Welcome to the class website for Wise Owl's Middle School Physical Science Class! Here you'll find the latest information on what we've covered, video links, and homework assignments.
In our final unit for this year, we will be covering the topic of waves. Last Thursday, we began our introduction by watching the following video below:
Below are the two pages of notes (to be done at home) and the two graphic organizers we did in class
Graphic Organizer 1
Wave Notes page 1
Graphic Organizer page 2
Wave Notes Page 2
We will also be covering the electromagnetic spectrum, the refraction of light, and sound waves to complete the unit. We have two additional sets of notes that will complete our unit.
Behavior of Wave Notes p. 1
Behavior of Wave Notes p. 2
Electromagnetic Spectrum Notes
Though it seems like a lot of notes this week, they will come in handy as we will do a rotation of mini-labs which incorporate concepts from the notes. Below are some videos to help introduce kids to wave behavior and the electromagnetic spectrum.
This week we watched two videos that explained how Archimede's Screw was used in ancient times, namely in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and how it is used in our modern day to generate electricity.
Next, I brought our completed Archimedes' Screw model made with K'NEX.
We discussed as a class which variable --force or distance-- was multiplied when we used the screw. We established that force was increased. We also discussed how we could increase the number of balls moved to the top of the ramp by increasing the threads of the screw.
After our class discussion we removed the screw portion of our model and used the inclined plane portion along with a spring scale and a 295g mass to calculate the Ideal Mechanical Advantage and the Actual Mechanical Advantage of our inclined plane.
While we were able to perform our calculations, we determined that we had a number of sources for error, including the calibration of our spring scale (which we corrected), human error in reading the change in force, and the lack of steadiness of moving up the plane.
Our next discussion was an introduction to our final unit for the year covering waves. I will place all the notes in the next post as well as the graphic organizers and videos we covered in class.
This week we will be studying simple and compound machines and how these machines make doing work easier. Below are the notes:
In class we will use KINECTS to build simple and compound machines. We will then use calculate the mechanical advantage of our machines in a lab exercise. Below are some introductory videos to familiarize students with simple and compound machines.
Update: Prior to Spring Break, students worked together to build our compound machine, Archimedes' Screw using our Kinex set.
While it took longer than expected (the entire class period), students diligently worked and were able to put together the inclined plane and most of the screw portion. The only hiccup we had was difficulty in getting the correct orientation of the screw to connect to the inclined plane. I promised to take the structure home over the break and have my husband make the connections (which he did at midnight in 5 minutes)!
This week we will not be having class this week, however students will continue on in their interactive notebooks learning about work and power. Below, they should write down the notes covering work.
Next, students should watch the following videos regarding work, power, and energy. The videos also cover the basic work and power calculations.
Below are links to the graphic organizer and word problems that should be glued into the left side of the page across from the notes on work.
For the graphic organizer, the circle should be folded like a triangle and the words, FORCE, DISTANCE, and WORK should be written on each cover. Under each flap, the following information should be written.
WORK: Transfer of energy that occurs when a force makes an object unit: joules
FORCE: A push or a pull applied to an object unit: Newtons
DISTANCE: how far an object has traveled unit: meters
Below is the key to the word problems for students to check their answers.
The week after next week, we will begin talking about simple machines.
This week we will be exploring various forms of energy--specifically potential energy versus kinetic energy. We will understand that while energy can change into various forms, it is never lost or destroyed. Below are the notes and three short videos meant to be an introduction on the topics.
Update: We had an awesome time this past week studying Forms of Energy and the Law of Conservation of Energy! I thought it would be fun to do an Escape Room exercise and what fun it was! The kids really took to the challenge! The kids divided into two teams and one team seemed to really take off, quickly tackling the first 3 or 4 puzzles. The second team however, rallied back and it came down to the wire. By the last puzzle both teams were working frantically to solve the final puzzle, but Team 1 won out by seconds!
This week we will be finishing our discussion on our Speed, Distance, and Time Class Activity. If time permits, we will move on to Motion and Forces, namely friction, and Gravity, namely Projectiles. Below are the notes for these topics as well as some introductory videos that students should view prior to class this Thursday.
Update: This week, we had fun learning about forces, gravity, and projectiles. We had two graphic organizers this week. The first graphic organizer accompanied our Motion and Forces notes. With it, we identified the four types of friction we studied in our notes: Rolling friction, sliding friction, static friction, and fluid friction.
In our second graphic organizer that accompanied our notes on gravity, we discussed the horizontal and vertical motion of projectiles using the illustration of kids throwing a football in different ways and the resulting path the football would take.
While we couldn't cover every concept covered in our notes associated with motion and forces and gravity, we did perform a series of mini-activities which illustrated various concepts we learned.
In our first mini-activity, we went outside and observed the effects of centripetal force by swinging a bucket of water around in a circular motion. Many students were surprised that the water remained in the bucket due to centripetal force.
Next, we used the same concepts we learned regarding centripetal force to cause a marble to circle inside of a wine glass without falling out even when the glass was turned upside down. This proved to be trickier than it first appeared, but one student successfully accomplished the task!
Next, we went back inside and launched giant marshmallow projectiles through various sizes of cardboard tubes to determine which ones would go the furthest distance. We dipped our marshmallows in flour in order to reduce the effects of friction. The shorter tubes launched the marshmallows the farthest distance.
Finally, we used changed the center of gravity of popsicle sticks using pipe cleaners and clothespins and were able to balance them on a chopstick.
I love days like this where the kids get the opportunity to do a series of hands-on activities that help them understand that science is a part of their every day life. It was a productive day!
This week we will taking a closer look at speed, distance, and time. We will use a class activity to learn how to perform speed calculations. We will also cover acceleration and velocity. Students will have the option to work additional problems at home.
Below are the notes for this week's upcoming class:
This week we began class by watching a video on speed, distance, and time as an introduction. See video below:
This gave us the basics of how to calculate speed using the speed = distance/time equation. We then continued the discussion in class where we learned that the basic speed equation breaks out into two additional equations: distance = speed x time and time = distance/speed. We created a graphic organizer to help us remember each of these three formulas and we did some introductory word problems to ensure a basic understanding.
Next, students broke into groups and applied what they learned to a class activity where a group of teachers leave a school and arrive at different times based on the route they took and the speed they drove. Each group was assigned two teachers and had to determine the amount of time it took their teachers to reach the restaurant. Speed Distance Time Class Activity
This activity proved to be a challenging application for most of the students so we did not get to complete the activity and discuss our results. However, this is an important topic that I want the kids to grasp, therefore we will continue working on the activity and conclude our discussion this week during class. I will not be covering acceleration formally in class, however I did provide the notes above for students to record. I also provided practice problems that they are to glue into their interactive notebook. Below I have provided the answer key for those who desired to attempt the problems (which were pretty straight forward).
Additionally, here are two videos on velocity and acceleration.
