My Science School

I get depressed easily and feel sad most of the time. I delve into the past a lot with regrets like, 'I should have done this' or I shouldn't have messed up like that', etc. I also smile nostalgically, thinking of the fun times I've had. I dream almost 40% of the time. I don't have a good relationship with my mom. She imposes her decisions on me, and when I refuse, she emotionally blackmails me. Dad is also disturbed since some time. I'm addicted to my laptop. My day revolves around it - be it for online classes or as a pastime. I don't know whom to confide in. I have two trustworthy childhood friends and a new friend too, but I don't know how to tell them. I write a diary and it feels good; but only for some time because it can't reply like a person would. I will soon enter class 12, but due to these issues, I can't focus on my studies. What should I do?

The past is history, the future a mystery; this moment is a gift and that's why it is called the "present'. We often escape into the past or dream about the future when we do not see our present as a gift. And we choose to be unhappy and depressed.

To see our present as a gift, we need to see the gifts in our present. So, begin with gratitude for what you have. Your parents, a home, food, health, and three good friends is a great place to start! Each day find 5 new things to be grateful for!

Looks like you don't have enough to engage you each day, apart from studies. For this: 1) Help others: Help your mother at home, teach/ help a young kid with school work... 2) Learn something new: Learn a language, craft, dancing, etc. 3) Discover your talents: Use your talents to help others or to express your creativity. 4) Focus on your career: What career do you plan to take up? Does it excite you? What are you doing to make it happen? 5) Make friends with your family members: Get to know your parents as people. What do they enjoy? What do you enjoy together? 6) Exercise: Ensure your daily routine includes 30 to 45 minutes of exercise; it is a thought and mood booster and ensures good sleep. Take charge of your life. Choose happiness.

 

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A chemical element is generally found to be useful if it exhibits at least one of the following two characteristics:

(1) It should be available abundantly or at least in sufficient quantities and

(2) It should exhibit properties that are extremely desirable.

Chlorine, which is one among approximately 100 natural chemical elements, satisfies both these conditions. Highly reactive, chlorine is naturally found throughout the Earth, bound with other elements. It is no wonder therefore that chlorine is considered one of the building blocks of our planet.

Scheele’s discovery

Even though some chlorine compounds were known (in other names and not as compounds of chlorine) through centuries, chlorine itself was first discovered, so as to say, only in 1774. German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele is credited with the discovery. He discovered it when he dropped a few drops of hydrochloric acid with the mineral pyrolusite (manganese dioxide in its natural form). The greenish-yellow dense gas that resulted was chlorine, and Scheele noted that it had a choking smell, dissolved in water to give an acidic solution, bleached litmus paper, and decolourised leaves and flowers.

Even though Scheele had produced chlorine and had also noted many of its properties, he hadn’t identified it as a chemical element. The prevailing theory then identified what we now know as chlorine as a compound of oxygen. Famed French chemist Antoine Lavoisier believed that all acids must contain oxygen and that oxygen was the principle of acidity. Chlorine, therefore, was identified back then as oxymuriatic acid.

Davy does it

It took decades before these perceptions were corrected and the changes were widely accepted. The person who set these things right was English chemist Humphry Davy.

Davy began investigating this substance in the first decade of the 19th Century. He was able to show that oxygen wasn’t present in hydrochloric acid and also established the correct relation between chlorine and this acid. Proving this not only negated Lavoisier’s theory that all acids contained oxygen, but also showed that the name oxymuriatic acid cannot be applied to the substance in question.

In a paper titled On a Combination of oxymuriatic Gas and Oxygene Gas, Davy presented what he called “extraordinary and novel results". He read this paper to the Royal Society on February 21, 1811. Davy went on to call the substance in question “chloros”, from the Greek word for greenish yellow, and updated it to chlorine later on.

