Science Fair Update and 7th Grade Study Guide

Seventh Grade students, here is the study guide for you science assessment scheduled for Thursday, February 14. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fj8NJ6dbif8-EqcTTlWFhsO-4bkJsPFe8BZQNB2sDxs/edit?usp=sharing

The science fair is right around the corner.  Students should finish up their project this weekend.
For students with an engineering project, here is an additional resource for writing up your research paper:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9_7fTpnNH2JeFZhSmFKZGlGTzA/edit?usp=sharing 
For students who do not have access to graphing software, here is a website where you can make a graph with your data:  http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

All students will present their project to their class on either Tuesday the 12th or Wednesday the 13th. 
They will need to bring the following:

1. display board
2. research paper
3. journal

The presentation will give teachers a chance to evaluate student presentation skill and allow students to have some feedback before the actual science fair.
Students may take their boards home after the presentation if they want to work more on them.  They may also leave the board in the science lab until the day of the fair.

Sally Ride Science and Engineering Exposition
Fair Day Schedule, February 19, 2013:
7:45 am                Students arrive to school and set up or check their 
                            display table.   They will have their 
                            display board, research paper and journal.  
                             They may also have their invention to display.
9am                      Judges arrive and receive instruction
9:30 -10:45 am     Judges review projects without students present
10:45- 11:40am    4th and 5th grade students are interviewed by judges
10:45am-12pm     6th, 7th and 8th grade students are interviewed by judges
3-3:30 pm             All school assembly to announce results of judging
3:30-6:30pm         Sally Ride Science and Engineering Exposition 
                             Open House-Everyone is welcome to come 
                              view student projects, there will be a science quiz 
                              booth where anyone can come 
                              answer science questions and win a prize.
6:30pm                  Clean-up crew takes down tables and displays.

We can still use judges and volunteers for set-up and clean up.  If you can help please contact Joell Hamersly at joell.hamersly@gmail.com.
If you need help completing the project please email Mrs. Brunning at g.bruning@chpcs.org

We are about three and a half weeks until SRSEE Day!
I have been out with the flu, but I will be back on campus Monday January 28th.

This week, students should have completed assignment #8, the “Results and Discussion”.
Details and samples of how to do this are in the science buddies.org  science fair project guide “Data Analysis and Graphs” section. This assignment was due January 23rd.
Be sure to label each axis of your graph with what the variable is and give your graph a title.
Ideally graphs will be made using spreadsheet software and printed.
If you are able, please send your graph to me via email and I will check it over for you.
I will be available all next week to help students.

For next week students should complete assignment #9 Conclusions for their project. Details and a sample can be found on sciencebuddies at science buddies.org  science fair project guide “Conclusion” section

I will meet with each class next week to see how everyone is doing and answer questions.
You may also come by after school Monday or Tuesday to ask questions, get help or work with your partners. Make sure your parent knows if you are planning on staying after school.

Project  Assignments and Due Dates:

Assignment	Due
assignment #8 Results and Discussion (also known as Data Analysis and Graphs on sciencebuddies.org)	January 23rd
assignment #9 Conclusions	January 30th
assignment #10 Abstract and Draft Final Paper	February 5th
assignment #11 Final Research Paper	February 12th
assignment #12 Poster Presentation in class(also Known as Display Board and Science Fair Judging on science buddies.org)	February 13th

January 12th UPDATE FOR SCIENCE FAIR

At this point, you should be working on running your experiment to collect data, or building what you have engineered and running tests to see if it works.  The data collected should be recorded in your notebook.
You should take pictures of what you do for use on your display board.  
This is assignment #6 and should be completed by January 17th.  If you need more data collection time please notify Ms. Brunning.

We are not going to do assignment # 7.

The next assignment is #8 the “Results and Discussion”.  You can go to the science fair project guide “Data Analysis and Graphs” section on science buddies.org and it has lots of information on what to do with your data, including an example.  This assignment is due January 23rd.

