Tag Archives: Individual Inquiry

Inquiry Project

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Dec. 7-13, 2015

So our class has this project called an “Individual Inquiry Project” or i2. This project is a project that we choose to do. We have our own free will to do what we want with this project. Our class has to do a report on what we did each week. This is my first week.

My project will be about what the Earth is made of. The different things that make the Earth. That includes gravity, the layers of the Earth, and even down to cells. I will research a lot and hopefully find some interesting things that goes on in the Earth. I might even want to find out what other planets are made of. This is what my Inquiry project is about.

Dec. 14-20, 2015

This week I researched at the different layers of the Earth and the different layers of the Atmosphere.

Earth has 4 layers:

* The crust – Made up of silicon, oxygen, aluminum

* The mantle – Made up of silicon, magnesium, oxygen, iron, calcium, aluminum

* The outer core – Made up of iron and nickel

* The inner core – Made up of iron and nickel

The Earth’s Atmosphere has 5 layers:

* Exosphere

* Thermosphere

* Mesosphere

* Stratosphere

* Thermosphere

Jan. 4-10, 2016

This week I looked at the organization of things and the types of matter.

I found out that there are tiny building blocks that make objects we see (or don’t see). The first building blocks are protons, neutrons, and electrons. They make atoms. Atoms make molecules. Molecules make macromolecules. Macromolecules make organelles and organelles make cells.

Protons, neutrons, electrons- atoms- molecules- macromolecules- organelles- cells

I also researched about matter. Matter is a way to say a thing in the universe. I researched that there are three types of matter. They are gas, solid, and liquid. Be sure to check in next week!

Jan. 11-17, 2016

Hello guys! I’ll give you an update of my inquiry. This week I researched mainly about water. Water is a main part of the Earth. It takes up 71% of the Earth’s surface. The other 39% of the Earth’s surface is land.

I looked at the percentage of different water sources. There are 3 main water sources. They are oceans, freshwater, and other saline water. The oceans have the most water while the other saline water have the least. Thank you for reading my blog and I’ll be sure to give you an update next week!

Jan. 18-24, 2016

I’m back for another update on my inquiry! This week I found out about the age of the Earth. Did you know that the Earth is 4.543 Billion years old! If you’re wondering about the oldest planet in our solar system, I got you covered. There is not an “oldest planet in our solar system” as far as humans know.

I also looked for how our planet Earth was made. There is 1 theory that came to mind. No one knows if this is exactly true. The Big Bang Theory. A “big bang” created the universe.

Jan. 25-31, 2016

Inquiry week! This week I looked at the rock cycle and the different landforms.

Have you ever wondered about how we rocks come to Earth? We’ll there is a cycle for that. It’s called the rock cycle. The rock cycle tells us how rocks get made. Here are the steps for the cycle.

1. Crystallization

2. Erosion

3. Transportation

4. Deposition

5. Compaction and Cementation

6. Metamorphism

7. Melting

I also looked at the different landforms of the Earth. Landforms are different surfaces in the Earth’s surface. Here are some different types of landforms: Hills, mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys, loess, and glaciers. Thank you!

Feb. 1-7, 2016

This week I had a little curiosity. I wanted to know how the Earth got it’s name. All the other planets’ names came from Greek and Roman idols. Not Earth. Earth’s name is English/German. Earth’s name also simply means: the ground. Also, I found out some other interesting facts:

* Earth doesn’t take 24 hours to fully rotate around. It’s 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds.

* A whole Earth year isn’t 365 days. It’s actually 365.2564 days. That extra makes leap years.

* Earth tilts at 66 degrees.

Keep in check for the next article!

Feb. 8-14, 2016

This week I started getting wrapped up. I wasn’t researching anymore and now I have all my information and notes. I am really looking forward to seeing my finished product! I hope it turns out great!

This week I planned on making a model. I was thinking on making a model of just the Earth. Unfortunately I didn’t have the supplies. But, I put all my notes and organized them into one big document. I have a plan now on how to present my project too! I can’t wait! Check in for my next article!

Feb.15-21, 2016

This week I practiced my “elevator pitch.” An “elevator pitch is to give out an idea in quick seconds. Those quick seconds of giving out an idea should still be powerful enough that whoever you’re speaking to still gets interested. The reason this is called an elevator pitch is because give your pitch, basically in an elevator. You, and the person/people you’re giving the pitch to are in the elevator. If you don’t give out your idea quickly, the audience might have their floor come up, might get interrupted by someone, e.t.c. An elevator pitch should be 10-30 seconds long.

