www.teenbiz3000 reading program:

I am happy to announce that we are using an online reading program weekly in science class in order to improve our students' reading skills. Each day, TeenBiz3000 sends a current events article. Every student in the class gets the same basic article, but the content is customized to match each child's own reading level. The article comes with a variety of fun activities to improve your child's comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. As your child's reading level improves, TeenBiz will increase the level of difficulty so he/she remains challenged and interested.

Your child uses this program in class, but you can also share in the fun at home - or anywhere a computer is connected to the Internet. Here's how:

1. Log on to www.teenbiz3000.com with the following username and password.

   Username: (Each student has received their username.)
   Password: (the student has this info)
   Encourage your child to follow these five easy steps:
   Step 1: Check your e-mail. Read the message from TeenBiz and respond.
   Step 2: Click the link in the e-mail to read that day's news article.
   Step 3: Do the activity.
   Step 4: Finish the thought question.
   Step 5: Vote in the poll.
   
   

    

2. Explore other TeenBiz features, including other articles, the Stock Market game, puzzles, jokes, and more.

Have you thought about how our national energy needs will be met in the near future?
What is nuclear fusion and why should we care?
Here is a brief talk (video clip) that explains what nuclear fusion is and why we are interested in developing this as an energy source:
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_cowley_fusion_is_energy_s_future.html

Check it out!

 

The Spring Semester - a survey of Physics fundamentals:

Unit 5: Matter, Forces, and Motion
Unit 6: Energy, Work, and Power
Unit 7: Light and Sound
Unit 8: Electricity and Magnetism

Below describes our science focus for about the first 6-weeks of 2nd semester.
Unit 5 Description
The understanding of how matter, motion, and forces are related, along with a comprehension of Newton’s laws of motion and the effects of forces on objects will be developed. We will also look more closely at nanoscience and technology. What are the important forces acting at the nano scale and how can we exploit them?

Student Understandings for Unit 5
Beginning with the determination of mass and weight and continuing investigations of forces, students will design experiments to accurately test hypotheses about position, motion, speed, and direction. Newton’s laws of motion will be thoroughly explored. Students will develop the ability to construct and interpret graphs of motion. Building on Newton’s second law, the conservation of momentum in collisions is introduced at this level.

Guiding Questions for Unit 5
1. Can students describe forces?
2. Can students differentiate between mass and weight?
3. Can students describe motion as constant, and determine speed, acceleration, and velocity?
4. Can students use Newton’s laws of motion to analyze and describe how things move?
5. Can students describe or model how the net force affects the motion of an object - even at the nano scale?
6. Can students relate the application of some of Newton’s laws of motion to the order of the solar system?
7. Can students distinguish the four main forces in nature: gravity, electromagnetic, and strong and weak nuclear forces?

Go here: http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/ose/

User Name: PHYSICAL Password: qArEfu9ube   (both are case sensitive)

Once you get to the textbook site, use the navigator on the left side column. Try expanding the "Contents in Brief" link by clicking on the plus signs.