Test Today

Today students took a test on the water unit. When we return from academic travel we will be starting our third unit of the year: The Air.

Test Review

Today we reviewed what we have learned over the past 14 classes during our water unit. On Monday you will have a test.

Make sure to review all your notes and handouts from class.

Candle Lab

Today each student observed a candle (don't worry, we were outside). We were able to see physical and chemical changes and practice making observations.

Homework: if you didn't finish the analysis questions in class, please finish these for homework. On Friday we will be wrapping up our water unit and reviewing for the test on Monday.

Boiling Point Web Lab

We started off today by comparing chemical and physical changes, the we did the web lab below.

Click the picture below to go to the activity.

Originally your homework was going to be to find information on the boiling point of an element, but after searching for almost two hours, I haven't been able to find anything interesting and grade-level appropriate other than websites that would have you copy down just a number for a boiling and melting point.

So, we have a change of plans.

Tomorrow we will do the candle lab and organize your notebook for your notebook check on Monday.

Homework: make sure you bring your notebook to class and if your notebook is a mess, dig through your room and find all of your science papers; BRING THESE TO CLASS!.

States of Matter & Phase Change

Today we used a BrainPop video clip to help us learn about the states of matter for water and phase change. The video talked about physical changes, but what about chemical changes?
Homework: Read about the differences between chemical and physical changes here. Take notes for a reading quiz tomorrow.

If you have a computer or iPad, please bring it to class tomorrow.

Club Significance

Today we started to learn about significant figures and how to identify them in our calculations.

For homework you need to do problems 1-10 on the front of the worksheet. You do not need to do the problems on the back, we will do those in class on Monday.

Density of Water

On Wednesday we used graduated cylinders and a triple beam balance to determine with density of water (which is 1g/mL).

To look at density we attempted the soda can demo. What we should have seen was this:
Instead we "defied" the laws of density :) Maybe Swiss Coke is different from American Coke...

Tomorrow we will be going back over the data you have collected in the density experiments to determine the how to accurately present our data using significant figures.

Revisiting the Density Cubes

Today students had another opportunity to practice measuring and finding the density of objects. We review the formula, the importance of labels and compared the mass found using a triple beam balance and an electronic balance.

Homework: None. However there was a bonus homework question proposed by Gianromano: "Why is the formula for density mass divided by volume and not volume divided by mass?" Find out the answer and get a bonus point on your homework.

Lab Check Up!

Today students had a Lab Check Up! to see how much they really understand about using lab equipment to solve a problem. Below was this week's problem:

Over the weekend there was a mix up in the lab involving various materials. The cubes you are about to receive were all labeled neatly in containers. However, something happened and now we don’t know what the cubes are made out of anymore. The science department needs your help finding the density of these substances to determine what they are. After identifying the substances, we identified which samples are elements and which samples are compounds. But what does all of this have to do with water? Many different elements and compounds contribute to water pollution.

Homework: Click the picture below and it will take you to a website. Click on the following areas, read about them and take notes. You will use your notes for a mini open notes quiz tomorrow.

You should read about AND take notes on: Chemical, Nutrients and Suspended Matter.

Finding Mass Using a Triple Beam Balance

Today we did an activity called Mix and Match Mass to learn how to use a triple beam balance. After making predictions about the mass of the items they have been working with over the past week, students found the actual mass of the items.
Homework: First, use the handout below from the Day 1 of Volume by Displacement. Use the volume you found for four of your objects and use the mass you found from today's activity, to find the density of each object.

For Example: If you found the volume of Rock #22 to be 30mL and the mass of Rock #22 to be 10g, the density would be 0.33g/mL.

Volume by Water Displacement 2

Today we continued practicing measurement with water displacement.

Homework: You can either watch the video clip below AND take notes.... OR... go to this website and take notes. Your choice. Make sure you include the formula for finding density and the definition of density.

Volume by Water Displacement

Today we did a lab to see how the volume of an irregular object can be found using the water displacement method. After attempting to find the volume of various irregularly shaped objects using a ruler, students found the volume by water displacement.
Tomorrow we will evaluate our results and see if our data is accurate. There is no homework tonight.

Measuring Liquid Volume

We started class today by asking the question, which referred to the lab on Friday:

Not everyone had the same number of drops fit on their coin. If all of the coins were about the same size, how is this possible? How can we make the measurements the same?

Today students learned about various tools that scientists use to take accurate measurements. Students did a worksheet to help them practice reading various volumes of liquid. Tomorrow we will be doing a wet lab using displacement to help us determine the volume of irregularly shaped objects.
Homework: Complete the worksheet for finding the volume of a regularly shaped solid. Note: you can absolutely use a calculator for this assignment.

Sinkin' Lincoln Lab

Today students had an open notes quiz to see how well they were paying attention to what their peers taught them in class on Wednesday.

After the quiz we did the Sinkin' Lincoln Lab to examine surface tension. We also reviewed how to take an average and find the max./min. of a set of data.
Homework: (due Monday): Finish the questions on the back of the lab sheet.