There are just two weeks left to the quarter, so buckle down and keep moving forward! 🙂

This week in physics: We will continue to explore circular motion as we do assignment 1 followed by a quiz. Podcasts 1-4 from Unit 6 will help you review. Then we will set up an experiment to test the effect of changing radius or period on circular kinematics and dynamics variables. (The lab report for this will be due on Wednesday, March 20th with an upload required to TurnItIn.com by March 22 at 3:00. Mark those planners! ;)) For Thursday please take notes on Circular Motion Podcast 5 – Gravity and Circular Motion Podcast 6 – Center of Mass, Gravity, and Planetary Orbits. We will quickly jump into assignment 2. The test for this unit will likely be Monday/Tuesday of next week. (OGT week schedule. We will test when your class meets.)

This week in astronomy: We will quiz over content standards 1-4 on Monday (10th period) or Tuesday (2nd period) and then begin to relate the annual position of our sun to solar radiation and climate by analyzing radiation and climate data from satellite and weather sources. By Friday expect a test over this unit. Remember that the Unit 2 Podcast – The Ecliptic and its Implications contains most of the information you need for this test. Please note: Again, the weather forecast calls for unending clouds at night, so, by necessity, we’re extending the due date for the Unit 1 – Outdoor Lab by another week to March 11. Here’s hoping we get a break and can stick with that date! In addition, it’s time to announce the Unit 2 – Outdoor Lab! This requires many days of sunshine. Start now. I have no doubt that it will be reasonable to complete this by March 28, the day before spring break. Better take a look at the lab now and start planning your data collection strategy.

Cool Science of the Week: Scientists may have hit on a breakthrough in acne treatment. It seems that a certain probiotic is present in higher concentrations on the skin of people without acne compared to people with prevalent acne. Could use of this probiotic be beneficial? Clearly this needs further study, but the results are promising!

Welcome to another great week! Juniors, please remember to bring your scheduling forms to class with you on Monday. 

This week in physics: This week we mark the beginning of the end of our study of mechanics as we venture around the topic of circular motion in unit 6. Having covered the material in podcast 1 on Thursday and Friday of last week, you should take notes on podcast 2 and podcast 3 as homework for Monday. We will digest these quickly, so be ready to take notes on podcast 4 for Tuesday when we will also have a quiz over introductory concepts. We will work together on assignment 1 during the middle part of the week followed by a quiz. We will also examine circular motion by collecting data to analyze the relationship between period and centripetal force, but this will likely be early next week.

This week in astronomy: OH MY STARS. WILLWEEVERGETANIGHTWITHOUTCLOUDS? The five-day forecast says it won’t happen any time soon, so the Astronomy Unit 1 – Outdoor Lab is again postponed. Let’s try again for a due date of next Monday, February…what? March already!? OK, Monday, March 4th. (Note: You must print out the lab and do your work on the actual printed document.) THIS week we will continue our look at our brightest star, our own Sun, as we explore Unit 2: The Ecliptic Motion of the Sun in more detail. Our key independent variables will be time of year and latitude, and through a variety of activities we’ll examine the motion of the sun in relation to changes in these variables. A quiz will follow, and then we’ll turn up the heat by analyzing solar radiation in relation to the time of the year and the path of the sun. This is a quick unit, so expect a test next week. 🙂
P.S. Move yourself up on the awesomeness scale if you figured out what that red sentence said. 😛

Cool Science of the Week: Spring is coming, and with it come flowers…and, of course, electricity! New research suggests that flowers emit a slight electric field (a physics topic for us), and bees seem to respond to this field as much as they respond to fragrance and color. Sweet!

You’ve all been working so hard that I’ve decided that you can take Monday off from school. Enjoy! (While you’re off, you might want to consider the important contributions our presidents have made to our country. ;))

Everyone, this will be a bit of a wonky week. First, it’s only a four-day week. Second, we have to do course recommendations for next year, which means I will conference with all juniors individually during class activities. Finally, I have a professional conference with the Ohio Department of Education on Friday. We will do our best, but be ready for some adjustments to our routines.

