8th Grade Science
Welcome to Mr. Ullrich's Blog! This blog is for 8th Grade Earth Science and Physical Science students. We will learn topics such as Astronomy, Geology and Meteorology. This blog will give us a place to discuss, learn and develop these topics during the year.
Article posted November 13, 2009 at 08:53 PM GMT-5 •
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One of the continuing challenges to exploring space is the difficult task of getting there. One solution to this problem would be to launch missions from our only natural satellite; the Moon. On October 9th NASA sent a probe crashing into its surface in search for ice water. The results seem stunning, showing the possibility for an abundance of ice water, making life on the moon a real possibility. Also, hydrogen rocket fuel could potentially be created using this ice water. Hopefully this discovery will encourage further lunar exploration. I included a link to the article below along with some images.
Check out the video and link to the article below:
Article posted March 9, 2009 at 05:20 PM GMT-5 •
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I wanted to put this video up on the main blog page. This video was an air pressure experiment that we did in class last week. Mumti was nice enough to make it into a video and put it online for us! If you try the experiment be careful and make sure you get permission from your parent or guardian, don’t have anything flammable around and wear your safety goggles.
Enjoy :)
Article posted March 9, 2009 at 05:20 PM GMT-5 •
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Article posted March 3, 2009 at 06:49 PM GMT-5 •
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Time is flying by!
I can’t believe it is already March! It doesn’t feel like spring yet but it is close :)
Your next assignment is up, on renewable energy. It should be fun to see what you find. There are lots of options out there. Some times the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. Think about both sides of your energy source and try to come up with a well developed opinion.
If you have any suggestions for our next blog article (assignment)leave a comment. Try to make it go along with the environmental theme…if we use your idea I will give you extra points!
A video to get the creativity flowing:
Article posted March 3, 2009 at 06:49 PM GMT-5 •
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Article posted February 5, 2009 at 08:13 PM GMT-5 •
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One of the most important and highly debated scientific issues is global warming. Most scientists feel that global warming has the potential to have a serious impact on world climate. The global climate has risen over the past hundred years. The question is, has it risen because of human activities or is this simply a natural warming cycle? There are some who feel that carbon dioxide emissions will have very little impact on the Earth’ climate. What do you think? Have you ever read about global warming? One thing that is for sure is that there are no clear cut answers. I can’t wait to see what you think in our next assignments. Here are a few videos to get you started :)
For Global Warming:
Against Global Warming:
Article posted February 5, 2009 at 08:13 PM GMT-5 •
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Article posted December 17, 2008 at 09:58 PM GMT-5 •
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When you have an audience it is good to get to know them. On a blog this is very true. You want to know about the people reading your blog. In this case your teacher is trying to decide on your test date and see what you think. There are a number of online surveys you can use and post on your blog. They can be fun and many are free. The one I would like to show you is called SurveyMonkey. It is simple and easy to navigate. The website can be used for free. Take the survey below. Would you use it in your own blog? Let me know what you think :)
Article posted December 9, 2008 at 08:02 PM GMT-5 •
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An excellent tool that every one should try out is Google Sky. It is an amazing program for anyone interested in learning about space. You can download Google Earth/Sky for free! After you install Google Earth/Sky, just open the program. Near the top of the page there is a small picture of Saturn. When you click on it you switch automatically from Google Earth to Google Sky. Now you can search for any celestial object you would like to view. You can search manually or type a name in the search box and it will automatically move to what you would like to observe. There is an assortment of tools to use, so experiment with it! One of my favorite tools is the education center; make sure it is checked off on the tool bar to the left. Now you can click on many objects and get information, images and even videos! Try it out and let me know what you think :)
Copy and Paste the link below to download Google Earth, which also comes with Google Sky.
Article posted December 2, 2008 at 07:07 PM GMT-5 •
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Monday December 1st 2008 was a spectacular day to observe the night sky. When looking up at the waxing crescent moon right after sunset you could clearly see the planets Venus and Jupiter. As the month goes on they will become harder to see until they are no longer visible. You can still see them so check it out as this view won't be around again for forty years!
Here is a link to an article with more information:
Article posted November 22, 2008 at 10:57 AM GMT-5 •
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One of the most fascinating things in astronomy is the black hole. They are interesting because there is so much that still needs to be learned. Do they lead to a new dimension? What happens to matter when it enters a black hole? Will they someday consume most of the matter that makes up our Universes? The link below is a NOVA show that does a good job of explaining black holes. Just click on the link (QuickTime, Real video, Windows Media) under the picture of each chapter to watch the show. It’s a little over 40 minutes and very interesting. Enjoy!
Article posted November 21, 2008 at 06:23 PM GMT-5 •
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I thought this was an interesting idea that I would share with you
When we look out into space we are actually looking back in time! Let’s fist think about a simple example. Since light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth, if the Sun were to cease shining, we would still receive light (see the Sun) for eight minutes. When we look into space, the other stars in our galaxy (Milky Way) are at much greater distances than the Sun. Because of this, when you look at a star you are actually looking at light that has been traveling for hundreds or even thousands of years! In a sense, when you look at the night sky you are looking back in time!
“Staring into the cosmos. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is the deepest image ever taken of the universe in visible light. The bright and sparkling spots are not stars but galaxies. The nearest one is about one billion light-years away, and since one light-year is the distance light travels in a year, the view is of that one galaxy as it appeared a billion years ago.”
Photo: NASA, ESA, R. Windhorst (ArizonaStateUniversity) and H. Yan (SpitzerScienceCenter, Caltech
