Moving Along Forward

     Hello Again! I have made great progress on my water filter. I have finished building part one of my water filter and heater. This weekend, I spend a few hours crushing charcoal and building my filter. I first cut the bottom off a 2 liter plastic soda bottle. I filled it half way with pebble sized charcoal, and I filled the rest with sand. I also cut a piece of cloth to use as the initial filter. 

     I had some difficulties initially with crushing the charcoal. I first tried to crush it by force. When that did not work, I used a hammer. The hammer works, but it creates a lot of dust and little pieces  

     I have learned that if I persevere,  I will eventually succeed. The next steps in my project include testing to see whether my filter works before moving on to building the solar water heater. 

     I am getting closer to my ultimate goal: creating a simple way for people in developing nations to filter their water without kerosene or fire. I recently talked to my grandfather, who built water treatment plants in India. He recommended adding in a sand layer and to use reverse osmosis to get rid of the chemicals that charcoal and sand cannot filter. 

     I can apply what I have learned to my everyday life. A lot of the skills I have learned, such as using a drill bit, hammer, and other tools, will be useful in the future for other projects. I have also learned about hard work, perseverance, and not giving up. 

Lined Chiton

     Tonicella lineata, or the lined chiton, is a species of chiton that lives in the North Pacific. It is from the kingdom animalia, the phylum mollluska, class polyplacophora, order neoloricata, family ischnochitonidae, and genus onicella. 
     They live all over the Pacific ocean, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, to San Diego, California., The species is small, only about 5 centimeters. They are very colorful, usually having zig zags colored blue, purple, or black on their valves. Their main body can be red, orange, or brown, but sometimes blue or yellow. Their girdle is hairless, and is usually brown or pink, with yellow or white patches. 
     Tonicella lineata live on rocks and eat algae. Their coloration is an adaptation to camouflage in the rocks, They are predated by sea stars. 
     This relates to what we learned in the vodcast. They exhibit the characteristics needed to be classified as a mollusk. These include bilateral symmetry, a complete digestive tract, and respiratory organ. Overall, learning about Tonicella lineata has been very helpful in my understanding of invertebrates. 

Image from Wikapedia


Works Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonicella_lineata
http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/slater-museum/exhibits/marine-panel/lined-chiton/
http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Mollusca/Polyplacophora/Tonicella_lineata.html