1 Daily Journal #41 – November 10, 2010True or false? A typical bed can be home for up to 10,000,000 dust mites (microscopic insects). 2. True or false? Up to 10% of the mass of a two-year-old pillow may be dead dust mites and their droppings. Droppings are solid waste products 3. True or false? Humans can shed up to 6 grams of dander (dead skin) per week. Dander is food for dust mites Picture = insect camouflage

2 Daily Journal #42 – November 11, 2010Why is today Veterans Day? Armistice ending WWI – on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month all guns shall fall silent on the Western Front (1918) – thank a veteran or active military person today and every day for your freedoms 2. Which part of your eye has no blood supply: retina (back of eye where light is focused), iris (opens and closes according to light intensity), or the cornea (front protective covering of eye)? Cornea – blood supply in front of eye would blur (or perhaps even prevent) vision 3. Who is the only US president to hold a patent? Lincoln – holds 1849 patent for a device which frees ships from sandbars Picture = muscles that open/close iris

3 Daily Journal #43 – November 12, 2010True or false? Spider silk is 5 times stronger than steel and 2 times stronger than Kevlar. 2. What usually creates the buzz sound one hears when an insect approaches? Wing movement – bees 4 wings move at 11,400 strokes/minute – can fly an average 15 mph 3. True or false? Honeybees kill more people worldwide than all poisonous snakes combined. Many people have severe allergies to venom released during a bee sting Picture = spider silk glands

4 Daily Journal #44 – November 15, 2010Why do “jumping beans” jump? moth caterpillar burrows into bean – bean moves when caterpillar moves inside 2. True or false? A cockroach can live 7 days without its head. It could live longer but without a head it is unable to intake (drink) water 3. True or false? Humans have 792 muscles in their bodies. Caterpillars have 4,000. Picture = Caterpillar off-road truck

5 Daily Journal #45 – November 16, 2010What do the prefixes dis- & pre- mean? Dis = opposite, lack, negation (disable, disease, discomfort, displease) Pre = before, earlier (prefix, precede, previous, preamble, preface, previous, preliminary) 2. Find the misfit: piano, saxophone, xylophone, drum. (Hint: how is sound made in each?) Saxophone a reed instrument, all others are percussion instruments - (reed instruments create sound when a reed vibrates – percussion instruments create sound when one part of instrument strikes a second part) 3. What is the smallest whole 8-digit number? 99,999,999 Picture = saxophone & clarinet reeds

6 Daily Journal #46 – November 17, 2010What are the doldrums? Area of low air pressure just N of equator – low wind speeds have stranded sailing vessels (ships) there for weeks at a time – also a psychological term (“in the doldrums”) meaning depressed or not energetic 2. Through what major metropolitan area does the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude) pass through? London, England – passes through the Greenwich Observatory just E of London 3. How many time zones are there in the lower-48 states and what are their names? 4 Eastern, Central, Mountain, & Pacific Picture = world time zones

7 Daily Journal #47 – November 19, 20101. What are the most common insect problems in a) houses and b) apartments? Houses – ants Apartments - cockroaches 2. The Pennsylvania state insect exhibits bioluminescence. What is it? Firefly (lightning bug) 3. If a pesticide (insect poison) is released in the Arctic, which animal is likely to have the highest levels of the pesticide in its body: phytoplankton (microscopic sea plant), fish, seal, or polar bear? Animals at top of food chain will have highest level of pesticides Picture = coyote at Sears

8 Daily Journal #48 – November 22, 20101. True or False? a x b = a·b = ab = a(b) = (a)b = (a)(b) all of the forms above mean a multiplied by b 2. What do the prefixes ex- & tri- mean? Exoskeleton, external, exhale, expel Tricycle, triangle, triple, triplets Ex = outside Tri = three 3. True or False? About ½ of humans consume insects as food. Insects remain a popular food in many developing regions of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Mexico, Colombia and New Guinea) South American theaters serve roasted ants as snack picture = deep fried insects

9 Daily Journal #49 – November 23, 20101. What character has made the most appearances as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Snoopy 2. Who declared the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving? President Abraham Lincoln 3. Which one of the founding fathers wanted the turkey to be our national bird? Benjamin Franklin Picture = turkey feathers

10 Daily Journal #50 – November 30, 2010What do the prefixes pent- & pneu- mean? Pentagon, Pentateuch, pneumonia, pneumatic pent = 5 Pneu = air, lung 2. Worldwide, the annual economic value of insects to agriculture is estimated to be: $217 thousand, $217 million, or $217 billion? 3. What is the main service performed by insects that makes them so valuable to the growing of food? Pollination – transfer of pollen (male reproductive cells) from one plant to another Picture = pollen on bee antennae & leg

