Class 79: Thursday, 6/6/24
Warm-up: 

Fred is conducting a laser experiment on a very, very, very fast train.  He attaches a mirror to the roof of the train car and shines a quick pulse of laser light directly upward at the mirror.  Hank is standing still outside the train.  The train car is made of glass, so Hank can see the whole thing.

The pulse of laser light goes up, reflects off of the mirror, and then goes back down to the floor.  There's enough dust in the air to make the laser pulse visible.

1)  If Fred and Hank were to draw the laser pulse's "flight path" (as each of them sees it), what would each of them draw?

2)  Who would see light travel a greater distance?

3)  Assuming that the speed of the laser light is the same for both observers, who sees it travel for the longest amount of time?

Today:

  • Check/review final exam review packets  Answer Key**#16 is wrong.  The answer should be I, not C.
  • Work on notecards

Homework:

  • Prepare for the exam. 
  • On exam day, bring something to do when you are finished.  You will finish early.  The test is only 40-50 multiple choice and 5-10 short answer..  You can't leave early, go the the cafeteria, go to the library, etc.
Class 78: Tuesday, 6/4/24
Warm-up:  Some more review questions...
1.  Which produces clouds and rain -- sinking air or rising air?
2.  What causes winds?
3.  What type of pressure belts create deserts?
4.  Give one reason why the Earth is hot on the inside.
5.  At divergent plate boundaries, are there rising mantle currents or sinking mantle currents?
6.  What type of lava can be found in a volcano at an ocean/continent convergent plate boundary -- mafic, felsic, or both?
7.  How many weeks after a full moon does the next new moon arrive?
8.  By looking at the moon, how can you tell if moon is waxing or waning?   What do waxing and waning mean?

Today:

  • Return Quizzes and other papers
  • Final exam review work time

Homework:

  • Final exam review packets are due on Thursday.
Class 77: Friday, 5/31/24
Warm-up:  Some review
1.  Where, in the United States, is there a famous transform plate boundary?
2.  Which way does a comet's tail point?
3.  What is the Sun's primary fuel?
4.  What keeps planets from flying away from the Sun, and what keeps them from falling into the Sun?
5.  What's the name of the Earth layer between the crust and the outer core?
6.  What's the word for "turning from a gas to a liquid?"
7.  When we see clouds, which of the following are we not seeing:  solid water, liquid water, water vapor (gas).

Today:

  • Quiz
  • Review for final?
    • 5"x8" note card (both sides ) or one side of a sheet ofcopy paper.
    • 40-50 Multiple choice
    • 5-10 short answer
    • +5 points for completing the review -- if completed by the beginning of class on Thursday
  • Play games?

Homework:

  • Prepare for the final exam
Class 76: Wednesday, 5/29/24
 Warm Up: 
A positive feedback loop occurs when an effect increases the cause that created the effect.  A positive feedback loop causes change and instability.
Negative feedback occurs when an effect decreases the cause that created the effect.  Negative feedback results in stability.

1.  What type of feedback is microphone feedback?  How does it work?

2.  Which of these is an example of positive feedback, and which is negative?

A)  A room gets hotter.  The thermostat senses this and turns off the heater, causing the room to get cooler.
B)  The Earth gets hotter.  This melts snow.  As the snow disappears, the darker ground below is better able to absorb sunlight, causing the Earth to get hotter.

3.  Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and there is a lot of methane trapped beneath frozen permafrost.  How might this cause a positive or negative feedback loop.

Today:

  • Discuss Projects
    • Return grading sheets
    • What to do -- many have not been submitted.  Unless you have discussed an extension with me, if you haven't submitted anything, your grade is zero.
      • If you haven't turned it in, turn it in.
      • If you don't like your grade, fix your project and resubmit it.  You may ony do this once.
  • Prepare for a Climate Change Quiz
  • Absent students, check out the class Youtube Playlist, and watch any videos from this class. -- The class 76 video is actually from a few years ago, but it matches up well.

Homework:

  • Study -- quiz next class, identical to the climate change quiz template, above.
Class 75: Friday, 5/24/24
 Warm Up: 
What is the greenhouse effect?  How does it work?

Today:

  • Last topic -- climate change
  • Climate mapping slideshows are due today.
  • Google Classroom PhET assignment

Homework:

  • None
Class 74: Wednesday, 5/22/24
 Warm Up:   No warm-up today.  Get right to work.

Today:

  • Climate project work time

Homework:

  • Climate mapping slideshows are due on Friday.
Class 73: Monday, 5/20/24
 Warm Up: 
Sadly, you're going to run out of free Screencastify videos, because the school does not have a Screencastify license.  So, we're going to be using the WeVideo app instead, because the school does have a WeVideo license.

The major differences (vs Screencastify):  instead of cropping, drag the picture to move and resize; use the EWSD account/license.

Right now, for practice, lets use WeVideo to make and edit a video, at put it in your slideshow.  Get out your chromebook...