My elevator pitch is obviously about our beautiful home called Earth. Most people think that Earth is just a random planet, but it’s not. That’s just a preview of my pitch. Come to my fair to hear all of it and to get interested in my topic!

Inquiry Project

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Week 1 December 13-19

In the class we are doing an inquiry project. Each person in our class chooses a topic and does research about their topic. If someone chooses the sun than that person would do research about the sun. For my inquiry project I chose to do Marine Mammals. I chose to do marine mammals because I think they’re very interesting animals. When I’m older I would like to volunteer at a place that helps orphaned and injured animals.

Week 2 December 20-26

This week I’ve been researching on what top 10 marine mammal and ocean species are endangered. These are the top 10 I found:

1: Hawksbill Turtle

2: Steller Sea Lion

3: Hammerhead Shark

4: Vaquita

5: Blue Whale

6: Florida Manatee

7: Hawaiian Monk Seal

8: Kemp’s Ridley Turtle

9: Humpback Whale

10: Fraser’s Dolphin

Source: http://www.marineinsight.com/environment/10-endangered-ocean-species-and-marine-animals/

That’s all I have this week. If you want to learn more about marine mammals then read my next blog entry to learn more.

Week 3 December 27- January 2

Happy New Year! Since it was Christmas I decided to write about Polar Bears. These are 5 facts about Polar Bears that I found online:

1: One male Polar bear can weigh as much as 12 men.

2: Polar bears can go seven days without eating.

3: Although polar bears appear white, their fur is actually transparent. It only appears white because it reflects visible light. Under their fur, polar bear skin is actually black.

4: Polar bears have a razor sharp sense of smell.

5:  Two-thirds of Polar bears could disappear by 2050 because Polar bears rely on the sea ice to hunt. With global warming, they could start disappearing very soon.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/43673-weird-facts-about-polar-bears.html

Week 4 January 3-9

Just recently I came back from a family vacation and we went to this aquarium called Sea Life Park. We got to see dolphins, turtles, otters and more. I got to touch a baby turtle’s shell and the turtles flipper touched my hand. We saw Sea lions, the Sea lion just sat in the sun. I touched a starfish. The starfish’s skin felt bumpy and rough.

Week 5 January 10-16

I started my poster this week for the inquiry project. I found some pictures that I want to print. I think I have an idea about how I’m going to layout the information on my poster.     I’m still wondering on how many pictures I should have on my poster.

Week 6 January 17-23

This week I was researching marine mammal species that have gone extinct in the last 10 years. One of the animals is the Baiji Dolphin from China. They used to live in the Yangtze River. The last time these Dolphins were spotted there was in 2002. One of the reasons they could be extinct is because there is so much pollution in China. Other reasons this animal is extinct is because of over-fishing, boat traffic, habitat loss, pollution and poaching. This animal was hunted for their skin to make gloves and handbags.

Source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/10-animals-presumed-extinct-in-the-last-decade/baiji-dolphin#top-desktop

Week 7 January 24-30

Did you know that there is a pink dolphin named Pinky? She is a bottle-nose dolphin who lives in the Calcasieu River in Louisiana.  The reason why she is pink is because her skin is transparent!  She is missing pigment, so you can see her blood through her skin making it seem like she has bubble-gum colored skin. Only 12 pink dolphins have been spotted since 1962.  Scientists say that Pinky is an albino dolphin.  She is albino because her parents both carried the same mutated gene that gave Pinky the albinism.

Source:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150909-pinky-albino-bottlenose-dolphin-animals-science/

Week 8 January 31-February 5

Since I want to work with animals when I am older, I was looking for volunteer opportunities.  On the Vancouver Aquarium website, I found out about the Family Volunteer Program.  You must be 10-13 years of age and volunteer with a parent.  If you want to volunteer, you have to be able to speak English clearly and eligible to volunteer in Canada.  Too bad they are closed for recruitment right now, but you can email them at volunteer@vanaqua.org to have them send you future family recruitment opportunities.