11 Daily Journal #51 – December 1, 2010What is the common name of the only major exposed (in the sense of being close to the surface of the skin) nerve in the human body? Funny bone – not a bone - actually the ulnar nerve which runs down arm around back of elbow to the hand – tingling & pain in forearm from hitting “funny bone” is created from hitting this nerve 2. What does GPS stand for? Global Positioning System – gives user location on Earth’s surface typically accurate to ≈ 15 m (50 ft) 3. What does SONAR stand for? Sound navigation and ranging – used to track underwater objects such as submarines – functionally the underwater equivalent of RADAR Picture = ulnar nerve

12 ? - 1 - 1 + 2 or ? 16 - 2 Daily Journal #52 – December 2, 2010 31. What is 4 + 2 or 2. What is ? 16 - 2 3. What do the prefixes tele- & tox- mean? telephone, telescope, telegraph Tele = distance toxic, toxin, toxicity Picture = telegraph key Tox = poison

13 Daily Journal #53 – December 3, 2010What do the prefixes neo- & post- mean? Hint: change one letter in each prefix. Neonatal – postscript, postpone, posterior, posthumous. Neo = new Post = past, after 2. By far what are the most diverse, numerous group of animals? Insects – some estimates place insects species as high as 15 million in number 3. True or false? If one subtracts a negative number (a negative subtrahend), the result (difference) is always greater than the number subtracted from (minuend). Subtracting a negative number is the same as adding a positive number…. Adding a positive number always results in a number of greater value --- picture = mosquito larvae

14 Daily Journal #54 – December 6, 2010T or F? Fleas (indirectly) have killed more people in history than all wars combined. Fleas can carry deadly bacteria causing bubonic plague (the Black Death) – transmitted when flea bites a host – during one of worst outbreaks 25 million died in Europe in just 5 yrs. ( ) 2. T or F? Only female mosquitoes bite. Females need protein found in blood to produce eggs. 3. T or F? Dragonflies can have as many as 30,000 lens in each compound eye. Picture = oriental rat flea

15 Daily Journal #55 – December 7, 20101. What world-changing event took place exactly 69 years ago today? Pearl Harbor Attack – (December 7, 1941) - Japanese sneak attack on US Navy Pacific fleet in Hawaii - marked US entry into WWII 2. This event originally took place on a Sunday. Why? “Least prepared” day of week – Saturday/Sunday shore leave for sailors, Sunday religious services --- this has occurred in warfare many times through the centuries – military attack occurs during an enemy’s feast day/holiday/day of religious observance 3. True or False? This event started WWII. WWII started over 2 years earlier (9/1/1939) - Germany invaded Poland – Poland’s English & French allies came to her defense – picture map/photo of attack

16 Daily Journal #56 – December 8, 2010What is 4% of 1? .04 x 1 = .04 2. What is 200% of 20,000? 2 x 20,000 = 40,000 3. True or false? > 100% (of a number) always means more than that number. < 100% (of a number) always means less than that number. 100% of something is by definition all of it. So… > 100% means more than the original, < 100% means less than the original. Picture = wasp stinger

17 Daily Journal #57 – December 9, 2010What do the prefixes sub- & therm- mean? Submarine, substandard, thermometer, thermal, geothermal Sub = under Therm = heat 2. A population of birds triples every year. If the population starts at 4, what is the population after 3 years? x 3 = 12, 12 x 3 = 36, 36 x 3 = 108 3. True or False? Adding a negative number to a positive number always results in a negative number. It depends on the values of the numbers involved: (+7) + (-5) = +2 (+7) + (-9) = -2 Picture = vitamin C

18 Daily Journal #58 – December 13, 2010What do the prefixes fract- & hemi- mean? Fracture, fraction, fractious, refraction, hemisphere Fract = break Hemi = half 2. A diseased population of elephants is dying at the rate of 50% every year. How many years will it take for their numbers to reach 1/32 of the original herd? 5 years Yr x ½ = ½ Yr. 4 – 1/8 x ½ = 1/16 Yr. 2 – ½ x ½ = ¼ Yr. 5 – 1/16 x ½ = 1/32 Yr. 3 – ¼ x ½ = 1/8 3. What are the values of the 8 and the 1 in the following number ? 8 = eight hundredths = 8/100 = .08 1 = one ten thousandth = 1/10,000 = .0001 Picture = light refraction

19 Daily Journal #59 – December 14, 2010True or false? The World Health Organization recently stated that worldwide, more people now die prematurely from overeating than lack of food. Several diseases have been strongly linked to excess fat/obesity: heart disease/attack, stroke, diabetes, many types of cancer 2. If you have two children, what are the chances that both will be girls (fraction, decimal, & percentage)? ½ x ½ = ¼ ¼ = .25 ¼ = 25% 3. With 2 coin tosses, what are the chances that heads will come up 2 times in a row (fraction, decimal, and percentage)? ½ x ½ = ¼ ¼ = .25 ¼ = 25% picture = Nutrasweet

20 Daily Journal #60 – December 15, 2010How long does the average water molecule stay in the atmosphere: 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 years? process is part of continuous water cycle 2. In Albert Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2, what does each letter represent? E = energy, m = mass, c2 = (speed of light)2 3. Albert Einstein was invited to be president of what recently formed country in 1952? Israel Picture = Einstein