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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Living things and non-living things
Living things and Non-living things
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/ourselves.shtml
Plants and Animals in our environment
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/plants_animals_env.shtml
Classifying animals and plants
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/variation.shtml
Classification
http://www.kineticcity.com/mindgames/grinder/
I-Spy
http://www.scholastic.com/ispy/games/index.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/ourselves.shtml
Plants and Animals in our environment
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/plants_animals_env.shtml
Classifying animals and plants
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/variation.shtml
Classification
http://www.kineticcity.com/mindgames/grinder/
I-Spy
http://www.scholastic.com/ispy/games/index.htm
Monday, October 13, 2008
Project work for 6R
memories of hong wen
Pen down your memories of Hong Wen in your preferred form of presentation (songs, poems, powerpoint presentations, website, etc).
Some ideas to include:
- favourite moments (through the 6 yrs), e.g. excursions, lessons etc
- favourite teachers (what they have done for you)
- worst/embarassing moments
- favourite places/corners
- best friends made
- which part of hws you would like to preserve or have it brought to new school
- your wishes for the future of hws
expectations of your work:
- genuine, heartfelt, moving, funny, touching
i may be sharing your work with other teachers :)
deadline for submission: Wednesday 15 October
Pen down your memories of Hong Wen in your preferred form of presentation (songs, poems, powerpoint presentations, website, etc).
Some ideas to include:
- favourite moments (through the 6 yrs), e.g. excursions, lessons etc
- favourite teachers (what they have done for you)
- worst/embarassing moments
- favourite places/corners
- best friends made
- which part of hws you would like to preserve or have it brought to new school
- your wishes for the future of hws
expectations of your work:
- genuine, heartfelt, moving, funny, touching
i may be sharing your work with other teachers :)
deadline for submission: Wednesday 15 October
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Genetically Modified (GM) food
here are some useful links to articles on gm food:
Harvest of Fear
GM food: Monster or Saviour
some links to videos on gm food:
GM: a solution for Africa
GM needed to fight banana wilt
Harvest of Fear
GM food: Monster or Saviour
some links to videos on gm food:
GM: a solution for Africa
GM needed to fight banana wilt
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
What are biofuels?
the following article is taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6294133.stm
Biofuels are any kind of fuel made from living things, or from the waste they produce.
This is a very long and diverse list, including:
wood, wood chippings and straw
pellets or liquids made from wood
biogas (methane) from animals' excrement
ethanol, diesel or other liquid fuels made from processing plant material or waste oil
In recent years, the term "biofuel" has come to mean the last category - ethanol and diesel, made from crops including corn, sugarcane and rapeseed.
Bio-ethanol, an alcohol, is usually mixed with petrol, while biodiesel is either used on its own or in a mixture.
Pioneers such as Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel designed cars and engines to run on biofuels. Before World War II, the UK and Germany both sold biofuels mixed with petrol or diesel made from crude oil; the availability of cheap oil later ensured market dominance.
Ethanol for fuel is made through fermentation, the same process which produces it in wine and beer. Biodiesel is made through a variety of chemical processes.
There is interest in trying biobutanol, another alcohol, in aviation fuel.
Are biofuels climate-friendly?
In principle, biofuels are a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional transport fuels.
Burning the fuels releases carbon dioxide; but growing the plants absorbs a comparable amount of the gas from the atmosphere.
However, energy is used in farming and processing the crops, and this can make biofuels as polluting as petroleum-based fuels, depending on what is grown and how it is treated.
A recent UK government publication declared that biofuels reduced emissions "by 50-60% compared to fossil fuels".
Where are biofuels used?
Production of ethanol doubled globally between 2000 and 2005, with biodiesel output quadrupling.
Brazil leads the world in production and use, making about 16 billion litres per year of ethanol from its sugarcane industry.
Sixty percent of new cars can run on a fuel mix which includes 85% ethanol.
The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75% of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.
The British government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires 5% of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.
In the US, the Renewable Fuels Standard aims to double the use of biofuels in transport by 2012.
What are the downsides?
From the environmental point of the view, the big issue is biodiversity.
