May 01 2011
As we approach the final day before the AP exam, have you reviewed the nutrient cycles? Knowledge of these cycles is critical-they tie everything together. In the fall we learned primary reservoirs, key chemical reactions, and anthropogenic impacts. I also had each of you write a creative short-story of a cycle. Here is a good [...]
Apr 15 2011
On Monday, we learned primarily about smog, or “smoky fog”, which is the dark, sooty pollution one can typically see over heavily populated industrial areas such as Pittsburgh or Mexico City. There are two main types of smog: “grey” smog and “brown” smog, which are obviously named as such due to their color. Grey smog, [...]
Nov 14 2010
This last chapter, we really started to get an idea of how biogeochemical cycles work and can “malfunction.” Here are a few interesting current events on the topic if you want to learn more: Nitrogen Cycle: Whales Help Fertilize Ocean With Floating Dung http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130437080 Phosphorus Cycle: Manure, Fertilizer Part Of Chesapeake’s Problem http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121565792 Carbon Cycle: [...]
Nov 03 2010
Today we started off class by doing a whiteboarding activity. In this activity we got into groups of 3 and were instructed to determine the main reservoirs of nitrogen, its unique characteristics, and the human impacts on the nitrogen cycle. After each group was finished, we brought the whiteboards into the classroom and as a [...]
Oct 16 2010
What’s Really in our Atmosphere? In order to understand biomes, we have to understand why temperature and precipitation change in different places around the world. To start the understanding of this we talked about the composition and structure of the Earth’s atmosphere. I: Composition- 78% Nitrogen- stable, inert gas because of the triple bond between [...]
