Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 118

2/28/2018

Another February in the books. That makes 57 for me.
The Chemistry students finished up the review for the Nuclear Chemistry Exam which will happen tomorrow unless there is a huge storm and power is knocked out and we all get to stay home and read. Reading is what happens when there is no power and Netflix won't work.
The AP Biology students also wrapped a mini-unit of study on Human Evolution which really doesn't deserve a mini-unit of study. It deserves more of a maxi-unit of study. We will have a mini-quiz tomorrow.

Day 117

2/27/2018

I guess I broke my tooth on Saturday so I went to the dentist this afternoon. On a cheerier thought, it may snow later this week.
The Chemistry students (in the morning anyway) reviewed a bunch of stuff for the Nuclear Chemistry exam which is gonna happen later this week. The students in the afternoon worked on some half-life and radioactive decay problems.We'll do the reverse tomorrow. The review Power Point is found below.
The AP Biology students discussed the aspects of human evolution and the fossil evidence found in chapter 34. Not that the fossil evidence was found in some textbook. The fossils were found, mostly, in east Africa. Like Lucy, the famous australopithecine.

nuclear_chemistry_review.pptx
File Size:	957 kb
File Type:	pptx

Day 116

2/26/2018

I already miss the Olympics. Curling? Yes, curling. It looks awesome and something an out of shape 57 year old could really get into.
The Chemistry students discovered how the uranium decay series starts at Uranium-238 and ends up at Lead-206 which, of course, is not radioactive. We created a graphical representation of the series as well.
The next exam is this Thursday.
The AP Biology students went to the library today to do some work on the Chapter 34 stuff on Human Evolution. I finally figured out how to access a lot of the material that the publisher of our text offers. I hope I don't forget it too soon.

Day 115

2/23/2018

Day 115? That means the school year is 23/36ths of the way done. Only 13/36ths of the way to go.
The Chemistry students either worked on the half-life problems (1st and 3rd period) or checked out the end of the movie about the nuclear power plants at Fukushima. Truly horrifying.
The AP Biology students wrapped up the week long look at the AP Biology Exam which happens the second Monday in May. We completed the last half of the free response questions. It's coming so we getting ready now!

Day 114

2/22/2018

The year continues to fly by! Man, it's goin' fast.
The Chemistry students got an introduction to half-life problems which will definitely show up on next week's exam. And speaking of half, half of my classes did some half-life problems and the other half finished the movie about Fukushima which was pretty dramatic.
The AP Biology students worked on the first 4 of 8 free response questions form the 2013 AP Biology Exam. This serves as yet another look of the 2018 exam that is just around the corner if you think of months as city blocks.

Day 113

2/21/2018

My elbow hurts. Just thought you should know.
The Chemistry students learned why it's never a good idea to put a nuclear power plant in the way of a tsunami. It is an equally bad idea to put a nuclear power plant in an area that can have an earthquake that's 9.0 on the Richter scale. These are pretty much bad ideas.
The AP Biology students did not meet today because there was a motivational speaker during 4th period and the Advisory Period. Let's see if that worked.........

Day 112

2/20/2018

Another 4 day week! We should only have 4 day weeks, don't you think? And how about 1 month years while we're at it.
The Chemistry students finished the Half-Life activity by completing a graph of both the group and cumulative data and answering 7 questions regarding the half-life stuff. We also saw what a real tsunami looks like in preparation for seeing what a real tsunami can do to a nuclear power plant. The Power Point of the Half-Life activity is just down there. See it?
The AP Biology students completed the multiple choice and grid-in section of a practice AP Biology Exam. We also did a quick data analysis that showed you don't actually need to get a high percentage of questions correct in order to pass the AP Exam. But, of course, such is the nature of norm-referenced exams. We will try some free response questions later this week.

half_-_life.pptx
File Size:	495 kb
File Type:	pptx

Day 111

2/16/2018

Day 111? Yo can divide that by 3, right? That means the school year is 37/60ths of the way done. Only 23/60ths of the way to go!
The Chemistry students began an activity using cups, 100 pennies and graph paper. No, they weren't making ice skating costumes. We were defining half-life, the time it takes for 1/2 a radioactive sample to decay. We will continue working on this next Tuesday.
The AP Biology students had their second look at the AP Biology Exam which isn't easy. We did some multiple choice questions and some mathematical stuff too with the grid-in questions. We will continue this next Tuesday.

Day 110

2/15/2018

Today was super weird. Here is why:
I was asked to participate on the interview panel for the new Art teacher who will start next year after that super old guy, I think his name is Dempder, retires. It was really interesting to listen to these prospective art teachers but it did totally screw up my day. So, I'm not really counting it. Videos were the order of the day so don't worry about it.

Day 109

2/14/2018

Another school shooting today. It's gotten to the point where you are just expecting one every week or so. All of us could stop it though. If we work together.
The Chemistry students determined how much radiation they have been exposed to over the past year. All you have to do is answer several questions about your behavior and situation and you can get a good idea about how much you were exposed to. Turns out to be not too much. I have included the Power Point I did today below. Check it out and figure your own exposure.
The AP Biology students, because of the Collaboration Day schedule, talked about college. Unfortunately, we talked about Stanford today. Actually, I'm a Stanford fan. It's my kids that can't stand the place.

radiation.pptx
File Size:	686 kb
File Type:	pptx