Monday, March 25th
Today in science: Because of the visit of a special guest to today’s science class, Dr. M announced that there will be a one-day delay in today’s Kinetic Particle Theory quiz. This quiz will now occur tomorrow (Tuesday, 26 March). To study for this quiz, students can use the four pages added to the ‘reference’ section of their Lab Notebooks on March 18-19, but also Chapter 1 (pages 56-60) of their Blue Books. Some examples of questions that Dr. M mentioned in class have been added to the Grade 6 Review Portal.
Homework: Review for tomorrow’s quiz.
Tuesday, March 26th
Today in science: Much of today’s lesson was set aside for the Kinetic Particle Theory quiz, in which students were asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the attractions, arrangement, and movement (or motion) of atoms in the three main states of matter: solid, liquid, gas. At the end of the quiz, Dr. M asked students to give their answers to questions about the length of 5 green lines displayed on the whiteboard. This information will help Dr. M know as to whether he needs to teach students how to use a metric ruler when measuring in either centimeters or millimeters (or both). During the last five minutes of the lesson, the class had time to celebrate one of our student’s birthdays by singing and enjoying a delicious chocolate brownie.
Homework: There is no science homework tonight.
Wednesday, March 27th
Today in science: Today’s demonstration is briefly described at the bottom of page 60 of our Blue (Chemistry) Book. The demonstration involved heating and cooling the gas we commonly call “air,” which fills the space immediately around us. Before doing the demonstration, however, Dr. M asked students to get ‘smarter’ about how to draw air. Students were then asked to draw air after being told that…
1) Air is a mixture of different types of gases.
2) Some gases in air are present in greater concentrations than others. For example, 78% of the air around us is composed of nitrogen gas (N2).
3) Three of the most commonly discussed gases found in the air around us include nitrogen gas (N2), oxygen gas (O2), and carbon dioxide gas (CO2).
Our class drawing can be seen in the Notes Portal. To ‘see’ the actual movement and actions of the air molecules trapped inside of a plastic water bottle, we sealed the water bottle off from the outside air with the help of a thin soap bubble. We then heated and cooled the air trapped inside of the water bottle by putting the bottle into different temperature water baths. During the tests, students could see the actions of moving air molecules–both those found inside and outside of the water bottle.
Homework: There is no science homework tonight.
Thursday, March 28th
Today in science: In preparation for a dilution investigation early next week, students were asked to use graduated cylinders, 3 mL plastic pipets, and (red) colored water to practice a) making precise (liquid) measurements and, b) transferring liquids from one test tube to another. Students were also shown how to mix solutions within test tubes with instruments (e.g., a glass stirring rod) and techniques (e.g., swirling, agitating, and ‘flicking’).
Homework: There is no science homework tonight.
Friday, March 29th
Today in science: Unfortunately, A period science does not meet on Fridays. 😦
Homework: —
