Some final notes on the Field Trip

Here's a few final house-keeping items for the upcoming Busch gardens Field Trip and a sneak peek at the itinerary and grouping scheme:

Students, you are allowed to bring/use small electronic devices (cell phones, video games, iPods) and to carry small snacks to and from the park on the coaches. however, keep in mind that these items are your responsibility and your responsibility only. We highly reccommend leaving your more valuable items on the coach for safe keeping.

I have just checked the weather forecast for Tampa (http://www.wunderground.com/US/FL/Tampa.html) and it currently appears to be predicting a 50% chance of rain. In addition to the first aid items I requested earlier, chaperons and students are highly encouraged to bring ponchos, umbrella and other rain gear should we be unfortunate enough to get caught in a downpour.

On the subject of getting wet, some of the rides (like the Congo Rapids) involve splashing. Students and chaperons might want to bring a towel or other items that will either prevent you getting wet on these rides or that will help keep you dry after you have ridden them.

And now the items you have all been waiting so patiently for (I mean it, both students and parents have been very patient with me and Team B as we did what was necessary to make this trip possible):

Busch Gardens Itinerary for Team 6-B

Date: 6/4/09
Destination: Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Number of Coaches: 2
Number of Students: 73
Number of Non-Faculty chaperons: 16
Number of Faculty: 2-3

Departure Time: We will depart from the rear bus loading zone of JLCP promptly at 5:45 am. All attendees will need to be present at JLCP no later than 5:30 am.

Transportation Time: approx 3 ½ hours

Arrival Time: We anticipate arrival at the gates of Busch Gardens to be between 9:00am and 9:30am. At this time, Mr. Hubbard will pay for the admission tickets at the front gate. These will subsequently be distributed to all attendees, who are to remain on their coaches until they are arranged into their groups and admitted into the park.

9:30 am to 11:30 am: Park time. Students and chaperons will enjoy themselves with the various roller coasters and attractions of Busch Gardens.

11:35 am: Meet for lunch. We will have lunch from 11:35 am to 12:35 pm.

12:35pm-3:15 pm: More attraction time

3:20 pm: All groups should begin returning to the park entrance. We will perform a student count and then board the buses.

Departure from Busch Gardens: 3:30 pm

Transportation Time: approx. 3 ½ hours

Anticipated Arrival Time: 7:00 pm. Parents need to be here at this time to pick up their child unless prior arrangements (such as carpools) have been made, signed by the parent, and presented to the faculty in writing.

And the revised grouping list:
Revised Chaperon Groups for the Busch Gardens Field Trip


1. Mann
Sarah Mann
Brianna Mansell
Kaleigh Marsh

2. Landkrohn
Lauryn
Sam Hunter
Meghan Frisbie
Kaia Little

3. Hughes
Megan Hughes
Olivia
Lainey

4. Alridge
Shamaya
Alantis
Ayanna

5. Dunn
Taylor
Morgan
Lauren

6. Boone
Raven
Imani
Nicole
Joseph Ilano

7. Jackson
Sherrel
Morgan
Nia
Lindsay

8. Levin
Matt L.
Ryan
Jack McMorrow
Jeremy
9. Lombana
Dan L.
Marcus
Elijah W.
Matt McKetty

10. Robinson
Alphonso
Elijah F. (mother accompanying)
Brooke Lee
Cayce Guidry

11. Menzel
Jack Menzel
Christian
Dan Boyd

12. Dean
Austin
Julian
Alex Kaplan (mother accompanying)
Case

13. Hasanic
Irma
Courtney
Mia
Alana

14. Harrington
James
Dan Faunce
Haley
Kaitlyn

15. Hoskins
Melissa
Jennifer
Emily
Ashley






16. Hatten
Krista
Sam Riehl
Sarah Buckman

17. Barton
Chase
Sawyer
Kristin
Sam Foss

18. Lizzmore
Destinee
Kira
Amra
Mikayla

19. Jarrell
Trey
Will
Bart
Stefan

Busch Gardens and blog

Just a reminder: The last day to pay for the Busch gardens trip is this Wednesday. Hopefully byt hen, enough people will have paid to make the trip possible. Also, to any chaperons who are accompanying us should we be able to go, here's a couple of tips:

1) Please, if possible, bring a first aid kit or at least some band-aids with you. You never know when one of our students may have a slight accident.

