Feb 10-11--finally finishing our projects

It has been a while since my last post. We have been busily working on our atomic energy projects and will have the 10th and 11th to finish them in class. Those that don't finish will need to complete them at home, or come in early and work on them before school.

We will be switching books--so please bring back your interactions of matter book. We will start on Earth Science on Monday the 16th

Jan 27 and 29

Snow day January 28th.

Today in class we started on our digital stories on atomic energy. In brief, students need to create a short story (~2 minutes in length) on an aspect of atomic energy. You can download the rubric and an explanation of the project by clicking through to http://www.freewebs.com/extremescience/atomicenergyproject.htm.

We will be using photostory 3 software at school to complete our digital stories. This software is free to download from microsoft.

We also learned how to use our class wiki. We will be using this to gather our information, get organized, and then complete the project. You can see the wiki at http://www.sciencerocksroom121.pbwiki.com/

We could use additional computer microphones for this project--if anyone has any to spare, we would love to borrow them!

Thanks,

Mr. J

Jan 23 and Jan 26

Today was silly hat day. We discussed Alpha and Beta Particles, and Gamma Rays. I wore a paper hat to illustrate the fact that Alpha particles are stopped by paper. I then wore an aluminum foil hat to show that Beta particles are stopped by thin sheets of metal or about a meter thickness of air. Finally I wore a cinder block hat to discuss Gamma Rays.

We also discussed the concept of half life and we performed the Headsium start up activity on page 79 of our textbook. If you missed this class you can do this activity on your own. All you need is 100 pennies.

Be sure to check my website, we will be starting our atomic energy project next week.

Jan 22-23, the birth of atomic energy (and paranoia)

Today in class we started the final chapter of our interactions of matter book. We are now in the atomic age.

To start off we looked at the world in 1953, when atomic energy was brand new. We watched the civil defense film "Duck and Cover" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0K_LZDXp0I

Then we watched film of an actual nuclear blast at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZxmDJYBKKo

Following this we compared life in 1953 with life today, then we watched excerpts from the film A is for Atom which can be found here.
http://www.archive.org/details/isforAto1953

Finally we discussed our new project. We need to think of some aspect of atomic energy that might interest us--it can be fallout, use in war, cold war, reactors, use in medicine, etc. We will be creating digital stories that help tell the story that we wish to tell.

We'll be doing this in class--however all should start doing some research now--come into class with a good idea on what you want to work on.

January 20th--Attack of the Killer Cabbages

What happened to the time?

Sorry, I was out on Thursday and Friday January 15th and 16th. On the 14th and on the 20th we completed the cabbage patch indicators lab on page 70 of our textbook. Period 5th-8th on the 20th watched the inauguration instead of the lab.

January 12-13 Acids and Bases

Today we started chapter three--note that we will not be in this chapter very long!

We reviewed the properties of ionic and covalent compounds and then discussed in depth the property of conductivity. We found that ionic solutions conducted electricity and many covalent compounds did not.

We then looked at Acids and Bases. We noted that acids produce H+ ions in water (also known as hydrogen or hydronium ions). Bases produced OH- ions or Hydroxyl ions. We then found that if you add an acid to a base you get a salt and water.

Jan 7th-8th, May we have your liver?

Today in class we completed the famous 'Liver Donor Lab'. In this lab we used an enzyme in chicken livers to decompose hydrogen peroxide. We looked at the effect of surface area on reaction speed by grinding up one portion of liver and comparing it with whole pieces. For the control we used a test tube filled with just Hydrogen Peroxide.

We found out that the ground up liver created a more vigorous reaction due to the greater surface area caused by the grinding up of the liver.

Remember, our test on chapter two is Friday, January 9th.

Jan 5th and 6th, Welcome to the new year!

Today in class we slipped back into our school routine after being away for 12+ days. Hopefully everyone had a good break and is ready to dig in to the schoolwork for these next few months.

Today we learned that our chapter three test will be this friday (January 9th) for all classes. Our homework due date has been moved up to Wed the 7th for the A day classes, Thur the 8th for the B day classes.

We received a study guide today--if you have lost it, head over to my website and check out the test and quizzes webpage for another copy of it.

In class we reviewed balancing chemical equations, the four clues that chemical reactions are occuring, and four different types of chemical reactions. We also went over the differences between chemical symbols, formulae and chemical equations and we talked again about the differences between exothermic and endothermic reactions.

Finally we started on section three. We demonstrated activation energy by dragging a match over a striker until it ignited, then we ignited some magnesium with a bunsen burner.

To end the class we looked at three factors that affect reaction rates: concentration of a solution, the starting temperature of a reaction and the surface area of the reactants. We cut a denture cleanser tablet in half, pulverized one half and then timed the amount of time required to dissolve the tablet and the powder in water. We then demonstrated the effect temperature had by dropping one tablet in room temperature water and another tablet in hot (almost boiling) water.

Dec 23rd--Happy Holidays

Today in class we watched a few more of the commercials and/or watched the original "How the Grinch stole Christmas".

Homework will not be due until January 9th--have a great holiday break and do just a little bit of studying because the chapter two test will be shortly after we return!

Dec 19th and Dec 22nd

Dec 19th I was absent! However the class worked on a conservation of mass lab. They took the mass of a denture cleansing tablet, a beaker, some water, and a ziplock bag. They then placed the water and the tablet in the bag, quickly sealed it and observed the reaction.

Finally, they weighed the bag, water and dissolved tablet, and then tried to determine if mass was conserved.

Dec 22nd we coated pinecones with molten wax, then sprinkled metallic salts on them. These can be thrown into wood burning fireplaces to create different colored flames. We also received our elements project grades and watched some of the elements commercials.