Today:

  • Climate Mapping Project work time. 
    • If you don't know how to draw climate features, watch class videos on the class Youtube Playlist
    • These are the steps...
      • Draw your new climate feature.
      • Plan what you're going to say.
      • Make your video.
      • Edit your video.
      • Insert your video into the slideshow.
      • Move on to the next slide.
  • Absent students, check out the class Youtube Playlist, and watch any videos from this class.

Homework:

  • Climate mapping slideshows are due on Friday.
Class 72: Thursday, 5/16/24
 Warm Up: 
How can you make and edit a video like this one (and put it in a Google Slideshow) using your chromebook and screencastify?

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 71: Tuesday, 5/14/24
 Warm Up: 
A monsoon is a "seasonally reversing wind" that can cause changes in precipitation and weather in general. 

India's monsoon rains are caused by either rising air or sinking air.

1.  What causes the air to rise or sink?
2.  Why does that cause rain?

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 70: Friday, 5/10/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  What are the Horse Latitudes?  How did they get their name?
2.  What is(are) The Doldrums?  Where did the name come from?  What's another name for The Doldrums?

Today:

Homework:

  • Next class you will get a 2nd chance to take the climate map drawing quiz.
Class 69: Wednesday, 5/8/24
 Warm Up:  What are gyres?  What causes them?  How can the concept of gyres help you draw ocean currents?

Today:

Homework:

  • Practice for the quiz next class.
Class 68: Monday, 5/6/24
 Warm Up:  A Canadian company is building a compressed air "battery" to store renewable energy.

1. Why is renewable energy storage important?
2.  How does it work?
3.  Why is there a "heat storage" unit? -- Does this relate to rising air or sinking air (and its role in weather)?
4.  What is the purpose of the water (in the cavern, shaft, and reservoir?)

Today:

Homework:

  • Complete Climate Mapping Practice Quiz  -- Complete #1, unless we have already completed it in class.  If we've already done #1, complete #2. Here's the link to the handout (you should already have it) -- Climate Map Drawing  PDF.
Class 67: Tuesday, 5/2/24
 Warm Up:  1. When we make a cloud in a bottle, does the cloud appear when we squeeze or when we release?  Why?
2. When winds pass over mountain ranges, which side of the mountains is wetter, and which is drier?
3. When winds pass over an ocean, which coast is wetter, and which is drier?

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 66: Tuesday, 4/30/24
 Warm Up:  Where did this storm occur?

Today:

Homework:

  • Study for quiz over "rising air, sinking air, and weather," from the notes.  Answer key
Class 65: Friday, 4/19/24
 Warm Up:  The diagram on the right shows water in its three phases.
1.  What are the three phases?
2.  Which arrows require heat to be added to water?  Which require the removal of heat?

Today:

Homework:

  • Quiz next class (Tuesday after break).  It will be exactly like this practice quiz (Meteorology Practice Quiz 2 -- PDF).  Complete at least one side and check your answers with my video from class.
Class 64: Wednesday, 4/17/24
 Warm Up: 
The paper deliverer throws the paper from a moving bicycle.  From their point of view, where should they aim if they want the paper to land on the doorstep?  Why?  How does this relate to the Coriolis Effect?

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 63: Monday, 4/15/24
 Warm Up: 
1. How do hovercrafts work? 
2. How many psi are necessary to make a high school student to hover? 
3. How can we measure the pressure produced by a hovercraft?
4. How high does a hovercraft hover?

Today:

Homework:

  • Prepare for quiz next class
Class 62: Thursday, 4/11/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  How much heavier will this bottle become if we pump air into it?
2.  What can we do with that pressurized air?

Today:

Homework:

  • Winds and Pressure Practice Questions (p. 5-6 of the handout)  Answer Key (if you want to check your answers)
Class 61: Tuesday, 4/9/24
 Warm Up: 

1.  Why is the sky blue?

2.  Why are sunsets red?

3.  Why didn't the sun turn red when it disappeared during the eclipse?  Why did everything just get gray before dark, rather than turning golden like at a regular sunset?

4.  Did anyone see anything else interesting during the eclipse?

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 60: Friday, 4/5/24
 Warm Up:  If I half inflate one balloon and 1/4 inflate another, what will happen if I connect the two balloons with a straw and let air flow between them?

Today:

Homework:

  • Watch the eclipse!
Class 59: Wednesday, 4/3/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  What causes meteor showers?
2. Why is it best to view meteors between midnight and 4AM?
3. When is the next meteor shower?
4.  What's a Nor'easter?

Today:

Homework:

  • Prepare for the retake next class.  You can retake any or all of the three parts of the test.
  • More? TBD
Class 58: Monday, 4/1/24
 Warm Up:  Shadows don't always look like the objects that cast them.
1. How can one solid block cast a shadow with any of the shapes below?
2.  What shape can cast a circular shadow, no matter how its is oriented?
3.  How did question #2 help people figure out that the Earth is round?

