Neuroscience - Lifelong Learning Project
This was the first major project done in Biology class Junior year. There were many different portions to this project to learn how the brain works.
Life Thoughts
A routine part of Mr. Leaders class, many of the Life Thoughts during the duration of this project were intended to help us think about the brain's inner workings. (Mostly in notes-format, rather than essay format)
Some examples:
September 16
What is the brain? What does it do?
-central nervous system - spinal cord
-neuron-brain cells
-hippocampus-memory
motor control-movement-cerebellum
-learning-brain can "learn" and retain new information
perception-senses
synapses-between neurons
drugs-effect on brain, eats away
September 18, 2009
How does mindset affect learning?
The article portrayed two different mindsets, FIXED vs. GROWTH. Although very biased towards the latter being better than the former, it was very insightful. Learning can be very highly affected by the person's mindset. One with a fixed mindset has less potential than growth mindsets. (more on mindsets below)
Stream of Consciousness
One of the first steps in learning about our brain was a 5 minute long stream of consciousness.
Mr. Leader prompted us to right down/type whatever was going on in our minds for 5 minutes straight.
birthday life ephraim ross typing advice stories learning growing becoming a man knowing whats right and wrong school the future tomorrow people friends hunger food eating burritos sleep relaxation napping world of warcraft spanish honors homework stress pro in procrastination spelling correctly advice wise learning experience touch regret hope decision chair knowledge desire party worry whats the other word for worry? apprehensive stomach growling what time is it pokemon song notes playing song piano tribe island your tribe their tribe petty love
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
We learned about the two main mindsets that people are classified under. It's very paralleled to nature vs. nurture, where the Fixed mindset is focused on the mind having a nature; it has only a certain amount of abilities and cannot be changed. A growth mindset has the ability to grow, one with this mindset knows that hard work and initiative will allow one to learn anything. A life thought regarding the topic was written.
My general outlook on mindset and learning is that if one enjoys what they’re learning or has a general interest towards it, they will learn much more efficiently and effectively.
A fixed mindset is much more limited than a growth mindset. A fixed mindset focuses on appearing smart, while growth is set on really learning. Having an intent to learn is more important and effective than just trying to get a good grade. A desire to learn creates much more potential. One with a fixed mindset will only bother attempting to learn concepts and knowledge that gives them short term satisfaction. Growth mindset people learn for the long run.
For a long time, my mindset has been very fixed. I focus on the short term, what could help me now. I was only looking towards the grade. I am slowly trying my best to convert to a growth mindset. Lately especially, grades have been higher priority than learning. This has always seemed so far from my nature.
Having desire to learn and finding enjoyment in it also plays a major role in learning. I’m certain that subjects I was fond of were much easier to learn and more enjoyable to work with. It did not matter the difficulty or abstractness of the concepts, the fact that I did not dread the subject matter made me want to learn it. In a way, it almost tricked my mind into having a growth mindset. Having this drive and motivation to learn could change my learning altogether.
Neuron Display
The neuron is the most essential substance within the brain. It makes all brain function possible. We were to create a digital display conveying the inner workings of the neuron. My team's idea was to animate information being propagated across a neuron.
Brain Dissection Display
Possibly the most enjoyable part of the project was the dissection of the sheep brain. The sheep brain has many similarities to human brains, thus, we explored.
We then plasticized our dissections to use for our physical Brain Displays.
Display
To finalize our work, we were to display the dissections along with a description of the section we cut; the functions and location for example.
Transitional Presentation of Learning - 2009
Perspective - Humanities
Supposition - Math/Chemistry
Payoff Matrix
Significance - Spanish
Intellectual Curiosity - Career Day
Dear Mr.Fozi - tPOL Questions and Answers
Questions from Mr. Fozi
Casino Night Project
How do casinos make money?
What is an expectation value?
How is it different from probability?
Casinos generally make money by charging the players more money than the expectation value. The expectation value of a game shows, on average, how much profit is gained or lost each time.
The casinos first find every possible event in a game. They then find the probability of each event happening. They then multiply the profit by each respective probability, giving them the expectation value of the game. This expectation value is different from the probability. The probability only tells the chance of something happening, while the expectation value factors in how much profit is gained or lost. To make money, casinos want to have players play games where they will generally lose money, and the casino profits.
