duqueteaches

Hi, I teach Science at American Senior High, and I am very interested in the posibilities of learning how to use Blogs in Education.

Name: duque_teaches

Location: United States

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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

ice age

Ice Age

An Internet Web Quest on Ice ages and Climate Change
By: Dustin Swann (Texas A&M '02)

Introduction
What would happen if glaciers started to expand and cover the Earth like they did 18,000 years ago? How much damage would this cause to our society? Would the ice destroy everything in its path? Would we be able to go on and live like we do today? Would there be any warning that an ice age is coming? Would we have time to adjust, and if so how much time? Scientist are considering these very questions today. In order to answer them scientist are studying what is left of the past ice ages to determine how they began and ended, and what to expect if another were to occur. Plus, through studying the past climate changes scientist have began the task of predicting future climate changes. This unit looks at what causes Ice ages, how they come to an end, and what the future climate might hold.
The Quest

The United Nations has hired your group to investigate whether or not there will be another ice age. Your job is to present evidence for and against an ice age ensuing, and if one does ensue what is expected to happen and how long until ice begins to re-advance.
Be creative and carefully read the instructions!
The instructor will assign students to one of four groups. The four groups will be: scientific evidence for another ice age, scientific evidence against another ice age, what will happen if another ice age ensues, how long will it take for advancing ice and changing climate to disturb our way of life. Each group will present their findings to the class.

The Process
Group members and roles will be assigned by the instructor.
Group members should read the assignment carefully.
Groups should divide the resource list between individuals.
Individual group members should check out their resource links and download information they might need to produce their group's product.
Groups should set a time to gather all information together and produce products.
After sufficient research time, a design for the product should be started.
Group members should design their product, check spelling and have another group review their product.
Group members should gather and organize a presentation for the client.

Hints
Visuals, overheads, charts and posters should be neat, simple and legible.
Plan before you produce!
Organize your information with an outline, concept map or a flow chart.

Evaluation Group Reports and Presentations

Research Time Utilization
1. Poor: The group needed continual reminders to get back to work.
2. Good: The group was usually on task, but needed an occasional reminder to get back to work; all work is appropriate.
3. Excellent: The group was always on task and did not need reminders to get back to work.
Participation in Project
1. Poor: Team effort was not visible. Group demonstrates some knowledge of their role.
2. Good: Team effort was visible. Knowledge of their role was visible and shows some organization.
3. Excellent: Team effort visible. The presentation was organized and demonstrates a knowledge of their subject.
Accuracy of Information During Project
1. Poor: The group's information was lacking in content and was not factually correct in many places. Information may not be pertinent to the presentation.
2. Good: The group's information was for the most part factually correct. Information may not be pertinent to the presentation.
3. Excellent: The group's information is factually correct and pertinent to the presentation.
Clarity of Presentation
1. Poor: The group's work is not well planned. The group was confused by much of the information presented. The group was not clear in explaining topics.
2. Good: The group's work is well planned. There seemed to be some minor confusion or misinterpretation of information.
3. Excellent: he group's work is well planned and clearly explained. The group showed a clear command of the information presented.

Conclusion
Congratulations! You now know about the past global climate of the Earth. You have successfully presented your findings to the United Nations and now they can make an informed decision about how to plan for the future. Do you think there will be another Ice Age? Why or why not?

Instructors' Notes

Explain how students can navigate through the Web Quest by using the hot-linked resources and the top-of-the-page links.
Provide materials for posters, overheads, maps and brochures for the products and presentations. If PowerPoint is available at your school, plan to make the software and hardware available.
For the Conclusion/Wrap-Up have each student write a paragraph responding to the question in the conclusion.
Suggested format and timeline for the Web Quest:

Suggested format and timeline for the Web Quest
Divide students into groups, assign and go over roles. 20-30 minutes
Group members download instructions and start using the hot-linked resources to gather information. 2 hours
Group members meet to share information. 1 hour 30 minutes
Groups produce their products. 3 hours
Groups plan and rehearse their presentation for the client. 45 minutes
Presentations 15-20 minutes each
Conclusion/ Wrap-Up 30 minutes
Optional Extension: Selected students read their paragraph to the entire class.

