Waves All Around Us: Unit Reflection

Heres my brain storm on a brief summery of what i learned this unit:

How does the use and study of waves affect societal well-being?

During the first part of our unit on waves we learn't about how waves aren't just the waves that you swim in at the beach. They are all around us, so throughout this unit we learn''t the basics of waves and all about the different types of waves. This variety of waves

includes seismic waves, sounds waves, electromagnetic waves, surface waves,

We started with the most well known waves,

Water Waves: Water waves can effect our lives both positively and negatively, from a fun day to a beach to a drastic tsunami. Water waves are

known as seismic waves, seismic waves are formed from stress in the rock. When the rock moves from its original space it will send energy throughout Earth.

When two types of waves known has p and s waves (p = primary s = sec

ondary waves). When these two waves combine they create an earthquake and/or a tsunami. While studying these types of particular waves we learn't a lot about what to do if you are in a situation where there is a tsunami or earthquake.

Sound Waves:

We started of this section of our unit by leaning how sound travels and how it effects us. One of the most memorable parts of this unit for me was learning about how damaging and how many types of noise pollution there is!

Electromagnetic Waves:

While studying electromagnetic waves we lean't a lot about the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum includes; radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light waves, ultraviolet waves, x-rays, and gamma rays.

What did I like about this unit?

I liked this unit because it was slightly different from some of our previous units, like how we started simple and then branched out into wide variety of all the waves around us. I also liked all the projects that we did while working with different people than we're used to.

I think that for next years students the layout of the unit could stay the same and they could all still learn alot! but I think that a bit more on the electromagnetic spectrum could be nice because even though we had all the presentations on different parts of the spectrum i still find it a bit hazy.

Irradiated Foods

Will irradiating food make people less careful about handling the food?

I would say yes. Because though there should be no difference in the way people handle irradiated food vs non irradiated food, people will think that because the irradiated food is sterilized and almost all the bacteria is gone that they do not need to be as careful and hygenic in the way the handle the food. However, this is not true, irradiated food can still become contaminated. And the amount of radiation will not kill all the harmful and dangerous organisms in the food, it is still necessary to good it propery before you eat it (especially meat and eggs.)
So i think that when companies label irradiated foods they should also give warnings about th way that you still need to/should handle the food. Because, yes, people who understand what irradiated food is are probably more likely to be more careless while handling irradiated foods.
Pros and cons of irradiated food: Pros:
- Healthy way of sterilizing food.
- Can kill and reduce the number/amount of dangerous organisms in food (90-99%)
- Helps foods be stored longer/ last for longer thus decreasing famine and prices seeing as not as much food is needed to be bought.
- Works as an alternative to fumigation
Cons:

- Irradiation ca destroy up to 95% of the vitamins and minerals that are essential to our bodies
- Irradiation doesn't necessarily get rid of all the bad things in food.
- Some people don't always treat irradiated food with as much caution (while handling) as they should. (see paragraph above.)

Statement: I think that irradiation should not be encouraged but it shouldn't be banned. I think that it is working as a step to creating a technology that does similar things that everyone benefits from.