Use the links listed below to complete the weekly enrichment activities at home. I am available by email to answer questions at [email protected] if necessary. I will provide readings, videos, experiments, and engineering activities in thematic units each week. Keeping a journal is encouraged for answering the Review questions at the end of each article, engineering products, and experiments. After completing the Review questions, please do the Practice online quiz. Activities are meant to educate at home and are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards covering Energy, Forces, and Motion. Those without technology access will have packets available each week. I will provide answers to Practice questions the following Monday for students without online access. All students will need to turn in their Science Journal with answered Review Questions in June.
Consider improving your device using aluminum foil, black plastic garbage bags, and other simple household items to increase the speed of water cleaning. Draw a Big, Accurate, Descriptive diagram in your new Science Journal to show your final product.
This week we are starting our Energy, Forces, and Motion unit. This week will be pretty basic learning new terminology including reference frames. As we progress we will work on graphing, PLIX (Play, Interact, Explore), and eventually designing a simple experiment, collecting data, and graphing results. Remember to read and watch videos first, then answer review questions in your journal, and finish by doing the Practice quiz. Hope you all are doing well and finding ways to keep your minds and bodies busy!
April 13-17: Position vs. Time Graphs and Velocity
Please take your time this week watching the videos, answering questions thoughtfully, and playing with the PLIX opportunities. A few warnings: 1.) Pay attention to units on problems, you may need to convert minutes into seconds in order to calculate the correct velocity. 2.) Velocity is speed in a given direction, always include the direction in your response. 3.) Show your work in your journal....no one can read your mind, when you show your work others can see where your misunderstanding lies. 4.) The PLIX interactive activities may require a JAVA download, this is safe. I could not get the Velocity PLIX to work completely on my Mac, but I could do the "Challenge Me" and when I pressed the NEXT button I could do the Postion vs. Time Graph PLIX.
Remember to read and watch videos first, then answer review questions in your journal, and finish by doing the Practice quiz. Please let me know if you need help. I am available by email anytime or by phone at 935-8598.
April 20-24: Acceleration, Calculating Acceleration, and Velocity vs. Time Graphs
Remember to read and watch videos first, then answer review questions in your journal, and finish by doing the Practice quiz. Your Science Journal (may be new, or can continue in Matter and It's Interactions journal) with complete table of contents and answers to Review Questions will be due in June. The quizzes are formative and meant to inform you of your understanding. Feel free to use your journal as you take the quiz if needed. Please let me know if you need help. I am available by email anytime [email protected] or by phone at 935-8598.
April 27-May 1: Forces, Combining Forces, and Elastic Force
This week we begin a chapter on Forces which, as we will soon learn, affect the motion of objects. Forces are what make amusement parks fun. As you complete this week's work, be thinking forward to how you could design your own thrill ride model using simple materials. We will be designing thrill rides in the near future using things you can find around the home. Remember to read and watch videos first, then answer review questions in your journal, and finish by doing the Practice quiz. Have a great week and never hesitate to call or email with questions or concerns.
May 4-May 8: Friction and Gravity
I hope you all are doing well and staying busy helping around the house. It has been great checking in with many of you via email and phone. So far it sounds like many of you are putting forth strong effort in keeping your studies up. Our recommendation is spending about 20 minutes per class per day on your studies. Remember to read and watch videos first, then answer review questions in your journal, and finish by doing the Practice quiz. If you are understanding the ideas well you should be able to get 10 correct within 12-13 questions. Feel free to use your Science Journal while taking the quiz. Hope you are all well and safe. Please call me at 935-8598 with ANY questions, concerns, or needs. I will be taking Friday the 8th off as a personal day, so will be available Monday through Thursday this week.
May 11-May 15: Newton's Law of Gravity, Acceleration Due to Gravity, and Projectile Motion.
Just six weeks left, but who is counting, right??? I miss you guys and gals like crazy. You keep me on my toes and make life fun, but not so much at a distance. Discipline referrals are at an all time low, it is like being a security officer at a retirement home at this point. I hope you are able to get out and do some fun stuff. Please send me an email with a pic or two of some fun stuff. This week we will wrap up on forces and how the affect the motion of objects. Follow the same drill and I will be reaching out to you all for a check in this week. Take care!
May 18-May 22: Newton's First Law, Inertia, and Newton's Second Law
As we begin Newton's Laws of Motion, I encourage you to apply these laws to a fun situation. Ride your bike and consider what sets your bike in motion, what forces cause it to slow even when you are not applying the brakes? Time how long it takes your RC car to travel 30 feet, then add a medium-sized rock and repeat the timing. Does the acceleration of your car decrease as mass increases??? Yes it does because these are the Laws of Science, you can't break these laws! Remember to read, watch videos, and complete interactive activities first; then answer Review Questions using complete sentences in your Science Journal; finally complete the blue Practice "quiz" at the bottom right corner of each page. Keep on keeping' on because you are almost there! Happy Phase 2!
May 26-May 29: Weight, Newton's Third Law of Motion, and Momentum
Every action force has an equal and opposite reaction force. If motion fails to take place, then the surface may not be able to provide that level of reaction force. Think about walking on an icy sidewalk or a car tire spinning on the ice. This is a short week due to having Monday off in rememberance. I hope you are able to do something special with family of friends. Thursday was Spokane's greatest growth of COVID-19 cases (13) in the last month. Please stay safe for those who are immune compromised and for Grandma and Grandpa. Take care of yourselves!
We are nearing the end of distance learning for the 2019-2020 school year. Wednesday we were given information on finishing the school year and grading. I would like all work turned into the school by Friday, June 12th. This allows time for the required three days of quarantine and grading prior to grades being due. Turning work in before the 12th is fine, as long as it is complete. To expedite this process I am posting assignments through the end of the year. Remember, the only thing you need to turn in is your Science Journal with the complete Review Questions from April 13th through June 12th. Make sure pages have the topic title and there is a Table of Contents. If you have been doing work on loose-leaf paper please make a cover page with your first and last name, title it Middle School Science: Mr. Forsberg, and make a table of contents before stapling the papers together. Please do not hesitate to email [email protected] or call (509)935-8598. I will we away Friday the 29th of May and will not have cell service until Sunday the 31st.
June 8-15: Machines, Efficiency, and Mechanical Advantage
It is important to understand that machines do not make less work. The same amount of work must be done, but there is always a trade off between force and distance. Let's say I need to lift an object that weighs 100 newtons to a height of 2 meters, this is 200 N-m of work. I could use a pulley system that would allow me to apply a force of just 25 newtons, but I would have to pull 8 meters of rope to move the object 2 meters. I have still done 200 N-m of work on the object, but I could apply 1/4 of the force over 4X the distance. Now this never works out perfect in the real-world because of forces that oppose motion, like friction and air resistance. Everything is less efficient due to these forces. Maybe someday you will work as an engineer to maximize efficiency in an industry where machines are used in manufacturing or mining. Fun stuff!