Weather

We have been discussing weather and how it works. We began with the water cycle to explain clouds and precipitation. We then delved deeper discussing fronts, air masses, humidity, air pressure, temperature, and wind.

There are several power points on Google Classroom that we discussed in class. Students should also have notes in their binders.

Study these items for the test:

• air mass
• meteorologist
• fronts: warm, cold, stationary
• humidity, relative humidity
• high/low pressure systems
• isobars, isotherms
• hurricane, tornado, blizzard, cyclone, typhoon
• wind shear
• precipitation: hail, snow, sleet
• fog
• condensation nuclei
• be able to read a station model (see picture below)

Pre-AP only: in addition to above you must also know kinds of clouds, dew point, watch/warning, water cycle, how to read a weather map (symbols for fronts).

Water Cycle and Clouds

This week we are studying the water cycle and cloud formations.



The powerpoints we did in class are on Google Classroom. Students should also have a paper copy of these presentations. They have many paper resources on clouds that I've given. One looks like this:



There will not be a big quiz or test on this, but rather little graded assignments along the way.

Next up is weather and weather instruments. They will be doing a project where they have to make wether instrument and record data. More info to come!

Atmosphere

We have been studying atmosphere this week and last week. Students will have to know the layers of the atmosphere:

Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere: includes ionosphere and exosphere



They have a foldable we made in class on colored paper that will be a good study tool. We wrote all they need to know about each layer on the inside. We did a circle graph that showed them the composition of the atmospheric gases. (78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other-water vapor, carbon dioxide, argon, etc.)

Students will also have to know about the 3 methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. We did a worsksheet called "The Heat is On" to help them distinguish between the three. They should have also wrote the definitions from the book somewhere in their notes.

We talked a lot about sea breeze and land breeze. We did a powerpoint and they took notes. They have a copy of this powerpoint with them. We also did a Gizmo to help them understand what they really mean. They should have their logins and passwords and are able to access this at home as well. Their open response question will be about land and sea breezes.

Students will have to know the wind and pressure belts. We did a worksheet on wind belts. I told them they will need to memorize the graphic on the top of that page. It looks like this:

They will be asked questions about the positions of these without having the graphic. They will need to know the direction of air flow and what causes the air to flow in these directions (Coriolis effect).

Quiz tomorrow!

Studying "Which Law?" would be very beneficial, there are several questions on the quiz similar to these.

Be able to answer these questions:

• If a car is sitting motionless on a hill what forces are acting on the car? Are the forces balanced or unbalanced? 
• How can force affect motion? 
• Describe how force, mass, and acceleration are related.
• Define gravity and describe how it relates to Newton's 2nd Law.
• How is friction useful? 

Newton's 2nd and 3rd Laws

Newton's 2nd law has to do with force, acceleration, and mass. It really means that if you increase mass then acceleration will decrease (of course because it weighted down) and if you increase force, acceleration will increase. They are all related in a formula: Force=mass x acceleration. An example would be if a pitch a baseball it will go faster than if I tossed it gently because I put more force behind the pitch! Also, heavier things require more force to accelerate like the illustration below.



Newton's 3rd law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The best example of this is a rocket launch. The gases combust out the bottom of the rocket and in turn the rocket gets pushed up in air. Equal and opposite forces!

Newton's Laws

We will complete a lab with mousetrap cars that focuses on energy transfer, problem solving, and engineering design.

Then we will begin Newton's Laws of Motion. The first law will be discussed Wednesday. I will put some info on Google Classroom.

Thursday is BASH DAY! No new material will be covered. No school Friday!!! Enjoy your long weekend. We will pick up Newton's Laws on Monday of next week.

Study Guide for Energy Quiz

Renewable Sources of energy: Wind, Hydroelectric, Solar, Geothermal

Nonrenewable Sources of energy: Fossil Fuels (coal, oil, gas) and Nuclear

Types of energy:

Potential:

• Chemical
• Nuclear
• Stored Mechanical 
• Gravitational

Kinetic: 

• Radiant (light) 
• Thermal
• Motion
• Sound
• Electrical

Law of Conservation of Energy

Study all worksheets and notes given in class as well as the powerpoints on Google classroom.

Energy

We are starting ENERGY tomorrow! The are two different forms of energy: kinetic and potential. There are 7 types of energy: chemical, nuclear, thermal(heat), electrical, light, mechanical, and sound. Study this vocabulary!

Study

Students should be able to identify, explain, and provide examples of these words:

• atom
• compound
• mixture
• element
• solution
• chemical formula
• chemical symbol
• solvent
• solute

Students should know:

• 3 things that affect solubility: temperature, size of solute, and stirring/shaking
• how temperature affects the solubility of sugar
• 5 separation techniques: filtration, settling, chromatography, evaporation, magnetic attraction
• how temperature affects the ability of a liquid-gas solution
• how pressure affects the solubility of a liquid-gas solution
• how to read a solubility graph

Student need to know some common compounds:

• water-H20 (2 atoms hydrogen, 1 oxygen)
• methane-CH4 (1 carbon, 4 hydrogen)
• carbon dioxide-CO2 (1 carbon, 2 oxygen)
• rust-NH3 (1 nitrogen, 3 hydrogen)
• salt-NaCl (1 sodium, 1 chlorine)
• hydrogen peroxide-H2O2 (2 hydrogen, 2 oyxgen)

Finishing up Chemistry

We took our mixtures and solubility quiz today. We are going to work some more with solubility graphs this week and review what we have learned in this unit. We will then take a final Chemistry Test Thursday worth 80-90 points. I am giving them a regular sized index card where they can write whatever they want on it and bring the test. I think it will encourage note-taking and consolidating facts. We are starting from atoms and going all the way to mixtures with everything in between.

