Calculating Coeffients Can Be Fun

Now a whole new set of my students have enjoyed a ride on the hovercraft. I have used this simple device with 3/4 inch piece of 3 ft diameter plywood, leaf blower and 20 mil plastic underskin to help teach friction.

There is enough air from the leaf blower to create a surface of air between the leaf blower and the floor and greatly reduce friction - so it hovers above the ground.  It is fun to ride with a push from fellow students. The best part was when we talked our lithe composition teacher, Angel Chenault, into taking a ride.

By the way she has the new Kosciusko record for length - 67.1 feet.

Here are a few other riders:

The whole exercise was a lab to find the coefficient of static friction and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the hover craft and the floor. Students measured the mass of the hover craft (pictured above) and added the rider's mass. This was multiplied by acceleration due to gravity in order to find the Weight. Then they measured the pull with a rope and large spring scale. Since there was constant velocity, the force of friction was equal to the force applied. Therefore, the force of friction/ divided by the Normal Force(equal to weight) is the coefficient of static friction.

The coefficient of kinetic fiction was a bit more involved. This time the acceleration of the craft needed to be determined. This was done by multiplying two times the distance and dividing by time squared.

This acceleration was divided by acceleration due to gravity to calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction.

Voila, calculating coefficients can be fun!

Happy Haunted House

One of the dreams I had when I came to KHS was to have a Happy Haunted House. I wanted to have a little scary and a lot of fun science for my students and for elementary school students. Two weeks before the big day,  my crack team of planners, Ann Marie and Lou-nae, and me started to plan. Soon others joined and the magic day started to take shape.

I went to visit Ms. Regina Biggers, the little ball of fire principal at Kosciusko Middle Elementary (KME). She was all in and suggested that I invite her second and third grade honor students. The next morning I got a text that she had 107 and was that doable. I had no idea it would be this big. I got everyone on board and we made it happen. She also knocked me over with great coverage on Twitter.

Here are a few of my favorites:

The logistics for the day included pairing my students with her students in four different time periods -

The Ginger Ale was for punch not slime

Katie got that all together (she also worked three hours the night before preparing slime solutions - along with some others)

) and she and Tori

(also my trusty assistant for three of the four shows).took care of my students greeting the KME students as they arrived at our campus on the big yellow bus.

Here are a few video clips from Coach Dickens - thanks!

Even Gandher the wizard lizard got into the show with a glow in the dark skeleton:

And here is the script:

 

Welcome to my Happy Haunted House. A warning someone may drop in –in a bit.

We will see (Mr. Bones drops in)

Now come out of the haunted part and into the happy part.

Let us sing a Halloween song: “Wheels on the bus”

And you may join along.

Since Mr. Bones was nice enough to drop in let us learn some bones –

·     finger bones – phalanges,

·     funny bone – humerus,

·     Squeeze lower arm – outside – radius inside – ulna

·     Leg bone – femur

·     Knee bone – sounds like vanilla - patella

·     Lower leg – tibia and fibula

 (Lights out) Let us get this thing really rolling (Shower with toilet paper)

After all the frights you might like to see something back to normal again.

(Break test tube and put in healing potion)

Let us say the chant and see if it works. Science is good, Science is great, let’s see what science can make! 

Now let us see if you know your colors. 

What color is it?

(Shake)

(Repeat through the cycle) – Make up your mind.

Let us see what this plasma globe may do. Here is a bulb from your house. What do you think it will do? (Put it near)

Here is another bulb from your house. Yours may be white but my house has them in color, What do you think it will do? (Put color light up to it)

Let’s see if we can make a switch to turn it off without touching or moving it.

(Get volunteer who knows one of the bones)

One of my students, Sarah Calhoun, has prepared a special Halloween Eye for you to look through today.

Say with me, “Science is for you, science is for me. Let’s see what science can see!”

(Look at all the different lights)

This pumpkin here needs a brain.  So let’s make him one. I have some grey matter. I have some neurons let’s mix together and see what we get.

Say “Science is good, science is great, let’s see what science can make!”

Now the time has come for you to make something. Your very own ooey, gooey, green slime. DO NOT EAT.

Listen carefully for instructions. Mix green liquid a little at a time into cup with clear liquid and stir.  Watch what happens.

When it no longer sticks to the side it is ready. Take it out and play with it. Let’s see who can make the longest piece of slime.

For making this slime and seeing this show, I am going to give you a junior scientist card. IF YOU BRING IT WHEN YOU ARE MY CHEMISTRY STUDENT IN THE TENTH GRADE, I WILL GIVE YOU A 100 TEST GRADE. TRUST ME YOU WILL NEED – JUST ASK MY STUDENTS.

For the finale, I thought I would give you some fire to inspire.

Before we go let’s have some grasshopper punch and make a toast.

To all those who helped. To your teachers who got you here. To my students who made this possible.

The highlight of the day was when they got to make their very own slime with PVA and sodium borate solutions. (Each were made from powder - 4g to 100 mL of water.)

Each student got their very own typed Junior Scientist Card. I told them if they brought it to me in a few years when they are in my chemistry class I would give them a 100 test grade. I told them they would need it and all my students chimed in that they better not loose it!

My dreams definitely came true!

