Rockets update

Rocket Launch Schedule (weather permitting):

Period 1 - Thursday, May 27

Period 2 - Wednesday, May 26

In case of inclement weather, we will do the launches next Tuesday, June 1st.

It's Rocket Time!

This WebQuest will help students gain an understanding of rockets and rocket flight, how physics fundamentals are related to rockets, and how we will use model rockets.

1. go to http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/index.html and read the page.

2. click on “Guided Tours” on this page

3. on the “Guided Tours” page (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/guided.htm ) go down the page to the “Rockets” section. You need to go through each section:

a. Forces on a Rocket (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/rktfor.html )

b. Types of Rockets (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/rktstomp.html )

c. Rocket Systems (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/rockpart.html )

d. Rocket Flight (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/bmotion.html )

After you read each page, click on the button.

Make sure you click on the button next to the topic you are on. For example, when in “Rocket Flight”, multiple sections appear at the bottom of the page. Make sure you click on the one next to “Rocket Flight”.

4. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html read, take notes.

Take notes on each page you visit. Your notes will be graded as the first part of the Rockets Unit. Pay particular attention to the “Model Rocket” section of “Types of Rockets.”

You will be calculating a predicted altitude for your rockets before launch, and then we will see who's is the most accurate

WE WILL START BUILDING THE ROCKETS ON TUESDAY!

Class Update

Today (Friday, May 14th) we finished all of the topics for class. We had a worksheet and video on light, electromagnetic waves, and electricity. The worksheet can be found here: http://sites.google.com/site/dandradeedusite/Home/physics-class-files

Anyone who was absent today must complete the worksheet on their own and bring it in on Monday.

On Monday, we will start the rockets project.

Sound lab

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Assignment for Tuesday, May 11th, 2010.

I'll be back on Wednesday!

Sound labs/explorations:

http://www.physicslessons.com/iphysics.htm

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Waves and Sound

•Experiment 26 Doppler Effect

•Experiment 27 Beat Frequency

•Experiment 28 Wave Interference

•Experiment 29 Pendulum

•Experiment 30 Longitudinal Waves

•Experiment 31 Reflection and Refraction

•Experiment 32 Doppler Effect

Pay close attention to what is happening in these explorations as we will use this information later.

Write a 1 page summary of what you learned and observed from these labs and explorations and submit it to the drop box on the right (under "Submit work to Mr. Andrade"). Instructions on how to do this are also posted in the room.

Heat and Thermodynamics

Today you will see a short video on Heat and Thermodynamics, then we will go over the equations related to Heat and Thermo and then you will have a homework packet with practice problems.

The homework packet is available HERE.

For more information on Heat and Thermodynamics, you can go to the following sites:

http://www.sparknotes.com/physics/ - go down to "Thermodynamics"

http://www.gcsescience.com/pen3-heat-temperature.htm

Bridge Project Test Results

Today was the testing of the bridge project. The results are listed below.

Period 1

Bryan, Sindy, Hernan, Mohammed - 11.4 kg and still didn't break.

Alyssa, Alex, Kevin A. - 9.2 kg

Marissa, Lizette, Nefertiti, Naelia - 8 kg

Sherwin, Emmanuel, Kevin P. - 4.2 kg (used least amount of wood though)

Period 2

Allen, Sergio, Adrian - 9.8 kg

Baronny, Marguerita, Angelo - 9.0 kg

Phylisse, Precious, Selena - 9.0 kg

Cynthia, Eunice - 5.4kg

Aldrin, Kevin, Victoria - 3.5 kg

Elizebeth, Roneisha - 3.5 kg

Damien, Courtney, Dondre - 3.5 kg

Everyone did a great job designing and building the bridges and the testing showed you all how the different designs can hold different masses.

Below are pictures of the bridges:

Thursday, 4-22-10

Today is Earth Day. As part of Earth Day, we are not going to use any paper in class today.