Source:  http://www.vanaqua.org/join/hands-on/family

Week 9 February 6-12

Have you heard of the show Hope for Wildlife?  I wonder if my mom will let me fly all the way to Nova Scotia when I’m 18 to volunteer for Hope.  Hope seems like a wonderful lady who rescues all sorts of animals.  I watched a show where she saved baby seals.  The seals would have died without Hope and her team.  A few years ago, Hope wasn’t able to keep the baby seals alive until she got help from the Vancouver Aquarium staff.  One of the staff’s name was Lindsey and she was an expert caretaker of seals.  She is also the manager of the Marine Mammal Rescue program.

This is the Hope for Wildlife website: http://www.hopeforwildlife.net/index.html

Week 10 February 13-19

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!  I finished doing some writing for the Inquiry project.  I printed the pictures that I wanted for my Inquiry poster. I did work on my information sheet, and I would like to go to the Vancouver Aquarium to take some pictures and videos for my Inquiry and I’m thinking of doing a slideshow.

Week 11 February 20-26

This week we are working on elevator pitches and this is what I’ve been working on:

Hi, my inquiry is about marine mammals. Did you know that in the last three years the marine mammal population has gone down 60%? Could you imagine a world without marine mammals? The next generation will never know about these animals and this could also affect our food chain. The reason these animals are disappearing is mostly caused by us.

Week 12 February 27-March 4

I went to the Vancouver Aquarium for a visit.  Also, to see the marine mammals so that I could take pictures and videos of them for my presentation.  We went to the 4D theater to learn about polar bears and their habitat.  We got sprayed with water and bubbles came falling down at us.

And guess what.  Our Inquiry Fair is coming up next week on March 9 from 12:45 to 1:30pm.  I’m a little bit nervous but I am excited for people to see my project and presentation.  If you would like, you can come check it out!

 

 

 

Inquiry Journal

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December 11, 2015. Week 1:

We are starting our Inquiry project today! Finally, I was waiting a long time for this! For my Inquiry I am going to be doing a project about the Ocean and its unique fish. I even might study some of them in the wild! I’m not kidding, though I won’t be going diving, I can still go snorkelling, and my dad (who is a diver) can help me with his underwater cameras that he has. I think I’m prepared enough.

 

December 18, 2015. Week 2:

I decided to change my Inquiry from the present day ocean to the prehistoric ocean. Today I had learned a lot regarding a prehistoric sea creature that had lived during the Triassic period called Thalattoarchon Saurophagis,  and a little about Tanystropheus. The sources I had used where Listverse and Wikipedia. I used  Listverse to get the names of the creatures i wanted to study, while using Wikipedia to find out a bit more about the creature.

 

December 29, 2015. Week 3:

This week I finished the first section of my Individual inquiry, “The Triassic period”, and with that I’m starting the new section, “The Jurassic period.”

 

January 10, 2016. Week 4:

I’m halfway done on the jurassic period, but I can’t find find anymore creatures in the ocean during the Jurassic period. I’ve literally scoured the internet and I can’t find anymore information, let alone creatures. I think I might have to start the next period and come back to this.

 

January 19, 2016. Week 5:

I started working on the next period, “The Cretaceous period.” Now from what I have seen there’s a lot of information so I shouldn’t get bored like the Jurassic period bored me.

 

January 27, 2016. Week 6:

I’m halfway done in the Cretaceous period and I’ve got to say I’ve learned some interesting things like the fact that there are predators who can grow to the size of 40 feet and even 50 and that some of the predators ate rocks to use them for ballast or digestion, but that is still a debate.

 

February 4, 2016. Week 7:

I decided to take a little break for this week since i’m almost done, and we still have about a month before the Inquiry fair.

 

February 10, 2016. Week 8:

I finished working on the Cretaceous period, but now I’m not sure what I should do next, but I think I have an idea, and that idea is… Next entry!

 

February 18, 2016. Week 9:

My idea is is to put together my favorite predators/sharks/fish from all of the periods/eras, and the reason I want to do i want to do this is because if I would’ve gathered more information, it’s probably going to be from all sorts of different periods/eras, at least from what I have seen, and if I put one period/era on the list and barely put any information, what’s the point?

 

February 26, 2016. Week 10:

I’ve had a bit of trouble trying to work for this week because of a few things, but now I’m free and I can go back to doing work. Now, I already have 5, if not six, predators on my list that I like, but I’m still looking for more, but so far none of these fish are ones I like. My guess is that the good ones are hiding because they have bigger fish to fry (I’m so sorry…).