*  *  *

Special thanks to:

Misty Holder for making each child a junior scientist card.

                     Donna Myers for generously lending her halloween props.

               Cassie King for letting us borrow her microwave for warming water for dry ice.

Bobbie Sue Horne for donating treat bags.

Robert Hawkins at Wal-Mart for donating candy, punch ingredients, and other supplies. 

Regina Biggers for a Title One donation for the project.

Teachers who let my students help during their class!

John-Mark Cain, my ace principal, for joining in sixth period.

The little things . . .

A student was reluctant about my class and style during the first nine weeks.  To show he is all in now, he bought me a gift. And wears blue on bluesday Tuesday.

And my favorite - cool happy socks!

And during a very hectic homecoming week, the cheerleaders made me a sign - it is what we say when someone has a great roll call sentence. Two more students put it up in the hallway.

Channing and Avery

 *  *  *

And I came out of a very long day with over 100 elementary students coming to my room for a
Happy Haunted House. "Mr. Banks," she softly said. "I need to tell you something. I am playing trivia crack and I am winning. It is everything you taught us in Chemistry. I feel so smart!"

  *  *  *

And our solar car team is coming together with elected officers and a logo contest and showing up every Sunday afternoon. Above is our first project, the dimensions of our solar car in pvc.

 *  *  *

And I needed some ice cream for the grasshopper punch for the Happy Haunted House and a parent, Ms. Wiley, volunteered without ever being asked!

 *  *  *

And Laile Belle comes running down the hall to show me her pluses from Kindergarten.

 *  *  *

My eighth period class shows up to launch rockets!

 *  *  *

And Ann Marie works hours on getting the haunted part of the Happy Haunted House ready and includes many others. Then she nails coefficient of friction in physics!

*  *  *

And take a minute to see this mini movie of mixing the four color demo! Need I say more - the little things. (Videos too large for the blog - I will try to fix later)

And my bromeliad bloomed

From my good friends the Avalons

The little things . . .

3-2-1 . . .

My physics' students had a day to design, build and name a rocket. They could use two 2-liter bottles, cardboard, tape, string, plastic and styrofoam for construction.

There a lot of young rocket engineers checking the internet for cone specifications, ideas for parachutes and stabilizer designs.

After putting on the last alterations, each team launched their rockets. To level the playing field for all, each rocket had 500 mL of water and 75 pounds of air pressure.

Here are the rusults.

First Place: 8.00 seconds

Mountain Dew

Brennan Hill and Makayla Wiley
(pictured above)

Second Place: 7:47 seconds

La Quadalupe

Miguel Garcia, Ilse Padilla, and Osvaldo Ballesteros

After very aerodynamically smooth rocket went almost straight up and straight down, I add a new category - highest altitude.

 Slow motion

Highest Altitude 82.1 meters

Time: 6:34 seconds

USA Liberty

James Swinney, Nicholas Pope, and Kaelin Wright

One rocket's parachute deployed - the first in my bottle rocket launching career.

Here is a pre-launch interview:

Here is the launch:

Stepping Out Into New Territory: Science Fair comes to Kosciusko High School.

There was a total science frenzy in my chemistry classes on Wednesday last week. As Winnie the Pooh said, it was a blustery day, a Winds - day.

We spent the whole class period in Chemistry on Roll Call. Each day my students complete a Ready, Set, Go (RSG) to get their brains warmed up. On this day they were to write five why or how science questions. Then they said their Roll Call. On that day it was to ask one of their questions. As each student said their roll call question,  I responded in depth to how that might work into a science project.

I told them the next day I was a tired man at the end of that day. I had listened to and responded to 84 possible science projects and wondered whether I really wanted to go through with this. Then I woke up in the morning and said a resounding YES. It will not be perfect and we will make some mistakes but we are going to do our best. If we do not get it started this year, it probably will not happen. So here we go.

It is good to remember Science is the quest for knowledge, not the knowledge itself.

Some day in January each student will have a table set up in the gym to display the findings of their project. We will invite parents and community members to see all the science queries of KHS scientists. Judges will assess the projects for the regional science fair. Those who get a first, second or third will move on to the state fair. And those who do well there will move on to the International Science Fair.

Most of my students will do individual projects.

• Some will be approved to do a group project through Exploravision.  (There are first, second the third place winners announced nationally.)

• Some will be approved to work on the Solar Car Challenge. (Students will build and then drive a solar car from Fort Worth, Texas to St. Paul, Minnesota in July 2016.)

• Some will be approved to work on the Rocket Contest.  (Students will construct and launch a rocket that reaches 850 feet altitude and lands two raw eggs in its payload safely. If these results are achieved, students will compete nationally in May.

• Fifteen students will be selected for the Science Olympiad Team. (Students compete in 23 categories in the regional. First and second place teams go to state.)

  

  Science Olympiad 23 competition categories

All project proposals are due Friday, October 9. The proposals should include the science question that will guide the research, a procedure for answering the question, and one source. 

Upon completion of their project, each student will have:

• recorded findings in their lab book, 

• recorded pictures and videos of the process,

• completed a 3-5 page scientific research paper,

• and be nudged into a brighter future as the result of completing this. 

P.S. Physics students will be doing a project as well.