Your goal is to look at your data and see if there is a pattern or trend. This is usually easier to see if you make a graph of your data.  You can use a spreadsheet program like EXCEL or do it on graph paper.  You will have your independent variable(what you changed) on the x axis and your dependent variable(what you measured) on the y axis.  

If you don’t understand how to graph your data, please let me know so I can help you learn.
I will meet with each class this week to see how everyone is doing and answer questions.  
You may also come by after school Monday or Tuesday to ask questions, get help or work with your partners.  Make sure your parent knows if you are planning on staying after school.

Future Assignments and Due Dates:

Assignment	Due
assignment #8 Results and Discussion (also known as Data Analysis and Graphs on sciencebuddies.org)	January 23rd
assignment #9 Conclusions	January 30th
assignment #10 Abstract and Draft Final Paper	February 5th
assignment #11 Final Research Paper	February 12th
assignment #12 Poster Presentation in class(also Known as Display Board and Science Fair Judging  on science buddies.org)	February 13th

January 6, 2013

Happy New Year!
Time for a Science Fair update.
I have entered 100 students online.  Each student or group now has a project number and a password which will be sent home by email Monday, January 7th.
Students can them go online to www.nwse.org and select "student login" on the right hand side to login. They can enter their project number and password to find their forms to edit. Those projects that involve humans, pathogens, hazardous materials/activities or vertebrates have additional forms to complete.
Forms should be completed by Thursday, January 10, 2013.
Data collection and photographs of projects should be completed as soon as possible.  Students may meet and run experiments in the Science Lab if needed.

Please email or stop by to ask any questions you may have.

EXAMPLE ANSWER FOR LAB REPORT

Seventh grade students, here is an example of the lab report answers for:  An investigation into the amount of sodium bicarbonate required for a complete reaction with acetic acid in vinegar.

December 12, 2012

LABWRITE

A great resource to use when writing lab reports or even science research project papers is LabWrite.  This site is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and maintained by North Carolina State University.  It can be used by students from middle school through college.

Guiding instructions are provided for different lab situations.  The writing process starts with the PRELAB.  On this page there are 3 lab types to choose from.  The "Standard Lab" is the typical type you will have in school science class.  The "Student Designed Lab" is basically how you write a report for a science research project.  If you select the "self-guide" option on the link it will take you to a page with guiding questions for each part of the research process.  On that page, select "See Examples"  and it will walk you through an example of the type of information to write for assignments #2, 3 and 4 of your science research project .

The site also has resources for how to prepare graphs and make citations.  It has an evaluation guide that can be used to check the thoroughness of a report before submitting.  I encourage students to use this as a guide to writing their reports.

December 10, 2012

Science Research Project Update:

• Classes in grade 4-8 will be meeting with Ms. Brunning at least once this week and once next week.
• The assignments will be reviewed with students and students will be directed to email Ms. Brunning with questions (g.brunning@chpcs.org) 
• The list of all the assignments and the guidelines for completing them are at the K-8 Science Research Project Assignments.
• Students should work to get through assignment #3 this week and #4 and #5 next week. 
• Assignment #5 requires a password from Ms. Brunning to access the online registration forms at www.nwse.org.
• Students should work to do their best, this project is a learning process and a demonstration of mastery. 
• Students will be allowed to revise every assignment so that the final product will be their best work.
•  Students may turn in assignments by email, if desired, to g.brunning@chpcs.org.  
• If assignments are missing, parents will be notified via the homework planner.

December 6, 2012

     The 7th grade conducted a lab activity today on Ocean Acidification. They investigated the conductivity, pH  and alkalinity of four types of water; ocean, distilled, tap and seltzer.
To complete the lab report for this investigation students need to open the Ocean Acidification in a Cup lab.  The instructions for what to write are in this document.  In class students completed all sections up to the Results section.  They should start with the four parts of the Results and then complete the Discussion, Conclusion and Sources of Uncertainty.  Please title each section.  The lab is due next Thursday.  If the directions in the document are confusing please email or see Ms. Brunning with questions.

