Behind The Scenes of My Gravity Powered Car: Class Response

I was assigned to build a gravity powered car for a science project. I used: an aluminum Coke Zero bottle, a jumbo yellow straw, two pencils, four plastic Coke Zero bottle caps, and hot glue.

Firstly, I took the jumbo straw and cut it in half, and I hot glued on half of the straw to the front of the bottle and the other half to the bottom of the bottle. Then I let the glue dry.

Secondly, I took the pencils and cut the eraser ends off with a saw and parental help. Then I took two bottle caps and filled them with glue, then I stuck one pencil in each bottle cap and let the glue dry.

Thirdly, put the pencils through the straws and filled the other two bottle caps with glue and I let those caps dry. I had to hold the car to make sure the weight of it would not come down on the bottle caps and make a big mess with glue.

That's how I made my car. If it needs more weight to go down ramps, then I can fill the bottle with a little water to give the car more weight.

Overall, this was a really fun project and if i had to do it again, I would.

Monarchs Moving North...Too Early?

The Problem:

Monarch butterflies make an annual migration north or south every year, depending on the season. In the United States, during the summer they move into the Northern parts of the U.S., normally around May, so around mid-spring. Also in autumn around the end October, the Monarchs move south around Texas and Mexico. This year, the Monarchs started moving north a bit too early. One Monarch lover was excited to see all the butterflies on April 14. This was a problem with many people who study insects. Chip Taylor, a professor and insect ecologist at the University of Kansas said, "The butterflies moved too north too fast." Which is true. The extreme fluctuation weather conditions Mother Nature has been throwing at us is not good for the butterflies. The Monarchs are moving farther north so quickly because of the drought in Texas. Especially for the Monarch species. The Monarch butterfly populations has been iffy for the past couple of years. Also the Milkweed plant North America, of which the butterflies feed as caterpillars, has been reducing. Professor Taylor also said that the Monarch butterfly population might reach a record low, beating 2009's record.

In My Opinion:

Monarch butterflies are my favorite type of butterfly, but there is nothing that humans can do to stop the lovely flying angels from migrating north. There is something internal in them, something instinctive that causes the butterflies to move each year. All humans can do is hope for better weather conditions and, if the butterflies are in your area, sit back and enjoy the view.

To learn more about the migration issue go to:

www.livescience.com/14146-monarch-butterflies-migration.html

To learn more about Monarch Butterflies go to:

www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/monarchbutterflies/monarchbutterflies.html