Surface Tension and The Periodic Table

We did some more experimenting with water on Monday. We tried getting paper clips to sit on top of the water without breaking the surface tension. We discussed how water is "sticky" and reviewed the structure of a water molecule. Tuesday we passed out periodic tables and started looking how the table is organized and how it can be used as a reference table. Here are some of the notes on the periodic table. Periodic Table Notes. Here is a good link to an interactive periodic table.

Starting Chemistry Unit

Friday, we started our Chemistry Unit. We introduced the topic with a few definitions. Here is a link to the notes on Googledocs: Chem Notes 1. We then did a short lab activity to see how many drops of water we could fit on the surface of a penny. We set up procedures, made data tables and conducted our investigations. For homework, they need to write up a conclusion/discussion on what happened and any ideas they have about why they got the results that they did.

Project Sharing

Today we started sharing our bird investigation projects. We made it about halfway through the group. Some excellent projects and great presentations. Each student will evaluate two other projects giving feedback on what went well and what they might be able to do better. They also will do a self evaluation. These are due on Friday, Dec 10th.

Nearing the End of Bird Investigations

We are working on wrapping up these projects. It has been slow going for some folks and frustrating for others, but the end is in sight. We hope to be completely finished and have people present their investigations on Wednesday, December 8th. The wikispages will be the finished products. I just posted a Rubric for the project on the wikispace. Here is a googledoc link to it as well. Project Rubric. Many of us are figuring out exactly how Microsoft Excel and Apple's Numbers work to make a graph. It is not always obvious.

We are in the thick of it

We are working hard on our bird investigations. The Thanksgiving break slowed some people down and for others, it gave them time to get started. We are in the process of catching up and getting everyone at about the same point. Some folks have collected all their data and are analyzing it and figuring out how to present their results. Some folks are ready to start collecting data this week. We hope to have it all finished this week and everyone's results posted on the wikispace by this weekend or early next week. We split the classes into Research Study Teams of 3-4 students. These groups will focus on giving feedback specifically to each other to help them refine their work and make it even better. If you go to the wikipage, be sure to check out the discussions.

Bird Investigations Ongoing

We have been working this week on our Bird Investigations. Check out the wikispace and visit each students' page (http://cfsbirds-2010.wikispaces.com) to see what they are doing for their projects. We have been working on peer reviews to help everyone clarify their guiding questions, formulate hypotheses, identify independent and dependent variables, determine materials needed, and develop good procedures. Each student is required to visit and comment on at least 5 other pages and to read the comments that they have recieved. Some students may be ready to start their investigations this weekend or by the beginning of next week. When we return after Thanksgiving we will wrap up our data collection and start analyzing our results. We will practice using different graphs to show our results in different ways.

Starting Bird Projects

This week we have been getting started on a new project that will take us into December. Each student is going to develop a question about birds and bird behavior. Then they will figure out how to answer that question through either systematic observation, an experiment, or analyzing data about birds. We will be posting our work on the internet at http://www.cfsbirds-2010.wikispaces.com. This week we are concentrating on developing our questions and deciding on what makes an investigible question.

Ecology Unit Test

We had our Ecology Unit Test today. It went pretty well. Everyone finished in the time allotted and most people attempted the bonus questions. We should get them back by Monday.

Cane Toads

Today and on Wednesday we are watching Cane Toads, An Unnatural History. This documentary, made in 1987, outlines the unusual history of how Cane Toads were introduced into Australia in 1935 and now they are out of control. We took notes on the film and had a short discussion of their impact on the Australian Ecosystem. Here is a link to Googledocs for the Study Guide: Cane Toad Study Guide with Answers.

Study Guide for Ecology

Thursday and Friday we looked at some invasive species here on campus (Princess Tree and Chinese Privet) that were planted as ornamentals and now have turned into difficult trees to get rid of. We also began to review for the Ecology test. We looked at the format of an old test and started going over the study guide. Today we continued to review for the Unit Test on Friday, November 5th. We took a practice test. You can download that here: Eco Practice Test. We continued going over the questions on the Study Guide. The Guide and answers to most of the questions can be downloaded here: Eco Test Study Guide. We will watch the movie, Cane Toads: An Unnatural History tomorrow and Wednesday in class. It is a documentary about the impact of the Cane Toads in Australia. In many ways it is a perfect "Invasion Machine" and the movie does a good job of telling the story of how it was introduced and the impact that has followed. It also shows how some people in Queensland have become quite attached to the creatures.

