Week of december 14th

this week we learned about Newton's third law.  

The law says that every action has an opposite reaction.  

We proved this when Laura and I did an experiment.  

We both sat on carts.  

Then i pushed as hard as i could on laura's knees.  

Instead of having laura just move back, i did too because she pushed back on me.  

Even thought she didn't really notice she was pushing, she was, because i moved back.

If she didn't push on me then i wouldn't have moved.  

We also saw Mr. Finley do an experiment.

He was standing on a cart and pushing or pulling on the door handle.

When Mr. Finley was on the cart, he tried to open the door but the force of the door pushed him away. 

When he was holding the door shut, the force of the door made him come towards it.

What is the real world application? 

- It shows that no matter what force it is, there will always be something pushing back on you.  Also there is always the earth's force which is gravity.

the week of december 7th

What did we learn this week???

• We learned all about weight and mass. 
• Mass is a measure of how much matter an object has. Weight is a measure of how strongly gravity pulls on that matter.
  
• we also talked about our weight changing in an elevator. (we saw a video clip on that with a girl who was 97 pounds in  an elevator and her highest weight in the elevator was 105 pounds and her lowest was 87 pounds. this shows how much the weight can differ depending where you are)
• we talked about weight on the moon too.  Since there is not a lot of gravity pulling you down, you practically float. You weigh a lot less too!
• we did more force diagrams this week, and we paired them with motion diagrams.
• For one of the homework assignments we talked about people pulling carts in different directions and the unbalanced forces of that.
• We also did an experiment and i was one of the testers/volunteers.
• the experiment was that me and laura pulled mark that was holding on to the rope that we were  pulling and he was sitting in the cart. Laura and i had to stay at the same speed the whole time or the experiment wouldn't work.  Then we added John-robert onto the cart (i think) and it was even harder to push, so they accelerated slower than the first time. To make it even harder aage hopped onto the cart and they hardly moved at all.  That shows that the greater the mass the less acceleration. And the less the mass the more the acceleration. And the greater the force the greater the acceleration.  Which also means that the less the force the less the acceleration.

How did we learn these ideas???

• We learned this by watching the video clip and doing the experiment that i just explained above.

Why are these ideas important???

If you see someone pushing a car to get it started you will know how hard it is to do because you will know what forces are pushing against the car and the person.

week of November 30th

On monday:

-we had a test on Tuesday so on Monday we had a review.

On Tuesday:

-we had the test (i hope we get it back soon!!!!)

On Wednesday:

- we learned about force diagrams.  

-Mickey was holding a basketball and a bowling ball(which i helped him hold.. thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  he was pushing harder to have the bowling ball stay up than he was on the basketball because the bowling ball was a lot heavier. 

-we learned how to make force diagrams.  We made a force diagram for the house on the hand.

-we also learned that the earth always has a force on any object. The force is called GRAVITY.  :] big word!!

On Thursday:

-We learned that you can have more forces going one way.

-We also wondered if the table applied force???.. Our conclusion is that yes, the table does apply force.  It applies it on the ground.  it is also pushing up because it supports any object that goes on it. 

-The last thing we did was watch Mr. Finley pull Adytia on the ground. 

The forces were:

             -the surface of the ground pushing up

             - the earth (gravity) pulling down

             - mr.finley's hand

On Friday:

- WE PUSHED MR.FINLEY'S CAR!!! AHHH 

- we went outside and pushed mr.finley's car. This would help us understand about forces. When people pushed at the same time the car did not move but when we were all on one side of the car the car went pretty far!!! (we are strong!) 

-and poor mickey!! his foot got runover by the car!!!:( haha

What science ideas did i learn?

-I learned all about forces and force diagrams.  And we learned how to write math expressions and pictures.  We also learned how to label the force diagrams correctly.

Why is it important to learn this?

- It applies to a lot of real life situations.

