In our previous lesson on sexual reproduction, my science teacher showed my class a video on the process of pregnancy. It was quite an informative video and I had a clearer understandng of the process after watching the real thing.
Months ago, I had a video instructor who shared with us his wife's labour process. I was in awe by the whole experience. It was fascinating to know what a woman will go through during child birth. My video instructor had taken photos since his wife wsa admitted into the hospital. His intention was not to teach us biology of course, but to give us an understanding of what it will be like in the delivery room with your wife. He even taught us how to look at contraction chart and the baby's heartbeat to determine the right time to give birth.
With the prior knowledge before watching the video, I was mentally prepared for what I was viewing. I thought it was effective to make use of diagrams in relation to real life happening to describe certain process in details. They give comprehensive explanations which allows us to watch what we have been learning in the term.
I feel that reproduction in humans is a special process. It is amazing how the body of the mother and the child function so that the child is able to survive after leaving the protection of the mother's womb. The video on pregnancy not only gave us a clearer knowledge of the stages of pregnancy, but also taught us to understand the hardship that women had to go through.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Review: The Day After Tomorrow [2004]
The Day After Tomorrow explores an issue on global cooling which was resulted from global warming. It shows a tremendous change in the global climate, natural disasters strike all across oceans, and the world was shifting towards a next ice age.
The phenomenon did not occur without warning. The protagonist, who is a paleoclimatologist, gave his findings that global warming has caused the polar caps to melt, leading to a decrease in the ocean temperature. The world did not believe that the weather will change for the worse. The weather progressively turned cold and people, on their way from escaping to another country, were frozen on the streets.
I feel that even though global warming has caused global temperature to rise dramatically over the last decade, it is still likely that global cooling may occur. The Earth have experienced medieval coolings for hundreds of millions of years. These coolings were also known as ice age. I think that is it is definitely possible for global warming to lead to an ice age.
When global temperature rises, the ocean temperature increases as well. With greater energy in the ocean, there will be two occurence. First, there will be greater turbulence in the ocean which will lead to stronger waves. Next, evaporation will be sped up and larger storms will gradually grew due to higher density in the air. This two occurence will lead to a higher chance of natural disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis. Natural disasters lead to a distuption of climates and affect human civilisation. Human activities are hindered by natural disasters, hence less carbon emissions will be released and the world will experience cooling during the after effects of the disasters.
After watching An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary presented by the previous vice-president of United States Al Gore, I had a lot of connections to The Day After Tomorrow. An Inconvenient Truth covers a lot on data and facts. I had learnt that it had been a constant sign that the earth experienced global warming and cooling after after the othr for the past 400 millions of years. However, in the previous decade, the global temperature rose so rapidly that it exceeded the highest temperature in the previous 400 million years. With this sort of data, I do doubt the possibility of global cooling. It may occur when human activties are greatly reduced. Human civilisation had caused Earth to be sicker than it would have been. We had to be responsible for our actions. Earth Science is the extremely important because it concerns life in the whole Earth.
The phenomenon did not occur without warning. The protagonist, who is a paleoclimatologist, gave his findings that global warming has caused the polar caps to melt, leading to a decrease in the ocean temperature. The world did not believe that the weather will change for the worse. The weather progressively turned cold and people, on their way from escaping to another country, were frozen on the streets.
I feel that even though global warming has caused global temperature to rise dramatically over the last decade, it is still likely that global cooling may occur. The Earth have experienced medieval coolings for hundreds of millions of years. These coolings were also known as ice age. I think that is it is definitely possible for global warming to lead to an ice age.
When global temperature rises, the ocean temperature increases as well. With greater energy in the ocean, there will be two occurence. First, there will be greater turbulence in the ocean which will lead to stronger waves. Next, evaporation will be sped up and larger storms will gradually grew due to higher density in the air. This two occurence will lead to a higher chance of natural disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis. Natural disasters lead to a distuption of climates and affect human civilisation. Human activities are hindered by natural disasters, hence less carbon emissions will be released and the world will experience cooling during the after effects of the disasters.
After watching An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary presented by the previous vice-president of United States Al Gore, I had a lot of connections to The Day After Tomorrow. An Inconvenient Truth covers a lot on data and facts. I had learnt that it had been a constant sign that the earth experienced global warming and cooling after after the othr for the past 400 millions of years. However, in the previous decade, the global temperature rose so rapidly that it exceeded the highest temperature in the previous 400 million years. With this sort of data, I do doubt the possibility of global cooling. It may occur when human activties are greatly reduced. Human civilisation had caused Earth to be sicker than it would have been. We had to be responsible for our actions. Earth Science is the extremely important because it concerns life in the whole Earth.
