The Elements Song

The Elements Song

Flaming Gummy Bear

This is a chemical reaction between potassium chlorate and sugar (gummy bear). The potassium chlorate is melted to a liquid which then reacts with the gummy bear. The potassium chlorate is oxidized, releasing oxygen gas, which creates the extremely bright and hot reaction. Warning: these demos are to for teachers to perform only!

Cool Videos...

I've linked some of the chemical reaction vidoes we watched in class today - along with some others I thought everyone would like. Some are RealPlayer, some are MediaPlayer, and others are QuickTime - they may not work on everyone's computer, so keep trying.

Sodium and Chlorine - look at salt in a whole new way!

Ice Bomb - freezing water explodes! Weird.

Magnesium and Dry Ice - Very cool...pun intended...

Mercury Heartbeat - one of two elements that are liquid at room teperature, mercury beats like a heart in this reaction.

Variety of Videos - this is the site that had the hydrogen balloon reaction we watched in class

Do you need help?

With science, of course...

If you have having trouble with something in science, post your question here. I will answer it as soon as possible - others are free to answer the question as well - you learn best when you can teach it to someone else.

It's a Girl! (and other news...)

Yes. It's a girl. She's so CUTE!!! And, no, I'm not going to say what she is, but I will include a link here (I'm sure most of you can guess what I'm talking about).

In other news...

If you fix it, they will come?

Naomi (1st) period posted the following

"...I just wanted to comment about the New Orleans Saints. Today is their first homegame in the dome since Hurricane Katrina. There are two sides to this story.First of all I will begin with the bad side of it. All this money was spent on the dome instead of the cleanup of the city. Most of the homes that got destroyed are still there. The good side of the dome being repaired is that the people of New Orleans finally get hope of being happy again. Everyone in the dome is very excited because they are looking forward for the Saints to give them hope. They also are bringing tons of people to the city because they all want to see the team play. The football team is giving the city a spark of hope and happiness..."

I was watching the game, and they mentioned that it was FEMA money that went toward the rebuilding of the dome. They also mentioned that 1/4 of the current population of the city was in attendance at the game tonight (and they looked HAPPY). Additionally, they mentioned that something in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars flowed into the city tonight because of the game.

I know there were people who were unhappy that money went to the Superdome before it went to fix houses, but New Orleans is a tourist city, and if the tourists have no reason to come and spend their money, then the city is in even worse shape.

Not only did it give New Orleanians something to be happy about and enjoy, it brought much needed money and a renewed awareness of how far the city has come, as well as how far it still needs to go.

"...I walk the line..."

Weekly Review/Preview & Fun Website of the Week! 9/25/06

Last week we reviewed matter - the four states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma), the three subatomic particles (protons, neutrons, and electrons), as well as changes of state (freezing, melting, condensation, sublimation, vaporization). We will have a test on this material on Tuesday, 9/26. For review, try here and here.

For review of the scientific method, try here.

Also, try the Interactive Tutor at www.glencoe.com - we have been working on material from Chapter 1 and 2.

Finally, try the quizzes that I have already posted on the blog - if you do well on them, you will probably do well on the test.

The later part of the week will bring a review of the Periodic Table of the Elements. For a preview, click here.

The Fun Website of the Week:

Do you Sudoku? Sudoku is a Japanese number puzzle game. There are many online versions to try - here's one.

Gabriel and Jeff H - This Post's For You!

One last panda post...

Revenge of the Endangered Panda:

In China, a drunken man jumped into a panda's cage, so that he could touch the bear. Instead, he startled the bear, who ended up biting him. The man tried to bite him back! Needless to say, the panda won, and the man ended up getting stitches. Read more here.

In other science news, the space shuttle Atlantis arrived safely back on Earth after a construction mission to the International Space Station. More...

What Kind of Super Hero would You Like To Be?

I was watching the movie Fantastic Four this weekend, and I thought of the question - what kind of super powers would you like to have?

Science Current Events

Some interesting science events:

1. A shark that "walks" on the sea floor was discovered. Go to the link, scroll down, and check out the video!

2. A women "space tourist" was launched into space (you could go too, for a mere $20 million dollars).

3. An extra-solar planet that could theoretically float in water was discovered (thanks Jeff H - 3rd period). Go to the link, and check out the interactive feature on how we find these planets.

4. A weird distorted solar system was found. This is based on the idea of a brown dwarf - a space object like a star, but without enough mass to ever start fusion.

If you had a chance to travel in space, would you? How much would you pay?

Weekly Review/Preview and Fun Website of the Week!

First, the Fun Website of the Week is Roller Coaster Physics - design your own roller coaster here.

