Unit 10 Reflection

         Unit 10 was about the anatomy of an animal. In this unit, we had multiple podcasts paired with a pig dissection designed to help us understand what we have learned. In this review, I will talk mainly about the parts of the pig to demonstrate my understanding because the pig was really an overview of everything the vodcasts taught us.  We first looked at the external parts of the pig. This wasn't necessarily in our vodcasts but it allowed us to see the placement of the bones and joints. It also helped us understand the movement of the legs. Then we opened the pig up. We were able to identify major arteries and veins because of the red and blue plasticizers put in the pig. We then were able to look at the digestive system. We saw the size and placement of the pig's teeth which appeared to be able to hook onto meat. Possibly to help it consume something faster. Then we were able to see the stomach which was honestly very surprising. It was absolutely tiny and flat because it had no food in it. I expected it to be more rounded even though it was empty for some reason. The small and large intestines looked way different than each other. I guess i was also shocked at how different they appeared. It was definitely interesting to see the difference. We also looked at arteries which were hidden behind tissues. And it was amazing where the kidney was placed. It was hidden underneath the small intestine and a small sheet of tissue. Also, we were able to observe the chambers of the heart. It actually seemed insanely tough, and I had trouble imagining it beating because it seemed so solid. The lungs were also there, and were a very interesting triangle shape. I expected them to be more like bags, but they had a very defined shape. They were not very strong either because a light touch with the probe tore part of the surface off. The most amazing part to me was the neck. It was so crammed with different things including they Thyroid and voice box. It was legitimately difficult to find anything in there! I want to learn more about the anatomy and possibly numb myself to seeing an open animal on the table. Mostly because if there is ever a draft I certainly would want to be like the doctors in m*a*s*h. In August I wasn't sure about the whole flipped classroom. I still am not entirely sure about how much I like it, but I will admit that it isn't too bad. Some of the vodcasts, i will admit, seem way too long. 15-19 minute vodcasts really trouble my attention span, but that is a trait about myself that i am happy to know. I will use this extra understanding of my attention to make sure my job isn't related to constantly interacting with a computer. I have definitely got my own routine with the vodcast notes, and i believe i was better off because i started from day one taking my own notes. My Unit 4 review is a good example of how I started writing reviews . I wasn't very creative, and tried to stick to the questions. Now i just try to flow wherever my mind goes, and talk about it. I definitely think it is a more effective links.This is my favorite post because I really went over and above to talk about my 20 time experience. I think that this year has opened my perspective on different teaching methods, and should have helped me understand what writing blogs is all about. I am happy i have a digital copy of all my work on my blogger to look back on.

20 Time Reflection

20 Time Reflection

In this 20 Time unit, we wanted to explore our passion for cars. Not just cars in general, but specifically engines. Before this unit, I only had a vague understanding on how engines worked. All I knew was you fill it with gas, the engine can hold a certain number of liters of fuel, and there are different numbers of pistons. I decided to team up with jacob to go on a research journey to figure out how an engine works. We looked extensively at engine specifications, designs, and sizes (displacement) to completely understand how an engine works, and what main factors affect the engine. We later found a shocking new trend from car manufactures. Car companies such as Ford are producing smaller engines with turbochargers. We looked further into how car manufacturers are using 2 small turbochargers to boost the engine. Before I continue, let me define some terms:

Piston- A cylinder in the engine where Oxygen and Air are mixed and ignited. This explosion pushes a plate (think of it as a cork which can move) up and it falls back down when the explosion ends. 

Turbocharger- A little fan connected to the car's exhaust. When the engine produces exhaust, it spins this fan which is connected to a tube. The fan pushes air into this tube which is connected to the engine. This air pressure is pushed into each piston before the explosion occurs. The more oxygen in the piston leads to a larger explosion leading to more power.

Supercharger- A fan connected to the top of the engine. It is super simple. The fan is connected to a huge belt on the front of the car called the timing belt. This belt spins when the engine is on, and powers numerous components on the engine. This belt spins the fan (supercharger) which is connected to the air intake (where air enters the engine and goes into each piston). This fan pushes more air into the engine than the normal amount of air, so it has the same affect as a turbocharger.

Now that i've defined some terms, I can talk about current technologies and the future. Car manufacturers have started making tiny engines (4 cylinders) with the power of bigger engines such as 6 or 8 cylinder engines. The way this is possible is by using two turbochargers. This allows them to get a ton of power out of a smaller engine. You may be wondering what the point of this is, but the points are very important. A smaller engine saves a lot of weight, it is more efficient, and a lot more compact. Plus produces less emissions for all of you who support cutting down emissions to save the planet! A new technology is called an Electric turbocharger which is the same as a normal turbocharger except the fact that it uses a motor to spin it. this means you are able to get constant boost into the engine. If the engine is designed to handle all the boost, the power output from the engine could potentially be off the charts! We later learned that with the right amount of technological improvements, the electric car would definitely be the replacement for the gasoline engine. One main reason is the performance of the car. Once battery technology improves, and motor efficiency improves- the car will be able to do a lot of miles. We also found that electric cars don't need a transmission. A transmission is designed to keep the engine at a certain RPM which leads to the highest power output. If a car's RPM is too high or low, it will actually be producing less power. An electric motor has a linear torque curve meaning that it needs no transmission, and will consistently keep applying power to the wheels. This is a huge improvement. Problem with electric cars is the fact that the batteries are too heavy, don't hold enough charge, and the motors are too inefficient for the batteries capacity. 

