Thursday, May 10, 2018
12:30 - 1:45; 75 min. -
Physical Science:
Sound Waves -
Will used guitarband, an application on apple computers that makes graphs of sound, called sonigraphs. Will created some sonigraphs, while recording his movie. We examined these sonigraphs, and discussed how the energy created by his voice box, moved in waves, that were so tight, that it was difficult to see the waveform. We then extended the sonigraphs to show the waveforms. We then recorded different types sounds to compare waveforms.
Friday, May 11, 2018
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physical Science:
Light Year -
Will was tasked with measuring how far he walks in ten seconds, and then using his data to determine how fast he walks, and then how far he could walk in a minute, hour, day, and year. He was then asked to use the same calculations to determine how far light travels in in a minute, hour, day, and year. Finally he determined that light travels about 1.2 billion times faster than he walks. Homework: be ready for a test on Monday
Monday, May 7, 2018
1:00 - 2:30; 90 min. -
Physical Science:
Photo wave lab -
Will and I worked on activities that work in concert with light waves and manipulating the visible spectrum. We reviewed what the spectrum was and the primary colors of the spectrum. I reminded Will, that the primary colors he learned in art class, are different than the primary spectrum colors, but they work in the same fashion. We then turned to his Photoshop program to work a project, where Will was tasked with creating nuance using the primary spectrum colors. This program provided the spectrum colors, and prompted the student to find how the light bends to blend them into the wide variety we see around us. Using his movie images we continued the lesson while he manipulated some of his own photos.
Friday, May 4, 2018
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physical Science:
Units of Distance -
Will and I reviewed the practical and appropriate units situations where meters / yards, kilometers /miles would be used to determine distance.. We then discussed the units that would be used to measure between our Sun and another star in the Milky Way. Will was tasked with making a ‘distance to scale’ drawing of our Sun, Proxima Centauri, Sirius, and another SiSolar neighborhood some 33 light years from our system. We then discussed what kind of information that can be calculated from such a drawing, and the limitations of such a map. Homework: review vocabulary.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
12:30 - 1:45; 75 min. -
Physical Science:
Units of Distance -
Will and I discussed the practical and appropriate units one would use to measure distance in various scenarios ranging from the space between our chairs, his home and school, Palm Beach and Atlanta, and finally between the Earth and the Sun. We then worked out how far in meters it is between the Batt School and Will’s home. We then determined how many miles there are between the Earth and the Sun. I briefly described how scientists determined this distance. We decided that the number was too large to use easily and discussed the invention of the Astronomical Unit. We then discussed the units that would be used to measure between our Sun and another star in the Milky Way. After finding that the number of Astronomical Units there are between the Sun and the closest star ( Alpha Centauri) we found out why physicists use light years to measure distance.
Monday, April 30, 2018
1:00 - 2:30; 90 min. -
Physical Science:
Distance Lab 1-
After a review of the units of distance, and a discussion on the difference between volume and mass, Will and I started a Distance Lab Activity. Will was given some string and tasked with stretching it between his classroom door handle and the door handle of another student's door. He marked the string and brought it back to his room. He was then tasked with measuring the length of the string using a ruler, a meter stick, a yardstick, an unsharpened pencil, and his forearm. He recorded his data on a data sheet. We discussed which method was most appropriate, easiest and the most precise method to use for this task. I then asked him how he would measure the distance he travels from his front door to the front door of the school. Finally we discussed how he would find the distance between his home and Atlanta Georgia, without a computer or phone. We then discussed the map scale and map rose.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
12:30 - 1:45; 75 min. -
Physical Science:
Solar Flares -
Will and I reviewed light and how it is actually energy traveling in a wave. The length of the wave determines the amount, and kind, of energy that is moving. We reviewed why the sky is blue, and examined the spectrum to notice how blue light has the shortest wavelength, so it is refracted last by our atmosphere, and therefore expressed to our eyes. Will figured out that the sunset shows the other lights in the spectrum. We discussed the aurora borealis, and how light energy travels from the sun, to the poles of Earth, entering our atmosphere and giving us a show. I explained that this happens from solar storms called flares. We researched the most severe solar storms on record, and noticed that when a severe storm happens, it enters our atmosphere at the poles, and can sometimes be seen as far south as the Caribbean. The effect of these severe storms is the disabling of satellites, knocking our telecommunications out for a period of hours. We also noticed that the frequency of these storms is, so far, unpredictable.
Friday, April 27, 2018
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physical Science:
Units of Distance -
Will and I reviewed several units of measure used to determine distances. We started with the English system (miles), and the metric system (meters). We then moved to some that are used to measure distances related to energy waves (Mach, Knots, and Light Years). Will wrote the definitions of each in his notebook. We then discussed in which situations it is important to use these units. We also examined the speed of sound and the speed of light
Friday, April 20, 2018
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physical Science:
Light and Color -
Will was given a series of questions to answer, while watching the Bill Nye the science guy video on Light and Color. He was instructed to read the first question and answer it if he was confident in the answer. If he was uncertain, he was to watch the video and wait for Bill Nye to provide the answer. He worked his way through several questions. Homework: answer the remaining questions on his list.
Assignment
Homework: answer the remaining questions on his list.
