lunedì 5 febbraio 2007

Science Entry Electric Circuits

An electric Circuit is a complete path that carries electric current from one place to another basic circuit needs:1) A source: battery, plug, lemon, etc.2) A resistor: light bulb, motor, fan, etc.3) Connecting wires, switches, etcA circuit connects in a path these things. The positive and negative energy in a battery never need to connect (until they reach the resistor) or else they connect a short circuit. The flow of charge in a circuit is measured in volts (a battery has 1.5 volts, a plug has 220 volts) and the amount of current is measured in amps (more then 0.2 amps are deadly). Ohm's law states the resistance of a circuit is equals to the voltage (volts) divided by the charge (amps). Electricity is connected to magnetism if you connect a wire with loops (called a solenoid) to a functioning circuit you will produce a magnetic field. This magnetic field needs electricity to function, but it has the advantage that it is controlled by your circuit, so you can decide the power on the magnetic field (that depends on the voltage/materials/resistance of the your circuit) and you can turn it on and off.
Extra Italian Entry The Odyssey

Odysseus is a mythical hero, wise, intelligent, strong and king of the little island of Itaca. When his son is born, Odysseus is requested to the king Agamemnon to fight the war of Troy. After ten bloody years, Odysseus develops a way to conquer the city of Troy (that was still resisting). He develops the idea of the Trojan horse, the Greeks impersonated a retreat and the offering of a huge wooden horse as a tribute to the Trojans. Actually the horse was full of Greek soldiers who later burned the city of Troy and killed everybody. Once victory is achieved Odysseus makes the mistake of insulting the sea god Poseidon and for that he will pay. Odysseus wants to go home but Poseidon controls the route of the seas. In his voyage he will meet the cyclope Polyfemous, the magician Circe, the nymph Calypso, the two beasts Scylla and Cariddi and the princess Nausica. With the appeasement of Poseidon, Odysseus will reach his home (when his son is 20), but the is another problem, a group of princes is trying to steal his throne.
Italian Entry I Promessi Sposi

Renzo and Lucia are in love and ready to marry. Everything is going well except for one thing, their priest, Don Abbondio (on the day before their scheduled marriage) meets two soldiers, named bravi, sent by their evil Don Rodrigo. Their message is very clear, if Don Abbondio will marry the two soldiers (or tells anything about their meeting) he will be killed. Unfortunately Don Abbondio's lips aren't very tight his secret slips to his maid who eventually tells Renzo. The marriage is canceled and the two lovers must escape because Don Rodrigo is planning to kidnap Lucia. Renzo escapes to Milan (where he gets involved in many historical events) while Lucia is sent to a convent in Monza. Instead the furious Don Rodrigo who absolutely wants Lucia calls for a special mercenary, the Innominato. Lucia is kidnapped and locked in the Innominato's' castle, so the only thing she has left is his faith in god. Actually god succeeds and the Innominato gets soft and frees Lucia. Lucia will meet Renzo in Milan but they still have some enemies to deal with, Don Rodrigo and the Black Plague…
Social Studies Synopsis The Enigma Machine

While World War two was going on the Allies who had America ship them resources of supply their troops. The Huge American merchant fleets had to cross the Atlantic ocean (that was packed of German U-boats) to get to great Britain. The Germans used the (electronic) Enigma Machine (invented by the German company Sipson in 1935) to encrypt and decrypt messages. A message that had to go from Germany to a U-both had to go though certain steps:1) The real message had to be changed to a code using a secret code book (which had to be renewed every 6 months).2) The code had to be changed through the enigma machine3) The new message had to be changed to Morse and then it could be transmitted.When the U-both received the message it had to go through each of these steps backwards.The Enigma Machine was and electronic device that had 40 rotors on its outside. The key to solve a message depended on:1) Which 3 of the 40 rotors was set into the machine2) The order of the rotors in the machine and their initial position.3) The setting of some plugs behind the machinePractically one message had more the 300,000,000 keys and only one was correct. To decipher these codes the British had stolen an enigma machine and code book, established many radio centers and invented the first computers that could reduce the number of possible combinations.
book 8 Mariel of Redwall
by Brian Jacques

It is a jolly time at the Redwall abbey. The birds are singing, the food is wonderful and everybody is happy. A lost mouse maid appears, all dirty and with wild manners. Her real name is not even certain to herself but one thing she knows, her father is a prisoner of the evil (and crazy) sea rat, Gabool the Wild. The young mouse maid (now named Mariel of Redwall) will go in a quest to liberate her father. With her will come the young mouse warrior Dandin (armed with the legendary sword of Martin the warrior), the hare Tarquin (always singing to he beloved Hon Rosie) and the young cellar hog Durry Quill. Their quest is long and risky but also the other Redwallers must be careful. A little sea rat crew who has run away from Gabool's army is trying to conquer Redwall.
book 7 The Enemies of Jupiter
by Caroline Lawrence

These are dark times in the Roman Empire. The mysterious plague is striking all over Rome. The emperor is desperate and decides to call doctors from all over the empire. Doctor Mordecai (Jonathan’s fother) is called to help the sick by and strangely emperor Titus also calls Flavia Gemina and her friends. Titus thinks that they could find a way to stop this devastating plague. This mission will lead Flavia and her friends to the myth of Prometeus and Pandora's box: " When Pandora's box will be opened Rome will be devastated". Unfortunately Jonathan has another objective. His mother and father are now in the same city and maybe they could meet and marry again. This thought will really make hell and it will end in a disaster, the fire in Rome of the Temple of Jupiter.
book 6 The Dolphins of Laurentum
by Caroline Lawrence

The Dolphins of Laurentum is the 5th story of the Roman Mysteries saga. This novel narrates the adventures of Flavia Gemina and her friends on the coast of Laurentum. The story starts when Flavia's father comes home exhausted because of a big shipwreck. Flavia's father almost risks amputation because of the cuts on his leg, but there is another fact, he is broke. He invested a fortune on the cargo that sunk and he'll have to sell his house to pay some debts. Fortunatly the nephew of admiral Pliny comes along and offers Flavia and her friends a month of vacation on his villa in Laurentum. In Laurentum Flavia and her friends will search for the treasure of an ancient shipwreck. They will go on an exiting adventure that will tell them about the origins of the slave trader Venalicius and why has Lupus lost his tongue.