Blogger Tools

Mrs. Forinash posts our blogging assignments on her blog.

I am learning how to insert an image in a blog post.

My Energy Source Choice

If I had to choose an energy choice for personal use, I would get solar energy. The reason why I would choose solar power over other energy sources is because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by a lot. Solar energy doesn't have many disadvantages, and the amount that it does have can easily be solved. Solar energy has many advantages though, such as it does no harm to the environment, it is free to use, and renewable. The disadvantages are that solar panels are expensive itself and to install, and the sun doesn't always shine. But those disadvantages can have less effect. The solar panels are expensive now, but if we build the awareness of solar power, more people will start using it and prices will eventually go down. As for the sun shining, we could always use an alternative energy source. I would use hydropower for the times solar power isn't available. Hydropower is also renewable and does little damage to the environment. Hydropower and solar power together would make a great and smart way to use energy.

Energy Source

5. Should the United States encourage Green Technology like solar and wind power?

I think the U.S. should only use solar and wind power to power products that do not require too much energy. Other than that, I do not think they should not be used for heating, transportation, electricity, or anything else that uses a large amount of energy.

Solar power definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. The great things about solar power is that it does not do any damage to the environment, it is free to use, and is renewable. There aren't many disadvantages to solar power, but the main one is that the sun doesn't always shine, therefore there may be times without power. If we used solar power more often, we would have to have an alternative energy source in case the solar power turns off. If we didn't have an alternative energy source, solar power alone would not be very useful.

Wind power also has many advantages and disadvantages similar to solar power. Wind power's advantages are that it is free to use, little environmental effect, and is renewable. The disadvantages are that it is noisy due to turbines and a danger to birds. The main disadvantage I think is that the wind doesn't always blow, and like solar power, it would have to be used with an alternative energy source if for personal use. I do though think that wind power would be a better source of energy than solar.

In conclusion, wind and solar power should be used modestly unless an alternative energy source is available and can be adjusted in a budget.

Genetics/Heredity

I have four dominant traits: free ear lobes, hair on fingers, widow's peak, and one smile dimple. I have two recessive traits: straight hair and smooth chin. My mom has free ear lobes, hair on fingers, widow's peak, curly hair, smooth chin, and no smile dimples. My dad has free ear lobes, hair on fingers, widow's peak, straight hair, smooth chin, and two smile dimples. My free ear lobes, hair on fingers, smooth chin, and widow's peak came from both of my parents since they also have the same traits. I got my straight hair also from both of my parents even though my mom has curly hair. This is because my mom probably has one dominant allele for curly hair and one recessive allele for straight hair. So I end up having a 50% chance of having straight hair if my dad has two recessive alleles for straight hair. I have only one dimple which I most probably inherited from my dad since he has two and my mom has none. Dimples are also dominant, giving me 100% of having smile dimples because my dad has two dominant alleles for dimples and my mom has two recessive alleles for no dimples.

My First Blog

This year in science class, I really enjoyed learning about genetics and the human cell structure. When learning about genetics, I found many things about it very interesting. I liked learning about how every offspring is an unique individual and how we become the way we are. I found out that a person can have certain traits even if their parents don't. Some offsprings resemble their parents or siblings by a lot, while others may not. I also enjoyed learning how to use Punnett squares and finding out what traits a couple's offsprings will have. I first thought Punnett squares will be difficult to use, but later I realized that they are an easy and fun way to figure out traits. Before we learned about genetics, we actually got a chance to study the structure and functions of human cells. Cells have many parts that each carry out important functions. A few notable components of a cell are the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, and ribosomes. The most fun I had while studying about these two topics was when we got to do activities and labs on them. My favorite activity was when we had to model mitosis with our bodies.