Bottle Rocket Photo Gallery | ||
Bottle Rocket lab pictures taken Thursday, October 19th are now available on-line at this LINK. Jenna's rocket flew 71 meters ... an all-time record! |
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Bottle Rockets Launch Thursday | ||
Bring your finished bottle rocket in to class two days early -- Tuesday! We'll need to run two tests: 1) Measuring your rocket for total mass in grams; and 2) Determining the center of mass or balance point. If you discover that your bottle rocket weighs too little or too much -- or -- you need to adjust the center of mass (balance point), you'll still have time to modify your rocket before the formal launch Thursday. |
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Dry Ice Picture Gallery Updated | ||
Check out the newly updated "Dry Ice Photo Gallery" web page. This photo gallery features students in all four of MrC's science classes. Here is a link to the PHOTO GALLERY. A second set of pictures was uploaded Thursday (the final day to the three-day lab series.) [Note: Newer pictures appear on TOP ... older pictures are featured starting at picture #39 and go from #39 - #74.] |
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Bottle Rocket Launch Date Set | ||
Bottle Rockets will launch on Thursday, October 19th. This is a great weekend project that combines a bit of physics (Newton's Laws of Motion), chemistry (the behavior of gases), and weather (it's all about 'pressure') in one package. There is a whole web page on the project. Click on this LINK and you will be taken to the bottle rocket web page. Three video clips are available to show you how to construct a bottle rocket, which materials to collect, and how to make sure it is balanced correctly. There are also a series of photo gallery pictures featuring last year's launch. Click on this PHOTO GALLERY LINK to view the images. Maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky this year, your rocket will beat Mr. C's! |
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Podcasting Pictures Posted | ||
Pictures of our recent "Podcasting" labs can be found on the Hanes web site. Click on this LINK and you will be taken to the Hanes web site where MrC has placed an article about the lab series and a first set of pictures. Additional pictures will be added from Lab #3 which will take place Tuesday of this week. In this lab you will have a chance to learn the final piece of software in the series -- building your final mp3 "podcasting" file using the movie dialogue audio file you created last week on the iRiver mp3 player / recorders (on one "track") and then adding background music or sound effects (on additional "tracks"). You'll love this lab! It's great fun. |
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Bring Ear Buds -- or -- Headphones THURS. | ||
Remember to bring a set of ear buds or headphones for the labs on Thursday and Friday of this week. You'll need these for Thursday and Friday of this week when we are doing our first labs with the iRiver mp3 player/recorders. Mr. C. will NOT provide headphones or ear buds for you. So, if you forget -- you will not be able to listen to -- or edit -- the sound files you create. |
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This Week in Science, Sept. 11-15 | ||
MON: Relative Humidity Lab using sling psychrometers (pictured) TUES: Check homework (1-6 & Vocabulary) WED: Weather Chapter 1 + Newspaper Club meeting from 2:10 to 3:45 (8th graders invited to visit, 7th graders welcome as well) THURS: Podcasting Lab #1 (Recording) FRID: Podcasting Lab #2 (Sound Editing) & Professional Friday #3 ALERT: Check Homework Calendar for homework assignments! |
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And the Race is ON! | ||
Next Wednesday (September 6th) the Newspaper Club (Cry Wolf Chronicles & Hanes Web Reporters) opens for business! Newspaper club will meet from 2:15 to 3:45 on Wednesdays. We'll see if there is enough interest for a second meeting on Fridays. Last week we had an introduction to the project and many people signed up on a legal pad in class. If you would like to contribute to the Newspaper and are a 7th grader, you are welcome to come to the club meeting in Mr. C's class, room 109. If you are an 8th grader and are wistful about old times, come to visit the following Wednesday -- Sept. 13th. |
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Cry Wolf Chronicles & Hanes BBS Restored | ||
As of 8/25/06 the Cry Wolf Chronicles and the Hanes BBS have been restored for users and readers. Monday, August 28th current seventh grade students will be introduced to the two pieces of software and asked if they want to support them for the year. A plea for volunteers to help write articles will be posted and ... we'll see if the current group of 7th graders decides to follow through and support these two web-based activities. IF.... IF.... they vote in favor of continuing.. then we'll meet on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:10 to 3:45 pm. Newspaper reporters will also help write articles for the Hanes web site clubs, sports, and activities. Also, reporters this year will be trained in "Podcasting" in order to include radio broadcast reports about things happening at Hanes Middle School -- both on the Wolf Team and around the rest of the building. |
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Ready or Not...... | ||
Oh, it's getting closer. School starts Friday morning, August 25th. Check out the list of supplies you'll need for classes. Read over the Newsletter you picked up at Open House. Friday and Monday you'll have to carry your stuff with you. Locks and lockers get assigned 5th period Tuesday. 8th Graders! It was great seeing you and saying "Hello" after the long summer vacation. You're going to have a great year too; but, come back to visit again. By the way, ask Ben Glock what NOT to do when you come by to visit. Yes, once again Ben shows how we should all strive for more "mature" behavior.... |
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Open House -- Monday, August 21st | ||