You can design your Pringles container on http://aviary.com/launch/falcon - just select "no images, just doodling" and then click "get started".

Make sure you have a design and materials ready for building the packaging for the pringles on Friday. (Rules are on the post below.)

Class Update

Today, Tuesday, is the last day for construction of the bridges.

We will test them on Friday, giving the glue plenty of time to dry and set up.

While we are letting the bridges dry, we have a new, fun, project to work on.

"The Pringles Challenge"

Your task is to design a package the will allow a single Pringles Potato Chip to be safely mailed through the US Postal Service to our partner school. Our partner school is Waipahu Intermediate School in Hawaii!

You may work individually or in small groups. You are responsible for finding the materials for making your package (I will have some materials). The package must adhere to US Postal Service Guidelines and will be mailed via First Class Mail (I will mail them). The rules and scoring info are listed below.

We will be scoring the ones sent to us by our partner school.

Be creative and work efficiently. Will will have some time this week in class to work on them also.

The packages are due this Friday before we test the bridges.

RULES

Objective:
Design and test a package to safely ship a single Pringles Potato Chip through the US Postal Service to another school. Upon arrival, the chips will be evaluated and scored according to the process on this page.

Goal:
Engineer the package to have the smallest mass and volume, while protecting the chip so it arrives at it's destination undamaged.

Rules (adapted from those first used by Charlie Lindgren, now used by Wondergy)

1. Students will use 1 (regular) Pringles Potato Chip.
2. No substance my be applied to the chip, or the chip altered in any way.
3. The chip must be recoverable and edible (but please don't eat it) when received by the partner school.
4. Students will work individually or in small groups to design and test the package.
5. No pre-made Pringles containers should be used (ex. specially designed Pringles containers for lunch boxes, Pringles cans, etc)
6. All packages must be sent via the US Postal Service - First Class Mail. (please be aware the there may be a surcharge for small packages if you stamp them yourself. It may be advisable to bring them to the post office for stamping!) Packages sent using any other carrier may be disqualified.
7. Also be advised that there is a 3" x 5" limit on the size of the package, and a fussy postman may reject a smaller package. However in the past many, many packages smaller that 3" x 5" have been delivered, so getting a small package through the mail is part of the challenge).
8. Package must be clearly labeled on the outside with the sending school and group. (If special unpacking instructions are needed they should also be included).
9. Each participating school will send, receive and evaluate packages.
10. Each package must be clearly labeled "Pringles Challenge" and addressed to the receiving school, in care of the particular teacher.
11. The sending school MAY write only "Fragile" or "Handle With Care" on the package.
12. It is the responsibility of individual teachers to assure that results are accurate, and that they are exchanged in a timely manner.

Three measurements must be collected in order to score a package for the Pringles Challenge.

1. Mass - measured in Kg to at least 3 significant figures
2. Volume - measured in cubic centimeters to at least 3 significant figures
3. Intactness score of the chip as determined by the evaluating school, according to the chart below

Perfectly Intact	Like it just left the factory	100 Points
Slightly Damaged	Cracked, but still in one piece	50 Points
Chipped Chip	Broken along the edges, but less than 5 pieces	10 Points
Split Chip	The chip is broken into two fairly equal pieces	10 Points
Significantly Damaged	Chipped and/or cracked into less than 20 pieces	5 Points
Pringle Dust	Too many pieces to count (more than 20)	1 Point

Overall Score
The overall score of the package will be used to compare packages. The formula for calculate the overall score will be as follows:

Overall Score = Intactness Score
(Mass in kg x Volume in cc)

Example:
a) A perfect chip = Intactness of 100
b) Mass = 256 grams or 0.256 kg
c) Volume = 250 cc (2.5 x 10^2)

Overall Score = (100/(.256 x 250)) = 100/64 = 1.56 (when rounded to 3 significant figures)

Scholarship Opportunity

Samsung Techwin America's Electronic Imaging Division today announced that it is offering an opportunity for seven high school students to each earn $1,000 scholarships.