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 57: Thursday, 3/28/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  Let's practice identifying moon phases, times of moonrise, time of day, etc.
2.  Based on what I have shared with you, you might think you could tell me the time of high tide for any moon phase.  How could you do that?  In reality, why doesn't it work?
3. What we can figure out is how much the times of high and low tide change every day.  For example, if it's high tide right now, when will the same tide occur tomorrow?  Approximately when will the other tides (high and low) occur?

Today:

Homework:

  • Finish practice test #2 and check your answers. Answer Key
  • We will have the test next class, and it will be the same format as practice test #2.  We can do some review before the test, so be ready to ask questions about anything that you didn't understand on the practice test.
  • There will be an in-class retake offered for any section (p.1, p.2-3, or p.4) of the test.
Class 56: Tuesday, 3/26/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  Has anyone seen the moon recently?  What phase is it? When has it been rising? 
2.  During what two moon phases can we have an eclipse?  How long until we reach the next one?
3.  What type of eclipse can occur during each?  NASA Eclipse Stuff
4.  During those moon phases, why do we usually not have an eclipse?

Today:

Homework:

  • Complete page one of the practice test.  Answer Key  If you want help and explanations, watch the page 1 video on the class Youtube Playlist.
Class 55: Thursday, 3/21/24
 Warm Up: 

Today:

Homework:

  • None
Class 54: Tuesday, 3/19/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  Why do clocks go clockwise?
2.  Does the Moon rotate?  Do we ever see a different side of the Moon?
3.  On the diagram to the right, can you identify the rotation and revolution(s) of the Earth and Moon?

Today:

Homework:

  • Moon Phases Practice, on page 3 of today's handout
Class 53: Friday, 3/15/24
 Warm Up: 
1.Why do we have time zones?  2.How many time zones are there?
3.  Where is the International Date Line? 
4.  What happens at the International Date Line?  What is its purpose?

Today:

Homework:

Image result for rock cycleClass 52: Wednesday, 3/13/24
 Warm Up: 

1.  How is an igneous rock made?

2.  How is a sedimentary rock made?

3.  How is a metamorphic rock made?

Today:

  • Wrap up geology stuff and  prepare to move on to the "System of the Earth, Moon, and Sun" (day/night cycles, moon phases, eclipses, tides, and maybe seasons).  After that, the final unit is on climates.

  • Rock cycle review -- Another version of next class' quiz

  • Check homework -- go over Rock dating Quiz version 4 (Video)

  • One more rock dating practice quiz -- version 5

  • Absent students, check out the class Youtube Playlist, and watch any videos from this class.

Homework:

  • Rock dating quiz next class (unless you're happy with your score)
  • Rock cycle quiz next class -- just like the quiz in Google Classsroom ("Class #50, Part 2"), except that that the order will be diferent.  See class 50, below, for more details.  Here's another version of next class' quiz, for you to try.
Class 51: Thursday, 3/7/24
 Warm Up:  Absolute Dating Review
1.  What is a half-life?  How are half-lives useful?

2.  A rock sample contains 27 parent atoms and 123 daughter atoms.  How many parent atoms did the rock have when it was new?  What percentage of these atoms are parent atoms?
3.  How many half-lives old is the rock sample from the previous question (approximately)?
Answer choices:  0-1    1-2     2-3     3-4     4-5

4.  A rock sample has 30 daughter atoms and 65 parent atoms.  What percentage of the atoms are parents?
5.  How many half-lives old is the rock sample from the previous question (approximately)?
6.  How would we determine the age of this sample, in years?

Today:

Homework:

  • Finish Quiz version 4 -- unless you finished in class
Class 50: Wednesday, 2/23/24
 Warm Up:  The object on the right is a piece of rock.  The big dots represent parent atoms in the rock, and the small dots represent daughter atoms.  The half-life of the parent element is 2 million years.

1.  What is the age of the rock sample, in half-lives?
2.  What is the age of the rock sample, in years?
3.  Does anyone in B5/6 want to try explaining this to B7/8?

Today:

Homework:

  • None!
Class 50: Wednesday, 2/21/24
 Warm Up:  None -- Mr. Stapleton is gone today

Today:

Homework:

  • Finish the Google Quiz, if you haven't done it already.
Class 49: Monday, 2/19/24
 Warm Up: 
The diagrams on the right show some rock layers in two different parts of the world.
1.  What do the buried fish, snail, plant, bug, and human represent?
2.  Which layer is probably older, Layer S (in diagram A) or layer H (in diagram B)?
3.  Which layer is probably the oldest of all?  Why?
4.  Which layer is probably the youngest of all?  Why?

Today:

Homework:

  • None!
Class 48: Thursday, 2/15/24
 Warm Up: 

Today:

Homework:

  • Test on Monday
  • Practice/review the test preparation that we're working on in class.  You can practice using the links from last class.  You can check your solutions with those links.  You can also watch the videos from class on the 23-24 ESS Youtube Playlist.

