Paco's lessons

Science 11/17/06: why leaves change color

2006-11-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

<- this, to this->

Leaves change color because, in fall the days grow shorter, so the food production slows. Eventually the clorophylls begin to die, then hidden red and yellow pigments start to show.

Science 11/16/06: Spaceships

2006-11-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Spaceships are made to let people into space.
The first two mammals in space were a dog and a chimpanzee.
Liquid fuel is better than solid fuel be cause it weighs less.
the spaceship evolved from rockets.
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space.
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon.
Spaceships can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

Science 11/15/2006: Shifter Karts

2006-11-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

Shifter karts are a kind of go-kart.
The driver of a shifter kart only sits a few inches from the ground.
Shifter karts use motorcycle engines.
Shifters use wheels called slicks.
Shifters can be driven by children and adults.

Science 11/12/2006: Volcano

2006-11-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

Volcanoes are mountains that are filled with magma.
Magma is molten rock, when it gushes out it is called lava.
An earthquake is a sign that a volcano might erupt.
Volcanologist is a person who studies volcano.
Around 30 volcanoes erupt a year.

History 11/06/2006: Ninja weapons

2006-11-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

Katana swords are slightly curved, they are very sharp, some are serrated!

shuriken throwing stars are small disks with several blades attached, they were easily concealed.

caltrops are balls with four spikes arranged so that when it falls one spike is always pointing up

grappling hooks. "Suddenly your impenetrable fortress isn't so impenetrable." - endangered man.

kamas evolved from sickles, used to cut rice and the like (very dangerous, even as a sickle)

nunchaku were once humble horse bridles, today they are one of the most feared and famous traditional weapons in the U.S.A.

escrima sticks originated from the Phillipines, they were used as clubs and were made of wood.

throwing spikes were used for throwing and scaling walls.

History 11/01/2006: Knights weapons

2006-11-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

A mace is a stick with a spiky ball attached to the end

a lance is a bit like a spear except it is only used in jousting.

an Axe is a short stick with a curved blade on the end, some are double-bladed.

a sword is a pointed sharpened flat piece of metal, it is very sharp and dangerous.

a spear is a staff with an arrowhead attached to the end of it and can be used for either throwing or stabbing.

a flail is a mace except the flail has a chain in between the ball and stick.

a crossbow is a cross between a gun and a bow but instead of firing arrows it fires bolts, it was very dangerous.

a longbow was a very powerful weapon, it could fire farther than any other handheld weapon.

a dagger was very compact, easily concealed it was ideal for assassinations, it was used for throwing and stabbing.

a dirk is a form of dagger, it is twice the size of the former, and half the size of a sword.

Science 10/19/2006: metamorphosis

2006-10-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Animals go through metamorphosis, for example: caterpillar to butterfly, tadpole to frog, egg to spider, and so on and so on.

Science 10/16/2006: I Found a Dead Bird

2006-10-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

In I Found a Dead Bird I learned about the Life Cycle

Pig Life Cycle:

gets born
gets old and dies
bacteria breaks body down, first insects arrive
more insects arrive
starts releasing stinky gases
skin starts breaking, swarming with bugs
completely decayed

Science 10/04/06: Jets

2006-10-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Jets are really fast. Jets without tails are as easy to control as Jets with tails. Patriot Jets can go up to 560 MPH (900 KPH). Some Jets have afterburners. A Boeing 737 can hold about 190 passengers.

The Planes

2006-10-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

F-15 Eagle F-15 Eagle

Wright Patterson
B-2 Bomber

Science 10/02/06:Hydroplanes

2006-10-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hydroplanes are called Hydroplanes because they are like airplanes on water. Hydroplanes can have three different hulls, a picklefork hull, a step hull, or a V hull. The Spirit of Australia was a Hydroplane. A roostertail is a spray of water that a Hydroplane makes when it turns. Since Hydroplanes go so fast blowovers can happen.

