Oct. 26 - 29: Review and Test

This week students designed an experiment with rust (we will be doing it next week) and they reviewed for their end of quarter test. The test will be on Thursday and will cover physical and chemical properties, changes, and basic chemical reactions. We've done a lot of review, and I hope that they will perform as well as I know they can!

On Wednesday, the TAG Team will be having an end of quarter activity where we watch "The Incredibles" and we'll spend a little bit of time talking about good behavior characteristics and will recognize some students for their good work.

Oct. 19-23: Chemical Reactions

Last week students participated in a chemical reaction lab where we measured the energy given off in chemical reactions using a temperature probe. This week we will look at some of the most common chemical reactions: rusting, combustion, cellular respiration, and photosynthesis. We will also be finishing their favorite substance pamphlets. The Rise & Stretch quiz will be on Wednesday and will cover phase changes and chemical reactions.

Oct. 12-16: Melting & Boiling Point & Chemical Reactions

We will be finishing up the lab from last week where we measured the melting and boiling points of water. Students will be graphing their data and analyzing it for meaning.

Then we will move on to how energy changes in chemical reactions with some notes and another lab. They will also continue doing research on their chosen substance (next week we will actually start working on making the booklet).

Oct. 5-9: Phases of Matter

This week we're finishing up some phases of matter notes, the Standard I reading, and we're starting some research on a substance of your student's choosing. Each student will be making a pamphlet about a substance like... copper, carbon, nitrous oxide (laughing gas), lithium, etc. We will be doing most of our research during class in the library from books and the internet. However, if students use their time unwisely they will have to complete their research from home. Please encourage them to get it done at school - I'll do my best to do the same. The pamphlet will have 4 pictures total to help explain the ideas in the text which includes 4 questions, and 3 paragraphs (5 sentences that answer the each question). They will also be keeping track of where they got their information on a bibliography page. I'm excited to see what they discover.

We are also doing a lab on Wednesday to learn more about phase changes, melting point, and boiling point. If your student has a 0 under the Safety Contract assignment they will not be allowed to participate - if this applies to you, please get me a note signed saying you allow your student to be a part of labs and that you understand basic lab safety precautions.

This week's rise and stretch quiz will be held on Thursday and will contain the information on pg16 of their notebooks about the phases of matter (it will not be on phase changes, just the amount of energy in a solid, liquid, and gas and how tightly the atoms/molecules are packed together).