Math is pretty awesome

Is PI wrong?

All of the fun math in this video made my day!

7th grade Ch 19 Conserving resources

Standardized test practice

Chapter review quiz

How does an electric motor work?

Here is a discussion from a community college in Kankakee.  This discussion mainly focuses on electricity (how electric generators and electric motors work), but the point of the discussion is to prep the students about renewable energy (wind power).  This shows some physical attributes of electrical energy, circuits, resistance (ohms law), the principle behind a generator, the movement of electrons, etc.


Here is the link to the Grand Coulee Dam video... produced by PBS

8th grade Chapter 22 Electricity

Section 1: Electric Charge    self-check quiz

Section 2: Electric Current   self-check quiz

Section 3: Electric Circuits   self-check quiz 

Standardized Test Practice

Alternative Energy Poster Project

Chapter 19 is titled Conserving Resources

Section 1: Resources
Discusses renewable and non-renewable resources that are used in our lives.

We will be identifying alternative ways to provide resources for our energy needs.

You will be required to create a poster project in Ch 19 and you will need to focus on...one of these renewable resources
Water power
Wind power
Nuclear power
Geothermal energy
Solar energy/solar cells

Here is a link to the poster project directions...

7th grade: Chapter 18: Interactions of Living Things

Section 1: The Environment - Practice quiz

Section 2: Interactions Among Living Organisms - Practice quiz

Section 3: Matter and Energy - Practice quiz

Standardized test practice

Section 1 is broken down into Abiotic and Biotic factors.  You should know what each of these mean.  In the Section 1 review, you were asked to name 5 examples of each that are in your ecosystem.  Biotic factors are the living things... different types of living things are Plants, Animals, Bacteria, Fungi, and Protists.  I expect you to identify 3 of these.

You should be able to identify the levels of organization (and what each contains)...that the living world is categorized into.

From an organism to the biosphere

Highlight the block of space after the question to find the answer... it will change from looking like this...

To this

Question: What happens to vegetation when rainfall amounts gradually decrease over centuries (a long period of time)?

Answer: Plant species either adapt or die out.  New plant species may enter the area. The ecosystem may change from forest to grassland to desert over time.

There are 2 major kinds of ecosystems.  Terrestrial ecosystems are located on land.  Aquatic ecosystems include freshwater and salt water.  Saltwater ecosystems make up approximately 75% of Earth's surface.

What are some factors that distinguish one biome from another?

Answer: precipitation, temperature, plant life, and animal life.

Air pollution can come from many different sources.  Can you name one source of air pollution specifically mentioned in the book?

Why is topsoil fertile?

Answer: It contains decayed remains of organisms... it also contains different amounts of nutrients, minerals, and moisture.

Do you know the technical name of the scientist who studies the interactions of organisms and their environment?

Of the major biomes in the world, which one do you live in?

The needs of living things - Knowing what living things need to grow and reproduce will be helpful in understanding population size, density, spacing, and limiting factors.

A mob of kangaroos

Animal groups have interesting names.  For example a group of crows is called a murder. You wouldn't want to run into a crash of rhinos or a prickle of porcupines, and beware of a mob of kangaroos.

 Can you name a limiting factor of a population?

Answer: food, water, living space (limiting factors can be biotic or abiotic)

READ ABOUT BIOTIC POTENTIAL.  What does it mean?

Do you know the 3 forms of symbiosis?  Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

What is the difference between the niche of an animal and the animal's habitat?

What advantages does a population that feeds on several kinds of organisms have?

Answer: This ensures a food supply for the population if one food source becomes unavailable.

Practice for the Chapter 21test

Section 1: Temperature and Thermal energy practice quiz

• You should be able to determine what temperature is warmer or warmest if given a F, C, and K temperature
• You should be able to convert one temperature into another C = (5/9) (F-32)   or F = (9/5)(C) +32 or K = C +273
• Think of the demonstration with the blowtorch... I had one metal ball that slipped through a metal hole.  When the ball was heated up, (the molecules moved faster and) it expanded thus causing it to not fit through the metal hole anymore.

1. Temperature

• temperature is related to the average kinetic energy of the molecules an object contains
• most materials expand when their temperatures increase

2. Measuring temperature

• on the Celsius scale, the freezing point of water is 0 degrees C and the boiling point is 100 degrees C
• On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point of water is 32 degrees F and the boiling point is 212 degrees F.

3. Thermal Energy

• the thermal energy of an object is the sum of the kinetic and potential energy of all the molecules in an object

Section 2: Heat practice quiz

• Think of the lab that measured heating up and cooling down... what did the graph show, what were the results of the lab.  What did you learn about how fast water heats up or cools down?