- Force is how you know which object is heavier, so if you want to know if you can lift something heavy then you would have to be able to apply enough force.  

okkay thats all...

byee

-------------Kathy----------------

The science ideas that i learned this week:

• I learned how to make different types of motion diagrams
• I also learned what they were used for and how they were created.
• To make a motion diagram you would first draw dots, just like on the dot diagram ( we stopped using that because they weren't that accurate and like Mr. Segen said,"they sucked"
• After drawing the dots you would draw arrows connecting them. The length of the arrows tells us the speed of the object, and the way that the arrow is facing tells us the direction. 
• You also label the positive and negative direction, and the origin.
• Then you write V1 V2 V3 V4.. over each point to show how many velocities there are.
• Motion diagrams can go up, down, left, and right.  Doing this will help the person that is looking at it really understand what the motion diagram is saying.  It will also be a lot more accurate.
• Another idea that we learned is the delta v. It is represented by a triangle and a v or just a big arrow.  it is the way to find change in velocity.  
• When an object is speeding up: delta v and v are going in the same direction
• When the object is slowing down: delta v and v are going in opposite directions.

• For homework on Wednesday I had to create a story and create a motion diagram.  My story was: The car was going at a steady pace, then it slows down to go through a yellow light, and then continues at a steady speed.  (I still don't know how to put pictures on here, but soon i will learn!!!) My motion diagram started off having the dots the same distance away from each other. This means that the arrows were the same length.  Then the dots got closer and closer together, and the arrows got shorter in length.  Then the dots sped up and went back at a steady pace, the arrows got longer and longer and then stayed the same length (just like at the beginning.)

What real world application is there?????

• In our every day lives we are speeding up and slowing down and now we found the proper way to record that.  When we drive, run, and walk we are speeding up and slowing down even if we don't notice it.

~kathy gagliano~       :):):):):):):):):):):)

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2nd

On Monday:

 we took a partner quiz.  My partner was Laura!!! I didn't take any notes that day so I'm not really sure what else we did that day. sorry:(.  

On Tuesday:

 we talked about trend lines.  

A trend line: is created by drawing a straight line through points on a graph.  The line will not connect every point, but it will connect the ones that are in a straight line. 

- I wish I could upload a graph, but i don't know how too... i will find out and put it on next time.  I will ask Mr. Seagan or Mr. Finley...

On Wednesday:

We went over our homework.  I was very confused about it but then we did it in class and i finally understood it.  

-We also found out the definition of what a function is.  

Function: A rule, when you already have the independent variable and want to find the dependent variable.

-We also learned how to find a slope.  You find a slope by position divided by time= slope. 

All of these ideas are very important because we use graphs a lot.  We have to know how to interpret them.. we use them a lot in math but more importantly in science.  Since we didn't take a lot of notes this week, my blog is not as long.  I really liked having a three day week!!!!! okayyyy bye...

Science blog 10.26.09

-This week i learned what a physical quantity is.  Examples of physical quantity are: meters, kilometers,grams,inches,quarts,pounds,miles,feet,and cups.  

-We also learned how to make graphs, dot diagrams, and tables.  These show how fast an object is moving, and if it moving at a constant pace.  

-If an object starts moving very slow and then continues to speed up, the dot diagram would look like this: . . .  .   .    .     .      .       .        .         .

-If an object starts fast and slows down, the dot diagram would look like this: .      .     .     .    .   .  . . . ....

-If the object stays at a steady pace, the dot diagram would look like this: .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

-We made the graphs by labeling the x axis TIME and the y axis POSITION. 

-On Friday we used a motion detector/graphing machine.  Mr. Seagan would draw a graph on the board and we would have to figure out how to move so that the graph on the machine and the graph on the board would look the same.  It was challenging at first but once my classmates helped me and told me how to move we got the graph on the machine to look exactly like the one on the board!!!!!!  

