Monday, May 20, 2013

A Planet Orbiting Around Sun


There are 2 theories about the center of the solar system stated by two astronomers. Geocentric model presented by Ptolemy states that earth is the center of the solar system and the revolution takes place around it. Heliocentric model presented by Nicolaus Copernicus states that sun is the center of the universe and planets rotate around it.

There are two hemispheres of earth, one is North and second is South which are divided by an imaginary like called equator.

All planets revolve on their orbits. Earth's shape is ellipse and its axis is tilted.  Earth reaches the state of perihelion when it is nearest to sun and reaches aphelion when it is furthest from the sun. Earth’s shape is ellipse, not circle. A star which always stays in North and is seen is known as Polaris.

Earth is divided in 24 time zones. Each time zone is divided by its position on longitude and is 1 hour different from the time zone next to it. A town situated on 0 longitude known as Greenwich is the place where time starts, which separates West and East by 12 times zones on each side, this is known as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). An imaginary line moving from north to south on 0 longitude is known as International date line which divides the East and West by one day. Similarly a line moving from North to South but on 0 latitude is known as Prime meridian.

Earth's tilted axis plays an important role in the division of the seasons. Regions where direct sunlight falls have summer where as regions where sunlight falls indirectly have winter. Equator plays an important role in distribution of seasons because regions near or on the equator have summer all year because sunlight falls on the equator directly all year long.

There are 9 phases of the moon. First quarter moon has sunlight on half of the moon and other side is dark. Waxing crescent is the moon’s light is going away, where as new moon is totally dark that is why we can’t see the moon sometimes. Waning moon is shown when the moon start getting sunlight after fully dark. Full moon is shown when the whole moon is lightened by sunlight. Gibbous moon is the moon, which consists light more than quarter moon and less then full moon. 

Water Waves raise and fall on daily basis known as tides. Moon has a great effect on the water level while it raises and falls. When sun, moon and Earth are in a single straight line, the tides at the moment are known as Spring tides. When moon, sun and earth are in a 90degree angle or a right triangle, Neap tides are formed.

When Earth is in the middle of sun and moon, lunar eclipse is formed. And when moon is between sun and earth, solar eclipse is formed. There are 2 types of solar eclipses. First is total solar eclipse which takes place when the moon covers the whole sun, where as when moon covers a part of sun, partial solar eclipse takes 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Plate Tectonics Essay



Plate Tectonics
Throughout the history, the earth’s geography has changed a lot. Scientists had started focusing on the changes made on earth’s surface between 1900s. The theory which states that Pangaea existed, and it separated through the time of 200 million years is called Theory of Plate Tectonics. This theory is agreeable, because as the Pangaea is mapped, there are some landforms such as deserts, mountains etc., which can be connected. Not only landforms, but fossils of dinosaurs are found in the neighbors surfaces as shown by Pangaea.
The waves of energy travelling through earth’s layers are known as seismic waves. Breaking of rocks inside the earth cause these waves to act, mostly resulting in earth quakes. This is an evidence to prove the theory of plate tectonics true, because earth quakes must have played a vital role in spreading of surface into pieces. There are three main types of seismic waves. Firstly, P-waves are the primary waves, which travel back and forth horizontally. These waves are the first one to come. Then S-waves approach, which travel up and down, and can travel through rocks only. After those two waves, Love-waves reach which travel up, down, back and forth. Seismic waves have a great effect on the earth’s geography change over long periods of time throughout history.
On the surface of earth, there are huge chunks of rocks known as plates, producing different natural landforms when they move. There are two types of plate, continental plate, which is found under the solid land surface. Secondly the oceanic plate comes, which is found under the ocean water surface. Plate boundaries are the huge deformation zones, which are divided into three main types. Convergent boundaries are formed when boundaries move together, in contrast Divergent boundaries are formed when boundaries movie a part from each other. Transform boundaries are formed when two boundaries slide past each other.  Large chunks of rocks form landforms such as volcanoes, trench and ridge.
Fracture in earth’s crust is known as faults. Fault can cause a movement on the point inside the earth known as focus. This movement travels to surface of the earth by seismic waves and the point where the movement begins on the surface of the earth is known as epicenter. There are mainly three types of faults. Normal faults are caused when one side of surface moves downwards. In contrast, Reverse fault is caused when one side of surface moves upwards. Strike-slip fault is caused when both surfaces slide past each other. Faults have contributed evidently in changing the earth’s geography throughout the history.
Earth’s geography has changed throughout the long period of time. The theory of Tectonic Plates is agreeable, because there is a lot of evidence proving it. Beliefs as simple as Global warming support this theory too. Earth wasn’t the same when it was created, because there are signs and historical figures still existing as an evidence of it today. Main topics, such as Seismic waves, Plate boundaries and faults are scientifically tested proofs of the existence of the theory of Plate Tectonics.



Reflection

  • What did you enjoy most about this project and why?
I enjoyed making quizzes, because it was in my control. I felt like a teacher, and I knew that it is a big responsibility as well as hard work to make the students the topic that is being taught.

  • What was the most challenging for you during this project and why?
      The most challenging thing for me to do in this project was deciding what activities to choose. Another        thing that was hard for me was to manage time, and set a certain time for each activity.                                         

  •          What new skills did you learn from doing this project?

I learned that finishing work on time should be our first priority, and I learned that if pictures are involved in a presentation, it attracts the audience more.
  • Is there anything you could have done to improve any of your work? Explain.
I could have been more detailed, and focused on the little mistakes I made. Little mistakes took my score from my desirable score to a lower score. I also think I would have proofread my work, or get checked from someone else, to make it better.
  • What would you change about this project?
I would change the lab to be more fun and entertaining so it can attract student, not because they would be working with each other, but they would learn something useful and use it in their lives too.