Warm up #21 12/10/19
We are extremely close to being done with our project proposal all we need to complete
is our prototype and materials as well as proofreading.

Warm up #20 12/09/19

We are trying to get halfway done with our project proposal.

Warm up #19 12/08/19​ ​With a documentary or some other creative thing to represent
how we connected with the communitie.

Warm up #18 12/07/19 worked on prototype

Warm up #17 12/06/19

It gets your brain moving or pumping that helps generate more ideas.

Warm up #16 12/05/19

It is important to think amount the time and effort spent in a project because based on
how much of those you do use you will receive a better outcome or worse. Basically
your condition of your project depends on the amount of effort and time you use to
make it better also known as refinement.

Warm up #15 12/04/19

It can be helpful because you have a lot of options and if one option doesn't work
out you can do another one and so on. Plus you can find the best idea and make you
project worth seeing.

Warm up #14 12/03/19

This break I went skiing and this definitely rejuvenated me and made me feel
better. I really missed skiing and after skiing I got a thrill of happiness that will help me
push harder in school so I can ski on the weekends.
Reflection 11/22/19
I am definitely sad about the current state of our world because it is definitely
getting warmer. Although I do love the heat in the summer and oceans I am sad that it is
killing coral reefs and bringing less snow in the winter. I also am stressed out because
with global warming in the summers come fires and fires are really dangerous and scary
to live near while there is one. A thing that inspires me the most is that coral reefs are
dying and I love coral reefs so I hope to find a way and brainstorm a way to help them
out. They produce oxygen for our planet and are amazing underwater sites that I would
love to see again as an adult. I'll only see them though if we help them survive. Locally I
could try and find my way to places instead of asking for rides and releasing carbon into
the air. I could also try to convince people to do the same if that is my family or peers.
Over Thanksgiving break I can to to my family and friends. IO can also cut down my use
of cars and bike places.

Warm-up #13 11/22/19

In our local environment, I could bike around more and try and convince more people to
use electric cars. I could also find my way to places instead of asking for a ride and
spreading more carbon.

Warm-up #12 11/21/19

I think primary producers support an entire ecosystem because they are so accustomed
to doing so. They do all their lives and help keep ecosystems alive. (Kind of confused
with this question)

Ecosystems 11/20/19
● 1.) If the sun didn’t continuously give our earth heat it would cause are earth to
become colder and our ecosystems would have more snow and make it harder
to live year-round. Also, there would be no sunlight for plants to release oxygen
further causing all living organisms to die.
● 2.) Some inputs and outputs in an ecosystem can refer to carbon being released
from trees dying from fires or even rotting. In an ecosystem like Durango after the
416 fire, a lot of carbon was released into the air which caused are climate to
warm up.

Warm-up #11 11/20/19 The difference between climate change and global warming is
that climate change is our earth different climates changing so snow biome turning into
a sunny biome. Global warming is the fact that our whole earth is heating up weather
that retains snow biomes or hotter biomes.

Warm-up #10 11/19/19

I thought it was really interesting that plants and plankton make sugar to feed
themselves by mixing carbon and oxygen, plus the fact that humans depend on c
carbon to live.

Warm-up #9 11/18/19
 I think that when humans are referred to carbon-based life forms it means that
we depend on carbon in our everyday lives to initially survive. Like we have grown so
accustomed to living with carbon in our world that we can’t work without it.

Carbon Cycle 11/15/19

Please write your responses to the following questions in your digital science notebook!
Remember to title each section and number your responses.

