Ants Can Count?

source: NPR

URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120587095&ps=cprs

Interactive Map Quizzes - ILike2Learn

United States Map Quiz

United States Capitals Map Quiz

North America Map Quiz

South America Map Quiz

Middle East Map Quiz

Asia Map Quiz

European Map Quiz (easy)

European Map Quiz (hard)

European Capitals Map Quiz

African Map Quiz

More!

Atoms Around Us

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/atom_intro.html

If you want to have a language, you will need an alphabet. If you want to build proteins, you will need amino acids. Other examples in chemistry are not any different. If you want to build molecules, you will need elements. Each element is a little bit different from the rest. Those elements are the alphabet to the language of molecules.

Why are we talking about elements? This is the section on atoms.

Let's stretch the idea a bit. If you read a book, you will read a language. Letters make up that language. But what makes those letters possible? Ummm... Ink? Yes! You need ink to crate the letters. And for each letter, it is the same type of ink.

Confused? Don't be. Elements are like those letters. They have something in common. That's where atoms come in. All elements are made of atoms. While the atoms may have different weights and organization, they are all built in the same way. Electrons, protons, and neutrons make the universe go.

If you want to do a little more thinking, start with particles of matter. Matter, the stuff around us, is used to create atoms. Atoms are used to create the elements. Elements are used to create molecules. It just goes on. Everything you see is built by using something else.

You could start really small...
- Particles of matter
- Atoms
- Elements
- Molecules
- Macromolecules
- Cell organelles
- Cells
- Tissues
- Organs
- Systems
- Organisms
- Populations
- Ecosystems
- Biospheres
- Planets
- Planetary Systems with Stars
- Galaxies
- The Universe
.And finish really big.

Wow. All of that is possible because of atoms.

What's the Matter?

 

Matter is the Stuff Around You

Matter is everything around you. Matter is anything made of atoms and molecules. Matter is anything that has a mass. Matter is also related to light and electromagnetic radiation. Even though matter can be found all over the universe, you usually find it in just a few forms. As of 1995, scientists have identified five states of matter. They may discover one more by the time you get old.

You should know about solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, and a new one called Bose-Einstein condensates. The first four have been around a long time. The scientists who worked with the Bose-Einstein condensate received a Nobel Prize for their work in 1995. But what makes a state of matter? It's about the physical state of molecules and atoms.

Changing States of Matter

Elements and compounds can move from one physical state to another and not change. Oxygen (O₂) as a gas still has the same properties as liquid oxygen. The liquid state is colder and denser but the molecules are still the same. Water is another example. The compound water is made up of two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. It has the same molecular structure whether it is a gas, liquid, or solid. Although its physical state may change, its chemical state remains the same.

So you ask, "What is a chemical state?" If the formula of water were to change, that would be a chemical change. If you added another oxygen atom, you would make hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Its molecules would not be water anymore. Changing states of matter is about changing densities, pressures, temperatures, and other physical properties. The basic chemical structure does not change.