Review for Unit Test

I missed a few days here on the blog. Last week we finished up our Line Transect Surveys and interpreted our results. This week we looked at invasive species in NC. We learned about the Chestnut Blight that killed off most of the the American Chestnut trees and the new blight resistant trees that are being planted to see if they can make it to maturity. We have three of those trees here on campus. Today we started our reviewing for the Unit Test that is going to be Friday, November 5th. Here is the GoogleDocs link for the Study Guide: Ecology Unit Study Guide.

Line Transects

We went into the woods near the Middle School and started our Line Transect Surveys. We stretched a line 10 meters long and counted and identified every species that we could find within a meter of the line. We are doing this in two different locations near the Middle School and will then compare our results and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of this sort of a survey. No Homework this week.

Nitrogen Cycle Game

Today we played a game that represents the flow of nutrients (Carbon and Nitrogen) through the food web. It was not the most perfect model, but it emphasized how the movement of these elements is cyclic and showed how these nutrients change form and become more or less available depending on where they are in the cycle. We discussed several questions relating to the flow of nutrients and how the game tried to show this.

The Nitrogen Cycle

Today everyone got their quizzes back. For Homework, some people need to redo some of their answers. We read about the Nitrogen Cycle and looked at a diagram that shows how nitrogen-fixing bacteria make atmospheric nitrogen available for plants. Tomorrow we will play a board game that illustrates how nitrogen moves in and out of the food chain, the atmosphere and the soil.

Eco Quiz #2

We had our second ecology quiz today. It covered the water cycle and the carbon cycle, photosynthesis and the movement of biocides through food chains. Here is a link to the quiz. Eco Quiz #2. We spent some time after the quiz looking at some numbers for the amounts of Carbon dioxide that are involved in the Carbon Cycle. Check out this chart from NASA on the Carbon Cycle.

Quiz Review

Tuesday we reviewed for the quiz on Wednesday. It covered the Carbon Cycle, the Water Cycle, Photosynthesis and Respiration, and how Biocides can concentrate as they move through Food Chains.

Medicinal and Edible Plants

Today we walked around outside the classroom and collected more plant samples for our Science Notebooks. In addition to identifying the plants, we also learned some of the uses of these different plants. We learned that you can eat most of the parts of the Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), that Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is used to cure a headache, Common Plantain (Plantago major) is good for bee stings and drawing out infection, and that Sour Grass (Oxalis europaea) is a good thirst quencher. We compared two very similar looking plants as well: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota). No Homework, but there will be a quiz on Wednesday, October 13th on the water cycle, the carbon cycle and photosynthesis, and biocides in the food web.
Last week was block schedule, we had the field trip to New Hope Creek on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we tested our water samples for Phosphates, Nitrates and Nitrites, and Sulphates. After we summarized all of our tests and counting up the species present, we decided that the creek is pretty clean.

New Hope Creek

Today we had block schedule and 1st and 3rd period classes went to Johnston's Mill Preserve on New Hope Creek. We took a survey of stream invertebrates, gathered water samples for testing, took air and water temperatures, measured pH and explored around the site of the old mill. Thursday when we are back in class we will analyze our results and see if we can determine the overall health of the stream.

Stream Ecology and Carbon Cycling

Last Friday we did not have class because of the Fall Weekend Break. Thursday we continued going over notes on Ecosystem Ecology and started mapping out the Carbon Cycle. We continued this today and went into a little more detail with mineralization, respiration, and carbon storage. We prepared ourselves for the Field Trip to New Hope Creek on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. We will be looking at stream invertebrates to gauge the health of the stream and get a better sense of this local stream ecosystem. Since it will be a little cold in the morning everyone should dress warmly and wear shoes (no sandals/flipflops) for walking on the rocks.