Now used everywhere

Davy’s research on the substance allowed him to show that it was not only a simple substance, but was, in fact, a chemical element. He designed experiments to demonstrate that chlorine did not contain oxygen, explained chlorine’s bleaching action, and discovered two oxides of chlorine. His views on chlorine, however, were disputed for a number of years and it was almost another decade later that the larger scientific community accepted that chlorine truly was an element.

From not being considered an element, chlorine has come a long way as it is now elemental in our daily lives. Be it the salt in our foods or many of the life-saving drugs, chlorine forms an indispensable part of it. And these would be just the tip of the iceberg. We are all exposed to chlorine in more ways than one, and sometimes even in places where we least expect it to be.

 

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Ever wondered what happens to the food you eat once you swallow? The digestive system will be busy at work on your dinner for the next few hours - or sometimes days - depending upon what you've eaten. This process, called digestion, allows your body to get the nutrients and energy it needs from the food you eat. So let's find out what's happened to that mouthful you just ate.

Esophagus

The esophagus is kind of like a pipe that's about 25 cm long. It moves food from the back of your throat to your stomach. But also at the back of your throat is your windpipe, which allows air to come in and out of your body. When you swallow a small ball of chewed-up food or liquids, a special flap called the epiglottis flops down over the opening of your windpipe to make sure the food enters the esophagus and not the windpipe. Once food has entered the esophagus, the muscle walls move in a wavy motion to slowly squeeze the food down through the esophagus. This takes about two or three seconds.

Liver

The nutrient-rich blood comes directly to the liver for processing. The liver filters out harmful substances or wastes, turning some of the waste into more bile. The liver even helps figure out how many nutrients will go to the rest of the body, and how many will stay behind in storage.

Small intestine

At over six metres long the small intestine isn't small at all. The small intestine is a long tube that's about 3.5 to 5 cm round, and it's packed inside beneath your stomach. The small intestine breaks down the food mixture even more, so your body can absorb all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats with a little help from three other organs: the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder.

Those organs send different juices to the first part of the small intestine. These juices help to digest food and allow the body to absorb nutrients. The pancreas makes Juices that help the body digest fats and protein. A juice from the liver called bile helps to absorb fats into the bloodstream. And the gallbladder serves as a warehouse for bile, storing it until the body needs it.

Your food may spend as long as four hours in the small intestine and will reduce to a very thin watery mixture. At the end of the journey, the nutrients from your dinner can pass from the intestine into the blood. Once in the blood, your body is closer to benefiting from the complex carbohydrates and vitamins.

Mouth

Even before you eat, when you smell a tasty food, see it, or think about it, digestion begins. Saliva begins to form in your mouth. When you do eat, the saliva breaks down the chemicals in the food, which helps make the food mushy and easy to swallow. Your tongue helps out, pushing the food around while you chew with your teeth. When you're ready to swallow, the tongue pushes a tiny bit of mushed-up food called a bolus toward the back of your throat and into the opening of your esophagus, the second part of the digestive tract.

Stomach

Your stomach is attached to the end of the esophagus. It's a sack that has three important jobs:

• To store the food you've eaten.


• To break down the food into a liquid mixture.


• To slowly empty that liquid mixture into the small intestine. The stomach is like a mixer, churning together all the small balls of food that came down the esophagus into smaller and smaller pieces. It does this with help from the strong muscles in the walls of the stomach and gastric juices that also come from the stomachs' walls. Gastrio juices also help kill bacteria that might be in the eaten food.

Large intestine

At around 7 to 10 am, the large intestine is fatter than the small intestine and it's almost the last stop on the digestive tract. Like the small intestine, it is packed into the body, and would measure about 1.5 metres long if you spread it out. After most of the nutrients are removed from the food mixture, there is waste left over - stuff your body can't use. This stuff needs to be passed out of the body.

Colon

Before the waste goes, it passes through the part of the large intestine called the colon which is where the body gets its last chance to absorb the water and some minerals into the blood. As the water leaves the waste product, what's left gets harder and harder nu it keep moving along, until it becomes a sold. Yep, it’s a poo, (also called stool or a bowel movement).