week of october 19th

At the beginning of this week we had a test!!!! FUN!! On Tuesday we dissected cow eyes!! I was the only one in the class that hardly went near the eye.. it was kind of gross if you ask me.  It was also very interesting to see what it was made of.  I can't really describe it to you in detail but what i can tell you is that there was this goo that came out of the cow eye.  There was also this clear ball that came out after we cut the eye open.. that was PLEASANT!!! ewww no it wasn't.  On wednesday we started a new unit.  MOTION.  At the beginning of class we made cute little paper telescopes.  Mr. Seagan held a ball in his hand and walked across the room.  We found that even though the ball itself wasn't moving,  it still was in motion because Mr. Seagan was in motion and he was the one that was holding the ball. We learned that the initial orientation was where the ball was to begin with.  We found out that one way to tell if an object is moving is if we look at the backround and see if it is changing.  If it is changing then it means the object is in motion, or it is moving.  To know if an object is moving or not you would need something to compare to.  On thursday i was absent... darn... i hate missing my favorite class!!! hahahaha anyway....  On friday we started a lab or an experiment type of thing.  We used an electric car.  We had to test if the car sped up, slowed down, or stayed the same as it traveled along a straight, flat surface.  I predicted that it would stay the same speed the whole time. Then i tried to mark where the car was every second... i found that it stayed at the same speed through the whole test.  SOOOOOOOOOOOOO the main subject that I learned this week was MOTION.  motion is so important because mostly every living thing moves in some way or another.. and it is something that we do ALL the time ( even when we are sleeping).  We breath all the time and that means we are constantly moving.

K bye

KATHY:) 

Week of october 12th

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The first thing we did this week was talk about why light bends. Then we went to all of these stations "carnival".  We went on the internet and looked at different videos of waves. The first video that I saw supported the Wave Model because the waves bounced off the wall and crossed over the other waves.  The second video I saw didn't support it because it moved too fast.  The third one did support it because it bounced off the wall but it also split and went around it.  The last one, like the first one, supported it because it bounced back.  For homework we answered questions on the review sheet.  This helped me to review for the test.  We drew a Ray diagram.  It showed where the light would go if it reflected off of and and if there was a wall in the way. We also drew a lot of rays and then put in pieces off wall to show why the light was going in all different directions.  I drew a helicopter because we were testing if there would be a big shadow or a small shadow when the helicopter was 1000 feet in the air.  It was a small but clear shadow because a lot of light was getting between the helicopter and the ground.  I also found out that when light hits a surface it reflects or refracts (one, other, or both).  This is because it depends on the surface.  We learned three key terms this week: opaque, transparent, and translucent.  Opaque means no light can go through (reflects).  Transparent means light can go through (refracts).  Translucent means it reflects and refracts, a little bit of light can still pass through.  We drew a line and had transparent on the far left, translucent in the middle, and opaque on the far right.  Then we reviewed how we see an object.  Light bounces off the object and the rays cross right at it hits the eye and then the brain flips the object.  For homework we tried to predict what will happen when light bounces off a prism.  I thought that the light would bounce around inside the prism, come out, and go in all different directions.  We watched an experiment on the computer.  There were two slinkies, a less dense one, and a more dense one.  My hypothesis was that the slinkies were like light waves.  The experiment was to have two slinkies attached and make a wave out of it.  My prediction was that the less dense slinky should wave more than the more dense slinky.  The result was that my prediction was correct and that the bigger wave was always the less dense slinky. The conclusion was that we failed to disprove our hypothesis.

I am now going to study for the test!!!!

-Kathy Gagliano

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week of october 5th

hi:)

This week we started talking about analogies.  An analogy is a comparison between two things. We compared light to all different things such as: a cheetah, a bouncy ball/basketball, and sound. Light is like a  cheetah because it travels fast!!! Light is like a bouncy ball and a basketball because it bounces off of things. Light is like sound because it travels in waves. We also talked about the difference between a hypothesis and a prediction. Hypothesis: can be proven and disproved. It is a very general statement. Prediction: is the expected outcome. It is a very specific statement. We then talked about the particle model of light. It shows that light travels in packs of particles!!! (WOW). After that we talked about the law of reflection. The law of reflection is that the angle of reflection=angle of incidence. After we learned that we did a test with a laser and a pitcher of water. There were two predictions left after we finished crossing stuff out (C&E). Both of the predictions showed that there would be two laser dots in the pitcher. Then we did an experiment with a ruler in a tub thing of water. The ruler had the image that it was bent. When it hit the water it looked like it somehow reflected or bent. The ruler wasn't actually bent, it was the light that bounced off of it that made it look like it was bent. Then on wednesday we made a venn diagram. It was Particles vs. Waves. Isaac Newton was the man that believed light traveled in particles. Christiaan Huygens was the man that believed light traveled in waves. They both thought it reflected. We then discussed how the light travels through the prism (like in the video that we did for homework). It supports the Particle Model Model of light because it reflects off objects. It also traveled in a narrow straight line. The video showed that the light was bending when it hit the prism and when it was leaving. Then we we talked about what the light waves do when they hit a rooftop.  We found out that they go around the roof because the waves can't go through it.  We did an experiment with the water coming out of the faucet when there was a block blocking some of the waves. Even though the block was blocking some water (waves) the end of the tub was rippling. I learned that after the wave hits an object, it spreads out. It is so important to learn these ideas because light is everywhere and it will always be with us!!!! FORREEVVVEERRRR!!!! 

