TERM 1 2016
Students have started term 1 investigating a study of science and produced a 1 page poster. Students used google doc to produce and edit their work.
The sciences investigated included: Marine Biology; Meteorology; Astronomy; Physics; Oceanography; Geology; Electronics; Seismology; Zoology; Neurology; Engineering; Pharmacology; Entomology; Palaeontology; Nuclear Physics; Veterinary Science; Radiology and Computer Science
The sciences investigated included: Marine Biology; Meteorology; Astronomy; Physics; Oceanography; Geology; Electronics; Seismology; Zoology; Neurology; Engineering; Pharmacology; Entomology; Palaeontology; Nuclear Physics; Veterinary Science; Radiology and Computer Science
Then we have moved onto our first area of Science ........Physics
We are studying FORCES To get us engaged students looked at what Forces affect buildings. We watched a you tube clip on highest structures and investigated Forces on the following link interactive PBS web site Then we proceeded to design and construct our own Wonky Towers. Our Building materials were 20 straws and pins. It was a challenge to try and compensate for different forces that acted on our structures. Check out our efforts in the gallery below.........we couldn't quite beat last years record of 72cm
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CREATING WONKY TOWERS IN 2016
Term 3 2015
Week 3 this term, Year 7's started a chemistry unit.
We started by looking at everyday items from the pantry and discussing our ideas and understandings. Students had to work together and classify foods into different groups. There were lots of disagreements and discussions. More questions were raised than answered. Students had to give evidence or explain why they believed each claim they made. Questions debated were:
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Term 2 2015
Term two was all about the force of the matter.
We were employed by Sky High Industries to build the highest tower we could using only 20 straws and pins. The tower had to hold a 50gram weight at the top. The team who came in on 'pin' budget and whose weight was held at the highest level, gained the contract with Sky High Industries
We were employed by Sky High Industries to build the highest tower we could using only 20 straws and pins. The tower had to hold a 50gram weight at the top. The team who came in on 'pin' budget and whose weight was held at the highest level, gained the contract with Sky High Industries
This video and interactive PBS web site helped us investigate what forces act upon buildings and how high humans have managed to build. Check out the video or click on the link |
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Term 1 2015
Year 7's started this term investigating the stereo type of a scientist. Students got to draw what they thought a scientist looked like. Then we watched some clips about scientists and discussed what a stereotype of a scientist is compared to what a scientist really does.
Real scientists are passionate, collaborative and curious
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And Yes sometimes "real" scientists do BLOW UP things - just check out this Geology video
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We learnt that "ology" means the study of and we created a long long long list of all the areas of study in science we could think of. Then we investigated one area and made a poster to share.
We looked at 9 physicists and learnt about goggling on google, unfortunately we can no longer perform this on our iPads. That didn't stop us working out who the pictures were? Can you name all 9?
FORCES
Our physics topic for this term is forces. We have started by:
This included trying to make different materials float and sink; trying to float as many pins without breaking the surface tension and playing tug of war.
Some of the videos and pictures below helped us understand the forces that act on water and how water molecules like to "stick together" when there are no other forces acting on them
- looking at buoyancy and surface tension
- drawn forces as vectors.
This included trying to make different materials float and sink; trying to float as many pins without breaking the surface tension and playing tug of war.
Some of the videos and pictures below helped us understand the forces that act on water and how water molecules like to "stick together" when there are no other forces acting on them
http://www.kimsallawayphotography.com/archives/1195/jesus_bug_sallaway_4883
Term 4 2014
Week 4 and lots has already happened:
- We are finishing our chemistry unit trying to separate a mystery mixture. Students started by looked at the mixture under the microscope and making a hypothesis about what they thought the mixture contained. They then used a small sample to test for properties like solubility and magnetism. They even used their knowledge of 'flame tests' to support their idea of the mixture containing a salt. Have a look below at the resulting photos
- On Tuesday 14th October we took part in the national "In Class with Brian Cox" - Check out the 'your say' page to find out more and leave a comment about that event
- We looked at the earths resources and thought about what we as humans use
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: is the science of the study of the relationship between humans and the planets natural resources
The links below show 6 different formats to collect information about the Earth's resources....when looking consider
Use the resources below to gather information and write an article on "The Earth's Resources"
A Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resource
A web page:
http://www.akita-ecotown.com/english/sigen.html
A kids web page:
http://www.ecofriendlykids.co.uk/naturalresourcesearth.html
A power point
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:8pE3yeMQu0MJ:www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/geography/Our%2520Earths%2520Resources.ppt+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
A video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1KSVMR7apg
A graphic Organiser:
http://vincecarls.wordpress.com/category/inspiration-graphic-organizer/
The links below show 6 different formats to collect information about the Earth's resources....when looking consider
- Which format is the easiest to understand?
- Which format gives you the most information?
- Are they all reliable sources?
Use the resources below to gather information and write an article on "The Earth's Resources"
A Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resource
A web page:
http://www.akita-ecotown.com/english/sigen.html
A kids web page:
http://www.ecofriendlykids.co.uk/naturalresourcesearth.html
A power point
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:8pE3yeMQu0MJ:www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/geography/Our%2520Earths%2520Resources.ppt+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
A video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1KSVMR7apg
A graphic Organiser:
http://vincecarls.wordpress.com/category/inspiration-graphic-organizer/
The video below looks at the impact humans make on the earth as they use resources without really thinking about the consequences
Some of the resources the class have investigated more closely include, plastics, iron, helium, animals, trees, metals and fossil fuels. Look out for their posters around the school.
Term 3 2014
In term 3 we looked at chemistry. What is a pure substance and what is a mixture. Our final task was to separate a mystery mixture.
We:
Before proceeding with the separation we did small sample tests like the flame test.
Our ideas for separation came after considering the properties of the materials, including solubility and magnetism.
We:
- Observed the mixture closely under a microscope
- Hypothesised and predicted what we thought the components were
Before proceeding with the separation we did small sample tests like the flame test.
Our ideas for separation came after considering the properties of the materials, including solubility and magnetism.
Blast from the Past
Here are some fun photos of way back in term 2 when we built Wonky Towers:
We were working as designers for 'Sky High' Industries and had to design the tallest tower we could, that could hold a 50g weight, using only 20 straws and as many pins as our 'company' budgeted for. The 'company' to secure the contract was the one that could hold the weight and came in closest to budget.
We were working as designers for 'Sky High' Industries and had to design the tallest tower we could, that could hold a 50g weight, using only 20 straws and as many pins as our 'company' budgeted for. The 'company' to secure the contract was the one that could hold the weight and came in closest to budget.