For the last weeks of Term 4 we started our Year 11 classes one of them being Physics, Earth and Space Sciences.

We started off by analysing the units we will be covering next year

1.1 – Human Induced Activity on the Four Spheres.

1.2 – Motion and Force.

1.3 – Sun, Earth and Moon Interactions.

Assessment 1.1 is all about how we as a species have effected our environment, specifically the four spheres; Geosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere. Things such as climate change and deforestation have large effects on all four spheres and this unit is about identifying what we have done to them.

1.2 is about how objects move and how force is applied. Main topics here include Newton’s Laws of Motion, net forces and friction (this one is probably my favourite so far because of all the math).

1.3 is my second favourite and is about phases of the moon, gravity, the space-time fabric and Einsteins Law’s of General Relativity.

So far this class has been lots of fun and very interesting, the topic we cover offer a wide range of variety. My favourite thing about working with Mr. Prakash is that he understands not everyone learns the same way and expresses themself the same way.

To conclude this class is probably one of the most important ones you can and covers such a variety of ideas that I believe every student should take it.

Finding Jacob

Over the course of three weeks, Jacob, Mikaira, Ariana, and I (Asher) from Bay of Islands College worked together to create a short three-minute live-action animated film. The story follows the journey of a lost animated pounamu trying to make its way back to its rightful owner—Jacob.

The project blended different creative elements, including original animation, CGI, and music. We used Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro for editing and visual effects as well as Ableton Live and Audacity for the audio side.

We started by storyboarding our ideas for the film and once we had developed a basic plot line it was time to start filming. Most of the shots were done on camera by Mikaira but we also got a couple of cool drone shots which were used for the flying sequences and establishing shots. Once we got most of the footage we moved on to animating in Adobe After Effects it took Me, Mikaira and Ariana almost the entirety of the 3 weeks to animate this 3 minute film, really shows how long animating takes… At the same time as the animation Jacob worked on editing the film together as well as doing the VA (Voice-Acting) and I worked on the tunes for this cheery little motion picture.

Overall, this project showed us just how much time, creativity, and collaboration goes into filmmaking. Even though it was only three minutes long, the process gave us a real appreciation for animation

Full Film:

The team communicated who would guard who and helped each other with their position on the field, we didn’t try any attacking or defending strategies though.

Next week I want to contribute to our team by pushing more with the ball during the start of the game instead of just passing to team mates.

What is Force?
A force is simply a push or pull on an object. You use force when you push a door open, pull a chair, or kick a ball. Force can make things start moving, stop moving, speed up, slow down, or change direction.

The unit we use to measure force is called a newton (N). One newton is the amount of force needed to make a small object (about the mass of an apple) speed up by one metre per second every second.

What is Friction?
Friction is a force that opposes motion. It happens when two surfaces rub against each other. Friction always acts in the opposite direction to movement and is the reason moving objects eventually slow down and stop unless another force keeps them going.

For example: When you slide a book across a table, it slows down and eventually stops because of friction between the book and the table.

Friction can be helpful, like the grip between your shoes and the ground that stops you from slipping. But it can also be unwanted, like the friction inside machines that causes parts to wear out.

There are two main types: Static friction (stops objects from moving when they’re at rest), Sliding friction – acts when objects slide over each other.

Contact Forces vs Non-Contact Forces

Some forces need objects to be touching to work. These are called contact forces. Examples include: Friction (a ball rolling on grass slows down), Tension (pulling on a rope), Normal force (a table pushing upward on a book so it doesn’t fall through), Air resistance (the air slowing down a cyclist)

Other forces can act without touching. These are called non-contact forces. Examples include: Gravity (pulls objects toward the Earth), Magnetic force (magnets attracting or repelling), Electrostatic force (a balloon sticking to a wall after being rubbed on hair).

Why This Matters

Forces — and friction especially — are all around us and affect everything we do, from walking, driving, and playing sport, to designing machines and buildings. Once you understand them, you can better explain why things move the way they do in the real world.