 
Class 47: Tuesday, 2/13/24
 Warm Up: 
What would each of these features look like from a satellite view?
A. Continent/Continent Convergent
B. Continent/Ocean Convergent
C.  Continent/ Continent Divergent
D.  Ocean/Ocean Convergent
E.  Ocean/Ocean Divergent
F.  Ocean Hotspot
G.  Transform boundary

Today:

Homework:

  • Practice/review the test preparation that we're working on in class.  You can practice using the links above.  You can check your solutions with the solution  links above.  You can also watch the videos from class on the 23-24 ESS Youtube Playlist.
  • Test on Monday
Class 46: Friday, 2/9/24
 Warm Up: 
We have covered 7 different plate boundaries (or features). 
1.  How many can you find in this diagram?
2.  How could we add the remaining one(s) to the diagram?

Today:

Homework:

  • Practice/review the test preparation that we're working on in class.
Class 45: Wednesday, 2/7/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  When did the scientific community first accept the theory of Plate Tectonics?
2.  What was Pangaea?
3.  What evidence first convinced the scientific community that Plate Tectonics was a valid theory?   

Today:

  • Return old quizzes

  • Plate boundary quiz

  • See some plate tectonics in action, in National Geographic Volcano!, and answer questions --   Questions PDF

Homework:

  • None
Class 44: Monday, 2/5/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  At what type of plate boundary(ies) might each of these eruptions have taken place?
2.  What is the difference between magma and lava?

Today:

Homework:

  • Study the Quizlet over plate feature names and locations -- and submit in Google Classroom.
  • Quiz next class, similar to the quizlet.
Class 43: Thursday, 2/1/24
 Warm Up: 
1.  Which lettered item on the right is not a plate boundary?
2.  Name all of the plate boundaries in the diagram on the right.
3.  Which of the convergent plate boundaries will be subduction zones? 
4.  Why won't the other convergent plate boundary be a subduction zone?

Today:

Homework:

Class 42: Tuesday, 1/30/24
 Warm Up: 
1. How are the items on the right similar?  How are they different?
2. In the bottom picture, what makes the "diapirs" rise from the ocean crust in the subduction zone?

Today:

Homework: Study the Rock Types Quizlet

Class 41: Friday, 1/26/24
Warm Up: 
1.  If I boil some water and some spaghetti sauce, which one will splatter more? 
2.  What causes the little explosions that power the splatters?
3.  Why are some of those explosions more powerful?

Today:

Homework:  Quiz next class -- study the first two pages of notes, the quizlet, and today's practice quiz.
Class 40: Wednesday, 1/24/24
 Warm Up:  Oops!  I forgot the warm up!

Today:

Homework:  Study this quizlet

Class 39: Tuesday, 1/9/24
 Warm Up: 
1.How many plates are shown in the picture on the right?  What kind of plates are they?
2. In which direction is each plate moving?
3. Where is there a rising current in the mantle?  Where is there a sinking current?
4.  Which plate boundary sits over a particularly cool part of the mantle?
5.  Where is lava most likely to come to the surface?
6.  Where are tall mountains likely to form?  Will there be a volcano?

Today:

Homework:  Prepare for the midterm.  Work on your notecard.  Review.
Class 39: Tuesday, 1/9/24
 Warm Up: 
1.How many plates are shown in the picture on the right?
2. Which is more dense, the crust or the mantle?
3.  Which type of crust is most similar to the mantle?
4.  There's light colored sediment on top of the ocean crust.  Where did that come from?
5.  Which plate boundary is convergent, and which is divergent?
6.  Where is a very tall volcano likely to form?  Why?

Today:

Homework: 

Class 38: Friday, 1/5 /24
 Warm Up:  The first picture on the right shows an air current being blown across a dish of water sprinkled with pepper.
1.  What currents will form?
2.  What currents will form in the other 3 situations?
3.  What are the names of the Earth layers labeled A and B?
4.  What are the pieces of layer A called?
5.  What currents will form in layer B?
6.  Which letter points to a convergent plate boundary, and which points to a divergent plate boundary?

Today:

Homework: 

Class 37: Wednesday, 1/3/24
 Warm Up: 
1. Guess the difference in temperature between a thermometer at floor level and a thermometer at the ceiling. 
2. Why should there be a difference?

Today:

Homework: 

Class 36: Friday, 12/22/2023
 Warm Up:  What happened at 10:27PM, last night?  What does this mean for us?  What does it not mean?

Today:

  • Quiz retakes

  • Check on PLP reflections in Classroom -- how to see if you have 200 words for numbers 3, 4, and 5.  If you have 200 or more words on #3-5, you get 100% on a quiz grade.  If you have between 100 and 200 words on #3-5, you get 100% for a homework grade.  If you don't turn this in, it counts as a zero for a homework grade.
  • Play Scattergories

Homework: 

  • Finish the PLP reflection by tonight!
Class 35: Wednesday, 12/20/2023
 Warm Up:  Why do the blobs in a lava lamp rise and sink?

Today:

  • Return Quizzes 

  • Go over quizzes -- you can retake the quiz on Friday, during class.