This week in physics: On Tuesday we will finish unit 5 by completing assignment 4 and doing a culminating activity in which you’ll have to figure out a solution to an engineering conundrum. The test is on Wednesday. Study early and make arrangements soon if you need extra help. Please remember to do to write a research paragraph about the topic you chose related to momentum. We will not be turning in hard copies, so be sure to upload it to TurnItIn.com by Thursday at 3:00 so that I can grade your electronic document. (Class ID: 5463766; Password: physicsrules) Next we will take a look around the topic of circular motion in unit 6. This nice, short unit and will mark the end of our exploration of mechanics. I hesitate to give assignments for Thursday and Friday at this time, as we won’t know quite how the week will go until we get there.

This week in astronomy: Please remember to do the Astronomy Unit 1 – Outdoor Lab. It requires you to go outside at night to make observations, and it is due the day of the test, which is Wednesday. In addition, you should also do the Astronomy Unit 1 – Homework Questions as homework, due the day of the test. Remember to use the Astronomy Unit 1 – Unit Overview, the podcasts, and (if needed) the Astronomy Unit 1 – Readings to help you study. If you’ve lost your star maps, you can print new ones, since you’ll need them for the test (no sharing during the test): Star Map – North and South Declination and Star Map – Circumpolar Stars. On Thursday we will begin our next unit, The Ecliptic Motion of the Sun, which deals with the same things we did in unit 1 but during the daytime instead of the night. To get us started, in class on Thursday you’ll examine some data in order to draw conclusions about the sun’s motion, and then we’ll put it together cohesively as a class.

Cool Science of the Week: With all of the objects streaking through our sky from outer space this past week, it’s an appropriate time to tell you about a non-scary streaking sky object, our International Space Station. You can “Spot the Space Station” by signing up for emails and texts that will alert you when the space station will be visible in your area. Cool!

…and finally, I need not say more than simply…

We’re past the mid-point of third quarter! Parents, interim reports are finalized for viewing on GBW.

This week in physics: On Monday we will complete assignment 3 followed by a quiz on Tuesday over elastic, totally inelastic, and inelastic collisions (podcasts 5-9 from Unit 5- Momentum). Then we’ll explore the last set of this unit’s learning goals which cover the Impulse-Momentum Theorem. We will start by collecting and analyzing some data about the variables force, time, mass and velocity in order to draw conclusions about momentum change. You should watch the remaining podcasts for this unit for either Tuesday or Wednesday as announced in class. We’ll end by completing assignment 4. The unit test will be at the end of this week or early next week. Oh, and YOU! Yes, YOU! Please remember that your lab report for the conservation of momentum lab is due on Wednesday, February 13. Uploads to TurnItIn.com are due Friday by 3:00. (Class ID: 5463766; Password: physicsrules), and you need to share your Google Drive document with me at [email protected] by then, as well. (Note: I do not use that email for correspondence.)

This week in astronomy: We will continue our analysis of the appearance of the celestial sphere at different latitudes by deepening our exploration of the circumpolar stars. The end of podcast 2 and all of Celestial Sphere Podcast 3 – Circumpolar Stars will support your work. A quiz will follow early in the week, and then we’ll analyze the phenomenon of the seasonal constellations as we differentiate between Earth’s sidereal and solar days. Celestial Sphere Podcast 4 – Seasonal Constellations and Star Magnitude coincides with this topic. We’ll end the week with a fun activity in which you’ll analyze data without having any idea what you’re supposed to find. The best part is that you’ll find it anyway! And that will be the end of that. Test next week! Oh, and YOU! Yes, YOU! Please remember that you should begin the Astronomy Unit 1 – Outdoor Lab once we finish our exploration of circumpolar stars. It requires you to go outside at night to make observations, and it will be due the day of the test. Also please remember that if you need some extra perspective on our topics, the Astronomy Unit 1 – Readings may be of help. 🙂

Cool Science of the Week: First item of business: We explored this in a blog post earlier in the year, but since the post-Valentine’s Day asteroid event will occur next Friday, let’s take another look! Long story short: An asteroid will pass between a layer of our satellites (called the geosynchronous satellites) and Earth on Friday, February 15th. That’s pretty stinkin’ close, but by no means is it an all-that-rare event, and it is also not dangerous. Unfortunately it will not be visible to us here in the western hemisphere, and those on the other side of the world will need telescopes to see it. How-evs, this website will post links to live telescopic video, so check it out if you’re interested!

Finally……hedgehogs. Just…hedgehogs. In little habitats. That people make. In their backyards. In England. (They’re not native to North America.) I mean, seriously. Ridiculously cute.