Eden Architecture
What makes a livable house?
What are some patterns that you incorporated into your house to make it livable? How did you approach the problem of making a small house? What were the technical problems you had to overcome? What did you learn about three-dimensional thinking?
The main aspects that make a house "livable" is separate spaces for different purposes. For example, a space for sleeping, working, cooking, eating, etc. Another very important thing a house must have is ample living space. At the very minimum, a room's dimensions (length and width) should be be greater than that of a person's. Basically, a person should be able to lie on either side of a room and fit.
2 very important "patterns" that I used in my designed house were the rule of "Clustered Sleeping Spaces" and "Windows on 2 Sides". The former requires the sleeping quarters of a home to be close together in one general area, and the latter is self explanatory, requiring a room to have a window on 2 of its sides.
Making a small house was quite a challenge, especially when trying to implement these architectural patterns. One way to overcome this was to use as much space given, and be creative to find space for everything.
3 dimensional thinking as a very high hurdle to jump over. It was difficult to think in such a non-linear way, but after experimenting and constant trial and error, it became easier to gain the correct mindset.
Mole Project
Why do we need the concept of the mole?
What is a mole? Why do we use it in chemistry? How do we calculate the number of moles in a particular mass of atoms, or the mass of a number of atoms? What is stoichiometry?
The concept of the mole expresses the amount of molecules in a sample, rather than a sample's mass. This is useful to discover how much of a certain element is contained in a molecule.
The calculation of finding "the mole" of a molecule is very straightforward.
1 mole = 6.022 x 10^23
[insert picture of Mole Island]
The practice and study of these conversions is referred to as "stochiometry".
In General
How do you think your skills as a learner of math and science have improved? What have you done to prepare yourself for learning Math III and Biology next year?
Overall, I've noticed my understanding of Math and Science has increased significantly. Projects and labs have challenged me especially to encourage critical thinking and learning from experience.
To prepare myself for next year's courses, I hope to take more challenge options to broaden my knowledge overall. This will help me create better quality, well thought out work that will be up to my teacher's, and my own, standards.
Reactions and Collisions Lab Pt. 3
1) Is energy gained or lost by the molecules? Which molecules have more energy, the reactants or the products?
During the reaction, energy is gained by the products. Thus, the products (after) have more energy than the reactants (before).
2) Predict what will happen when 50 A’s are added to the box and 50 BC’s are added.
I predict that the BC's will create several collisions with the A's, changing the number of each periodically.
3) In the box labeled “current amounts,” enter 50 for A and 50 for BC.
4) Was your prediction correct? Describe and explain any differences.
Though there were reactions between the two, not all of them reacted the same; only a fraction created effective collisions.
5) Predict what will happen when the temperature is raised so it is NOT above the activation energy max but IS above the energy level of the products.
Due to the raised temperature, the molecules will move much quicker. The faster movement will possibly cause more reactions and effective collisions to occur.
6) Raise the temperature as described. Did your prediction come true? Describe and explain any differences.
Again, faster movement, more reactions, but only a fraction of them.
7) Predict what will happen when the temperature is raised so it is above the activation energy max.
The temperature will be even higher, meaning a potentially higher rate of reaction due to the faster movement.
8) Raise the temperature as described. Again, was your prediction correct? Describe and explain any differences.
The molecules did in fact move quicker, and there were more effective collisions.
9) What did you notice about the rate at which reactants/products fluctuated between the three different temperatures? If you didn’t notice anything, hit “reset all” and test it again.
The amounts of each varied by very little (mostly by 1) and change much more often when the temperature was increased.
10) Did temperature affect equilibrium position? Did it affect it in the way you expected? Explain.
Higher temperature caused a closer equilibrium, while a lower temperature offset the equilibrium slightly.
11) Did temperature affect reaction rate? Did it affect it in the way you expected? Explain.
As aforementioned, higher temperature causes faster molecule movement, and I predicted that the faster movement will cause more frequent reactions.
