The Game Is On!

For Thursday's class-- review all the science vocabulary this year--including from the beginning with Mrs. Copperman.  We will be playing games- Pictionary and Catch Phrase, the Science Edition.
 Be prepared.

A Short Note

Thanks for class today--it is great fun being your teacher.

All that is necessary for Monday is to prepare for the short vocabulary quiz with Quizlet (see last Monday's homework for website) and also to finish up the pumpkin project, which is due Monday to turn in.

And that's that...

Class-Ify

The coloring page I passed out in class-- The Elements of Life-- read and follow the directions on the back. 10pts

Some Review Videos Forming Molecules with Atoms  ***IF YOU LIKE SONGS
[brown letters = web site ... left click with mouse]

"Learn how atoms bond to form molecules with this great chemistry video. Water is made up of millions of molecules which are in turn made up of atoms.

This video touches on important topics such as protons, electrons, electron shells, valence electrons, the periodic table of elements, how water molecules are formed and more."

Element Song

"This great animated video teaches kids about the different elements of the periodic table with the help of a unique song.Learn about various gases, metals and compounds, find out what coins are made from, what makes balloons fly high in the air, what living things are made of and much more. Meet the elements of the periodic table with this great chemistry video for kids."

 5 Pts, just for listening.

A Quizlet to help you learn vocabulary, created just for you.
http://quizlet.com/17426430/atoms-and-molecules-5-7th-grade-flash-cards/  Choose "Print" and follow directions to make your own flash cards or play any of the games online.  This is a site you will find very helpful in your academic life, including history class! (If you have older siblings who have been in my class, ask them.) Experiment with how to use it. (or just print from here.) I will give a short vocabulary quiz on Monday for up to 20 points.

Finish up your Pumpkin logs/reports/questions.  See side bar if you have lost the directions.  This is worth up to 100 points and must be turned in next Monday, completed. I will look at them and return on the last day before vacation.

On Thursday we will be sorting and classifying the molecules of life--so in preparation I want you to sort out and organize something else; it could be your closet, shelves, toy box,  a messy drawer or cupboard, part of the garage, or... ask your mom or dad for an idea.  Your mom can assign the point value, up to 25 points for a job well done.  Have her write it in your lab notebook.

Nematodes A.re Cool / Fungi are ...

well, fun.

I hope you enjoyed finding so many life forms under the microscope; I enjoyed your enthusiasm, and I really appreciated that you didn't automatically say "Gross!"  The name of this little guy pictured above is C. elegans, because it is so...elegant.  They are fantastic specimens for important research, such as  studying neural pathways, aging, and a host of other investigations, and have even been launched into space.  C. elegans made news when it was discovered that specimens had survived the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February 2003.


Homework starts with some very short videos that you will enjoy.  Please take a few moments after watching to write down 3-5 sentences: one sentence which summarizes the video clip, and two or three sentences which tell an interesting or important fact that you would like to remember.  

decomposers 4min video : The Unseen World   
Watch and summarize.  5 pts.
[I hope by now you all realize that the brown letters are a website, and if you left-click on it, it will automatically open up in a new window.]

Planet Wild - fungi 

Watch and summarize.  5 pts.

Mushroom Mycelium Feeding on Nematodes!
Watch and summarize.  5 pts.  And here's the
The Musical Version 

Gross fact: The largest nematode ever  was found in the placenta of a sperm whale.  It was 8 meters long (25 ft.)
It was named, appropriately enough, Placentonema gigantisma.-+
The ones in your garden do not get this large--they stay mostly microscopic.

A page of facts about nematodes:
http://nematode.unl.edu/wormgen.htm

Now, for today's question: Where does the matter that make up the pumpkin come from?  From the soil? Yes, but just a little of it.  98% of the mass that make up living things are just a few types of elements- carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.  Where does the carbon come from? Here's a clue:  Brainpop - photosynthesis  ( pcshome  ilearnathome )
Only watch movie. 5 pts.

And here is a story to read (one page):  The Cyclic Journey of an Atom Please print it out and put it in your binders.  Extra points if you read it aloud to your mom.  5 pts. +5 extra credit. 

Lastly, of interest to you boy-type people, here's a little bit on Punkin' Chunkin' -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=sXuQvAPwcOE&NR=1
(My apologies for the one coarse word.)

Well, today was very...loud. l=/
But the concept was good, and I think you-all got it:

A chemical reaction is when the starting molecules rearrange themselves into different molecules, which have different properties.  In this experiment we saw that combining baking soda with calcium chloride (in the presence of water) produced  salt, chalk, carbon dioxide and a water molecule.

Go back to your worksheet and try to finish whatever parts you did not do in class.  We will go over "page 6" - writing the chemical formulas - in class on Thursday.  You can build 2 made-up molecules, write the formulas, put them into a baggie, bring to class, and we will test each other on them.  OK?  15 pts.