  • Look at grades in PowerSchool

  • Write Reflections for your PLP -- the assignment is in Google Classroom (9th graders only) -- If it's submitted and you meet all of the grading requirements, it will be entered as a 100% quiz grade.  If not, you won't get credit, but you'll still have to do it.

Homework: 

  • Finish the PLP reflection
  • If you want to make up or retake any quizzes, prepare to do that next class.
Class 34: Monday, 12/18/2023
 Warm Up:  Can you identify any of these locations on Earth?  Do you know how they formed?

 

Today:

  • Quiz:  Waves and The Big Bang

  • Celebrate the end of the Astronomy Unit -- Watch Cosmos?

Homework:  None
Class 33: Thursday, 12/14/2023
 Warm Up: 

If you fell into a black hole, you would be spagettified.  The Sun, Earth, and Moon are continually spaghettifying one another.  We see the effects of this spaghettification in the form of tides.

1.  What is spaghettification, and what causes it?

2.  Which object exerts greater gravitational force on us, the Moon or the Sun?

Today:

Homework:  Quiz next class over waves and The Big Bang (similar to notes and practice)
Class 32: Tuesday, 12/12/2023
 Warm Up:  What's this?

Today:

Homework:  #1-15 of Practice:  Waves and The Big Bang PDF
Class 31: Friday, 12/8/2023
 Warm Up: 

The picture on the right shows an explosion.  This explosion shares some similarities with the Big Bang theory of the Universe's formation.

1.  In the picture, which bits of matter are traveling fastest?  How can you tell?

2.  One result of this explosion is the movement of bits of matter.  What are some other results of this explosion?

The expansion of the Universe after the Big Bang was not like the expansion after the explosion above.  It was more like the expansion of the surface of a balloon.  Coins glued to the balloon represent galaxies. 

 

3.  If we drew some waves between the coins, what would happen to the wavelengths as the balloon expanded?

Today:

Homework:  None
Class 30: Wednesday, 12/6/2023
 Warm Up:  If you're standing next to a race track, which of the following do you hear as the cars pass you?

     a.  The cars' pitch changes from high to low.

     b.  The cars' pitch changes from low to high.

     c.  There is no change in pitch.

Today:

Homework:  Study -- quiz next class over the lives of large stars
Class 29: Monday, 12/4/2023
 Warm Up: 

1.  Do this:  hold a tennis ball on top of a basketball and drop them to the floor together?  See what happens.

2.  Guess why it happens.

3.  Watch this video to find the answers and to see how this relates to supernovas.

Today:

Homework:  Study for a quiz next class over medium-sized stars
Class 28: Thursday, 11/30/2023
 Warm Up:  Where does the "helium ash" come from, and how does it get to the center of the Sun?

Today:

Homework:  None
Class 27: Tuesday, 11/28/2023
 Warm Up:  What are the hottest and coolest parts of this picture?  How can you tell?

Today:

Homework:  Quiz next class over the information on today's quiz review.  Study!
Class 27: Friday, 11/17/2023
 Warm Up:  The diagram on the right shows the life cycle of a star like our Sun.  What's wrong with the diagram?

Today:

Homework:  None!
Class 26: Wednesday, 11/15/2023
 Warm Up:  How can you demonstrate static electricity with ordinary clear tape? Good YouTube demo

Today:

Homework:  None!
Class 25: Monday, 11/13/2023
 Warm Up: 

1.  The first diagram on the right shows four hydrogen atoms that combine to make one helium atom.  This is what happens in nuclear fusion.  What looks wrong?

2.  E = mc2 is a famous equation.  What do each of the letters in the equation represent?

 

Today:

  • Return quizzes
  • Return Stirling Engine grading sheets and go over the answers.  Make a VIDEO and put it in the Google Classroom assignment.
  • Review the questions from last class (homework if you didn't finish).  Make a VIDEO and put it in the Google Classroom assignment.
  • Work on correcting the Stirling Engine Slideshows.  Turn in your corrected slideshow by Friday.

Homework: 

  • Study for a Quiz next class over the practice questions that were due today.
  • Correct the Stirling engine slideshows -- make sure that you put things into your own words.
Class 24: Thursday, 11/9/2023
 Warm Up: 

Why does the bird keep drinking?

Today:

Homework:  Complete the Solar System Formation practice questions (PDF)-- If we didn't finish them in class.
Class 23: Tuesday, 11/7/2023
 Warm Up: 

1.  If you rub a balloon on your head and then hold it next to your hair, your hair is attracted to the balloon.  Why?

2.  Your hair may also stand on end after being rubbed by a balloon.  Why?

3.  How can we produce this same effect with tape?
4.  How does this relate to the Earth's formation?

Today:

Homework:  Study for the uiz next class over Birth of The Earth questions
Class 22: Thursday, 11/2/2023
 Warm Up: 
1.  Why does frost sometimes form on propane tanks, even when the weather isn't very cold?
2.  Does this frost make the propane tank perform better or worse?  Explain why.
3.  Is the propane in a tank solid, liquid, gas, or a combination of states of matter?

