Snap Circuts
As I said in the video, it is made of Snap Circuits.
I made it from the Snap Circuits Jr.
Some of the other fun projects you can make with the sets are:
Pressure Alarm
Laser Gun
Motion Detector
Lacrosse Lessons
On Saturdays I go lacrosse.
I need to wear: a helmet, a mouthpiece, gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads, and cleats.
We do drills, practice catching, scooping, running, and throwing.
To throw accurately, you point the end of your stick at the target then push the top of the stick up straight up and over.
It’s great exercise because I’m always tired and dirty at the end.
Exponents
Today I was doing exponents.
These are their properties:
xa · xb = xa+b – Multiplying Powers
(xa)b = xab – Raising a Power to a Power
x-n =1/xn – Negative Exponents
Examples:
x3 · x7 = x3+7 = x10
(x52)2 = (x52)2 = x104
x-4 = 1/x4
32 · 33 = 35 = 243
(23)2 = 26 = 64
4-2 = 1/42 = 1/16
Imaginary Numbers
Yesterday I learned about i. We use it to describe imaginary numbers. This is the definition of i: i = √ -1 Now if that is true, then the following is true: i2 =i· i = -1 i3 = i2 · i = –i i4 = i3 · i = 1 i5 = i4 · i = i i6 = i4 · i2 = -1 i7 = i4 · i3 = i3 = –i i8 = i4 · i4 = 1 i9 = i8 · i = i i10 = i8 · i2 = -1 As you can see, every 4th power of i = 1. So you can just divide i‘s exponent by 4 and the remainder will tell you the answer {1,i,-1,or –i}.
These are the questions I did yesterday. A complex number has two parts – a real part and an imaginary part. For example: 3 + 6i I’ll write another post on them later.
Stream Eroison
Last week I went to a class on Stream Erosion.
What they used is called a stream table
There was 2 types of streams: the young stream and an older stream. The difference is the older one has been carved out a little by water.
Stream erosion is when water overflows a stream, the faster parts carry the boulders and the cobbles and the slower water carries the pebbles, sand, silt, and clay.
And this how a stream in the real world takes shape.
Look how small clay is, I bet you didn’t know that!
Museum of Modern Art
Last Saturday I went to the MoMA with my friend in New York City.
I went on a kid’s tour where we looked at paintings and they asked us what tools the artist would use.
It was fun but I didn’t learn that much.
At the end there was a little playroom we played in.
At the very end we went to get lunch in a Burger Joint.
When we got home I visited my friend’s house.
More Algebra
Now I am studying Polynomials.
Here is an example:
6x2 – 7x + 1
Here is another example:
10x5 + 4x4 – 13x3 + .52 – 102
Each part of a Polynomial is called a Monomial. My dad calls them “terms”.
The number in front of each term is called a coefficient.
The little numbers above the x’s are called exponents.
When x-terms have the same exponent they can be easily combined by adding their coefficients.
For example:
3x4 – 17x4 = -14x4
(-1/3)x5 + (1/2)x5 = (1/6)x5
Two terms or two monomials, make a “binomial”. (Bi – means two).
You can also multiply, divide, and factor Polynomials
Car Racing
Last week was my first Pinewood derby.
The Pinewood derby is where you make a wooden car then race it on a ramp.
I won 1st place in my den but I won 3rd against all the Tiger Scouts.
This is my video of my first Pinewood derby ↑.
Linear Equations
In algebra now I’m solving some equations with 2 variables.
For example:
x + y = 10
Here are some of the solutions to this equation:
(1,9)
(-3,13)
(9,1)
(1.5,8.5)
(13,-3)
(1000,-990)
(0,10)
(-33.2,43.2)
.
.
.
As you can see there are infinite solutions (x,y) to this equation. In fact, there are infinite solutions to any equation with an x and y.
The best way to describe these solutions is with a graph.
This graph is always a straight line that extends in both directions to infinity.
The easiest way to draw these lines is by computing the x and y intercepts.
All you have to do is set x equal to 0 and solve for y. Then set y equal to 0 and solve for x.
Then you have two points that you can connect to draw the infinite line!
For example, the intercepts of x + y = 10 are (0,10) and (10,0).
The other common way to graph a line is with slope-intercept form: y = mx + b where m is the slope of the line and b is the y-intercept.
Universal Theme Park
I went to Universal Studios 2 weeks ago in Orlando with my Dad and my sister.
There are 2 parks – Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.
I was there for 8 hours!
I had a lot fun.
These were my favorite rides:
- E.T. ride
- Woody Woodpecker ride
- The Simpsons ride
- Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Pteranodon Flyers
This picture was taken in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Hole in one!
I went to Mini Golf last week in Flordia.
I went with my dad, my sister, my grandpa, and my dad’s godfather.
Watch the video above and see me get a hole in one after my sister got one.
It was fun.
At the end we fed the Alligators. But they didn’t eat.
My Boat Ride
Yesterday I went on a boat ride.
It was 90 minutes long.
The boat ride was in Naples FL.
The weather was windy.
I saw big mansions.
We had lunch on it.
My Dad and my sister saw Dolphins but I missed them.
The boat was 2 years old and cost $4,000,000.
Yesterday I went to the Miami Seaquarium with Dad and my sister.
It is in Florida on Key Biscayne.
I saw 4 shows : the top deck Dolphin show, the Flipper show, the Sea Lion show, the Killer Whale show.
I liked the the Sea Lion show the best because it was very funny.
They even had Crocodiles that slept with their mouths open!
They had a little playground.
There were also sharks and stingrays.
My Dad and my sister fed the stingrays with shrimp out of their hands.
My Future
My future is:
- I’m going to search for buried treasure and gold.
- I’m going to be an archaeologist.
- I’m going to be a science teacher.
- I’m going to be a scientist.
- I’m going to be a builder.
- I’m going to have kids.
By the way, that picture 3.5 years old.
My Snow Fortress
New York has 2 feet of snow.
I built a fort out of snow at my house.
The fort was was really hard!!
First we made the wall.
Then we made the snowballs.
Then our fort was done!!
We stood behind the fort for protection and threw the snowballs from there.
It’s going to last until it melts.