The particle model of light is confusing because you can't actuall see the particles. You can't touch them either so it's hard to understand it.

okkkaayy, thats all

bye:) 

K.Gagliano

september 28-october 2

This week we learned many important ideas about light. First we wanted to see how light travels when it bounces off of water. We found out that when it hits the water the rays bounce in all directions. It then bounces off of us back into the water so that we can see ourselves. Secondly we wanted to see what objects reflect light the best (high or low focus). One of my objects with high reflectiveness was a mirror, i gave it a 10 which means it can reflect the most focused light. The object that was very bad at reflecting light is a sweater, I gave it a 3. We also wanted to find the angles that the light bounced off the mirror. We tested this by shining a laser at a protractor and we saw the angle that it was at. We then saw that it came in at the same angle it came out. There were two angles that we wanted to find, the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection. These two angles were also known as angle A and angle B. We also learned what an assumption was: it is something that you guess about. If you want to be a good scientist you have to guess and then discover a test to see if your assumption was right. One assumption i made this week was that i thought that the angle lights hits and object is the angle it leaves. I also assumed that A+B=180 degrees. This will help us because we know how light bounces in our eyes.

 

Week of 9/21

This week I learned a lot about how we see.  The first thing we did was find out how we see a marker.  We eliminated the hypothesis that suggested that our eyes just send out signals and that is how we see because we now know that we need light to see. We also eliminated the hypothesis that suggested the light bounces off of the marker and into someone's eyes.  We eliminated this because it bounces everywhere, not just in one person's eyes. The hypothesis that was correct was the one that said light bounces off of an object (in this case it is a marker) and goes everywhere, not just in one person's eyes. That is why everyone can see the marker and not just one person. 

We also did an experiment on a candle and a piece of cardboard with a hole in it.  We held a candle and had light shining on it and then the light rays went through a small hole in the piece of cardboard.  The reflection was upside down.  We came up with a prediction of why the reflection was upside down. It was because the rays crossed over each other and they were upside down. 

We also saw that when the laser was reflecting off of the mirror it was a lot smaller than when it reflected onto the wall. When it was on the wall it was very big and clear, but when it was shining on the mirror it was small and dull.

It is important to know how we see because it is something that we do all the time.  If we didn't know that we need light, and object, and our eyes to see than we would be no where in technology.  We also need to know about the candle because it shows that not all objects reflect light off the same. The laser experiment shows that when light reflects off of a mirror it gets more light and is more clear to see.

well that is all for this week,     (: 

BY: KATHY GAGLIANO

Week of 9/14-9/18

One of the many things I learned this week was that light from a laser travels in straight lines. I found this out by clapping erasers over the path of the laser . The path then became visible. I also learned that we cannot see without light. I tested this by going under Mr. Finley's desk where it was completely dark. There was a sign attached to the curtain. I could not read it or even see any of it due to that fact that there was no light. This proved that us humans need light to see. I also learned that we need our eyes and an object to see because the light bounces off the object into our eyes. I was also trying to see if light from a light bulb travles in all different directions but my partner and I couldn't really tell. All of this information that I learned is important to know because if I ever need to know the way the light travels I know that it travles in straight lines.