Today:

  • Work on Stirling Engine Slideshows.  They are due on Tuesday, but you won't have class time on Tuesday to work on them.
  • Finish the "Birth of the Earth" video?
  • Next Unit -- History of Space
    • Formation of the Solar System (including Earth)
    • Stars, from birth to death (various types of stars)
    • Formation of the Universe (the Big Bang)

Homework:  Stirling Engine Slideshows are due on Tuesday, by midnight.  There won't be class time to work on this on Tuesday, but I will remind you.
Class 21: Tuesday, 10/31/2023
 Warm Up:  If you add heat and coolness to a Stirling engine, this generates force and causes movement.  You can reverse the process if you add force, turning the flywheel of a Stirling engine to cause heating and cooling.  Explain.

Today:

  • Return make-up stuff.
  • Look at grades
  • Work on Stirling Engine Slideshows (in Google Classroom -- Due next Tuesday)
  • What kind of donuts?

Homework:  Stirling Engine Slideshows are due on Tuesday
Class 20: Friday, 10/27/2023
 Warm Up: 
1.  How does a simple D.C. electric motor work?
2.  What does D.C. mean?
3.  How does this Genecon generator work?
4.  What interesting thing can we do with two Genecon generators?

Today:

  • Make-up day
  • Work on Stirling Engines.  Remove the flywheel when you're done, but leave the rest on the stand. Do label it with your names!

Homework:  None!
Class 19: Wednesday, 10/25/2023
 Warm Up: 

The diagram on the right shows a basic refrigeration unit.  I have circled the compressor and the expansion valve.  In this system, a substance called a refrigerant, moves through the pipes.

1)  What happens to the temperature of the refrigerant when it is compressed?

2)  What happens to its temperature when it is allowed to expand?

3)  In which direction is the refrigerant flowing through the pipes?

4)  Can you guess the purposes of the fans and radiators?  Do you know what a radiator does?

Today:

  • Return quizzes
  • Stirling Engine Update:
    • I think I patched most (hopefully all) of the reservoir leaks.
    • I want to make some more stands, so that you don't have to take your engine apart between classes -- so we're pausing the project for today.  The plan is to resume on Friday.
  • Today we will watch a video that we would usually watch later on, but this will be a good time to do it, so we're not wasting time while we wait on me to make new Stirling Engine Stands.

Homework:  Friday's class will be a make-up day, when you can make up any missing assignment or retake any quiz.  Take a look in PowerSchool and decide what you might need to do to prepare for Friday.  Here are some materials to help you prepare for a retake...
Class 18: Monday, 10/23/2023
 Warm Up: Nuclear fusion happens when the core of the star is hot enough to fuse Hydrogen into Helium.  This diagram was made to help explain how stars keep "burning" evenly, without cooling off or heating up.  For most of their lives, stars don't overheat, and they don't cool off.  These questions explore why this happens...
  1. Suppose the star happened to cool off a little.  How would the star's volume change?  Why?
  2. What force would cause the star's volume to change?
  3. Explain why that volume change would cause the star to heat back up?
  4. Now suppose the star happened to heat up a little.  How would the star's volume change?  Why?
  5. Explain why that volume change would cause the star to cool back down?

Today:

  • Quiz
  • Check/review page 2 of the stirling engine questions
  • Copy notes
  • Finish the stirling engines?

Homework:  Friday's class will be a make-up day, when you can make up any missing assignment or retake any quiz.  Take a look in PowerSchool and decide what you might need to do to prepare for Friday.
Class 17: Thursday, 10/19/2023
 Warm Up: 
When you go outside on a clear, moonless night, how far away are the closest and farthest objects that you can see with your "naked eyes?"

Today:

  • Add ice water reservoirs to your stirling engines.  Secure the reservoir with tape.  Caulk the seams and set the cylinder aside to cure.  We will finish the stirling engines on Monday.
  • Check out the 5th and Final Objects In Space Quizlet: Beyond The Solar System together. 
    • Look at the links on this page that go with the 3rd Quizlet.
  • Stirling Engine Questions (PDF)

Homework: 

  • Part 1:  Study Quizlet #5 to prepare for a short quiz next class.  Then submit the assignment in Google Classroom. This quiz will be fill-in-the blank, just like the flash cards.  There will be one bonus.
  • Part 2:  Finish the Stirling Engine Questions, if you didn't finish them in class.
Class 16: Tuesday, 10/17/2023
 Warm Up: 
How can we make a stirling engine go even faster?

Today:

  • hand out old work
  • Stirling engine work time

Homework: 

  • no homework
Class 15: Friday, 10/12/2023
 Warm Up: 
1.  What is the purpose of a flywheel?
2.  How do gasoline engines work?
3.  What are some differences between 2-stroke engines and 4-stroke engines? (better 4 stroke animation)
4.  How is this diesel engine different?  Is it a 2-stroke or a 4-stroke?
5.  What does a crankshaft do?  How many cylinders does the engine in the video have?