Onward!

This week in physics: On Monday we will continue to work on analyzing and solving problems related to the Law of Conservation of Momentum as we plow through assignment 2, aiming for a quiz on Tuesday/Wednesday, as announced. The following podcasts will support your studying:  Momentum Podcast 2 – Conservation of Momentum part 1, Momentum Podcast 3 – Conservation of Momentum part 2, and Momentum Podcast 4 – Conservation of Momentum Sample Problem. On Tuesday we will analyze data from last week’s lab with a slight twist: Instead of analyzing momentum, we’ll analyze kinetic energy. This will lead us to draw some sweet conclusions about the role energy plays in collisions. The podcasts you watch for Wednesday will further illuminate the concepts, so for Wednesday please view and take notes on…

• Momentum Podcast 5 – Elastic Collisions part 1
• Momentum Podcast 6 – Elastic Collisions part 2
• Momentum Podcast 7 – Totally Inelastic Collisions part 1
• Momentum Podcast 8 – Totally Inelastic Collisions part 2
• Momentum Podcast 9 – Inelastic Collisions

Working through these concepts and practicing problems (with the ActivExpressions) will take us some time, so expect to spend the rest of the week on this. It is likely that we’ll work on assignment 3 on Thursday/Friday, but I doubt we’ll get to the quiz by the end of the week. Next week we’ll explore the last set of learning goals for this unit, so a test looms on the horizon! 😛 Finally, please remember that your lab report for the conservation of momentum lab is due on February 13.

This week in astronomy: As announced, we’ll take a quiz over: the diurnal motion of Earth as well as the apparent diurnal motion of the celestial sphere; the location of the celestial equator based on latitude; determining the limits of south declination stars visible at different latitudes. Celestial Sphere Podcast 2 – Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole up to but not including the information on the celestial north pole will help you, and you may also want to review the concept of declination from Celestial Sphere Podcast 1 – Star Mapping if that’ still a struggle for you. Following the quiz we’ll continue our analysis of the appearance of the celestial sphere at different latitudes by figuring in the location of the celestial north pole and exploring the circumpolar stars. The end of podcast 2 and all of Celestial Sphere Podcast 3 – Circumpolar Stars will support your work. A quiz will follow, and then we’ll start to distinguish between seasonal constellations and circumpolar stars by exploring the concept of sidereal and solar days. Celestial Sphere Podcast 4 – Seasonal Constellations and Star Magnitude will help, but this will be toward the very end of the week (if that) and into next week. We are nearing the end of this unit, so start gearing up for a test by the end of next week/early the following week. In addition (TAKE NOTE!) you should begin the Astronomy Unit 1 – Outdoor Lab once we finish our exploration of circumpolar stars. It requires you to go outside at night to make observations, and it will be due the day of the test. A final item: If you need some extra perspective on our topics, the Astronomy Unit 1 – Readings may be of help. 🙂

Cool Science of the Week: Well, this is weird, even by my standards, and sort of Frankenstein-ish. Scientists have created conditions under which a synthesized compound behaves as if…”It’s alive. ALIVE!!!”

Welcome to another great week in the world of science!

This week in physics: First of all, remember that your 5-7 sentence paragraph describing what you discovered about your own personal learning goal for the energy unit is due Monday. Having conquered the topic of energy, we now cruise forward at top velocity into Unit 5 – Momentum, and, yes, this week will go very fast! Please start by watching Momentum Podcast 1 – Introduction to Momentum. We will do assignment 1 in class on Monday to solve tons of awesome problems, and then we’ll take a quiz on Tuesday. We will also begin the Conservation of Momentum Lab. (The lab report for this lab will be due on February 13.) In the lab you will collect data about collisions and examine the data to find patterns, which will lead you to figuring out the formula we’re after. Don’t watch podcasts on Conservation of Momentum until Wednesday so as not to give any secrets away, but you should prepare for class on Wednesday by watching Momentum Podcast 2 – Conservation of Momentum part 1, Momentum Podcast 3 – Conservation of Momentum part 2, and Momentum Podcast 4 – Conservation of Momentum Sample Problem. On Thursday and Friday we will solve gobs of amazing problems as we practice with the ActivExpressions and then do assignment 2.

