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.