Science

Next week in the Lower School, the Kindergarten will be learning about the heart as part of their study of the human body.  In addition to understanding the basic function and anatomy of the heart, the boys will use stethoscopes to determine their heart rates before and after exercise.  The importance of exercise as a heart-healthy activity will be discussed.

In first grade, the topic of weather will continue with activities on thunder and lightning.  The boys will simulate thunder by blowing up paper bags and popping them, and will create mini-lightning bolts using styrofoam plates and aluminum pans.  They will also learn how to read weather maps and use them for forecasting. 

The second grade is “sticking to” magnets, and are continuing their studies of holding power.  They are analyzing the results of their “fish and clips” activity and will test magnetic abilities through different materials.

Third grade is deep into fossil studies, creating their own mold fossils and examining both vertebrate and invertebrate specimens.  They are looking forward to their trip to the AMNH to learn about dinosaurs.

Fourth grade is finishing their unit on pH and chemistry by learning the basics of atomic structure and the Periodic Table of Elements.  Protons, neutrons, electrons, elements, matter, and atomic mass and weight are all part of the discussion. 

This week, Lower School Science was erupting with energy and enthusiasm.

In Third Grade, the boys eagerly studied volcanoes using CD-Roms and then created models of volcanoes that erupted.  They’ll be moving onto earthquakes and plate tectonics next week by making “Peanut Butter and Jelly Geology” models of faults.

In Second Grade, the study of water concluded with  Aquatic Animal Adaptations. The boys were challenged to create an animal using specific adaptations.  The boys designed their animals and made models to display.

Kindergarten continued building their houses to withstand the winds of the “Big Bad Fan!”  They will conclude the building unit next week.

First Grade explored invertebrates by comparing earthworms and millipedes. They made observations of live animals and created Venn Diagrams to show similarities and differences.  The boys also made insect guide books.

Fourth Grade finished their testing of paper towels by analyzing their wet strength, absorbency, and value data.  They will move onto shampoo testing next week in order to hone their experimental design skills.

The Science Challenge on how animals prepare for winter is due next week….we’ll keep you posted!

Deb and Sami

Lower Schoolers are into the science swing, studying everything from insects to paper towels!

In Kindergarten, the boys are learning about strong structures; triangles, arches, and reinforced materials.  They are currently building houses out of common materials that will be tested against the “Big Bad Fan” next week.

First Grade is learning about insects.  They’ve learned about insect anatomy (head, thorax, and abdomen), bee-havior (bee waggle dance), tested mealworm reactions to light/dark, gravity, and scent, and have observed metamorphosis.  They will be moving on to other invertebrates next week, comparing and contrasting millipedes and earthworms.

Second Grade is deep into their Hudson River Fish Books; the boys are completing their books and moving onto aquatic animal adaptations.  They are creating their own animals from a set of given adaptations.  Their creativity and understanding of adaptation are shining through.

Third Grade has been reviewing the three types of rocks.  They have created metamorphic waffles (observing that some ingredients melt while others stay intact) and conglomerate rocks from plaster of paris and stones.  They are excited to move onto their study of volcanoes and earthquakes!

Fourth Grade has moved onto their Consumer Product Testing laboratory unit.  They are determining the best paper towel by assessing absorbency, wet strength and price.  These activities hone their skills at experimental design as they create their own experiements considering controls and variables.

Family Science has been a great success; we have over 150 people expected at each of the remaining evenings.  The Science Challenge is also going well, with outstanding participation.

Bob and I began teaching the boys the Periodic Table two weeks ago. We started with electron configuration and moved into the reasons why the P.T. is organized the way it is. The guys seemed to enjoy it, especially with games like P.T. Bingo and Alien P.T. They really liked the logic questions. We tried to use lots of activities to keep them interested and by the end of the week they were doing quite well. Now we have moved into valence electrons, lewis dot formation, and bonding. Today I went over ionic, covalent, metallic and polar covalent bonds. They will need lots of practice with this, but I think I am definitely learning how to teach this a bit better. Hey, fourth times a charm.

Later this week we hope to do a lab testing the properties of ionic compounds vs. covalent molecules. Next week we are working towards a test on Chapters 5 and 6, right before the end of the term.