Dec 17-18 Burn, Baby, Burn!

We started off by taking notes on four types of chemical reactions. They were Synthesis, Decomposition, Single Replacement and Double Replacement Reactions. Synthesis means putting something together, Decomposition means taking it apart. Single replacement would be an element switching places with a part of a compound and double replacement would be two parts of two compounds switching places.

Then we completed the 'Burn, Baby, Burn" lab, complete with soundtrack courtesy of youtube. We weighed steel wool, then burnt it using a candle, then weighed it again. Many were surprised to see that the steel wool gained weight after it had been torched.

We discussed how this did not contradict the idea of conservation of mass. We realized that we had not weighed the oxygen that combined with the steel wool.

Finally, we balanced the equation Fe +O2-->Fe2O3 (this was the reaction we had completed).

Dec 15-16, What's in a name

today we went over some basic rules for naming covalent molecules and ionic compounds. We discussed the latin prefixes mono, di, tri, tetra, penta, hexa, septa, octa, nona and deca.

We also spent more time balancing equations using this website http://funbasedlearning.com/chemistry/chembalancer/default.htm

If you missed this class--try the ones on the website--if you do well, try the hard ones at

http://funbasedlearning.com/chemistry/chemBalancer3/default.htm

Bring in old candles and pine cones--we'll have something fun to do with them next week!

Dec 10-11--exploring chemical reactions

Today we dove into the chemistry. After a short set of notes on the clues to chemical reactions (hosted by Blue, from Blues Clues) we broke into groups and started experimenting.

We first mixed Ammonium Nitrate with water and found that as the chemical dissolved the test tube became very cold.

Secondly we mixed copper sulfate solution with washing soda and saw a white precipitate form.

For our third experiment we poured some manganese dioxide into hydrogen peroxide--we noticed bubbles of gas which we then tested with glowing splints. The glowing splint relit which told us that the gas was oxygen.

We then mixed baking soda with vinegar--again forming a gas. Our lit splint went out this time which led us to believe that the gas was carbon dioxide.

For our final experiment we dropped some Magnesium metal into a test tube of hydrochloric acid. We again saw bubbling. When we tested this reaction product the results were quite explosive!

Dec 8-9 Starting chemical reactions

Today we modeled the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. We did this using the molecule sets and the instructions to the start up activity (found on page 27). If you missed this in class you can try it at home using marshmallows and toothpicks.

We also graded our chapter one homework, turned in our commercials, and found out our grades on the model. We took a few notes on products, reactants, the yields symbol and conservation of matter. We also discussed the difference between coefficients and subscripts in chemical formulae--and we counted the number of atoms in compounds.

Finally, we received the new take twenty homework handout--the first ten points will be due the 15th/16th, the second ten points will be due the 22nd/23rd.

Finally--we found out that the plasma ball can activate the musical chip in my holiday tie!

Dec 3-4 Making Chemical Models

Today we went over our homework then completed a lab on making chemical models. We used the model kits provided to us from a grant from the PFA (thanks again, they were very useful!) and created ball and stick models of both ionic and covalent substances.

We modeled H2, Cl2, O2, N2, HCl, KCl, HBr, H2O, CO2, H2S, NH3 and CH4.

Remember--Test on Friday--Extra help every morning starting at 7:30 am.

Dec 1-2, Post Turkey Day Review

Today we turned in our 3D model of our atom and also the chapter one homework. We then reviewed how to read the periodic table and how to figure out the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in an atom by looking at the periodic table.

We also went over the chapter one study guide (given out today in class and available online at my website). The chapter one test will be this Friday, December fifth.

Finally we created atomic bonding skits. Each group was given the names of two elements, the group then had to determine if the elements bonded, then create a skit to show how they would bond.

Nov 19-20 The Official First Day of Chemistry

Today we finished refreshing our atoms and then started with chemical bonding.

First we completed the from glue to goop activity (page 2 in the textbook). We mixed watered down glue (50/50 mix of water and elmers) with a dilute borax solution (4 grams of borax to 100 mL's of water). It made a silly putty like material.

We then drew lots of Bohr models of atoms--we did hydrogen, helium, lithium, sodium, chlorine, neon and potassium.

Finally, we filled a balloon full of hydrogen gas and blew it up--and we have film to prove it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ImFhVq5AOU

Nov 17-18 Gathering Information

Today we went to either the media center or the computer lab and began working on gathering the info for our elements project. We used multiple sources (three minimum including one book source) to determine the key facts on our element. This part of the project will be due this friday.

Nov 13-14 Starting Chemistry

Today in class we had a whirlwind refresher on sixth grade chemistry. We touched on the parts of an atom (Protons, Neutrons and Electrons). We talked about the difference between atoms (no charge) and ions (have charges).

We then reviewed the periodic table, talked about how protons made the atom--any atom with one proton was a hydrogen atom (number 1 on the periodic table), any with 2 protons was Helium (number two on the table). We pointed out the noble gases and the halogens, or salt formers.

All this information can be found in the introduction to matter book (see my website for the online version of the book).

Finally, we discussed our elements project--We will be creating fact sheets, 3-D models and a commercial about an element. We saw sample commercials from previous classes.

This project will have three parts, and three due dates. Please see the Elements project page on my website for the specific due dates.

Nov 10th and 12th--still working on the data

We spent another full day in the computer room and by now our data should be thoroughly crunched! We'll be turning in our project lab reports later this week. I've added to my homework page our class introduction letter with our original hypothesis. Please cut and paste it into your lab report.