Second, more practice quizzes (remember, e-mail your results to me at charmagne.quenan@cobbk12.org)


Matter Quiz, and in Spanish

Density (this is the same as the other posted - some people still need help)

CRCT style

Last week, due to testing, every class did something different, but we all worked on hands-on activities (1st and 2nd did density tubes, 3rd completed the Lighthouse Diamond Mystery, and 6th and 7th examined the properties of a Twizzler).

This week we are reviewing matter.

Random Thoughts and Thoughtful Randomness

Things have been relatively quiet in the world of science this week, so I thought I would throw some other topics out for discussion.

First - (OK, this one is science related - I just couldn't help it) - check out the new video of Lun Lun and her cub. There is another one here (www.ajc.com - you might need to register to see it, but it's worth it). Click on the link "New Video of Baby Panda."

Second - this topic came up in my homeroom, as well as on the blog: student laptops. It's back in the news because an audit done of the county books showed that Apple should not have received the contract for the laptops. It turned out to be a huge mess that cost people their jobs and cost the county money. What did you think? Did you want the laptops or not? Based on your classmates' behavior, do you think the laptops would've been taken care of or broken all the time? How do you feel about Apple vs. PC (I know we have some techies out there with an opinion!)?

Third - A mother and grandmother in Clayton county were arrested because they falsified paperwork and sent their children toa Fayette County school. They could get a $1,000 fine and 5 years in prison (I doubt it, but it's a possibility). Do you think that is fair? How do you think we should decide which schools kids can go to?

Finally - I love the shows "Dancing with the Stars" and "Project Runway" - I'm not a huge reality TV person, but I do like these shows because they are different. My favorite celebrity on DWTS is Emmitt Smith - I loved him as a football player, and the man can really dance! I also enjoyed Jerry Springer - I thought his dancing was much more entertaining than his talk show! "Project Runway" is winding down, and one of the designers with a really good chance to win it all is Michael - not only are his designs terrific, but he is from Atlanta. What shows do you like? What shows do you love and never miss?

Have fun with the topics - be nice if someone's opinion differs from yours, and remember that this is still a school-related site!

Side note: Interesting article concerning online information and possible problems with getting hired. Young people who grow up very comfortable with technology sometimes forget that they leave "evidence" online. Some colleges are having to give seminars to kids about online safety and common sense. I know a lot of you have myspaces and xangas - just be careful, and watch how much info you put out there in cyberspace!

Experiences...

Did you hear that there was an earthquake off the coast of Florida on Sunday? It was a magnitude 6.0 (that's pretty strong), and it was centered about 260 miles off the coast of Tampa. People in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana reported feeling it. Luckily, it was not big enough to trigger a tsunami. It was the strongest of about a dozen quakes that the region has experienced in the last 30 years.

When I hear the word "earthquake," I think of California. When I hear "hurricane," I think of Florida (sorry, Louisiana, despite Katrina, I still think of Florida first). When I hear "tornado," I think, "Toto, we must be in Kansas" even though Georgia gets its fair share.

I experienced easily a dozen earthquakes while I lived in California - some felt like a truck rumbling by, some made the building roll like a boat, and others were like sharp loud cracks. I was never close enough to an epicenter to experience any real danger. Likewise with hurricanes and tornadoes - I've always been on the outskirts - minor wind damage, but nothing deadly or dangerous.

Probably the most famous storm that I was a part of was the Blizzard of '78 - it shut down the entire east coast for over a week. The snow went up to the roof of my house - my siblings and I could slide off the roof and across the snow in the yard! I remember cross-country skiing to store with my dad to try to buy food - I was also out of school for a week!





What experiences have you had with natural disasters?

Debate - Where Should Our Money Go?

After some hemming and hawing, I removed Gabriel's panda post, not because I didn't like it, but because it used a couple of terms that may have been (mildly) inappropriate for a school site (please remember, folks, your classmates and their parents may have different ideas about what's OK!).

Anyway, his comments were very valid - the gist of it being, "What's the big deal? Why are we spending money on this (the pandas) when we haven't even cleaned up the mess from Katrina or developed alternative fuel sources?"

Good question.

I did a quick glance at the Zoo Atlanta site and a quick google search to see if I could find out how much government money went to the zoo, but I was not successful. I did see, however, that much of its money comes from corporate and private sponsorships, and not the government (although as a likely non-profit, it would benefit from tax breaks). The pandas are at the zoo as a public relations tool as well as an educational one. I think people feel a responsibility to help animals that are endangered as a result of human activity. We also have a very tenous relationship with China, and the loan is a very positive endeavor.

Philanthropy is a personal thing. Causes I feel worthy of supporting may seem worthless to you. Both of my in-laws dies of cancer, therefore I tend to support cancer-related causes. It doesn't mean I think heart disease is any less important; it's just not as meaningful to ME. I work in education - I support education, naturally. I am more likely to donate to an education cause than another cause.

