Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Like Whoa! (sadly this about volcanoes) AGAIN!

Like Whoa! Sadly this another post about the things that go boom and spew that hot stuff. What's the word? Oh yeah, volcanoes! Anyways,volcanoes are formed 2 ways: When Earth's plates diverge and when they slide past each other. Like Whoa! Okay so the diverge thing is called a mid-ocean ridge and that causes magma to press up to the crust and then break through it. Then, the magma dries and forms a volcano! The slide past thing is called a subduction zone. This is an example of both kinds:

Like Whoa! Cute deadly lava!
Anyways a subduction zone is when a plate slides under another plate and then the rising magma from the plate sliding down flows to the surface and creates a volcano! Okay so one of the diff diffs between these formations is that their lava flows differently. Like I said before, the magma in a mid-ocean ridge breaks threw the surface but the magma in a subduction some flows towards the surface from the plate sliding down. Look! LOL!

Boooooooooooomish! Okay I hope you learned a bunch! Ew I have to go to study hall...
-kitkat

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Insert Title here...... um over there....

           Do you remember when I was talking about shield volcanoes last time? If you don't, just scroll down. So, I just learned today that there are 3 different types of volcanoes. Y'all probably know that most volcanoes go ka-boom! and then the lava comes. One type of volcano that explodes is called a composite volcano. It is medium sized and has sloping sides.A composite squirts lava in the air really high and then it goes down. This is the most popular of all of the volcanoes.
        Another type of volcano is the tiny Cinder Cone. The Cinder Cone is explosive too but instead of throwing it's lava all up in the air, it spews it all over the sides of itself. Well that's a disturbing way of saying it but look:

ugh
         The last kind is the shield which is not explosive and massive. All of these are similar in a way because they all spew the same stuff like lava  tephra and gasses.3 All of them are also really dangerous when they're in a bad mood. All 3 are different because 1. they're all different sizes, 2. they're material comes out a different way, and 3. all of them are awesome! Is this NOT awesome?!:


           Awwwwww! Isn't the deadly lava soooo cute? I know... Anyways, don't drink the lava! Bye! =)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ka Ka Ka Ka woooooo!

     I love random titles! Anyways do you know what causes volcanoes? Don't think it's boring cause it's actually really awesome! The answer is:  MAGMA PRESSURE AND HEAT! Hooray! Well actually not hooray because volcanoes are extremely dangerous. I guess they're jealous of all the living things in the world so it goes BOOM! So, the heat and pressure build up and melt the rock. Aw poor rocks. This melted rock is called magma, and as the magma rises up, it turns into lava.
CAUTION: DO NOT DRINK!

        Well, all that lava has to go somewhere right? Here's how the magma gets to the surface: First of all, the magma is released into underground pool things where eventually the pressure builds up and the lava ( which was magma) explodes out of the hole of a volcano. Wow this must be a great stress relieving technique.  It even looks fun to do:

Monday, September 13, 2010

BOOM BOOM POW! =)

     Cue the sound effects! * BOOM!* Okay good, they work. Well lately there's been some gossip about volcanoes. Apparently, people think that the ones that violently erupt are cooler than the ones that are silent. Why are they silent you ask? My guess is that they are just shy but I'm going to go look it up on that website with the weird science dude that talks to you. BRB...
         Well, first of all, gases from the Earth formed from volcanic ash and other materials create a violent volcano like this one:
      
Show off!
             All that magma that later becomes lava explodes out of a violent volcano. Wow this guy needs some serious anger management classes. Anyways, what's the deal with these silent volcanoes? The talking science professor said that  silent volcanoes ( also calles shield volcanoes by the way) form on the ocean floor. You see, what happens is when magma is forced upward from the Earth, the sea floor blocks it's way to becoming explosive but soon enough, all the pressure builds up and it bursts from its hole.The good thing is that the pressure of the ocean, calms the magma and it oozes out of  the volcano; not explodes like SOME volcanoes i would know...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Believe me!

The mission you are about to receive may horrify, if may scar you for life... nah I'm just kidding! Anyways, do you know who had the first theory of plate tectonics? You probably don't know and don't care. Today my mission is to impress you with the theory of plate tectonics and who discovered it.. Plate tectonics is the idea that part of the crust and upper mantle is consisted of huge plates that move gradually. Do you know how first thought of this theory? His name is Alfred Wegener.
Nice mustache...
No ones hair is that slick! I mean really...  At first when Wegener presented his idea of plate tectonics, the other scientists laughed at him, and not just because of his hair. They laughed because this theory is extremely hard to believe. I mean huge plate that move under the earth and cause earthquakes? I could see why others laughed. Plus, he had no evidence. Well, only a little.
              His evidence was called continental drift ( which the other scientists didn't believe either.) This was the idea that about 200 million years ago, the continents were all part of one super continent called Pangaea. Eventually, the continents begin to move apart and go into the shape we know today. Here is what he said to other geologists:  
"Doesn't the east coast of South America fit exactly against the west coast of Africa, as if they had once been joined?"
                                                               
        

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

WATCH OUT! THE GROUND IS CRACKING!

OMG the ground is shaking! I wonder what's happening. I'm going to look it up.
5 MINUTES LATER:
Okay so here's what i figured out:
When the ground was shaking, I was experiancing an earthquake! An earthquake happens when two of two of Earth's tectonic plates rub past each other. This causes friction and results in the ground shaking. The cause of  plate techtonics moving are called convection currents. Convection currents are when steaming magma from the center of the Earth travels up to the surface to make a new crust. I know that sounds kind of cool, but it's not! REALLY! It is not fun. Look what happens to some cities and towns that live near the edge of plates:

I wouldn't want to be in those buildings in the event of an earthquake. The place where most earthquakes occur are in California! I wanted to live in Cali before I knew this. Now, not so much. Anyways, the reason there's so many earthquakes there is because California is on the edge of the Pacific plate and the N.A. plate. Imagine if you were some random surfer dude and suddenly the water started shaking violently. Scary right? I know.


I feel bad for the person that has to clean that up! Do you know how scientists predict and mesure earthquakes? They use a seismagraph. A seismagraph is an instrument that detects movements in the ground such as an earthquake. If your still confused, here's a picture:
Seismograph!
            Well I have to go! Bye!
           -Kate


    

Friday, August 13, 2010

ipod!!!!!!!!!!!

The best invention in the world, in my opinion, would be the terrific i Pod! The iPod has changed in many ways over the course of 9 years. The first iPod was released on October 23rd 2001 by Apple. The iPod shuffle was the first model of the iPod. Apple called it the shuffle because it would shuffle songs for you, not because it liked to shuffle around! The second version of the iPod was the iPod nano. The iPod nano has 5 generations. Each generation is better than the last! I hope Apple makes a 6th generation of the nano that's also a cell phone! Next, came the iPod Classic. The iPod classic holds so many songs, and so much info, it's hard to believe Apple can fit it in this little thing: 
i Pod Classic
The most current i Pod model is the i Pod touch. The i Pod touch is amazing because of many reasons. One, it wireless connects to i Tunes so you can buy songs without having to use a computer. 2, you can access shows and movies and also record yourself with a built in camera it has.3, it has google maps so you can pinpoint your location. There are 3 generation of the i touch but Apple is making a fourth.
   Here is the first iPod commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF9s3TpncAo&feature=related
I chose this topic because i wanted to learn more about the invention that makes my life worth living!
I know I keep saying that Apple made the i Pod, but probably the most important person that lead to the making of the i Pod was Tony Fadell. He is the Senior Vise President of Apple.
Tony Fadell!!!!!