The large intestine pushes the solid waste into the rectum, the very last stop on the digestive tract. The solid waste stays here until you are ready to go to the toilet.

Looking after your digestive system

You can help your digestive system by drinking water and eating a healthy diet that Includes foods rich in fibre. High-fibre foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, make it easier for waste to pass through your system. The digestive system is a pretty important part of your body. Without it, you couldn't get the nutrients you need to grow properly and stay healthy. And next time you sit down to lunch, you know where your food goes - from start to finish!

 

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The most famous European explorers came from England, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France. The voyages of discovery undertaken by these famous European explorers were motivated by wealth in the form of gold, silver and spices, increased power in Europe, prestige, trade, building the empire or spreading Christianity. Some famous European explorers included Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook.

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese maritime explorer who while in the service of the Spanish crown, tried to find a westward route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia in 1519.

This was the first known successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. He did not complete his final westward voyage as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. As he died farther went than the Spice Islands, which he had visited on earlier voyages from the west, he became one of the first individuals to cross all the meridians of the globe. He was the first person to lead an expedition sailing westward from Europe to Asia and to cross the Pacific Ocean.

Magellan should also be recognised as the first European explorer to enter the Pacific from the Strait of Magellan, which he discovered. He Is also remembered as the first European to reach the archipelago of what is now known as the Philippines, which was unknown to the Western world before his landing. Arab traders had established commerce within the archipelago centuries earlier. Of the 270 crew members who set out with Magellan to circumnavigate the Earth, only 18 completed the circumnavigation of the globe and managed to return to Spain.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was born in the Italian seaport of Genoa in 1451. He became an experienced sailor and moved to Lisbon in Portugal to try and gain support for a new journey he was planning. Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain, agreed to support him.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Europeans wanted to find sea routes to the East. Columbus wanted to find a new route to the Far East, to India, China, Japan and the Spice Islands. If he could reach these lands, he would be able to bring back rich cargoes of silks and spices. Columbus knew that the world was round and realised that by sailing west, instead of east around the coast of Africa, as other explorers at the time were doing, he would still reach the East and the rich Spice Islands. Columbus landed in the new world of the Americas in 1492. Explorers coming after him in the 16th century brought the news to Europe that the Pacific Ocean laid beyond the western coast of America. Suddenly people began to understand that they could reach the East by sailing westwards from Europe.

Captain James Cook

James Cook was a British explorer and astronomer who went on many expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, the Antarctic, the Arctic and around the world.

Cook's first journey lasted from August 26, 1768 to July 13, 1771, when he sailed to Tahiti on the Endeavour in order to observe Venus as it passed between the Earth and the Sun. He was also searching for a large, southern continent that was thought to exist (but does not). Many scientists accompanied him on the voyage, including, the botanist Joseph Banks.

Cook sailed to New Zealand on October 6,1769, where he and his crew fought with the Maori (the earliest inhabitants of New Zealand) and mapped much of the two major islands (the strait between these two islands is now named Cook Strait) and showed that it was not part of the larger southern continent.

He then sailed to and mapped eastern and northern Australia (the Endeavour was stuck for a day on the Great Barrier Reef off north-eastern Australia; the ship was damaged by coral and almost sank). They repaired the ship in northern Queensland (the site of Cooktown and the mouth of the Endeavour River), completing the repairs on August 6, 1770. Cook sailed through the strait between Australia and New Guinea and reached Batavia, Java, in October, 1770.

On July 13, 1771, the Endeavour returned to England after a journey of almost the years.

 

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What is a clause? You may have heard about clauses in your grammar class. A sentence becomes a clause when it is attached to another sentence.

Take a look at this sentence: Children read books. This is a complete sentence. It follows the patterns S (subject) + V(verb) + O(object) = complete thought.

Now, look at this sentence: Children read books and they write stories. This sentence has two parts. Each has an S + V + O = complete thought.