Labels: global warming climate change

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Study of waves 12/07/07

Study of Waves
Several problems involving stage lighting and sound effects have arisen in the past few days. With such a short period of time before opening night and very little money left in the budget, the cast and crew are frantically looking for some "quick fixes" to the problems they are facing. You have been hired as part of a "Sound and Lighting Crew" to assess the situation and propose some relatively inexpensive and efficient solutions to these problems. Everyone involved in the production is counting on you and your team to come up a plan to save the show. WITHOUT YOUR HELP, THE SHOW MAY HAVE TO CANCELLED!

To be able to accomplish this you will have to do some research.
The task
A. research the different kind of waves
Investigate the different kind of waves and describe their motion.
Longitudinal waves
Transverse waves
Water waves
q The radius of the circles decreases as the depth of the water _______.
Rayleigh surface waves
q The blue dot on top is moving ______ and the dot on the bottom is moving _______.

Draw
a stationary sound source
a moving sound source
a source breaking the sound barrier

Click on the jet on blue sky. The conditions are just right for us to see the F/A-18 Hornet breaking the sound barrier. Look at the cockpit and back of the plane. Check out the movie! Describe in your own words.
Your group will be divided into three sections
Sound and lighting crew.
Go to building a music room.
B. As a member of the Sound and Lighting Crew, you are expected to submit a written plan to the Club sponsor and the Principal of American Senior High. explaining what you think should be done to solve each of the following three problems being faced in the show's production. In your plan, you should include a description of your plan for solving each of the problems, as well as an explanation of how the scientific concepts of light and sound are involved in your solutions.
Problem #1- In the first scene in which Miss Hannigan appears, she is supposed to be wearing a BLACK dress. The only available dress that will fit the student playing this role is Green. There is no money in the budget to purchase another dress. What can be done to the lighting on the stage to make the Green dress APPEAR BLACK?
Problem #2- There are certain scenes in the play that require the stage to be lit by Yellow light only. ALL of the white light bulbs in the stage lights have blown out. The Yellow light bulbs are very expensive and there is no money in the budget to purchase new bulbs. The only available replacement light bulbs are red, white, blue, purple, green, and orange. Is there some way to make Yellow light using the available bulbs?

Problem #3- The schools amplification system for the stage microphones suddenly stopped working. A new amplification system would cost $5000 dollars. Hiring a professional to come in and repair the system would cost $2000. The budget cannot pay for either of these options. Is there something you can do to design a "make-shift" amplification system so that the audience will be able to hear the actors' performing their lines on opening night?
What solutions would you recommend to the cast and crew that will be both time and cost efficient in solving these problems? Your written plan should not only include solutions to the problems, but also should describe HOW and WHY your solution will work. Through your written plan, it is your job to convince the director, cast, and crew that your solutions are worth their time and energy investment. REMEMBER: WITHOUT YOUR HELP, THE SHOW MAY NOT GO ON!

The Process
In order to accomplish the task above, you will need to follow the steps listed below:
Step 1: You will form a group of three students. You will need to assign each of the roles below within your group of three students.
Task Roles
Lighting Specialist
Your Job: As the Lighting Specialist, it is your job to gather information needed to solve Problem #1 being faced by the cast and crew of American Senior High and use this information to propose a plan of action to solve this problem.
Problem #1- In the first scene in which Miss Hannigan appears, she is supposed to be wearing a BLACK dress. The only available dress that will fit the student playing this role is green. There is no money in the budget to purchase another dress. What can be done to the lighting on the stage to make the Green dress APPEAR BLACK?
Background Questions: Using the resources provided, find the answers to the following questions:
What is an electromagnetic wave?What are the waves of the electromagnetic spectrum?Which are the components of visible light?What are five common types of lighting? Which type of lighting produces all the colors of the visible spectrum?What determines the color of an object?What are the primary colors of light?What happens when the primary colors of light are mixed in equal amounts?How do your eyes allow you to see?What causes light to be reflected?

