Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 53

10/31/2013

Happy Halloween! May the dead avoid your house on their way to eat the flesh of the living.
We had a mechanical glitch today in chemistry that prevented us from changing pennies into gold. The gas supply to my room had been turned off at a main valve during the summer construction and never turned back on. We'll get that activity finished up tomorrow.
The AP Biology students began the next unit in the quest for biological knowledge. And so we begin the study of Genetics with a glance into the future. What will our discovery of the fabric of the human genome bring us? Only time and scientific work will tell.

Day 52

10/30/2013

My daughter called from UC Berkeley today. She got scared by the ghost of Gilbert Lewis. He inhabits the lonely hallways of Lewis Hall, forever searching for his Nobel Prize.
The chemistry students used the iPads today for a formative quiz on Lewis structures and chemical bonding. Formative, you ask? Yes, formative. That means the results "inform" me on how the students are getting a concept like covalent bonding or drawing Lewis structures for different molecules. Judging from the results of the quiz, the students are getting it.
The AP Biology students are taking their second big exam of the year. It covers material from the Cell Unit. The Genetics Unit is next, a student favorite!

Day 51

10/29/2013

Often, great men and women aren't recognized for their greatness during their lifetime. Vincent Van Gogh, Gregor Mendel, you know, people like that. And now I learn about Gilbert Lewis, the chemist who, among other things, developed the method to represent atoms and molecules showing covalent bonds and valence electrons. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize 35 times!!! But he never won. He died in his laboratory at UC Berkeley from a broken heart and possible cyanide poisoning. So sad...
But Cal named a cool building after him. Check it out.

At least he got a building named after him.
The chemistry students, in honor of Lewis, learned the rules of creating Lewis structures for different molecules. We worked through the rules together and then did some practice ones on our own. We have a short homework assignment tonight and a quiz on the creating the structures tomorrow.
The AP Biology students continued their review of material for their exam tomorrow. A bunch of students even came in during the Achievement Period to study. What dedication!

Day 50

10/28/2013

A mere 5/18 of the way done with the school year.
The chemistry students received the Learning Objectives for Unit 3 today. The unit covers Chemical Bonding and, boy, is it fun. We reviewed the work we did last Thursday on covalent bonding and extended that discussion into the use of Lewis structures. We also looked at the structure of water and briefly discussed the nature of polar covalent bonds and how that effects the characteristics of water. Surface tension is an interesting phenomenon. Just ask an insect.
The AP Biology students continued their review of the material that will be on their next exam which is on Wednesday of this week. The Cell Unit covers the structure and function of cellular components, mitosis and meiosis, cell respiration and photosynthesis. Man, that's a lot of info!

Day 49

10/25/2013

You know, if I had to do it all over again, I would have recognized the value of the coconut hand grenade. Have you seen Swiss Family Robinson? Those swiss people totally defeated pirates with coconut hand grenades and a tiger. Just imagine how different history would be if Napoleon had those at Waterloo? Or if Germans had them at, well pretty much anywhere since they lost every war they were ever in.
The chemistry students saw the amazing transformation of a normal penny to a gold one! Yup, it's true. I showed the students how to take a normal penny and, with some interesting chemistry, convert into brass, which looks like gold! The students will do it for themselves this coming week.
The AP Biology began the review for the next exam on The Cell unit. The exam will be on Wednesday, October 30th. We will review on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Day 48

10/24/2013

The average human produces 14 buckets of saliva everyday. The buckets aren't really that big though.
The chemistry students finished and turned in the Ion Testing Lab today. Then we began to talk about covalent bonding and Electron Dot diagrams. Covalent bonding involves the sharing of valence electrons to form chemical bonds rather than losing or gaining electrons like in ionic bonding. We'll continue this stuff tomorrow.
The AP Biology students had their Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis Quiz today. Next week we will start the Genetics Unit and have Exam #2 which covers all the material from the Cell unit.