Each part of the second sentence is called a main clause. Each part can stand on its own and make complete sense.

Every main clause has a subject and a verb and forms a complete thought.

The important point to remember is that every sentence must have at least one main clause. Otherwise, you have a fragment, which is a major error in writing.

For example: The sky which was clear – this is only a fragment.

The sky which was clear, later turned cloudy.

This sentence has a main clause – The sky turned cloudy

Subordinate clauses

The important point to remember about subordinate clauses is that they can never stand alone as complete sentences.

To complete the thought, you must attach each subordinate clause to a main clause.

Check out these sentences with the coloured portions, which are subordinate clauses:

Whenever the wind blows, the windows rattle.

Guru ran to get water when his friend fell.

Mani’s dog, whose name is Judo, is a big Labrador.

Tip: Subordinate clauses always start with a connecting word. The clause can be in the beginning, middle or at the end of the sentence.

Conditional clauses

Clauses that have “If” and express a condition are known as conditional clauses.

For instance: If I had gone to Assam this winter, I would have met my uncle.

Conditional clauses are of three types.

Type 1

If you are not quiet, you will be punished.

If the weather is good, we will play outside.

If it rains, the cat will come inside.

These sentences express an open condition. The condition may or may not be fulfilled. The verb in this clause is in the simple present tense.

Type 2

In the following sentences, the “if” clause is in the simple past tense.

If we had a car, we would go on a tour.

If he behaved well, he would be forgiven.

If I stayed at home, I would be bored.

These verbs do not refer to a past action. They talk of conditions put forward for consideration.

Type 3

Study these sentences:

If I had worked hard, I would have won the prize.

If he had listened to me, he would have got the first prize.

If we had foreseen the tsunami, we would have been prepared.

These “if” clauses express conditions that were not fulfilled in the past.

The amount of water you consume affects how well your bones can do their job.

Water brings calcium and other nutrients throughout the body, including to your bones. You may know that kidney stones are comprised mostly of calcium, and they are partly a result of not drinking enough water. 

Toxins in our body, if not removed, built up in the bones. This manifests in several problems, including inflammation, weakening, and loss in bone density. Water is needed here to wash away these toxins.

Our bones also have several of other tasks aside from providing us a skeletal structure. For example, the marrow in bones produces red blood cells, which adds strength and mass to the bones. Water plays an important role here.

These are some ways how water plays a critical role in our orthopedic health. Of course, drinking enough water isn’t an absolute measure and doesn’t guarantee to get rid of bone and joint-related problems. It isn’t a miraculous practice that assures to have everything right. However, it is one of those little steps that can take you a long way, possibly ensuring you less orthopedic problems as you get older.

 

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Dehydration occurs when you use or lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn't have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. If you don't replace lost fluids, you will get dehydrated.

It’s normal to lose water from your body every day by sweating, breathing, peeing, and pooping, and through tears and saliva (spit). Usually you replace the lost liquid by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. If you lose too much water or don’t drink and eat enough, you can get dehydrated.

People (and animals) lose water every day in the form of water vapor in the breath we exhale, and as water in our sweat, urine, and stool. Along with the water, we also lose small amounts of salts or electrolytes. Our bodies are constantly readjusting the balance between water (and salts or electrolytes) losses with fluid intake. When we lose too much water, our bodies may become out of balance or dehydrated. Most doctors divide dehydration into three stages: 1) mild, 2) moderate and 3) severe. Mild and often even moderate dehydration can be reversed or put back in balance by oral intake of fluids that contain electrolytes (or salts) that are lost during activity. If unrecognized and untreated, some instances of moderate and severe dehydration can lead to death. This article is designed to discuss dehydration in adults.

 

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In general, children and teens need about 6 to 8 cups of water a day. They should also eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, which are full of water.

