Planetary Songs

        My daughter is currently obsessed with space. She wants to constantly listen to her favorite planet songs which I have included below:

This one is my favorite

This is my next favorite

This was the song she was singing today

These are the songs that I have been listening to for over three weeks. I should have at least one song memorized by now. Which song is your favorite? Share in the common.

Thank you for reading!

Marissa

The Potato Experiment

        I finally Started working on my FutureLearn course, The first experiment was the potato experiment. This experiment is so that I and the other participants can start thinking like scientists. We learn to set-up, observe, record in a scientific way. The only thing I did notice that we didn't do was make predictions, which is what I remember doing in school all the time. The following is my notes from the post:

                                                   The Potato Experiment

Materials needed:
a potato (any variety will do)
oven mitts
a scale (I borrowed a kitchen scale, but a bathroom scale might work)
activity booklet (the class come with) or graph paper
pen
microwave/conventional oven (it'd take much longer to cook, and you will need longer intervals)

This experiment has three variables (the part of the experiment that can be controlled, changed, or measured): the type of oven used, type of potato, and length of cooking.

We didn't make any predictions, but I did have my 4 year make one. She thought that the potato was going to weigh more are it cooked.

So we poked some holes into the (Idaho) potato and set in the microwave for minute intervals. All the way up to 12. From what I read online if you kept it going, the potato would have caught on fire. I would have kept going, but I got bored (yes, I am already in the making to be a great scientist). Here are my recorded notes:

0 (weigh before you start)- 7.3 oz (intial weigh; could be measured in grams as well)
1 - 7.2 oz
2 - 7.4 oz
3 - 6.6 oz
4 - 6.0 oz
5 - 6.0 oz
6 - 5.0 oz
7 - 4.7 oz
8 - 4.2 oz
9 - 3.8 oz
10 - 3.3 oz
11 - 2.8 oz
12 - 2.4 oz

By subtracting the initial weigh to the ending weight I found out that the potato lost 4.9 oz. To calculate the percentage. I take the difference, divide by the initial weight and then multiply by 100. The potato ended up losing 67% of its water. It looked like a grandpa potato.

I graphed my data on a line graph, which I learned is a graph used to show data that changes over a period of time. Sometimes I seriously get confused on what graph to use when.

Also discovered that it is "standard practice to put the thing you're measuring on the y-axis" (the line the goes up; this would be the change in weight).

I created the graph which you probably wouldn't be interested in seeing. And then I move onto the last section, which found cool.

Why It Matters?

The amount of water required to grow different crops affects which ones are better suited for dry regions. Fascinating. I think all science experiments in school should include this section in their lessons.

Well. That was one of hopefully many science experiments that I will explore here. Let me know if you try it and how it goes.

Thank you for reading!

-Marissa

My Relationship with Science

        In most of my school life, I have never been one to be interested in science. And not only was my interest not there, but my confidence as well was weak. Botany was my most favorite science course in high school. Because of my low confidence, I took applied chemistry instead of basic chemistry because I didn't think I was good enough.
        But something happened when I arrived to college. I took a course in Biological Anthropology and I realized that science isn't that bad. For our assignment, we typically had to read peer review articles and write up reports on them. And one of our special assignments was to go to the zoo and observe the apes.The class came with a lab. The lab was so much fun! We examined bones and learned to tell the difference between gender, age, and ethnicity. After the course, I decided to stick with Anthropology until I changed my mind. I almost think I should have stuck with it even if finding a job would be impossible.
          I changed my major from Cultural Anthropology to Communications. For the two semesters, in that major I had no science. I did, however, learned how to write an article (wasn't very good at it), and how to create a magazine page.
        Once my bout with Communications ended, I decided to major in Elementary Education. I took Astronomy. And even though I enjoyed the course, my lack of physic knowledge probably hindered my abilities. I took Biology. I got an A. The most interested you'll find me about the body is holistic healing and nutrition. But from that course, I learned that if you know the basics of latin, then most likely you'll understand most medical terms. I took Geology. Despite the fact that several people study geology to work with gas. I found myself more interested in the part about taking care of the environment. My studies also included a few basic science course when we explored elementary level topics.
        Fast Foward to when I stayed at home with my kids, I found Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, Peep and the Big Wide World, and DragonFly TV. Who knew that there were so many shows dedicated to STEM. I now want to help my daughter's interest in science grow (she's into space science).
        That background leads me to today. I found on the website FutureLearn a basic science course using kitchen items. I am behind in it, but I'm excited to share my experience and experiments. I hope you'll follow along. It'd motivate me to keep up the work!

Thank you for reading the history of my science life!

-Marissa

So I Have This Debt...

       I am sure that I am not alone with insurmountable debt. It seems like this picture best describes how old I feel I'll be when I finally pay it off.

"Yes! I finally paid off my student loans!!"

   It's overwhelming and I feel like I should be working harder to get rid of it all. But it seems as time passes the debt grows and grows. And not just any growth, but it grows exponentially. And my confidence of getting rid of it gets smaller. It decays exponentially. In fact, if I were to chart it, it'd look like a supply and demand chart. Except the demand of debt is higher than my supply of confidence (and money).

Why can't the supply of money be higher
than the demand of debt? 

        When I calculated all my debt, it an the sweet total of $134,000 (including school loans, mortgage, and a car loan). But I have been having hearing problems (with no insurance previously, but I have it now) and so I need to add medical bills to the list. Ugh!!! Will I ever get out of debt and return to my carefree self? My optimistic side says I will. But my realistic side thinks it will be a long time before I will feel that way again.
          So I want to make a public goal that I am going to try to get out of debt in 5 years: August 22, 2020. I will do this by continuing working full-time and by finding odd jobs to gather some dinero. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way!

Thank you for reading!

Marissa :)

P.S. I posted two lots on eBay and posted one thing on craigslist, just to push me to that "I will get out of debt!" attitude.