My Science Homework

Day 79: History of Astronomy Project - Day 2

Mr. G — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:44:31 +0000

After discussing the ice storm and its impact on our schedule, we continued working on the research project. We have bumepd the presentations for this project until AFTER BREAK. That means we will continue to use in-class time to research and construct the project, but will not present the project to the class until January.

We then spent the remainder of class time researching the assigned topics for the History of Astronomy Project. A large cart of library books was made available in the classroom so all students had access to books that included material on their assigned topic. Students were reminded that they need to cooperate with their partner to divide the information in a way that they feel would accommodate their two presentations: they’ll be presenting on the same topic, but should plan for little overlap of the content.

Another reminder: The Final Exam Study Guide was made available in class today and contains all of the necessary info regarding the upcoming final.

Homework: Continue researching your topic and plan for project. Also, begin prepping for the Final Exam.

Day 47: Chemistry Test

Mr. G — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:54:15 +0000

After spending several class days (as well as an after-school study session attended by about 50 students Wednesday) preparing for this chemistry test, students got it out of the way today. The test is worth 50 points and will show up in PowerSchool by Monday AM.

Reminder: Class will not meet tomorrow due to the state volleyball tournament. See you Monday!

Day 21: TEST

Mr. G — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:45:45 +0000

Today students completed their first test of the semester. The test covered the first half of our experimental design unit: the scientific method, observations versus inferences, the metric system, conversions, graphing, and variables.

Unfortunately, I’m not swift enough to grade 145 of these tests overnight, thus the grades will not show up on PowerSchool tomorrow. My goal is to have all of the tests graded and entered into PowerSchool by the time students return from their three-day weekend (Note: no classes on Monday due to Staff Professional Development).

Homework: None - completing the test was enough brainpower expended for one day. Tomorrow we’ll begin more quantitative science: scientific notation, significant figures, etc…

Day 20: Test Prep & Email Update

Mr. G — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:52:54 +0000

Today was all about test preparation. With this being the first test of the new year, we have taken a conservative approach to the study by walking through all of the steps for proper prepration. We started today’s class by passing back some graded papers and labs. We then organized these resources as a group so each student was armed with a study packet of materials. Students then worked on the Test Study Guide questions, noting that of the 15 essay questions on the back of the study guide, at least two of those will show up on the test tomorrow.

The after school study session was a hit today with 48 students attending the voluntary session from 3:15-4:00pm. Students worked through the answers to each of the questions together, offering a great opportunity to cement their knowledge. The test will be tomorrow. For an update on the status of our district email situation, continue reading.
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Day 19: Finding Absolute Zero

Mr. G — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:29:44 +0000

We concluded our work with the metric system today by tying up several loose ends. We first defined two terms that will apply to much of our experimental unit: quantitative and qualitative. Remember the “N” reminds us of numbers, the “L” of letters. We then examined 3 significant reasons why the metric system is far superior to the English system of measurement: It is a base-10 system, it uses prefixes that make conversions smooth, and it is used by most other countries of the world.

We closed class with work time on the Data Extrapolation Graphing Activity that we began yesterday. This exercise will allow you to extrapolate the Celsius value for absolute zero. This is due in class tomorrow. We will spend much of tomorrow’s class period preparing for the upcoming test. If you haven’t done so already, check out a copy of the Test Study Guide and more study options below. (more…)