Matter Cycles…
The world is made of matter, matter is basically just another more scientific word for “stuff”. Through that, matter cycles are “stuff cycles”, and there are a whole bunch of types. Take oxygen for example, oxygen is a form of “stuff” (matter), and it moves around, cycling through different forms of oxygen (like H20, or oxygen in the atmosphere). That is a matter cycle.
Curricular Competency #1
“Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions, including increasingly complex ones, about the natural world”
This was completed when we were finding the right “how might we” question to base our project on. Not too focused that it’s closed, not too unfocused that it is unsolvable. We had to find the focus, of how to fix increasingly complex issues like climate change, and algal blooms.
Curricular Competency #2
“Assess risks and address ethical, cultural and/or environmental issues associated with their proposed methods and those of others”
In this project we assed environmental issues, like negative affects upon matter cycles (such as humans which create greenhouse gasses). We assessed the issues, and came up with ways to solve the issue, and talked with our peers about how our solutions would affect the other matter cycles.
Curricular Competency # 3
“Evaluate their methods and experimental conditions, including identifying sources of error or uncertainty, confounding variables, and possible alternative explanations and conclusions”
This competency was learned through the debates that we held in the middle of this project. This debate involved finding and analyzing data, considering the source, questioning data both in your own research, and from the opposing side’s argument. This involved spotting bad paraphrasing that doesn’t get the right message across (on both sides), and the applications in which all data would be applicable. You must think of what is being said, and use that in a different light, connecting it to other knowledge.
– the trophy from the Debate. – my team were second (or the “third level consumers”)
Nitrogen Cycle Project
My partner Sam, and I got the Nitrogen Cycle. What is the Nitrogen Cycle?
We decided that the main issue the Nitrogen Cycle is facing is ignorance. Not many people know what it is, or that it is having imbalances because of our Nitrogen and Phosphorus filled fertilizer (or crop steroids as I call it). We decided that the best way to save the nitrogen cycle is to teach people about it and what they can do to help.
Check out this keynote below to learn more about the nitrogen cycle and what we can do!
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