Review: A.I. Artificial Intelligence [2002]
I am not a big fan of Sci-Fi movies but it is always a pleasure to watch one. In Sci-Fi movies, a seemly impossible, yet realistic world can be created. A.I Artificial Intelligence is not a new film, but it had left a great impact on me when I was a child. Therefore, I will like to give a review on the ideas portrayed in the film.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is about a world a century later, where humanoids that can feel and love exists. These robots, known as mecha, are produced in companies and released to human beings. We should recognise that creating a brain similar to human beings will defy nature's course. Creating an organism that can feel and love like a human being is not entirely impossible though, even with current standard of technology, we are able to create robots that can response to changes in the environment. In A.I. Artificial Initelligence, a chip processor is implanted in the humanoid. The chip processor is programmed to react to surrounding changes and has the ability to arouse feelings towards people.
I feel that these humanoids will have a huge impact on the world if it is ever produced and distributed to the world. Firstly, the idea of a humanoid is to create a being that can function like a human. However, this defies the natural process and the humanoids will be different from the human community. Secondly, technology is uncontrollable. We cannot accurately predict how fast technology will progress. We do not know of side effects of these humanoids, and this can be dangerous when introduced to the world. Lastly, the world will be overly populated because of the mass production of these robots.
The current development of robots is already a tedious process. The current robots we have are only able to complete simple tasks and they require complicated programming. It will be impractical to create an almost-human robot now. Artificial beings can only exist if it is possible to keep them control. But science is unpredictable, who knows we may have our first humanoid created in this century.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is about a world a century later, where humanoids that can feel and love exists. These robots, known as mecha, are produced in companies and released to human beings. We should recognise that creating a brain similar to human beings will defy nature's course. Creating an organism that can feel and love like a human being is not entirely impossible though, even with current standard of technology, we are able to create robots that can response to changes in the environment. In A.I. Artificial Initelligence, a chip processor is implanted in the humanoid. The chip processor is programmed to react to surrounding changes and has the ability to arouse feelings towards people.
I feel that these humanoids will have a huge impact on the world if it is ever produced and distributed to the world. Firstly, the idea of a humanoid is to create a being that can function like a human. However, this defies the natural process and the humanoids will be different from the human community. Secondly, technology is uncontrollable. We cannot accurately predict how fast technology will progress. We do not know of side effects of these humanoids, and this can be dangerous when introduced to the world. Lastly, the world will be overly populated because of the mass production of these robots.
The current development of robots is already a tedious process. The current robots we have are only able to complete simple tasks and they require complicated programming. It will be impractical to create an almost-human robot now. Artificial beings can only exist if it is possible to keep them control. But science is unpredictable, who knows we may have our first humanoid created in this century.
Reflection: Term 3 Test
It was quite a disappointment when I received my third term test results. It did not came so much of a shock because I had expected a certain decline in my performance because I had quite a bad breakdown on the day of the test. It was probably due to a couple of calculation questions on refraction that threw me in a mess because I started to panicked when I was unable to answers those questions. I lost my composure and answered the other in a rush. I felt that I should have been more prepared for the test.
We were tested on refraction, total internal reflection, colours of light and ecology. I faced little problems with colours of light and ecology, but refraction and total internal reflection posed quite a difficulty for me. I was unable to understand some of the questions and my answers were illogical at times. I felt that my biggest problem was the preparation before the test. Refraction and total internal reflection requires clear understanding and constant practice to clearly grasp the subject. I was disappointed in myself for not putting in enough effort in this area. I would make sure that I will come prepared for any test in the future. It will be a final boost towards EOYs and I will give my best to perform well in my EOY.
We were tested on refraction, total internal reflection, colours of light and ecology. I faced little problems with colours of light and ecology, but refraction and total internal reflection posed quite a difficulty for me. I was unable to understand some of the questions and my answers were illogical at times. I felt that my biggest problem was the preparation before the test. Refraction and total internal reflection requires clear understanding and constant practice to clearly grasp the subject. I was disappointed in myself for not putting in enough effort in this area. I would make sure that I will come prepared for any test in the future. It will be a final boost towards EOYs and I will give my best to perform well in my EOY.
