Michelle+Coombs

Student Bio:
My name is Michelle Coombs and I am 17 years old. I am a triplet and I am the middle child of the three. My favorite subjects have always been science and history and I plan to study environmental science in college. Favorite Animal: Dog (Labrador Retriever) toc Favorite Vacation spot: Martha's Vineyard media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Marthas+Vineyard,+Tisbury,+MA&aq=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.547176,78.662109&vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tisbury,+Dukes,+Massachusetts&ll=41.456111,-70.611111&spn=0.263209,0.87616&t=m&z=11&output=embed" width="425" height="350" Favorite Sports Team/Athlete: Red Sox/Jacoby Ellsbury [] Favorite Food: Pasta Favorite Music: Rock/Alternative Favorite Book: To Kill A Mockingbird Favorite Movie: The Parent Trap, Forrest Gump Favorite Websites: Facebook, MSN, Youtube When I grow up I wanna be an: Environmental Scientist

__**Biome Questions:**__
//The Indian Pipe is a fungus so it can not photosynthesize// __**Plant Press Project**__ //A plant press is a scientific tool that consists of pieces of plywood, cardboard, and blotting material like newspaper in order to press plants and herbs. It is used to dry and preserve plant speciemens for future study so the plants do not wilt or brown. To use a plant press, you rest a plant of a sheet of newspaper and cover it with another sheet of newspaper and separate each plant covered with a newspaper with a piece of cardboard. These are placed betweened two pieces of plywood which are screwed together tightly.//
 * 1. Is an Indian Pipe a plant or a fungus? If it is a plant, how does it photosynthesize if it's not green?**
 * 2. Why does poison ivy have little hairs on the stems?**
 * 3. Why did those mushrooms grow in a large cluster?**
 * 1. What is a Plant Press?**
 * 2. Common Plants/Trees Found in Massachusetts**

__**Quadrat Stream Study**__
A quadrat study is an in depth, scientific investigation of the plants, animals, soil, light and weather of a specific area. The quadrat is usually a square. The size varies according to the study. Less common or clumped organisms require a larger study area to accurately sample their numbers. Common species may be sampled using smaller quadrats. The plots should be large enough to contain significant numbers of plants and animals. The abundance of each species is determined by counting the individual organisms found within the area or by percent cover, which means the amount of area covered by each species is determined as a percentage of the total area. [] __Research Questions__ 1. What is a quadrat study and why are we using them? 2. What is a microorganism? Are there different types in this region as opposed to another part of the country? 3. What is a macro-invertebrate? What specific types live in the streams of Massachsetts? //Macroinvertebrates are animals that have no backbone and are visible without magnification.Many of these animals are found in the benthiczone (or bottom layer) of the lake and their tunneling activity helps to release nutrients from the sediments. This group includes immature dragonflies,mayflies, beetles, snails, leeches crayfish// //and bivalves.// [] (this website has a great key in determining what type of macroinvertebraes there are) 4. How do you determine the conditions of the stream? pH? Turbidity? What is turbidity? 5. What types of organisms live in the water? //Phytoplankton are microscopic algae that produce oxygen and are an important food source for other organisms. Zooplankton are freefloating microscopic animals and are the primary consumers and graze heavily on the phytoplankton.Bacteria are single celled organisms that break// //down and decompose matter with in a lake’s ecosystem.// [] 6. Can we determine the condition of the water based on the animals that live there? 7. Are they sensitive to pollution? 8. How can be determine if the stream is polluted? [] []


 * What were the scientist's research questions?**

What would make you go to the WHS Library more often? How helpful are the library staff when you need assistance? What would you change about the current WHS Library?

The data was answers from surveys that she conducted for the students
 * How did she find the answers to these questions? (What Data did she collect)**

she gathered the answers from the students' surveys
 * How did she collect the data?**

There were a lot of problems regarding the condition of the library and she wanted to change them to make the library more welcoming and helpful
 * What were her observations and analysis of the data? (What did she conclude)**

She improved the condition of the library
 * Based on these conclusions, how did this scientist change her environment?**

Take My Poll!
media type="custom" key="11487552"

Soil Ingrediments
1. Peat moss (I reasearched what the majority of potting soil is and this is what the Internet told me) It looks just like what was inside the soil. 2. There were these gold-looking pieces in the soil as well. It's called Vermiculite and it is used to keep the pH somewhat neutral. Here's a picture. It could be something different but it looks similar to the stuff I saw in the soil. [] 3. Sand/Gravel

Environmental Issues PSA
1. __Where did you find this article? (If online, post the link so your team can check it out.)__ [] This is the home page where, from there, you can access other articles like features/ benefits, costs, and product specification.

2. __What were the main ideas? (Summarize the article for us. Maybe a sentence or two on each big idea or paragraph)__ The Auto Touch faucet system was designed for both sanitation purposes and to help conserve water, gas, and electricity. A hand or knee touch on the sensor pad activates the water flow, the supply is cut off by timer, or instantly upon release of the knee. Savings from the decreased use of water will also be realized with a reduction of required energy needed to heat water, and reduced electrical usage needed to pump water from original sources.

3. __What did you find interesting or helpful? (Anything you think the group can use or duplicate in your PSA? Good pics? Graphics? Data? etc.)__ 4. __What questions do you have after reading the article? (Apply the article to WHS or Waltham. How does our school/community fit into the picture?)__ Will WHS be able to afford auto touch sinks in every bathroom? Would we put them im every bathroom? How cost effectice will they really be? What is the difference between touching the senor pad with your hands and turning on a regular faucet? 5. __What's next? (Do you think your group should consult another source? Does this article give you ideas for the next step? Are there more questions to be answered?)__
 * If the entire U.S. population were to implement the Auto touch faucet system, over 500 billion gallons of water could be saved.
 * Verified results show a reduction average of 44% in water usage per bathroom sink, equaling a savings of 135 gallons of water per person on a monthly basis.

Day 1: Hearing
Peepers (little frogs? near the marshy area) Chickadee Construction stream flowing airplane dead leaves rustling in the wind a duck! Ms Neville announcement? something dropping onto a dead leaf bird making a 'pip' sound bug buzzing bird making a raspy, harsh call bird making an alarm-type noise bid calling in twos hum of cars in the distance