2) For the last two weeks, we are studying organisms, particularly invertebrates and vertebrates. So if possible, while we are down in Busch Gardens, if we indeed go, make some time to take our students to the Myombe Reserve, Serengeti Plain and/or the Rhino Rally so that they get a chance to see these animals interact with each other up close and personal.

And a few other items of discussion...housekeeping really:

1) Study, study, study for the final exam, I'll be giving it this Thursday!
2) I'll be doing a lot of cleaning in my room, any donations of boxes are highly appreciated.
3) I also need some styrofoam cups and bottled (never opened) water.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their Memorial Day Weekend. I look to have an "unofficial" progress report of grades (sans/without final) by this Friday. I'll take contributions of paper for that.

P.S.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the final deadline for this is now Wednesday, May 27.

Study hard for the finals next week!

Oh and we need 3 more students to pay to go with us to busch Gardens or else we won't be going to Busch Gardens.


Have a nice day!

Gizmos

As you know, finals are coming up, really soon. I will be making printing out a review for oyu to prepare yourselves. In the meantime, I did put up Gizmos based on what we've learned the past 3 nine weeks for your studying convenience. You really should be working on these. (1.5 points of E.C. per gizmo)

That's number1. Number 2, we are still taking payments and chaperons for the Busch gardens trip, so please send in your payments/forms while there are still spots left.

Cell Matching activity

Hey 4th period! Here's a little something I scooped up that will help us with what we are going to be learning this week.

http://www.quia.com/cm/15426.html?AP_rand=1718727588

It deals with osmosis.

Field Trip and Contest of Interest

First order of business: Great news! Busch gardens is officially a go! I repeat, Busch Gardens IS A GO! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!! Woo hoo! See Ms. Stewart for permission slips, chaperon forms, and other details. Disregard the May 13th deadline, we are going to extend it since we got such a late start. Some of you may be under "special conditions" as well but again, Ms. Stewart will fill you in.

Second order of business: Here's something you may be interested in. It's a great way to get your name out there in the science world, especially if you missed the Science Fair but had a great project nonetheless. And speaking of science fair projects, get yours out of the room by 2:45 this coming Monday if you want to keep it. Anyways, check out this link: http://www.youngscientistchallenge.com/
Don't limit yourselves, guys. Go the distance. Read the rules and regulations, send me proof of your entry by May 20th and it'll be an 8 pointer.

Oh and if you're wondering what Mr. Hubbard is doing up at 2:20 am on a Saturday, I can't sleep due to a combination of slight cold and bad tension headache. Hope I get well by next week.

Advanced Students: Links for tomorrow

Go to these links:www.rnceus.com/cbc/cbcrbc.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003643.htm

They will help with diagnosis tomorrow.

The Pumps you blood song

Advanced students, if you need help with tonight's homework, here's a neat little song I used to jam to when I watched "Happy Days." We will all be hearing this in class this week but here's a little sneak preview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_d0ykpzQgY

Cells for Gifted

And here's some links to help with Cells:
http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=0030363888

Just be sure to select All sections in Chapters 3 and 4.

Integumentary system link

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60889.htm

Go to this link to see something cool about your skin.

and here's another:
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60890.htm

And for what we already learned:
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60871.htm
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60006.htm
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60869.htm
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60073.htm

A little note on joints: There are two others, Pivot (neck), and saddle (thumb)--you could consider both of these to be specialized ball and sockets.
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60877.htm
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60878.htm

Integumentary system link

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/flash/visual_concepts/60889.htm

Go to this link to see something cool about your skin.

Human body Assessment

Here are the links to the tests I gave for today's and pre-assessments:

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/teacher/osp/hsa7/data/modd_1/cta.pdf

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/teacher/osp/hsa7/data/modd_2/cta.pdf

Cell Pre Assessmennt

Here is the link for the cell pre assessment that was given today:

http://my.hrw.com/sh/ht6fre_0030363888/teacher/osp/data/chap03/chaptest_a.pdf


http://my.hrw.com/sh/ht6fre_0030363888/teacher/osp/data/chap04/chaptest_a.pdf

Bell Ringers

Starting tomorrow, expect some new twists to the bell ringers:

1. Each day you will be answering two bell ringers: one that deals with what we are currently learning and one that deals with something from the first three nine weeks.

