Math, Science Disconnect

The first thing that the students have in physics is wave properties. Today I gave a presentation on light waves focusing on color, microwaves and cell phones; the purpose of the presentation was to identify connections between the classroom and daily life. In the next wave unit I think they'll cover light waves and the electromagnetic spectrum in more detail. It surprising how much math and science exist in a vacuum for most of the students. When the students have to use math in class they whine and complain about how their science class isn't their math class. They haven't done anything more complicated than arithmetic and basic algebra. This doesn't bode well for forces and motion where geometry is involved; the students might be so busy complaining about the math that they miss the physics. Can you learn physics without using math?

Physics

Second semester is underway and the curriculum has transitioned to physics. They've started by studying the physics of waves (wave properties, different types of waves, and the Doppler effect). It seems that the biggest problem that some of the students are having with the material so far is with retention. In some of the worksheets, a few students initially have trouble answering questions because the don't remember the wave properties. However, when I ask them to describe the waves in question they are then able to answer the questions.

Candy Bag Activity

Today I gave the students a design activity; they had to design and build a candy bag using printer paper and tape. The test weight was candy (8 fun-sized peanut M&Ms for second hour and 8 fun-sized Baby Ruth bars for third hour).

A successful design was defined as follows:

1. Bag is contructed entirely of paper and tape

2. Candy fits completely inside the bag

3. Bag must have handles

4. Bag holds candy from the center island in the back of the classroom to the fronto of the classroom and back

5. Bag remains intact

Groups with a successful design keep their candy. It took the groups in second hour 10 minutes to finish constructing their bags. The groups in third hour needed more time. All the bags were successful; if a group finished early I had them test their bag to determine it needed more work. The students enjoyed the activity.

The point of the activity was to give them a glimpse into what engineers do, in general. Since there have been issues with the students not reading directions, I had the class read through the instructions individually first and then I asked the class questions about what they had to do. This approached seemed to work; so I'll use it again for the next lab/activity.

After winter break

Today was my first day back after winter break. The students are working on acids/bases. I'm thinking of a presentation/activity to demonstrate how chemistry is applied in a chemical engineering application. There are a few more weeks left in this semester. Next semester the will cover physics.

Salt Crystal Lab

In the salt crystal lab, the students are growing crystals from three types of salt: iodized table salt, un-iodized table salt, and Epsom salt. Each group prepared a saturated salt solution, added food color, and then poured each solution into each half of a Petri dish (one half contained a sponge and the other was empty). See pictures from one group from each class.

For this lab, I gave an overview of the procedure while the students were at their desks. I also had them answer three questions before the could get the boiling water that they needed to make the salt solutions. My goal was to get them to listen, read, and pay attention. I think the lab went well, but it's difficult to get everyone to listen to and/or read the instructions before they start the lab. Hopefully everyone will have salt crystals next Monday.

Slime Lab

The planning and execution of my first chemistry lab was an experience. The planning went well, I had enough supplies for both classes, but I didn't factor in that some of the students would make mistakes and have to start over.

For this lab, the students were organized into eight groups of four. Each group had to make four types of slime: floam, silly putty #1, silly putty #2, and slime; each student in the group made one type of slime.

Overall, the students were excited to do the lab and they had fun making something that they could take with them. They students were able to take their slime home in a resealable sandwich bag. Quite a few of them didn't follow the instructions, so their slime, floam, or silly putty didn't come out right.

I think next time, I'll go over the procedure before I send them back to their lab stations.

Planning a slime experiment

The students have finished a section on the periodic table and are moving into chemical and physical changes. Next week I am planning a slime lab, where the students will be divided into eight lab groups and each person in the group will make a different type of slime. Differences in the properties of the slime are determined by the added materials beyond the basic materials of borax and white glue solutions. Slime variations are created by adding polystyrene beads, cornstarch, soluble fiber (such as metamucil) or cornstarch and vegetable oil.