Author Archives: Cris

Termite

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Termite

Term-ites. No, terms are not all right!

  • Termites eat old foliage including wood and dead animals.
  • Termites build mounds up to 7 metres (23 feet) high for shelter, storage and to keep the termites and nest moist and cool.
  • Termites don’t like daylight so hide in small tunnels during the day.
  • Termites build there mounds and tunnels mainly out of clay and dirt.
  • Termite nymphs moult up to ten times before they become an adult, the process taking a year.

Worker Termite, Termite tunnels, wood, Ten Random Facts

  • Only the termite kings and queen have wings, whilst workers have white heads and soldiers have red heads.
  • Termites are commonly known as “white ants” but are not technically an ant.
  • Termites are traditionally eaten in many countries since they are a good source of fat and protein.
  • Termites have been blamed to have eaten $220,000 worth of Indian rupee notes.
  • Termites are mainly found in tropical and warm temperature regions.
Bibliography:
Burnie, D 2006, E.Explore Insect, Dorling Kindersley, Great Britian
Termite 8 November 2012 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite>

Four Wheel Drive

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Four Wheel Drive

4×4 – Are you ready for a rocky ride!

  • A four wheel drive is commonly known as a  4×4 (four by four) or a 4WD and the first use of the term ‘4×4’ was used for North american military vehicles in the 1940’s.
  • A four wheel drive is a vehicle that has power from the engine transferred to all four wheels, rather than the common vehicle, where it is transferred only to two wheels.
  • The first four wheel drive car was made in 1903 by Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker.
  • Four wheel drive vehicles are designed to travel on soft and muddy terrain as well as on normal road surfaces.
  • 4×4 vehicles have  different suspension to normal cars, which means there is more wheel travel and space between the bottom of the car and the terrain.Four Wheel Drive, 4WD, 4X4, Janowen Hills 4WD Park, Old Quarry, Patrol
  • 4x4s and SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) have the fastest growing vehicle production rate in the world.
  • 4x4s usually have a high and low gearbox allowing the vehicle to drive at slow or fast speeds depending on the terrain.
  • Some four wheel drive vehicles are developed to always be in 4WD mode. Older 4x4s have a 2WD and 4WD mode, meaning you have to switch to 2WD mode whenever on hard surfaces.
  • Jeeps and Land Rovers are the most famous four wheel drive vehicles.
  • Often four wheel drive owners spend lots of money on their vehicle, which sometimes exceeds the value of the vehicle.
Bibliography:
Four-wheel Drive19 November 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-wheel_drive>
Graham, I 2006, Cars and Bikes, QED Publishing, United Kingdom

Floods

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Floods

Floods are real bad!

  • Floods are the world’s deadliest natural disaster and happens when water overflows its usual gathering place.
  • The deadliest known flood in history was the China flood in 1931, which killed 2.5 – 3.7 million people.
  •  Flash floods are floods that appear quickly and are short and destructive and normally take place on slopes and mountains.
  • Flooding brings diseases and chemicals to towns which can kill many people.
  • The most common ways people die due to floods, are when people try to cross flood waters, or are trapped in their house.

2010 -2011 December - January Warwick Floods, Queensland Australia floods, Condamine river, Ten Random Facts, Broken road, bridge

  • Sometimes the government purposely floods other areas to avoid mass destruction of  high populated areas.
  • Sloped flood barriers, normally steel or plastic, sand bags, walls and bridges are used to help defend flood waters.
  • When evacuating from floods, boats are typically used, although sometimes people are air lifted via helicopter.
  • People should not enter flood waters due to the dangers of diseases, underground hazards or sea animals, including sharks.
  • People use computers and 3D maps to help predict where floods will appear and there extent, as well as flood likeliness in a particular area.
Bibliography:
Mason, P 2011, Floods, Macmillian Library, Australia

Silver

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Silver

Silver is pretty, white and shiny.

  • Silver is harder than gold but softer than copper, and is approximately 2.5 on the hardness Mohs Scale.
  • Silver conducts electricity and heat better than any other metal.
  • Silver is one of the only materials that absorbs oxygen, which enables it to rid substances of germs and bacteria.
  • Silver can be beaten into sheets, drawn into threads and modelled.
  • The alloy, mixture of chemical elements, of silver is called electrum.

Silver necklace, Blue Flowers, Ten Random Facts

  • The main producers of silver are currently Peru, Bolivia and Mexico.
  • Silver in its natural state can be found mixed with gold or other ores like copper, zinc or lead, and is rarely found without contaminants.
  • Sterling silver is the mix of 7.5% copper with silver.
  • Silver was popularly used in many ancient coins, and is now used in medical equipment, some medicines, jewellery, silverware, medals and in the photography industry.
  • Silver is currently worth $32.13 Australian dollars per ounce.
Bibliography:
Blackwood, A 1979, Gold and Silver, Wayland Publishers Limited, England
Silver 20 November 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver>

Terracotta Army

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Terracotta Army

A pottery army – who would have heard of such a thing? Well it is true!

  • The Terracotta Army is made from terracotta clay and was built around 210 BC.
  • The Terracotta Army is in China and was discovered by Chinese farmers in 1974.
  • There are 6000 figures in the Terracotta Army which are all ready for war and including horses, foot soldiers, officers and chariots.
  • All of the Terracotta Army were equipped with real life items like weapons.
  • All of the men in the Terracotta Army were 1 foot taller then average real life men.

Terracota Army, Warriors, China, clay, Shi Huangdi, Ten Random Facts, Public Domain Pictures

Terraccota Army
Image courtesy of Peter Griffin/Public Domain Pictures
  • The Terracotta Army was owned by the first emperor, Shi Huangdi, who is now dead and is in his tomb.
  • Every single person of the Terracotta Army was modelled after a real person meaning every model is different.
  • The Terracotta Army was built because the first emperor believed in afterlife and wanted people to protect him.
  • Anyone who helped build or knew about the Terracotta Army was buried alive.
  • The Terracotta Army has usefully taught people about the Ancient China battle formations.
Bibliography:
Saldais, M & Easton, M 2002, Sose Alive 1, John Wiley & Sons, Australia

USB Flash Drive

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USB Flash Drive

USB Flash Drive. It is a USB that flashes and drives. Well, not really.

  • A USB drive is removable hardware storage that is typically used for computers, although other systems like gaming consoles and smart-phones also now use USBs.
  • ‘USB’ stands for ‘Universal Serial Bus’, and the ‘flash’ in the full name of the USB drive means the USB writes to flash memory.
  • The first USB drive was invented in 1999 by the companies Amir Ban, Dov Moan and Orsn Ogdon.
  • Since September 2011, some USB drives could hold up to 256 GBs.
  • A USB drive has a typical shape of a flatter rectangular prism, but some USBs come in shapes of everyday items like pocket knives and pieces of LEGO.

USB Flash Drives, Stick, Tevion, Cruzer SanDisk, Verbatim, D-Link, SanDisk Cruzer Blade, SanDisk, Cruzer Switch, Spelean, Bosch Sparck Plug, Ten Random Facts

  • USB drives are newer compacted versions of the old floppy disc.
  • USB drives use very little power.
  • USB drives can fail and not work properly when they have been through to many ‘write and erase’ cycles.
  • Microsoft™ named the memory storage and called them USB Flash Drives, in 2005.
  • A typical USB drive contains a male A-plug, a USB mass storage controller device,  a flash memory chip, test points, a crystal oscillator, a LED light, a write-protect switch, and space for a second flash memory chip.
Bibliography:
USB flash drive 17 November 2012 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive>
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