With much of the western world's farmland already consisting of identikit fields of monocultured crops, the fear is that a major adoption of biofuels will reduce habitat for animals and wild plants still further.
Asian countries may be tempted to replace rainforest with more palm oil plantations, critics say.
If increased proportions of food crops such as corn or soy are used for fuel, that may push prices up, affecting food supplies for less prosperous citizens.
The mixed picture regarding the climate benefit of biofuels leads some observers to say that the priority should be reducing energy use; initiatives on biofuels detract attention from this, they say, and are more of a financial help to politically important farming lobbies than a serious attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
There are few problems technically; engines can generally cope with the new fuels.
But current technologies limit production, because only certain parts of specific plants can be used.
The big hope is the so-called second-generation of biofuels, which will process the cellulose found in many plants. This should lead to far more efficient production using a much greater range of plants and plant waste.
Biofuels are any kind of fuel made from living things, or from the waste they produce.
This is a very long and diverse list, including:
wood, wood chippings and straw
pellets or liquids made from wood
biogas (methane) from animals' excrement
ethanol, diesel or other liquid fuels made from processing plant material or waste oil
In recent years, the term "biofuel" has come to mean the last category - ethanol and diesel, made from crops including corn, sugarcane and rapeseed.
Bio-ethanol, an alcohol, is usually mixed with petrol, while biodiesel is either used on its own or in a mixture.
Pioneers such as Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel designed cars and engines to run on biofuels. Before World War II, the UK and Germany both sold biofuels mixed with petrol or diesel made from crude oil; the availability of cheap oil later ensured market dominance.
Ethanol for fuel is made through fermentation, the same process which produces it in wine and beer. Biodiesel is made through a variety of chemical processes.
There is interest in trying biobutanol, another alcohol, in aviation fuel.
Are biofuels climate-friendly?
In principle, biofuels are a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional transport fuels.
Burning the fuels releases carbon dioxide; but growing the plants absorbs a comparable amount of the gas from the atmosphere.
However, energy is used in farming and processing the crops, and this can make biofuels as polluting as petroleum-based fuels, depending on what is grown and how it is treated.
A recent UK government publication declared that biofuels reduced emissions "by 50-60% compared to fossil fuels".
Where are biofuels used?
Production of ethanol doubled globally between 2000 and 2005, with biodiesel output quadrupling.
Brazil leads the world in production and use, making about 16 billion litres per year of ethanol from its sugarcane industry.
Sixty percent of new cars can run on a fuel mix which includes 85% ethanol.
The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75% of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.
The British government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires 5% of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.
In the US, the Renewable Fuels Standard aims to double the use of biofuels in transport by 2012.
What are the downsides?
From the environmental point of the view, the big issue is biodiversity.
With much of the western world's farmland already consisting of identikit fields of monocultured crops, the fear is that a major adoption of biofuels will reduce habitat for animals and wild plants still further.
Asian countries may be tempted to replace rainforest with more palm oil plantations, critics say.
If increased proportions of food crops such as corn or soy are used for fuel, that may push prices up, affecting food supplies for less prosperous citizens.
The mixed picture regarding the climate benefit of biofuels leads some observers to say that the priority should be reducing energy use; initiatives on biofuels detract attention from this, they say, and are more of a financial help to politically important farming lobbies than a serious attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
There are few problems technically; engines can generally cope with the new fuels.
But current technologies limit production, because only certain parts of specific plants can be used.
The big hope is the so-called second-generation of biofuels, which will process the cellulose found in many plants. This should lead to far more efficient production using a much greater range of plants and plant waste.
Honda makes first hydrogen cars
the following article taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7456141.stm
Japanese car manufacturer Honda has begun the first commercial production of a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle.
The four-seater, called FCX Clarity, runs on electricity produced by combining hydrogen with oxygen, and emits water vapour.
Honda claims the vehicle offers three times better fuel efficiency than a traditional, petrol-powered car.
Honda plans to produce 200 of the cars over the next three years.
One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel-cell vehicles is the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations.
This is an important day in the history of fuel-cell vehicle technology
John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda
Critics also point out that hydrogen is costly to produce and the most common way to produce hydrogen is still from fossil fuels.