Introduction:
​ ost of our earth's carbon which is
1) Where is carbon stored on our planet?​ M
nearly 65,500 billion metric tons is mostly stored in rocks the other amount
is stored in our oceans, plants, soil, atmosphere, and fossil fuels.
2) What do the yellow, white and red words represent the carbon cycle diagram?
Through this cycle, it represents the cycle of carbon or the movement of
carbon in our atmosphere, land, and oceans. In more discreet ways the
yellow words and numbers are natural fluxes or spikes of carbon. The red
words are human contributions to carbon each year. Finally, the white
numbers and words are places that indicate stored carbon.
3) How did the uplift of the Himalayan Mountains impact global temperatures? ​As a
result of the uplift of the Himalayan mountains, the event released more
carbon in the air causing the country temperature to decrease and drop.
The Slow Carbon Cycle:
1) What is the main chemical that stores carbon in the ocean floor as limestone and
the shells of calcifying organisms?
Calcium carbonate, Most of the calcium carbonate is made by organisms
like corals, shells, and plankton called coccolithophores.
2) Durango has a large amount of a sedimentary rock called shale. How does this
particular type of rock form?
The carbon gets stuck in the mud that is then compressed for millions of
years and eventually heated when it is again exposed to air it is shale.
3) How does oil, coal, and natural gas form?
When dead plants build up quicker than they can decay, it forms oil, natural
gas, and coal.
4) How does chemistry regulate the balance between carbon in the ocean, on the
land, and in the atmosphere?
Chemistry keeps the balance between the oceans, land, and atmosphere.
For example, if more carbon dioxide is in the air, the temperature changes
causing rain that dissolves rock, which makes more ions on the ocean
floor.
5) The ocean is sometimes referred to as a “carbon sink” with regards to its ability
to absorb and release carbon from the atmosphere. After the industrial
 The ocean is now taking in more carbon from the atmosphere than it can
handle. Making it a carbon sink.

The Fast Carbon Cycle:

1) Why is carbon a good building block for making living cells? ​Carbon plays a
huge role in making living cells because carbon forms extremely good
bonds with other carbon cells, up to four an atom in fact. This makes a
carbon chain and DNA is built around a carbon chain consisting of two
molecules​ as well as building up a human or organism.
2) Why are carbon chains good fuel for living things? ​They are good fuel because
it helps plants grow and helps people live by giving our race nutrition.
Carbon is broken down into sugar which helps feed plants and then we eat
the plants to get nutrition.
3) How do plants and phytoplankton make sugar and oxygen?​ Plants and
phytoplankton make sugar and oxygen by absorbing carbon into their cells
and then using nutrients and energy from the sun they combine carbon
and water to form sugar that they later consume.
4) What are the four ways carbon stored in plants is released, usually into the
atmosphere? ​The four things that help release carbon back into the
atmosphere all include the same chemical reaction. They consist of the
plants breaking down the sugar to get the energy they need, organisms
such as humans eat the plants and this breaks down the plant sugar to get
energy. Another way is that the plant’s decay or rot and break down by the
end of the season releasing carbon. Finally the last way that carbon can be
released back into the atmosphere is if fire consumes the plants.
5) What does the article mean when it says, “it is as if the Earth is breathing?” ​It
almost means that during each season the earth almost breathes
differently like when the plants in or world are dead or barely growing the
earth has more carbon fluctuating so it can function better. Whereas when
the earth’s carbon levels lower and are consumed by plants our earth can
function as well and almost has a “hard time breathing”.

Changes in the Carbon cycle:

1. How do variations in the earth's orbit impact the climate?
a. Any change in the carbon cycle sends ripples to other parts of the channel.
 2. What is the relationship between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global
temperatures?
a. The temperatures changed as the climate changed.
3. What are some ways the article states that humans are emitting carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere?
a. Humans are emitting just about a billion tons of carbon a year.
4. How do humans move the carbon from the slow cycle to the fast cycle?
a. The way humans move carbon around is by burning fossil fuels
5. Since the industrial revolution, what has happened to the carbon dioxide and methane
concentrations in the atmosphere?
a. The carbon dioxide has risen from about 280 parts to about 387 parts per
million.

