possibilities of life beneath the surface, which includes other planets. Giant tube worms use the bacteria along with hydrogen sulfide to create oxygen for it to live. The tube worm is very intreresting because it does not need the sunlight to live, therefore there is a possibility that it could live on another planet.

Bathymetric Maps

 Bathymetric maps are maps that reveal the depths of the ocean floors. They are important and used by oceonagraphers because it allows them to help with navigation and provides other information about sea behavior. Some oceanographers use them to study coral reefs, which the maps show the changes and constant growths of the reefs. Bathymetric maps have many uses, therefore they are highly important to certain oceanographers.

Oceanographer Instruments

Physical oceanographers study waves, currents, temperatures, and other characteristics of the ocean involving help with identifying hurricanes, typhoons and other oceanic occurrences. Some instruments are required in order to measure and study these properties. The FLIP device is a vessel that can work horizontally OR vertically in the ocean to measure currents. The current meter also measures currents and is helpful in identifying rapid changes in ocean behavior. Satellites are also used by NASA for Phyisical oceanographers by helping measure current levels, sea temperature levels, sea height levels, etc. All of these intruments are interesting because they can all help identify and prevent natural disasters such as hurrican Sandy in New York. If we can prevent as many casualties and get a further warning from hurricanes, then the loss would not be as horrifying.

Viper Fish

The viper fish lives in the deep, cold ocean. It lures its prey with a light on its body called a photos pore. This also attracts potential mates. The viper fish lures the prey with its light organ and it devours it. The viperfish are rare to see but are not endangered. These vicious carnivores adapt to the cold, deep ocean by not having to eat food in plentiful portions. I found this marine animal to be very interesting because it looks awesome and has big teeth ready to chomp like a pirahna.

Oceanography

Oceanography is the study of the ocean and it is very important because it can help benefit the world through means of trade and natural causes. A highly important thing to study about the ocean is to predict hurricanes and other natural disasters. This could help warn people earlier and from the dangers and distractions of natural causes. This could protect people and cities from fatalities and casualties during storms such as hurricane sandy.

Bob Ballard and NASA

I learned that the ocean is very mysterious and that itis larger than people give it credit for. The ocean is most of the earth that we live on and we barely know a whole lot about it since we spend the majority of money on NASA! My point of view disagrees with Bob because I feel that the ocean is interesting and all but we need tostada space just in case the planet Earth dies or is destroyed by the apocalypse or something. I doubt people can live under water so I think we can study it in the meantime but it is not a priority to discover. However if all of the talk and rumors about the apocalypse was ended and there was no end, then I would favor studying the ocean because we live on this planet so we should know ALL about it! There has to be more animals and undiscovered places than we can imagine so it would be exciting to make more history!!!