Llamas and Alpacas

Author's Note:
This content essay is based on the differences and similarities between llamas and alpacas. My voice is pointed more toward and essay tone of voice.  I am focusing on organization.
Alpacas are barely half the size of llamas.  A lot of people don't know that there are actually important differences between llamas and alpacas.   The two have totally different coats, one is rough and the other is fluffy.  Also, they have mostly the same personalities.   A majority of people think that llamas spit, but not alpacas.  The truth is that they both do.  Finally, the main difference is that alpacas are a billion times more cute and interesting.
There are some distinct differences between llamas and alpacas.  The main is that alpacas are half the size of llamas.  A llama weighs roughly 300 pounds while alpacas weighs about 150-160. There coats are different too.  A llamas coat is  while an alpacas coat is more .  Those are the two main differences between llamas and alpacas.
While there are differences between the two animals, there are some similarities.   Both of them have just about the same personality.  A myth about llamas is that they spit when they get angry, but alpacas don't.  The reality is that they both spit when they're angry, agitated, or bored.  Finally, their overall appearances are almost identical in every way besides size.
Some other facts that most people don't know about these animals are that they both live about twenty years.  Also, both of them originated in Peru.  Another cool fact is that alpacas were just brought to America about twenty five years.  While llamas have been in America since the early 1800's.  Lastly, both of them come in the same colors, browns, blacks, and reds.
The color similarity is one of the reasons people think that alpacas and llamas are basically the same.     There are other reasons too such as the overall appearance and that they both have the same attitudes.  A difference is that their coats are different from each other and that alpacas are half the size of llamas.  Finally, alpacas are easily more interesting, but llamas are alright too.
Sources:
1. Brown, Dur. Personal interview. 21 Feb. 2011.
2. "Alpaca Facts." Alpacas of Cedar Wind. Cedar Wind Products.. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.alpacasofcedarwind.com/Alpaca%20Facts.htm>.
3. Graham, Dale. "LlamaWeb: About llama colors." LlamaWeb: Llamas on the Internet!. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.llamaweb.com/about/colors.html>.
4. "History." Llama Lifestyle Marketing Association and Llama Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.llama.org/history.htm>.

Scary

Everyday fears
Stereotypes
People thinking
Of only frights

Pit bulls and sharks
Death and bats
Witches and warlocks
And their black cats

Wild dogs
And arachnids
Vultures and eagles
Snakes that are read

Frogs and darkness
Dark blue sting rays
Roller coasters and heights
Shakespearean plays

Balloons

Flying through the air
Going with the flow
Drifting in the wind
Not being thrown

Soaring in the skies
Slicing through clouds
Uping and downing
Walking through clouds

Bobbing your head
Whipping your tail
Sloshing through snow
Dashing down trails

Racing 'round minds
Carrying messages
Streaming up here
For ages upon ages

Floating in the rain
Feeling every drop
Touching towards the ground
POP!

Fantasy

Smoke turned clouds
Predators turned family
Violence turned joke
Bully turned friend
Food turned delicacy
Painting turned masterpiece
Music turned art
Scents turned perfume
Fun turned adventure
Animals turned pets

Everyday Reactions

Tech:
Scroll down to see voki's

Essay:

Combining everyday household products is potentially dangerous. When mixing any products within a home, always check to make sure that it's safe.  I found that even mixing Dr. Pepper and salt gets a reaction. When cleaning a bathroom, always check that its safe to mix the cleaners or soaps being used because they can be life threatening. Lots of people know old tricks such as putting Mentos in Coke, but there are tons of other reactions you can find in any home.

I found that combining the simplest of products something can happen. A lot of people overlook the fact that reactions are everywhere. How do you think foaming cleaners foam? By reacting to whatever is on the surface you are applying it to. Reactions happen when two or more substances come in contact with each other and have ingredients that cause anything from explosions to plain odors. So from Scrubbing Bubbles and Mr. Clean to burning wood, reactions are all around.