This week in astronomy: We will take our quiz on star mapping, so bring your flashlights and star maps to the planetarium on Monday, and rewatch Celestial Sphere Podcast 1 – Star Mapping to study. Following the quiz we will observe the diurnal (“daily”, or 24-hour) motion of the stars in the planetarium and explore the celestial equator and celestial north pole in more detail. These two podcasts will support our work: Celestial Sphere Podcast 2 – Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole and Celestial Sphere Podcast 3 – Circumpolar Stars. A focus will be on examining the differences in the sky at different latitudes, so get ready to use those spatial thinking skills to analyze and predict what the sky will look like if you travel. Good stuff! Expect a quiz late this week or early next on these two podcasts.

Cool Science of the Week: If you could travel to the center of our Milky Way galaxy without getting sucked into a supermassive black hole and could take off your space suit without quickly losing consciousness and dying within a couple of minutes, then you could open your mouth and taste…raspberries!?!? Apparently true…and delicious!

Welcome to a short but amazing week!

This week in physics: By Tuesday you must have great notes completed on podcasts 12, 13, and 14 from our unit on energy. We’ll do assignment 3 in class on Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a test on Thursday or Friday. (Yes, last week I predicted we’d take it early this week, but my conference on Thursday and the fact that we have Monday off has bumped us a smidge. Try to contain your disapointment. :-P) Next week: A quick unit on momentum!

This week in astronomy: This is our big planetarium week, so come to class excited!!! We’ll spend the first part of the week practicing mapping the stars and finding them in the “sky.” (You need your flashlights this week. We’ll ultimately take a quiz, and you may not share flashlights. Without a flashlight, you won’t be able to see your map.) Podcast 1 will help you prepare for the quiz. Following this we’ll explore the motion of our night sky and begin doing meridian diagrams in which we’ll identify key markers, such as the celestial equator and the celestial north pole. These will help us better analyze the motions of the stars as we “travel” across the globe. Podcast 2 will lend support to our work. We’ll continue with this topic deep into next week. FUN!!!

Cool Science of the Week: This is from the “Oh no they didn’t!” files…Over 34,000 citizens signed a petition asking President Obama to build the Death Star. Hahahahah!!!! Continuing the “Oh no they didn’t!” thread, the White House responded…with an AWESOME overview of our space program. It’s worth a read…Enjoy!

Special bonus opportunity (astronomy only): What moon in our solar system resembles the Death Star?

Welcome to the start of a new semester! A note to my retiring astronomy students: Unless you would like to continue reading the witty banter available through this blog, you might want to unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of the emails you receive.

This week in physics: Be sure to have watched all podcasts from the energy unit up through podcast 11 by Monday. We will work on assignment 2 in class on Monday, and what is not finished in class is due as homework for Tuesday. Following completion of the assignment we’ll have a quiz over the topics of work and the work-energy theorem. The next topic is the Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy, and you should watch the following podcasts by the date assigned in your class:

• Energy Podcast 12 – Conservation of Energy
• Energy Podcast 13 – Conservation of Energy Sample Problem 1
• Energy Podcast 14 – Conservation of Energy Sample Problem 2

We’ll complete assignment 3 and assignment 4 in short order with a quiz mixed in. Expect the unit test early next week. After that, we’ll gather some…MOMENTUM! 🙂

This week in astronomy: Welcome to the course! This week we will go over course details and take a preassessment early in the week. Immediately thereafter we will begin mapping the sky and identifying stars in the planetarium. As homework be sure to watch Celestial Sphere Podcast 1 – Star Mapping to support our work in class. This will be fun!

Cool Science of the Week: In the spirit of welcoming new students to astronomy, check out this “Animated Flight through the Universe” based on a montage of telescopic images of 400,000 galaxies. If you own even 1/4 of the nerdy factor that I do, it will make you think of this scene from Star Wars Episode II:

A special thank you goes to Mrs. Cruz for sending in the link to this animation!

More cool science: Some of you met Mr. Wilson’s planet-hunter friend, astronomer Nate Kaib, when he visited in December. Well, MSNBC just did a write-up on his work. It’s like you know someone famous-ish! Check it out!

It is here! The end of the semester is upon us, marking a victorious moment for you as you conquer the material from this semester. Please start studying as soon as possible. The exam schedule is…

(Click the image.)

