Month: June 2021

Comic Cells

faiths Uncategorized

678yt“Comic cells” was the name of my last ever grade 8 PLP project. This project was all about the driving question “How do cells and diseases interact”. For this project we had to create and research a comic book about cells. The comic book had to be about cells and diseases or be about a cellular process.  

My end mind map below shows some of the things that I have learned about cells and diseases. 

Milestone 3 where I learned more about diseases.

 

Curricular competencies.  

I demonstrated the competency of “Questioning and Predicting”. First of all I read the materials and watched the video that was needed to complete milestone 3. I also participated and loved the experiment that Mr. Gross set up in class with the beakers and learning how to track who had the virus. This sustained my curiosity about cells and diseases and I tracked who had had the virus on my iPad as well as following with the class on the board. Lastly, I demonstrated this competency by using my class time efficiently and then coming in to flex block to make sure I got it done well.

 

I demonstrated the “Scientific Communication” competency.  Firstly, I used more than 10 scientific words in my comic book and I also used them in a way that showed I understood them. I also showed that I met this competency by using diagrams to show the inside of an animal cell. Lastly, I showed this competency by using different apps to represent the science I am learning. Apps like Comic Life 3, where I put together all the panels of my comic to make the finished product. I also used Sketches Pro to draw and create the images included in my comic book. These technologies help me present the problems and solutions of this scientific topic of Cells and how they are affected by disease.

 

I showed the “Evaluating” competency in my comic. First of all when I chose the Variola/Small pox virus to be the main topic of my comic book. The setting of the lab and how I showed the virus being transmitted easily on a bus showed how I researched and then applied how it could be spread. I was specific when I said it would at least 7 days until the person saw visible signs of infection. Also when I showed that it would cause a world-wide pandemic, it showed I knew the material and could apply it to my comic book. I evaluated the research and then put it together in a very interesting and scientific story. The cells and the virus acted in a scientific way by how the virus replicated and by how the cells would react. 

To answer the driving question “How do cells and diseases interact”, my comic book shows how the cells, diseases, and people would react to the smallpox diseases. It explains how the immune cells rush to the inflamed area to attack pathogens, how a vaccine would help the cells, and a few more ways they interact. See my comic book below.

Click on image above 👍

 

I really enjoyed making this comic book. I didn’t think I would enjoy creating this story but I was a lot of fun. I didn’t really enjoy drawing all the scenes but with the help of an app called Sketches Pro it was a bit better. Overall this was a very interesting and enjoyable way to learn about cells and diseases as well as a good way to show what we had learned. 

The ultimate design challenge!

faiths Science , ,

This project was all about calculating the surface area and volume of 3D shapes. Our driving question is “How can we design an object to optimize its shape?”. To answer the driving question we had to create 3D shapes in groups from 1-3 people then we had to create one or more 3D shapes on an app called Tinkercad. The object (or objects) had to be created to optimize surface area or volume. After we designed our objects they were supposed to be printed out in the school 3D printer which we were sadly unable to do. 

With a group of two of my classmates Clare and Jocelyn, we created three objects of our choice that we all decided  would be a famous European architecture. 

 

The London Bridge (mine)

The leaning tower of Pisa (Jocelyn)

Big Ben (Clare)

I won’t mention all the milestones but here are the two I think most important ones. Milestone 2 was the milestone where we had to create our 3D shapes in Tinkercad. This was hard because we had to first learn how the use the app then needed to find a way to create our 3D shape. I had a lot of trouble because I kept getting kicked out of the app. In the end I was able to use that app to creat a pretty good replica of the London Bridge. 

Milestone 3 was also important as that was when we had to hand in all the calculations. We had to find the surface area and volume of all the shapes  to find the totals for the whole 3D object including the ratio of surface area to volume.  

Curricular competencies 

Applying and innovating: contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through personal or collaborative approaches.

I showed this competency not only when I used most of my class time well but
also when I helped my group and when they helped me. I helped my group a little in the building of our models, I also helped in the creation of the slideshow that we presented to our class. My group members helped me with the creation of my own 3D bridge.  

Reasoning and Analyzing: Model mathematics in contextualized experiences.

I showed this curricular competency when I found shapes within my 3D model. I had to figure out what some of the more difficult shapes were especially the tunnel under the bridge. I decided that it was a half cylinder that was going through the rectangular prism. In order to get the right volume and surface area of the rectangular prisms I had to minus the volume and add the surface area. My whole object together has more volume then surface area, with a 1.5:1 ratio.

 

Communicating and representing: Explain and justify mathematical ideas and decisions

I showed communicating and representing when I calculated, measured, and found the ratio of volume to surface area (1.5:1) of my 3D object. To do that I had to find the volume and surface area of all my shapes. I had to find a formula for each type of shape then I had to find all the heights, lengths, and other things like that. I also showed this competency when my group and I presented all of this information in class. We didn’t go into as much detail  about our calculations  in thePresentations as was required for the project. 

 

In the end I was able to answer the driving question “How can we design an object to optimize its shape?”. we can design an object in Tinkercad and move and change shapes to optimize its volume or surface area. The hardest part of this project was all the calculations they all had several hard steps just to find the volume/surface area. Even though I wish it could have been 3D printed, I am very proud of all the shapes my group and I made.