Noise Pollution Report

Noise, we often think of it as part of our everyday life, it’s all around us, and occurs every day. At first thought, it’s absolutely harmless; but how much do we really know? Noise and Noise pollution can actually be very dangerous to people and their ears. It can cause us not to here well or even become deaf. Noise pollution is a type of energy pollution in which distracting, damaging and mostly irritating sounds are freely audible. Noise pollution is not physical pollution, like water pollution were water is polluted but rather, waves that interact with similar waves in the same environment. Sounds are considered noise pollution if they affect/ distract wildlife, human activity or damage physical structures.

Noise pollution can affect’s almost all living creatures, from humans to dogs. But noise pollution affects some more than others. Noise pollution often affects factory workers, which work with large and loud machinery; over years there hearing levels will go down, which means they won’t here normally. Deafness and bad hearing can also occur to soldiers in wars, all the firing, the tanks and bombs will affect their hearing. After a person becomes old and reaches a certain age they will start losing their hearing.

Noise pollution is a serious problem, and there are quite a lot of problems with noise pollution. People who are exposed for a long time, constantly, are going to start having problems with their hearing, and might start losing it. Losing hearing or deafness is not the only problem with noise pollution, noise, can distract people, and irritate them; if a person is focusing or doing something, they can lose their consecration. This is just the beginning of what noise can truly do. Studies showed that there is a direct link between noise pollution and a person’s health. Noise pollution can cause stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, sleep disruption and lost productivity. These are most of the components noise pollution interferes with.

Noise pollution is a serious problem but fortunately we have science on our side to help find a solution. We can’t totally prevent noise pollution, but we can find some solutions. First I suggest that all factory workers, wear earphones, wherever there working. Science can help in this by trying to design and make earphones that don’t let sound travel through them; which means the person wearing them doesn’t hear anything. Secondly, I suggest that scientist try reducing the amount of sound loud objects produce. An example of a loud object is a drill; scientists could start making drills that produce less sound.

Even though this sounds pretty easy there are a lot if limitations and benefits. The benefits are that we have advanced technology, and with research and patience we can try achieving these goals. We can start making soundless earphones and machines that produce less sound. Even though science is very powerful but it still can’t solve everything. The first limitation that occurs is that sound is not physical pollution, which means it naturally occurs. And solving a problem which you can’t see is harder solving, then one you can such as water pollution. Second sound will always occur even If we are wearing earphones, we can’t ever totally stop sound.

As you can see sound is much more dangerous that you might have thought but I think with effort, we can start making machines that produce less sound. But until that starts happening I suggest that we should all carry a pair of ear buds in case we go into a loud area.

Bibliography
"Noise Pollution | Air and Radiation | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .
Website
"What Is Noise Pollution? - What Noise Pollution Is, What Causes Noise Pollution, and Who Regulates It." Recent Questions: - Questions Recently Asked on What-Is-What.com. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. .

Lab Report

Lab Report
Guiding Question: How does the density of a material affect properties of sound traveling from a tuning fork?

Hypothesis: I think the more the dense the material the slower the sound travels and the smaller the pitch.

Controlled Variable:
• Force
• Tuning Fork

Manipulated Variable:
• Tuning Fork
• Force
• Object


Materials:
• Tuning fork
• Plastic bottles
• Whiteboard
• Bin
• Window
• Book
• Table





Object Pitch How long it vibrates Loudness Density
Glass Window high Long vibrations loud 2.52g/c3
oak table high long vibrations medium loudness 0.65g/cm3
board low pitch long vibrations medium/loud 2.7g/cm3
garbage bin high vibrates for a long time medium loudness 1.55g/cm3
book low short really soft
P.E.T Bottle medium Lasts for a long time Really loud 1.55g/cm3


Conclusion:
After Completing this lab I conclude that my hypothesis was correct and yes the density does somewhat affect the sound of the tuning fork. The denser the object the less it vibrates, but also the materials of the object affect how the sound travels. An example of this is comparing the oak with the Pet bottle. The oak is less dense but the Pet bottle is both lasts longer and is much louder. I guess that the density affects the pitch of an object, the lower the density the higher the pitch.

Further Inquiry: We could have changed this experiment in numerous ways. First you could have used different types of tuning forks. We could have also held are ear further away from the object or closer, because that greatly affects the results.
Bibliography
"Paper Density - Wolfram|Alpha." Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .

Japan's Earthquake

Just this Friday ( March 12, 2011) at about 2:30 pm local time, a devastating earthquake hit Japan. With the magnitude of 8.9 this was the biggest earthquake in Japan ever recorded, even though Japan is a very tremors area. But, this was nothing compared to the 10 meter tsunami which came a bit later. It wiped away whole villages and destroyed parts of many big cities and towns. Lot's of buildings are displaced and moved, and tons of others are just ruble which might have people laying motionless beneath them. there are 8,000 people missing and nearly 4,000 confirmed deaths. almost half a million people were left homeless after this tragedy. And all of Japan is suffering even the parts that weren't hit by the tsunami. There is no Electricity, and there's a huge shortage of food petrol. People have to stay in queue's to get these products. The problem right now is the nuclear power plant Fukushima which is closer and closer to having a meltdown. It was originally rated a 4 out of 7 for danger, but as each hour passes they think it's much more serious, right now there is more than the normal level of radiation, which is a huge problem.

But this is not only Japan's problem. Japan is the 3 leading economy of the world, and produce most of are technology, this will affect the world's economy greatly, and even the world if there is a meltdown, lot's of people are homeless and foreigners need to try to help by donating money. Help Japan! this might happen to you!

Earthquake safety

Earthquakes are dangerous and a lot of buildings collapse during on. Safety plans are really helpful During an earthquake. This is a safety plan for my house and the safest part's. If I was in my room during an earthquake, I would hide under my desk or my closet which is big heavy and roomy and i could fit. If I was in the living room kitchen and the part's close I would go under the dining room table. And if i was in my mom's office/study I would go under her desk which is very stable and safe.



Even if you hide it isn't always safe. First on your way to hide shelf contents may fall on you, also everything that isn't attached may fall on you including heavy bookshelves. You should attach all the bookshelves to walls and make barriers on a shelf so heavy objects don't just go flying. In my house I would move my bed, because above it there are lot's of heavy objects that can fall on me. I would also attach the shelves to the walls, and make barriers for objects so not all of them go flying.



If you survive an earthquake which is greatly possible you might be stuck under layers and layers of rubble. In this case you need a safety kit; one should contain water for 2 days, food for 2 days. a hammer and a air horn to warn rescue people and dogs that you are there.
Being stuck in rubble is dangerous and if you can't get out don't try pushing your way out.