     Fifth grade did a fingerprint activity today, making prints of their own fingers and attempting to identify the fingerprint type.

     On Tuesday, Mrs. Cantin brought the fourth grade in to do her lab activity on the water cycle.  Ms. Brunning helped out with the "Make an Instant Water Cycle" station.

     Third grade also came in Tuesday for an activity on the skeleton.  They contemplated what it takes for the body to be able to jump rope and then tried to figure out how many bones the human body has; 206.
They viewed the bones in x-rays and the classroom skeleton.

     Science Fair questions are everywhere.  The plan of meeting students at lunch is not working well.  Friday the process for connecting with students will be reviewed and revised.  Watch for an update by Sunday.  Thank you for your patience as we work to make this project meaningful and a success for each student.

November 30, 2012

Another big day in the science lab.
The seventh grade completed an investigation into the amount of sodium bicarbonate required for a complete reaction with acetic acid in vinegar.  They were introduced to chemical formulas, chemical equations, moles, molar mass, pH, acids, bases, and how to write a lab report.  They hypothesized what the best amount of sodium bicarbonate would be for a complete reaction with the acetic acid in 25mL of vinegar.  The results based on the gas produced were not too accurate but the pH test of the resulting solutions were right on for most groups.  They were assigned to complete the lab report for Thursday, December 6.

The first grade came in to prepare their pumpkins for mummification.  The cleaned out the "guts" of the pumpkin and saved the seeds in their canopic container to represent the organs.  The pumpkins were filled with a mixture of salt, baking soda and kitty litter to facilitate the process of drying.  The pumpkins will sit covered in the mixture and newspaper.

After school students who came for the STEM Club were working on a number of ideas. One group was building LEGO cars and using magnets to make them move.  Another group was building a paper airplane model.  Some students were working with the Mindstorm LEGO Robotics set.  A large group of younger students were making crystals with the help of our high school volunteer, Tate Hammersly.  One student was working on building the KNEX roller coaster. Green Team members were also present, working on up-cycled crafts for the CRAFT FAIR this Saturday.

Also this week, eighth grade students used the motion detectors and LabQuest interfaces to learn about acceleration and velocity.

Ms. Brunning did not make it out to lunch recess today to meet with students about their science research projects. She will be out for lunch recesses all next week until she has connected with everyone. The deadline for Assignment 2 that was Dec 3 will be extended to Dec 6.

One last note, OMSI will be offering LEGO classes over the holiday and winter break.
For information go to :  http://www.omsi.edu/classes

SPACE CAMP INFORMATION

Space Camp is open to students 9-18 years old. There are three different age groupings:
Space Camp grades 4-6
Space Academy grades 7-9
Advanced Space Academy grades 10-12
The facility is at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. 
The 6 day sessions occur once each season.
For more information go to:  http://www.spacecamp.com/camp/sc
For scholarship information go to:  http://www.spacecamp.com/scholarships/
Scholarship applications must be postmarked by December 14, 2012.

November 13, 2012

The Science Lab has been a busy place!
     On Friday, the fifth grade conducted an investigation into the properties of play goo that results with varying amounts of ingredients.  They made flubber, flak and slimy stuff.  The learned that the more Borax you add to the glue water the more solid and less sticky the play goo becomes.  Mrs. Brunning learned to always put down paper on the desk before ever doing this experiment again.

     On Thursday, the fourth grade had a guest presentation by Dr. Perkins.  She spoke about the function and structure of the human body, especially the liver, gall bladder and spleen.  She had a model of a liver with normal and diseased sections.  Students also viewed fresh beef liver sections.

