Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 119

2/29/2016

Is 119 a prime number? I think it is. Is there some cool math way to tell?
The AP Biology students turned in their disease brochures today. I wonder who will win the valuable prices associated with this tremendous academic endeavor. We also checked out pond water samples that I collected from an area just beyond my backyard. Let's just say that there is some weird stuff just beyond my backyard.
The Biology students discussed how Lucy and her ilk (is that a word?) went from being pretty stupid upright walkers to upright walkers with huge brains. We also discussed grades and the upcoming exam on evolution which is this Thursday.
The Chemistry students completed the last review session before their exam on Nuclear Chemistry on Tuesday. Man, this year is goin' quick.

Day 118

2/26/2016

It's Friday and the year is now 59/90ths of the way done. I think.
The AP biology students finished up their discussion on the biology of bacteria and archaea which are really weird and ancient prokaryotic things that live in crazy places. Like a geyser at Yellowstone.
The Biology students discussed directional selection, stabilizing selection, disruptive selection and sexual selection. Don't know what that stuff is? Ask a Biology student.
The Chemistry students did a really productive review of the nuclear chemistry subject matter which is really interesting especially if you're a physicist or a nuclear reactor.

Day 117

2/25/2016

You know, these weeks are flying by. What's ahead? Oh, let's see..... graduation? College? Marriage? Debilitating illness? Yay, the future!
The AP Biology students discussed the biology of bacteria which can be super interesting even if you're not a bacteria. They can live in some crazy places like the Great Salt Lake or really radioactive places. Cool.
The Biology students finished up their study on microevolution by answering questions regarding their activity yesterday.
The Chemistry students began a review of the Nuclear Chemistry Unit by discussing some of the learning objectives that were talked about, but not in any in-depth way. And we did that today.

Day 116

2/24/2016

Back to work after spending 8 hours inside the court house in Redding. Yuck!
The AP Biology students spent the last class time for the research portion of the disease brochure. So down to the library we went.
The Biology students continued their exploration of evolution by playing The Mating Game which illustrate things like microevolution, genetic drift and the heterozygote advantage. Yup, we did that.
The Chemistry students discussed the phenomenon of a nuclear chain reaction. We used dominoes and the students reverted to being 2nd graders which is OK. Sometimes.

Day 115

2/23/2016

Today, I served my county by having to endure jury duty. An interesting experience if you're into justice, democracy and spending time with people who really aren't into personal hygiene.
The AP Biology students worked on their disease brochures.
The Biology students re-took the Evolution Quiz.
The Chemistry students reviewed both alpha and beta decay.

Day 114

2/22/2016

Mondays are good. If you're retired. Or a dog.
The AP Biology students had some additional research time for the microbial-caused disease brochure. It's a .....ah, if you were an AP Biology student, you'd get it.
The Biology students checked out the some of our earliest ancestors and what made them uniquely human-like. Things like brains, bipedalism and opposable thumbs were huge.
The Chemistry students did a cool little activity that enabled the students to learn about the amazing decay series of Uranium-238. Which, BTW, takes a real, real, real, real, real, real long time.

Day 113

2/19/2016

What a Friday! If I only could tell you about everything!
The AP Biology students learned about horrible hemorrhagic fever-type diseases. They also got a preview of a new project that the students are going to start on Monday.
The Biology students had a quiz and......................................other stuff happened.
The Chemistry students just chilled today with Mr. Proscher because I had to go home and change my pants. A long story that you probably already heard about.

Day 112

2/18/2016

We had a weird schedule today because a guy who won a gold medal in beach volleyball was on campus to inspire the students. Awesome.
The AP Biology students learned why it's a good idea to do the following: wash your hands, avoid coughing and gagging people, don't believe everything you hear, when a government official tells you in confidence to leave a city you should leave the city, don't gamble in Macau and hope for immunity.
The Biology students discussed divergent evolution, convergent evolution, DDT resistance in wasps, coevolution and adaptive radiation. We also reviewed the stuff from yesterday. We have a quiz on Friday!!
The Chemistry students tried a bunch of half-life problems with varied success. We will probably have a quiz regarding this stuff next week sometime.

Day 111

2/17/2016

Ah, Day 111. It signifies nothing yet looks so weird.
The AP Biology students continued to experience a devastating plague rip through humanity. This experience was through a auditory and visual medium using laser technology. Hahahaha.
The Biology students discussed new definitions of evolution and natural selection. We also discussed homologous structures, embryology, anatomy, physiology and the fossil record. All of these things show evidence that confirms evolution. Not that anybody should need that much convincing. See any T-Rex running around? No? That's evolution.
The Chemistry students finished the half-life activity by graphing their results and answering questions about odds and pennies. We then took a look at half-life problems and how to solve them.

Day 110

2/16/2016

Only 7/18ths of the year left!!! What a weekend! Took a former West Valley Valedictorian out to dinner and had a great time doing it.
The AP Biology students began the new unit on Biodiversity by discussing the widely misunderstood world of viruses. We also talked about a systems of classification for those diverse living things we always seem to be stepping on. Then we saw the beginnings of a biological plague that will probably ravage humanity.
The Biology students spent the majority of the period putting the finishing touches on the Simulating Natural Selection Lab. We graphed the results of the lab and answered some questions regarding our analysis.
The Chemistry students did the ol' half-life activity with 100 pennies today. For the first time in my career, a group of students got all the pennies to decay in 5 half-lifes. Now, you may not understand the significance of that and that's okay (few do) but suffice to say that some crazy odds right there. We'll finish that up tomorrow.