Ancient Civilizations - index by Kings Park Elementary

Egypt China Greece Rome Mali
Browsing Note: If you click on a link that leaves this site, a new window will automatically open.
Ancient Egyptian Pyramids and Sphinx	Facts about ancient Egypt Explore facts about the culture of ancient Egypt. Standards of Learning for ancient Egypt Review essential knowledge from standards 2.1 and 2.4. Egypt Map Label a map of Egypt using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit. Egypt Webquest Research on the internet to design a brochure about ancient or modern Egypt. Simple Machines Webquest How were the pyramids of ancient Egypt created? Did they use simple machines? Research these questions using this webquest. Egyptian Cartouche Use Kidpix to draw your name using Egyptians hieroglyphics.
	back to top
The Great Wall of China	Facts about ancient China Explore facts about the culture of ancient China. Standards of Learning for ancient China Review essential knowledge from standards 2.1 and 2.4. China Map Label a map of China using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit. Building the Great Wall (Web and Kidpix Activity) Research facts about ancient China. Using Kidpix, write and draw the fact on a brick of the Great Wall of China. Chinese New Year Scavenger Hunt Learn about the Chinese New Year by completing an internet scavenger hunt.
	back to top
Greek Parthenon	Facts about ancient Greece Explore facts about the culture of ancient Greece. Standards of Learning for ancient Greece Review essential knowledge from standards 3.1, 3.4, and 3.8. Greek Map Label a map of Greece using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit. Windows Back in Time Using web resources, traveling back in time. Create a picture of daily life in ancient Greece. Gods and Goddesses Trading Cards Collect information about the Greek gods and goddesses on a data retrieval chart. Create trading cards using Appleworks Database. Greek Myths use the Internet to do research on ancient Greek Olympians. Write a myth which includes yourself as a god or goddess and at least one of the Greek Olympians. Using a digital picture of yourself and Kidpix, draw a picture to go with the myth.
	back to top
Roman Colosseum	Facts about ancient Rome Explore facts about the culture of ancient Rome. Standards of Learning for ancient Rome Review essential knowledge from standards 3.1, 3.4, and 3.8. Rome Map Label a map of Rome using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit. Windows Back in Time Using web resources, traveling back in time. Create a picture of daily life in ancient Rome. Gods and Goddesses Trading Cards Collect information about the Roman gods and goddesses on a data retrieval chart. Create trading cards using Appleworks Database.
	back to top
Mosque from ancient Mali	Facts about ancient Mali Explore facts about the culture of ancient Mali. To return to this page hit the back button. Standards of Learning for ancient Mali Review essential knowledge from standards 3.2, 3.4, and 3.8. Mali Map Label a map of Mali using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit.

Ancient Egypt - Map and Facts

Geography Where is Egypt located? How did the ancient Egyptians adapt to their environment?	Egypt is located on the continent of Africa. The climate in ancient Egypt is very hot and dry. The ancient Egyptians farmed and irrigated the land near the Nile River. The Nile River flows north into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River was used by the ancient Egyptians for many things. They fished for food, washed themselves and their clothes, and collected water for irrigation, drinking and cooking. They also traveled by boat around Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea to trade with other cultures. The land in Egypt is about 90 percent desert. There are grasses along the Nile River. The Nile River floods every year. This flooding brings in rich soil for planting. back to top
Government Who ruled in ancient Egypt?	The ancient Egyptians were ruled by Pharaohs. Pharaohs. were the highest level in ancient Egyptian society. When a pharaoh died, he would be buried in a tomb or pyramid with all of his valuables. It was believed that they would need these things in the after-life. Cats were considered regal and good luck. back to top
Economics What did the ancient Egyptian people use to buy and sell goods and services?	The ancient Egyptians traded with other cultures like ancient Rome and Greece. back to top
Contributions A contribution is the act of giving or doing something. Many of the ancient Egyptians inventions are used today.	The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics as their written language. Hieroglyphics is writing using pictures to represent different sounds. The Egyptians created the clock and the 365-day calendar we use today. One of the most remarkable architectural structures from ancient Egypt are the Pyramids. back to top

Ancient China - Map and Facts

Geography Where is China located? How did the ancient Chinese adapt to their environment?	China is located on the continent of Asia. The climate in ancient China includes seasons similar to those in North America. The ancient Chinese fished, farmed, and irrigated the land. There is a variety of plant life in China. The land in ancient China consists of forests, hills, mountains, and deserts. back to top
Government Who ruled in ancient China?	Chinese rulers, called emperors, based their government on the Confucian model, which taught that the best ruler was a virtuous man who led by example. Legalists stressed strength, not goodness, as a ruler's greatest virtue, while Daoists, who rejected the everyday world, believed that the best government was the one that governed least. back to top
Economics What did the ancient Chinese people use to buy and sell goods and services?	The ancient Chinese traded goods with other cultures. In addition, they used metal coins in community bartering. The ancient Chinese fished, farmed, and irrigated the land. Silk was traded for other goods or services as they traveled the "Silk Route." back to top
Contributions A contribution is the act of giving or doing something. Many of the ancient Chinese inventions are used today.	The ancient Chinese used characters and symbols as their written language. They invented many things which we still use today. Some of their inventions were: kites, silk cloth, fireworks, compass, and bronze. The Great Wall of China was built by Shi Huangdi. He united China and built a strong, centralized, authoritarian government. His most remarkable achievement was building the Great Wall . back to top

The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9

The people of Babel said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (NIV).