When our bodies heat up—because of a hot day or because of physical activity, for instance—the brain alerts the sweat glands to produce sweat. The body cools itself by the evaporation of sweat from the skin. If dehydrated, the body can’t sweat enough to stay cool. Water is essential in keeping bowel movements regular and helping to prevent conditions such as urinary tract infections and kidney stones.

When kids are playing or exercising vigorously, or if it's very hot outside, they'll need more liquids to make up for the fluid their bodies lose as they sweat. Depending on their size, your child could need anywhere from four to 16 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise.

If you're not sure if your child is drinking enough, keep an eye on how much they're urinating and what color their urine is. Well-hydrated kids will pass urine frequently and their urine will be clear. If this is not the case for your child, take it as a sign to increase their fluid intake.

 

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Believe it or not, frogs and insects help people learn about how healthy the earth is. Scientists called naturalists keep track of how many animals there are in the world. In some places, where once they saw thousands of some kinds of animals, now there are hundreds - or only dozens. A change in the number of animals tells scientists that there may also be a change in the environment, the earth, and its resources.

For example, students volunteer to help collect insects from rivers and streams. Then scientists study the insects and record their findings. Too many or too few of one kind of insect could show a change in the environment, possibly an increase or decrease in pollution.

When winter forests in North America turn cold, monarch butterflies fly to warm forests in Mexico. At one time, people in Mexico noticed fewer monarch butterflies in their forests. They weren’t visiting because people had cut down the trees and sold them to businesses. The monarchs had lost their winter homes. However, the people in Mexico saved their forests, and the monarchs, by planting new trees.

There are many ways that people help the earth. Some of them restore or preserve resources. Others reduce pollution and reuse resources.

Children in Sweden helped save a rain forest that is halfway around the world from their homes. They wrote letters and talked to people to get them involved, and raised money to help save a rain forest in Costa Rica, Central America. They even got children from other countries interested in helping, too. Today, the rain forest is called El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos, or The Children’s Eternal Forest, and serves as a natural wildlife habitat for lots of endangered plants and animals.

Another place many plants and animals live is in the ocean, but it isn’t always a safe, clean home. A major source of ocean pollution is oil. When oil is accidentally spilled into the ocean, governments, businesses, and people join together to help to clean it up.

Governments are passing laws to force industries to control their pollution or pay large fines. For example, factories can only dump a certain amount of their wastes into the air or into lakes and rivers.

Many people plant trees. The new trees help replace old ones that were cut down to make paper, furniture, or other products. Planting trees also helps preserve soil. Without trees and other plants, fertile soil is easily blown and washed away.

In Kalundborg, Denmark, one company uses another company’s waste for energy. A coal-powered plant produces steam and heat to make electricity. In the past, the used steam was released into the air. But now it is channeled to other industries. These industries use the steam for heat as well as other processes.

Every day, while generating electric energy, power plants produce mineral called gypsum as a waste product. Instead of throwing it away, some plants send the gypsum to another company that uses it to make plasterboard.

In many places, especially in some countries in Europe, people often share car journeys, or drive together. This helps to reduce pollution.

People who work to be sure that the earth can provide for all living things are called conservationists. Conservation is the protection and clever use of natural resources. Everyone can be a conservationist every day.

For thousands of years, people have used the earth’s land, water, and air. Also, people have also polluted the earth with their waste, harmful chemicals, and other poisons.

Now people all over the world are working to protect the earth. They are working to preserve land, stop pollution, save natural resources, and protect endangered wildlife. There are many ways to help the earth. You can help, too.

The Three R’s

How many things did you use today that were made from trees or plastic? How many of those things did you throw away? How many things did you use that required electricity?

Many things that people use are made from trees or plastic. For example, lots of paper and wooden products are made from trees. Many plastics are made from petroleum, coal, and natural gas. And the more we throw away plastic and paper, the more rubbish dumps are needed.

Many things that people use are powered by the earth’s natural resources, too. As we use electricity to run refrigerators and other products, minerals are needed to create that electricity.

