We will start the year with a technological problem solving lab called bottle rockets or water rockets.  Working in groups of 2 or 3 you will create a bottle rocket out of an empty 2L bottle which you bring from home on the first day of school.  I will provide you with the trash bags for the parachute, tape, scissors, cardboard for the fins.  Your partner will provide the bottle used for the nose cone.  Some students do purchase “golf tubes”, long black tubes used to protect golf clubs in the bag, from Golfsmith, Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc for their nose cone.  Below is the schedule which is subject to change based on the weather.

Thursday, Aug 25th –Construction all period (complete parts at home)
Friday, Aug 26th — Assemble rocket and launch (construct data table)
Monday, Aug 29th-  Complete Part 1 launches and develop hypothesis for 1 improvement to rocket (complete changes at home)
Tuesday, Aug 30th –launches for part 2 (begin bottle rocket report)
Wednesday,  Aug 31st–complete launches of part 2 rockets, begin bottle rocket report

Grading:

Part 1

Construction of data table — 5 pts
Rocket grade is based on time aloft in seconds — 20 points
A- > 15s
B    13-15 s
C    10-13
all times < 10s  receive 10/20 points

Part 2
For part 2 you will analyze your 1st rocket and create an improved rocket by only adjusting 1 variable (i.e. size of parachute, number of shroud lines, fin size).  You will then launch this rocket.  If it does better you will be awarded 2 bonus points for improvement.  If does no better or worse you grade will be based on the above time requirements.  Upon completion of part 2 you will write a 1 page  bottle rocket report worth 10 points.

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Hint 2

Carbonaceous Condrite, White dwarf, Sun, Mercury’s atmosphere, Human body, Supernova, Earth’s Atmosphere,

Stellar Life cycle rubric -10 pts

Hi and low –2 pts
Correct Pictures, order, labelled – 3pts
Correct Elements -4pts (most commonly missed Hi mass — RG up to Fe, Supernova elements heavier than Fe)
Cyclic -1 pt

We are starting a new science blog this week.  You will be able to post questions to the blog and your classmates give hints as to how to answer your questions.  In addition, the homework will be posted here.

“Bean a long time”

Hint 1:
Stellar Evolution–1,2,7
Solar System–4,5
Earthy–3,6

This week we will be starting Ch.3–Elements, Mixtures, and Compounds.   The students will be begin this week by separating the zinc from the copper in a penny using the properties of mixtures.  This is a very cool lab, please ask your students  about it.  Later in the week students will be devising a way to separate a complex mixture into its original parts.

We continue our study of Ch.1 –Macrochemistry with a focus on measuring and density this week.   Somehow I was able to arrange for Indiana Jones to stop by for a visit to explain why a bag of sand with same volume as a gold idol doesn’t work.  We finish the week with a lab on using density to sort recycleable plastics.

Dinner table conversation:  Ask your student to explain why the bag of sand did not work as a replacement for the gold idol.

We have ended an electric unit on Electromagnetism and we are moving into our 6 week Geology cycle.  During this unit we will spend 3 weeks studying geologic time,  the Earth’s history, and how our planet has evolved.  The focus of this unit will be on how we know so much about the Earth from the information we have today.    This will include lessons on relative dating, radiometric dating (absolute dating), index fossils, and major geologic events and extinctions.  This unit will end the week of April 12th and include a visit to the Field Museum’s Evolving Planet Exhibit and the temporary exhibit Mammoths and Mastodons on April 13th.  The cost of this field trip will be $4.50.

Dinner table conversation: Ask your student how we know Illinois was was located on the equator.

This week we are focusing on lab skills this week.  Students will be using what they have learned over the last 3 months to identify 11 unknown white powders.  On Wednesday, they will take a lab test of identifying two of these unknowns.  Thursday we move into Activity 5 on the chemistry of fingerprints.

This week we start Ch. 8 in the Active chemistry book-Forensic Chemistry.  Students got their ch.5 tests back on Monday so you should ask them how they did.  Wednesday we wrapped up our discussion of the families of the periodic table.  Ask your student which metal explodes when placed in water and why?  On thursday, we will be studying chemiluminescence using luminol and various household compounds, blood, and catalysts.  Cool stuff.