Jenna Dyer

  What did you do in lab today? In lab, we learned about where volcanoes and earthquakes happen. We looked at maps to see where they are and tried to guess why they happen in those places. We also learned about three types of volcanoes, such as shield volcanoes, composite volcanoes, and cinder cone volcanoes. My group learned about cinder cone volcanoes. These volcanoes are usually smaller and have steep sides. They form when lava breaks into small pieces and piles up around the opening. Cinder cone volcanoes can erupt quickly and be explosive, but the eruptions usually do not last very long. ​ What was the big question?  How do volcanoes and earthquakes form? ​ What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? In Thursday’s discussion, I learned about earthquakes, volcanoes, and how the Earth’s plates move. We talked about Alfred Wegener, a scientist who lived from 1880 to 1930. He came up with the idea of Continental Drift in 1912. Wegener used fossils and layers of rock to sho...

  What did you do in lab today? In lab, we looked at different kinds of sand and noticed how they looked and felt. We made guesses about where each type of sand might have come from, like a beach, river, or desert. Then we looked at fossils and used a chart to match them to sea fossils. This helped us learn how scientists find out about Earth’s past. Finally, we went to the MacBride Museum, where we saw real fossils and rocks that connected to what we learned in class. ​ What was the big question?  “How can sand and fossils help us learn about what the Earth was like long ago?” ​ What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? In Thursday’s discussion, I learned that during the Devonian Period, most of Iowa was covered by warm, shallow seas filled with sea life like corals, trilobites, and armored fish. These ancient seas left behind fossils that we can still find today, like at the Devonian Fossil Gorge. I also learned how different types of sand and rocks form and change over ...

1. What did you do in lab today? In the lab, we talked about different grades and what a certain grade actually means. We also went over test questions and the different percentages of what people got right and what people got wrong. We also learned about different types of rocks, and we made them out of starbursts and melted them into the different kinds.   2. What was the big question?  What causes rocks to transform and form different types of rocks? 3. What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? We learned about the rock cycle. I also learned that fossils are usually found in sedimentary rocks because they form in layers over time. I also learned about buoyancy objects like Coke sinks because its denser than water, while diet drinks float because they have less sugar and more air. Lastly, I learned that Archimedes’ principle helps us find the specific gravity of objects by comparing their weight in air and water. Using this, we can tell if a geode is hollow or soli...

1. What did you do in lab today? In lab we reviewed for the exam. We also learned about important events in Earth’s history. We used the EarthViewer app to see when things like the Moon forming and humans appearing happened. Then we made cards for each event and put them on a big timeline in the classroom.  2. What was the big question? When did important events in Earth’s history happen, and how do they fit into the timeline of our planet? 3. What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? NO DISCUSSION THIS WEEK  4. Read the online textbook, chapter 6:  1. What did you learn? I learned that life started in the oceans with tiny bacteria, and plants and animals moved to land much later. I also learned about Snowball Earth, when the whole planet was almost covered in ice, and how volcanoes helped Earth warm up again. I also learned that humans appeared very recently in Earth’s long history.  2. What was most helpful? The most helpful part was learning about s nowball ear...