The descendants of Noah all spoke a single language. As they increased in number and began to spread eastward, they found a fertile area called Shinar and settled there. They decided to build a city with a tower that "reached to the heavens." They wanted the tower to be a proud monument to themselves and a symbol that would keep them united as a powerful people.
"So that we can make a "Shem" for ourselves."


However, God was not so pleased. He came down and looked at the city and tower and said,

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. (NIV, Genesis 11:6-7)

So God made the people speak many different languages so they could not work together on building the city and tower. The He scattered the people around the world and the city was abandoned. The city was called "Babel" because God confused their languages.

Questions

Where was the Tower of Babel? Bible scholars think the Tower of Babel refers to a ziggurat, the ancient pagan temple tower of the Babylonians. Babylon was located on the Euphrates River about 30 miles (49 km) from the modern city of Baghdad in Iraq. The Babylonians bragged that their tower reached up to the heavens.
What does Babel mean? Babel was the Hebrew name for Babylon which means "gate of god." But It was similar to the Hebrew word balal which meant to confound or confuse. The Hebrews despised the Babylonians, and there may well be a humorous play on words here: Far from being the "gate of god," Babylon was actually the site of much confusion!

Lessons

On the surface, the story of the Tower of Babel offers an explanation for the many different languages spoken on earth. But there is much more to the story.
In ancient times, people thought the heavens were not far above the earth. If only they could build a tower to the sky, they could climb up and be like gods themselves. Mankind had once again lost sight of God and become arrogant and self-sufficient.
God, of course, saw this a pure arrogance. He put an end to the people's delusions of being powerful and important like gods.
We may be tempted to think we no longer need to trust and obey God. We may believe our learning, sophistication and technology are all we need to be self-sufficient and guarantee our security. The lesson of the Tower of Babel is that such self-sufficiency is a delusion. History has shown that many nations and their leaders have fallen into the trap of arrogance and self sufficiency. Like Babel, those nations have eventually ended up in ruins.

source: http://www.twopaths.com/story_TowerOfBabel.htm
http://www.twopaths.com/index.htm (not Catholic but somewhat accepting of Catholic doctrine)

Jello Animal Cell

Animal Cell Anatomy

The cell is the basic unit of life. All organisms are made up of cells (or in some cases, a single cell). Most cells are very small; most are invisible without using a microscope. Cells are covered by a cell membrane and come in many different shapes. The contents of a cell are called the protoplasm.