 Physics: Your exam will cover units 1, 2, 3, and part of 4 (as discussed in class.) Use the “Unit Overview” documents to see the standards (“learning goals”) you need to master, including sample questions and lists of skills. Please use the podcasts and do practice problems from the book. I will run review sessions after school on January 3rd, 4th, and 7th as well as before school on January 4th and 7th.

Astronomy: Your exam will cover all six units from the course.

Study Strategies:

• When watching podcasts or reviewing notes, don’t sit passively. Instead construct a cognitive map (“web”) out of the notes. We’ve talked in class about the benefits of this approach. See a sample here.
• Do practice problems. For physics, retry problems from the book and check your answers against your old homework. Also quiz yourself from the questions in the unit overviews. For astronomy, go over the old homework, quiz yourself from the unit overviews, and practice skills such as star mapping and meridian diagrams referenced in the overviews.
• Physics: Go to the web apps linked from the homepage of our website as well as from each unit’s webpage. Also review your lab reports to ensure you can analyze similar data. (You don’t need to memorize lab procedures or results.)
• Break your studying up into multiple short sessions. You’ll encode the information better.
• Spend enough time studying.

Cool Science of the Week: This is just fun and cool. Scientists use satellites to track navigational patterns of tagged sharks, and you can see them “ping.” Sixteen-footer Mary Lee just pinged this afternoon (12-21) off of Cape Cod. For those of you vacationing near beaches, it sure is fun to think about! 😉

One week until vacation! One week that we still get to do work! 🙂

This week in physics: We will deepen our exploration of the energy unit. Because we’ll be doing modeling in class, do not watch the podcasts until I tell you you’re ready. (Sixth period, you’re ready! :))

• Energy Podcast 1 – Gravitational Potential Energy
• Energy Podcast 2 – Positive & Negative Potential Energy (NOTE: We will not go over this in class unless you have questions. You are nonetheless responsible for the material.)
• Energy Podcast 3 – Elastic Potential Energy
• Energy Podcast 4 – Kinetic Energy

Following the full discussion of these podcasts, we’ll do assignment 1 followed by a quiz. Next you’ll need to watch the following podcasts by the date assigned in class:

• Energy Podcast 5 – Work
• Energy Podcast 6 – Positive & Negative Work (NOTE: We will not go over this in class, either, unless you have questions. You are nonetheless responsible for the material.)
• Energy Podcast 7 – Work-Energy Theorem

We’ll then to practice problems and assignment 2 followed by a quiz. Podcasts 8, 9, 10, and 11 will support your work.

This week in astronomy: We will explore the wild, spooky, cool, and bizarre aspects of our universe, including astronomical theories* of its birth and the possibilities for its death. Come prepared to be inspired to think so hard that your brain hurts! 🙂

* We will discuss these as theories of astronomy, which is what this course teaches. We will do so with respect for other views.

Cool Science: Will the Earth be destroyed on Friday, eliminating the need to study for January’s exams?

Not likely, if you take science as your guide. Let’s look at some of the rumors:

• Myth: An alignment of all the planets in our solar system will gravitationally tug at Earth, disrupting our orbit and making tidal waters flood and recede.
  • Reality: There won’t be an alignment like this, but if there were, the gravitational effect would not be significant. Moreover, it’s happened many times in Earth’s history (last was in Y2K,) and we’re still here. Chalk one up for us! 🙂
    
• Myth: The Sun and Earth will align with the center of the Milky Way galaxy, exposing us to a massive blast from a magnetic field and a huge gravitational shift. The result will be an obliteration of migratory patterns for animals, erasure of our electronic communication systems, and other general deatlhy chaos.
  • Reality: It’s true that this alignment will occur, but it will be at its peak a few days before the solstice. Moreover, there won’t be any change to the gravitational effect of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way or magnetic fields emitted by the black hole because the change in our position relative to it won’t be significantly different from any other time. (We’re really far away. Take a step to the south, and you’re not significantly closer to Florida than you were before.) Finally, this alignment occurs regularly. This has all happened before, and it will happen again. (Battlestar Gallactica reference intended.) This article from NASA explains all of this in more detail.
• Myth: It’s the winter solstice.
  • Reality: It’s the winter solstice. 🙂
• Myth: Semester exams are the week of January 7, 2013.
  • Reality: Semester exams really are the week of January 7, 2013. Next week’s blog will fill you in. 🙂