Weight of a Hurricane and other Stuff

Wednesday, September 29th. Today we started class reviewing a little bit of the Water Cycle, emphasizing how much water is stored in the oceans. We listened to this story from NPR about the weight of a hurricane: Weight of a Hurricane. We also watched the cartoon that explains how all that water can stay up in the sky. We read part of a science text about primary production: the rate at which producers like plants can produce sugars through photosynthesis. We highlighted parts of the text and added some definitions of terms. Here are the definitions in Google doc format: Ecosystem Ecology Notes. We will finish the reading and note taking tomorrow.

Photosynthesis

Tuesday, September 28, 2010. Today we modeled the chemical process of Photosynthesis; the foundation of almost all life on the planet. We used different colored Starburst candies for the atoms of Hydrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen and toothpicks to represent the chemical bonds holding the molecules together. Following the rules of bonds for Carbon, two bonds for Carbon, and one bond for Hydrogen, we built six Carbon dioxide molecules and six Water molecules. Then we reassembled them into a Glucose molecule along with six Oxygen molecules. No Homework this week.

Water Cycle

Monday, September 27th. Today we looked at the water cycle and the processes that are involved. We looked at Evaporation, Transpiration, Condensation, and Precipitation and the role of each in the cycle. We examined ground water, surface water, and what might influence the transfer of water from each part of the water cycle. We reviewed boiling point and freezing point of water in the Fahrenheit and Celsius systems.
Last Friday we played our new and improved Food Web Games, incorporating new cards and new rules to make the game more realistic and engaging. These changes included defining exactly what eats what, specific ratios between levels on the food web, adding species or removing others, and adding "Disaster Cards" like drought, floods, hurricanes and developments to change the food webs.

Eco Quiz #1

Thursday, September 23rd. Today we had our first quiz to review food webs and the flow of energy and matter through the web and the special role of decomposers. I stressed how quizzes have several functions: to review material, to assess everyone's understanding of the material so far, and from that see what we need to focus on a little more, and to give them practice taking a test. We went over the quiz afterwards and answered questions. We spent a little time reviewing the plants that we have been identifying in our local ecosystem and compared several methods for surveying and counting the numbers of species on campus. Here is a link to the Quiz: Eco Quiz #1 It is a PDF file on Googledocs.

Local Trees

Wednesday, September 22 (Equinox). Today we reviewed for the quiz on Thursday. There are three main topics to cover.
1. Be able to draw a food web with all five levels, label the levels and give examples of organisms for each level.
2. Explain how energy and matter each move differently through a food chain.
3. Describe the special role of decomposers in the food web.
We also spent some time outside collecting leaves of different trees in the area and learning how to identify them. We looked at Sycamore, Red Maple, Ginkgo, Red Cedar, and Loblolly Pine.

Homework and Updating the Game

Tuesday, September 21st. Today we revisited the Food Web Connections Game in small groups and brainstormed ways to make the game better. Some groups decided to have specific ratios for how many producers are required before you can add primary consumers and so on up the food chain. Other groups added more specific details about what each species eats and how that limits your options when building a food web. Several groups decided to add "Disaster Cards" to the game. These included fires, floods, droughts, toxic spills and land development each with a different impact on the food webs. We will play our modified games on Friday.
Monday we revisited our homework from the previous week. We went over expectations for what constitutes a "good" answer and how it is important to give detailed answers in full sentences. I gave the phrase, "When in doubt, write it out" to remind them to always add more details instead of less. Often they assume that I know that they know what they are talking about, but they need to be explicit so that everyone is clear on the details. Many of them got their homework back with comments to guide them in redoing their work. We will be having a quiz on Thursday that will cover the same topics that were addressed in the readings and homework. These include drawing a food web, describing how energy and matter move through a food web and the role of decomposers in the food web. No Homework.

Food Web Connections Game

Friday, September 17th. Today we played a card game that models a food web. The object was to create a diverse food web with 5 levels, from decomposers to tertiary consumers. During the game various threats to the stability of the food web had to be dealt with. Homework was collected, no new homework.