Reactions and Collisions Lab Pt. 2
a. Predict what will happen to the rate of the reaction for each variable: increased temperature, decreased temperature, increased concentration (number of particles), decreased concentration (number of particles). Explain your predictions in terms of effective collisions.
Increased temperature: Increasing the temperature will cause the Reactants to move quicker, which will allow more effective reactions.
Decreased temperature: Decreasing the temperature will make the Reactants move slower, causing less effective reactions.
Decreased concentration: Increasing the concentration (less reactants) will provide a lesser probability of collisions, causing less effective reactions.
b. Test your prediction with the simulation and record observations.
c. Explain your observations. Were all of your predictions correct? Which tests changed your thinking about reaction rates? How did the simulation change your prediction?
Our predictions were correct, though the high speed and movement on some tests proved difficult to determine.
Reactions and Collisions Lab Pt. 1
1. See if you can reproduce each of the scenarios from the pre-lab. What did you have to do to make each unsuccessful collision happen? What did you have to do to make an effective collision happen?
To create an unsuccessful reaction, we used the Angled Shooter to shoot away from the second reactant. This caused Reactant A to completely miss Reactant B, causing an unsuccessful reaction. To create an effective collision, we used the straight shooter, shooting Reactant A directly into Reactant B with the most force possible.
2. Use the “design your own reaction” tab to change the energy levels of the “before” and “after” molecules. You can create a huge potential energy hump to represent a particularly difficult reaction. Where do you need to move the “total energy” to create an effective collision?
The total energy can be anywhere, as long as you shoot the first reactant hard enough to cause an effective reaction.
3. What is the effect of raising or lowering the temperature? The effect of raising the temperature will become clearer as you make the “potential energy hump” bigger. The effect of lowering the temperature will become clear if you choose the fourth reaction from the list on the right.
When the temperature is lowered (colder), the reactants move slower.
When the temperature is raised (warmer), the reactants move faster.
Reactions and Collisions Pre-Lab
1. A reaction did not occur between Reactant A and B in scenario 1. For a reaction to occur, the atoms or molecules must collide and hit each other. In scenario 1, there was no contact between the two reactants.
2. In scenario 2, a reaction did occur between the two reactants. It was a minor reaction, for the two reactants did not hit each other, and didn't make much contact.
3. In scenario 3, a similar reaction to scenario 2 occurred. The two reactants did not collide with much force, but they did make contact.
4. In scenario 4, a large, effective reaction occurred. The two reactants collided with a great amount of force and created a larger reaction.
5. The term "effective collision" probably refers to a reaction between two reactants where the reactants collide with a great amount of force, creating a large reaction.
6. Collision theory states that a reaction is most likely to occur if the two reactants collide with each other with generally large amounts of force, hitting each other almost directly/head-on.
7. An infant cannibalistic vampire shark with a lazer on it's head is being catapulted over a crystal mountain at 130 miles per hour. On the other side a Peter was being catapulted at exactly the same speed.They meet at the peek of the mountain and morphed into an infant cannibalistic vampire Peter shark with lazers on his head, *giggle*
Spanish Reflection
This project has greatly improved my comprehensibility and pronunciation in the Spanish language. Prior to this project, my amount of knowledge in Spanish was minuscule. I was very used to using extremely simple, common phrases (i.e. como estas, bien y tu?). I am now better at pronouncing various words and phrases that would usually give me trouble. Looking back at my podcasts chronologically made me realize my growth the most. As I began, the podcasts were very short and included very basic Spanish. As I progressed, I used more vocabulary, used words correctly, and spoke for much longer in the conversation. I found it very important to be able to keep the conversation going. Being able to engage another in a conversation is vital in speaking a language.
I enjoyed listening to Donel Lopez's podcasts. After listening to them, I was able to notice a major growth in pronunciation and reflex. Earlier on, there were more pauses and slight mispronunciations, in addition to some short phrases. As the podcasts progressed, there were much quicker responses in his answers, great use of vocabulary, and accurately pronounced words. In his first few conversations, there were a few occasions of the classic "Un momento por favor", or "que?". The last few were conversations that I would almost expect from a native Spanish speaker.
This project has probably taught me the most out of all the assignments and projects in my entire Spanish expereince. It' was also the most enjoyable to do, and I hope to do similar projects in the future.
