Science is an imaginative adventure of the mind seeking truth in a world of mystery.
Sir Cyril Herman Hinshelwood

Monday, April 30, 2012

April 30-May 4

Weekly Lesson Plans April 30th-May 4th

Monday- Journals are due #35-47. Students need to bring all of their papers to class from second semester.  I will give students their binder order sheet.  They will have the entire class period to work on getting their papers in order.  Binders are 140points due Thursday.

Tuesday- Students will watch an episode of Unchained Reaction.  Unchianed Reaction is a show on teh Discovery Channel hosted by the Mythbusters.  They give two teams a challenge to build a Rube Goldberg Machine that does a specific task and goes with a specific theme. 

Wednesday-Students will start watching October Sky.   According to Wikipedia, October Sky is a 1999 American biographical film. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who eventually became a NASA engineer.  The video is very inspirational and documents an important part of American History.

Thursday- Binders are due in order.  Students will continue watching October Sky.

Friday- Half day. Students will finish October Sky and turn in their video sheet.

Monday, April 23, 2012

April 23-27

Weekly Lesson Plans April 23rd-27th

Monday- I went over the important reminders as seen at the bottom of this post. Students were split into four groups #1-4.  Each group outlined a different section of Chapter 16 on Sound and Light (sections #1-4. After about 20 minutes, the students were put into new groups so that each group had a student who outlines each section.  The students started with section 1 and had 5 minutes each to share the important points from their section.  Everyone was adding to their outline as they covered all 4 sections so that each student had an outline for the entire chapter when they were done.  Outlines were turned in at the end of the period.

Chapter 16 Sound and Light
S.1 Sound
1. Properties of SOund
2. Musical Instruments
3. Hearing and the Ear
4. Ultrasound and Sonar
S.2 The Nature of Light
1. Waves and Particles
2. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
S.3 Reflection and Color
1. Reflection of Light
2. Mirrors
3. Seeing Colors
S.4 Refraction and Prisms
1. Refraction of light
2. Lenses
3. Dispersion and Prisms

Tuesday- Students will be participating in a Spectrum Demo.
Spectrum tubes concentrate a gaseous discharge in a narrow tube to produce a brilliant line source of light for spectroscopic work.  Current is sent through the tube and this excites the electrons in the gaseous sample.  When the electrons get excited, they jump up to a higher energy level away from the nucleus, but after a while, they lose energy and jump back down to their original level.  When the electrons jump back down, they give off energy and we see it as a certain color of light.  During this demo, you will be recording the various elements gas spectra.
Students will using a spectrum to look at Argon, Neon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Water Vapor, Krypton, Helium, Xenon, Nitrogen and Air.  Students will be recording the element symbol, Color, and the Color with spectroscope.  Students will also be answering hte questions:
Why does the sample of air match closely with the sample for nitrogen gas?
Why does the sample of water vapor match closely with the sample for hydrogen?


Wednesday- Bellringer #47 Students will observe a Rube Goldberg Machine (the gmae mouse trap) and write down four chain reactions that they observed. Students will take notes and have a discussion about who Rube Goldberg was and what he is known for.  Students will watch some video clips about Rube Goldberg Machines- 1. Mythbusters Christmas Machine, and two Purdue University Machines (they try to break the world record every year).

Thursday- Students will be in the libaray using a website to build a Rube Goldberg Machine.

Friday- Students will be in the library using a website to build a Rube Goldberg Machine.

Important Reminders-
1. Journals are due on Monday April 30th with Bellringers #35-47
2. Binders are due in order on Thursday May 3rd.  If your Binder is not in order I will not grade it.

April 16-20

Weekly Lesson Plans April 16th-20th

Monday- Students will have 5 minutes to study for tehir Chapter 13 Vocab Quiz.  Students will take their Vocab Quiz.  Students will take notes and have a discussion over Chapter 13 S.4 Conservation and Tranfromation of Energy.  Homework- Chapter 13 S.4 Review Questions #1-9 pg. 461

Tuesday- Bellringer #46 Students will identify the units for the following: Speed, Distance, Time, Acceleration, Momentum, Work, Power, Energy, Force, Weight, Efficiency, and Mechanical Advantage. Students will have the rest of hte period to work on their Chapter 13 Study Guide.

Wednesday- Students will trade and grade the Ch 13 Study Guide and then play the Game Show Review.

Thursday- Chapter 13 Test.  An extra credit puzzle was handed out after the test.  Students were told that this would be the last extra credit assignment.

Friday- Students watched the Mythbusters Young Scientists Challenege Video and filled out a video sheet.  The three myths reviewed several concepts that we covered this semester: Are electric cars sluggish? Do Carbon Dioxide and Methane emissions increase temperature (are they speeding up/causing global warming)? and Do cows cause calamity for the environment (what can we harvest the methane they produce to run machines like lawn mowers or entire farms?).

Monday, April 9, 2012

April 9-13

Weekly Lessons
April 9th-13th

Monday-Bellringer #42 Read "What machines are used on bikes?" pg. 435 Students will take notes and have discussion over Chapter 13 Section 1 about Work, Power, and Mechanical Advantage.  Homework- Chapter 13 vocab words and work, power, and mechanical advantange practice problems.

Tuesday- Bellringer #43 Students will watch a video clip about simple machines and have to create a table about different kinds of incline planes, wedges, and screws.  Students will participate in a Power Output Lab where they will be figuring out how much work they are exerting to run and walk up a flight of stairs and what time it takes them. Then students will calculate how much power they used.  Homework- Ch 13 S.1 Concept Review.

Wednesday- Students will watch a clip about the physics of roller coasters.  Then students will take notes and have discussion over Chapter 13 S.2.  Homework- Chapter 13 S.2 Concept Review and Quiz.

Thursday- Bellringer #44 What simple machines do you think Egyptians used to build the pyramids?  Students will then watch a video explaining how the pyramids were built and what machines were used.  Students will participate in a Simple Machiens Lab where they will be calculating the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane.  Homework- Chaptyer 13 S.2 Review Questions #1-8.

Friday- Bellringer #45 Students will watch a video clip about simple machines and have to create a table about different kinds of levers, pulleys, and wheels and axels. Students will take notes and have discussion over Chapter 13 S.3.  Homework- Ch 13 S.3 Concept Review and Quiz.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Overview pg.431
This chapter covers work, power, and the mechanical advantage of machines.  This chapter then explores the six simple machines and relates work to energy, and distinguishes between different forms of energy.  Finally, energy transformations, the conservation of energy, and the efficiency of machines are covered.

Students will be able to explain the following:
Chapter 13 Section 1 Work, Power, and Machines
1.      How is work calculated?
2.      What is the relationship between work and power?
3.      How do machines make work easier?
Chapter 13 Section 2 Simple Machines
1.      What are the six types of simple machines?
2.      What are the two principal parts of all leavers?
3.      How does using an inclined plane change the force required to do work?
4.      What simple machines make up a pair of scissors?
Chapter 13 Section 3 What is Energy?
1.      What is the relationship between energy and work?
2.      Why is potential energy called energy of position?
3.      What factors does kinetic energy depend on?
4.      What is nonmechanical energy?
Chapter 13 Section 4 Conservation of Energy
1.      How does energy change?
2.      What is the law of conservation of energy?
3.      How much of the work done by a machine is actually useful work?