Science 09/15/06: Hovercraft

2006-09-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

I read about hovercrafts. They had this idea since 1870 I think it was, but they couldn't think of any way to built it, so one day, there was this guy -- Christopher Cockerell -- and he made it. And then he demonstrated how it worked and he wanted to find a way so that way the air cushion underneath it wouldn't blow away and there were these things called skirts and they were all around the air cushions to contain them. The largest one today is over a hundred eighty feet long and is 310 pounds. It can carry up to 400 passengers and 60 cars.

A hovercraft is a vehicle that can go on land or water and floats on a cushion of air.

Assigned reading 09/12/2006:The Tarantula In My Purse

2006-09-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

The first chapter is about an owl named Yammer, when he gets older they let him free thinking he'll come back from time to time, he never came back again.

assigned reading 09/06/2006

2006-09-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

God King
by Joanne Williamson

Science 08/25/06: experiment

2006-08-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today i did an experiment. This is what I did. First I got a candle then I got a jar and last I got a shallow pan, here is what I did with them.

Fill the pan (not to the top, about a quarter full)
Put the candle in the pan (with the water) and light it
Put the jar over the candle in the water

the result: the flame goes out because the oxygen ran out in the jar and the water level (in the jar) rose: here is why
because the air in the jar was pushing against the water at the start, the water level was higher outside and lower inside, as the air was used up, the water could rise.

History? 08/23/2006

2006-08-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Some people spotted a sea-serpent around Cape Ann on August 1817

History 08/22/2006: Noah's ark

2006-08-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that the flood in Noah's time did not cover the whole earth, but instead covered only a part of it.

History 08/21/2006: Ancient Egypt

2006-08-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

There are tomb robbers in ancient Egypt!

History 08/11/06

2006-08-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Sumerian day began at sunset.

History 08/10/06: ancient Mesopotamia

2006-08-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Mesopotamia means between the rivers.

History 08/09/06: Sumer

2006-08-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

I learned that the soil was good in Sumer but it was very hot. In summer even in the shade, tempatures could go up to 110 degrees F, sometimes it didn't rain for 8 months!

History 08/07/06: Cro-magnons

2006-08-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Today I read about the Cro-magnons and I learned how they used a bow to make fire. Here's how they did it:

1. Make a bow out of wood
2. Get a straight stick
3. Get a piece of bark
4. Put the stick vertically on the horizontal piece of bark
5. Wrap the bowstring around the stick at the top
6. Pull the bow back and forth really fast until you see smoke
7. Start putting DRY branches on the fire a bit at a time
8. Blow on the flame every few seconds but not to hard to rid it of ash
9. Do whatever you want with it

BE CAREFUL WITH FIRE, ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED!!!!!!!!!!

Science 07/14/2006:Experiment

2006-07-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

For science today, I did an experiment. First, I made a boat out of foil, then I filled up the sink with water. I launched my boat and it floated. Then I took my boat and made it into a ball; it sunk.
Even though it weighed the same as the boat, it sank because its weight was concentrated in one spot. Unlike the ball, the boat spread its weight over a larger area, allowing it to float.

Science 06/07/2006: Infrared and night vision

2006-06-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday before we went to sleep I asked my Dad if the set people at the theater wore infrared or night vision goggles in the middle of the show when they were resetting the set and then my Dad said they might have hidden glow-in-the-darks on stage that we couldn't see and then I asked my Dad, what is the difference between infrared and night vision and he said to research it, this is what I found:

infrared "night vision" difference, gathered data:

www.en.wikipedia.org/Infrared

www.wonderquest.com/InfraredVision

www.madsci.org

www.opticsplanet.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_intensifier

www.daimlerchrysler.coml

www.makezine.com/how_to_cvs_night_vision_cam

www.electrophysics.com

www.flir.com/nightvision

mvp.com/sm-atn-viper-1st-generation-night-vision-goggle

www.nightvisionoptics.com

www.optics4birding.com/night-vision-generations

science.howstuffworks.com/nightvision

www.optics4birding.com/thermal-imaging-digital-night-vision

www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/

www.securityandsafetysupply.com

and there you go!!!!!!