Class 10/23

We started the class by revisiting the idea of velocity. Dr. E discussed airplane wings and the difference of velocity below and above the wings. She also introduced the idea that Density equals Mass over volume. If one is heavier the density increases. This was further explained while two balls were passed around the room, one was heavy and one was light. The ratio of mass to volume was the same in both balls. We also did a lab where we had to measure the pressure of a body on a piece of paper by tracing somebody in our group. We had to measure the length and width of the person's body. After this we completed the formula by dividing the inches of the body over the group member's body weight. We came up with the answer of 1.21. We shared our answers with the class and the group that had the lowest answer explained what they did to come up with that answer. The person they traced and measure only stood on one leg on the edge of their toes. This caused the most pressure because the less area used the more the pressure is elevated. After this, we discussed practical applications of the principle of density. Our group came up with the concept of water skiing because the pressure increases as the boat speeds up causing the skier to "float" on water. I thought the activities we did in class helped immensely understanding the concept of density and pressure.

Class 10/21: Buoyancy Effects

On October 21st in class we were introduced to the topic of buoyancy by a few online simulations. I enjoy the online simulations because it makes the concept much easier to visualize and ultimately, understand. The first simulation represented a beaker with water in it. A weight was dropped into the water. When the object was suspended in the water a portion of the weight was transferred from the upper balance to the lower balance. This is explained that when the object rests on the bottom of the beaker, its weight is completely supported by the lower balance. Dr. E explained that when the weight of the water spilt out of the beaker that is what equals the buoyant force. We then experimented with another simulation that involved boats in water. This was similar to the first in explaining the concept of buoyant force. This was called Archimede's Principle Gizmo. When the cubes were added to the water some of the water spilt over the side. The cubes sank after three cubes were added. We then changed the width and height of the tray and saw why boats were able to float. This Incorporated the idea that the width of the metal makes a difference because it incorporates air and can float easier. After this we did a hands-on activity called the leaping egg. In this lab we experimented with exerting force onto a ping pong ball. We had to blow air onto the ball, which was resting on a funnel inside a beaker. We had to try and blow the ball into a beaker across from it and measure how far we could project the ball until it would not land in the other beaker. The force was directly proportional to the distance the ping pong ball traveled. I thought this activity was fun and interesting. I enjoy how Dr. E gives us ideas for our own classroom and explains that substitutions can be made with the materials we use, and how the lesson can be adjusted so it is age/grade appropriate.

Midterm Project Work Day

On Thursday the 16th we were allowed a work day to meet with our partners and go over our midterm projects. Starting out, my partner and I had no idea where we heading with our project or where to even start. Dr. E came around and helped me to get started and not feel so overwhelmed. She told me to start with the standards and find which grade level we would like to do and go from there, so that is what we did. We decided to do a sixth grade lesson plan on making a race car with a balloon. The lesson plan focuses on force, which we thought was appropriate since we were just learning about this in our own class. I think this midterm project will kind of be a challenge because my partner and I are having a hard time matching schedules and finding outside class time to meet. I'm sure in the end we will pull it together and collaborate to plan and present a good lesson!

Class October 14, 2008

In class it was announced that Thursday we will have a work day to meet with our partners and get a better grasp on our midterm project. I think it's awesome when teacher's allow in class time because with busy class/work schedules it's hard to accomodate time to meet outside of class. We then continued to discuss the reading guide for module 2. I find it helpful when Dr. E explains the concepts a little more to make sure we understand each question. She also allows time for questions. She also emphasizes questions we should know and understand for the quiz. This helps when coming time to take the quiz because we know where to find the answers. The study guide helped keep me on track with the quiz along with the book. Overall, I think the reading guides are helpful in following along with the chapters and highlighting what is important.

Simulation on Kepler's Laws

On October 9th we did not have face-to-face class but we had another online simulation. The simulation was about Kepler's laws about the motions of the planets in the solar system. Personally, I found this simulation a little hard to follow along with. I somewhat understood that it was demonstrating the orbit of the planets and sun, but I had to read in the book and online a little more to understand how Kepler's laws related to this simulation. I suppose not everything will be in black and white and it is good to have the background resources such as the internet and our book, but I feel, as a student, that the simulation was a bit confusing. The concept of Kepler's Laws are still a bit unclear to me as well.

Review for Module 2 and Midterm Project

Today in class we started out by going over some problems that people were having with the make up web seminar. After this we signed up for our groups for our midterm projects. Dr. Ezrailson explained the midterm project in a little more detail. I think the midterm project of teaching a lesson about science and safety will be fun. As we are all going to be teachers, it is important that we know how to teach effective lessons plans and include safety precautions. It is also important to incorporate team work because as future teachers we will often have to collaborate with other teachers and principals. After discussing our midterm project we reviewed our reading guide module 2 assignment. Although we discussed many different questions, I noticed the trend of our topic leading back to energy. Dr. Ezrailson, along with the whole class, discussed how everything in science is relevant to energy and how it is essentially the central of science. I found it interesting that such a complex subject could be narrowed down to one idea. Newton and Einstein were definitely ingenious!

Paper Airplanes and Cannons

In class on October 2nd we learned a few new things. We began class by going over some things on D2L since many of us are still new to the program. Dr. E discussed how we can check our grades. She also reminded us where to find our discussion questions and the due dates for past and future assignments. I found this helpful being reminded about how to find these things and when things are due. After we finished the D2L discussion, we proceeded to discuss Newton and Kepler's laws. This was relevant to our paper airplane discussion as it had to do with gravity and motion. Dr. E presented a projectile motion simulation to better explain the theories and help us to see examples of this. On the computer she presented a cannon that displayed horizontal and vertical motions. She experimented by changing the cannons mass and angle. We predicted what angle it should be at to land the furthest. Someone guessed a 45 degree angle which ended up being the exact angle. Gravity proved to have a great impact on how and where the cannon landed. After we discussed the laws and experimented with the projectile motion simulation we made airplanes by following the instructions we picked up along with supplies. When our airplanes were complete one person in the group timed and the other recorded while we flew the planes to see who had the longest hang time. An observation my group made was that the lightest plane, or the one with the least mass, was the plane that stayed in the air the longest. We all folded our planes the same so I am not sure how they had different amounts of mass but we all had drastically different hang times with our airplanes. I think this experiment would have been a better learning experiment had we followed up and explained what we were doing and our results.

Roshashana Online Assignment

On Tuesday, September 30th we did not have face-to-face class again but we were assigned an online simulation assignment. The assignment required us to experiment with hanging different weights on three different sized springs. As I hung different sized weights on the springs I noticed different reactions to how fast the springs bounced back. Another aspect of the simulation was being able to change the planet that the experiment was taking place. This showed the different reaction times if the weights and springs were on a certain planet. When I placed a weight on the spring on the moon the reaction time was very slow because there is no gravity as compared to the planet Earth.This experiment also allowed us to try the springs reactions to different times. When I tried moving the spring to 1/4 time the springs reaction time was much slower. There was also a graph that depicted the energy taking place. When the weight was added to the spring, the graph moves up and down with the spring to show the kinetic and potential energy. The potential energy is the highest when the weight is on the spring but it has not been dropped, and the kinetic energy is the highest in the middle of the fall. This was a good assignment to introduce learning about energy and force. Having not known much about either of these aspects of science I felt this assignment really helped to discover the meanings on my own and really understand. I think this simulation allowed, to a point, creativity and discovery.