For the past 3 weeks in PE we did Volleyball, it was a fun unit, I enjoyed working on all my skills, mainly my hitting which got much better. I still need to work on aiming my serves and sets. We did a lot of co-operation and team work, we learned how to call for different positions in order for us as a team to be more synchronised. The lines we did were also fun as we helped to ref the game, and in conclusion probably a top 3 unit.

The holidays serve as little but an indescribable break that has no interest to readers for no events of major consequence or concern to anyone and therefore this particular piece of writing should serve as no interest to no-one anywhere ever.

The goal of the holiday writing is pointless, menial and defeats the whole purpose of the holidays as their point is of course for nothing to happen as it is a “holiday” and the purpose of it IS in itself for nothing to happen; for no events to occur to be boring and not interesting, otherwise how else would it be a holiday.

Some people may enjoy doing things (those bastards) and think that sitting around all day could be considered well your wrong and no I won’t back it up with evidence, proof or an argument.

In science we did an experiment about acids and bases in which we mixed various substances with acids and bases and observed the changes. We found that acids often turned to a red-ish colour and basic substances often turned a blue-purple mix. We could use this test to observe and determine the ph levels of a substance

Atoms and other shiz.

Atoms:

Containing a nucleus constructed by protons and neutrons and orbited by electrons. We were learning about their formations and all the various bonds they can take on, for example; an ionising bond occurs when an atom loses or gains an atom to stabilize itself.

We learned about and how to calculate the composition of an atom and the placement of the electrons in an individual atom

In this diagram a flourine atom gains an electron to become an ionised flourine atom but in other cases they’ll need to Gains another electron and AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN – Winter Soldier, Marvel Rivals, 2025

Other Shiz:

We also looked at the periodic table; things like an atoms atomic number which represents the number of protons in an atom’s nucleus.

I hope by sharing this I have managed to inform you on this subject and you enjoyed my explanation.

Kupe was an explorer and chief from Hawaiki who lived around 1000 – 1300 CE when he was chief all his fishermen would return from sea with wakas full of fish but when one morning the fishermen returned with nothing Kupe had to investigate he found that a giant octopus had been eating all their bait so they held a hui. The whole island had gathered to discuss the happenings of the day and they decided that something needed to be done so he lured in the octopus with a traditional karakia and once it was there he realized it was owned by a rival chief Muturangi. That evening Kupe left for the other side of the island in search of Muturangi when he was found Kupe barraged him with questions, Muturangi’s only response was “I don’t tell my pet when to eat or what to eat. If it chooses to eat your bait or your fish for that matter, then that’s what it does, now leave”

“Then I will slay your pet, Te Wheke o Muturangi, and it will never trouble my people again” Kupe said as he left.

Kupe and his people began to build a large ocean going canoe know as Matahorua. When it was complete they filled it with food and water fit for a long journey on it was Kupe’s wife, their family and all the warriors they could muster and with that they were fit for travel. After setting off it wasn’t long before the octopus was found, his tentacles erupted from the water grabbing on to the canoe trying to flip it Kupe used his Mere to cut the tentacle (A mere is a sharp traditional Polynesian weapon) causing it to swim down to the sea floor but Kupe put upon the beast a curse meaning it could never hide in the depths of the ocean again, forced to flee a great pursuit started between Kupe and Te Wheke o Muturangi. Eventually after weeks of chasing the octopus they stumbled upon a new land now known as Aotearoa/New Zealand from the north island the great waka chased the octopus all the way down to the Wellington Harbour where a battle ensued. The wheke thrashed it’s tentacles at Kupe but he had a plan, he threw barrels into the sea which the octopus mistook as people and attacked. In it’s moment of weakness Kupe jumped on its head and use his Mere to slay the beast. Te Wheke o Muturangi had died.

We have been learning karakia in our whanau class with our lovely teacher Te Aroha.

I feel that learning traditional Maori practices such as karakia is a great way of being inclusive to the cultures around us and reminding us of what our ancestors before us did.