Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 143

3/31/2017

Wow. Senior cut day, pay day......Good news all around.
The Chemistry students continued the Can Crush activity. We practiced crushing cans and trying to figure out what the heck is going on. What a Friday!
The AP Biology students finished up with the Physiology lab but a bunch of students were gone. You know, senior cut day along with other absences. They will have to get those to me next week. They better!

Day 142

3/30/2017

As I suspected, a bunch of kids were gone today for various and suspicious reasons.
The Chemistry students began a lab exercise today where they will try to figure out how to crush an aluminum can with boiling water and cold water. The students will present their findings in poster form on Monday.
The AP Biology students continued with the Physiology of the Circulatory System Lab by practicing the art, yes the art, of taking someone's blood pressure the conventional way and not using those fancy shmancy computer ones that crappy doctors rely on. We will continue the lab tomorrow.

Day 141

3/29/2017

I bet a lot of kids will be gone tomorrow and Friday. You just wait.
The AP Biology students finished up the pulse section of the Physiology Lab. BTW, my major in college was Biology with an emphasis on Physiology. You should probably know that. Also BTW, pulse is a pretty important thing to be operating correctly.
The Chemistry students finished up the Martian. I kinda got choked up a little. Anyway, we also talked about the Ideal Gas Law which is a formula that looks like this: PV = nRT. P is pressure, V is volume, n is moles, R is a constant which is always 0.0821 and T is temperature. Yeah.

Day 140

3/28/2017

Day 140? That means the school year is 7/9ths of the way complete. Only 2/9ths of the way to go!
The AP Biology students began the Physiology of the Circulatory System Lab which, of course, marks the beginning of the Animal Structure and Function unit of study. We checked pulses, tried not to faint and enjoyed the frivolity of heart rate calculations.
The Chemistry students watched The Martian and learned 2 things. First, things under pressure in a near vacuum have a tendency to explode violently. Also, Matt Damon likes potatoes and pain killers.

Day 139

3/27/2017

Another Monday is under our belts. We really don't have that much more to go. probably around 6 or 7.
The AP Biology students started what will become a regular Monday feature until the AP Exam in early May. We looked at 2 free response questions and, I hope, showed how easy they can be, IF YOU TAKE YOUR TIME AND READ IT CAREFULLY! A lot of complicated words but, in the end, pretty easy to answer.
The Chemistry students, because of the convincing nature of one student's argument and the general giddiness of the day because of my teams' incredible performance in the March Madness games this past weekend, I have agreed to let the students watch the end of The Martian. It's a long one; probably wrap it up on Wednesday.

Day 138

3/24/2017

Wow, this Friday came fast! Well, what should we talk about?
The AP Biology students took the Introduction to Animals Exam today. I think it was pretty easy, but that's me. I hope the students thought so too.
The Chemistry students checked out the beginning of The Martian, a great science-y movie. We used the beginning to talk about pressure differences and how to survive on the Red Planet which is Mars and not Russia.

Day 137

3/23/2017

OK, Chemistry students, get off your phones and check out these links:

Ideal Gas Law Simulation
Click on the Introduction and Read it!!!
Next, read the 'How To' section
After that, play with the 'Interactive' part a bit
To finish up, do the 4 simple exercises by clicking 'Exercises'. Check your answers by clicking 'Solutions'
Watch how the calculation changes in the lower left corner of the Interactive section as you change the gas conditions

Gas Properties

More Gas Properties

Day 136

3/22/2017

Again, this week is flying by. And today is Advisory Day! Some freshmen came by my class today and spoke about community service. They were great and if you know anything about me it's that I don't compliment freshmen often.
The AP Biology students did some review for their exam on Friday on the Animal Introduction material. We also discussed grades and what the future looks like for seniors and juniors alike. And a special congratulations to Logan and Alex for their acceptance to UCLA. Go Bruins!
The Chemistry students took the Gas Laws Quiz today. Really, this is pretty easy stuff if you know how to read, do simple math and, well, that's pretty much it. Next stop, the Ideal Gas Law.

Day 135

3/21/2017

Oh my gosh! Day 135?? That means the school year is 75% of the way done. Only 25% left to go! That's 45 days! 7 weeks! That's it!
The AP Biology students reviewed some material today that will be on the Animal Introduction Exam which is now scheduled for Friday, March 24th. We used those electronic dealy-o's which is a technical term meaning thingamabob to transfer our knowledge upon the white board. Anyway, we used them and learned more about embryonic development in animals, characteristics of birds and the function of the cloaca which everyone should know.
The Chemistry students, because of 10 missing students in 5th period, did not have their Gas Laws quiz today. We reviewed a few problems instead and I finished yelling at kids about their grades. Actually, I didn't yell. I kinda just shook my head and sighed which is a lot worse than yelling.

Day 134

3/20/2017

Back after a long weekend and we find out that there is 46 days left of school. And 46 is my favorite number. Seriously.
The AP Biology students found out that the next little exam, which will cover Chapters 32-34, will be on Thursday. We also checked out imprinting which is cool if you're gonna fly an ultralight with geese for fun.
The Chemistry students learned about the combined gas law which can tell you a lot about a gas especially about its temperature or volume or pressure. But remember about degrees Kelvin!
Oh yeah, both classes got candy if their teams made the Sweet 16.