1. Heat and Thermal Energy

• Heat is the transfer of thermal energy due to a temperature difference
• heat always moves from a higher temperature to a lower temperature

2. Conduction, Radiation, and Convection

• Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy when substances are in direct contact
• Radiation is the transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves
• Convection is the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of matter

Think of an example of each conduction, convection, and radiation.

3. Thermal conductors and specific heat

• A thermal conductor is a material in which heat moves easily - metal is an example of a conductor
• An insulator is a material that does not transfer heat.  In your house, windows have 2 layers of glass that sandwich a layer of air... this reduces the movement of heat  out of the house in winter (or heat moving into the house during the summer) - plastic or wooden handles are good examples of insulators used in cooking
• The specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of the substance by 1 degree C.  Think about your experiences relating to some materials that heat-up faster than other materials.

Section 3: Engines and Refrigerators practice quiz

1. Heat engines and Energy

• A heat engine is a device that converts thermal energy into mechanical energy
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It only can be transformed from one form to another.
• An internal combustion engine is a heat engine that burns fuel in a combustion chamber inside the engine.

2. Refrigerators and Heat Pumps

• A refrigerator uses coolant to transfer thermal energy to outside of the refrigerator
• The coolant gas absorbs thermal energy from inside of the refrigerator - think about water evaporating off of your skin, spraying a can of hairspray, using a propane tank (to burn the gas and heat a garage)... all of these have a liquid that boils and it feels cold. This is the same as what happens in the pipes that are inside the refrigerator. 
• Compressing the coolant makes it warmer than the air outside of the refrigerator (thus when the pipes are exposed to the air, heat is transferred from the warm pipes to the cold(er) outside air).  Examples of compressing and heating-up could be the fire syringe video.  A diesel engine does this... compressing the air so much that it heats up to the point that the diesel fuel burns without a spark-plug having to ignite it.
• A heat pump heats by absorbing thermal energy from the air outside, and transferring it inside a building.

Standardized test practice

8th grade Chapter 21 Sec 3 Engines and Refrigerators

Here is a description of an internal combustion engine that is a 4 stroke.  This contains more information than needed in science, but the description is impressive.  The description talks about efficiency, power, the size of the engine, components, etc.

This is a device (similar to a diesel engine) which is called a fire syringe.  The concept is similar to a diesel engine and these people provide a nice explanation of how it works.

Here is a description of the 2 stroke engine and a couple reasons of why we use 2 stroke engines for small applications.

This example explains refrigerators and how refrigerators can make energy move from cold....and transfer to warm (which is opposite of what the book says normally happens..... warm moves energy to cold).

7th grade Ch 17 review

You can use your notes and worksheets during this next test.  

Bring them to class on 4/19/12 (Thurs)

Chapter 17: Plants

Section 1: An Overview of Plants - section 1 quiz

Section 1 review

• All plant cells are surrounded by a cell wall
• Many plant cells contain chlorophyll (the ones that carry out photosynthesis)
• Ancestors of land plants were probably ancient green algae
• A waxy cuticle helps conserve water
• Cellulose strengthens cell walls
• An advantage of plants living on land is more sunlight and more carbon dioxide
• Waterproof coating protects (and allows plants) seeds and spores help plants reproduce on land  
• The plant kingdom is divided into 2 groups VASCULAR and NONVASCULAR
• Vascular tissues transport nutrients

Section 2: Seedless Plants - section 2 quiz

Section 2 review

Ferns

Moss

• Seedless nonvascular plants include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
• They are usually a few cells thick and a few centimeters tall (1-2 inches tall)
• they produce spores for reproduction (not seeds)
• Seedless vascular plants include ferns, club mosses, and horsetails
• Vascular plants can grow taller and live further from water than nonvascular plants
• Non-vascular plants help build new soil
• Coal deposits formed from ancient seedless plants that were buried in water and mud before they decayed

Section 3: Seed Plants - section 3 quiz

Section 3 review

Tiger Lilly- a monocot

Pumpkin - a dicot

• Be able to identify a monocot or dicot from a picture
• Leaves are the organs of a plant where photosynthesis takes place
• stems support leaves, branches and contain vascular tissues
• roots absorb water and nutrients from the soil
• Gymnosperms do not have flowers, do not produce fruit... the seeds are protected by cones
• Angiosperms produce flowers that develop into fruit with seeds
• Most animal diets are supported by feeding on angiosperms
• The part of a seed that is used for food storage is the cotyledon... monocots have 1 cotyledon, dicots have 2 cotyledons 
• Be able to give an example of a gymnosperm (conifers are the most familiar spruce, fir, redwoods, pines) and an example of an angiosperm (rice, wheat, corn, fruit trees, flowers)

Interactive tutor - drag and drop puzzle

Standardized test practice

A plant webquest

Here is an internet webquest about plants.  We will explore this during computer explorers to learn about plants.

