Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 172

5/22/2015

Only one more Friday after this one! Man, this year is wrapping up soon.
The Chemistry students made butter today. Yes, butter. An amazing transformation takes place during the whipping of cream on its way to butter. Try it sometime. It is really cool.
The AP Biology students got some introductory questions regarding the book they just completed, The Future of Life. These should help the students prepare for the upcoming final exam.

Day 171

5/21/2015

You know what? My brother got me free Giants tickets for the game today and because it was a chance to see Madison Bumgarner pitch against the Dodgers, I went. It totally paid off. The Giants shut out the Dodgers for the third straight game and Bumgarner hit a homerun. It was great.
Both classes returned their textbooks today.
The Chemistry students watched a video on how foams were made using gas and eggs and chemical reactions.
The AP Biology students continued their reading.

Day 170

5/20/2015

Now the year is 17/18ths of the way done. That means only 10 more days of school left!!
The Chemistry students finished up learning about what takes place during baking a simple cake. But really a lot of chemistry takes place. Gas expansion, acid-based reactions.... a lot of stuff. The students will use this information for the baking contest.
The AP Biology students continued the reading of E.O. Wilson's The Future of Life. One more chapter to go.

Day 169

5/19/2015

And I'm back! What a great weekend watching Livi graduate from Cal. Go Bears!
The Chemistry students learned a lot about fats today. You know, stuff like saturated and unsaturated, oils and phospholipids. The usual. We also talked about Baking Contest that will test the skills and knowledge of all the students.
The AP Biology students continued reading a book. Yes, an actual book. The good part is the students like it. I'm pretty sure anyway.

Day 168

5/18/2015

The school year is now 14/15ths of the way done. Only 1/15th left! That's the same thing as 12 days. I am still gone enjoying the last days of the Button Family at Cal. Roy began his Cal career in the Fall of 2007 and Olivia is ending her Cal career in the Spring of '15. 8 school years at the best public university in the world.
The Chemistry students updated and finished their food journals today.
The AP Biology students continued reading today.

Day 167

5/15/2015

Well, today begins a period of time for the Button Family that marks a significant transition. My daughter is graduating from UC Berkeley this weekend and we are heading down to Berkeley for the ceremonies after I attend a brief seminar on Career Pathways and College.
The Chemistry students will be working on their Food Journals. They will keep track of their diets during a 72 hour period. After that we will analyze the content of these diets and we'll see just how healthy these people are.
The AP Biology students are still reading!

Day 166

5/14/2015

Now the year is 83/90ths of the way done. Only 7/90ths left to go.
The Chemistry students learned about the Chemistry of Baking today. A real smart Harvard-educated baker told us the difference between baking powder and baking soda which hardly anybody knows. But now we do and it's totally about chemistry.
The AP Biology continued reading today whether they liked it or not. The book, called the Future of Life, is by E.O. Wilson who is a real smart guy and a highly respected scientist and writer. It's a great book.

Day 165

5/13/2015

The school year is now 11/12ths of the way done. Only 1/12th of the way to go.
The Chemistry students learned a lot about carbohydrates today. We talked about glucose, glycogen and other stuff like that. The students also learned about a baking contest that we are holding. Best baked item wins!
The AP Biology students began preparing for the final exam by reading. Yes, reading. I'm going to trick them into reading a book with science stuff in it for the final. So far, it's working.

Day 164

5/12/2015

Only 16 more days of school!!! Yay!!
The AP Biology students did absolutely nothing today. Absolutely nothing. They had their big exam yesterday and I gave them the day off as a little reward.
The Chemistry students continued watching Food Inc. Hopefully, the students will make some better decisions regarding diet and purchasing crappy food in our sorrowful cafeteria.

Day 163

5/11/2015

Another week begins. We are now getting close to the end aren't we?
The Chemistry students started the last unit of the year today, Food Chemistry. We started by watching the beginning of Food Inc., a look at the food industry that is truly depressing but very necessary.
The AP Biology students took the AP Exam today! Oh Boy!