Other+Reflections

**__PROJECT ECORITCH__**
On the 16th of August, I attended a trail organized by the project group Eco-Ritch, who held a two hour long nature trail in MacRitchie Reservoir, to educate us about the wildlife there. When I first entered the forest, it was as if I had entered a completely different world. The tall trees and dense forest cover looked out of place with Singapore’s skyscrapers and HDB flats. During the trail, I also saw many different forms of wildlife that I would probably not have recognized by myself, such as the Elegant Bronzeback snake. I also saw a monkey up close when it tried to grab my bag! Through the trail held by Eco-Ritch, I learnt much more about the wildlife and ecology of MacRitchie. I think that the 2 hours were definitely well spent and I gained much from the tour held by Kai En.

Throughout the trail, we were introduced to many different types of plants and animals. Kai En taught us many different properties of the existing plants and animals in MacRitchie. We also learnt to recognize different plants such as the Singapore Rhododendron, the Tembusu tree and the Licuala Fan Palm.

Kai En showed us how to classify different types of plants like ferns and mosses into different categories like Angiospermae or Pteridophyta. I also discovered how plants adapt their leaves to help them survive in different environments. For example, I did not know that a serrated edge actually increases transpiration.

As for the wildlife, Kai En showed us different types of animals and told us how they survive in the wild. We were also taught how to recognise different types of animals. For example, the damselfly and the dragonfly look similar, but Kai En pointed out several differences such as the shape of the body and the number of wings. During the trail, we also saw many different species of animals, such as tortoises, mudskippers, lizards, monkeys and dragonflies.

Before attending this trail, I did not really know much about MacRitchie, other than it is a reservoir. I did not realise how diverse the wildlife there really is, and through the trail, the Eco-Ritch project group taught me much about the flora and fauna there. I think that MacRitchie really has a lot to offer, and through this trail, I managed to further appreciate the ecology at MacRitchie.

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**__SCIENCE FOR FUN__**
I participated in term 2's Science for Fun, because I had a really fun time in term 1 for Science For Fun (unfortunately I lost the booklet so I cant remember what I did D:) This time's Science For Fun did not disappoint, and the experiments were equally entertaining. Thankfully I did not lose the booklet so I can still remember what experiments were done :D

The experiment I remember most vividly would be Tornado Tube, where 2 bottles were taped to each other, and liquid was moved from the upper bottle to the lower bottle by spinning it. I probably remember this experiment best because I spent quite some time playing with it. It was only later that I realised this experiment shows exactly the same effect that can be seen by spinning any water bottle. Its interesting how something as ordinary as a water bottle can provide entertainment for half an hour xD

Next was an experiment called the Human Battery, where I placed my hands on 2 metal sheets, and electricity was conducted through a reaction with the sweat on my hands. It was surprising to see the voltage on the meter rise when I placed my hands on the sheets, but I felt that the experiment was slightly underwhelming, because the whole thing only took about 1 minute and there wasn't much to it.

Third was the Eye Model, where a large eye was constructed to show how the real eye works. At first I was really surprised when a miniature inverted image appeared on whatlooked like a fish bowl, and it was only when I read the description that I figured out what it was supposed to be.

The next experiment was called Moving Air, and I also spent a lot of time playing with it. It involved a ping pong ball being levitated into the air by hair dryers. The idea might not seem original at first, but it actually showed a very interesting concept. When hot air is blown through two ping pong balls on string, I thought that it was obvious the two ping pong balls would be blown apart, but apparently the balls would be pulled together due to the hot air :o

Fifth would be Top Secret, where spinning tops were spun on top of a magnet. Eventually the spinning top moved towards the edges of the magnet, due to the magnet repelling the spinning top. I felt that this was also not very original, as the concept behind the experiment was not new, but it was still pretty fun trying to make the spinning top spin for as long as possible.

Next up was Lava Lamp, performed by the lab assistant. First, water and oil were poured into a container. Since the oil is less dense than the water, it floated above the water. Next a tablet was dropped into the water, where it started producing carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide then bubbled to the surface, where it popped, releasing the water it was carrying. The water then fell back to the bottom. Since the water was coloured, it created a lava lamp effect. The entire experiment was based on density, and although it wasnt particularly new it was really pretty to watch.

Sixth was Blue Bottle, where I mixed glucose solution, sodium hydroxide solution and methylene blue solution together. Initially the solution was colourless, but after I shook it, the solution turned green. After being left to stand for awhile, the solution turned colourless again. After reading the description, I learnt that when shaking air was introduced into the solution, turning it green. I felt that this esperiment was very unique, and I had never seen anything like it before.

Seventh was Pinapple Gelatin, where we had three test tubes. The first one contained canned pineapple juice and gelatin, the second one fresh pineapple juice and gelatin and the third one water and gelatin. After leaving them to stand for awhile, I found that the substances in the first and the third test tube had solidified, and there was no change in the second test tube. The reason behind this was that there is a substance inside pineapple that prevents it from solidifying. Again, I felt this was a very unique experiment, and I enjoyed performing it.

Lastly was Absorption of Heavy Metal Ions. I did not get to do this experiment fully because of time constraints, but the basic idea behind it was that orange peel could absorb the heavy metal ions.

I felt that term 2's Science for Fun was a good follow up to term 1, and it was equally engaging as well as educational. The experiments were mostly rather out of the box, and they offered a new experience as compared to the standard curriculum. I definitely enjoyed this term's Science for Fun very much and I hope to be able to paricipate in the future.