Monday, December 9, 2013

Finals and Final Week of School

For the next week we will be getting ready for finals and cleaning up your grades. First, the final:

  • The final will consist of 15 questions taken from your three unit tests. Numbers will be changed.
  • Your returned tests are your study guide. I will not be giving out any other study guide.
  • You may create and use a cheat sheet: one side of one 8.5" x 11" paper.
  • Exemptions are available. If I can put a zero in the gradebook for your final and you sill have an A, you can be exempt. You have to ask me to check though; I will not check automatically.
As for cleaning up your grades:
  • I am still accepting late work. Please keep turning it in.
  • I am still accepting corrections (you can correct EVERYTHING except tests).
  • I have extra credit available
    • must have EVERYTHING turned in (no "missing" indicators in your gradebook)
    • I have 4 extra credits ready to go. Each is worth a max of 15-16 points. You cannot repeat these next semester
    • There are open-ended extra credits taped to the side of the bookshelf by the globe. You may do as many of these as you wish. These are worth a max of 20-30 points each.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Everyone: Study Guide/Work Day

These are the things you need to accomplish today and tomorrow:
  1. Turn in Build a Roller Coaster
  2. Turn in missing assignments (I passed out missing assignment reports)
  3. Make corrections
  4. Work on Study Guide (conceptual, honors)
Your test is on Friday.

Study Guide answers below:



Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Roller Coasters!

You built and tested your roller coasters during block this week. I'll have winners, pictures, and video later. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Roller Coaster Investigation

Today is your first day to work on your roller coaster. Most people just experimented with loops and heights and will actually build the things during their block day this week.

For today, I just need this info from you to help me buy supplies:

Friday, November 22, 2013

Build A Roller Coaster Intro

Today was yours to finish Energy II and to start the Build a Roller Coaster lab. You will have both periods next week to complete the roller coaster; we will test them in the last 20-30 minutes of your block period next week.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Power

Really short notes about power on bellwork:

The rest of the period we worked on Energy II (conceptual, honors). This is due tomorrow, and you will have some time to work on it tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Everyone: Pulley Lab

Today first period is continuing work on their pulley lab and all other periods are starting it. It is due on Thursday for everyone.

Pulley Lab

Monday, November 18, 2013

Conceptual: Pulley Lab

Today we started work on the Pulley Lab. We will continue working on this tomorrow and it is due Thursday.

Honors: Efficiency

Today's only new thing appeared in #3 on bellwork:
Homework tonight is Machines II. The hard copy has a typo on the fourth line: change d_out from 10 m to 1 m.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Honors: Machines

Homework is Machines I.

Conceptual: Efficiency

We spent bellwork doing a few problems like the ones on last night's homework, then added one new thing: efficiency. Homework for the weekend is Machines II. The fourth line on the hard copy you were given has a typo and you will not be graded on those answers.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Honors: Energy Conservation Practice

Today we practiced an energy conservation application: the roller coaster! Your homework is Roller Coaster Practice (below). I also passed out missing assignment reports.

Homework front:

Homework back:

Conceptual: Machines

Homework is Machines I.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Honors: Conservation of Energy Verification Lab

Today we're doing a verification lab about the conservation of energy. The bellwork was a bit of a warm up and the lab can be found here.

Conceptual: Energy Conservation Practice

Today we practiced an energy conservation application: the roller coaster! Your homework is Roller Coaster Practice (below). I also passed out missing assignment reports.


Friday, November 8, 2013

Everyone: Conservation of Energy

Notes today really were just explaining the bellwork:
Then we played with a pendulum. Homework is Concept-Development 8-2:


Thursday, November 7, 2013

Everyone: Work

Today we are talking about work with all classes. Bellwork:



Notes:


For Honors, we also added that W = Fdcos(theta), where (theta) is the angle between the force and distance vecotrs.

Homework tonight is Ranking Tasks: Work, which looks like this:



Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Honors: Energy

Today we are trying something that we've never done before: bookwork!

I actually don't know how to teach with these things because I've never had them. So we'll just see how it goes and mop up any misunderstandings later. Your homework is Energy I (see below).


Conceptual: Conservation of Energy Lab

Today we're trying out a new lab. I've never done this one before, so we'll see how it goes. First, some bellwork to get warmed up:
An electronic copy of the lab is here, and the setup looks like this:



It is due on Thursday.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Honors: Momentum Practice

Today we simply practiced some momentum problems before we move on to energy tomorrow. Momentum III (front here, back is below bellwork) is due the next time I see you.

Conceptual: Energy Practice

Today we did a bellwork that basically summarizes the reading from next week. Then we finished Energy I. No new homework tonight.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Honors: Collisions

Today we talked about the two kinds of collisions. We tried out several collisions on an air track. There are some videos of this demo from over the years on YouTube (thanks to the long-ago-graduated Edgar and Tony):

Elastic Collision I
Elastic Collision II
Inelastic Collision

2012-2013 school year:

Elastic Collision 1
Elastic Collision 2
Elastic Collision 3
Inelastic Collision 1
Inelastic Collision 2
Inelastic Collision 3

Homework is Concept-Development 7-1.



Conceptual: Energy Continued

Today we're continuing the assignment from yesterday (click here for details). Please turn in Energy I on Monday.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Conceptual: Energy

Today and tomorrow you are reading about energy and completing Energy I. I cannot post the reading here, so you have to get it done during class.

Honors: Recoil

Guns recoil when fired to conserve the total momentum. Here is a video we watched that shows recoil fairly dramatically. Homework tonight is Ranking Tasks: Momentum.




Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Honors: Save the Egg!

First we did a bellwork about bouncing and watched a couple of videos (here and here) that showed the difference between bouncing and not bouncing.

Later we completed our Save the Egg! activity.

Conceptual: Practice and Angular Momentum

Today we mostly practiced stuff we already knew, either through bellwork or by completing Momentum III (sorry, I have an e-copy of the front side only). We also looked at some "magic tricks" involving angular momentum, but you will not be tested on that.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Honors: Change in Momentum (Impulse)

Homework is Momentum II. Next class you are making and testing a device to save an egg from a drop from the second floor, so bring materials if you want to use something other than pop cans, cotton balls, skinny balloons, and duct tape.

Conceptual: Collisions

Today we talked about the two kinds of collisions. We tried out several collisions on an air track. There are some videos of this demo from over the years on YouTube (thanks to the long-ago-graduated Edgar and Tony):

Elastic Collision I
Elastic Collision II
Inelastic Collision

2012-2013 school year:

Elastic Collision 1
Elastic Collision 2
Elastic Collision 3
Inelastic Collision 1
Inelastic Collision 2
Inelastic Collision 3

Homework is Concept-Development 7-1.



Friday, October 25, 2013

Honors: Momentum

Today we introduced momentum! Homework is Momentum I.