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Pragmatist
Pragmatist

Sixth Grade Science
Wed Mar 14 2007

Sixth Grade Science aka Environmentalism.

I mentioned, previously, the ages and grades of my after-school charges and expounded on Third Grade Math.  Now, I'm really getting educated!  Caitlin has been blowing off some of her homework, telling her mom she doesn't have any--except math.  Well, teacher has a contrary opinion and sent home to mom the work that Caitlin is expected to do.  Daily schedule.

I got promoted.  Now I check not only her math, but her science, her projects, her writing assignments, and I take her shopping for last minute but-I-gotta-have-it-tomorrow stuff.

Now I remember why I was so relieved when I got to the Empty Nest Syndrome.

Anyway....

Pages 72-76 of her science textbook went into the problems of human expansion and extinction of other species.  I venture to say that anyone over the age of 40 probably never even heard the word "environmentalism."  Children are being indoctrinated at an early age now.  And that's as it should be.

After the text, the following questions were posited:

1.  Why are non-native species a threat to native species?

2.  How does the growth of the human population threaten wildlife?

3.  Explain how cutting down rain forests affects humans as well as wildlife.

Then there were two photographs with the question:
Suppose the photographs shown are of the same ecosystem, 35 years apart.  Describe how succession has taken place from photo A to photo B.

Photo A shows grass and wildflowers.  Photo B shows woodland with grasses and ferns.

Anyone want to tackle the assignment in a 6th grader's science textbook?

As for some of the math problems, Caitlin has to explain the procedure to me before I can check the accuracy of her figures.

Ex.:  What is the least common multiplier of 10 and 16?  

There was another problem she didn't have to do, but here it is anyway, and I think I remembered how to work it:

Axis xy = 1", Axis yz, perpendicular to xy is 2".  What is the perimeter?

The way I figured it, those are the two sides of a triangle.  So in order to get the perimeter the length of the third side is needed.  With me so far?

That third side is called the hypotenuse of the triangle, and to figure that length, the formula goes: the square of the two sides equals the hypotenuse.  Or is it the square of the hypotenuse.  OK, I'm in trouble.

Anybody out there bail me out?  Alli?

Shalom

18 Comments
  • From:
    404Error (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    I will be 45 this summer, I was in sixth grade in '73-'74 and we were well acquainted with environmentalism. Remember the green and white striped "ecology flags" of the 60s? They used the term "ecology" incorrectly, it should have been environmentalism, as my sixth grade teacher (a vile and hateful man) was wont to explain, repeatedly.

    Anyway, as for the questions, I think I can do them!

    1. Why are non-native species a threat to native species?
    Non-native species compete for food, water and all the other resources of an area as well as physically crowding out the natives. Also, they may have no natural predators in the new area allowing for population explosions. (We have a lot of problems with community expansions in my area due to endangered species, specifically a plant called "meadowfoam" and a vernal pond species called "fairy shrimp.")

    2. How does the growth of the human population threaten wildlife?
    By physically destroying the ecosystem, by depleting the native species food sources and by contaminating the area and/or water supply.

    3. Explain how cutting down rain forests affects humans as well as wildlife.
    Not only does this practice destroy the ecosystems that wildlife needs to thrive it diminishes the planet's ability to replenish the oxygen supply. The rain forests also help to moderate the weather by keeping global temperatures down and aid in the creation of rain clouds. Another detriment to humans are rain forest plant species that could provide invaluable medications for our worst health problems.

    I can't explain the photos because I'm unsure as to what sort of answer the text requires. However, it would seem that a praire has become a forest.

    So, how'd I do, Ms. Pragmatist?
  • From:
    JustPeachy (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    Ah, I remember having to endure grade school projects and last minute "I gotta have" materials. Funny, now that my children are teenagers, the "gotta have" hasn't changed much. LOL!!

    I remember being in the 5th grade (in the 70s)and having to learn "new math". Frankly, I couldn't see any difference between the "old" and the "new" but I was assured (along with my peers)that our work was indeed in "new math". Nowadays, in order to help with homework, I probably would need to hire a tutor to help me in order to help them!

    Have a great day!
  • From:
    CovertOps (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    I can help Caitlin out with the enviro questions:

    1. Non-native species are a threat to native species as they could transform habitats and threaten biodiversity. Some non-native species, such as rabbits in Australia, pose a threat to native species by depleting the food and water supply of native animals such as the bilby. The possum, which is an introduced species in New Zealand, spreads bovine tuberculosis and consumes native plants at such a rapid rate that many native animals have difficulty finding food. Non-native trees may have roots that go in deeper than those of native plants, thus causing native plants to die from lack of water. Non-natve species could also spread new diseases, viruses and fungi to native species. In some cases, alien species such as certain types of introduced fish, could prey on native species.

    2. The growth of the human population means that the landscape will have to be further altered to accommodate the transportation, waste management and trade needs of humans. This means destroying forests and watershed areas, which are vital wildlife habitats, to open up land for industry and agriculture. Human activity also causes pollution levels to rise, thus affecting wildlife's ability to feed, breed and defend themselves. Automobiles kill many endangered animals and birds each year, and artificial lighting created by humans causes light pollution, which disrupts the migratory and sleeping patterns of birds and animals. This eventually leads to the decline in wildlife populations.

