CHBE -- Blogmeister

Living in space is definitely not for everyone. Astronauts have to be very patient and able to withstand tons of pressure during liftoff and landing, different from here on Earth, and the feeling of weightlessness. Astronauts live in one small space for up to 2 ½ weeks. They eat, sleep, do experiments, etc. in the same rooms. Months before the launch, astronauts choose what clothing they will wear when in space. They change clothes every 10 days and change underwear every 2 days. When launching and landing, Astronauts wear the orange suits that everyone knows of. When sleeping they sleep in a sleeping bag type thing that is strapped to the walls or floors. Their sleep hours are also normal, just like ours. Although the living may not be spectacular, the food isn't that bad either. They are able to eat brownies, fruit, spaghetti, macaroni, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. They have salt and pepper but it is in liquid form. In the shuttle they have an oven but no refrigerator and they eat three meals a day just like us. The food used to be in squeeze tubes, like toothpaste tubes. And as you can probably tell that wasn't very appetizing. In space they have the same hygiene as on Earth. They wash their hair using rinse less shampoo, brush their hair, shave, brush their teeth, and use the bathroom. When in space the astronauts perform science experiments, assemble the international space station, and capture huge satellites. They are often fixing things and always checking their support systems and filters to make sure nothing is going wrong or will go wrong. As you can see there are lots of things that go into being an astronaut. People that are training to be an astronaut have to train for a couple years before they are even chosen to be able to go into space, so you could do all that training and not even go into space. You may think that there are only a couple people to make this work but really there are relatively 30,000 people to make sure everything goes correctly.

Astronaut Mike Foreman

I crouch in the bushes, my breathing ragged and sharp, my lungs burning. I peer through the dense foliage, watching bodiless feet run this way and that, not knowing who is on my team or who is my enemy. The branches prick my face and arms but I dare not move for fear of being caught. My eyes and ears are alert, ready to warn me if my cover is blown. My legs begin to cramp up and I know I can't stay in this position much longer.
I start to stand, careful as to not crunch the crisp leaves under my feet or rustle the branches to vigorously. I look around, ready to duck back down if i am spotted. The yard is deserted except for one, but his back is to me. Standing a few inches behind the hose we are using as a border. His head turns back and forth, as he scans for anyone trying to sneak onto his side. I see one of my teammates coming around the side of the house. When he sees me i put my finger on my lips and motion for him to distract the other kid. He gets my message and starts darting back and forth. The other kid, not knowing I am merely 15 yards behind him, follows my teammate, ready to tag him at any time. But he isn't ready for me.
I leap over the bush and sprint to the line. He hears me and turns. I run faster nearly tripping over my own feet. I'm almost there, but so is my opponent. The hose is only a yard away. I use all my effort and lunge, throwing myself across the line, my foot inches from my opponents outstretched hand. But I've made it.
My teammate comes over and helps me up. I brush myself off and wave the navy blue hanky in front of my opponents face, triumphantly.

We recently had the Moon rocks in our classroom. This is the disk that they came in.

Dear Mom and Dad,
Our class just finished working on Module 1. In Module 1 I learned lots of helpful things. There were a lot of worksheets and problems to solve. Here are a couple of the things that we did that helped me learn all of these important things that we did in Module 1.
I learned how to make a frequency table and what the differences are between a bar graph and a line graph. I also learned how to analyze graphs. When learning about analyzing graphs we had a take home quiz where we had to pick a graph from a newspaper and analyze it. I also learned how to make a bar graph using the data I collected from a frequency table.
I learned how to use variables to show pattern rules, and how to use symbols and algebra to explain how a number trick works. I also learned how to get a rule for a sequence and figure out the nth term. My favorite thing in this Module was doing patterns and finding rules for the patterns so that you could find the nth term.
I also liked the things we did on probability. I did an experiment on probability with MHHO where we picked Starbursts out of a bag. I also worked on probability with spinners and flipping one coin, two coins, or three coins. I enjoyed these activities a lot. I also liked that section because it refreshed my memory on theoretical and experimental probability.
I also refreshed my memory on Order of Operations and doing exponents. During the Order of Operations section we learned PEMDAS, parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction, which is the order of operations. We also listened to a song on the order of operations. We also had a test which I hope I aced, and a bunch of worksheets that I enjoyed doing because they were mostly very easy and fun. I had a great time learning these things in this module!

Sincerely,
CHBE

When Mr. Gianforte came in to talk to us I learned a lot of things about space that I didn't know before. For instance we talked about exoplanets. I learned that there are 494 planets or exoplanets that are not in our solar system. He also told us that astronomers are looking for other planets that could support life on them, which is called astrobiology. He also talked about planetary transit which is when a planet crosses in front of a star, which is how we tell there is a planet orbiting that star. These are just a few of the many things Mr. Gianforte told us when he came to visit.

