Solar Car Challenge Meeting Today at 3:00 pm in Super B's Room

My inspiration - Team from El Paso - built a car in 39 days!

Last Friday and Saturday, my wife and I took a very long quick trip to Fort Worth, Texas for a training session for the Solar Car Challenge. Two things in particular made the trip worthwhile. First was meeting the team pictured above - if they can do it, we can do it. Second was actually seeing a solar car and seeing it take a spin around the parking lot without a sound! (since it runs on an electric motor).

The challenge is quite simple by idea - a high school team must build from scratch a car that runs only by solar energy. The process is a bit more involved.

Presently 31 high school teams compete from across the country. Here are some pics from last year's race:

Our own state has had a national winner - Houston High School. I was first introduced to their team and car twelve years ago and was totally impressed and captivated by their car and their teamwork. Unfortunately, I have not been in a school yet that could rise to the challenge.

I have been holding the dream now for all this time.  Now I have been given a gift where I can nurture this dream into reality - I am a teacher at a great school, Kosciusko High School, in a very supportive community.

Today at 3:00 pm I have invited students, parents and the community to meet with me in my learning laboratory at Kosciusko High School to make this dream come true.

Will you join me in this invigorating quest?

For more information check out www.solarcarchallenge.org. and later posts on this blog.

Chemistry Chapter 5 and HW for Tuesday September 15

Go to my dropbox to get the slides.

Write notecards for the people and the terms from Chapter 5 section one.

Chemistry Homework for Wednesday, September 9 and Study Guide

Work pages 11 and 12 under Notes for Matter and Energy 

• Review parts of the periodic table
•  
• Review A number and Z number and how to find electrons, protons and neutrons.
•  
• Review Seven Scientists, Country, Dates and Contribution to our Understanding of the Atom
•  
• Review 33 definitions
•  
• Review physical and chemical changes
•  
• Review Matter flowchart

Resources:

Chapter Two Section One

Chapter Two Section Two

Chapter Two Section Three

Chapter Two Section Four

Notes for Matter and Energy 
(Work pages 11 and 12 for homework.)

This and That

If I had grandkids, this is what would happen.

Guess that is why I do not have any.

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Everyday I put superstars on the board. They may answer a question correctly or get an A on a quiz. They get nothing for it except recognition, and be clear about this - they want their name on the board. When they get a second question correct they get a star by their name.

It was a good day for Loftin (see the stars by his name!  Another day was Hannah day - she had four stars.

 *  *  * 

The other day I told my students about getting up at 5:00 am to see the Persiad meteor shower. They greeted me the next day with good news - they had gotten up at 4:30 and saw 20 meteors! Great job, Miquel and Osvaldo!

*  *  *  

These students insisted on having their picture for red, yellow, black or white day.

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Some of my eighth period students came out on my Friday afternoon duty post to say hello.

*  *  * 

And here is some excellent student work:

Brennan graphing the alka rockets

Makayla finding the velocity of the alka rockets

Ilse finding the velocity of the alka rockets and graphing!

Brennan nails the a-t graph with a -9.8 m/s/s

 Can it get any better than this?

Power of the Parallax Story

For years I have told my students about the number one problem in dating. They are very eager to hear. After a dramatic pause I tell them it is parallax. What?

I have told them about the guy driving down the road and his date hugging the passenger side door since it is the first date. Before the light finally hit me at the place of enlightenment, Kosciusko High School, I had said she hollers out, "You are about out of gas!" (She is looking at the gas gauge with an angle other than ninety degrees - parallax error). To which he responds, no I have a quarter tank. (He is looking at the gas needle straight on at ninety)

However, I suddenly realized when I had a student raise their hand to represent the needle and I stood where the girl would be sitting - that I WAS WRONG. Ah hah, she does not see that he is about to run out of gas but has more gas than he really has!  So there is a new problem. The guy can quietly run out of gas and she will think he has a quarter tank!

I also suggested that there be a new date night designated this year. Are you ready for this disruption of the natural order of things?  Drum roll.  .  .   .   .   .

. . . . . . The girl drives and the guy rides. What do you think?  We can set a date for the girl drive date night and see what happens.

What do you say place of enlightenment?

Back to the point. The story of parallax was so powerful that they read their graduated cylinders like true scientists -straight on at 90 degrees.

Alka Rockets

Winning Team - Hannah and Kayla

 354 centimeters!

My physics students were tasked with making an alka rocket.

I told them,  "Remember mass matters."

Here is what they came up with:

I loaded their rockets with water (about half a film canister) before going outside. When it came time to launch I gave them the fuel tablet (one half of an alka seltzer tablet). They dropped it into the film canister and snapped on the top, sat their rocket on the launch pad and waited.

POP!!! Here are the launches - clipped and saved on drop box by Osvaldo.


Second Place:


Ann Marie and Kaelin 322 cm (picture not available)




The next day they were asked to sketch a p-t, v-t and a-t graph of the flight of the rocket.

All right except the v-t graph.

Here is the solo correct answer after I gave a hint about the acceleration being constant.

Check the bottom middle - shy superstar