Mira's Science Blogs

Summary: States of Matter: You may be wondering, what are the three states of matter? The three states of matter are solid, liquid and gas. An example of a solid is a pencil, and example of a liquid is apple juice or milk, and an example of a gas might be the heat coming from your soup. Solids: In solids, the molecules are held together by attracting and repelling like a little dance in an orderly fashion. Once the molecules start to heat up, they attract and repel faster and faster until they stop doing everything "organized" and move around freely. This causes them to melt because they cannot hold the shape anymore. Liquids: In liquids, the molecules are moving freely, which is why a liquid does not keep its shape except the shape of it's container. Liquids will flow due to the force of gravity. When molecules are moving slowly, they become cooler, but when they move fast they become warm. This is why, when liquids are cooled enough they turn into s

Summary: In this project, I learned about Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics. In Mendelian genetics, the dominant allele in a genotype decides what the trait for the offspring (baby) will be. In non-Mendelian genetics, there is incomplete dominance where the colors are blended, and co-dominance where both colors are showing, like spotted or striped. Epigenetics is when nature or the person's choices affect what the person will end out like. If the mother eats a lot of sweets when she is pregnant, the offspring will end up with diabetes. That is an example of epigenetics and how it can affect the child when they grow up. Mutations are when there is a change of genetic material. There are ext ernal factors , like radiation or pollution, and there are internal Factors, which are errors that get bigger over time. Mutation s do not happen on purpose and a re ra ndom.  Ge ne Mutations: Substitution ( switched base) Incursion (extra base) De letion (one base removed)

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/kids/photos/animals/Mammals/Q-Z/sloth-branch-hanging.jpg.adapt.945.1.jpg Summary: Have you ever seen a sloth? They live in tropical forests in Central and South America such as Costa Rica. They have long arms and claws to hold onto a tree branch and have long fur, which makes them look like a monkey when they are related to anteaters and armadillos. You would usually find them relaxing in a tree or eating leaves. They can sleep up to 20 hours a day and move very slowly. They move so little that they can have algae on their fur! Sloths, also known as  Bradypus variegatus can be  2-2.5 feet long and depending on species and geography, weigh 8-7 pounds. The family name is  Bradypodidae and is classified as a mammal. They live about 10 years and are herbivores meaning that they eat plants. There are two kinds of sloths, that look very alike.  Three-toed sloths like to sit upright on a tree branch and have colors on their faces tha