Speed

For speed i believe your going to need a formula to calculate the speed. Probably S= something that i havent discovered yet

3/12/10

Today i cleaned up my experiment and got yelled at by mr. Stern with eric for no apparent reason. we had to return somethings and he got really really mad ahah. I did clean up my experiment and continue to work on my data analysis.

3/8/10

Today i started my data analysis and turned in my data table. I also took more data points for my data table.

3/8/10

Bags Date Starting Weight (grams) Ending Weight (grams) Change in Weight (grams)
Bag 1 2/19 60g
Bag 2 2/19 60g
Bag 1 2/22 60g 63.5 +3.5g
Bag 2 2/22 60g 63.2g +3.2g
Bag 1 2/24 63.5g 57.7g -5.8g
Bag 2 2/24 63.2g 60g -3.2g
Bag 1 2/26 Snow Day
Bag 2 2/26 Snow Day
Bag 1 3/1 57.7g 56.7g -1g
Bag 2 3/1 60g 57.8g -2.2g
Bag 1 3/3 56.7g 54.6g -2.1g
Bag 2 3/3 57.8g 57.1g -0.7g
Bag 1 3/5 57.1g 56.9g -0.2g
Bag 2 3/5 57.1g 57.6g +0.5g
Bag 1 3/8 56.9g 57.5g
Bag 2 3/8 57.6g 56.6g
Bag 1 3/10
Bag 2 3/10

3/5/10

Today i took data points down worked on my data table and took observations


Observations 3/5:
Bowl 1: In my bowl the dissolved Skelton of the coral continues to fill in the bottom creases of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl is starting to become less and less visible because of all the coral.

Bowl 2: In bowl two nearly the same thing has happened. The coral has filled the bottom however it is a lighter color. The bag in the cold water seems to have actually bleached more then the other coral was supposed to. The coral that has dissolved out of the bag is also lighter then in bowl 1.

3/4/10

Observations from my experiment

Observations 2/19:
Bowl 1: The sheer organza bag has been put in the first day. IT seems that because that bag has so many holes the little bits fell out of the organza bag also the sides of the bowl have what looks like a little bit of salt on them. The top is covered by para film I’m afraid the heater might rip the para film though.

Bowl 2: The sheer organza bag also looks the same also the water seems a little bit cloudy from the salt and remains of what is in the sheer organza bag. The para-film on this one looks more secure however and the heater is closer to the bag which might change the results. Just a thought.


Observations 2/24:
Bowl 1: The bag has actually gained weight because of all of the water it is taking in. The water around the bag and on the sides of the bowl are getting cloudy and the bottom has the bowl has little pieces of coral around it

Bowl 2: The bags have a bunch of coral on the bottom of the bowl and like the other bowl on the sides it very cloudy the water higher up however isn’t as cloudy. The bag in this one however is tilted up on the side of the bowl with the heater almost touching it.

Observations 3/1:
Bowl 1: The coral bag looks the same. There is a bunch of fog up the sides of the bowl from the crushed coral remains. Also some of the coral has floated to the top. As water remains in the tank because of the Para film a lot of the water left has turned to a lighter orange-brownish color

Bowl 2: There is fog on the bowl however it is not as thick as it was on bowl 1. When I reached into the water it was a lot colder then it thought it was going to be. Probably my hand temperature however the coral is losing weight rapidly. More rapidly then expected

Observations 3/3:
Bowl 1: the little coral pieces are now becoming more and more visible at the bottom of the bowl. Also you can see little coral pieces on the side of the bowl still and it seems to move higher and higher

Bowl 2: The dissolved coral can now be seen on the bottom of the tank. The coral continues to build up on the sides of the tank. The coral bag is also no longer tilted/ on top of the heater and I’m starting to get correct results.

3/4/10

Today i continue to work on my data tables and my experimental design. MY experimental design has changed a lot because i did not end up doing what i expected to do with my experiment.

3/3/10

SEe mrs. Weissman. I am doing work like a lot of work i loggggggg a lottttttttt ahahahah

3/3/10 BLogging

Today i took another point of data point from my experiment. so far tis going great and i continued to work on my data table.

3/2/10

Observations 2/24:
Bowl 1: The bag has actually gained weight because of all of the water it is taking in. The water around the bag and on the sides of the bowl are getting cloudy and the bottom has the bowl has little pieces of coral around it

Bowl 2: The bags have a bunch of coral on the bottom of the bowl and like the other bowl on the sides it very cloudy the water higher up however isn’t as cloudy. The bag in this one however is tilted up on the side of the bowl with the heater almost touching it.