     Seventh grade used an interactive tutorial at http://learner.org/interactives/periodic/index.htm l to review what they had studied about atoms and the periodic table.
     Sixth grade has been using an interactive all last week and today from the same site to review the "Dynamic Earth", introduce "Volcanoes" and the "Rock Cycle".  The links are at:
 http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/
http://www.learner.org/interactives/volcanoes/
http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/index.html

This site has a number of interesting interactives in a variety of disciplines and grade levels, just go to:  http://www.learner.org/interactives/   and search.

Today, the middle school math students participated in the American Mathematics Competition.  The competition is national and involves taking a test of 25 multiple choice math problems.  They will be scored by the Mathematical Association of America and ranked nationally and at the school level.  Results will be available next month.  This is a competition we chose to have students participate in to get a better sense of their math ability on a larger scale.

Next week is Night of the Notables and Wax Museum.  Science Fair will move forward after that event is complete, the main focus right now is preparing for Night of the Notables and Wax Museum. 
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October 23, 2012

It has been a while since my last post.  That is a sign of how busy things have been in the lab(and a personal battle with a cold virus).

In the last two weeks, Sixth Grade has been studying Plate Tectonics.  They used the cracked shells on hard boiled eggs to model what happens as the plates move around.  Chocolate pudding cups and graham crackers were used to model eruption of lava in sea floor spreading.  Looking at the cross section of an apple gave them a representation of the layers of the Earth.  Using cut outs of the continents, students moved the "plates" on Earth as they would through time.  Today they watched a demonstration of the impact of heat on the movement of fluids, this modeled the movement of magma in the Earth's mantle.  Next it is on to the study of earthquakes.

Fifth Grade was in the lab today for an introduction to atomic structure.  They used tiddlywinks of different colors to represent the location of subatomic particle in an atom.  The terms they used were atom, atomic number, atomic mass, atomic nucleus, proton, neutron and electron.

Last week Fourth Grade used the new Vernier Heart Rate probes and Lab Quest to explore how their heart rate changes with activity (or lack of activity). The spent some time getting acquainted with the device and preparing their hypothesis and data table, then Mr. Weaver guided them through the data collection portion during PE.  Students each selected which activity to do and recorded their heart rate before and after that activity.

After school, STEM Club has been investigating a variety of things including magnetism, legos and lego robotics, worms, frogs, lizards, guinea pig and rabbit, pond water, rubber band rockets, zing wings and design drawings.  One group of students have been exploring prosthetic limbs.  The even had a science sleepover and assembled a model of a prosthetic arm, complete with straw fingers that bend at the "joints".  With the help of their parent they viewed a video tour of a local prosthetic manufacturer.

Last Thursday I forgot to cover the frog cage after STEM Club.  When I returned Saturday, after recovering from my virus,  I discovered the frog had escaped.  I thoroughly searched the room with no luck.  I cam to the conclusion that it was stuck behind a wall and most likely dead.  This morning during Geometry class a couple students noticed movement by the recycling collection container and alerted me.  There was the frog hiding behind a plastic bag.  It is now safely back in the aquarium.

October 9, 2012

The STEM Club has begun.  There were more students than stools yesterday at our inargrual meeting of the CHPCS STEM Club!  A list of citizen science opportunities was presented and also a list of competitions and contests.  Both are available in the right margin of this web page.

Students filled out a survey of their interest areas in science, the survey had space for students to add areas not listed.  If you missed the meeting click on STEM Club Area of Interest Survey and send the information back to g.brunning@chpcs.org.

The meetings are scheduled for Mondays 3:45pm to 4:45pm, but due to number of students the possibility of an additional day is being developed and an email announcement will be sent tomorrow.

Thank you to the parents that were able to come to the meeting and help facilitate the different groups of interest.  If you have an interest in science, engineering, technology and or math and would like to help at one or many meetings, your time contribution will be greatly appreciated.  Email your interest and availability to g.bruning@chpcs.org.