Color Technician
Your Job: As the Color Technician, it is your job to gather information needed to solve Problem #2 being faced by the cast and crew of American Senior High. and use this information to propose a plan of action to solve this problem.
Problem #2- There are certain scenes in the play that require the stage to be lit by Yellow light only. ALL of the Yellow light bulbs in the stage lights have blown out. The Yellow light bulbs are very expensive and there is no money in the budget to purchase new bulbs. The only available replacement light bulbs are red, white, blue, purple, green, and orange. Is there some way to make Yellow light using the available bulbs?
Background Questions: Using the resources provided, find the answers to the following questions:
What is an electromagnetic wave?What are the components of white light?What determines the color of an object?What are the primary colors of light?What happens when the primary colors of light are mixed in equal amounts?How is mixing pigments different from mixing light?

Audio Engineer
Your Job: As the Audio Engineer, it is your job to gather information needed to solve Problem #3 being faced by the cast and crew of AMERICAN Senior High and use this information to propose a plan of action to solve this problem.

Problem #3- The schools amplification system for the stage microphones suddenly stopped working. A new amplification system would cost $5000 dollars. Hiring a professional to come in and repair the system would cost $2000. The budget cannot pay for either of these options. Is there something you can do to design a "make-shift" amplification system so that the audience will be able to hear the actors' performing their lines on opening night?
Background Questions: Using the resources provided, find the answers to the following questions:

What is a mechanical wave?
How are amplitude, frequency, and wavelength related to each other in relation to sound waves?
How do waves bend?What is the law of reflection?
What makes some sounds louder than others?
How are sound intensity and loudness related?
What factors determine the quality of a sound?
How does your ear work to help you hear sound?

Step 2: Each person in your group will need to do research, in order to gather information necessary for solving the stage lighting and sound problems. A list of Resources for this research is available for you to use to answer your background questions.

Step 3: The background questions page should be used to gather information needed to solve your particular problem. You must research at least three different Internet sites and note the sources (website URLs) of your search.
Step 4: After researching your roles and individually completing your background questions, come together with your other group members to discuss your findings. Decide how the information you collected can help you come up with solutions to the problems faced by the crew of American Senior High. Discuss within your group the solutions that you will propose for each of these problems.

Step 5: With your fellow group members, use the Plan Outlines to write your plan for the Club sponsor and the Principal of American Senior High. explaining the solutions that you recommend to the cast and crew. Remember, these solutions should be both time and cost efficient. Be sure that your written plan describes HOW and WHY your solution will work. Write your plan in a persuasive tone, in order to convince both that your plan will work and will be worth the time and energy investment.

Plan Outline- Problem #1
Proposed Solution- Problem #1_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explanation of How and Why the Solution Will Work (including Scientific Concepts Used): _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explanation of Time and Cost Efficiency:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Plan Outline- Problem #2
Proposed Solution- Problem #2_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explanation of How and Why the Solution Will Work (including Scientific Concepts Used): _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explanation of Time and Cost Efficiency:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Plan Outline- Problem #3

Proposed Solution- Problem #3_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explanation of How and Why the Solution Will Work (including Scientific Concepts Used): _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explanation of Time and Cost Efficiency:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Make a Power point presentation that summarizes all your solutions.

Evaluation
Your Sound and Lighting Crew's final written plan to the Club sponsor and the Principal of American Senior High. will be assessed using a grading rubric. All three sections of your crew's plan will be graded together.
Written Plan: Sound and Lighting Crew Solutions
Group Members Lighting Specialist ___________________Color Technician _____________________Audio Engineer ______________________

CATEGORY
Solutions - Logistics
4. The solutions for all three of the stage and lighting problems are easy to understand, and are logical.
3. The solutions for two of the three stage and lighting problems are easy to understand, and are somewhat logical.
2. The solutions for two of the three stage and lighting problems are a little hard to understand.
1. None of the three solutions are attempted or are impossible to understand.

