Watt's Happening?

1. Clouds are formed because gaseous water in the air cools enough to form tiny liquid droplets. Imagine that you are sitting on a water molecule which behaves like a single atom and you are floating around in the air. Describe what you would see and feel as you floated high into the atmosphere where the temperature is lower and you begin to encounter other water molecules in the process of forming a cloud.
2. When it snows, the liquid drops in clouds freeze solid. Describe on atomic level the difference between a liquid and a solid.
3. Liquid nitrogen boils at a frigid -80°C while water boils at 100°C. Which substance has stronger attractions between its atoms? Why?
4. Some cooking pans are advertised as “nonstick”. Think about what you learned regarding differences in atomic attractions. What must be true about the atoms lining nonstick pans to give them the property of “non-stickiness”?
5. Now that you have experimented with surface tension think about how what you learned applies to the real world.  What kind of water do you think would be most effective for washing clothes, dishes etc. ?  Why?

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ATOMS IN MOTION

Why do solids and liquids form and why at particular temperatures?

Viscosity Explorer

The Viscosity Explorer lets you see how viscosity varies from liquid to liquid and how temperature affects viscosity.

• compare two different liquids with each other
• test the same liquid at two different temperatures

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ATOMS IN MOTION

We Have to Stick Together….We’re Molecules…Continued

Why do solids and liquids form and why at particular temperatures?

 A Penny for Your Drops

Students will explore surface tension by finding the number of drops of water that will fit on the head of a penny before it spills, identify and control the variables affecting the outcome of this experiment, and explore the effect of soap on surface tension.

Surface Tension Handout

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ATOMS IN MOTION

We Have to Stick Together….We’re Molecules

Why do solids and liquids form and why at particular temperatures?

Part A: Discussion about the necessity of changing the model to accommodate attractive forces between atoms and why this is needed to model phase changes.

Before this activity, gasses, almost exclusively, have been modeled. The model has assumed there is only an interaction between atoms when they collide. If this were true, then there would be no way for anything to exist in a liquid or solid state. Everything would be a gas! To model liquids and solids another set of rules needs be added to make the model more accurate:

• There is an attractive force between all atoms.
• This force is only significant when the atoms are very close together.
• The attractive force also varies depending on the type of atoms.

When atoms are moving around fast enough (meaning they are hot enough), they then bounce off of each other with enough force to overcome the attraction felt between them. If you cool them down enough, they slow down, having less kinetic energy [energy of motion], and start sticking together. They are unable to bounce off of each other because the attractive force holds them close. A substance in this state is called a liquid. The change from gas to liquid is called condensation, the opposite change, boiling.

In the liquid state, atoms are not bouncing around freely, but they don’t form rigid structures either. The atoms have enough energy to flow by each other, continuously changing which atoms are next to each other. If the substance is cooled even more, the atoms will form a more ordered structure with little more than vibrational movement. Substances that form a more rigid, ordered structure are considered to be solids. The change from liquid to solid is called freezing, the opposite change, melting. The process of changing directly from solid to gas is called sublimation.

Depending on the strength of the attractive force between atoms of a substance the temperature at which liquids and solids form will vary.

Molecular Workbench Activity #63

• Attractive Forces & Phase Change (Student-directed)
• Understanding boiling points due to Van der Waals attractions (Teacher-directed)

EXPLORE LEARNING GIZMO:  PHASE CHANGES 

(In Particular:  Extension – Altitude & Phase Changes)

Explore the relationship between molecular motion, temperature, and phase changes. Compare the molecular structure of solids, liquids, and gases. Graph temperature changes as ice is melted and water is boiled. Find the effect of altitude on phase changes. The starting temperature, ice volume, altitude, and rate of heating or cooling can be adjusted.

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ATOMS IN MOTION

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You Can’t Vacuum the Moon!

Q:  What is suction? 

A:  Suction, which is usually thought of as a pulling force, does not exist; it is actually the result of differences in gas pressures (pushing forces).

