Week of 3/28/11 - 4/1/11

DENSITY & BUOYANCY
We are beginning a new unit on density and buoyancy. This week, students will continue learning about density and practicing how to use the density triangle. Students will complete three labs that require them to measure the mass and volume of liquids and solids in order to calculate density. They will also predict whether objects will sink or float based on their densities.

HOMEWORK
Monday (3/28): Density WS (front)
Tuesday (3/29): Density WS (back)
Wednesday (3/30): Reinforcement & Mastery WS pg. 17 & 11
Thursday (3/31): Finish "Float or Sink" lab report
Friday (4/1): None

CONGRATULATIONS!
Students in all classes did an excellent job on their forces unit test. Great job everybody! Here are the class averages:

• Astronomers: 81%
• Chemists: 82%
• Engineers: 84%
• Inventors: 84%
• Physicists: 86%

Week of 3/21/11 - 3/25/11

FORCES
We are finishing our forces unit this week.  We will be reviewing in class on Monday and Tuesday for the unit test on Wednesday.  Students are encouraged to stop in during lunch or after school for additional review.

HOMEWORK
Monday (3/21): Chapter Review WS pg. 27 & 28
Tuesday (3/22): Study Guide
Wednesday (3/23): Unit Test today!  Enrichment (extra credit)
Thursday (3/24): Take Marble Roll Projects home
Friday (3/25): None

Week of 3/15/11 - 3/18/11

FORCES
We will learn about Newton's 2nd and 3rd laws of motion this week.  Students will explore the relationships between mass, force, and acceleration during a lab on Thursday.  The unit test is scheduled for next week Wednesday.

HOMEWORK
Tuesday (3/15): WS pg. 15 & 21
Wednesday (3/16): Workbook pg. 21-23
Thursday (3/17): To the Finish Line
Friday (3/18): Newton's Comics due Monday

Week of 3/7/11 - 3/11/11

FORCES QUIZ

Great job on last week's forces quiz! All classes reached their big goal! Here are the quiz averages for each class: 

• Astronomers - 86%
• Chemists - 87%
• Engineers - 87%
• Inventors - 90%
• Physicists - 89%

FORCES UNIT

This week, students will complete a lab using spring scales to measure the force needed to overcome friction on several different surfaces. Students will also learn about elastic forces and participate in a lab demonstrating tension and compression.  

BENCHMARK

Students will take the third benchmark exam for this year on Tuesday.

HOMEWORK

Monday (3/7): Finish friction lab report

Tuesday (3/8): Benchmark today!

Wednesday (3/9): Reinforcement & Mastery WS pg. 20 & 14

Thursday (3/10): Forces HW

Friday (3/11): Workbook pg. 17-20

Week of 2/28/11 - 3/4/11

WELCOME BACK
I hope everyone had an enjoyable February break! We will continue with our forces unit this week. Students will learn about balanced and unbalanced forces, inertia, and Newton's 1st Law of Motion. There will be a quiz in class on Thursday.

HOMEWORK
Monday (2/28): Finish Inertia Activity
Tuesday (3/1): Chapter Content Mastery WS pg. 13 & 19
Wednesday (3/2): Study for quiz tomorrow!
Thursday (3/3): Workbook pg. 14-16
Friday (3/4): None

EXTRA CREDIT
Thanks for checking our science class blog! Because you read the blog, you can now earn extra credit points on your Warm Up. Write "Science Rocks!" at the top of your Warm Up before you turn it in on Friday and earn a few extra points for the week!

Week of 2/14/11 - 2/18/11

PROJECTS DUE!
Marble roll projects are due this Monday. Be sure to drop them off before first period. Make sure your name and class are on the project and the blueprint.

MOTION TEST DATA
Here are the class averages from the motion unit test that students took last week. Great job!

• Astronomers - 81%
• Chemists - 80%
• Engineers - 78% 
• Inventors - 83%
• Physicists - 85%

FORCES
We will start a new unit on forces this week. Students will explore the differences between balanced and unbalanced forces and how they affect the motion of an object. We will also introduce Newton's Laws of Motion and the relationships between force, mass, and acceleration.

HOMEWORK
Monday (2/14): Retake motion test at lunch this week
Tuesday (2/15): Vocabulary due Thursday - use Reading Essentials chapter 2
Wednesday (2/16): None
Thursday (2/17): None
Friday (2/18): Review all new material from this week

EXTRA CREDIT
Thanks for checking our science class blog!  Because you read the blog, you can now earn extra credit points on your Warm Up.  Write "Science Rocks!" at the top of your Warm Up before you turn it in on Friday and earn a few extra points for the week!

Week of 2/7/11 - 2/11/11

MOTION
Students will participate in a class lab on Monday that requires students to use a motion detector to graph their motion on a computer program. We will spend Tuesday and Wednesday completing an activity and playing a game to review the major concepts learned during this unit. The lessons are intended to help students prepare for the unit test that will be held this Thursday.

PROJECT
Marble roll projects are due next Monday! See the previous post for more information.

HOMEWORK
Monday (2/7): Workbook pg. 8-11
Tuesday (2/8): Finish classwork
Wednesday (2/9): Study Guide; Study!
Thursday (2/10): Unit Test today!
Friday (2/11): Projects due Monday!