Effects of Changing the Carbon Cycle:

1) What are the impacts of excess carbon in the atmosphere and in the ocean?
When carbon levels change, it affects the atmosphere and our oceans by killing
off plant and animal life, while also heating up the planet. It makes oceanic life
lose carbonate ions, which makes it possible for some animals to form shells.
This means that these animals will have very thin weak shells and because shells
protect these creatures from threats, they lose their protection.
2) How do greenhouse gases impact the earth? ​Greenhouse gasses affect the Earth
by being released into the atmosphere causing the world to become wrapped in a
giant layer of toxic gasses. This kills plant and animal life and heats up our globe.
This also heats up the oceans causing less phytoplankton to be able to reproduce.
Phytoplankton help takes carbon from the atmosphere and into the ocean.
3) How do scientists know how much each greenhouse gas contributes to warming
the planet? ​Scientists study each of the greenhouse gasses and calculate what its
effects can be by running small scale tests.
4) What does the article mean by saying, “carbon dioxide is the gas that sets the
temperature?” ​Carbon dioxide sets the temperature by creating a layer of
insulation that keeps heat in our atmosphere.
5) How does carbon dioxide contribute to making oceans more acidic and what are
the effects of the acid on marine plants and animals? ​Carbon dioxide makes our
oceans warmer and more acidic by creating bicarbonate which is responsible for
killing phytoplankton.
6) How are land-use decisions helping plants absorb human-released carbon in the
Northern Hemisphere? ​By making more plant farms on this side of the Earth.
 7) What is the relationship between permafrost and carbon? ​ ​Permafrost is affected
by carbon dioxide by creating more heat, therefore melting the permafrost.

Studying the Carbon Cycle:

1) Compare and contrast the Landsat images from July 19th, 1984 and August
12th, 2010. ​The image was a representation of how much tree growth there
has been since they cut all the trees from a test.
2) What do MODIS sensors measure?
3) What is the relationship between land use and carbon emissions? ​As satellites
give evidence of how land masses are growing and changing this is
extremely important because It can tell us if a forest will change into a farm
in the nick of time. This is extremely crucial because landmass accounts
for one-third of all human carbon emissions.
4) What are some personal ways we can see changes in the carbon cycle ​We can
see changes in our carbon cycle through things such as food, electricity,
gas, and weather? How we live affects the carbon cycle because we are
part of the carbon cycle

Warm-up #7 11/14/19
For me, the one element that I am feeling inspired about is water because I love
water and activities in the water. However, I do want the water in our oceans to become
normal again and I am motivated to make a change because coral reefs are important
to me along with civilizations I want to see so I am motivated to save the things I love
that may be destroyed by water. Also, water is so cool and different which makes it so
interesting how it works in our oceans and other water masses.

Warm-up #6 11/13/19
Our society uses evidence by finding a solution to fix things whether big or small.
For example, if we know the level of our oceans is rising we will come up with a solution
to fix it, for example, building a wall around a civilization that has a chance of being
flooded. I think that within the evidence of any given problem is society should act upon
that problem and bring a solution to fix the evidence. Although this may not happen it
would help give the evidence some use in our society.

Human Element (Water)

 ● 1.) The thing that strikes me most is the fact that in order for some communities
to survive they will need to put a water border around their civilization which can
cost 100 million to 6 billion.
● 2.) Some evidence that supports climate change is that our earth glaciers and ice
are melting plus our water around the planet is rising to cause many natural
disasters.
● 3.) One thing that can push a sustainable future for our kids and grandkids would
be to either relocate where you live or make a border wall around vulnerable
civilizations that have a chance of being flooded.

Human Element (Air)

● The thing that strikes me most is that there are 200,000 premature deaths from
the air in the United States each year and out of the USA’s population half or
more lives in unhealthy air.
● Some evidence that supports earth climate change is happening is the fact that
there is so much pollution coming from air and that is heating our earth’s
atmosphere.
● We could burn fewer fossil fuels and methane in order to cut down the amount of
Smoak and air that we pollute into our healthy air to sustain our future.
Human Element (Fire)
● The thing that strikes me most is the fact that fires have increased burning acres
by 1000 percent since the 1970s and now burn way more acres.
● Some evidence that supports climate change is that there are so many more fires
now because in some places are earth's climate is getting hotter and drier
causing larger fires that are more detrimental like the California wildfire called
Soberanes that burnt 200,000 acres.
● We can push a more sustainable future for our grandkids and kids by using fewer
fossil fuels and controlling more fires hopefully to decrease are earth heat, then
we can just let the fires burn like they used to before we put out fires.
Human Element (Earth)
● The thing that strikes me most is the fact that renewable energy jobs in the
US employees around 360,000 people a year. Also, a ton of people are
being unemployed because coal is being scarce now.
● Some evidence that sup[ports earth's climate is changing is that coal is
running low giving humans fewer jobs and making our climate a different
3way so we need to find a way to live and survive as we have done in the
past. As well as many people depend on coal and without it we may have
trouble surviving because everything has been built up around coal on our
planet.
 ● Although there is a chance to make a more sustainable climate in the
future and a planet for our kids and grandkids. We can do this by using
renewable energy sources. For example in the documentary places are
beginning to install solar panels which creates a lot of energy plus we can
use electric cars which would also get people hobs and get our ecosystem
running again.