Students interested in participating should submit up to a 300 word essay answering the question "Is technology a good investment for schools? Why or why not?" The papers will be judged on original thinking, relevance to the real world, and writing quality. The deadline is midnight PST, May 28, 2010 and the awards will be announced June 30, 2010.

Visit www.samsungscholarship.com to submit an essay.

See me if you want to do this and need some help. Here are some links to help you:

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2010/01/value-of-educational-technology.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2010/02/free-stuff-summary-of-free-things-i-use.html

Bridge Project

Today you start the Bridge project. Go to the site below and carefully follow the instructions. Through this webquest, you will get the information and resources needed to design your bridge.

UPDATED! Fixed links on webquest.

WebQuest

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Go through all the instructions and sites on the webquest. Answer the questions and submit as a comment to this blog post. (anonymous)

When you are finished with the webquest, you may go to the site below and start researching more information for your project.

http://www.bridgesite.com/funand.htm

I highly recommend checking out this site too: http://www.balsabridge.com/

Instructions/Info:

•The bridge that can hold the most weight wins.

–Bridges have to be between 250mm and 300mm long and width must be between 50mm and 75mm wide. The bridges must be less than 100mm high.

–The only materials you will have are a knife, working surfaces, ruler, 15 pieces of balsa wood, and glue.

You will also be given a handout with more information and tips when you start building.

Stress/Strain virtual lab

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The following will let you experiment with different stresses on materials.

Novell Screen

Multimedia Science School

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Physics

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Mechanics

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Materials

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Lesson

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Stretching Materials

Physics Gravity Assignment

REMINDER: Both classes had to finish the problems that we did not go over from the Gravity packet. I will be checking them on Friday.

After we go over the Universal Gravitation homework, each class will be working on the computers.

Multimedia Science School

Physics

Fields

Gravitational Fields

Lesson

Gravitation

Each group must submit a summary of what they learned, including comments about something completely new or surprising that they found out. The summary must include each student's name and then submit via comments to this posting. Submit as "anonymous".

If you finish that assignment before time runs out, go to the website below for a great review of the material.

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–http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/

–Lesson 3 – Universal Gravitation

–Lesson 4 – Planetary and Satellite Motion

YOU WILL HAVE A QUIZ ON GRAVITY AND CIRCULAR MOTION ON TUESDAY, MARCH 23rd!

(Review packets #6 and #7. Go here to review also - http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/ )

Lesson 1 and 2 are Circular Motion. (Lesson 3 and 4 for Gravity are listed above.)

Class update - Friday, March 12th, 2010

Today both periods finished the data collection for the Centripetal Force Lab. You must finish the calculations and analysis over the weekend. The lab's are due on Monday.

Monday we will start a new section: Universal Gravitation.

SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS

There are a lot of summer enrichment programs out there for high school students. Here is a list. Make sure you check costs, financial aid, and what age/grade is accepted.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

List of summer programs - http://www.wpi.edu/academics/Summer/highsc074.html

(this is where I went for my engineering degree)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Preface Program (engineering/tech): http://doso.rpi.edu/update.do?catcenterkey=87

List of summer programs - http://summer.rpi.edu/update.do?catcenterkey=4

University of Connecticut (UCONN)

BRIDGE program (for students interested in engineering) - http://www.engr.uconn.edu/bridgepreparestudents.php

Check these out - see if there is something that you are interested in. These programs can help you prepare for college.

Physics class update

Period 1 - we will meet again on Thursday, March 4th. You have to report to school by 9:30am.We will finish up the labs on that date. The lab packets will be due by Friday, March 5th.

Period 2 - we will continue the labs tomorrow, Tuesday March 2nd. You should be able to finish them both by the end of the period. We will not meet again until Friday, so don't waste any time tomorrow. You have to be in school by 9:30am tomorrow.

The LAB sheets are available online. They are labs 32 and 34.