Now, time to talk about the 20time presentation. I would call it a failure for two reasons. First off, our topic isn't necessarily something that can be discussed in 4 minutes. In order to make sure the audience completely understands what I am talking about, it would take at least 10 minutes easily. This forced me to try and rush the details which we researched. To Mr. Orre and the audience, it may have seemed like we didn't do much work, but all out research lies in the details which brings me to my second point. The more i explained how an engine works, the more the audience was loosing attention. Once i saw this trend, i quickly stopped talking about the details. I confirmed this at the end of the presentation because people were saying that I went too far. The problem is, I barely even scratched the surface of the research we did for our 20 time project. This means we didn't necessarily get a great grade even though the effort was there. If we had some time before the presentation to teach the audience some of the key terms and ideas about how an engine works, everything would have made sense, and we would have been able to showcase our work. Unfortunately, this didn't go as planned. Also, our presentation was way over the limit.

Pig Dissection Lab

Pig Dissection

Below is a video of our pig dissection. The purpose of this lab was to allow us to view the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems in real life. We also were able to look at the heart, and understand how everything in the body is placed. We also learned many simple details such as the clear wrap around the heard which stops it from exploding. We were also able to see how tiny the spleen is, which opens up new understanding about how easy it is to damage it. It also allowed us to understand how connecting tissue holds everything in place. It was surprising to see how everything could be found by peeling back thin layers of tissue in the pig's body. The lungs looked a lot different than I thought it would, and I never expected the small intestine to appear deflated. There is a huge difference between how the large and small intestines look, and that also surprised me. It was surprising to see the kidneys and thyroid gland. Everything seemed to be placed so precisely. The veins and arteries were huge right next to the heart. It amazed me how simple yet complex the heart is. I am not sure if I loved this dissection because I felt really sorry for the pig. I also found that it was kind of gross at first. Dissecting the pig almost made me feel like Hawkeye working at the 4077th MASH!

20 Time Individual Reflection

 20 time has really allowed me to explore my love for cars. I have always been interested in cars, but I have learned a lot more about cars. My goal was to learn about the new engine technologies such as turbochargers and fuel injection methods. I was mostly focused on self-improvement because this project was a quest for knowledge. I really wanted to understand where the market for cars was heading, and why electric cars are the future. We have been perfecting engines for such a long time, so why are we moving towards electric motors? This really stumped me because I didn't necessarily understand. I was also curious about turbochargers because they have been around for a very long time. What have they figured out recently that has made these turbochargers so successful? There are only a few of the questions that have sparked my interest in cars. My plan was to start off researching different technologies being used in cars today, and then move towards the future. This was a very successful project because I now understand every detail on a car. I can look at an engine and determine what every part does, and also find a way to take things apart. I wouldn't change anything with how i've done my project because i believe that it was super successful. I believe I am going to start a new challenge. I would like to work on my car. My car already has many customizations on it, but I wish to take that further. I also want to look at the invention of electric turbochargers. They are very cool, and I believe that they are a big step forward in the car industry.

Unit 9 Reflection 💥

 👉🏽  Click here to check out my presentation!  👈🏽

In this unit, we learned about many things. First off, we learned about the different species of animals that lived in the past. We looked at how animals are classified, and what characteristics were used to classify them. There are many special features about the animals evolved, and fossils allow us to see these incremental changes. It is also important to note the kingdoms had very specific requirements to have a certain animal within them. We also learned about how animals evolve. The bad genes get filtered out, and the good genes get passed on. This explains how fish were able to become land creatures. The fish genes got filtered out because they were unable to survive, and the land adapted genes took off because they were able to survive. Refer here to look at my reflection on Your Inner Fish. Here is a cool picture showing a land fish.

This is one of the links in history where fish moved onto land. The fins evolved into the long bone, short bone, many bone structure. This is just one example of what we've learned in this unit.

My inner fish

Your Inner Fish is a TV series about evolution. It goes back to fossils, and explains how ancient species changed throughout evolution. In this TV series, we learned about how biologists found the missing links in evolution. We learned about fish moved from sea to land in out evolution unit, and this show tells us how scientists found the bones from the missing link. Also, we learned about the long bone, short bone, many bones layout. This show discusses this to a further extent. To elaborate on the question related to the sonic hedgehog, it is basically a little cell giving out a signal where to stop. If that little signal emitter is removed, then the arm basically mirrors itself because it didn't know where to stop. This can prove to be useful, but also shows up on accident sometimes. Elaborating on the question regarding the hybrid land/ocean animal, basically it's limbs changed length in order to accommodate land movement. It's bones got longer, and shoulder got more motion. This allowed it to be much more mobile on land, and even lay down as if it were doing a push-up.

The Deadly Sea Slug

The Portuguese man o' war is a sea slug thing, and it is very poisons. It does not contain a spine, and floats around the water. It defends itself from a predator by stinging them. People could get potentially injured by handling one because of the sting. This organism is made out of little things called zooids; however, it isn't a jellyfish. It can be fatal when it stings you. It has a gas bladder, and lives at the surface of the ocean.

This is an extremely dangerous organism, and looks like a jellyfish. It comes to a surprise that it isn't a jellyfish because it appears to be one. It fills its upper body with gas in order to float on the surface of the water. It can control the amount of air it contains too.