Observations 3/1:
Bowl 1: The coral bag looks the same. There is a bunch of fog up the sides of the bowl from the crushed coral remains. Also some of the coral has floated to the top. As water remains in the tank because of the Para film a lot of the water left has turned to a lighter orange-brownish color

Bowl 2: There is fog on the bowl however it is not as thick as it was on bowl 1. When I reached into the water it was a lot colder then it thought it was going to be. Probably my hand temperature however the coral is losing weight rapidly. More rapidly then expected

Today i helped out Gina while paying attention to my own experiment making sure everything worked out. I realized however for my project it mite not work the same because its dead coral

2/24/10

Today i got results for my experiment and i took observations on what was happening to my experiment

2/23/10

Today in class i worked on my data table to tried and find out what i was going to do with my data table. Keep it at one or change it into two or figure out a new way 2 organize it. My observations were taken yesterday i just didn't blog so i'm mentioning it. I also took my data points

2/19/10

Today i took my first piece of information with both my bags at 60g. I had to overlap the first bowl because their were some holes developing in the parafilm. Today i also took pictures of my setup

2/18/10

Today i finally set up. I put the heaters in the jar and now im able to collect data in the data table i am creating.

Experimental design

Experimental Design:

Experimental Question: Does heating up the temperature of the water around coral effect how fast the coral will erode

Hypothesis: If changes in temperature affect coral erosion then the rising temperature of water will make coral erode faster

Dependent Variable: The erosion of Coral

Independent Variable: Temperature

Controlled Variable:

· Size of bowls 1&2

· Amount of insta ocean put into 500&300mL beakers

· How much Coral put into the sheer organza bags

·

What is being measured: The amount of coral that erodes from the beginning of the experiment to the end

Materials:

· Insta Ocean

· Bowl 2300mL (2)

· Crushed Aragonite Coral

· Beaker 500mL

· Beaker 300mL

· Grams Scale

· Tap Water

· Tank Heater (2)

· Refractometer

· Measuring Spoon (mL)

· Sheer organza bag (2)

Procedure:

1. Put 500mLs of water in the 500mL beaker

2. Repeat step 1 4 times

3. Put 300mLs of water into 300mL beaker

4. Put Insta ocean into bowl 1 and make sure the salinity is between 33-36 PPM

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for bowl 2

6. Add heater to bowl 1 and set temperature at 86°F

7. Add heater to bowl 2 and set temperature at 76°F

8. Fill 2 sheer organza bags with Crushed Aragonite Coral

9. Dunk sheer organza bags in water

Measure sheer organza bags of coral on grams scale

10. Make sheer organza bags of coral are a equal 50g

11. Put sheer organza bag into bowl 1

12. Put the second sheer organza bag into bowl 2

13. Take observations as to the Coral in the organza bag conditions every three days for the rest of the experiment

14. Cover both bowls in Saran wrap so that no water evaporates

15. Take observations of the water conditions every 3 days for the rest of the experiment

16. Take measurements of the salinity of the water in bowl 1 and 2 every three days to make sure its 33-36 PPM

17. Every Tuesday and Thursday measure how much coral is left in the sheer organza bag

18i. Compare beginning and ending weight of the Coral in bowl 1 and bowl 2

Research Paper Draft

The ocean is home to millions of fish. Most of these fish do not swim freely around in the ocean all day without a home or protection. Almost 25% of fish in the ocean use coral reefs as their home and for protection. Fish use coral as a place to live, eat, and reproduce. Coral reefs are the ideal home for fish because the coral is strong and is said to be able to protect from the worst waves and natural disasters (WWF, n.d,). However, the ocean is heating up due to global warming and the coral is starting to erode.

Global warming is the heating of the planet due to the gasses that are being kept in by the atmosphere. The gasses being trapped are the rays that are supposed to be reradiated back into the atmosphere. These gasses are heating up the earth even more. The environment is being heated by global warming more than by usual UV rays. As a result, the ocean is absorbing a lot of the radiated gases from the atmosphere and causing it to heat up as well (NPR, 2010,).