Many people are worried that the earth’s resources are being used up and polluted. With these three R’s - reduce, reuse, and recycle - you can help preserve the earth’s resources.

Reduce

• Use fewer paper and plastic products. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels.


• Turn off the lights, radio, and TV when you’re not using them.


• Instead of running water until it’s cold, use ice cubes. Or keep a jug of cold water in the refrigerator.


• To save hot water, take showers instead of baths.


• If you have a dishwasher, don’t use it until you have a full load.


• Ride a bike, or take the bus or train to save on petrol and oil.

Reuse

• Wash out plastic milk bottles, plastic bags, and aluminium foil, and reuse them.


• Repair and reuse toys and other products.


• Save used paper and plastic to make gifts.


• Use both sides of writing paper.


• Sell or donate goods so someone else can reuse them.

Recycle

• Recycle aluminium cans, glass and plastic containers, newspapers, rubber items, and paper. Recycled materials are used to make new products.


• Use recycled paper to write, paint, and draw.

Earth is slowly getting warmer. Most scientists believe that people are helping to cause this change. But how can people cause Earth to warm?

Have you ever seen a greenhouse? The glass walls let in light so plants can grow. Because the walls also hold in heat, a greenhouse becomes very warm.

Earth and its atmosphere act like a greenhouse. Light from the sun passes through the atmosphere and warms Earth. Much of this heat escapes back into space. But such gases in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide act like greenhouse walls. These so-called “greenhouse gases” trap heat in the atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect.

Our cars and factories burn fuels that release greenhouse gases. These gases are building up in the in atmosphere. Most scientists believe that the buildup of gases is causing Earth to warm. They fear that our planet will become much warmer in the next 100 years. This problem is called global warming.

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Using the land wisely

Every year, there are more people on the earth using more of the earth’s resources. If people aren’t careful, the resources will be wasted, damaged, or used up.

To make space for the development of houses, roads, pavements, and car parks, people cut down trees and other plants. But careful builders leave areas in their developments where they plant trees to replace the ones they’ve cut down. This allows animals to keep their homes or find new ones.

Also, many governments protect some prairies, wetlands, forests, and other land from development.

Factories and other buildings can send waste chemicals into the air and water. So some countries have laws requiring builders to be careful so that new buildings don’t pollute the air and water.

Workers remove valuable resources from the land. If too much is taken, the supply will be used up. However, in many places, businesses save minerals by using better ways of mining and recycling mineral products. They also substitute more plentiful minerals for scarce ones.

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Pollution is anything that people do those damages the natural environment. For example, if poisonous chemicals are not properly thrown away, they can get into the ground, water, or air.

There are many ways that people pollute the earth. When poisonous chemicals, such as paints and fertilizers, are dumped into rivers and lakes, the plants and animals that use that water may become sick or die.

When waste from people and animals gets into the soil and water, the plants and animals that use that soil and water may become sick.

Some pollution damages the air. Smog is one kind of air pollution. It is created by the action of sunlight on exhaust from cars and factories. Very heavy smog can hurt people. Even countries that work to improve their own air can be polluted by air from a neighboring country.

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The Earth’s natural resources

What if there weren’t an ocean or any lakes, ponds, or rivers? What if there were no plants to eat? What if there were no irons to build things with?

Natural resources include all the things that support life. Sunlight, water, soil, and minerals are all natural resources. There are plenty of some resources, and not so many of others.

Sunlight, for example, cannot be used up. Neither can water. The earth has lots of these natural resources. But some places on the earth have more water, more sunlight, or cleaner water than other places.

Some natural resources can be used more than once. These are called recyclable resources. For example, aluminium can be used to make containers, and the containers can be recycled - used to make something else.

Other natural resources can be used and replaced. Animals can reproduce, so they are replaced with new animals. As trees are used, new trees can be planted.

But some natural resources are replaced so slowly we could run out. For example, people are quickly using up the earth’s supplies of coal, oil, and iron. It would take millions of years for the earth to make more of these resources.

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