    3. The topsoil of rainforests are only a few inches thick. When rainforests are logged, the topsoil is exposed to sunlight, which dries the topsoil up and leaves the forest floor dry and infertile. This makes it difficult for new plants to grow, and leads to drought and poor water quality. As rainforests are also watersheds, humans will find their water supply drying up when trees are cut down. Landslides and mudslides occur during heavy rains as there are no longer tree roots and living plants to act as a sponge to absorb excess stormwater and hold the soil together. Environmental disasters such as landslides and flash floods may cause loss of human lives and damage to property and the economy.
  • From:
    CovertOps (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    Oh man. 404Error's answers are brilliant! I had forgotten so many things I should have mentioned first.
  • From:
    MissTick (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    if it helps - it is deffinitely the square of the hypotenuse that is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Happy graduation from 6th Grade! :-)
  • From:
    Mamallama (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    Yikes! The science I can handle, but that math makes me glad my nest IS empty!
  • From:
    Yetzirah (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    I don't WANNA do math.... ;-(

    And I want to argue with the teacher about the effects of men on the environment. I just watched a program about Ireland that said that certain ecosystems there would cease to exist if the cattle and horses were taken off the land.

    I want to talk about the GRAY areas in the indoctrination! ;-)

    Signed,
    Problem Child #42
  • From:
    Dreamerbooks2003 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    What the heck.. a third grader is learning geometry???
    I can tell ya that when I was doing kody's homework I was stumped ~~~ I failed 9th grade math!!! and he was quite a bit further along the math path
    now engish was easier for me, but still made me depressed at all I had forgotten
    Good for you!! let her work that stuff out though!!!
  • From:
    Dreamerbooks2003 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    environmentalism
    We had a small booklet that showed all the environmental changes that were going on in the 50- 6o's.(*I started school in 56).. It was before they thought of global warming or o-zone or global pollution ~Extinction of species was covered as were the rain forests..
    and water supply and demand .. gosh it's been a while.. I wonder if I still have that booklet somewhere?? No! what am I thinking??
    These science questions are pretty common sense stuff though if you take a moment and think about it.. and all that we've read and learned in the last 50 yrs..
    I know that non-native species can sometimes threaten the wildlife and natural native life of a place by introducing disease and fungus or bacteria common only to that species.. also the predatory *(strongest survives) comes into play. like if a non-native feeds on the native of that area.. it will eventually overpower that species and it will become extinct
  • From:
    Dreamerbooks2003 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    The Perimeter of the square
    is simply twice the hetrahedron's edgelength because the distance
    between any two non-opposite
    midpoints is half the edgelength, and since a square has four
    sides, the perimeter = 2 * edgelength

    Therefore: Perimeter = 2 * 10 = 20 units

    The area can be calculated knowing the sidelength of the
    square: Since the sidelength is half the edgelength, the area
    would be edgelength squared over 2 squared, So the area of the
    square is edgelength^2/4

    Therefore: Area = 10^2 / 4 = 25 units squared

  • From:
    Dreamerbooks2003 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 15 2007
    in geometry, the theorem that in a right triangle the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
    so it would be the total of the other sides squares
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Mar 16 2007
    a^2 + b^2 = c^2, so the hypotenuse is the square root of a^2 + b^2.

    Remember not to add a & b, for example a = 5 and b = 4,
    5^2 + 4^2 does NOT equal 9^2! You want to do 25 + 16 and c will equal the square root of 41.

    A good resource I found for myself and the kids is:
    http://www.freemathhelp.com/

    and you might try this one for science:
    http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/bjscience.html

    Good luck!
    Allison
  • From:
    Waterspriteflying (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Mar 16 2007
    AAAAAGH!! Math! (*Runs screaming from the page*)

    Well, I used to. Now I think my school-aged mind just wasn't ready for it. Can't even imagine trying to learn that stuff in third grade.

    It's encouraging, though, to see they're teaching our kids substantive things.

    Hugs,
    Ani
  • From:
    Dustbunny3 (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Mar 16 2007
    Yep FREE LIC and all the Tags for ole farts like me over 65. This is also true in Arkansas, Fla, they are aware that the future is placed on Grandma, and Gramps to open the great outdoors to the next generations of the wonder of birds,fish,and all the kritters . It is a whole different world in Calif.I have been a letter writer for years with the CA fish&Game and it would chill you the response I recived.
    I have seen elderly Grandma's camping in a tent with a grandchild fishing and it broke my heart that Mom and Dad both work and didn't have the time. I tried to have them join me in my bass boat and she thanked me but said ahe wanted to fish from the bank like she did as a child.
    Camping was a needed learning thing to her. SAD we have forgot our Roots
  • From:
    Camomille (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Mar 18 2007
    I am really enjoying my daughter's class on the Environment. As you said, it's important to be aware and knowledgable about the impact of causative factors, whether they be by man or by nature. We have a beautiful flower in our bayous here that is purple. However, it is choking out all the plants that are natural to the area and affecting the wildlife. It was brought over from England. So, we are seeing one example right here.

    Math . . . well, better you than me! I know my daughter now knows more than either her father or I do on the subject so she's on her own!

    Enjoy . . .
  • From:
    Dreamerbooks2003 (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun Mar 18 2007
    LOL @ the comment on MissTick
    I found this:
    http://wysiwygtalentshow.org/index.html
    :P
    have a nice day
    Oh yeah.. you are correct a guarantee would be nice but with that boy. there is NO guarantee.. even if he signed a contract in blood.. no guarantees.. probably until he is in his 40's.. Me thinks
  • From:
    Welshamethyst (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Mar 23 2007
    RYC: I'm taking the Synthroid AND the Micardis first thing in the morning with a whole glass of water because I get up at 6:50 every morning and get a glass of water . I don't WANT to eat at all, at all first thing in the morning. Breakfast sort of freaks me out for some strange reason unless I'm on vacation. When on vacation I'm the "Breakfast Queen".

    I tend to have lunch as close to 11 a.m. as I possibly can because that's when I get hungry so both medications work well with that schedule.

    Hugs & love!
  • From:
    FishCreekBride (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Apr 03 2007
    A Squared + B Squared = C Squared. I think... Anyway, I'm glad I don't have to go back and learn 6th grade math or science