More Food Webs

Wednesday, September 15th. Today we modeled a food web using string to connect the different organisms and to illustrate the interdependence between the parts of the food web. We made an energy pyramid to show how the numbers of consumers decrease as we move up the food chain. Homework was collected.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Tuesday, September 14th. Today we constructed food chains that might exist in different ecosystems like a desert or a rainforest. We examined how energy and matter move through these food chains. As we added more organisms to the ecosystem we created food webs that illustrated the interconnectedness of the organisms and their various roles and niches within the ecosystem. We went over the different levels of producers, consumers and decomposers as well. Homework is due tomorrow.

Characteristics of Life

Monday, September 13th. We went over the 8 basic characteristics of all living things. These included that living things have cells, genetic material, use materials and energy, respond to their environment, maintain homeostasis, grow and develop, reproduce, and as a group change over time (evolution). Homework for Wednesday, September 15, Read "Web of Life" handout, pages 5-10 and answer questions 3, 4, 5 on page 10. The second part of the handout is Homework for Friday, September 17th. Read the rest of the handout, pages 10-14 and answer questions 3, 4, & 6 on page 13.
Friday we shared articles that students brought in about environmental issues in the news.

Notebooks

Thursday, September 9. Today each student got a science notebook. These composition books will be used as Field notebooks, Lab notebooks, and Project notebooks. They will generally stay in the classroom so that students don't have to carry them around and they will be available when we need them. The plan is to use them when we go outside to take notes when we are taking an inventory of local species or when we go on a field trip to monitor stream quality. We will use them to document lab activities, collect data, and write conclusions and reflections. We will also use them for documentation of ongoing projects. The students will only write on one side of the book, leaving the other side blank for me to write comments, observations, and evaluations of their work. We will also do some peer reviews this way.
Today we took our notebooks outside and started our inventory of some of the local plants. These included White Clover, Japanese Stiltgrass, Dogwood, Tulip Poplar, and Sweet Gum.

A New Year of EPS!

Wednesday, September 8.
The first two full days of school. It is good to be all together and getting started on classes. These past two days (and our short day last week) we have been talking about Ecology and the basic requirements for living things. Today we compared definitions of Ecology by asking different people to offer their ideas of what it means. We moved on to look at ecosystems and started looking at the forest ecosystem on the CFS campus. Homework for Friday, September 10th: Find an article in a newspaper or magazine that describes an environmental issue. The article needs to be summarized and brought in to be shared. What is the problem? What is the cause of the problem? What is the environmental setting? What is the impact of the problem?

Class Update

Monday, March 29th. All about Gears. That was our topic today. We looked at the difference between pinion gears and spur gears, how gear ratios will affect the power and speed of their vehicles and how wheel size can have an impact as well. We looked at the How Stuff Works website on gears for more information and demonstrations. http://science.howstuffworks.com/gear-ratio.htm Check it out. Tomorrow we will work on our cars again. We are still gathering materials for building our cars and wheels to use as well. No Homework this week. Grandparents day on Friday as well.

Class Update

Friday, March 26th. We spent the day working on our Electric Vehicles (EV) and starting to do some work on our wikipage. Each team has a page on the wiki where they will document their work and explain some of the choices that they made in the design process. Check out the wiki at: http://www.cfs-ev2010.wikispaces.com to see what is happening with their vehicles. We went over some of the specifics about Ohm's law on Thursday and practiced using multimeters to measure voltage, current, and resistance in a simple circuit. We will be using these multimeters to test our solar charging stations and electric vehicles as well.

Class Update

Wednesday, March 24th. Today we puzzled through the details of the reading on voltage and current. The reading was pretty dense, we focused in on voltage, current and resistance. We defined each looked at how they affect circuits and then looked at Ohm's law (V = I x R) and how to calculate one part if you know the other two parts. For homework I gave everyone an excerpt from "The Way Things Work" by David MacCauley. It uses the analogy of water to explain an electrical circuit. Monday we discussed the film "Kilowatt Ours" by Jeff Barrie, that the class watched last week when I was in Philadelphia for the National Science Teachers Association conference. Tuesday we worked on our electric vehicles. They are looking for materials to use in building their cars and will get to work on them again on Friday.

