Mrs. Marshall

Tuesday physics

Due June 4th

1. Return your electricity magazine.

2. Plan your car.  Each team will be given a box of KNEX, a small motor, a 9 volt battery and 30 minutes tobuild a car that will go across the cafeteria or other available surface.

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Due May 27

1. If you did not finish the questions for your game box in class last week, bring them this week ready to finish. Also bring a battery, if you'd like to take your game home.

Finish reading the Electricity Magazine and bring back.  We will have a short quiz on it.

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Due May 6

1. Complete your "How To" Project and be ready to explain it to the class.

2. Read pages 2 thru 5 in your "Electricity" magazine.

Due March 25

 This day we will do the experiments you designed.  Be ready by:

       1. researching your question

       2. Bringing any materials that you want to use but did not include on your plan

March 11 or 18

1. Read the article on Waves

2. For each of the wave words below, write a defination in your own words and give an example of it:

     a. Transverse waves:

     b. Longitudnal waves

     c. Wave compressions

     d. Amplitude

     e. Wavelength

     d. Frequency

     f. Speed

Write these out and bring to class.

Due February 26

7th and 8th grade class: Read the handout of "Heat Bandits" and "Energy Savers that we discussed in class." Do the "Energy Audit" of your house inside and out.  List improvements that you think will make it more efficient.  If possible find out the "lifestyle Energy questions below. We will discuss our findings on February 26.

Additional Energy Audit Questions:  Lifestyle

1.       Number of people in the house: _______________________

2.     What temperature is the thermostat set at when people are home: _________  When everyone is gone or asleep: ______

3.     If available, what is the approximate annual energy cost for this residence: ___________________________

4.     Type of energy used for:

a.      Heating air: ________________________

b.     Heating water: ______________________

c.      Cooking: ___________________________

d.      Other:________________________________

5.     Number of light bulbs in sockets: ______________________

6.     Average number of light bulbs on at 7:00pm (average 3-4 days):

___________________________________________

7.     Number of laundry loads per week: _____________________

8.     Approximate number of hours shower is run per week: _______

9.     Which appliances are “low-energy” rated: _______________________________________

Other observations of energy use or savings: _____________________________________________________

4th - 6th Grade class: Develop a question about heat that can be answered with an experiment in which you

measure time and/ or temperature.  We will do these on the 26th.  If you cannot come up with a question, I will give you one.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Due February 12:

7th and 8th grade class:   Write a letter to NASA from your "Mars Base Team" explaining your ideas for a base on Mars.  Everyone needs to contribute to the content and writing of the letter.  Be sure to include how you would support life (air, water, food,waste, energy, recreation, health) at your base, what you would build your base out of, what would the residents do and how would they protect themselves.  Drawings or "map-like sketches" would help.  Wehave already found a NASA employee who will get our letters to the right people.  Read your letter out loud for clarity and conventions.

4th - 6th Grade class: Read your handout on heat.  The part the looks black on the paper really says:

CONDUCTION: Molecules transfer their energy as they bounce into each other.  When you hold a cup of hot coffee, heat enters into your hand by conduction.

CONVECTION: When air gets hot, it expands and becomes lighter. As a result it floats upward, taking the heat energy with it.

RADIATION: Hot objects give off heat as invisible rays, called infared rays. You can feel the sun's infared rays as warmpth on your skin.

1. Read the handout called “feel the heat” and for each type of heat (conduction, convection, and radiation):
   1.  draw a picture of how the heat flows
   2.  Give a different real life example where we see that type of heat than is in the book.
2. Develop a scientific question about heat that you can test in an experiment.  Bring the question to class next week so we can develop the experiment and do it.

January 15

Build a Mars Base Assignment

The Grade 4-6 Class is building a Base on the Moon

The year is 2040.  Your team has been appointed by the Martian Land Planning Board to develop a settlement on Mars to support thirty earth scientists who will be living and working on the planet for a year.  The settlement will be used by NASA scientists for further research and exploration of the Martian surface.

Before a Martian settlement can be built, many things must be considered:

1.     Life Support

2.    Nutrition

3.    Living Quarters

4.    Work Space

5.    Recreation

The mars settlement will consist of five modules that will accommodate the needs of inhabitants.  Your team is responsible for designing one of these five modules, and constructing its prototype.

Steps:

Identify team members: _____________________________

Choose module: ____________________________

Research:

        Surface and atmosphere of Mars

        What materials were used in the previous missions to Mars?

        Needs to support human life

Due January 15: Research on the above questions

       January 22: Components and materials of your module

                           In class on the 22^nd we will build the module

Science 4 – 8

1. Take the chart outside on a clear night and turn it so you can find the constellations that are on the chart.
2. How can you use the constellations to determine North, South, East and West?
3. Find the 5 brightest stars in the sky and try to find their names.
4. Find the Egyptian or Greek story behind one of the Constellations.

All of these notes and information should fit on 1 page of paper.