The plants webquest

The Decorah EagleCam

Take a couple minutes to watch the live nest camera of the Decorah eagles.

Decorah EagleCam

Webstarts Website

Here is an example of a website that I had created.  It focuses on traveling.  More particularly, the traveling that I have done.

My webstarts website.

The site has a small argumentative point of view... it should show my knowledge of the subject area.

I have not placed pictures into the website yet.  I have not hyper linked websites related to traveling, but I have created a video and linked the video in my website.

Rube Goldberg with simple machines

Rube Goldberg Rubric

Click here to adjust a Rube Goldberg to use levers and pulleys to catch a criminal.

A Honda commercial with a intricate Rube Goldberg machine

Using a Rube Goldberg machine to turn on a light

 

Using a Rube Goldberg to crush a grape.

 

You can easily see the simple machines in this project, but the purpose of the experiment is not explained.

 Using a Rube Goldberg to pop a balloon.














This group did an excellent job describing the simple machines involved in their Rube Goldberg machine and the "easy task" of turning on the machine was completed.

The Purdue University's Rube Goldberg machine built to water a plant.

8th Grade Chapter 20: Work and Simple Machines

Section 1: Work and Power quiz
Work (in joules) = force (in newtons) x distance (in meters)

Power (in watts) = work (in joules) / time (in seconds)

Section 2: Using Machines quiz

Mechanical advantage = output force (in newtons) / input force (in newtons)


Efficiency (in percent) = (output work (in joules) / input work (in joules)) x 100

Section 3: Simple Machines quiz

an inclined plane (uses less force over a longer distance)

Here is a description of an inclined plane (made by the text book)

A wedge and screw are examples of inclined planes

a lever allows you to mainly increase  output force (the trade-off is that you need to use less force over a greater distance)

Mechanical advantage = input distance / output distance

Here are 3 classes of levers

Another example of a lever called a wheel and axle.  The wheel and axle is two circular objects that rotate together.  The larger object is the wheel and the smaller object is the axle.

The mechanical advantage = wheel's radius / axle's radius

A fixed pulley is a rope or wheel that is used to change the direction of force.

A movable pulley allows you to use a smaller amount of force over a longer distance. (this gives you a mechanical advantage)

Here is the Standardized Practice Test (this is primarily a math quiz doing calculations related to mechanical advantage, work, power, etc)

Chapter 16: Regulation and Reproduction

Section 1 quiz: The endocrine system

Section 2 quiz: The reproductive system

Section 3 quiz: Human life stages

Virtual Lab: The stages of development before birth

Standardized test practice

This is an animation of a negative feedback system

Here is a concentration game where you have to match key words with their definitions

Webstarts Websites

Here are a couple interesting websites that the 7th graders created.  The website should describe one of their interests, have pictures related to their interest, hyperlink another webiste, possibly have a video, etc.

Connor's website

Tasia's website

Dan's website

Anthony's website

Max's website

Jared's website

Claire's website

Raechel's website

Jordan's website

Sonia's website

Kayla's website

Allie's website

Cheyenne's website

Jeff's website

8th Grade Chapter 19: Force and Newton's laws

Section 1: Newton's first law - A change in motion is caused by a force

Section 2: Newton's second law - Connects force, acceleration, and mass


Section 3: Newton's third law - Action and Reaction

Standardized test practice

A video explaining a weightlessness/gravity/satellite motion

Math problems: solving simple equations... think about the problems before you answer A


Concentration Game

Endocrine System assignment

Research a disorder of the endocrine system.

Create 3 questions as if you were interviewing a person with one of the following endocrine disorders.

1. Acromegaly                  Last names starting with A-D

2. Addison's disease         Last names starting with E-H

3. Cushing's Syndrome    Last names starting with I-L

4. Diabetes                       Last names starting with M-P

5. Giantism                      Last names starting with Q-T

6. Graves' disease            Last names starting with U-Z

Provide reasonable answers to the questions that you have asked. 

An example of a good question is “How is your life different from a person that doesn’t have ____________?”

