First day of 2013 School Year

I skipped maths that day, because earlier I had done two math lessons, trying to get ahead a little. The first day of school is usually hard, so I was glad I had been able to do that and not have to do my maths.

As soon as I was ready to start school, I worked on my first subject: Bible. I'm reading this really FASCINATING book called, The BBC Manual--Turning your Bedroom into a Bible College. It's so thought-provoking, and interesting. I highly recommend it, even though I'm only on page 12! :)

After Bible study, I did history (reading part of a chapter of The Story of the World Volume 3: Early Modern Times, by Susan Wise Bauer, and several pages of The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History.).

Once I was done with Bible and History, I was able go go on to Science! Yay! I've always liked Science (at least, that I can remember! :)), and this year I've got a (so far) very interesting book called, Exploring Creation with General Science, by Dr. Jay L. Wile. It's an Apologia book (Mum told me that Grandma likes Apologia books so much that she actually read one or two just for fun!), with VERY high quality printing. I enjoy reading it just because of that! :)

After I read the allotment of pages for today, I had several things to do. 1) I needed to complete the "On Your Own" question, and 2) I needed to do vocabulary for the words in bold found in the text. Here's my answers:

On Your Own Question:

Question:
Although the ancient Egyptians had reasonably advanced medical practices for their times, and although there were many inventions that revolutionized life in the ancient world, most historians of science do not think of Egyptian doctors and ancient inventors as scientists. Why? (Hint: Look at the entire definition of science.)

My Answer:
The ancient Egyptians did not have as many scientific materials to work with, nor as many things they could test their theories with. They also did not have years and years of writing and history behind them. They were able to observe, but not able to experiment to the same degree as scientists today.

Their Answer:
If you look at the definition of science, it contains two parts. Science consists of collecting facts, but it also consists of using those facts to explain the world around us. The Egyptian doctors and the inventors of the ancient world collected lots of facts, but they did not use them to explain the world around them.

Vocabulary:

Science—“An endeavor dedicated to the accumulation and classification of observable facts in order to formulate general laws about the natural world.”

Imhotep—“(fl. 27th century bc), Egyptian architect and scholar, believed to have designed the step pyramid at Saqqara. List of titles–‘Chancellor of the King of Egypt, Doctor, First in line after the King of Upper Egypt, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High Priest of Heliopolis, Builder, Chief Carpenter, Chief Sculptor, and Maker of Vases in Chief.’”

Penicillin—“Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V. Penicillin antibiotics are historically significant because they are the first drugs that were effective against many previously serious diseases, such as syphilis, and infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. Penicillins are still widely used today, though many types of bacteria are now resistant. All penicillins are β-lactam antibiotics and are used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms.”

Poppy—The Poppy is an Angiospermae or flowering plant of the family Papaveraceae. Ornamental poppies are grown for their colorful flowers; some varieties of poppy are used as food, whilst other varieties produce the powerful medicinal alkaloid opium which has been used since ancient times to create analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drugs. Following the trench warfare of the 1st World War which took place in the poppy fields of Flanders, red poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime.

Poppy flowers have 4 to 6 petals, many stamens forming a conspicuous whorl in the center of the flower and an ovary consisting of from 2 to many fused carpels. Poppies can grow to be over 4 feet tall, and 6 inches across. The petals are showy, may be of almost any color and some have markings. The petals are crumpled in the bud and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away. The poppy will become dormant after blooming. Poppies are in full bloom late spring to early summer. Most species secrete latex when injured. The pollen of the oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, is dark blue. The Papaver Somniferum poppy is mainly grown in Eastern and Southern Asia, and South Eastern Europe. It is believed that it originated in the Mediterranean region. The pollen of the field poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is dark green to grey. Bees use poppies as a pollen source.”

Poppy Seeds—“Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). The tiny kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. The seeds are used, whole or ground, as an ingredient in many foods, and they are pressed to yield poppyseed oil.

The Sumerians already grew them; and the seed is mentioned in ancient medical texts from many civilizations. For instance, the Egyptian papyrus scroll named Ebers Papyrus, written c. 1550 BC, lists poppy seed as a sedative. The Minoan civilization (approximately 2700 to 1450 BC), a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete, cultivated poppies for their seed. Poppy seeds have long been used as a folk remedy to aid sleeping, promote fertility and wealth, and even to provide supposed magical powers of invisibility.”

Morphine—“An analgesic and narcotic drug, C₁₇H₁₉NO₃, obtained from opium and used medicinally to relieve pain.”

Codeine—“A sleep-inducing and analgesic drug, C₁₈H₂₁N0₃, derived from morphine.”

Papyrus—“1. a tall, aquatic plant, Cyperus papyrus, of the sedge family, native to the Nile valley: the Egyptian subspecies, C. papyrus hadidii, thought to be common in ancient times, now occurs only in several sites.

2. a material on which to write, prepared from thin strips of the pith of this plant laid together, soaked,pressed, and dried, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

3. an ancient document, manuscript, or scroll written on this material.”

That was my school for my first day of the 2013 school year! I can't believe I'm already in the second year of high school...wow. :)

Have a blessed day! I'll more than likely be back later on this week with more of my school work.