Research, Research, Research!

HIS Science students are working hard on all sorts of research!

Grade 7: Students chose their projects and what 2 body systems they wanted to research and began working on Research Questions #1-3. The students are excited to get to work on their "product," but first they need to find all sorts of information.

Grade 8: Students are finishing up their research on biomes and will begin putting it into a narrated Powerpoint slideshow this week. In class, we talked about the purpose of a Powerpoint and why it's important to limit the text on each slide. We discussed the KIS method (Keep it Simple!) and talked about how each slide should be a skeleton of the information. The "meat" should be filled in by the actual presentation.

Grade 10: This is the week! Energy Bars are officially due this Friday, along with their finished website. It is really "crunch time" (no pun intended...okay, it was!) and students will be very busy this week. The school-wide taste test is next week and students will have to produce over 90 samples of their finished product. Yum!

Grade 9: Students just finished up their "Science is Sweet!" project that it due today. Students used their knowledge of atoms and moles and their research on molar mass to figure out how many carbon atoms there were in a bag of sugar. This week they will be formally tested over their knowledge in a written test. Good Luck! Study Hard!

Snarflemuckers, RAFTS, and Energy Bars...Oh My!

Why do we need a Snarflemucker?
This week the Grade 8 Science students will begin their Ecology Expedition. Students will investigate biomes, the principles of ecology and adaptation through a project involving the creation of an ecosystem in which a Snarflemucker lives. What is a Snarflemucker, you ask? Well, we will just have to wait to find out! Stay Tuned!

What is a RAFT Project?
Grade 7 Science students started their human body projects and got to make LOTS of choices as to how they want to show what they know. Students got to choose 1 of 6 RAFT choices. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, Topic. Students projects can range from being a sandwich and creating a travel blog of their journey through digestion to playing the role of a doctor at a conference presenting a research paper to colleagues. Keep reading to see how their choices unfold!

In other news...here is what is going on in the other Science Classes:

Science 9: Students have been working on calculating the amount of molecules in a certain mass of an element. This week they will begin to apply this information to compounds. Instead of reading about how to do it...students will be given a bag of sugar and asked to find out how many Carbon atoms are in it! Science is so sweet!

Science 10: After creating their first energy bar prototype students reflected on their progress. Check out these student reflections: David S, Eira L, Terence L, and Vivian C. You might be asking, "what does this have to do with Biology?" Well, students have researched everything that is going into their bars. They have analyzed the best nutrition for athletes and used this research to inform their decisions about the bars. They are still working on their websites...but check out their progress in the sidebar. Keep it up, Energy Bar Scientists!

SMASH DAY! 2...and the Weekly Grind

SMASH DAY!

Last Monday was our second SMASH DAY! Students were given the task of building a paper structure that could hold a 50 g weight. The team with the tallest tower that held the weight was handsomely rewarded (yum...HiChew Candy!).

Students were give 5 pieces of A4 paper, 1 meter of scotch tape, and scissors. Grade 8 students quickly realized that the instructions did not technically say they couldn't used the scissors in the design. Sneaky Students!

We cleared that up for Grade 9! The winning students overall were Jezz and Savanna...who had an 83 cm tower! Good Job!

The Weekly Grind:

Science 7: We are finishing up our "How do we describe matter?" Expedition this week. The students have worked hard to learn all about matter...and now they will put their skills to work. Each student will get a "mystery liquid" and have to identify the liquid based on its characteristic properties.

Science 8: We are finishing up our "Can Matter Disappear?" Expedition. Students have investigated the effect of physical and chemical changes on the mass of the substances. On Wednesday students will take a lab test where they will show what they have learned through this expedition.

Science 9: We are elbow deep in electron configuration! This week students are looking at orbital shapes and using these shapes to explain why certain energy levels can hold certain numbers of electrons.

Science 10: Energy Bar projects are in progress. We are starting to decide on ingredients...and by the end of this week all the groups will have made their first energy bar prototype. Students are currently struggling to figure out how to get the bar to stick together. Good Luck!