Class Update

Tuesday, March 16th. Yesterday we introduced the STEP project from NCSU that we will be participating in this year. STEP (Sustainable Transportation Education Project) is a pilot program from the Schools of Engineering and Education at NCSU. Students will work in teams of 3-4 to design, build and test battery powered model cars. They will use Solar panel recharging stations to charge the batteries in their cars and do research and testing of their designs to get optimum speed and endurance from their vehicles. On Tuesday we worked in our teams to start the designing and building process. It is a block week schedule this week. I will be gone to Philadelphia for the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) conference on Thursday and Friday. Tonie Lilley will be my sub and the group will be watching "Kilowatt Ours" a documentary about how electricity is produced in the Southeastern states.

Class Update

Thursday, March 11th. Tuesday we took notes based on the reading. We looked at static electricity, the properties of positive and negative charges, how electrical force decreases as distance increases, and how charges can be transferred by friction and contact. Homework was collected and we worked on the posters for their experiments. This work continued through Wednesday and on Thursday we hung the posters in the hallway in time for Science Day (Friday, March 12).

Class Update

Monday, March 8th. Today we spent class time preparing our science experiment posters. Some people were finishing up gathering data. Some folks were writing up their procedures and conclusions and others were making charts, graphs, or tables to show their results. We have homework due tomorrow: Reading and 3 questions from the book.

Class Update

Friday, March 5th. Today we made electromagnets by wrapping wire around bolts and tested their strength by seeing how many paperclips they could lift. We found that increasing the number of windings we were able to pick up more paperclips. We also made model DC motors with magnets and loops of wire. It took some tweaking, but we were able to get most of them to run pretty smoothly. We looked at how we might increase the strength/speed of the motors by increasing the number of windings, increasing the voltage, or by increasing the strength of the permanent magnets.

Class Update

Thursday, March 4th. Today we explored the world of DC motors and how it is possible to get them to generate electricity as well. We were able to puzzle through how they work as motors, but were less successful at getting them to work as generators. But we shall try again. We also decided to put off the homework deadline until Tuesday, March 8th. Too much going on with the Science Experiments and trying to get them finished by this weekend. We will be spending time on Monday and Wednesday of next week polishing up our results, making graphs, typing summaries, and creating our posters which are due on Thursday, March 11th. In these pictures we were using one motor as a wind generator to power the other motor as a fan. We couldn't quite spin it fast enough.

Class Update

Wednesday, March 3rd. Monday we worked on developing our ideas for science experiments and research projects that will be turned into posters. If they want to they can present these posters during Science Day on March 12. Tuesday we played around with batteries, wires and holiday bulbs to make them light up. We learned about series and parallel circuits and drew pictorial diagrams of the different circuits. Homework for Friday, March 5th. Read pages 430-436 and answer questions 2, 4, & 6. Wednesday we learned how to draw schematic diagrams of our circuits and defined some basic electricity terms.

Class Update

Wednesday, Feb 24th. We had our big Chemistry Exam last week on Wednesday and it went pretty well for everyone. One more way for everyone to show what they know. On Thursday we introduced the experiment/research poster project. Everyone is going to either do a research project or an experiment and then create a poster. These will be shared on Science Day, March 12th. It is optional if they want to hang them up around the school for everyone to see. We are revisiting the scientific process and looking at how we ask questions and then whether these questions can be answered with either an experiment or through research. We continued working on these Tuesday, February 23rd. (Monday all the 4th years joined the Upper School Symposium for workshops on sustainable businesses). It is exciting to see all the different directions that people are taking in their projects. We will work on these projects a few times a week in class, as we start our new unit on energy.

Class Update

Tuesday, February 16th. Today we got a study guide and went over the questions to prepare for the exam tomorrow. Here is a link to the Study Guide with answers:
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AdhuIVYXUmADZGQ2NThianJfMTBkamZyOGpnZw&hl=en
Students will need their periodic tables for the exam.

Class Update

Monday, Feb 15th. Today we did a calorimetry activity. We measured the food energy in Cheetos (puffs) and Lay's classic potato chips. We burned small pieces of chips under cans of water and measured the temperature change of the water. With some basic math and the knowledge that one calorie of energy will raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius, we were able to get an approximate measurement of the heat energy released from a burning snack food. Tomorrow we will review for the Chemistry Exam on Wednesday, February 17th.

