Hey Bro, are you sure you want a brochure?

Tonight's assignment is to write a little blurb to a 6th grader, explaining why the unit you are focusing on is something they may find interesting. For example, if I was doing UNIT 3 I might write something like this:

"Have you ever wondered what's happening in action movies when a car flies through the air and then crashes and explodes? In this unit you will come to understand that the smashing of the metal car is an example of a physical change while the car explosion is an example of a chemical change. Not only will you learn to distinguish between physical and chemical changes, but you will also learn about other cool things like mixtures, solutions and compounds and how we interact with them daily. It doesn't matter if you are a fan of James Bond or of Jason Bourne, either way you'll have an explosive time in 7th Grade Physical Science."

Remember, your AUDIENCE is the current 6th grade so keep it brief and simple.

Photosynthesis!

Tonight's homework is to start your first draft of the Final Project Poster. You should have been assigned a unit. Look over your old notes and find out as much as you can about that unit. What were some of the major concepts. What were the big ideas of the unit? How can you best communicate this information in a poster? Try out some ideas tonight and be ready to defend them in class tomorrow!

How do you pronounce it?

Tonight's homework: one half page analysis of experiment conducted in class today

Motion Sickness...the remix!

Re-write Thursday night's homework. Be sure to incorporate any new information learned in class.

Motion Sickness!

We've been learning about motion for a few weeks now and I can see that some of us are getting sick of it by now. Well, unfortunately we still have a ways to go before we can escape this unit! Argh!

Yesterday we found out that in the early 1600s the Scientific Revolutionary Galileo figured out that an object in motion doesn't require any more force to continue moving. That was a pretty brilliant idea, but it didn't cover all bases. So later in that same century this English guy named Isaac Newton (later Sir Isaac newton still with two A's in Isaac) made a little adjustment to Galileo's original idea. He put it this way: an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity - and in a straight line - unless acted on by an unbalanced force. The Laws we came up with in class were pretty similar to these.

Today we threw in the concept of inertia into the mix. Inertia we figured out is an object's tendency to resist a change in motion. We saw an example of this with the Monster Bus and the Flying Washers. We also notice this while riding in cars or on the subway when we keep moving in the same direction after the vehicle has stopped or changed direction.

Well for all of this talk of motion, tonight's assignment seems a bit odd. We have to find an object that is not in motion and explain why it does not move. Simple enough right? Okay. Write a paragraph about it and we'll discuss our ideas in class!

The Rule of Law!

Yesterday we made up our own Laws of Motion. Now it's time to see if they are worth their weight in salt. For tonight's homework we need to prove our laws in writing. Provide three real life examples of objects in motion and explain how they fit into your law's paradigm. 1 paragraph for each example (3 paragraphs total).

STOP!

Tonight's homework: Think of an object in motion and explain how it stops! (2 paragraphs)

Friday 28, 2010 Homework

Think time: When you ride in a subway or a car and it suddenly stops, your body continues moving forward. Why do you think that is? Write a half page explanation detailing why you believe that is taking place. It may help to incorporate what you know about forces and energy into your answer. Good luck!

Thursday 27, 2010 Homework

Tonight's homework was Handout #65 which was another of Young Bill's essay revisions. We practically finished it in class, so other than that we just have that essay test to study for! Essay test...yikes!