For this project we were required, along with our groups of four, to create a filter that would enable people in a chosen location to drink clean and purified water. Our group chose India, and so we focused our design around the bacteria that can be found in their water (mostly E. Coli and Cyanobacteria). In the end we had developed a working filter, that managed to filter both bacteria's. REFLECTION:
Since a little kid, Durango has been what I call home. And when studying snow science, there seems to be a great deal of relevance and relation when comparing to my life. We, as a community, consider snow as not only a tool, but a source of fun and entertainment and we Durangotangs host some of the best ski runs in Colorado. Snow personally is a large part of my life, Again, snow can be used as a tool, and we find that the majority of the snow that falls in the mountains, eventually becomes the snow we see in our rivers. The West is an extremely dry place (In most areas), and so water is crucial and the melting of snow allows us to get more water out of rivers, such as the Colorado and the San Juan. We are lucky out here in Colorado as we get the water fresh and plentiful, yet as it travels down the river, it eventually heads towards Mexico, but by that time the river is virtually dry. California is the state that takes the largest amount of water from the Colorado River, which results in the river running dry when it reaches Mexico. Throughout this project I have learned many things, but I find the actual snow safety (protecting one from encountering a potential avalanche), has been thus far the most crucial and interesting piece. Coming into this project, I had VERY little idea as to what caused the actual avalanche, and how to tell whether the area you are scouting is safe or not. The slide presentation which you see at the top of the page shows the five key signs of how an avalanche can be formed. And there are multiple ways to check whether the layers of snow are safe or not. Throughout the duration of this project, I learned MANY a thing, yet I feel that asking questions was a big part of my learning process. I asked my peers questions. I asked my teacher questions (almost to the point where he wanted to throw me out of a window). And I asked myself some questions, some of which were completely unrelated to the project, yet questions nonetheless. There were many ups and downs to this project. I particularly enjoyed ;earning about the snow safety aspect, yet the physical part of the project (which happens to be my slide show presentation), became a huge struggle. My partner and I redid our physical piece three times, and eventually found something that we felt happy with. Although there was a great deal of arguing, between my teach my partner and I, I learned some key lessons on how to communicate to ultimately make my work better. The YOLO Project (You Only Live Once) is mainly to help us understand how head injury's work, and to convince those who read through our individual projects to stay safe by wearing helmets! My topic isn't necessarily a sport that needs to add helmets to there inventory, but to improve them. Football (High school, College, and Professionally) accounts for 47% of ALL concussions throughout any sport (according to the CDC or Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Concussions are usually caused when your brain abruptly crashes into the side of your skull. The Cerebral Spinal Fluid usually protects against minor impacts, as it fills the space between the brain and the skull, YET, when your brain is hit with a force OVER 45 G's, you will experience permanent brain damage. In 'Helmets' article, "How Do Helmets Work" they state that, "Helmets designed to handle major crash energy generally contain a layer of crushable foam. When you crash and hit a hard surface, the foam part of a helmet crushes, controlling the crash energy and extending your head's stopping time by about six thousandths of a second (6 ms) to reduce the peak impact to the brain. Rotational forces and internal strains are likely to be reduced by the crushing." Usually this does work, yet when you are hit head on your helmet may not be able to withstand the given force. In football, we see the majority of concussions being caused when pone player hits another player in a helmet to helmet impact. In the following video, you will witness some of the hits that occur. Most of which cause concussions. (According to Child Psych)
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