Thursday, January 31, 2013

Week Ending 1/25

I hope you had a great long weekend celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and his contribution to our nation.

This week, was a four day week and we were winding down waves and sound.  We went to the computer lab to work on webassign on Tuesday.  On Wednesday we played review bingo, and on Thursday the students took the test on SHM, Waves, and Sound! 

Kudos to Ming, Devon, Hannah L., Eshna, and An for recieving the top 5 scores on this test!

In the upcoming week we will be starting a Unit on Light and Optics.



Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Week ending 1/18

Students and Parents,

This week we continued our study of waves and sound.  Students listened to various frequencies of sound (frequency is synonymous with pitch), to determine what range of frequencies they could hear. Through demonstrations, and videos the students learned about the doppler effect and some of its applications to the real world.  I presented a demonstration on beats and beat frequencies.  Using a mechanical frequency generator, we created a standing wave on a string in class.  We were able to show the natural frequency all the way up to the 10th harmonic on the string.  The students also liked the strobe light demonstration.  The students were given one day to work on webassign in class, and on Friday the students completed the speed of sound lab, in which they determined the speed of sound using tuning forks and a closed pipe.  Below are a few pictures of the students working on the lab. 



Upcoming due dates:
Speed of Sound Lab: Wednesday 1/23 at the beginning of class
Webassign: Wednesday 1/23 at 11:59 pm

Upcoming Test Dates:
Simple Harmonic Motion, Waves, and Sound: 1/24

Monday, January 14, 2013

Slinky Lab

Hello! Thanks for checking in.  Last week we introduced waves with an exploration lab using slinkies and other springs.  Here are a few pictures of the students working on the lab. This week we will talk more about waves and how they relate to sound. 

Upcoming due dates:
Simple Harmonic Motion Practice Handout: Monday 1/14 at the beginning of class
Slinky Lab: Tuesday 1/15 at the beginning of class

Upcoming Test Dates:
Simple Harmonic Motion, Waves, and Sound: 1/24

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Week Ending 1/11

Students and parents,

This week we studied two specific examples of simple harmonic motion: pendulums, and mass on spring. Both of these examples exhibit wave behavior, which will segway us into waves and sound.  We also covered Hooke's Law which relates the force on a spring to the distance the spring is compressed or stretched from its relaxed state.  Yesterday the students began work on a handout that reviewed the concepts that we have covered thus far. Today we will begin a discovery lab on waves.

Thanks for checking in! I'll try to post some pictures of the students working on their lab later today.

Upcoming due dates:
Simple Harmonic Motion Practice Handout:  Monday 1/14 at the beginning of class

Friday, January 4, 2013

Class Photo

Today in class we worked on finishing up the pendulum lab that we started yesterday. The goal of this lab was for the students to discover which variables affect the period of a pendulum. In addition to that, the students took a learning style inventory.  Finally, we took a class photo!  Warning: This photo was not taken by a professional photographer, it was taken by me, with my iphone.  It gives you a little bit of an idea of the personalities in the classroom. 

Upcoming due dates:
Pendulum Lab Writeup:  Monday 1/7 at the beginning of class

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Welcome to your Physics Class Website

Parents!

Thanks for stopping in.  As you know, we are just getting started for the semester.  Please check back soon to check out our class photo.  Also, as I stated in the letter I sent home with your student, I will post exam dates and dates large assignments are due on this website as well.