Next, some brainPOP.com: Do the regular- watch the movie, fill out the vocabulary sheet, take the quiz, and then if you are an older  student (6-8th grade) read the FYI pages.
username/passwork:  pcshome   ilearnathome    15pts. each

http://www.brainpop.com/science/matterandchemistry/compoundsandmixtures/

/http://www.brainpop.com/science/matterandchemistry/chemicalequations/

Lastly, I want you to collect a sample of your pumpkin to bring to class on Thursday-- just a teaspoon or so, put in a small tupperware type container.  We will look at these under the microscope; who knows what we'll see???  5 pts.

What are the two things to bring to class? 
-pumpkin sample
-Two made-up Lego molecules  (less that 10 legos each)

The World Is Made of LEGOS

 Good time in class today-- thank you for being safe and also getting into the experiment --you are a fun bunch of students.

 Here's the homework -- read this file carefully:
The World Is Made of Legos
http://cactus.dixie.edu/smblack/chem1010/lecture_notes/1B_atoms.pdf -- 54 pages, but mostly pictures actually.)  25 pts.

Then, for Monday's lab, we will need to bring some LEGO bricks to class -- this is what you should gather:

• 24 white 1x2 bricks
• 4 grey 2x8
• 12 black 2x4
• 8 yellow 2x4
• 8 green 2x4
• 36 red 2x4 
• 32 blue 2x4 
• Here's what it looks like :  LEGO atoms

Actually, bring whatever you can of these Lego bricks; we need this for each pair of students, so hopefully we will have enough to go around.  10 pts for digging up your Legos and sharing them with us in class.

And because everyone should know how much energy is contained in a gummi bear, watch this 24 second video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zWykQ8Xc6w&feature=related

And for extra credit, a longer video from our friends in Nottingham:
Carbon Dioxide (a molecule which we made in class today)
15 pts.  part II follows, total time 15 minutes.
Sometimes the internet does not work very well in a storm; as I write this it is pretty bad.  Oh well. ;l

Electrons!!!!!!!

Short Videos: sorry about the 30-second commercials at the beginning of each video. (Click on the underlined URLs below.)

first actual photo of a molecule: C14H22

The Discovery of the Electron:     4 pts for both.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTxGJjA4Jw

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science-channel/29292-100-greatest-discoveries-the-cathode-ray-tube-video.htm

Forming Bonds with Electrons:   3 pts.
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science-channel/27860-100-greatest-discoveries-forming-bonds-with-electrons-video.htm

100 Greatest Discoveries: Combining Atoms      3 pts.
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science-channel/29293-100-greatest-discoveries-combining-atoms-video.htm

And just because he is so fun, here's Bill Nye, The Science Guy, all about Atoms:  http://www.gamequarium.org/cgi-bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=7224  ( 22 minute video)  20 pts.

MAIN THING:
Finish the A-3: What Is a Molecule? handout from class.  25 points.


Also, we are taking turns sending home the Atomic Challenge Game--play it with your family-- 15 pts.   (Ripples have it right now.)

Thursday will be cool; we will do an experiment involving chemical reactions. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

and here's something else to be thankful for...NO homework!  Enjoy the holiday and tell your mom she's the best!

Just bein' silly...

Atoms Rock!

Richard Feynmen, Nobel prize-winning physicist, has said:

"If, in some great cataclysm, all scientific knowledge were to be destroyed and only one sentence passed on to the next generation, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis, that all things are made of atoms--little particles that move around in perpetual motion attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another."

For homework, read and fill out the questions of the worksheet A-2: What Holds an Atom Together?  (The third and fourth pages are out of order.)  We will play the Atomic Challenge Game together in class next Monday.  You may use your home models to make the atoms for the homework assignment .  25 pts. (My suggestion: Do this by Wednesday)  And for fun watch this: Albert Einstein: The Size and Existence of Atoms (one minute physics)

(My suggestion: On Friday, do this:)
BrainPop.com: periodic table of elements
login with username/password: pcshome / ilearnathome
Only movie and quiz (10 pts), but you can get extra credit for doing any worksheet (5 pts. each)  or the experiment (10 pts--but you need to write it up in your lab book - just say what you were asked to do and  your observations of what happened.)

Also extra credit:    Video  Table of the Elements 
If you click on any element, it will have a short  video about that element.  For 5pt. each, watch the videos in the first column under H (hydrogen)  -- Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr. They are 3-4 minutes each.
Jot down a few notes about each element  in your lab books, and see what all these elements in Column One have in common.

Keep Observing Your Pumpkins; maybe it's time for another photo.

Atom Rules!

First of all, finish the worksheets you were given in class [What Is an Atom A-1]  Do as much as you can; ask your mom or older sibling for help if needed; anything left over we can do in class.  25 pts.

Then, if you have not already done so, watch How Small Is an Atom?  and draw one or more cartoon illustrations from the video with a caption explaining.  ["If every atom in a grapefruit were the size of a blueberry, the grapefruit would be the size of the Earth."] This goes in your lab journal. You may draw more than one.  5 pts. each.