Once I decided to test some of the combinations I researched, I discovered that most of the research I had originally found was supported. My first test was to see if gummy bears would melt in boiling water or stay the way that they were. My research said that they would melt and when I tested it I found that they did. The next test that I conducted was to see which has more of a reaction, combining salt and Dr Pepper or garlic salt and Dr. Pepper. The research I found said that salt would create a larger reaction and I would have to agree after conduction my experiment. Another test I tried was putting a can of either regular or diet lemon-lime soda in the snow for a two day period. I found that the regular has more a reaction. This supports the research I found. Overall, most of my results supported my research.

The one type of combination that I wouldn't try is cleaning substances. Different chemicals in cleaning solutions can cause lots of diseases and problems when mixed together. Once combined they can cause breathing problems, other lung diseases, and other fatal issues that could potentially lead to death. Even name brand and high quality products aren't necessarily safe when mixed. People have reported breathing problems after they mixed big products such as Mr. Clean and KABOOM. Overall, just know to watch out for what is getting mixed and be sure to look at labels.

Since some everyday products can create chemical reactions always check labels and make sure it is safe. There are some obvious ones like Coke and Mentos, but how about bathroom cleaners. How about gummy bears. Testing some combinations has really opened my eyes to see just how many different reactions can happen in any body's house. To conclude, mixing products at home shouldn't be taken too seriously when it comes to candy and soda, just be careful when using detergent or cleaner brands.

Self Reflection:
I think that I did my best work on this project. I think that I spent more time doing things and I think that I overall had a good outcome. I think I could do better on using more resources and making my task analysis accurate. Overall though I think I did pretty good.

Goals for next project:
- To use more resources
- Have more accurate task analysis

Scientific Process:

Problem:
What happens when you combine different household products?
Hypothesizes:
I thought for the two minute gummy bear test that half of the gummy bears would melt because since they contain gelatin, the candies are able to melt if heated enough.  For the five minute test I thought that all of the gummy bears would melt because they would be in longer and would have more time to melt.  For the salt and Dr. Pepper test I thought that the bowl would over flow while the garlic salt wouldn't do anything.  For the can of soda in the snow test I thought that the diet would not do anything while the regular soda would explode.  Finally, I thought that putting sugar in cran-grapefruit juice would have more of a reaction that sweetener.
Experimental Design:
Materials-
• Gummy bears
• Water
• Pot
• Stove
• Strainer
• Sink
• Timer
• Dr. Pepper
• Salt
• Garlic Salt
• Large bowl
• Can of regular soda(not coke)
• Can of diet soda (not coke)
• Snow
• Cran-grapefruit juice
• Sugar
• Sweetener
Variables:
Gummy bear
CV- Amount of gummy bears, stove, and amount of water
IV- Time that they are boiling
DV- The water temperature
Dr. Pepper
CV- Amount of Dr. Pepper, amount of added salt, and the bowl.
IV- Kind of salt
Soda in snow
CV- Roughly the same temperature and same type of soda
IV- Whether the soda is diet or regular
EV- The amount of snow
Cran-grapefruit
CV- Amount of sugar or sweetener, amount of juice, and kind of juice.
IV- Whether I used sugar or sweetener
Procedure:
Gummy bear
First what I did was I gathered all of my materials needed for this test.  Next, I placed the pot on the stove, before it's hot, and added two cups of water.  Next I placed in ten gummy bears.  Then I turned the heat to high and waited for it to boil.  Once it did, I had it boil for two minutes.  After two minutes I took the pot over to my sink and dumped into a strainer to see if they all had melted.   Afterward, I went back to the stove and, on a different burner, repeated putting in two cups of water and ten gummy bears, turning the heat to high, and now I waited for five minutes.  Once the time was up, I did the same thing.  I took the pot over to the sink and dumped it into a strainer.
Dr. Pepper
My first step was to gather all of my materials for this test.  Next I took the large bowl and added a tablespoon of regular salt.  After that, I poured in a liter of Dr. Pepper and waited.  Once I recorded what happened I dumped the bowl into the sink.  My next step was to put in a tablespoon of garlic salt into the bowl.  Finally I put the last liter of Dr. Pepper in and waited to record my results.
Can of soda
First I got a can of regular lemon-lime soda and diet lemon-lime soda and put them in my fridge.  Next I took the diet can outside and place it completely in the snow just before I left for school.  The next day after school I checked to see if anything happened.  The day after that I put the regular soda in the snow at the same time and waited the same number of days.  I recorded my results and took the can out of the snow.
Cran-grapefruit
First I had to convince my dad to take me to Panera.  Next, I took a soft drink cup and filled it with their cran-grapefruit juice.  After that, I took a packet of sugar and went into the bathroom.  I dumped in the sugar over the sink to see what would happen.  Finally, I refilled my cup and did the same process as the sugar, but with sweetener this time. 
Observations:




Conclusion: 
All of the tests were pretty accurate though there were some external variables.  For the putting a can of soda in the soda test, the external variable was that for the regular soda it was completely covered in snow because of the big downfall we got and it probably wouldn't have any room to do anything.  Also the test with Dr. Pepper the external variable was that there might have been some salt in with the garlic salt because I used the same measuring spoon.  Though overall the tests were mostly accurate.
Sites:
• "Bathroom Safety Tips | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/way_5467682_bathroom-safety-tips.html>.
• Category. "Chemistry in Everyday Life - Articles, Home Experiments, How Things Work." Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/Chemistry_in_Everyday_Life.htm>.
• Sandhyarani, Ningthoujam. "Chemical Reactions in Everyday Life." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/chemical-reactions-in-everyday-life.html>.
• "URGENT!!! HELP!!! I just mixed 3 different bathroom cleaners, am i going to die?!??!??? please help? - Yahoo! Answers." Yahoo! Answers - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100402201849AAFttK

Voki's For Project

Chinchillas

Author's Note:
I was inspired to write about chinchillas when I was thinking about exotic animals I could research. I am focusing on organization.

Quietly rustling through the sand on another humid day out in the wild.  Eating a cactus and basking under the cooling mid-day breeze.  Scurrying around the desert on dainty little feet.  Not being threatened by prowling animals. Distracting the predator by shedding the fur from where they have locked on to a defenseless back.   The highly curved spine extends as it dashes away from the predator.  The only animal active enough that this day could belong to, would be the chinchilla. 


Most wild chinchillas live in or near the Andes Mountains of South America.  They like it there because it's perfect for their natural needs.  The dry, mountainous environment allows them burrow into crevices of rocks and make a home.  Their thick fur allows them to withstand temperatures as low as fifty five to sixty degrees.  
 
A chinchilla's fur is only half as fascinating as the bone structure of one.  It has a spine that makes a curve that is close to a semicircle.  The arc allows the chinchilla to run swiftly and jump distances up to six feet.  Its top jaw bone overlaps the bottom bone making it look almost like buckteeth. Chinchilla’s feet are furry pads that are separated into small fingers.  The total skeleton of a chinchilla is a very complex and unique structure that almost no other animal has.


Since they are so small, predators see them as an easy meal.  Common predators are skunks, large birds, and wild dogs.  If a wild dog were to bite a chinchilla, a natural instinct is to shed the fur from where they were bitten and to spray urine at the predator.  This could distract a predator, giving the chinchilla time to run away.  In general, chinchillas aren't that easy to capture in the wild.   The main threat to a chinchilla are human poachers that try to capture them.


Chinchillas are very active animals.  Between saving themselves from dogs to making a home in between rocks, they can have extremely busy days.  One might be able to find a wild chinchilla burrowed in the Andes Mountains or somewhere in the surrounding area.   A chinchilla’s fur isn't just soft and fluffy, it is used to stay warm and as a defense against predators.  Finally, chinchillas are small attentive creatures that can be found scurrying around South America on their pad-like feet.

SOURCES:

• "Chinchilla Facts." Chinchilla Planet - A Guide for Pet Owners. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. <http://www.chinchillaplanet.com/chinchilla-facts/>.
• "Chinchilla Facts - Information on Chinchillas." Chinchilla Facts - Information on Chinchillas. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. <http://www.chinchillafacts.net/>.
• "X ray of a healthy chinchilla image by phillipnsarah on Photobucket." Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. <http://media.photobucket.com/image/x%20ray%20of%20a%20healthy%20chinchilla/phillipnsarah/toffeedraw.jpg>.