2. We will no longer be writing them down. Instead, you will mindstream about the bell ringers for three minutes each, then we will discuss what each group has come up with for an answer. I will be walking around and if I find you not mindstreaming adequately...that is staying on task, talking about something not pertaining to the bell ringer, and things of that nature, you will be required ot give me a written response to the bell ringer.

and here is a repost

Here's a repost of the remaining activities. I do need to clear something up. Advanced students won't be working on the roller coasters this week as I previously stated in class. We will be working on the solenoid grasp projects instead. Donations of batteries, round refrigerator magnets, and the types of electrical wire that we have been using in class, insulated and noninsulated are greatly appreciated. We may be able to get by with what we have but more is always better. If not, we'll just rearrange into larger groups for this activity. On the brighter side, it gives my advanced students more time to obtain the supplies they need for this activity.

3/16-- 9 wks exam, all periods

3/17 to 3/20-- Advanced periods will work on their solenoid grasp on 3/17 and 3/18. It shouldn't take more than one class period, but I do not mind doing it twice for variation. On 3/19 and 3/20, the Advanced period will design/build their rockets. The gifted periods will also use this time to design/work on their roller-coaster grasp.

3/23 to 3/24-- Advanced students will work on their roller coasters. Gifted students will visit table-top/marble/spinning top force and motion.

3/25-- Advanced and gifted students will revisit energy conversion activities, both table top and electric.

3/26-- ROCKET LAUNCHING DAY!!! BLAST OFF!!!

Gifted Nine Weeks Review

For my gifted class, here is what you will want to be familiar with:

- The types of energy and how they convert to one another
- The forces and qualities that are acting upon an object in motion, both linear(moving left to right) and gravitational (rising and falling)
- The calculations for speed, velocity, acceleration, mechanical advantage, mechanical efficiency, energy, and work
- How simple and complex simple machines can make doing work simpler and what measures need to be taken to ensure high mechanical efficiency
- Be ready to connect energy conversion and conservation, mechanical concepts, and forces in motion.

Do this and you should be able to do well on the exam. For both advanced and gifted students, playing around with Gizmo will not hurt. In fact, I will grant 10 pts E.C. to all who have attempted the Gizmos assessments, plus an additional .5 (half) point per Gizmo assessment with 60% or higher.

Review for monday's exam (Advnaced)

As you may/should know, I have chosen to give my nine weeks exam. As such, I am now providing a list of pointers that you may wish to review. not all of these will necessarily be on my test but you should nonetheless know them:

Advanced students:
Hopefully, you have been keeping your glossary relatively updated. Here are some resources you can use to review.
http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/osp/hst/data/ele/section01/vocab_sect_summary.pdf

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/osp/hst/data/ele/section02/vocab_sect_summary.pdf

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/osp/hst/data/ele/section03/vocab_sect_summary.pdf

http://my.hrw.com/sh2/sh07_10/student/osp/hst/data/ele/section04
/vocab_sect_summary.pdf

You will want to know your calculations for voltage, resistance, current, electrical energy, and electrical power. Also be ready to explain how atoms, electricity, and (electro)magnetism are interrelated; explain how circuits and their different parts are used in our everyday life as well as which circuits are best for which jobs; be familiar with being able to draw or recognize drawings of circuits, magnetic fields, and electric and electromagnetic devices and apply the in-class activities and labs that we have been doing to the concepts that we have been discussing. Hopefully, you are all doing this and if not, then you will get a start now while you have time. Good luck!!!!

Building on the Motor

Here are some ways you can build on the electromagnetic motor that we all designed in class:

http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/HomopolarMotor
This site shows an even simpler version...just be sure to wear safety goggles and gloves.

http://www.scienceproject.com/A/projects/KITWG/index.asp
Here are the plans for building an electric generator that can actually be used to light up a bulb. I really would like to do this with you in class much like the motor, but I need the equipment. Donations are greatly appreciated.

Announcements and upcoming events part 3.

Here's what i have tentatively planned for the remainder for the quarter.

3/6 and 3/9 to 3/13: On 3/6, advanced students will experiment with solenoids and creating electromagnets. Gifted students will begin designing/building their rockets.

On 3/9, Adv. Students will build electric motors and analyze how they work. You will each be required to create and submit a detailed instruction manual so that future students may replicate your work. Gifted students will continue working on their rockets, or if they are done, we will conduct another activity dealing with force and motion, particularly of an object shot into the air. I'm talking marshmallow launching y'all.