This is all because of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse affect is when the gasses that heat up the earth are reradiated into space and become trapped in by the earth’s atmosphere. The gasses that were supposed to reradiate back out actually heat up the earth once again. The more heat that gets trapped the hotter the earth’s surface and atmosphere become (National Geographic, 1996-2010). The atmosphere is only able to hold so much heat and the ocean absorbs the rest. This attributes to the ocean heating up so fast. It’s absorbing all of the reradiated rays. The ocean is actually able to hold more heat than the atmosphere (EPA, 2006,). The ocean is able to hold more heat then the atmosphere is because the CO2 that the ocean takes in dissolves in the water and it turns into carbonic acid and dissociation products (HighBeam Research inc, 2010)

The experimental question is: Does heating up the temperature of the water around coral effect how fast the coral will erode? The independent variable used during this experiment is going to be temperature. A fish tank heater will heat the water with the coral. The ocean can be substituted by salt water that was being kept in a tank. As the temperature of the water heats, observations will be made on how the coral erodes in temperatures hotter than the average temperature of the ocean. The dependent variable is the erosion of coral. Data will be taken as to what happens to the coral when the water is heated for a prolonged period of time. The hypothesis is: if the temperature of the water changes around the coral then the coral will start to erode and die out. Since the coral I’m using is already dead it can no further die out however it will erode.

Coral is part of the kingdom animalia, the class of anthozoa and the phylum of cnidaria. The anthozoans class contains over 6,000 different species making anthozoans one of the largest classes of organism alive. Cnidaria make up sea creatures like: jellyfish, hydra, coral, and sea anemones. Cnidaria have tissue organization and very little amount of organ development (CoRIS, 2009). Cnidaria have two basic body forms medusa and polyp.

Coral is made up of polyps. Polyps have tube-like bodies. Polyps live by themselves or in groups with other polyps. Sometimes polyps have certain roles in the group in which they need to fulfill. For example, polyp in a group might be designated to reproduce, feed, or act as a defense mechanism (Animal Diversity, 1995- 2008,).

Every coral polyp has three basic tissue linings. The first is an outer epidermis, which is the outer layer of skin. It is the first line of defense against the environment. The second layer consists of cells lined in the gastrovascular cavity. This space inside the coral is used as its stomach where it dissolves food. The third layer, the mesoglea, is actually in between the lining of the epidermis and gastrovascular cell lining (CoRIS, 2009). Mesoglea acts as the bone structure for Cnidaria that do not have bones (Wikipedia, Mesoglea, 2010).

Every coral polyp has two of the same basic bone structure. One of these basic structure features is a gastrovascular cavity that opens on only one end. The second basic structure is its circle of tentacles around the gastrovascular cavity. The tentacles that surround the gastrovascular cavity are used for many different reasons. One reason is they help the coral capture plankton, which is a main food source for coral. Another reason is to help clear the debris and waste away from its mouth, and the third is to act as a defense from predators (CoRIS, 2009).

All coral polyps have symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae within their cells. Zooxanthellae have compounds needed for photosynthesis and use coral as protection from the environment. In return for protection the zooxanthellae gives coral the organic products it receives from photosynthesis like glycerol, amino acids, and glucose. The coral uses these products to make protein, fat, and carbohydrates thus keeping the coral alive and healthy. If the zooxanthellae die, the coral starts to lose its color. This is called coral bleaching (NOAA, march 2008). It has been suspected that the increase in temperature from global warming has accelerated the results of coral bleaching (Odyssey Expeditions, 1998).

In the experiment the two variables will be crushed coral as the dependent variable and water temperature as the independent variable. The biotic factor in this experiment is the coral. Crushed coral will be used because it represents a similar skeletal structure of the coral while it is not alive and therefore easier to maintain and test. However, even though crushed coral is being used the coral is still actually biotic. Since it was once a living organism it is still considered biotic. It is the remains of what was once a biotic creature. The abiotic factor in this experiment is the temperature. Since heat is not a living organism it is abiotic. In order to test the affect of water temperature on coral, a heater inside of the tank will control changing the temperature. This will help to reenact the process of global warming and see how it affects coral.

Ultimately the goal of this experiment is to show the relationship between the coral and global warming. It does this in a couple of ways. It shows how that the continuation of global warming is going to affect one of the main habitats of the ocean and what exactly is going to happen to the habitat once this happens. It also allows for scientific predictions. For example, if global warming is affecting the coral reef habitat it will most likely not just affect the coral reefs. It will also continue onto other life forms and habitats like seaweed. In addition, if the water temperature continues to get hotter another el niño or tsunami might occur. This would cause significant damage to the coral as the aftermath of the water retreating brings with it debris and chemical that kill the coral (Red Orbit, 2002-2009). These are all just possibilities as to what could happen.

