Science news
Middle school
In sixth-grade science, we wrapped up the kinetic and potential energies of the states of matter and now we are exploring thermal energy and how it transfers in the systems. By doing experiments, we found that thermal energy transfers from regions of higher temperatures to regions of lower temperatures and learned how freezers do not add “cold energy” to make water freeze, but remove thermal energy from the water, to lower the particles’ kinetic energy to the freezing point and turn the liquid water into solid ice!
In eighth-grade science, we explored the wonderful world that Sir Isaac Newton discovered centuries ago. We focused mainly on his second law of “a body in motion will stay in motion, and a body at rest will stay at rest, unless an outside force acts upon it” and his third law of “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” We found that forces are continuously acting upon us every second of the day. We applied Newton’s second law to the real life experience of tug-of-war. Seeing the flag in the center of the rope move either right or left, showed that there were unbalanced forces acting upon it and thus proving Newton’s second law. To prove Newton’s third law, we drew free body diagrams of a wind sail and watched videos of a man using a leaf blower who blew it into a makeshift sail and proved why it did not work.
Lastly, to wrap up the year, we are doing everyone’s favorite experiment of the egg drop! We are drawing free body diagrams of each position of the egg: while it is held high, while in free fall and when it contacts the ground. We are showing how Newton’s laws are being applied in all three scenarios and calculating the force, accelerations and velocities at each point.
In seventh-grade science, we completed our unit on Earth’s changing landforms and different types of rocks and minerals. Students had an opportunity to identify over 15 types of rocks and minerals in the rock lab. Some examples of rocks they were able to explore were granite, quartz, pumice, limestone, obsidian and silica. Students recently began a new unit on natural resources. They have discussed renewable and nonrenewable resources from energy, land, water and air resources. Coming up next is the distribution of natural resources across the globe and how humans have an impact on protecting our resources for the future.
High school
In chemistry class, we are diving into the world of molecular bonds and structures. We found how and why elements form different bonds with each other and came closer to understanding the behaviors of electrons! We furthered our understanding by breaking down molecules and chemical formulas into their complete ionic equations to comprehend what ions are combining and perform a double replacement reaction to yield a gas, precipitate or water. After we found why molecules form, we went further into finding their respective masses and how many atoms are in each molecule using Avogadro’s number of 6.022 x 10^23. Eventually we are going to expand on our findings to discover what limiting reagents are and finding how much of molecule “z” can be formed by combining molecules “x” and “y”.
In integrated science, we are exploring the more human biological side of the sciences. We started with understanding the basic cell and its organelles. We then dived into how cells undergo cellular differentiation to transition into specialized cluster of cells and make tissues, which led us to exploring the human body systems. We explored how the muscular and skeletal systems operate with one another to support the human body in structure, movement, protection, blood creation and circulation. Now we are all researching our own system of the body and will be presenting our findings as the year winds to an end. I am excited and cannot wait to see what these kids will discover about human anatomy and physiology in these last few weeks!
In biology, students are exploring the world of heredity and molecular genetics. Both simple and complex patterns of heredity give living things their uniqueness. Students practiced predicting outcomes of traits for offspring using a Punnett square. They also created pedigrees to help them understand genetic disorders and how beneficial and harmful traits can be passed from one generation to the next. Students also learned about the relatively modern history of the discovery of DNA and the race to develop the human genome in the 1990s–2000s. Currently, we are discussing the DNA molecule, DNA replication and protein synthesis which is how proteins are made from DNA and RNA molecules.
In body structures class, students explored the nervous and sensory systems. We dived into the complex design of the human brain, the anatomy of a nerve cell and how electrical impulses are sent throughout the body. In the sensory system, students participated in activities related to vision, hearing and equilibrium. We had a lot of fun dissecting a cow eyeball to better understand the anatomy of the eye! Body structure students are currently wrapping up the circulatory system. They are loving it with all their heart!