3/10 to 3/11-- 1st and 2nd periods will not be held (tentatively) due to FCAT testing. 3rd 4th and 6th will work with force/energy conversion via marbles/table top games. A written explanation of the forces involved is expected for a grade.

3/12 to 3/13-- All periods will review via Gizmo and other material on the concepts learned in preparation for the 9 wks. exam.

3/16-- 9 wks exam, all periods

3/17 to 3/20-- Advanced periods will work on their solenoid grasp on 3/17 and 3/18. It shouldn't take more than one class period, but I do not mind doing it twice for variation. On 3/19 and 3/20, the Advanced period will design/build their rockets. The gifted periods will also use this time to design/work on their roller-coaster grasp.

3/23 to 3/24-- Advanced students will work on their roller coasters. Gifted students will revist table-top/marble/spinning top force and motion or use the extra time for roller-coasters should they need it.

3/25-- Advanced and gifted students will revisit energy conversion activities, both table top and electric.

3/26-- ROCKET LAUNCHING DAY!!! BLAST OFF!!!

Announcements and upcoming events part 2.

and here is the Gifted Grasp Project:
3RD NINE WEEKS G.R.A.S.P. [GIFTED]

| GOAL |
You must convince the Board of Directors of the new city amusement park to buy your roller coaster design.

| ROLE |
You are part of a roller coaster design team.

| AUDIENCE |
The Board of Directors at “Islands of Fun" amusement park

| SITUATION |
The “Islands of Fun” amusement park wants to add a new roller coaster ride. Your job is to work together as a team to design a roller coaster and present your coaster design to the Board of Directors at “Islands of Fun".

| PRODUCTS |
Use provided materials (6 feet of 7/8-inch (inner diameter) foam pipe insulation [cut in half lengthwise], standard-size marble, masking tape[not duct tape], stop watch, flexible metric tape measure, balance) to construct a roller coaster with at least two “hills.” Conduct trials to be sure that the marble performs as planned. Once the roller coaster is performing acceptably, calculate the speed of the marble from start to finish for three trials. Find the average speed of the marble for the three trials. Calculate the work done by the marble in Newton meters.
Create a diagram of the roller coaster with labels and short explanations to show which parts demonstrate the following terms: speed or velocity, acceleration, friction, gravity, momentum, potential energy, kinetic energy, Newton's first law of motion. The diagram should include a data table for time and distance and the calculations for speed and work.
The presentation by the team should include a demonstration of the working roller coaster. The presentation must: give the name of the roller coaster; justify the design used in each part of the coaster; identify and explain the chosen terms; and provide the average speed of and work done by the marble.

| GRADING STANDARDS |
SC.6.13.2, SC.6.13.3
Roller coaster must use only approved materials and have three consecutive successful trials in which the marble stays on the track.
Diagram includes terms provided, correctly placed, with a short explanation for each, a data table with time and distance from three trials, the calculation of average speed, and the calculation of work done by the marble.
Presentation includes a demonstration of the working roller coaster, the name of the roller coaster, a justification of the design used in each part of the coaster, identification and explanation of the chosen terms, the average speed of the marble for the three trials, and the work done by the marble.

Parents, the following donations are accepted and greatly appreciated: the above mentioned pipe insulation. Working stop watches. Note: Even though this is a gifted activity, I plan to allow all 6-B students to do this, since both advanced and gifted students cover energy transformation in their curricula. Thus, both advanced and gifted students can donate the foam insulation. Any other roller-coaster supporting materials are also appreciated as donations. See the example in my class (which many of you have played with) for ideas of how you want to build yours.

Announcements and upcoming events part 1.

1. Friday is the last day to turn in anything you have a zero for. After Friday, the zeros will stay.

2. I am contemplating giving the nine weeks exam early (poss. 3/13 or 3/16) so that we may have the last two weeks of the quarter to devote to upcoming activities and G.R.A.S.P. projects.

3. Speaking of the G.R.A.S.P. projects, here they are...
- 3RD NINE WEEKS G.R.A.S.P. [ADVANCED]


Goal:
To understand the relationship between electricity and magnetism.

Role:
You are a scientist for the world’s largest ship builder.

Audience:
Your audiences are the owners of the ship building company

Situation:
Your company has designed a compass to be used in emergencies at sea, but it doesn’t seem to be working correctly when it is located near the solenoids in the engine. You have been asked to design a test to determine the effect of the engine on the compass.

