Science

1. Science By: Madison Brown

2. Life Science: Energy in Ecosystems • I Can…. Classify organisms as producer, consumers, scavengers, or decomposers according to their role in a food chain or food web. • Producer -  Producers are organisms that use the Sun's energy to make their own food. Green plants are producers. They make their own food using energy from the Sun in a process called photosynthesis. Ex. Sunflower and Algae.

3. Life Science: Energy in Ecosystems • Consumer- organisms that gain energy by eating producers and/or other consumers. Primary consumers are organisms that feed off of producers. Herbivores are primary consumers. For example, a deer that eats grass is a primary consumer. Secondary consumers are organisms that eat primary consumers. Carnivores are secondary consumers. A wolf that kills and eats a deer is a secondary consumer. Next come tertiary consumers, then quaternary consumers, and so forth until the top carnivore is reached.

4. Consumers:

5. Life Science: Energy in Ecosystems • Decomposers- organisms that consume dead plants and animals and release nutrients from those dead organisms into the soil, water, and atmosphere. The role that decomposers play in an ecosystem is crucial. Decomposers are important for the water, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles. The nutrients that decomposers release into the soil are also used by producers to make food. Fungi, such as mushrooms, are examples of decomposers. Some kinds of bacteria are also decomposers. • Scavengers- animals that eat other animals that are already dead.

6. Scientific Method: • Identify a Testable Question • Research a Topic • Form a Hypothesis • Design an Experiment • Collect the Data • Interpret the Data • Explain the Results • Compare Results to Hypothesis • Communicate the Findings

7. Identify a Testable Question: • A testable question is one that can be answered by preforming an investigation. • Questions about opinions and emotions generally do not make a good testable questions for experiments, although some information can be gathered about opinions by preforming a survey. • Ex. How does salt affect the boiling point of water? • Ex. Do robin eggs hatch at warmer temperatures?

8. Research a Topic: • Before an investigation can go any farther, some basic research about the topic must be done. • Research can include making observations about things in nature, asking an expert, or looking in books and on the Internet.

9. Form a Hypothesis: • A hypothesis is a possible answer to a scientific question and is based on gathered information. • In science, a hypothesis must be testable. • This means that it must be possible to carry out the investigation and to gather evidence that will either support or disprove the hypothesis.

10. Design an Experiment to Test the Hypothesis: • An Experiment must be designed to test the hypothesis. • All factors that can change in an experiment are called variables. • The manipulated (independent) variable is the one factor that is changed by the person doing the experiment. • The responding (dependent) variable is the result of changing the manipulated variable. • A fair test is an experiment or comparison in which only one variable is changed or tested.

11. Collect the Data: • A controlled experiment produces data. Data are things, such as facts and measurements that are gathered by making an observations during the experiment. Observations involve the senses of sight, hearing, touch, and smell. • Often, scientists use tools, like microscopes, that increase the power of their senses or make their observations more precise. Data can be recorded by using computers, cameras, videotapes, and other tools. Using tables to record data can help organize observations neatly.

12. Interpret the Data: • When an experiment is finished, the data should be analyzed. • Organizing data in tables, charts, and graphs makes it easier to see patterns and any relationship of one variable to another.

13. Explain the Results: • After gathering and interpreting data, conclusions should be made about what happened when the manipulated variable was changed.

14. Compare Results to Hypothesis: • The results of the experiment should be compared to the original hypothesis. • Do the results support the hypothesis? Do they disprove the hypothesis? • Hypothesis should not be thought of as wrong or right. Something can be learned from the experiment, even if the results weren’t expected.

15. Communicate the Findings: • The results, analysis, and agreement (or disagreement) of the findings with the original hypothesis should be communicated. • Communicating the results helps people learn from one another.

16. Weather: • Weather is all the characteristics of the outside air at a certain time and place • Weather has many features. It can be hot or cold, damp or dry, calm or windy, cloudy or clear. Weather is affected by many things, including heat energy from the Sun, water vapor in the air, the winds, and the air pressure. All these things work together to create our weather and weather patterns.

17. Clouds: • The amount of moisture in the air affects the weather. Moisture in the air is water in the gas form, which is also called water vapor. Water vapor can condense into clouds. There are several different kinds of clouds. Some kinds hold huge amounts of liquid water that can fall to Earth as rain, hail, snow, or sleet.

18. Cumulus Clouds: • tall and puffy. When sunlight hits these clouds, they are bright white. They are known as "fair-weather clouds."

19. Stratus Clouds: • In stratus clouds, water droplets collect at low altitudes into flat shapes like pancakes. The "pancakes" can be thick or thin. They often bring drizzling rain.

20. Cirrus Clouds: In cirrus clouds, water droplets collect to form thin curves with no clear shape. Cirrus clouds are found high in the sky (at about 18,000 feet or above). These feathery clouds are often seen on bright, sunny days.

21. Cumulonimbus Clouds: • The cumulonimbus clouds can't hold all their water droplets. These drops can become so heavy that they fall as rain, snow, or hail. These clouds look tall, puffy, and gray. They may bring thunder and lightning. In fact, rain storms most often come from cumulonimbus clouds.

