A week of exciting space news and assignment writing..
Hurrah its another week on and I have kept my promise to myself to write another blog post :)
While I have been busy finalising my latest TMA (tutor marked assignment) some exciting developments have occurred in the space industry. Like many of my fellow space geeks I have been eagerly watching my twitter feed to see pictures of Elon Musk's "Starman" travelling through space in his Tesla convertible car!
The images and live feed did not disappoint my eager eyes, I applaud Elon for what he has achieved, the majority of the population would never in their life time get to see the images that were sent back, and I have really enjoyed every single image I have seen.
In keeping with my need to learn anything space related I have also watched the film "Hidden Figures" this week, and I have to say I think this has to be a firm favourite of mine. With the events of this week and seeing this film it really has open my eyes to how much the space industry has changed since the 60's.
Ordinarily the film "Hidden Figures" prior to starting my degree may not have been on my watch list however whilst attending a celebration of the anniversary of the moon landings at The Open University last year, one of the speakers on stage during his lecture made reference to this film and I made sure it was one of my to watch list. If you haven't seen it I really recommend you check this out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wfrDhgUMGI
So apart from marvelling at the wonders of others in the space industry, what have I been up to this week?
As part of the degree I am studying I am required to submit Tutor Marked Assignments, these consist of 5 questions split into sections themselves. I have a total of 6 to complete in my first year, and each one is based on the previous two topics that have been studied. Number three has seen me writing about metal reactions in the environment and DNA!
Punnet squares have been an interesting concept to learn, and there I was thinking this was something to do with storing your fruit in!
You may be thinking "I thought she was studying all things space related?" and technically I am, my pathway though requires me to learn about the fundamentals of each science discipline in my first year which include chemistry, biology, physics, earth sciences and astronomy.
I have come to realise that biology is not my most favourite subject (way too many long words!) however I have also realised that I particularly have enjoyed the physics and chemistry aspects as well as the astronomy sections contained within my first year.
I have marvelled at the fact that every single thing on earth consists of atoms, what is contained within these atoms and what attracts them to one another. The theory behind how the earth achieved its tilt and the resultant after effects of this is simply fascinating!
Although I state biology is not my most favourite aspect it has helped me to understand about living organisms and the cells contained within.
Newtons Laws I have really enjoyed studying, understanding the forces that are at work to keep an object on the ground or understanding how a snowflake falls to earth has been equally as interesting.
I am slowly beginning to see how all of the science disciplines are linked to one another, I am also looking at everyday things in a different light and unfortunately for my family starting to relate anything I see or how something works back to some sort of science theory!
So this week's TMA has been a rather more complex one (the last two have been easier and have probably led some people into a false sense of security - me included!) however if they are not more challenging as we go along then how are we to learn?
I won't lie the mathematically aspects of my degree so far have been challenging for me, when I started I could be heard to say "I hate maths!" but as the months have gone on I don't so much hate the maths, it is more a "I don't particularly enjoy maths but I'll give it a go!" . Remember I have been very much of a creative mindset since I left school and so my brain is telling me "what the hell are you doing learning all these numbers, lets do something creative instead!".
The pathway I have chosen needs me to be top of my game with my numbers and I know with practise it will get easier. Sp PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE is what I shall be doing.
This coming week sees half term in the UK, I have promised my son we will have a creative day tomorrow - involving making llama cookies (not really llamas!), building a volcano and making a solar system model (a Christmas present).
To all my fellow students completing TMA03 this week - Good Luck!
Till next week!
Em
While I have been busy finalising my latest TMA (tutor marked assignment) some exciting developments have occurred in the space industry. Like many of my fellow space geeks I have been eagerly watching my twitter feed to see pictures of Elon Musk's "Starman" travelling through space in his Tesla convertible car!
The images and live feed did not disappoint my eager eyes, I applaud Elon for what he has achieved, the majority of the population would never in their life time get to see the images that were sent back, and I have really enjoyed every single image I have seen.
In keeping with my need to learn anything space related I have also watched the film "Hidden Figures" this week, and I have to say I think this has to be a firm favourite of mine. With the events of this week and seeing this film it really has open my eyes to how much the space industry has changed since the 60's.
Ordinarily the film "Hidden Figures" prior to starting my degree may not have been on my watch list however whilst attending a celebration of the anniversary of the moon landings at The Open University last year, one of the speakers on stage during his lecture made reference to this film and I made sure it was one of my to watch list. If you haven't seen it I really recommend you check this out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wfrDhgUMGI
So apart from marvelling at the wonders of others in the space industry, what have I been up to this week?
As part of the degree I am studying I am required to submit Tutor Marked Assignments, these consist of 5 questions split into sections themselves. I have a total of 6 to complete in my first year, and each one is based on the previous two topics that have been studied. Number three has seen me writing about metal reactions in the environment and DNA!
Punnet squares have been an interesting concept to learn, and there I was thinking this was something to do with storing your fruit in!
You may be thinking "I thought she was studying all things space related?" and technically I am, my pathway though requires me to learn about the fundamentals of each science discipline in my first year which include chemistry, biology, physics, earth sciences and astronomy.
I have come to realise that biology is not my most favourite subject (way too many long words!) however I have also realised that I particularly have enjoyed the physics and chemistry aspects as well as the astronomy sections contained within my first year.
I have marvelled at the fact that every single thing on earth consists of atoms, what is contained within these atoms and what attracts them to one another. The theory behind how the earth achieved its tilt and the resultant after effects of this is simply fascinating!
Although I state biology is not my most favourite aspect it has helped me to understand about living organisms and the cells contained within.
Newtons Laws I have really enjoyed studying, understanding the forces that are at work to keep an object on the ground or understanding how a snowflake falls to earth has been equally as interesting.
I am slowly beginning to see how all of the science disciplines are linked to one another, I am also looking at everyday things in a different light and unfortunately for my family starting to relate anything I see or how something works back to some sort of science theory!
So this week's TMA has been a rather more complex one (the last two have been easier and have probably led some people into a false sense of security - me included!) however if they are not more challenging as we go along then how are we to learn?
I won't lie the mathematically aspects of my degree so far have been challenging for me, when I started I could be heard to say "I hate maths!" but as the months have gone on I don't so much hate the maths, it is more a "I don't particularly enjoy maths but I'll give it a go!" . Remember I have been very much of a creative mindset since I left school and so my brain is telling me "what the hell are you doing learning all these numbers, lets do something creative instead!".
The pathway I have chosen needs me to be top of my game with my numbers and I know with practise it will get easier. Sp PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE is what I shall be doing.
This coming week sees half term in the UK, I have promised my son we will have a creative day tomorrow - involving making llama cookies (not really llamas!), building a volcano and making a solar system model (a Christmas present).
To all my fellow students completing TMA03 this week - Good Luck!
Till next week!
Em
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