Natural Disaster Presentation

Link for Presentation!

South America and Africa Rock Evidence

I think that these columns show further proof of continental drift. When South America and Africa were part if Pangea, they had the same layers of rock formation. When the two continents split, the old rock laters remained, while the new rock layers formed on top of them. When Paleantologists found the similarity in rock formation, they found further evidence that these continents were once connected!!

Science Continental Shift Post

Reflection Questions - How Old is the Ocean Floor?

• Where are the oldest parts of the oceans?

The oldest parts of the ocean are located beside the continents. This is because in the middle of the mid ocean ridges, there are active volcanoes. These volcanoes erupt on the floor of the ocean. When the magma touches the cold ocean water, it cools creating new rock. So, the rock which was in that place before gets pushed outwards, towards the continents. So therefore, the oldest rocks are located beside the continents.

• Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic ocean basins have the same age and patterns?

Yes, they do share the same age pattern since the oldest rocks are located beside the continents. As you move outward, towards the middle of the ocean, the rocks become younger.

• How does the age of the ocean floor compare with the age of rocks on the continents?

The continents are older than the ocean floor because some of the ocean floor gets recycled by a process called subduction. In this process, the seafloor gets recycled by sliding under the continents, and into the mantle. Therefore, new ocean floor can be formed, however on the Earth, old rock can remain for a very long time.

• These questions were the same as the questions in your pre-test. Reflect on what answers, if any, you changed after completing these activities. What did you learn from these activities with GeoMapApp? Did you need a lot of help from friends or your parents or teacher? What do you think helps you learn new material in science class?

I think that after this activity, I understood and learned more about the ocean floor. Most of my answers changed because I initially did not know where the youngest or oldest part of the ocean was located. After looking at the maps and comprehending what they meant, I was able to answer the questions accurately. I think looking at these maps on Geomap App visually helps me learn more because I get a visual idea of what is going on. I like that we have to comprehend what we see and the questions help everything flow together making it easier to learn the new information. I did not require much help from my teachers, but I did need to clarify a few questions to make sure that I was going on the right track.

This is a picture of a few mid ocean ridges:

This is a picture of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge:

Age of the Ocean Floor Pre-test

1) Where are the oldest parts of the oceans?

I think that the oldest part of the oceans are located in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans because Pangea might have been located beside or near theses oceans.


2) Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans have the same age patterns?

I think that they do have the same age patterns because the oceans are somewhat connected to each other.

3) How does the age of the ocean compare withe the continents?

I think that the ocean is older than the land because the very first organisms on Earth might have lived in the ocean.

Google Science Fair

Deepika Kurup - Photocatalic approach to purify water

A world changing invention crafted by a mere teenager has the potential to trigger a drastic change in the amount of people affected by drinking impure water. 

Deepika Kurup was inspired to solve the water crisis during her visits to India. She saw some students drinking impure water from a nearby creek. She was troubled and set ambition to change this situation. Her research proves that currently, many countries are using the SODIS process. Clear plastic bottles are filled with contaminated water, and are exposed to the sun for about 8 hours. This disrupts the DNA of any harmful bacteria or germs. This is a very useful, and cost effective method, however consumes a large amount of time.

Recently, photocatalyst, such as titanium dioxide has been used to accelerate the cleaning process. A film of titanium dioxide is added on the inner side of these clear bottles. But even this process has a problem. When exposed to sunlight, this layer of titanium dioxide mixes into the water , thus making this process ineffective.

Deepika has invented a novel way to filter the toxins out of the water using a pervious composite mixture of titanium dioxide and silver. She created seven filters with different amounts of silver. (The last sample was her control sample with no titanium dioxide and silver. She then took these filters and placed methylene blue on top. She discovered that the combination of 3.85 % of titanium dioxide and 0.04 of silver (Ag) is the fastest in changing methylene blue to clear. (Her filter disrupts the harmful chemicals in methylene blue).

In her next experiment, she took sample number four and 7 (control) and passed impure water through both of them. She took the samples and set them in the sun. Her experiment proved that her filter is more effective and less time consuming than the simple photocatalytic and SODIS process.

I believe that Deepika can win the Google Science Fair because she has taken a worldwide crisis, and has come up with an effective, and less time consuming way to solve the problem. Water is a necessary element needed for human survival. For this reason, we need a pure source of it. This method can quench a large amount of people’s thirst and save thousands of lives. It can also prevent people catching diseases by consuming impure water.