Since my last post we have covered the following topics in Environmental Science:
Evolution and Natural Selection
Primary and Secondary Succession, with special emphasis given to successional changes on Mount St. Helens
Symbiosis and Coevolution: mutualism, commensalism, parasitism (Watched a great video called “Living Together”–fantastic, a classic)
Predation: how to avoid predation and how to be a predator
Ecological Niche: Fundamental vs. Realized
Limiting Resources
Keystone species such as fig trees and top predators
Species Richness

The boys took a quiz on this material and we set up our Winogradsky Columns for our bacterial study. That seems to be going well. They are taking water quality tests each week and photographing the changes seen in each column. We will follow for the next five weeks.

Then, last week we tackled Biomes, both terrestrial and aquatic. The boys had to create tables to compare the climate, productivity, species type, limiting factors etc. for each terrestrial biome. I went over freshwater and salt water systems in class. They also had a quiz at the end of the week, which they thought was very hard. I have no finished grading it yet.

This week we are moving into Population Dynamics and Ecology (one of my favorite topics actually). We are going over:
Population density
Growth rate calculations
Environmental Resistance and Carrying Capacity
Log curves vs. exponential growth curves
Reproductive strategies: r-selected species vs. K-selected species
Survivorship curves
Density dependent vs. independent limiting factors
Predator-Prey relationships
Boom or Bust relationships
Thomas Malthus and predicting human population growth and carrying capacity
Demographics
Age structure diagrams of developed, developing and underdeveloped countries

Good stuff! They have calculations to do tomorrow and in our double period we are going to work on exponential growth and they will research Thomas Malthus’ ideas. I also have a lab for growing radishes to illustrate competition of resources, but that will have to wait until next week as they did not include enough radish seeds. It is always something.

It has been awhile as I have learned that I can only seem to access the blog from home, my office is a blogging black hole. Even Beaver tried and his whole computer practically froze. I blame the breaker switches and excessive number of electrical outlets (roughly 50). I am likely growing a nice, big brain tumor due to my time in the 8th Grade Dean’s office.

Since my last post we have covered the following topics, the kids are going to be tested on them on Wednesday:

Phases and phase changes
Gas Lawes (Boyles, Charles, Combined)
Atomic Theory (Democritus, Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr and Electron Cloud)
Components of an atom
Atomic number, mass and isotopes
Energy shells, excited and ground state electrons

Once they get past this test (and Bowman and I are trying to make it challenging) we will come up with some fun capstone activities for Thursday and Friday. Then, next week, we are moving on to the Periodic Table and then bonding. Fun!

Students did a lab with agar cubes of different sizes to see why cells aren’t larger than they are (oxygen can’t diffuse to the middle fast enough).  I did a demo with eggs with shell removed with vinegar.  One was placed in distilled water and it gained weight due to osmosis and one placed in salty water lost weight.  We started a DNA unit on friday with a informational packet that had them answer questions and color the different parts of DNA.

Students prepared for and took a Cell Test.  Then students did a diffusion lab involving dialysis tubing that is permeable to iodine but not starch.  Iodine turns purple in the presence of starch so they can quickly see that only iodine diffuses across the selectively permeable membrane.  Next week they will do a lab involving different sized agar cubes and determine what limits cells from being larger than they are.

As we rounded out September we finished our unit on macromolecules.  We covered the basics of monomers and polymers and discussed carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids in detail.  Woven in to these topics were the general ideas of isomers, and the relationship between a molecule’s structure and function.  The students had their first test which covered some basic chemistry and organic compounds (Campbell 7th Ed. Chapters 1-5 with a focus on chapter 5).

We have since started our unit on the cell and the cell membrane.  We have read chapter 6 from Campbell and discussed major types of cells, details of organelles, and cellular evolution (endosymbiotic theory). 

The students submitted their first formal lab on fermentation and we are now starting work from the lab manual and will do the osmosis/diffusion lab this week.

We had our first test on one- and two-dimensional kinematics.  The boys also designed their second laboratory: Measurement of Friction Coefficients.  We have started and almost completed Newton’s Laws.  We spent a lot of time of contact forces and friction.  We also introduced the role of integration in physics.  This was done via the exploration of air resistance in free-fall.  We solved the problem analytically and also introduced the concept of numerical integration.  A day was spent demonstrating how to integrate on an Excel spreadsheet.  Next week the boys will be assigned a problem exploring free fall and numerical integration.  They will also be required to perform one of the laboratories designed by their fellow students.  We will be exploring energy towards the end of the week.