Study for Quiz Monday!

Please study:

• vocabulary words: matter, heterogeneous, homegenous, pure substance, dissolving, evaporation, solute, solvent, soluble, insoluble
• 5 separation techniques: settling, magnetic attraction, filtration, evaporation, chromatography
• classifying as an element, compound, or mixture (ex. water: is it an element, compound, or mixture)

This quiz is worth 40 points!!

Solubility

This week we are continuing with mixtures and talking more about solubility. I posted a powerpoint on Google classroom for reference and studying. A big point we are discussing in class is how solutions are mixtures. They are homogenous mixtures, but there are also mixtures that aren't solutions.

We are also looking at solubility graphs and interpreting them.

Vocabulary: saturated solution, unsaturated solution, supersaturated solution, soluble, insoluble, concentration, suspension

MIxtures

This week we will be concentrating on mixtures. They have recieved a couple handouts to use as references during this time. They have vocabulary and examples on them they should study and look over.

Vocabulary words: homogenous mixture, hetergenous mixture, suspension, colloid, solution, solute, solvent

They should know the 5 mixture separation techniques: evaporation, filtration, magnetic attraction, settling, and chromatography

We will be doing a very fun and involved lab with mixtures that will span a few days! I can't wait!

Please do not hesitate to email me with questions! allisonj@conwayschools.net

Vocabulary

Our class is struggling with vocabulary :-( Vocabulary is a HUGE part of science and the students can't get very far without knowing what our words mean. They should be taking notes in class and studying at night. I've noticed many think they can just hear it in class, but grades are proving otherwise.

Our students will be going to the junior high next year and we want to prepare them by making sure they take notes and study. Because they don't have a book they can bring home, there is even more reason to take LOTS of notes. We do have a class set of textbooks here at school and they have access during study hall, before/after school, lunch, and during class. If they need a book at any of these times they just need to ask and permission will be granted.

Vocabulary they NEED to study for Friday's Quiz on Elements and Compounds:

• Element
• Atom
• Compound
• Electron
• Proton
• Neutron
• Nucleus
• Chemical symbol
• Chemical formula (subscript)
• Molecule
• Atomic mass
• Atomic number
• Periodic Table-(families and periods of periodic table)
• Matter

Week 4: Elements, Compounds, Mixtures

This week we are starting our Chemistry unit! We will talk about elements, compounds, and mixtures. We will not memorize the Periodic Table, but students will have to know important elements like: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen.

I will be out on Friday, but our substitute is wonderful and I'm sure everyone will behave well for her.

Quiz tomorrow!

Know the difference between:

• Qualitative and quantitative
• Laws and theories
• Constant and control
• Observations and inferences
• Independent and dependent variables

STUDENTS: Go back through your labs and worksheets we did in class. Make sure you know the different pieces of our experiments. Study the vocabulary and notes we took in class. If necessary, get on classroom and re-watch some of the posted. All of these things can help you to do well tomorrow! 

Week 3

We are continuing our journey through the Nature of Science! There will be an online test on Friday (40 points). I encourage studying!!! :-)

The quiz will be over the vocaulary I listed from last week. We made flash cards in class and I hope they are used as a study tool. We also discussed the differences between laws and theories. Students need to be able to tell the difference. Students will also need to tell the difference between an observation, inference, estimate, measurement, prediction, and classification. We took notes in class on this.

Thank you to all that sent supplies! You guys rock!

Week 2

This week in class we will further discuss:

• the difference in independent and dependent variables
• control/experimental groups
• how to create a hypothesis (if/then statement)
• laws vs. theories

We will be completing two very simple labs in class: The Apples/Lemons lab and a Skittles lab. Neither lab will require extra safety measures, but I do still need Lab Safety Contracts signed and returned ASAP! Also, if you have not registered online the school cannot permit your child to work with or on computers. The consent for technology must be done online via the Gateway registration. Thank you for your attention to this. 

Students will have a homework assignment tonight worth 10 points. It will be a Variables and Hypthesis Practice sheet. 

First Week

This week has mostly been about lab safety. I need the lab safety contracts signed and turned in ASAP, so we can begin working in the lab. We started the scientific method today. It is the same as their last 2 years of science and they should know it well. 

Scientfic Method:

1. Question/Problem
2. Hypothesis (if/then statement)
3. Experiment-inclulde materials
4. Collect/Analyze Data-include table or graph
5. Conclusion

Open House

Open House is tonight from 6:00-7:30. I hope to see you all there! 

Needs for the science lab (if you are able to contribute):

clorox wipes

hand sanitizer

dishwashing liquids

kittles/M&M's

ziploc bags (all sizes)

Happy New School Year!

I hope you all are excited to be back in school; I know I am. Many of my students had me last year for math and I'm glad to be seeing so many familiar faces! I will try to keep you in the loop with what we are doing in class and important information. Please know you can email me anytime. I tend to have the quickest response by email. I look forward to a stellar year preparing these kiddos ready for the Junior High!

My email address is allisonj@conwayschools.net.