Energy and Place and Essential Question
I debated on the against side of natural gas and hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. My position on fracking was the same before and after the debate, though it was solidified during the debate prep. It was mainly learning about the environmental consequences of fracking that really helped my opinion grow stronger. After thinking about my places in the world during our Humanities Project I felt more strongly about the environmental aspects of my debate. I would want to research more about the comparisons between the types of energy. Such as the amount of pollution and the effect on the land.
I think the strongest argument for the for side was the fact that natural gas burns a lot cleaner than coal and it is also more efficient than regular drilling. On the against side I think it was that there is a lot of water used by the wells and that it can contaminate drinking water. I feel like I wasn't able to really argue my points during the debate as much as I could have, so I'm not sure I was really able to intellectually engage with my opponents.
I think that we all did the best we could under the circumstances of our debate. I wish I could have argued more of points, but many of the questions were general about fracking. If I had another chance I would have tried to argue a few of the questions at the beginning more. At one point my opponent said that there have been no spills reported, but Exxon is being charged for a spill just recently. Also during the bust the money does not always stay in the towns.
I think the strongest argument for the for side was the fact that natural gas burns a lot cleaner than coal and it is also more efficient than regular drilling. On the against side I think it was that there is a lot of water used by the wells and that it can contaminate drinking water. I feel like I wasn't able to really argue my points during the debate as much as I could have, so I'm not sure I was really able to intellectually engage with my opponents.
I think that we all did the best we could under the circumstances of our debate. I wish I could have argued more of points, but many of the questions were general about fracking. If I had another chance I would have tried to argue a few of the questions at the beginning more. At one point my opponent said that there have been no spills reported, but Exxon is being charged for a spill just recently. Also during the bust the money does not always stay in the towns.
Materials Project
The chemistry of materials has shaped our past, present, and future because everything that we make is made from materials. Our houses, cars, clothing, tools, and technology are all made from materials. We are constantly changing the materials we have and improving them. By improving our materials we improve our lives and our history has been shaped by the materials. For example we went from swords to rifles to automatic weapons.
The structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic and macroscopic levels determine a material's properties.. This is because matter is made from different atoms that are bonded in different ways. These bonds determine the matter's strength, shape, and hardness. The type of elements that are in a matter can change the properties depending on their atomic size, atomic number, and the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons.
The structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic and macroscopic levels determine a material's properties.. This is because matter is made from different atoms that are bonded in different ways. These bonds determine the matter's strength, shape, and hardness. The type of elements that are in a matter can change the properties depending on their atomic size, atomic number, and the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons.