Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Desert plants adapting to the extreme conditions

A desert is a dry region with little or no rainfall and life is a struggle in such a harsh and hot environment. However, there are living things such as plants that do survive in deserts by adapting to the extreme conditions. There are two main problems for them. One is not getting enough water and the other is surviving in high temperatures. Plants, unlike animals, cannot move to avoid the sun. Desert plants include flowers, grasses, cactus, shrubs and trees.




The adaptations are:
Succulence:
Succulent plants have fleshy and thick leaves, stems or roots. That is because inside thos plant parts, water is being stored. Examples are the cactus, agave, aloe, elephant trees and all cactus are succulent plants. These plants are able to absorb large quantities of water because desert rains are very light and brief so they have to do so in order to survive. The ground soil will also dry rapidly under the intense heat of the sun.
Drought Tolerance:
It refers to the ability of a plant to withstand desiccation, which means to be dried up, without dying. Plants using this adaptation usually have deciduous leaves, where leaves are shed during dry periods to prevent too much water loss through transpiration at the leaf surfaces and to retain more water in their stem. Drought tolerant plants also have more extensive shallow roots.
Drought Avoidance:
Annual plants mature in a single season and die after using all their energy to produce seeds. These plants are only found in countries with dry seasons and the more arid the habitat, the greater proportion of annual species of plants. It is usually flowers that make use of drought avoidance and certain of these flowers only bloom in the night time as it is cooler at night. Thus, more insects will come out so pollinations occurs and there will be more of the flowers even if they die quickly.

Types of roots:
Desert plants have long or deep roots that help them absorb as much water as possible from the ground. They also tend to have roots that spread a long way and sometimes exist in a suspended state until rain activates them. A small amount of moisture will cause the root feeders to grow quickly out of the main roots. Those feeders are what brings in the water, nutrients and dissolved minerals in the soil or ground. The feeders actually die after the rain is gone and when the soil dries up. This actually happens to enable the plant to live on its stored water without having to use up energy and moisture and keeping the roots alive may not be needed for several months.
Types of leaves:
Desert plants have waxy cuticles that make them almost waterproof when the stomata is closed so water is conserved. Other plants have small, spiny leaves that reduce the amount of water loss during transpiration. Some cactus also make use of their light coloured leaves or hairs to shade from the sun.


Keeping away thirsty animals:
Some desert plants grow in inaccessible areas and can camouflage. They also have poisonous or toxic leaves to keep away predators, who want to consume the stored water in fleshy plant parts.

Growth:
Desert plants can survive with little water but even so, some of them grow near oases, which are surfaces which water come out from underground, or rivers, that fill up after rainstorms. They also grow slowly because less energy will be required. Thus, less water is used up and they would be able to survive for a longer time.

Links:
Book:
Alpha Books: Deserts
Pictures:
http://cache2.artprintimages.com/p/LRG/27/2746/5RDTD00Z/dee-ann-pederson-saguaro-cactus-in-sonoran-desert-saguaro-national-park-arizona-usa.jpg











Friday, May 14, 2010

Forms of energy

Potential Energy...[Potential Energy is stored energy due to a body's position or condition]

Chemical potential energy is...

{stored in fuels like petrol and food}

{can be released through chemical reactions}

Gravitational potential energy is...

{the energy an object has as a result of its location or position}

*The object will have more gravitational potential energy when at a higher position with respect to the ground as compared to the energy it possesses at a lower position.

Elastic potential energy is...

{is the energy an object has when being compressed or stretched}

Kinetic Energy... [the energy a body has due to its motion]

*All moving objects have kinetic energy

*e.g. walking person, speeding car, flying bird, rolling ball

Heat Energy... [the energy that flows from a region of higher temperature to a lower one]

* Heat is transferred from a hot to a cold object

*Sun is an important source of heat energy

* e.g. cooking, ironing clothes, melting materials in factories, generating electricity

Light Energy... [the energy that enables us to see]

* Sun is an important source of light energy

* Without light, we would not be able to see a single thing in the world

Sound Energy... [the energy produced when objects vibrate]

* enables us to communicate

* allows us to enjoy music

* e.g. fire alarm, radio

Electrical Energy... [the energy that results from the flow of charged particles]

* almost all electrical appliances make use of electrical energy

* can be transformed into many other forms of energy

* e.g. television, computer

Solar Energy...

{solar panels capture sunlight in the day and the light is transformed into electricity}

Wind Energy...

{wind mills or wind turbines in wind farms make use of the kinetic energy from the wind for generating electricity}

Wave Energy...

{Wave farms use the kinetic energy of waves to generate electricity}

Moments

The principle of moments states that when a body is in equillibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about the pivot/fulcrum is equal to the sum of anti-clockwise moments about the same pivot/fulcrum.

Levers

Levers are basic tools probably used since prehistoric times. They were first described by Archimedes. A lever is a simple machine which makes work easier, which involves moving a load around the pivot or fulcrum using an effort.
Watch this video on levers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1pYkTtsxg


In a first class lever, the fulcrum/pivot is in the center of the load and effort. Some examples are the see-saw, scissors and pliers.




In a second class lever, the load is in the middle of the fulcrum/pivot and the effort. Some examples are staplers, wheelbarrows and nail clippers.


In a third class lever, the effort is between the load and the fulcrum/pivot. Some examples are fishing rods, thongs and tweezers.

Sources:
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6952789/2/istockphoto_6952789-fishing-bear.jpg
http://www.sciencefairprojects-ideas.com/images/stories/seesaw.jpg

Conservation of energy

It is always important to conserve energy because most of the energy we use comes from non-renewable sources, like fossil fuels. They are limited and will run out one day. Some scientists estimated that they will all be used up by the next 200 years. Therefore, it is a must for everyone to conserve energy. The law of conservation of energy states that energy can change from one form to another but it cannot be destroyed or created.

What is Biomass?


Biomass refers to plant and animal material from which oil can be extracted, fermented into gas or burned. Oil palm, jatropha or jojoba are examples of which oil can be extracted to be used for lighting, heating and cosmetics. They can also be turned into biodiesel fuel for vehicles.
A video on Biomass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79nW2o-kYa4
Picture Sources: http://www.infocoreonline.net/computerjunction.in/be1.jpg

Energy


Renewable energy is an energy that comes from natural sources that naturally replenishes, such as, sunlight(solar power), wind(wind farms, wind turbines), rain, tides and geothermal heat(heat stored in the Earth). Non-renewable energy is a natural source that cannot be re-grown, produced or generated and they are used up faster than the Earth can recreate them. It includes fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gases which will be used up one day so the future generations will not have any of these sources left.