So discussion question - what science-related cause do you feel are worthy of government support? Should we be paying millions to launch a space shuttle or explore a planet when we are still so dependent on foreign oil? Should we be spending money to study endangered animals habitats when we still haven't found a cure for cancer?

What do you think?

Panda Cam, Fun Website of the Week, and More!

Here's the link to Zoo Atlanta's Panda Cam - check in and see how the mother and baby are doing.

Fun Website of the Week - this is too cool - VIRTUAL DISSECTIONS! And, I love the name of the site - www.froguts.com Although the site is a subscription, it has three sample virtual disections/activities - click on the "demos" button in the upper right hand corner. I tried all three. I liked the frog, but I really liked the owl pellet.

Finally, discussion topic (I thought of it after reading Jane's and Hilda's posts about panda's as pets):

I have owned, in addition to ordinary cats, dogs, fish, and parakeets, hamsters, guinea pigs, tarantulas, geckos, newts, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and a giant African millipede.

What is the coolest or weirdest pet you've ever owned? What animal would you love to have for a pet?

Fun News!

After the sadness of Steve Irwin's death, I thought it would be nice to have some good news.
Lun Lun, the female panda at Zoo Atlanta, gave birth to a baby panda about 4:50 PM, Wednesday afternoon. The baby is pink and hairless and only the size of a stick of butter! So far, it seems like Lun Lun is taking care of the baby and bonding well with it.

There was a chance that she might have a twin - twins are born between 12 and 24 hours after the first cub. So much time has passed that zoologists don't think she will have another, but they are still watching just in case. Often, when a twin is born, the mother panda won't take care of it, so the zoo keepers want to be able to rescue it if another is born.

Lun Lun and her partner Yang Yang came to Atlanta seven years ago from China. Their baby is the fifth panda born in a US zoo, and the first born in the south.

You can read more about it at the Atlanta Journal Constitution site - you can even see the birth (it's not gross or too detailed) or participate in a blog to name the new baby. (Don't forget - you might need to register, but it's free).

Have you seen the pandas? What did you think (I thought they were SO cute!!!)? What do you think a good name for the baby would be? What are some other animals you would like to see more of in the US?

Some people are against zoos, saying that it's cruel to keep animals locked up for human entertainment, but others point to the good zoos can do, particularly with endangered species, like pandas. What do you think?

Crocodile Hunter Controversy - What's Your Opinion?

It turns out that there is video of Steve Irwin's death. They were filming when his chest was pierced by the stingray barb, as he pulled the barb out, and as he died. Some people feel the video should be used only by the coroner for information for the autopsy. Others feel that it should be shown - some even say that Steve Irwin would've wanted it shown.

What do you think? Should it be shown or not? Whose decision should it be whether or not it gets shown? Would you watch it if it were available? Why or why not?

Correction

Testing is Wednesday and Thursday - not Tuesday, as I had previously posted.

Weekly Review/Preview & Fun Website of the Week!

This past week, we continued working on reviewing and understanding scientific methods and improving our metric measurement skills. This upcoming week, we will continue working on both.

Need help with metric measurement (or the 24 hour clock)?

Try this site (when you enter your answers, click on the bubble, "Are you right?" to see the correct answer and move on to the next slide. Try it here.

More help and practice can be found here. The metric activities are to the right.

Due to Labor Day on Monday and CoGat testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, we will only have homework Wednesday night, and there will be no learning log this week or next. First period will have a small work packet sent home Tuesday that is due on Friday. All classes will have a Performance Assessment ( a practical application test) that will be worth a test grade.

ATTENTION: Online Quiz Opportunities for Effort Points!

After submitting, e-mail the results to me at charmagne.quenan@cobbk12.org for effort credit!

One: Self-Quiz and in Spanish, here
Two: CRCT style
Three: Density

Fun Website of the Week: Astronomy Picture of the Day

When I was in junior high, I spent hours in the library, reading Astronomy magazine, looking at the cool pictures and dreaming of being an astronomer. I would've LOVED this site!

Sad News!

As several students have posted already, the sad news is that Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" died today while filming a new show in Australia. He was 44.

He was killed in a freak accident - a sting ray's barb pierced his chest and made a hole in heart. Sting rays barbs, while painful, are rarely fatal. This was the first death by sting ray in Australia in nearly 60 years.

A a self-proclaimed science geek, I loved his show - I loved his enthusiasm for science and nature in general, and animals in particular. He made science fun, entertaining, and "cool."

He will be missed.

You can read more information here at CNN.com and here at AJC.com (you may need to register at the AJC site, but it's free).