Pressure Stations…

1.)  Pressure Activities – High to Low

2.)  Pressure activities – Into the Abyss

3.)  Pressure activities – Hand Crusher

4.)  Pressure activities – Bell Jar vs Marshmallows

Bill Nye The Science Guy:  Pressure

Bill Nye visits Hoover Dam and takes to jack hammering concrete blocks to explore different types of pressure, while special equipment enables him to scuba dive and explain the effects of pressure underwater.

Assessment of Understanding…

1. Often, if you pack a half filled bottle of shampoo on a plane trip, the top of the shampoo bottle will pop open. Why does this happen? Why wouldn’t this happen if you had a completely full bottle of shampoo?
2. How does a suction cup work? Why does it stick to a window or wall if there is no pulling force of suction?
3. If there is no such thing as a pulling force of suction, then how does a straw work? Think about what must be true about gas pressures in different places and why the gas pressure changes when it does.
4. What if you landed on the moon with someone who is compulsive about keeping things clean and he or she tries to vacuum up all that dust around where the spaceship landed? Why can’t you vacuum the moon? Explain how differences in pressure allow a vacuum to work and why this wouldn’t work on the moon.
5. When the air inside a hot air balloon cools, the pressure initially decreases. After a short time will the pressure inside and outside the balloon be the same, or different. Explain what happens on an atomic level as the balloon cools. Be sure to talk about the air inside and outside the balloon.

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ATOMS IN MOTION

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Linear Equations and Number Machines … LOG IN & PLAY

In this math game you have been recruited by Lissaman Industries to assist in one of their super-secret, ultra-dangerous research projects.

As the new controller of the mighty Nuclear Generator, your job is to serve scientists waiting at the Generator’s outlets. Each scientist needs a certain atom, which you create by solving linear equations and then guiding ‘raw’ atoms through the Generator’s maze of machines and tubes.

Be quick: the scientists are impatient to continue their work. Take too long to serve them and they grow annoyed and eventually storm off; let this happen too many times and you will be fired!

The ultimate aim of the project is to construct a monstrous mega-machine known only as ‘The Device’. But exactly what does this strange contraption do? Play the game and find out!

NOTE:  The first time you play only Easy difficulty is selectable. However, after successfully completing the first six shifts you will be promoted to Medium difficulty, which then becomes selectable from the menu in all future games.  Similarly you ‘unlock’ Hard by completing all six Medium shifts, and Extreme by completing all six Hard shifts. When you complete all six Extreme shifts, finally you discover what the purpose of The Device is…

CHALLENGE: Gold Medal achievements for all 4 stages  prior to Thursday May 31, 2012.

The following 3 PRODIGI “Teach Me Now” sections could prove helpful for those who need additional support…see Ms. Bain for more information.

a) Solving linear equations involving brackets

b) Solve linear equations with an unknown on both sides

c) Solve linear equations involving negatives

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Solving Equations:  A Conceptual Approach

 Jumping to Solutions

How can you determine the length of a jump by knowing the position of the jumper at two different times?

How does an equation describe how a person moved to a position?

Students will measure the position and number of jumps of a person, generate an equation that describes how the person got to the end position, and determine the length of the person’s jump from the equation.  Click on the Jumping to Solutions link above to access the complete lesson.

Pogo Stick Paths

How can you determine the length of a pogo stick jump by knowing how many times each person jumped and how far they dragged their pogo sticks?

Students will translate a picture of pogo stick jumpers into an equation, determine the length of a jump from the context of a story, and generalize the steps for solving a story for use in solving equations.  Click on the Pogo Stick Paths link above to access the complete lesson.

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 Algebra in the Real World DVD  

Algebra in the Real World:  explore the excitement, the power, the range and the results of the applications of algebra in fascinating career fields. From astronomy to forestry, sports equipment design to saving endangered species, alternative energy to farming, algebra is shown in its vital role as the tool that allows us to create, to understand, and to improve our world.

The DVD includes 18 popular Futures Channel movies with algebra curriculum connections, supplementary algebra curriculum and correlations to the Common Core Mathematics Standards!

April 2012 Term 3 Report Format

Please check with your child in regards to this.  Signed envelopes indicating receipt are due back by Friday.

Wishing you all the best for Term 4.  I am sorry that I can’t be there to share in your learning. Take good care.

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