The following is a glossary of animal cell terms: cell membrane - the thin layer of protein and fat that surrounds the cell. The cell membrane is semipermeable, allowing some substances to pass into the cell and blocking others.
centrosome - (also called the "microtubule organizing center") a small body located near the nucleus - it has a dense center and radiating tubules. The centrosomes is where microtubules are made. During cell division (mitosis), the centrosome divides and the two parts move to opposite sides of the dividing cell. The centriole is the dense center of the centrosome.
cytoplasm - the jellylike material outside the cell nucleus in which the organelles are located.
Golgi body - (also called the Golgi apparatus or golgi complex) a flattened, layered, sac-like organelle that looks like a stack of pancakes and is located near the nucleus. It produces the membranes that surround the lysosomes. The Golgi body packages proteins and carbohydrates into membrane-bound vesicles for "export" from the cell.
lysosome - (also called cell vesicles) round organelles surrounded by a membrane and containing digestive enzymes. This is where the digestion of cell nutrients takes place.
mitochondrion - spherical to rod-shaped organelles with a double membrane. The inner membrane is infolded many times, forming a series of projections (called cristae). The mitochondrion converts the energy stored in glucose into ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for the cell.
nuclear membrane - the membrane that surrounds the nucleus.
nucleolus - an organelle within the nucleus - it is where ribosomal RNA is produced. Some cells have more than one nucleolus.
nucleus - spherical body containing many organelles, including the nucleolus. The nucleus controls many of the functions of the cell (by controlling protein synthesis) and contains DNA (in chromosomes). The nucleus is surrounded by the nuclear membrane.
ribosome - small organelles composed of RNA-rich cytoplasmic granules that are sites of protein synthesis.
rough endoplasmic reticulum - (rough ER) a vast system of interconnected, membranous, infolded and convoluted sacks that are located in the cell's cytoplasm (the ER is continuous with the outer nuclear membrane). Rough ER is covered with ribosomes that give it a rough appearance. Rough ER transports materials through the cell and produces proteins in sacks called cisternae (which are sent to the Golgi body, or inserted into the cell membrane).
smooth endoplasmic reticulum - (smooth ER) a vast system of interconnected, membranous, infolded and convoluted tubes that are located in the cell's cytoplasm (the ER is continuous with the outer nuclear membrane). The space within the ER is called the ER lumen. Smooth ER transports materials through the cell. It contains enzymes and produces and digests lipids (fats) and membrane proteins; smooth ER buds off from rough ER, moving the newly-made proteins and lipids to the Golgi body, lysosomes, and membranes.
vacuole - fluid-filled, membrane-surrounded cavities inside a cell. The vacuole fills with food being digested and waste material that is on its way out of the cell.


Source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/cell/

More good stuff!
Plant Cell PrintoutBacterium Cell Printout
Animal Cell
Label Me! Printout

Whales

In Herman Melville's classic novel, a Sperm whale called Moby Dick is portrayed as an evil monster which sinks ships and kills sailors. This is the reputation these whales have gotten throughout the years, perhaps because of their large size and huge teeth.

We now know that Sperm whales are not dangerous to people. They do not break ships apart and swallow sailors whole. In fact, we know a lot about what Sperm whales don't do--but not very much else.

Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales on the planet, and perhaps the most abundant of the great whales, but we rarely get to study them because they spend so much time underwater. Sperm whales are deep divers, holding their breath and diving thousands of feet down to feed on deep sea squid and fish. They spend 90% of their lives down deep where they can't be seen. Only rarely do these energetic animals take a break and rest at the surface.

Seeing a Sperm whale on the water can be tough because the spout is not very high.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Blue whale - A blue whale spouts at sunset. The blow, or spout, of a blue whale goes straight up and can reach 30 feet into the air. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on earth. Blue whale blows, emitted from a blue whale's twin blowholes as it breathes at the ocean's surface, can reach 30' into the air and can be seen and heard for miles.

It is also the loudest animal on Earth. These enormous mammals eat tiny organisms, like plankton and krill, which they sieve through baleen. They live in pods (small groups). These gray-blue whales have 2 blowholes and a 2-14 inch (5-30 cm) thick layer of blubber.

Blue whales are rorqual whales, whales that have pleated throat grooves that allow their throat to expand during the huge intake of water during filter feeding. Blue whales have 50-70 throat grooves that run from the throat to mid-body.  Here is a picture os a blue whale.

 Here is a picture comparing the Blue Whale to other animals.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right whales are so named because they were considered the “right” whale to hunt.  Weighing in at over 60 tons, they yielded a great deal of oil for commercial whalers.  Additionally, their relatively slow speed, their tendency to feed at the surface, combined with the fact that they float after being killed, made them a prized target for the whalers leaving the ports in Provincetown, New Bedford, and Nantucket, among others.   Here is a picture of a Right Whale.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Whalers can tell different whales by their spouts.

A sperm spout leans back a bit.

A blue spout is straight up and tall.

A right spout splits into two.  


Links for more info:

• the Sperm whale  (a Toothed Whale) 
• the  Beluga whale  (a Toothed Whale)
• the Blue whale   (a Rorqual Whale) 
• the Right Whale  (a Baleen Whale)