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December 4

1. If you did not finish reading the magazine on "Energy" and defining the terms, complete and turn in on the 4th.

2. Complete your "mouse trap cars."  You will have about 10 minutes to make adjustments before we take time and measure them.

  Those who worked on the pendulum will have an opportunity to explain to the class how large and small pendulums work.

3. In the 7th - 8th grade class: Prepare a 2 - 3 minutes explination for the class about the form of energy you chose. 

    Be sure to include: What the energy is,  How it is collected,  if it contributes a large or small % of our energy sources,  its

    positive and negative sides.  A visual would be very helpful.

    Choices:  Solar: Kaitlyn and Antonia            Geothermal: Nick and Jonah       Fossil Fuel: Jacod and Coben

                   Hydro: Callie and Juliana       Bio-fuels: Hunter

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Due November 27

Physics 7-8

1. Read the Energy magazine and briefly explain each of the following types of energy.

Solar

Fission

Fusion

Bioenergy

Geothermal

Hydro

Fossil Fuels

Thermodynamics

Photosynthesis

2. Research “Mouse Trap Cars” or Focult Pendulums.

     Determine the most efficient type of the one you choose and prepare to build it in class next week.  I will have the following materials available:

     Mouse traps

     Weights

     String

     Rubber Bands

     Tools

Due November 20

No Homework

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Due November 13

     1. Look at and play with the virtual roller coasters on the following websites:

            www.learner.org/interactives/parlphysics/coaster/

           www.library.thinkquest.org/2745/data/loops.htm

           www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/

    2. Design a roller coaster that you could build in class with pipe insulation and (a little) duct tape for marbles.

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Due October 30

Demonstrating Newton’s Laws

Assignment: Develop and present a demonstration to the class on one of Newton’s Laws.

Due Date: October 30

How:

1.       Choose one of Newton’s Laws of motion.

2.     Find an example of it in real life or on the computer. 

3.     Plan how to show it to the class

4.     Collect necessary materials and practice doing it

5.     Bring materials to class

6.     Show us how it works and why

Due October 23

     1. Memorize Newton's 3 laws, in your own words, if you wish.

     2. Find out the difference between mass and weight, and write it down.. 

     3.Ride your bicycle or skateboard. Observe how Newton's laws are at work when you ride.

         Make a list or a picture of how each of the laws apply to your bicycle.

     4. Let mrs. Marshall know if you can bring your bicycle or skateboard to class next week.

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Due October 16

     1. If you did not turn in your catapult type pictures this week, they are due on the 16th.

     2. Rethink your catapult design. The goal is still to be able to accurately shoot a small wad

         of clay to the opposite side of the table.  You may bring things from home to enhance your

         design, but nothing from a kit.  Just simple materials.

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Due October 9

Read the article passed out in class on the history of catapults and draw a simple sketch of how each type works. Any descriptions you write for your sketches could help you in class next week.

Shadouf:

Ballista:

Onager:

Trebuchet:

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Due October 2

Tuesday Science

1. Read the attached article on the 6 types of simple machines. 
2. Search around your house and yard to find examples of the simple machines below.  Fill in the chart with descriptions and pictures.
3. Bring in one small tool that has more than one simple machine in it (hint: there are usually a lot of these in the kitchen).  We will share these in class next week.

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Due September 25

1.     Using the definitions on the website, complete the crossword puzzle on the back of this page.

2.    With a partner or two, prepare for:

The Falling Egg Challenge

Quest: To drop a raw egg from a height of 10 feet and not have it breaks.

Next week in class you will be give the following materials:

Ø     Lightweight plastic kitchen garbage-can liner bag

Ø     Scissors

Ø     Ruler

Ø     Light string

Ø     3 plastic sandwich bags

Ø     3 raw eggs

Procedure:

    Using the materials given create 3 different parachutes for your eggs.

    Predict which one(s) will land without a break and why.

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For September 18

Welcome to a fun year of physics and astronomy!

Your student will be spending half of their Tuesday mornings this school year learning about and experimenting with the principles of Physics.  We will be asking questions like:

          How fast?   How far?   How did it work?   Why did it work?

This fall we will start with the concept of “motion” and Newton’s laws that explain how things move.  As a science, physics involves a lot of mathematical formulas and calculations.  We will do some simple calculations that involve multiplication and division; but not the more involved ones you may remember from high school.

We do not have a textbook.  However, each week I will be sending home a sheet similar to the one attached with the students and posting the same information on our website.  Homework in this class will generally be something to read, something to do, and something to write.  I do not expect that the homework will take anymore than an hour, unless we are working on a group project.  I will warn you when these come up.  Because of sending home paper information and note-taking notes in class, students will need a small 3-ring binder to organize their stuff in.

Because our focus is understanding how “everyday” things work, we will do most of our experimenting with simple materials.  Therefore I will occasionally ask to borrow items that you may have at home.  For example, if you have an empty plastic liquid dish soap container or a battery operated toy car, we would like to borrow them next week (September 18).

I am excited about this year and honored to be able to work with your students.  If you have any questions please call me at 425-844-4592.

Susie