Today:

  • Cell phones in the caddy. 
  • Return Quizzes
  • Get grades straightened out.  Pay attention to Google Classroom assignments.  Don't forget to submit them.
  • Work on Stirling engines
    1. Finish your displacer.
    2. Add a string to your displacer.
    3. Duct tape the hole, thread the string, and add a plastic connector to your string.
    4. Add a connector to your membrane.
    5. Get a stand and write down the number next to your name on the board.
    6. Test your displacer.  Add a decapitated balloon to your cylinder.  Put your cylinder on the stand.  Light an alcohol burner. Raise and lower your displacer, using the string, and observe.
    7. Measure the movement of your balloon and displacer, in cm.  Divide those numbers by 2.
    8. Make a crankshaft.
    9. Connect your crankshaft to a flywheel.  Write your flywheel number on the board.
    10. Connect the power piston to the crankshaft with wire rod.
    11. Connect the displacer to the crankshaft.
    12. Test your engine!

Homework: 

  • None!  Enjoy your weekend!
Class 14: Wednesday, 10/11/2023
 Warm Up: 
What makes this Stirling engine puff out and "suck in?"

Today:

Homework: 

  • None!
Class 13: Thursday, 10/5/2023
 Warm Up: 
I measure the amount of force it takes to open my freezer door.  I close the door again.  Then I measure how much force it takes to open the freezer door a second time.  Video
1.  How is the required force different the second time? 
2.  Why?

Today:

  • Cell phones in the caddy. 
  • Return papers
  • Check/review homework
  • Modeling Astronomy Concepts: practice quiz
    • PDF
  • How does a Stirling Engine work?

Homework: 

  • Study for a quiz next class (next Wednesday), very similar to the practice quiz from today (and similar to the homework that was due today).  Then submit the assignment in Google Classroom.
Class 12: Tuesday, 10/3/2023
 Warm Up:  In the Phet States of Matter simulation, the container has a movable lid.  What happens if you use the finger to push the lid downward when the substance is in gas phase?
1.  What happens to the volume?
2.  What happens to the pressure?
3.  What happens to the temperature?
4.  Why?

Today:

  • Cell phones in the caddy. 
  • Return Quizzes.  You can retake the quiz any time in FLEX.  I haven't finished grading the video resubmissions.
  • Modeling Astronomy Concepts: 

Homework: 

  • Packet p. 12, (#17-28)
Class 11: Friday, 9/28/2023
 Warm Up: 
1.  What would happen if you made a hole through the center of the Earth, and you jumped in? 
2.  If you made it all of the way through, where would you come out?  (antipodes map)

Today:

  • Cell phones in the caddy. 
  • Quiz
  • Return (original copies of) the hot air balloon video grading sheets.  Go over the answers.  Prepare to do video corrections.

Homework: 

  • Unless your score was 36/36, correct your video for more points.
Class 10: Wednesday, 9/25/2023
 Warm Up: 

  1. What are the lines in the sky?
  2. How was the picture created?
  3. Why are the lines arranged in a circular pattern?
  4. If this picture was taken in the Northern Hemisphere, in which direction did the circles form? (clockwise or counter-clockwise)
  5. Which stars are moving faster, the inner ones or the outer ones? ** this is a trick question**
  6. If there is a star near the center, what is its name?
  7. Why did the photographer have to stop the picture before the stars made a complete circle?

Other long-exposure photos

Star trails on the equator

Today:

  • Cell phones in the caddy.  If they're ever needed, ask Mr. S. first.
  • Check to see that the videos are submitted correctly in Google Classroom. Make sure that I have access.
  • Look at the links on this page that go with the 4rd 4th Quizlet:  The Sun and Other Stars.
  • How should you study?  Do some quiz preparation together -- practice studying.

Homework: 

  • Study for the quiz next class (over Quizlets #3 and #4).  When you're done, submit the assignment in Google Classroom.
Class 9: Monday, 9/25/2023
Warm Up:

1.  Find Polaris (the North Star) in the picture on the right

2.  Why might Polaris be harder to find tonight?

3.  Suppose you went out last night and looked at the night sky, and it looked like the picture on the right.  What time was it?  Follow these directions for telling time with the Big Dipper.

Did you know that the Big Dipper isn't a constellation -- it's an asterism?

Today:

Homework: 

  • See Google Classroom -- submit your hot air balloon discussion video before next class
Class 8: Thursday, 9/21/2023
Warm Up:
What do you notice about this hot air balloon that I saw yesterday?

Today:

  • Return quizzes.
  • Check/review homework
  • Hot Air Balloon Activity
    • Make a hot air balloon.
    • Make (and save) a video of your balloon being heated, beginning to fly, and then flying.  Let's try to use Screencastify.
    • Next class:  Create a presentation explaining what's going on.