Products:
You need to design and create a test that will determine what is affecting the reliability of the compass. Your product must
include a labeled diagram of the engine part that is affecting the compass, the data that you collected and the final conclusions
in the form of recommendations for the owners.
Solenoid Directions
Materials and equipment (per group)
battery (6V)
compass
iron rod, bolt, or nail
metric ruler
tape
cardboard tube from paper towel
wire with stripped ends (700 cm)
Label the ends of the tube A and B. With the tube horizontally, place a piece of tape 20 cm from the end of the wire Tape this spot to the A end 1 cm from the edge. Wrap the long end of the wire tightly around the tube 50 times without overlapping, but closely together. Tape the wire at B with 20 cm left over. Attach wire A to the battery.
Place the compass 2 cm from the B end Record your prediction, what will happen when you connect B wire to the battery
Record what actually happened
Next, predict what will happen if the iron rod is placed inside the tube.
Record what actually happened

Conclusion:
What was the effect of the iron rod on the compass?
What does this tell you about the placement of the compass?

Advanced students this is based on the solenoid activity we are doing this coming Friday and on the previous compass activities. To my parents, I will accept the following donations for this activity: lots and lots of insulated wire. Working compasses. Spare bar or refrigerator magnets that still have a strong magnetic field. 6 V batteries (the kind they use in the big outdoor flashlights. Wal-Mart sells two packs for 2.98. You may do this activity at home if you wish but I am setting aside class time to perform this as well.

Class Codes for www.explorelearning.com

And here they are for all to see...

Per. 1:

6QAMCN5fe7

Per. 2:

LYGGDHEJQJ

Per 3:

QXXR7PKL77

Per 4:

HVZU8BEFXH

Per 6:

WBWHA2VUQQ

Hope this helps. Remember, you must create your own unique user name and password once you have enrolled into a class.

Pictures from Challenger/Mosh Field Trip

Challenger/MOSH Field Trip

Dear Students and Parents:

Our first field trip was truly a success, thanks to everyone involved. We got to experience what a real scientist's job is like and we learned that it isn't just all labwork. At times, people's lives actually depend on the scientific facts, data, and decisions. That is what makes science so critical to everyday life. All of you who were able to attend this field trip got to see that for yourselves and it also gave you a chance to put the skills you learned in my classroom to use in a real life situation. As the commanders stated to us, you were allowed to demonstrate your high order thinking skills. Through this and through your exemplary behavior at both the Challenger and the MOSH, you have displayed what we at Julia Landon are all about, true leadership.
That said, this was my first field trip experience with you and it was such a positive one that I am now considering several others that I could posibly tie in with what we'll be learning about in class. Nothing's set in stone yet, however. That said, I will be posting up pictures and/or vids of our experience today.

P.S.-- Extra credit for those who went on the field trip-- Write a letter of Thanks to the commanders of the Challenger Program and to the MOSH for allowing us a chance at some hands-on learning outside the school walls.

For those who did not go--have the work from today in your notes section for the first notebook check of the nine weeks (Next Friday, 1/30/2009)

Mr. Hubbard

3rd nine weeks

Well, we are now officially halfway through the academic school year. The vast majority of you have continued to display nothing short of hard work, effort, and gains in your knowledge and progress. Awesome job, Team 6B, keep it up!.
Now as we enter the third nine weeks, it is important to remember several key aspects. First of all, fun though science may be, you are still expected to behave properly in a lab setting. This means you will treat the lab, the equipment, the instructor (that's me, folks) and each other with care and respect. Your behavior in my class reflects your regards for wanting a safe and fun learning experience and, as we continue to prepare you for seventh grade you will be being held accountable for your actions, both positive and negative. While I do provide positive reinforcement for good behavior, remember that the ultimate best reward lies in the learning that you take from the class. Refusing to follow the rules or show respect only hurts you from this.
You will find that, this nine weeks, there is a difference in what the advanced and gifted students are being taught. As per our curriculum, advanced students will be learning about electricity, magnetism, and energy while the gifted students will be exploring the concepts of force and motion. Rest assured that both subjects will be fun and exciting.
I will be posting again soon with extra credit opportunities and requests for equipment. Until then, enjoy your long weekend. See you on Tuesday.