Today we started Unit 7: Forces and Motion! Tomorrow we will measure the amount of work and power some students have as they participate in the lab, "Running the Stairs".
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How AWESOME is that! One group had a 13.3 degree difference from outside to inside temp! SUPER! Only one team went over the 120 degree stop point! They did a great job on this!
Today we find out how well students are able to keep their internal POD temperature from rising in our environment that boasts a slightly hotter temperature than Earth! Prior testing has shown that it can get to between 107 and 110 degrees inside of our model planet. We will be taking the difference between the air outside of their POD and the air inside of their POD! Hopefully, all of our "astronauts" will survive inside!
Students are working hard to make their 2D drawing a 3D reality! Although we have not yet begun to test them, I am excited to see how they turn out! Today we worked on diagramming a design and writing a rationale and cost analysis for our project. Students only had $100 to spend and had to justify their decisions based on the experiments earlier in the week. Tomorrow we will begin our building and testing phase!
Today we began tests for materials to use in our structures. Using digital thermometers and a variety of small pieces of material, students took data. Students also used their data to determine additional tests to complete. We will continue with the design phase tomorrow!
Today I introduced a new group project for the students concerning thermal energy transfer. Students will be designing and building structures that prevent the flow of thermal energy to protect a tiny human on the inside. Today we learned how to use the digital instant thermometers and did a few tests. On Monday, we will begin with specific tests for each of the materials and begin developing our plans.
This week we are exploring thermal energy more in depth and today students started an experiment to test how different cups allow thermal energy transfer. We will continue this experiment tomorrow, and analyze the data on Friday. Below are the notes handed out earlier this week.
We have spent a good amount of time discussing how energy cannot be created or destroyed and now we will begin to apply that information. We worked with the interactive below today and glued in some everyday objects to begin exploring on Tuesday.
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/energy-skate-park-basics I just love this lab! Nothing gets the kids excited like designing their own roller coaster! It also allows them to work with kinetic and potential energy and manipulate them in a way that works for them! Tomorrow we will rebuild and present! |
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