A reminder to parents and students, science is about a search for knowledge and technology is the application of the knowledge.  We are capable of many things do to science, however not all those things belong in the hands of those who lack training and safety gear.  So please talk to your students about the importance of keeping others safe as well as ourselves.  STEM Club is not a safe place for students to use explosive or dangerous chemicals.  Anything that has potential for harm if mishandled is only allowed to be transported and demonstrated by or used in the presence of a trained adult and must be pre-authorized by Ms. Brunning.

Science is awesome and I am excited to be joining your children on this journey of discovery!

October 3, 2012

Applied Superconductivity Conference's Outreach Day

Is your student interested in physics, chemistry and or engineering? Next week there is an Applied Superconductivity Conference at the Oregon Convention Center and they are offering a Public Outreach Day on Wednesday October 10th from 1-4:30 pm. 

Information is available at www.ascinc.org/outreach.  and at  Applied Superconductivity Educational Outreach Day Flyer.

Note that admission is free but a badge must be picked up at the registration desk.
For the demos they will have 20 tables set up with exhibits from Mad Science, OMSI, and by Applied Superconductivity (of superconducting cables, mag lev devices) and Hitachi is bringing in an SEM.  In addition there will be conducted tours of the exhibits for participants.
Although this is during the school day, it is a unique opportunity for your interested student.  With such short notice the school is unable to conduct a field trip, however, because it is a great educational opportunity ,if possible parents are encouraged to take their students to this event.

CHPCS STEM CLUB-if you are interested in science, technology engineering and or math, come check out STEM Club, after school on Mondays 3:45 to 4:45 in the science lab.

In the lab....
Yesterday 4th grade did a blood typing activity using simulated blood.  They tested unknown "blood" samples with simulated "Antibody A" and "Antibody B".  They wore their lab coats as would a lab technician conducting the actual test in a lab.  As a class the students also played an online simulation on blood typing. You can access the game at The Blood Typing Game.    Next week 4th grade will be back to do a lab activity on the human heart.

September 25, 2012

My intention of making daily reports is not  turning out to be a reality.  That is a testament to the activity in the Science Lab.  I will keep posting as often as I am able.

Today the Sixth Grade came to continue their study  of "Deserts of the World" 
They started with viewing portions of "The Baking Desert" with David Attenborough.  They were observing different animals that live in desert areas and what adaptations they have to survive the climate.
Next they investigated the effect of black vs white background on light intensity and temperature.  To do this they set up light intensity probes and temperature probes in black and white bowls to collect data.  While the probes were monitoring the temperature and light intensity, the began their next activity; "Using Everyday materials to Build a 3D model of a Desert".  They had to leave for lunch but returned afterward to record their data on temperature and light intensity.  They discussed the trend that appeared after averaging the class data and were assigned the conclusion for homework.  Their work on the desert model continued until it was time for PE.  They returned after P.E. to finish and share their models as well as hear about a special assignment to write a proposal for the Science Lab Desert Biome terrarium (not due until Thursday).

NEW ITEMS IN THE SCIENCE LAB:
-The Glofish are thriving in their 1.5 gallon aquarium courtesy of the "Pets in the Classroom" grant.
-We have 4 young carnivorous plants; 2 sundews a butterwort and a Venus fly trap.  They are located under the new grow light on the specimen shelf.

The tables have been rearranged and the metal cabinets have been used to create a lab prep area.

September 18, 2012

The Kindergarten Class came to the science lab today to learn about why we have seasons.  First, though, they watched Google Earth to see the Earth from space and  moved in closer and closer until they reached our school.
They learned that the Earth is spinning or rotating and they even tried rotating like the Earth.   They learned that the Earth, while rotating, is also moving/revolving around the sun.. The students practiced rotating like the Earth and then they rotated while revolving around the center desk.
Ms. Brunning used a lamp to represent the sun and a beach ball Earth with a light sensor attached, to collect data on how much light the Earth received while rotating and revolving around the light.  The sensor sent a signal to the computer and displayed a number for light intensity and a line graph showing the increase and decreaes with the seasons.  Students observed that the light from the sun was always there and the darkness came when the Earth turned and one side was not getting light.
Ms. Brunning used two digital resources with the students:

http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/animations/seasons_ecliptic.swf a season simulator

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/imageshtml/earth-tilt.gif an image of the earth position with change in season.