Reflection: Term 2 Test
In the second term test, I did not perform exceeding well but I felt that it was still a good try. The syllables were getting harder and the concept were more complex. This test mainly comprises of acids, bases and salts and optics: reflection. I had enjoyed myself this term because most of the learning took place in the lab. We had lots of practicals and it was interesting because the concepts we learnt were often applied in our everyday lives. The questions, therefore, were more technical instead of theoretical. My mistakes in Term 1 resurfaced again in this term test. Since many of the answers required precise explanation, I faced problems presenting my answers despite understanding the questions. I found my vocabulary lacking in my answers. I was unable to give exact terms to describe certain observations or process and I feel like practise will be the solution to my weakness. Acid, bases and salts covers a wide area and questions on them can variate. Reflection is more straightforward and easier to comphrehend. I would have to brush up on my construction lines in drawing ray disgrams. Overall, I feel that my understnding for the subject is somewhat lacking and I will make use of my June Holidays to read up more and practise for the topics.
Reflection: Term 1 Test
I feel that I had done a good job in my first term test of the year. It was not a difficult test to start with. We began with the basics of chemistry – chemical bonding and the periodic tables. The periodic table and atomic structures are very theoretical concepts and I was able to get it in my head with plain memorizing. Chemical bonding is more of practising and I was fully prepared before taking the test. I had achieved a score above 90% and was definitely satified with the score. However, I still feel that my explanation had to be shaped up to be more precise in answering the question. I also feel that carelessness is also a flaw of mine and I shall overcome it by working on more practise so that I can train myself in looking at deatils. I hope to be consistent in my performance in the future tests.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Reflection: Article: 15 Medical Breakthroughs that can Save your Life
Medical science has been an important area that is constantly expanding to improve the lives of mankind. Recently, in the August issues of Readers Digest, the editor did a special article on 12 of the medical breakthroughs in 2011. Many of which are unknown to the general public before the issue. I was amazed by the progress we are making in the field and I will like to share some of my views on some of the breakthroughs.
Firstly, a rechargeable artificial heart has been developed to provide a transplant to patients suffering from heart failure. It replaces the dysfunctional heart and assists the process of pumping blood. Patients who suffer from heart failure will progressively lose their ability to live. The artificial heart can be implanted into the patients and allow the patients to live normally before receiving a heart donor. Even though there have been several variations before, but it is a device that bring about huge impact in medical science especially cardiology.
Another breakthrough I will like to share is the research that antibiotics in cockroaches are capable of killing more than 90% of deadly bacteria like MRSA and pathogenic E. coli in humans. These findings were only presented last year and the antibiotics will be released to the public in 5 to 10 years. I feel that this is a special finding because cockroaches are often treated as pest, yet they prove to be a significant solution to counter deadly virus. It shows how amazing science is, to be able to find the use of any organisms, even if it is a parasite.
I feel that through science, we are able to discover cures to solutions and most importantly save lives. Medical science is real life application of science and it is indispensable. We need medical science to combat virus, improve health conditions and to give life to a being. Medical breakthroughs have direct impact to the world, making them extremely important. Even though I'm not a big fan of this field, I understand the role it play in the world. Medical science will continue to have breakthroughs and discoveries will be made to reduce the danger of epidemic outbreaks on mankind.
Firstly, a rechargeable artificial heart has been developed to provide a transplant to patients suffering from heart failure. It replaces the dysfunctional heart and assists the process of pumping blood. Patients who suffer from heart failure will progressively lose their ability to live. The artificial heart can be implanted into the patients and allow the patients to live normally before receiving a heart donor. Even though there have been several variations before, but it is a device that bring about huge impact in medical science especially cardiology.
Another breakthrough I will like to share is the research that antibiotics in cockroaches are capable of killing more than 90% of deadly bacteria like MRSA and pathogenic E. coli in humans. These findings were only presented last year and the antibiotics will be released to the public in 5 to 10 years. I feel that this is a special finding because cockroaches are often treated as pest, yet they prove to be a significant solution to counter deadly virus. It shows how amazing science is, to be able to find the use of any organisms, even if it is a parasite.
I feel that through science, we are able to discover cures to solutions and most importantly save lives. Medical science is real life application of science and it is indispensable. We need medical science to combat virus, improve health conditions and to give life to a being. Medical breakthroughs have direct impact to the world, making them extremely important. Even though I'm not a big fan of this field, I understand the role it play in the world. Medical science will continue to have breakthroughs and discoveries will be made to reduce the danger of epidemic outbreaks on mankind.
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