This investigation is important for multiple reasons. The water in the ocean right now is heating up because of global warming. This is causing everything inside the water to adapt to the new heat. Coral however has to stay within the temperature degree range of 16-30°C (61-86°F). Global warming is pushing the temperature range out of 30°C. This is causing a lot more of the coral reefs to bleach out and die. This is leaving thousands of fish without a home and allows them to be preyed upon. The rise in temperature of the water is also going to become too hot for the fish to live and they will start to die off. This of course, affects humans who rely on the fish as a source of nutrition and income.

Another reason that this investigation is important is because it shows what will happen to coral once it bleaches. It will start to turn white and break into little brittle-like pieces. This experiment will show how long it takes for the pieces of coral to bleach and start to die out. It will also show how long it takes for coral to erode and how quickly it can happen. In other words, collecting this type of data can help to find alternative ways to save the coral.

In conclusion, this experimental investigation will ask the question: Does heating up the temperature of the water around coral effect how fast the coral will erode? And the hypothesis will be positively proven: if the temperature of the water changes around the coral then the coral will start to erode and die out.

Animal Diversity Web. (1995-2008). Phylum Cnidaria [Information on the class and types of Phylum Cnidaria]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/‌site/‌accounts/‌information/‌Cnidaria.html

CoRIS. (2009). Information on Coral. In CoRis [it is information on coral and there kind]. Retrieved January 14, 2010, from http://coris.noaa.gov/‌about/‌what_are/

Environment Global Warming. (2002). Global Warming. In Global Warming [BAckground information of Carbon and global warning]. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from http://library.thinkquest.org/‌CR0215471/‌global_warming.htm

Epa. (2006). Green House Effect [information on how ocean is heated and the process]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.epa.gov/‌climatechange/‌kids/‌greenhouse.html

MacGillivray Freeman Films. (2003). Corals: an Overview. In Coral Reef Adventure [great information on things needed to be known about coral]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.coralfilm.com/‌about.html

National Geographic. (1996-2010). What is Global Warming [Information on global warming and how it affects the ocean]. Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/‌environment/‌global-warming/‌gw-overview.html

NOAA National Ocean Service Education. (2008, March 25). Zooxanthellae… What’s That? [information on what Zooxanthellae does for coral]. Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/‌education/‌kits/‌corals/‌coral02_zooxanthellae.html

Npr. (2010). The Mystery of global warming’s missing heat [Information on why the ocean is heating up]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.npr.org/‌templates/‌story/‌story.php?storyId=88520025

Odyssey expeditions. (1998). Coral Reef Bleaching [the bleaching of coral reefs informaiton]. Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://www.marinebiology.org/‌coralbleaching.htm

Red Orbit. (2002-2009). Tsunami Battered Indian Ocean’s Coral Reefs [information on what tsunami does to coral]. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.redorbit.com/‌news/‌science/‌117071/‌tsunami_battered_indian_oceans_coral_reefs/‌index.html

Wheeling Jesuit University. (2004, March 8). Coral Reefs [background information on the life of coral]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.cotf.edu/‌ete/‌modules/‌coralreef/‌CRcoralreefs.html

Wikipedia. (2010). How many different species of fish live in the ocean [it explains about how many fish live in the ocean]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://wiki.answers.com/‌Q/‌How_many_different_species_of_fish_live_in_the_ocean

Wikipedia. (2010, January 24). Mesoglea [Information on what Mesoglea does for Cnidaria]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/‌wiki/‌Mesoglea

WWF. (n.d.). Coral Reefs [Information on the marine life of coral reefs]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.panda.org/‌about_our_earth/‌blue_planet/‌coasts/‌coral_reefs/

2/16/10

Today in class i really worked hard because i needed to setup the experiment. Im going to see you after school to work on the experiment. Im also going to post my experimental design (draft) and research paper (draft)

2/4/2010

Today during class i was able to manipulate a little bit what my experiment is really going to be like. I was able to set up the heaters and put coral into sheer organza bags and see how its affected in the water

2/3/10

Today i used the sheer organza bags and tried to measure out 50.0 Grams of coral I also opened the box of heaters that i bought but i haven't actually used them yet.

2/2/10

Today in science class, I went to see mrs. Weissman about my data table. I had to explain the data table in my experimental design. I sat with Gina Liana Guccione and discussed my project with her.

1/28/10 (Night)

tonight i worked on the procedure and i tried to figure out what i am going to do with my coral like what i'm going to put it in so that i can measure it

1/28/10

Today in class i worked on the insta ocean stuff and i was learning how to use the refractometer today i really worked hard to get even further in my procedure and setup.

