Owl Pellet

In class we dissected an owl pellet. An owl pellet is the regurgitation of the owl. Because the owls cannot chew they swallow their food in chunks. In the pellets are the bones and fur of the animal because the owl cannot digest them. Our pellet weighed three grams and was eight inches in length. In our pellet we found the bones of four voles. We found skulls, mandibles, ribs, scapulars, vertebrae, femurs, humerus, and pelvises. After we cleaned the fur off of all the bones, we tried to put together a skeleton. After we put the bones together we labeled the separate parts. In the end we learned that owls and other carnivorous birds regurgitate pellets that consist of bones and fur they cannot digest.

I got this picture from:: www.voles.com/fr/Vole_Skeleton.htm

Butterflies

In class we learned about how animals use camouflage in the wild. Camouflage is when an animal blends into its surroundings to avoid predators. To learn about camouflage we each got a paper butterfly to color and hide somewhere in the room. A teacher would come in and look for them. The teacher would be the "predator" and your butterfly is the "prey". The object was to camouflage your butterfly so it wouldn't be caught. We played three times. The first time we had to hide our butterfly somewhere it wouldn't be found. The second time the lights were dimmed and we had to hide the butterfly somewhere it wouldn't be found. Less were found in the second round than in the first. The third time we had to put our butterfly in plain sight. On the third time almost all were found. This taught us that its easier to blend in when its darker and your trying to hide.

I got this pic from: lpmpjogja.diknas.go.id/kc/a/animal/

Symbiotic Relationships

Symbiotic relationships are relationships between two living organisms. There are three different kinds of symbiotic relationships: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. mutualism is when both organisms benefit from the relationship. For example, you and your pet is a mutual relationship because you both benefit. Commensalism is when one organism benefits and one organism isn't affected. For example, a tree and a bird. The bird uses the tree for support and the tree isn't affected. Last, parasitism is when one organism benefits and the other is harmed. For example, mosquitoes and humans. The mosquito is the parasite and the human is the host. The mosquito gets blood and the human loses blood and could possibly get a disease. These are symbiotic relationships.

I got this picture from: http:// cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=96094&rendTypeId=4

Atom Bomb

THE ATOM BOMB: How does it work?

Many people know what the atom bomb is and what it does, but do they know how? The first Atomic explosion was on July 16, 1945 during a test called Trinity in New Mexico. The bomb is detonated by a molecular chain reaction called fission. Fission occurs when neutrons are fired at closely packed atoms that have lots of uranium. The nuclei break up into littler nuclei which hit other nuclei. By breaking down and releasing the nuclei itself the Atom Bomb releases a blast a billion times stronger than TNT. Although many Atom Bombs were detonated, only 2 were used in war. They were both used by the U.S against Japan.

I got this info from:http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-an-atomic-bomb-work.htm
I got this picture from:http://soundbiteblog.com/2007/09/

Endangered Species

Since 1996, between a third to a fifth of the world's mammals have become endangered. Data from more than 1,700 scientists have concluded this statement. Animals such as elephants, whales, wolves, monkeys, leopards, cheetahs, tigers and many more are on this list. This is a big deal because if this continues the animals will go extinct which will upset the ecosystem. Many of these animals have become endangered because of us. Animals are hunted for fur, leather and ivory. These are then sold to people like you to wear or put in your house. About a third of the known sea animals are endangered. If these current conditions don't change for them, we will lose more than 1,000 species of animals.

I got this info from www.sciencenews.org

I got this picture from http://www.korckposters.com/images/std/rare_and_endangered_mammals_of_africa.jpg