Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 32

9/28/2018

Friday of Homecoming! Rallies, tail gate parties and a football game. Ah, traditions!
The Chemistry students saw a couple of demos today. We saw what happens when sugar and sulfuric acid get together (nothing good, but interesting) and we saw how a vacuum treats a bag of chips or a beaker full of water. We also went over ions and ionization energy. I think we reviewed a couple of other objectives too.
The AP Biology students began the data analysis section of the Guided Inquiry section of the Cell Respiration Lab. Next week, we'll look at specifics of cell respiration and the students will get a chance to plan their own experiment using the Cell Respiration Lab equipment.

Day 31

9/27/2018

Homecoming is a fun week because I can wear whatever the heck I want to. Today is Grateful Dead stuff which is what I pretty much wear all the time anyway.
The Chemistry students finished the Periodic Table activity and put that thing in their folder. You know what? We have the second exam of the year next Wednesday. Oh boy! We'll start going over the Learning Objectives tomorrow.
The AP Biology students completed the data gathering section of the Guided section (that means I decided on which variables to test) of the Cell Respiration Lab. The students set up their respirometers and checked out how much oxygen germinating peas used in comparison to dry peas.

Day 30

9/26/2018

The school year is now 1/6th of the way complete! Only 5/6ths of the way to go!
The Chemistry students continued working on the "It's in the Cards" assignment today. The different groups of students turned in their guesses of the physical and chemical properties of the mystery element. Prizes galore await the winners.
The AP Biology students went over, in great and laborious detail, the procedure and equipment of the Cell Respiration Lab. While the peas germinate over night, the students will reflect on the previously mentioned procedure. This is a rather lengthy lab so we might have to intrude upon the Achievement time tomorrow.

Day 29

9/25/2018

29 is a prime number. Just thought you should know.
The Chemistry students continued their work on the "It's in the Cards" activity where they try to design and construct a Periodic Table using the physical and chemical characteristics of 31 different elements. They are also trying to find out the characteristics of a "mystery" element. Best guess by a group of students wins a prize.
The AP Biology students went to the library today to work on the rather lengthy online assignment titled, appropriately enough, The Cell. The completion of said assignment is to be done by Friday at midnight. The students may also have been working on the completion of the Mitosis and Meiosis Lab which is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

Day 28

9/24/2018

Hey! Did you know that the school year is 7/45ths of the way done? Only 38/45ths left to go!
The Chemistry students got a new seating chart today which is neither interesting nor note-worthy. They also began a new assignment where they design their own Periodic Table based on the characteristics of 31 different elements. They will also try to find out the characteristics of a "mystery element"!
The AP Biology students learned about meiosis today and I think it may have been for the first time which is sad. Reduction division (another name for meiosis) is just about the most important thing chromosomes do. The Mitosis and Meiosis Lab is due on Wednesday at the beginning of class.

Day 27

9/21/2018

And yet another Friday! We're movin' on!
The Chemistry students got a blank Periodic Table today and saw the really important part about it. It shows relationships between atoms and how and why the atoms react the way they do. You can find out about all of that stuff by seeing what happens to electrons in the outer most energy level. It's true.
The AP Biology completed the data collection for Part B of the Mitosis and Meiosis Lab which is pretty much just checking out prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase and counting them. That's it. And if you know how fast an onion root tip undergoes one turn of the cell cycle, you can tell how long each of those phases lasts.

Day 26

9/20/2018

I think that weeks go by way faster the closer you are to the "end". And when I say "end", I mean the end of the week.
The Chemistry students had a quiz today on molar mass and conversions, like knowing that 18 grams of water is the same thing as 1.0 mole of water. A mole is a big number. A real big number. I would say that 80% of the students did really good. I'm pretty sure.
The AP Biology students spent the day in front of the computer, struggling through the newest online assignment titled "The Cell". It's big and it's due next Friday.

Day 25

9/19/2018

Today is an Advisory Day. Statistically, students are super into Advisory Day. In fact, speaking anecdotally, students hate it.
The Chemistry students spent the majority of the period reviewing converting moles to grams, grams to moles, atoms to moles and grams to atoms and a bunch of other stuff like that to. We have a quiz tomorrow on that kind of stuff. So...yeah.
The AP Biology students continued working on Part A of the Mitosis and Meiosis Lab which pretty much is observing the different phases of mitosis, finding out what really is happening during those phases and drawing pictures of them. And that's it.

Day 24

9/18/2018

24 is a good number. Just ask Willie Mays.
The Chemistry students reviewed the calculations from the Molar Mass and Conversion Practice worksheet that was handed out last Friday. We also had a little time to devote to the element project that was given out yesterday.
The AP Biology students got the Mitosis and Meiosis lab today and began the work of observing the different stages or phases of mitosis. We saw prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase and, of course, interphase. We will continue this tomorrow.

Day 23

9/17/2018

This is the beginning of the 6th week of school! Only 30 more weeks to go!
The Chemistry students went to the library today to so some basic research on a randomly assigned element. We're (meaning they) are going to decorate the front of the room with a rudimentary Periodic Table. The student research and artwork is due this Friday.
The AP Biology students went over the phases of mitosis and the cell cycle is preparation of the next lab exercise, Mitosis and Meiosis. We will begin the lab on Tuesday which is tomorrow.