Research/Think about new ways the condition is being treated and how this has improved the life of a person with the disease.

Practice for the upcomming 7th grade test

Chapter 15: Support, Movement, and Responses


Section 1: The Skin (quiz)


Section 2: The Muscular System (quiz)


Section 3: The Skeletal System (quiz)


Section 4: The Nervous System (quiz)


When the brain is damaged, paralysis can result.  Quadriplegics are individuals whose arms and legs are paralyzed.  The word quadriplegic has its roots in the Latin word quadra meaning "four," and the Greek word plege meaning "stroke."  How is this combination of words appropriate for its definition? A stroke can cause paralysis (loss of function) of all four limbs.  Google the word hemiplegia to determine how it relates to paralysis. Hemiplegia is total or partial paralysis of one side of the body. hemi means half
The answers are written in white lettering, so to see the answers, highlight the missing text like you will be copying the whole paragraph...

Virtual Lab... Identifying major bones in the human body


Standardized test practice for the Ch. 15 test

Webstarts

Here is an example of a website that I had created.  It focuses on traveling.  More particularly, the traveling that I have done.

My webstarts website.

The site has a small argumentative point of view... it should show my knowledge of the subject area.

I have not placed pictures into the website yet.  I have not hyper linked websites related to traveling, but I have created a video and linked the video in my website.

8th Grade chapter 18: Motion and Momentum

Chapter 18 Motion and Momentum

Section 1: What is motion (quiz)

Section 2: Acceleration (quiz)

Section 3: Momentum (quiz)

Review quiz... practice for the all of Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Standardized test practice

Crossword puzzle using definitions

Here is a small article about the world's Fastest Car.

Speed math practice questions  (Don't think you can get away by answering A on every question that I give you on the test)

Acceleration math practice questions   (Don't think you can get away by answering A on every question that I give you on the test)

Momentum math practice questions   (Don't think you can get away by answering A on every question that I give you on the test)

Excel... bank statement

We will try to create formulas in order to just "plug-in" numbers into a bank statement and have it compute the money left in the account.... here is a picture from one that I created...

8th grade Chapter 10 test practice

Chapter 10: Geologic Time

Section 1: Life and Geologic time practice quiz

Section 2: Early Earth History practice quiz

Section 3: Middle and Recent Earth History practice quiz

Review quiz... practice for the all of Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Standardized test practice

Test your math skills by doing the Math Practice... calculating percentages of surviving organisms after the major extinctions.  (Don't think you can get away by answering A on every question that I give you on the test)

7th Grade Ch 14 Review

Digestion (the intake of food/getting the nutrients from the food), Respiration (process of unlocking the energy found in food, so that your body can use it), and Excretion (getting rid of wastes)

Section 1 Quiz: The digestive system

Section 2 Quiz: Nutrition

Section 3 Quiz: The respiratory system

Section 4 Quiz: The excretory system

Chapter 14 Review Quiz

Interactive True/false questions related to Digestion, Respiration, and Excretion

Virtual Lab: How do parts of the Respiratory system work together?

Standardized Test Practice

8th grade Chapter 9 test practice...

Section 1 practice quiz
Section 2 practice quiz
Section 3 practice quiz
Chapter 9 quiz
Chapter 9 practice test

Here are the answers for the Chapter 9 review found on pages 266-267 in your book...
10. B
11. C
12. B
13. D
14. D
15. C
16. D
17. D
18. Decay can destroy organisms if they aren't buried fast enough. Erosion destroys some rock layers. Materials that have been buried very deep are often destroyed by metamorphosis.
19. You could determine the absolute age of the lava, because it contains radioactive elements. The relative age of the rocks above and below the lava flow can be determined.
20. The volcanic ash would have been deposited very quickly (during one specific volcanic eruption). Therefore you have a rock layer that you know is the same age everywhere. This could also be dated using radioactive isotopes.
21. The cold temperatures preserved the entire woolly mammoth. This is similar to how freezing preserves foods. mmmmm woolly mammoth!

22. The fossils that are trace fossils are: dinosaur footprints, worm burrows, and fossil woodpecker holes.
The fossils that are body fossils are: dinosaur skulls, insects trapped in amber, and fish teeth.
23. I might make you draw a sketch of a disconformity or an angular unconformity.

There will most likely be a question or two related to the half-life lab that we did... as an example... how many half lives did the element go through if there is 25% of the original element and 75% of the daughter element present.

Mortgage calculator for your house

Reverse Mortgate calculator



convert time

Average planet distances from the sun
Planet diameters

planets Excel document