Have you had a great summer? Spent time at the pool? Traveled to see relatives or explore new places? But, of course, it has been a long time since you were in school. Summer vacation seems so wonderful at first, but if you've been home for a while, perhaps it's getting a bit old. So, have you been a little 'bored' lately? Well, school is finally rolling around to fill up your time again. Open House for 7th grade students and parents is Monday, August 21st from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. We hope to see EVERYONE! It's going to be a great year and we are looking forward to meeting all the new students and their families. To rising 8th graders still reading Mr. C's blog -- you get to go back to school too! Come by to say "Hello" on the 21st! |
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Florida Keys Photo & Art Work Galleries Now Available |
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Eight photo galleries are now available. They include: Everglades, Sombrero Beach, Sea Camp, Labs, Snorkeling, Sea World, Keys Journals (Scenes), and Keys Journals (Art Work). This picture was created by Sam Wilson. Click on Sam's picture above or click on this LINK that will take you to the photo galleries. The art work galleries are going to be GREAT. 6th period is first and others will follow. |
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Oh, Physics is So Cool! | ||
Now that we have spent a bit of time talking about Balloon Poppers, it's time to launch into Physics. We'll begin with a few labs on mechanical advantage and then move on to labs dealing directly with gravity and its affect on moving and falling objects. Our first lab will be about inclined planes and why the Egyptians liked them so much. Next we'll look at levers and figure out how to lift a car with your little finger. Look to the right side of this page and you will find many links to interesting things dealing with physics. There are lots of neat web resources as well as pages that I have put together for you to investigate. |
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Global Warming Unit to begin 1/2/06 | ||
So, snooping around the science web site over the holidays hoping to find out what we're going to study next? Well, we're going to go back and pick up the "Global Warming" unit that we didn't have time to complete in November. Check out the Science Homework calendar for links to the various study guides and practice tests on "Global Warming." We'll watch a series of videos in class, discuss topics of interest and wind up with at test on Thursday, January 12th. If that conflicts with the "Wax Museum" we'll adjust the test date forward or back a day or so. Immediately after completing the "Global Warming" unit, we launch into physics. The big project for 3rd quarter is the "Balloon Popper." Check out the Science web site links for the popper. You could get a head start over the holidays by collecting materials -- especially the "back board." |
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New Feature: RSS Feeds | ||
You may have noticed the tiny "RSS" image at the bottom of this post. "RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It's a simple and easy way for news generators to send out new articles on the Internet. So, this blog is now 'RSS Compliant' and can be added to an RSS Newsreader. New software has sprouted on the Internet that lets you post RSS feeds on your own website. I've been tinkering around with this idea and have come up with a new feature for the science website -- an RSS Feed web page. Click on the link to take a look at it. All of the more than 25 science-related news feeds can be viewed from the same web page. If you are a news junky or just like to read about science and technology, using RSS feeds is a fast and simple way to check out what is happening in science. Once you have arrived at the web page, click on a link and you will see 10 of the latest articles sent out on that particular feed. Click on an article title and you will be taken to the original posting on the host website. Very cool! I hope you like this new feature. Try it out! |
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New Feature: FAQ | ||
I discovered this really cool FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) software [called "phpMyFAQ"] on the web and decided to set it up on my web site. Found on "HotScripts.com" it's free, is written in php, and uses a MySQL database to archive questions. Plans are underway to provide questions and answers for each major unit and project in science throughout the year. If you'd like to post a question about science that you think others might like to see the answer to as well, you can do that also by clicking on the "Ask question" option. To look at the new feature click on this link: Science FAQ |
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China's Great Wall | ||
The Great Wall in China stretches some 3000 miles west of Beijing. It was originally intended to keep the Mongol hordes out of the country, but the strategy didn't work. A sentry on the Great Wall was bribed the Mongol "hordes" streamed over the wall and eventually took over the country. I spent a day hiking an 11km. section of the wall on my recent trip to China. There are LOTS of steps, both going up and down since the wall hugs the crests of hills and ridge lines. Local villagers tagged along in hopes of selling us postcards, T-shirts, or books (mostly in Chinese!) as souvenirs. |
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Now That's a BIG Fish! | ||
Caught a month ago in a river in northern Thailand, this whopper of a fish was 2.7 meters long and weighed 646 pounds! It's thought to be the largest freshwater fish ever caught. The Thai fishermen who caught the giant catfish struggled for more than an hour to land the behemoth. At first it was hoped the male fish could be returned to the river to continue its spawning migration. But the fish died and ended up feeding almost an entire village. |
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Science Leadership Heading to India | ||
It looks round, but Internet connectivity has made the earth flat. The world is bypassing American students and taking instead science graduates from India and China who work harder and are better qualified. Check out this Podcast on science and hear the experts talk about the brain drain to India. Click on the underlined link that follows: Science Podcast NOTE: This is an 18 MB mp3 file and takes about 30 seconds to download at broadband speeds. It's a radio news show that runs about 45 minutes. |
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Have You Seen This Movie? | ||
Madagascar -- a new animated movie out recently. Have you seen it? What do you think? Go see it and let us know! |
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