Pipppin's Question Box

Hey Pippin!

OK, this week's question box was a little odd, because clouds don't break up. They accumulate as the water cycle continues. Maybe as they move across the sky some parts move faster than others, so it seems as though they separate. Clouds accumulate, then the cloud becomes too heavy, and it rains. When you said break up, I thought of weathering, you know, like the rocks. that doesn't happen.

LINKS:
www.kidzone.ws/water/

Other sources
4th grade Science.

Pippin's Question Box

How Do Monkeys Keep Their Hair Short?

Well, Pippin, for starters, not all monkeys have short hair. The White Faced Saki (it's a real species) can have hair grow to the length of 30-50 centimeters. The monkey's coarse fur is slicked down, of course, so you can't see the full length by looking at a picture.

And for the monkeys that do have short fur, it's because they shed, and the fur doesn't grow as fast as our hair grows. We ( humans) lose 100 hairs per day! That's why 4 months after you cut your hair in layers, you don't have the same layers just a little longer. As the monkeys shed, new fur grows in its place, and they lose that fur, and so on. At first , I was very intrigued by this question, but now that I know the answer is so simple, it makes me think that not everything has to be complicated.

SOURCES
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/wildlife/monkeys/nwsaki.html

My Car!!!

My car is made of foam, 2 blue erasable pens, and hot glue. The foam makes up the body, and the wheels of the car. I used 2 pens to take the position of axles. Then, I glued the foam wheels to the tips of the pens. My vehicle is an example of Newton’s 1st Law because my object uses gravity as its force to move. If I place the vehicle on top of the ramp in a room without gravity, it will not move. Newton’s 1st Law is that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I chose to make my vehicle lightweight, because the more mass it has, the less acceleration it has. Newton’s 2nd law states that force = mass x acceleration. Since force is the same (gravity) the more mass an object has, the less acceleration it has to have. The more acceleration my vehicle has, the farther it will go…(I hope). As for the 3rd law, I was thinking of putting a balloon on top of my car, but seeing that balloons never go in a straight line, I decided to leave that out. It would be hard to measure circles. :)

Five Fables' Maxims.

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
I think the moral of this story is people are not always who they say they are. The wolf was able to trick everyone into thinking he was a sheep, by wearing a sheep's skin. This reminds me of online safety. My parents are always telling me not to chat with strangers, because they may not be who they tell you they are.

The Four Oxen and The Lion
The maxim of this story is there is strength in numbers. If the oxen stayed together, the lion would not have been able to kill them. They would all have been safe.

The Fisher and The Little Fish
The moral of this story is be happy with what you have. Don't throw away something just because it is small, because later, you may not have anything at all. The fisherman did the right thing by keeping the fish.

The Crow and The Pitcher
I think the moral of this story is don't give up. If you try something, and it didn't work, try something else. Even if something seems impossible, nothing really is. Persistence can get you anywhere. Just today, my dad told me to move the couch, so he could vacuum under it, and I told him it probably weighs more than me, and that I can't do it. He said that is all in my head, anything is possible. I did it, and when I was putting the couch back, I pushed too hard and put a crack in the wall. I got grounded...

The Fox and the Goat
The maxim of this story is think before you act, or think ahead. If the goat had thought of how he was going to get back out, he probably wouldn't have jumped in in the first place.

Ask a Geneticist.

I learned that the number of chromosomes and genes aren't connected. Humans have 46 chromosomes, but we have over 25,000 genes, in the same way, goldfish have 94 chromosomes, but they definitely don't have more genes than humans. Chimps have 48 chromosomes, and humans and chimps are 98% the same. I don't understand this, because human chromosomes are made up of two chimp chromosomes. Wouldn't that mean Chimps have half the number genes as humans?I mean if they are 98% the same, then the number of genes in each chromosome should be the same, right? The reason why humans and chimps look so different is because of the amount of proteins that are being made. The proteins are very similar, but the amount varies greatly. Overall, this homework assignment clears up some of my questions about genetics.

Wooden Bowl.

Wooden Bowls relates to Empathy, Responsibility and a little bit of Assertion in C.A.R.E.S. Empathy, because the son and daughter in law failed to see that the grandfather wasn't spilling the milk, and breaking the plates on purpose. It isn't like when they were children, they didn't make a single mess. When people get older, they start acting like children. My grandfather had a beard, and when he ate, it was almost as if his beard was eating, not him. It was very disgusting to watch, but my parents told him it was OK. I didn't understand it back then, but after this story, I got it. It relates to responsibility, because as the son of the grandfather, he had a responsibility to take care of his father. When the son was younger, it was the grandfather's responsibility to take care of his son. The grandfather did his part, but the son was having trouble taking care of his father. Assertion also played a part, because the grandfather couldn't tell his son and daughter in law how he felt, because they would think he was just a burden. The little grandson had to find a way to tell his parents in way that they would understand. If he just told them, they would probably think that because he was young, he didn't know anything, and would just dismiss the idea.