State- New Hampshire
Region- New England, Northeast
Country- United States
Continent- North America
Hemisphere- North West
Planet- Earth
Solar System- Sun; Sol
Galaxy- Milky Way
Cluster- Local
Supercluster- Local
Universe

“Finished!” called Khamisi from inside the burrow. He scooted out backwards so that Mouse could take a look at his new home.
“Ooooooh! I love it, thank you Khamisi!” squeaked Mouse.
“You’re very welcome, Mouse. I love making burrows.”
Khamisi was a very kind aardvark. He helped others with whatever they needed. If they had a problem, Khamisi would fix it. If they needed help with a job or if they were just too lazy to do it, Khamisi would be there. He even gave them rides from one place to another. Maybe that was all Khamisi knew how to be, nice. He didn’t mind that everyone expected him to do things. He loved to help others.
When Khamisi was little, Grandfather Aardvark told him that to become a true aardvark, you had to do something special. Time, and time again, Khamisi would ask Grandfather Aardvark what that thing was, and time and time again, Grandfather Aardvark would reply, “You will know in time.” And now Khamisi knew that his special thing was helping others.
One of the most common favors he did for his animal friends was building burrows. Snakes and small rodents loved the burrows that Khamisi made for them. He built burrows all day long and sometimes into the night, without complaint.
* * *
Khamisi loved his house. It was a small patch of trampled down grass, surrounded by tall grass, under a baobab tree. When he was younger, Khamisi always thought that he would live in his house until he died, just like his parents and their parents and their grandparents. But after all these years of making burrows, he was beginning to think otherwise. The burrows were very comfortable, and quite cozy. This made him wonder what it would be like to live in one. Plus, he completely understood why the other animals lived in burrows.
So that night, as Khamisi looked up at the never changing stars, he decided to make a change. He would build himself a very large burrow, one that he could live in.
When Khamisi woke up, the sun was just rising over the tops of the trees. He jumped up and raced out of his house. Today was the first day he wouldn’t be building a burrow for animals other than himself.
The first step he thought is to find a good place to make the burrow. Khamisi had always hated rainforests, they were too wet, and rocky soil was too hard to dig into so that eliminated two possibilities. Also he wanted a place abundant with ants and termites, and he knew just where a good place was.
Excited to start building, Khamisi hurried to the perfect spot. He marked where the main entrances were going to be next to two large trees and the rest with big X’s in the sand. As soon as everything was prepped and ready, Khamisi began to dig. And as he began to dig, he made a pact; that he wouldn’t stop digging until the burrow was finished.
It was early morning as Khamisi put the final touches onto the burrow. He had worked all through the night and into the today. “Aha, finally it’s done!” shouted Khamisi, but no one was around to hear him. They were all still sleeping. So he crawled into the burrow and fell asleep.
When he woke up it was dark outside, nighttime. He tried to fall back asleep, but he just couldn’t. Khamisi got up and went exploring outside. He looked up at the stars. They were beautiful and clear, clearer than he had ever seen them. If I slept during the day, and stayed awake at night. . . then I would always get to see the stars thought Khamisi. But if I slept during the night. . . I wouldn’t always get to see the stars. That was the thought nagging at the back of his mind.
Khamisi was getting more and more attached to the night as he sat there, gazing at the stars. And finally after a long thought battle, where he posed the good things and bad things about living in the day or night, he decided that the night suited him better. Khamisi had done his special thing, and now it was time for him to settle down, sleeping in the day, and hunting in the night.

I am magma, the start of all rocks. As I rise to the surface, I go through the process of consolidation or crystallization. This time I crystallized into an intrusive igneous rock (granite), meaning I cooled and crystallized before I reached the surface. From there, after millions of years, I got uplifted and exposed by the constantly moving tectonic plates. Plate tectonics has been happening for several billion years and is still happening now.
As I was telling you, once I was uplifted and exposed to the elements, I got weathered away by wind, water, and ice. This was a wild time. Parts of me were being swept up in a raging river, while others were flying through the air. The whole time I was wondering whether I would ever see my other pieces again. I had no idea if we would meet up in the process of lithification or deposition.
Lithification is the process when I, along with other rock bits (many unrelated to me), got cemented and compacted to form a new rock, a sedimentary rock, a clastic sedimentary rock. (Once I turned into a non-clastic sedimentary rock, whole different process – I was precipitated onto the ocean floor, undergoing a chemical reaction. Another process I hate). And here I am, being buried once again.
From here I will be uplifted and exposed, and go through the same process again, or I will be metamorphosed. The process of metamorphism is where I get put under enough intense heat and pressure that my structure changes and turns me into a metamorphic rock. The heat and pressure are agonizing, and the reason why metamorphism is my least favorite process. After that I can start my cycle again by being melted into magma, or going through the process of uplift and exposure, weathering, transportation, deposition, and lithification.
Another time the outcome was different. I didn’t get turned into a sedimentary rock. I went through the process of consolidation, which turned me into an extrusive igneous rock (basalt). This means that I erupted onto the surface and was weathered away from there. Also, instead of getting uplifted and exposed after I crystallized, I was metamorphosed. Finally there was the time I turned from an intrusive igneous rock, into magma.
I am back as magma now, flowing up, almost to the surface, going through the process of consolidation. The burning of becoming magma again is still stinging me. It is a very long process, slowly burning and melting there, and it hurts, believe me. I spew out onto the land through a volcano, destroying any living thing in my path. After hardening up I get weathered and eroded, transported, deposited, and lithified, to again turn into sedimentary rock.
The rock cycle can be very short for some rocks or very long for others. Some may only start out as magma once, never to become it again. Others may never get past becoming intrusive igneous rocks. And there are still some that will go through all of the different processes over and over again. Me, I’m an old rock and has been through every process, turned back into magma again and again, metamorphosed, and eroded by chemical reactions. I’ve been through it all.

Everyone knows the four seasons; Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The first day of fall is called the Autumnal Equinox. During this equinox, in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is directly over the Equator. In the Southern Hemisphere, it would be the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring and vice-versa. Equi means equal, and nox means night. This means that on this day, we have an equal amount of night and day. On the 21st of both June and December, are the summer and winter solstices. The Summer Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) is when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. This is the longest day of the year, or the day of the year that has the most sunlight. The Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) is when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. This is the shortest day of the year,when we have the least amount of sunlight.