BrainPop.com - http://www.brainpop.com/science/matterandchemistry/atomicmodel/
The Atomic Model- [  login with pcshome  ilearnathome  ]
Do the regular: watch the movie, fill in the worksheets, take the quiz, and read the FYI, which I think is pretty interesting.  (I do really like science history.)  5 pts. each, 30 pts. all.

Lastly,for extra credit,  a 7-minute video about hydrogen, the simplest atom, by my favorite mad scientists at the University of Nottingham (is that where Robin Hood went to school???):
Periodic Table of the Elements: Hydrogen  5 pts.

>>>And OBSERVE, OBSERVE, OBSERVE... and record your observations...YOUR SLOWLY DETERIORATING  PUMPKINS!!!  (sorry I forgot to get the microscopes out -- I will have one on Monday to look at samples.)

The Elegant Atom

When scientists are amazed at the power of a simple idea to explain an incredibly complex phenomenon, they call it "elegant," and today's Big Idea, the Atomic Model, is extraordinary Elegance, wrapped in Powerful Complexity, glimmering with Explanatory Wisdom, and reeking Smart.

Though the idea is big, Atoms, made of protons, neutrons and electrons, are very, very, very small.  Just how small are they?  Watch this: Just How Small Is an Atom?

Now take one of the ideas in the video and make a cartoon/illustration/picture of it, with a caption explaining.  ["If every atom in a grapefruit were the size of a blueberry, the grapefruit would be the size of the Earth."] This goes in your lab journal. You may draw more than one.  5 pts. each.



Now back to Brainpop.com (thank you, Danny, for figuring out my mistake last week.  Log in with username - pcshome and password - ilearnathome  )   http://www.brainpop.com/science/matterandchemistry/atoms/   Watch the movie Atoms, take the quiz, do the activity worksheets (you can type on the page and then print, or you can print out the pages and then write in the answers, as you prefer.)  FYI is optional.  Do you remember learning some of this in history class? 25 PTS


Remember the Pumpkins!  Now is the time to catch up on the Great Pumpkin project.  See instruction sheet on the sidebar, and look at your class notes.  Don't forget to:
-Set aside space in your lab books, at least 5-8 pages.
-Carve your pumpkin, and put it in an outdoor location.
-Record your initial observations, as we discussed.
-Take a photo.
-Keep recording your observations, questions, hypothesis, ideas of what is going on, in your lab books, at least twice a week for the next two months, or until it is "all gone".   Make drawings of the organisms that you find growing or crawling or whatever, around the pumpkin, and bring in samples to look at under the microscope.

ON THURSDAY> BRING IN THE MODELS OF THE ATOM THAT YOU MADE IN CLASS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO LEARN ABOUT ATOMS.

The Scientific Method...

...was the subject of Thursday's lesson, and in case you (or your mom) is interested, our story of Agassiz, the Student and the Fish is linked on the sidebar under "Homework," as is The Demise of the Pumpkin, which you should start on immediately.  You will need two pumpkins, one carved, one whole, and a place to keep it for the next two months.  You will observe these two pumpkins and write down your observations in your science notebooks, and take occasional photos, when you see something new happening.  Don't forget to write down your "why" questions--"why does the..."--- in your notebooks, and think up a hypothesis to answer them. 25 points

Also for homework is this website:
http://www.brainpop.com/science/scientificinquiry/scientificmethod/  If you click on the link, a new page will open up. Click on the "Log In" button to enter the password and username.  The username for this site is:
pcshome, and the password is: ilearnathome.
First watch the movie (it's short), then do the Related Features (click the boxes beneath the movie): Activities (print out the 3 pages--you may need to watch the movie over to answer some questions), Quiz (no need to print this).  FYI is optional  (click the circle icons at the top of that page and it will open up some reading pages. 25 points total:
5 pts for movie, 5 each for the activity pages, 5 for quiz)

Welcome, JB Jr. Highers!

Here is where I will post a review of the day's lesson and the homework assignments.  Notice on the right there is a list called "Homework Pages".  If you click on the day's homework file, you will have a list of  textbook reading assignments, videos to watch, websites to peruse, and experiments to explore.  Generally, you should be able to finish your homework in 45-75 minutes.  You get points for how much homework you do, and you can do extra for credit.

Please make it a priority to keep both a science journal (bound) for class notes and labs and a binder for loose-leaf worksheets, and please be sure to  keep these up-to-date and organized.  Like the Good Shepherd puts his sheep in the fold, I want you to take care of all your papers, and put them away in your fold-ers. :)  These are a valuable record of your learning and reviewing them will make the learning stick. I want you to be proud of them.
 
NOW LOOK UP THE HOMEWORK PAGE, on the right hand side of this column. With your mouse, click on the words in pink.  It will be easy, just a few fun videos to get you used to this site.