1/26/10

Today i wasn't able to meet with you in class so i'm coming at the end of the day to come and see and ask questions about what to do for my Experimental Design

1/25/10 (Night)

Tonight i put the finish touches on my research paper. I had to add parts here in their for the explaining variables part and explain the relationship between the two variables. I also had to add in the bibliography to the end of my piece so that it would be ready for submission.

1/25/10

Today in class was the last day to work on the research paper in class. I used my class time to ask mrs. weissman some last minute questions and so that i could fix and put dates in for my in-text citations. I also saw mrs. weissman today

1/21/10

Today during class i was finding new websites and research for my paper to explain what it is exactly that zooxanthellae does for coral. Today was a productive use of class

1/20/10 (Night)

i was still kinda confused even though i got to talk to you today during class so i'm going to elaborate more on my variable tonight and continue to talk about the coral

1/20/10

Today in class i had a question about the research paper however i wasn't able to ask you about it because i was really low on the list. So my question if you answer it is what exactly are we supposed to do to summarize and the variable and explain the proposed research

1/19/10 Day

Today i did more research on my topic so that i would be able to add onto my research paper later and now. my research helped me not procrastinate during class.

1/18/10

Yesterday i went skiing so i didn't do any work so today i really had to crank out some ours i've been up since around 10 doing work on this project and i've noticed a good tip is that once you start writing you can really figure out what's needed for you to research. But so far this paper is going well

1/16/10 Night

Today i worked on my research paper since i had gotten all of my information during school. I started out looking at the background research papers that have already been written. They were good help for how to start out the paper.

1/15/10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warming

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00166.htm

Citations for two websites and right now i'm waiting to meet with mrs. Weissman

1/14/10 Night Reply

Yes, i looked into the heaters used for my experiment and my mom has already purchased one. I also have one more question but ill just ask you tomorrow

1/14/10 (Night)

Tonight, i did research on Coral and the Ocean so that this weekend i will really be able to begin my Research Paper. I missed you mrs. Weissman :'(

1/14/10

Today i sat with Gina Guccione and was able to get a lot of work done. Mrs. Weissman was not here today so i wasn't able to conference with her. Tonight i will continue to work

1/13/10

Today i once again did not get to see Mrs. Weissman however i will go see her tomorrow to ask questions about the research paper. Also tonight i'm going to do more research on my topic and conitnue to progress forward on the paper

1/12/10

I didn't need to go and see mrs. Weissman today because i knew exactly where i needed to be. Tonight all i really need to do is research and find some additional information on my topic so that soon i will be prepared to start my research paper

Intern Application Sheet 1/11/10

So today i had to work on the Intern Application sheet. It was a lot easier then i thought it was going to be especially since the first part needs to be about 400 words. today with mrs. Weissman i figured out my topic so i feel like i'm on the right track

Meeting with Mrs. Weissman 1/11/10

Today i met with Mrs. Weissman to figure out ways to do my experiment. She told me that there are these types of coral chips in the Pet Store and we can use those. Also we can buy heaters that we could put in the little container of salt water to keep the heat of the water up. Also i hope to figure out a way to keep the water chilled.

Meeting with Mrs. Weissman 1/8/09

Today i learned that im going to need to switch my topic for me to be able to continue my research. It needs to be i put CO2 into containers with plants and see if some of the plants cannot produce O2

Topic Ideas

Today i continued on my topic hunt and I'm pretty sure i have my top 3

1. The effect of to much salinity in soil

2. The effect of carbon dioxide on plant height

3. the effect of acid rain on building materials

I will most likely go with number and i hope i can come see you tomorrow to get some more help with figuring out how i will test my topic.

New Question Templates

1. How does x affect y?

2. How is X related to why

x= independent

y= dependent

3. At what point does X affect Y?

4. What are the implications of X to Y?

5. At what point does X not Affect Y?

6. Why does X affect y?

Today 1/6/10 I saw Mrs. Weissman. What i learned from Mrs. Weissman is that i need to look up what Acid Rain affects and what land material it affects for example wood or bark.

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

Biotic Factors:

1. Famine

2. Lack of food

3. Disease

4. Predation

5. Old Age

6. Injury

Abiotic Factors

1. Rock

2. Snow

3. Weather/ Climate- temperature extremes

4. Drought (Lack of water)

5. Flood- too much water

6. Water

7. Natural Disasters

8. Elevation

9. Lack of space

10. Lack of shelter

11. Salinity (water depth)

12. Sunlight

13. Acid Rain

14. Humidity

15. Air Pressure

16. Air pollution

17. Soil

18.