June 8

Science – The Earth’s Crust

Today we watched  some videos on the Earth’s crust that explain how convection moves the tectonic plates in Tectonic Theory.  Check out the links below.  Then go to the Quizlet link to study the vocabulary related to the lesson.  Also, there is a link to the handouts from class.

Handouts from class:

20.02.03 convection currents and tectonic plate movement a

Quizlet link:

https://quizlet.com/_7sgu6i?x=1jqt&i=wonru

Videos we took notes on in class.

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January 27

Structure building assignment

Students are to complete the assignment  below (except that they only have to build the chairs, not the additional structures).  They are to follow the steps outlined below…

  1. Build the structures as outlined in the directions.
  2. Fill out an formal lab write-up (see the link below) to show their understanding of proper lab procedures in this experiment.
  3. Complete the stress testing of their chairs.
  4. Finish their formal lab write-up.
  5. Complete the questions in the assignment on a separate piece of paper. (except for #3)
  6. Print out their formal lab and their attach it to the responses to the questions in the assignment to hand in.

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November 1

3 Mini-labs dealing with convection

Create a mini lab for the experiment below.  The title for this experiment is “How Water Vs Cold Water Convection”. This afternoon we are doing 3 mini-labs.  To do this at home you will need to use lined paper as we had before and put in the appropriate titles for a formal lab.  For procedure and materials, just say, “see blog”.  The 3 experiments are: 1) what will happen in the fish tank when we pour hot (red) water into cold (blue) water? and 2) what will happen with the two bottles when we put hot water on the bottom, and cold water on top, and then allow them to be in contact? and 3) what will happen with the bottles of hot and cold water if we do it all again but with the hot water on top and the cold on the bottom?  You will need to first write your hypothesis’, and then watch the videos.  Then, you will want to watch the brief lesson video (that I will record and post to Science channel this afternoon) where I explain the concept, and then you will attempt to use that knowledge to explain your own understanding when you explain the results you observe in the experiments.

Here is the format of a mini-lab (for reference):

Here is our brainstorm on “what we already know” to help start our thinking for our hypothesis’:

Experiment #1:

 

Experiment #1 Explaine (watch this before completing your conclusion):

Experiment #2 and #3:

Explanation of the results in the video below

Here are the key words we brainstormed this morning

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October 13

Thermal Expansion – Trailer Tires mini lab

Today we are going to talk about our knowledge of thermal expansion using Mr. Ewert’s trailer tires as an example.  Use the mini-lab format (shown here) to complete your hypothesis.  Then, Mr. Ewert will collect to see how well you have learned the concept from last week.

Mini lab scenario:

Mr Ewert has a camper trailer. This camper trailer has tires on it that have to maintain a certain pressure. The tire pressure of these tires is 45 PPSI which stands for pounds per square inch doesn’t really matter what that means just know that the tire meter should say 45 to be correct.

Mr Ewert needs to tend to the tire pressure each spring and each fall. Your job in this mini lab is to predict does he need to put air in or let air out in fall, and, does he need to put air in or out in spring. You must also scientifically explain why.

If you paid attention to your labs last week and put in a good effort you will have sufficient knowledge to answer this question impeccably well. To help you, Mr Ewert will first review the lab from last week to make sure that you have a solid understanding.

 

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October 6

Heat Energy and Particle Theory

Today we’re going to test heat versus temperature. Are they the same thing? How does heat relate to temperature or are they one in the same?  Today we will be running an experiment Where we will dip our hands in different temperatures of water to observe our perception of heat and the temperature around us. To do this students will be asked to write a formal lab with all necessary sections including the two most important, hypothesis and conclusion. Students are HIGHLY ADVISED to use the 20.09.16 LAB REPORT TEMPLATE – good one which is found in the front of the science section in their binders as a reference to be sure that they have all aspects of a formal lab.

Please note that the papers given out in class, and linked below, are intended to assist the student in filling out their formal lab. When they have completed both the formal lab and the papers provided in class the student will staple them together for formal submission along 18.09.10 Lab Rubric (2). These are provided in class and connected in this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPErStqSSMkWatch this video below and then observe the assignment materials followed in class.

Assignment/Lesson Materials (in addition to those linked to above):

17.10.04 temperature vs heat-16jkot6

 

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September 29

Science – States of Matter Review with Bill Nye

We are about to start a unit on the particle theory of matter and to do that we will start with what we learned in Grade 5 when we studied the states of matter. Watch the video below and check out the handout with basic ideas about particles.  Here is the worksheet for this video that we worked on in class together.  If you are absent, be sure to complete.

15.10.15 states_of_matter_and_bill_nye_matter

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September 15

Science – Falling Pop Bottles

Soda BottlesToday we discussed falling matter.  To do this we did a formal lab write-up while experimenting with falling pop bottles full of water.  We did the experiment together as a class and practiced our formal write-up skills.

Formal lab write-up format:  Here is a copy of the formal lab format we used complet3e with a rubric to tell students how they are assessed on their formal labs. science lab outline

Here is a copy of the additional assignment materials we used in class: 15.11.02 falling pop bottles lab

Once you have finished your experiments you should watch the video below and find out how Aristotle and Galileo settled the question about whether heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.