Solutions- Content
4. The solutions for all three of the stage and lighting problems use appropriate scientific concepts to explain how and why the solutions will work.
3. The solutions for two of the three stage and lighting problems use appropriate scientific concepts to explain how and why the solutions will work.
2. The solutions for two of the three stage and lighting DO NOT use appropriate scientific concepts to explain how and why the solutions will work.
1. None of the solutions use appropriate scientific concepts to explain how and why the solutions will work.

Solutions- Time and Cost Efficiency
4. The solutions for all three of the stage and lighting problems explain why the plan will be time and cost efficient.
3. The solutions for two of the three stage and lighting problems explain why the plan will be time and cost efficient.
2. The solutions for two of the three stage and lighting DO NOT explain why the plan will be time and cost efficient.
1. None of the solutions explain why the plan will be time and cost efficient.

Neatness
4. The final draft of the plan is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It is free of erasures and crossed-out words. It looks like the authors took great pride in it.
3. The final draft of the plan is readable, neat and attractive. It may have one or two erasures, but they are not distracting. It looks like the authors took some pride in it.
2. The final draft of the plan is readable and some of the pages are attractive. It looks like parts of it might have been done in a hurry.
1. The final draft is not neat or attractive. It looks like the students just wanted to get it done and didn't care what it looked like.

Spelling and Punctuation
4. There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft.
3. There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft.
2. There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.
1. The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors.

Powerpoint Presentation

4. Excellent use of graphics and a very good summary of the information capable of maintaining the audience attention during the whole presentation.
3. Good use of graphics and a good summary of the information capable of maintaining the audience attention for most of the presentation.
2. Acceptable use of graphics and a acceptable summary of the information capable of maintaining the audience attention for part of the presentation.
1. Some use of graphics and not summarized information uncapable of maintaining the audience attention for most of the presentation.

Conclusion
Congratulations! You've "saved the play!" Now that you have successfully solved each of the three problems faced by the cast and crew of American Senior, THE SHOW WILL GO ON! The director, cast and crew, and the entire Hialeah and Miami Lakes Community are extremely grateful to you for the time and effort you put into making sure the problems would be amended before "show-time." They have even decided to devote an entire page in the play program to the Sound and Lighting Crew to show their gratitude. Congratulations, again, on a job well done! Now that your mission is complete, there are a few more things to think about:
What supplies would you need to carry out the plan you suggested? How much would the cost actually be to carry out your plan?How long will it take to complete your plan, from beginning to end? Do you know someone who would be able to carry out each of the steps in your plan?

Credits and References

Do you see what I see do you hear what I hear:Web quest developed by Carla Beasley Julius West Middle School carla_beasley@fc.mcps.k12.md.us http://beasleyjwms.tripod.com/cb_webquest/home.htm

The Physics of Waves by Mrs. Fonnett
http://wizard.4teachers.org/builder/worksheet.php3?ID=16233
Website and Description
Nature of Waves
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/waves/U10L1a.html

Examines waves in terms of how they travel, energy they carry, and the types of waves involved in light and sound.

Properties of Waves
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/waves/U10L2a.html

Examines the different types of waves, as well as measurement of wave speed and frequency.

How Light Behaves as a Wave
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/U12L1a.html

Examines reflection and refraction properties of light.

Color and Vision
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/U12L2a.html

Examines properties of visible light, as well as adding and subtracting colors.

Using Lights to Mix Colors
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/colored_shadows.html

Examines how to mix colored lights to produce new shades of light.

The Nature of a Sound Wave
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/U11L1a.html

Examines the different types of sound waves, as well as the components of a wave.

Sound Properties and Their Perception
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/U11L2a.html

Examines how to measure properties of sounds, such as frequency and speed, as well as how the ear responds to sound waves. Behavior of sound waves

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/U11L3a.html

Examines reflection and refraction properties of sound, as well as what happens when sounds interfere with one another.

http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/Demos/waves/wavemotion.html
Wave Behavior

http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/Demos/doppler/doppler.html

Sound Waves

http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/

Building a Music Room

duqueteaches

About Me

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

ice age

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Study of waves 12/07/07