Spanish Podcasts
1. ¿Qué tienes que hacer hoy? ¿Qué piensas sobre las situación del mundo?
2. ¿Qué hiciste ayer? ¿Cuál era tu juguete favorito cuando eras niño/niña?
3. ¿Tus cosas favoritas?
4. Describe una mudanza de cual te acuerdes.
5. Describe tu clase. Describe lo que tienes en tu mochila.
6. Telenovela Scene
7. Cuéntame de tu familia.
8. Cuéntame de tu música preferida.
9. ¿Puedes ayudarme a…? or ¿Quieres ir conmigo a…?
10. Cuéntame sobre tu escuela HTHNC. Use the Reading Comprehension Exercise as a model.
Mole Lab Pt. 2
In the Mole Lab, we were to combine two reactants to create a product. We combined the classic Vinegar and Baking Soda. According to Mr. Fozi, the reactants create Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sodium Acetate, or:
CH3COOH + NaHCO3 —> CO2 + H2O = NaCH3COO
When the two reactants were combined, it created a “volcano effect”, per Mr. Fozi. It foamed, fizzed, expanded, and released Carbon Dioxide (CO2), overflowing the cup.
DATA
Amount of Baking Soda = 9.222g
Amount of Vinegar = 54.598g
Total (before) = 63.8209g
Total (after mixture) = 61.82901g
CO2 = 1.992g
Mole of Baking Soda = 0.109
Mole of CO2 = 0.045
Mass of Baking Soda/ Mass of CO2
Predicted slope = 1
Actual slope = .45
Mole of Baking Soda/ Mole of CO2
Predicted Slope = 1
Actual Slope = 0.33
Student Led Comments - Science/Humanities
Dear Mr. Fozi and Miss Fisk,
We have done many projects so far this year. In Humanities, the work that I'm most proud of is the EDEN project. I felt that this project allowed me to be very creative and make work I take pride in. I was able to create work that surpassed my expectations; work I thought I wasn't capable of doing. The final product (creation myth and object) turned out to be some of my favorite work. In Science, the work I am most proud of is the Water Filter project. The goal of this project was to effectively create a water filter from scratch that could remove impurities from dirty water. Out of all the projects in this class, this one allowed me to create something out of nothing. Being able to make a useful, beneficial object really impressed me. I try my best to particpate as much as I can. I make the effort to answer questions and ask questions to further understand all the content. As a writer, I feel like I've matured significantly. I was a very inexperienced writer, making constant errors and mistakes. I was easily misunderstood and my writing was fairly confusing. As I progressed, I was able to write much more effectively. Projects always take multiple steps to complete, and require revision and benchmarks to create the best work. I was able to use these revisions to my advantage to make improvements to my work. All work needs correction and the revision process always helps make my work reach its fullest potential. In almost every project, I thought I was challenged in some way. I always try to pressure myself to finish on time with quality work. My most usual challenge is disregarding perfectionism. I yearn to have almost "perfect" work, yet setting such a goal makes it difficult to complete projects. My biggest lesson so far this year is to think ahead and plan my work. I found myself working haphazardly with no plan or organization. Doing so will allow me reach my goal of consistently creating high quality work on time, if not early.
This year has been amazing.
-John Torres
This year has been amazing.
-John Torres
Portrait of Color
The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, tells the story of Nazi Germany in World War II from the perspective of Death. In Nazi Germany, Death was ever present on many occasions, for death was so common at the time. People were viewed in many different perspectives, from society’s outlook or Death’s.
At the time of World War II, Germany had a very prevalent segregation between races religions. Whether it be the Germans, Nazis, or Jews, there was a separation for the pure sake of hate. In my visual representation, the various symbols that represent these different groups of people are depicted as rain drops, raining on Death. At the time, these colors sometimes meant life or death - Nazi red.
In the novel, Death saw souls in the forms of colors. When Death carried the souls on his shoulders, they were all described as a color. The colors, also depicted as raindrops, represent the variety of souls and colors Death collected. The raindrops above Death’s umbrella represent how society sees people, by race and religion. Under the umbrella is how Death saw people’s souls, simply as colors.Death, having a rigorous job, is being “rained on” by all these souls. He does not discriminate among them though, for a soul is just another human.