Class Update

Thursday, Feb 11th. Today we had our Chemistry Review Quiz. It was about how to draw a model of different types of atoms showing the number of neutrons, protons, and electrons and practice drawing electron dot diagrams to show valence electrons. We finished working on our cartoons to explain Ionic and Covalent bonding and shared them with the group. Tomorrow we will continue our nutrition and energy investigations with calorimetry of food.

Class Update

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. We have been looking at food labels and nutritional values. How to decipher a food label and learned about fats, saturated fats, and trans fats. We reviewed some chemistry for the review quiz on Thursday, Feb 11. Next week we will review for the Chemistry Exam on Wednesday, Feb 17th.

Class Update

Last week was a little different, with snow days and late starts. I forgot to post my usual updates. We did a lab activity to investigate chemical changes. We mixed several substances with either water or vinegar and measured the temperatures before and after to see if heat was being absorbed or released during a chemical reaction. We used Calcium chloride, baking soda, and Plaster of Paris. The next day we examined the differences between temperature and heat; in particular how the former is an indirect measurement of kinetic energy and the other involves the movement of energy from a hotter object to a colder object. Monday we will begin looking at the chemistry of nutrition.

Class Update

Thursday, January 28th. Today we went over the basics of organic chemistry. We reviewed the chemical reaction of photosynthesis. We defined carbohydrates, starches, proteins, and polymers. Most of this is covered in the reading and homework that is due tomorrow. (See last post) We reviewed valence electrons, electron dot diagrams and how many covalent bonds can be formed by some of the main elements involved in organic molecules (H, C, N, O, P, & S). This will be helpful when we get into modeling photosynthesis and respiration next week and will set the stage for our health and nutrition investigations.

Class Update

Monday, January 25. I had to stay home with a sick child today. We had a substitute teacher come in and help out while everyone finished their lab reports. New Homework: Read pp. 129-136, Organic compounds. Answer question #4 and this question: "Why is DNA a polymer?" Due Friday, January 29th. I will be out tomorrow as well. There will a sub and a change of pace of lab activity for Tuesday. No class on Wednesday because of Adolescent Issues Forum.

Class Update

Thursday and Friday, January 21 & 22. We conducted our experiments and investigations with dry ice Thursday. Each team used the procedures that they had developed and recorded their results on the data sheets that they had prepared. On Friday, they started writing up their reports with introductions, procedures, results, and a discussion. Most of the experiments were very successful and even if they didn't get the expected results, we learned a lot of the process.

Class Update

Tuesday, January 19. Today we worked in small groups to define investigable questions about dry ice and how it behaves. We defined what kinds of questions can be answered by either a systematic observation ("What Happens If" and "Measurement" questions) or an experiment ("Comparison" questions and extensions of systematic observations). "How" and "Why" questions are not as easily answered by classroom investigations. We looked at the importance of clear procedures, variables that need to be controlled, outcome variables, and how we might quantify our results if possible. Each group worked on developing and evaluating each of these steps in the process. Some of the questions include: "Will dry ice produce the same amount of gas in different liquids?", "What happens when you put different kinds of glue on dry ice?", "Will food coloring change the color of the steam/fog produced by dry ice?", and "Which is heavier, carbon dioxide or regular air?" Thursday, January 21, we will carry out these investigations. No homework.

Class Update

Thursday, January 14. It has been block week this week. Monday we went over the basics of metallic bonding and covalent bonding and how they compare to ionic bonding. We came up with a few "rules of thumb" for recognizing what type of bonding is involved with different molecules. Ionic bonding generally involves metals from the left side of the table combining with nonmetals from the right side of the table. Metallic bonding generally involves transition and other metals. Covalent bonding generally involves nonmetals bonding with each other. We reviewed using Lewis dot diagrams to help figure out how the bonding takes place. Everyone got a science textbook to either take home or keep in their cubbie, depending on where they most often do their homework. It is too heavy to carry around in a backpack. Homework due on Thursday. On Tuesday/Wednesday during our block schedule we experimented with dry ice to learn more about its properties.

Today we broke into small groups to sort out the questions that arose from the homework. It required using class notes to answer the questions rather than just finding it in the reading. We made a lot of progress and sorted through some difficult information.