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Aquatic Classroom News from Holmpatrick National School
April 15, 2016
Aquatic Classroom
WOW FACTS from Seiche Training
The Incredible Blue Whale
 The largest creature EVER to have lived on earth
 Their tongue can weigh as much as an elephant and their
heart as much as a car
 These graceful swimmers cruise the ocean at over 8km/h,
and can reach speeds of over 30km/h
 Though we can’t hear them, blue whales are one of the
loudest animals on the planet, communicating with each
other using low frequency pulses. They can hear each other
over distances of 1600km
 A calf blue whale suckles in the water, drinking more than
600L of milk each day
 Hunting in the 19002 by whalers seeking whale oil drove
them to the brink of extinction. Hundreds of thousands of
whales were killed. They are classified as endangered.
 It is estimated that only 10,000 – 25,000 blue whales now
swim the world’s oceans
Water Cycle
The water cycle is the stages your
water goes through for you to drink
it. Water is called H2O by scientists,
meaning it has 2 hydrogens’ and one
oxygen in each tiny droplet of water
in the sea.
Hydrogen's and oxygen cling to each
other in the sea and they can move
around freely, still clinging to each
other of course, When water is frozen,
they cling even tighter together as if
they are keeping each other warm,
restricted from movement.
Water is available in three types:
solid, liquid and gas.
The four main stages of the water
cycle are: evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, and collection.
Aquatic Classroom News from Holmpatrick National School
April 15, 2016
Aquatic Classroom
Water Density Experiment
On Monday the 11th of April, we completed an experiment on water
density using a pint glass, a range of liquids and solids. First we
filled the glass with water, then we started to fill it up. Here's the
order from less dense to most-dense.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Vegetable oil
Washing up liquid
Water
Milk
Tomato
Honey
Beads
Screw
We really
enjoyed this
experiment and
learnt a lot!
Fishy Facts
Fish have gills to extract the water
from around them.
Nitrogen Cycle
Some flat fish use camouflage to stay
hidden on the ocean floor.
Unlike nature, an aquarium is a closed environment. The fish live in
their own waste, which creates Ammonia. You have to clean your
aquarium once a week or there will be too much Ammonia, Nitrite or
Nitrate and the fish might die.
Fish are covered in scales which are
often covered in a layer of slime to
make the fish move faster along the
water.
Nitrogen Cycle Stages
It takes a month for the Nitrogen Cycle to finish.
Frist stage: The cycle begins when the fish are introduced to the
aquarium. Their waste and leftover food are broken down into
Ammonia. Ammonia begins rising by the third day the fish are
introduced to the aquarium. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and any
amount of Ammonia (NH3) is dangerous.
Second stage: During this stage the Nitrosomonas bacteria eat the
Ammonia and make it into Nitrite. Nitrite is also highly toxic to fish.
Third stage: In the last stage of the cycle, Nitrobacter bacteria eat the
Nitrite and make it into nitrate. Nitrates are not toxic in low to
moderate levels. High levels of Nitrate are dangerous.
Over a 100 fish species are threatened
by extinction.
Aquatic Classroom News from Rush National School
April 15, 2016
Aquatic Classroom
Dear Diary
Today is Tuesday and Lucy and Zoe are in charge of us. Zoe came in and fed us our yummy flakes. Lucy came
in and cleaned the glass of the tank with the magnet. I love chasing their fingers and the magnet! Then they
put the bacteria in. I was quite sad because Hit, The and Quan all died last week R.I.P.
Anyway, at little break everybody left and I played chasing with Nae and Nae (the other Dwarf Cary – like
me!). Then everybody came and I felt famous again! Then they all left for big break and we played hide and
seek. When they all came back Lucy and Zoe fed us….. BLOOD WORMS!!! I LOVE Bloodworms!! We gobbled
them all up.
After a few hours it was home time. Zoe and Lucy put the blanket over us. Now here we are, writing to you!
Our fun day is over.
Night, night.
Whip xoxo
Aquatic Classroom News from Rush National School
April 15, 2016
Aquatic Classroom