I really connect to this piece because the colorful “souls” show how I see the world. I try not to see people as a race or religion, like the symbols shown above the umbrella. I prefer to see everyone as an individual, everyone colorful in their ways.
My portrait of color expresses society’s view of others, through race and stereotypes. It also shows the way Death, and I, see others, as colorful and unique humans that are not separated and limited by prejudice.
E.D.E.N. Architecture Project Reflection
Plan
Side View
Isometric View
Images
The Sketchup project was an overall success. It had much significance to it because of the it allowed me to learn many important, useful skills, such as drafting and designing in 3D. This could be easily utilized in future projects or assignments. Using Google Sketchup is also a very useful skill to have to begin learning design. This project changed my perspective of the process home building. Architects and home designers have a very difficult job that I was never fully aware of. Although our work was at a more basic level, it was still fairly difficult to work in 3 dimensions, keeping things to scale, etc. The project also changed my perspective because it was one of the many projects that taught me failure. Projects of this type usually don't challenge me, but this was admittedly one of the most difficult projects for me. Designing a house with certain rules and restrictions was much harder than I expected. Some evidence that this project was very important was the learning and revision process. My former drafts of my house very substantially, and show the process of revising throughout. I really thought I connected to this project in terms of it being one of my favorite projects so far, for the previously mentioned points. I suppose if I were to do this project differently, I would have initially designed my house more carefully and precisely, This would have made the rest of the process much easier, and would make my end result much better. Overall though, this project was very enjoyable and beneficial to me, and would love to do similar projects in the future.
Pardi Plinko Plans
Quick Plinko Demonstration
The first step to any project is the planning phase. This is where we dump ideas, and put them into writing. This is our initial plan of the Pardi Plinko board.
Still a sketch at the moment, this is only a rendering of what we want the board to look like.
Materials
The required materials to create the planned board are as follows:
-A 48x25 inch piece of particle board, cardboard, or plywood [we will be using cardboard]
-A 48x25 inch piece of plexiglass
-About 50 sq inches of balsa wood
-At least 30 drywall screws, wooden pegs, or similar
-Standard poker chips [approx. 1.5 inches in diameter] to play.
The build will consist of using these materials to put together the plinko board.
The base will be made from the cardboard or wood piece. Screws or wooden pegs will be placed "isometrically" as with any plinko board. The balsa wood will be used to create boxes at the bottom where the chip will land, deciding the prize.
Who's Doing What? The Pardi Plinko Team
The Casino Project [which I will be posting more of as the project progresses] is essentially a group project, in which we must create our Casino game in teams. The teams are composed as follows.
Alexis Durso: "Actuary" - Alexis' main job is to calculate the chances of winning or losing the game, based on different probability properties and equations. She will also be finding the expected value of the game, which will show the amount of money we lose or gain in this game.
Kelli Pardi: "Document Writer" - Kelli will be creating the rules of the game. She will be deciding how players will win, how much the game will cost, and the amount of prizes a player will get (based on Alexis's research).
Sammy Bueche: "Operator" - Sammy is going to be the operator of the game when people actually play it. She will be instructing players with the rules created by Kelli and will be explaining how to win, and what their prize will be. She will also be explaining the more technical portions of the game to those curious.
John Torres: "Construction Expert" - My main job is to design the blueprints of the actual object that players will be playing on. I will be in charge of the construction process of this model. I will not be the only person invovled in actually building this object, for everyone will be contributing to this major part of the project.
I have a good feeling about this project, and hope to have an amazing game come casino night.
The Presentation of Learning Series: 2008-09
"Pieces of Me: Rose Colored Glasses"
"Short Film: The Chocolate Man"
Find more videos like this on High Tech High
"The Walter Filter"
"The Molecule Project: Capsaicin"
Ratios! (from Personal Space Assistance Review)
Mr. Fozi assigned us a series of questions to answer based on the surface area, volumes, and ratios between the two of cubes and spheres, from Mr Fozi's DP.
Cubes
Spheres
Sphere vs. Cube Comparison
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