Homework: 

  • No homework!
Class 7: Tuesday, 9/19/2023
Warm Up:

1.  What will happen if I put a balloon over a flask of water and then boil the water? 

2.  What will happen if I put the flask on ice?

3.  Will the balloon behave differently if I put it on after the water is already boiling?

4.  What will happen if I inflate a balloon, tie it off, and then place it in cold water?

5.  Why does all of this happen?

Today:

  • Warm-up/Attendance
  • Optional Quiz retake
  • Modeling Astronomy Concepts: 

Homework: 

Class 6: Friday, 9/15/2023
Warm Up:
1.  According to this diagram from Wikipedia, on what date are we closest to the Sun?
2.  Is this diagram correct?
3.  Seasons on the Earth are not the same length.  In Vermont, which of our seasons would you guess is the longest?  Which is the shortest?
Orbit Simulation -- Explore a bit... Can you make the basic orbit more ellptical?  When, why, and how does the speed of the satellite change?  Is the Moon's orbit circular?  What happens if we get rid of gravity?

Today:

  • Warm-up/Attendance
  • Return Quizzes -- do you like your score?  What happened?  Does it need to be fixed, and if so, how?
    • Quiz score distribution
  • Take another look in PowerSchool.   -- what will your grade be when I put the quiz in?
    • Let's make sure everybody understands the grade they're seeing. 
    • Let's make sure everything is correct. 
    • Finally, if you need to fix something or complete a missing assignment, let's make sure that you know how to do that.
  • New Objects in Space --
  • Take a walk through a scale model of the solar system -- experience the vastness of space!
  • PUT UP CHAIRS

Homework: 

  • Practice the 3rd Quizlet: Satellites, Moons, Comets, and Orbits until you can answer the questions.  When you're done, submit the assignment in Google Classroom.
  • Optional:  If you want to improve your quiz score, study for a quiz retake next class.
Class 5: Wednesday, 9/13/2023
Warm Up:
1.  Suppose you hold an object at arm's length and use it to cover up the moon.  How large does the object need to be to perfectly cover up the moon?  Quarter sized?  Dime sized?  Something else?
2.  What if you wanted to cover up the Sun?  What object would be just the right size?
3.  This picture shows how eclipses happen as the moon revolves around the Earth.  Why don't we have two eclipses every month?

Today:

  • Attendance
  • Discuss homework
  • Quiz over the first two Quizlets
  • Practice with:
    • Google Classroom
    • PowerSchool
  • Postponed for a drier day...Walk through a scale model of the solar system

Homework: 

  • None!
Class 4: Monday, 9/11/2023
Warm Up:
1.  How can I crush a soda can using a hot plate and ice water?
2.  Forces are either pushes or pulls.  Is the force that crushes the can a push or a pull? 
3.  What exerts that force?

Today:

Homework: 

  • Study the second quizlet.
  • Quiz next class over the first two quizlets.
Class 3: Thursday, 9/7/2023
Warm Up:
1.  Why can't we see our breath right now?
2.  What can I do so that you can see my breath?
3.  How does that work?
4.  How does this relate to meteors?

Today:

  • Attendance
  • Modeling Astronomy Concepts: 
    • Finish the The Floating, Sinking, Floating, Sinking, Floating Challenge!  -- fill out a neater version of the worksheet.  20 minutes of work time.
    • Test your methods and award fruit snacks to the ones that work.
  • New seats
  • Check/review homework

Homework: 

Class 2: Tuesday, 9/5/2023
Warm Up:  Suppose one egg floats, one egg sinks, and one egg neither sinks nor floats.  What can you infer from this?

Today:

  • Phones in the caddy
  • Check/review homework
  • Note:  Tardies count, starting today!
  • Same seats -- I'm still working on names  -- I read about some of your seating preferences, and I will try to accommodate those on Thursday.
  • Check/review homework
  • Warm-up
  • Objects in Space -- I added a little to the Quizlet.  Check out the new bonus questions.
  • Modeling Astronomy Concepts:  Exploring Physics and Chemistry concepts that help explain astronomy
  • Get phones.

Links

Homework: 

Class 1: Thursday, 8/31/2023
Warm Up: 

The bottle on the right contains a "cartesian diver."  The diver dives when the bottle is squeezed, and the diver rises when the bottle is released. 

1.  Why does this happen?

2.  How does this relate to space science?

Today:

  • Phones in the caddy
  • Seating chart -- so I can learn names of students without pictures
  • Warm-up
  • Discuss passes
  • Practice names/pronunciations.  Get into seats (front rows).
  • Fill out the Student info sheet (PDF)
  • Get the ESS Course Expectations.  Important things you need to know...
    • Phones
    • Hall passes
    • The plan for the next few weeks:
      • "Objects in Space"
      • Modeling Astronomy Concepts: hands-on activities to experience some of the same processes that happen inside stars and during the Earth's formation
  • Objects in Space -- Begin Structure and Scale of The Universe -- making sense of the Quizlet facts
  • Modeling Astronomy Concepts:  Exploring Physics and Chemistry concepts that help explain astronomy
    • Begin Film Canister Submarine lab.
    • Clean up (B5/6 -- 1:05, B 7/8 --3:05)
  • Wait to get phones.