Warm-up #5 11/12/19
We know that climate change is happening because our earth’s carbon
emissions are rising, causing higher sea levels, less snow in winter climates, and
warmer water killing many organisms. As well as many regions are getting hotter with a
more increase in wildfire and less rain.

Exit Ticket 11/11/19 The variables that can impact ocean currents and climates consist
of the temperature, salt in the water, and current. For example, hot and cold water
causes hurricanes which hurts some climates and for polar bears are currents and
water are getting warmer so there aren't as many icebergs, therefore, killing the polar
bears.

Warm-Up #4 11/11/19
Ocean currents in our world affect the warmth of our oceans causing icebergs to
melt or freeze. Especially it affects climate because ocean currents are causing more
hurricanes and when icebergs are melted they are making water colder sinking to the
bottom while the hot water reaches the top. When Icebergs freeze they only freeze
water making the water very salty and hard for some creatures to live. This affects the
climate because our ocean is salty and therefore makes less precipitation.

Warm-Up #3 11/8/19
It is important to use the same amount of water in each test because then you
know that every plant has the same amount of water and there is more to test based on
the different types of soil. Therefore they kept an independent variable which was the
same amount of water in all the plants and the dependent variable was that there were
different types of solid and different species of carrots in each testing area.

“Ecology and the Biosphere Notes” 11/7/19

● The biosphere is a ball of life “Our Planet”
● What is ecology? - The study of interactions between organisms and the
environment.
 ● Cornus florida​ the type of trees were more likely to die in drought than any other
type of woody tree species tested.
● 1.) The independent variable within the tree testing was the fact that they let the
rainfall on all the trees so every tree got water initially and that stayed the same.
Also, the independent variable was that it kept the same soil the same and the
same species of trees. However, the dependent variable made the water from
the trees in the dry section go down through pipes and troughs to the wet
section. Therefore testing the different trees’ capability to live in different
climates.
● 2.) It acts as a scientific model because it allows scientists to experiment with
things in nature and how they happen in a faster setting otherwise they would
have to wait for ages in our earth.
● Environmentalists speak up for nature or advocate for nature. Ecologists only
focus on getting knowledge from nature.
● Rachel Carson spoke up to politicians in order to try and put a stop to dangerous
chemicals like DDT because she was almost at this age an ecologist.
● 3.) Ecology vs environmentalism. They both care about our earth and our
ecosystems and environments. Also, they both care about the well being of
animals throughout our earth. Environmentalism strives to help and keep our
planet in good condition. For example, they want all nature to be safe and
advocate for nature when people want to do bad things. Yet in order for nature to
survive and give us an idea of what our ecosystem needs ecologists study nature
and their role is to test the best environments for any living organisms.
● 4.) In my home all of the biotic organisms in my community-home-are my family,
plants, chemicals, bacteria, and cats. The abiotic factors in my house are heat,
electricity, light, water, food, and nutrients.
●

Warm-up #2 11/7/2019:
I believe that the word “climate” means a type of weather or temperature
throughout an ecosystem or environment. It means that if an environment is warm and
sunny that it has a very hot climate zone, yet if I ecosystem or environment is snowy
and cold it has a colder climate.

Warm-up #1 11/6/2019:
The most inspiring thing that I heard was the fact that a ton of kids and parents
want to make a change and whether that happens or not it still gave me hope that
climate change could get better. Also, I hear from multiple people that they cared about
climate change and our earth so that also helps with the situation.