The Goal for this week....

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     Here is the goal...so far, we have done Gas Laws in Academic.  I hit them with Charle's and Boyle's.  We even attempted a Charle's law experiment.  There was a question on the pre test about how much a model of a gas gets smaller if it cools a small amount.  Almost everyone missed it.  Hopefully, the Charle's Law experiment might help clear up misconceptions.  If I could do it again, I would use a test tube with a one hole stopper in hot and cold water and then just get two points.  Students got the idea.  The data was not great but it hit home the point that 0 Celsius does not work well.  We have done the symbolic (quantitative problems) and now we are going to the particulate with a POGIL.

     Another idea I am going to attempt is to try to build an electronic cloud chamber.  A blaring misconception that students have is they think all nuclear material is dangerous.  Hopefully, a simple cloud chamber with some autunite might help change that misconception.

     In Accelerated, we did two types of water density experiments.  The first one I told them just to get the mass and volume.  The second one we paid much more attention to significant figures.  It worked farely well, but if I could do it over, I would have done the same idea with the BB's.  It shows the differences in accuracy and precision much better.  Hopefully, I will remember that for next year.  This year I am going to have them find the density of a metal three different ways and figure out which is the best.  The big question...how do we define best?