Analysis of the environmental impact of different fuel technologies has shown that the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.
'Monumental step'
The first five customers are all based in southern California because of the proximity of hydrogen fuelling stations, Honda said.
US actress Jamie Lee Curtis will be among the first to take delivery of the vehicle, the firm added.
The car will initially be available for lease rather than purchase in California, starting in July, and then in Japan later this year.
It is being built on the world's first dedicated production line for fuel-cell vehicles in Japan.
"This is an important day in the history of fuel-cell vehicle technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel-cell cars will be part of the mainstream," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda.
How the technology works
Honda says it expects to lease a few dozen units in the US and Japan in 2008, and about 200 units within three years.
It said the cost of the car, on a three-year lease, would be $600 (£300) a month.
The FCX Clarity is based on Honda's first-generation hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX concept car. Honda delivered around 34 of these cars, mainly in the US, of which 10 remain in use.
Booming demand
Many car makers are developing cleaner, more economical vehicles because of high fuel prices and as consumers become more concerned with the environment.
Toyota said it was struggling to keep up with booming demand for its hybrid vehicles because it was unable to make enough batteries.
Hybrid vehicles, such as Toyota's top-selling Prius, switch between a petrol engine and electric motor.
Toyota Motor Corp's executive vice president, Takeshi Uchiyamada, told the Associated Press that new battery production lines could not be added until next year.
"Hybrids are selling so well we are doing all we can to increase production," he said. "We need new lines."
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker said on Monday it wanted to produce a Golf which consumed three to four litres of petrol per 100 kilometres compared with 4.3 litres currently for the most fuel-efficient model.
"In the next few years, we are not going to do without petrol and diesel motors, but the future belongs to the electric car," VW chairman Martin Winterkorn told German newspaper Bild-Zeitung.
Japanese car manufacturer Honda has begun the first commercial production of a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle.
The four-seater, called FCX Clarity, runs on electricity produced by combining hydrogen with oxygen, and emits water vapour.
Honda claims the vehicle offers three times better fuel efficiency than a traditional, petrol-powered car.
Honda plans to produce 200 of the cars over the next three years.
One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel-cell vehicles is the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations.
This is an important day in the history of fuel-cell vehicle technology
John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda
Critics also point out that hydrogen is costly to produce and the most common way to produce hydrogen is still from fossil fuels.
Analysis of the environmental impact of different fuel technologies has shown that the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.
'Monumental step'
The first five customers are all based in southern California because of the proximity of hydrogen fuelling stations, Honda said.
US actress Jamie Lee Curtis will be among the first to take delivery of the vehicle, the firm added.
The car will initially be available for lease rather than purchase in California, starting in July, and then in Japan later this year.
It is being built on the world's first dedicated production line for fuel-cell vehicles in Japan.
"This is an important day in the history of fuel-cell vehicle technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel-cell cars will be part of the mainstream," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda.
How the technology works
Honda says it expects to lease a few dozen units in the US and Japan in 2008, and about 200 units within three years.
It said the cost of the car, on a three-year lease, would be $600 (£300) a month.
The FCX Clarity is based on Honda's first-generation hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX concept car. Honda delivered around 34 of these cars, mainly in the US, of which 10 remain in use.
Booming demand
Many car makers are developing cleaner, more economical vehicles because of high fuel prices and as consumers become more concerned with the environment.
Toyota said it was struggling to keep up with booming demand for its hybrid vehicles because it was unable to make enough batteries.
Hybrid vehicles, such as Toyota's top-selling Prius, switch between a petrol engine and electric motor.
Toyota Motor Corp's executive vice president, Takeshi Uchiyamada, told the Associated Press that new battery production lines could not be added until next year.
"Hybrids are selling so well we are doing all we can to increase production," he said. "We need new lines."
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker said on Monday it wanted to produce a Golf which consumed three to four litres of petrol per 100 kilometres compared with 4.3 litres currently for the most fuel-efficient model.
"In the next few years, we are not going to do without petrol and diesel motors, but the future belongs to the electric car," VW chairman Martin Winterkorn told German newspaper Bild-Zeitung.
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