The science lab has been rearranged so that there is a closed off prep area in the back of the room and more white board in the front of the room.  Watch for the addition of more book shelves and terrariums with different habitats.

September 13, 2012

Today there was big excitement in the science lab.  Ms. Brunning decided to let Bunny out of the cage to stretch her legs during the Advanced Math class.  Bunny found her way into the back of the lab and squeezed herself behind the closet in a small space.  She refused to come out except when everyone left the room.  She spent most of her day coming out for a peak and running back to her hiding spot.  After lunch while Ms. Brunning was working on her computer, Bunny came out and laid down near the back table.  Ms. Brunning was able to sneak up behind her and block off the hiding spot.  Then Mrs Brunning laid out a cardboard path to help direct bunny to the front of the room where she was finally captured.  She is resting safely in her cage now.

Ms. Brunning visited the 8th grade to explain about the science fair.  All information is available on this blog home page.

In other news, Mrs. Adam's 7th grade class came to explore atomic structure again.  Almost every student demonstrated their understanding of the location of protons and neutrons in the atom nucleus.  At least half of the class understood the location and number of electrons surrounding an atom.  Of those that did not demonstrate that knowledge, most of them were confused on how many electrons were in each energy level.  At the middle school level students learn that there is room for 2 electrons in the first energy level and 8 each in the second and third energy level.  Students only study the structure of the first 20 elements.  In high school they will learn about the orbital shapes and overlap.
Back in there classroom Mrs. Adams gave them an assignment on elements to prepare for next Thursday and the study of the periodic table:
Element Assignment:
You will be given two picture i, each is a different element .  Each picture has the name, symbol and atomic number of the element.
You will prepare a 3X5 card to go with each of your elements that show the

1. atomic mass or atomic weight
2. group number
3. group name
4. history of the name and/or who discovered the element
5. state of element at room temperature and pressure (is it solid, liquid or gas)
6. at least two uses of the element

Information can be found on http://www.webelements.com/
This assignment is posted on the family science blog at chpcsscience.blogspot.com
Your two cards and two pictures are to be brought to science class on Thursday September 20.

September 11, 2012

The Advanced Math students, those in Algebra 1 and Geometry, now have their own blog to keep track of their daily activities, assignments and class information.  It is at chpcsalgeobro.blogspot .com.

Ms. Cantin brought her 4th grade class to the lab today and led them in preparing their own vial of a model of blood.  She used different color and size of beads for the cells and water dyed yellow for the plasma.   The purpose of the model was to show that blood is made of different components in different quantities.  Students will learn the function of each component.  This activity also gave students practice in counting to 1000 and dexterity.
Ms. Cantin will be bring here class back on Thursday for more investigation into blood.

Ms. Hans brought in the 5th grade class for an introduction to the science lab.  They also were introduced to the science research project process.  The information about assignments is in the CHPCS K-8 Science and Engineering Fair Guide.     The sciencebuddies.org site is a great resource for the project and has a topic survey for students to complete to help discern which project may be of interest.  There is also a list of over 1000 project ideas.

September 10, 2012

Today in Geometry we made it to lesson 3 and in Algebra, lesson 4.

For music appreciation we started off by looking for examples of legato and stacatto in music by Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt.  Then we explored waves using the pHet website, slinkies and jump ropes.  After that we looked at hearing and what can cause someone to lose their hearing, the science of singing and the McGurk Effect.

The science room received a grant from "Pets in the Classroom" . The 1.5 gallon fish tank for our "Glofish" pets has arrived.  The pet fish should be here next week.

September 7, 2012

The new science lab tables arrived today!  Take a peek in the Science Lab the next time you walk by.  We now have a room furnished for science investigations and collaboration. Thank you to the PTA!