22. The Universe:

23. Planets: • Mercury is a little larger than the Moon, but has no atmosphere. Its surface is extremely hot in the sunlight (but cold in the shade) and is heavily cratered. • Venus is about the size of the Earth. Venus has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, and the surface is hot enough to melt lead. When Venus is closest to Earth, it is about 25 million miles away from Earth. • Earth is mostly covered by water, has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, and is the only planet known to have life

24. Planets: • Mars is about 7 times smaller than Earth. Mars has a thin atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide. The Martian surface is extremely cold (below the freezing point of water). Scientists believe that Mars may once have been warm enough for liquid water and possibly life. When Mars is closest to Earth, it is about 35 million miles away from Earth. • Jupiteris the largest planet (over 1,000 times the size of Earth) with colorful cloud bands and a large storm (The Great Red Spot).

25. Planets: • Saturn has three large sets of rings surrounding it, which are visible in small backyard telescopes. Both Jupiter and Saturn have many moons (also called satellites) and are like mini-solar systems. Some of these moons could support life. • Uranus has smaller thin rings, has 21 moons, and is tipped on its side. • Neptune has eight moons including one large moon, Triton. Triton has active cold, nitrogen geysers that erupt frequently

26. Planets: Dwarf • Pluto was once considered the farthest planet. However, part of its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune, and it is about as small as the largest asteroid in the Solar System, Ceres. The status of Pluto was changed in 2006 to "dwarf planet", so it is no longer considered one of the major planets. Pluto is very cold and dim. It has a moon called Charon, which is almost as big as Pluto itself. • Ceres is another celestial body that is considered a dwarf planet. Before the "dwarf planet" category was established, it was classified as the largest known asteroid in the Solar System.

27. Planets: Inner And Outer • The inner planets, also known as the terrestrial planets, are small, dense, and made of rock. Their orbits are close to the Sun. • The outer planets (also known as the gas giants) are extremely large, cold, and made of gas (hydrogen, helium). Their orbits are farther out and spaced widely apart.

28. Galaxy: • Stars do not exist as separate entities in space, but instead belong to large groups of other stars that are held together by the force of gravity. These large groups of stars are called galaxies. Scientists believe that there are billions of galaxies in the Universe, and that most galaxies contain billions of stars. Some galaxies may even contain trillions of stars. • There are 4 major types of galaxies. Each of them is described and shown below.

29. Spiral: • 1. Spiral Galaxy - these galaxies are relatively flat and have a bulge in the middle. These galaxies have arms that spiral out from the center. Our Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy, and the Sun, our closest star, is one of the stars in it. Below is a picture of the spiral galaxy M81.

30. Barred Spiral: • 2. Barred Spiral Galaxy - these galaxies are shaped like spiral galaxies, except for the fact that the arms begin spiraling out from a straight line of stars instead of from the center. Below is a picture of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672.

31. Elliptical: • 3. Elliptical Galaxy - these galaxies look like a round or flattened ball and contain little gas and dust between the stars. These are often described as taking on the shape of a football. Below is a picture of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1132

32. Irregular Galaxy: • Irregular Galaxy - these galaxies have no discernible shape or structure. Below is a picture of the irregular galaxy I Zwicky 18.

33. Nebula: • A nebula (plural = nebulae) is a cloud of dust and gas that exists in space, usually between stars. Nebulae can generally be classified into two categories based on their size and shape—planetary nebulae and diffuse nebulae.

34. Planetary Nebula: • A planetary nebula is a relatively small, ball-shaped nebula that surrounds a star. The nebula forms from material ejected from the star's outer layers as the star begins to collapse. The Hubble Space Telescope image below shows a planetary nebula.

35. Diffuse Nebula: • A diffuse nebula is a larger nebula with an irregular shape. Diffuse nebulae located near stars reflect starlight or give off their own bright light. The image below shows a diffuse nebula.

36. Spiral Nebula: • The term "spiral nebulae" was used by astronomers before the 20th century. This term referred to a class of spiral-shaped objects believed at that time to be nebulae in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Modern astronomers now know that these objects are actually spiral galaxies located far beyond the Milky Way.

37. Star Clusters: • A star cluster is a group of stars bound to each other by gravity. Star clusters can be classified into two general categories—galactic clusters and globular clusters. A galactic cluster is an open cluster of stars that are loosely bound to each other by gravity. A globular cluster is a spherical cluster of stars that are tightly bound to each other by gravity. The images below show an example of each cluster type.

38. Galactic Cluster:

39. Globular Cluster:

40. Solar System and Milky Way: • The Earth, the Sun, and the seven other planets that are in orbit around the Sun are part of our solar system. Our solar system also contains all of the meteoroids, asteroids, and comets that are in orbit around the Sun and all of the moons that orbit around the eight planets. The eight planets in our solar system are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

41. Solar System and Milky Way: • Our solar system is located in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral galaxy that contains hundreds of billions of stars. In fact, in areas on Earth without excessive light pollution, the stars of the Milky Way create a band of light that can be seen in the night sky. The entire Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light years across.

42. Milky Way:

43. The Sun: • The Sun is a medium-sized star within the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun and our solar system are about halfway out from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The entire Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light years across.

44. Solar System and Milky Way: • The Earth is very far away from the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is approximately 150 million kilometers. The distance from the Earth to the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, on the other hand, is over 75,000 light years (which is more than 710 quadrillion kilometers!). This means that the Earth is billions of times closer to the Sun than it is to the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.