Day 47

10/23/2013

Check out this video.

Super weird but it describes the lattice structure of sodium chloride nicely.
The chemistry completed the data collection section of the Ion Testing Lab today. The students received 3 solutions that had a unknown "mix" on dissolved ions. They tested these solutions for the presence of the 4 ions they have been studying: calcium, chloride, sulfate and iron.
The AP Biology students reviewed material on cell respiration and photosynthesis in order to prepare for the quiz tomorrow on those same subjects and the 2 lab activities of the same names.
P.S. check out the Ohio State Marching Band's tribute to Michael Jackson on YouTube. Wow!

Day 46

10/22/2013

46 is my favorite number. When I was a kid, there was this football player, Dan Abramowicz, who played for the Saints. He wore number 46. My name is Dan. See the connection? He ended his career with the 49ers which was cool. Love that number.
The chemistry students began the Ion Testing Lab today. We tested 3 different solutions for the presence of 4 different ions; chloride, calcium, iron and sulfate. Tomorrow, the students will get 3 different solutions and continue the testing.
The AP Biology students finished up the Photosynthesis work by listening to me drone on and on about Photosynthesis. Actually, you know what's cool? The students learned today that water is "split" during Photosynthesis so that electrons in a Photosystem can be replenished. The consequence of this? The oxygen we breathe is formed. Plants just want the electrons from water and just for the heck of it produce oxygen. Lucky us!

Day 45

10/21/2013

School is officially one quarter of the way done. Time flies when you're having fun!
I was at the last girls golf tournament of the year today so my classes were led, quite ably, by subs.
The chemistry played the Go Fish for Ions game today as a reward for putting up with me.
The AP Biology students completed and turned in the Photosynthesis Lab.

Day 44

10/18/2013

44 was the number of one of my favorite baseball players when I was growing up. I got to meet him in 2004. I even had dinner with him at a restaurant named after him. First student to text me his name wins a prize.
The chemistry students learned about Cal Poly and Harvard today. We did this today because we missed our usual Collaboration Day college thing because of the PSAT. It was interesting to find out most students couldn't recognize FDR, RFK and Al Gore, all Harvard alumni. I'm glad they didn't recognize Amy Bishop. Google her. Super creepy.
The AP Biology students completed the Pigment Chromatography part of the Photosynthesis Lab. It worked pretty good. They will finish and turn in the lab on Monday.

Day 43

10/17/2013

I was gone today for an all day golf tournament at Tierra Oaks. Eagled number 4 at Tierra. Drove the green and made a 12 foot eagle putt.
The chemistry students played the Go Fish For Ions card game today.
The AP Biology students finished the data analysis section of the Photosynthesis Lab and finished the conclusion section as well.

Day 42

10/16/2013

It's PSAT Day!! Because of the intellectual level of my students (most of my students), my classes were missing a lot of people today.
The chemistry students played the Go Fish For Ions today. It's a card game kinda like Go Fish but you try to match up positive and negative ions to create ionic compounds. The students that play today will be the experts to run games tomorrow.
The few AP Biology students that were in class today worked on the data analysis section of the Photosynthesis Lab today.

Day 41

10/15/2013

Did you know that Luke, the kid in Modern Family, is a freshmen at UCLA? He plays a kid with ADHD who uses gummy worms as shoe laces but is really super smart and got into UCLA, the most applied to university in the country. Go Luke! I mean, go actor who plays Luke!
The chemistry students reviewed naming ionic compounds and determining the formulas of ionic compounds given their constituent positive and negative ions. Then we had a quiz that I bet everyone did great on. I'll grade it and find out.
The AP Biology students conducted the Photosynthesis Lab today. It went great! The students learned that by using DPIP, a compound that readily accepts the high energy electrons produced by photosynthesis, we can determine the rate of photosynthesis. The DPIP is dark blue in its "not reduced" state. Once it begins gaining electrons, it turns from the dark blue color to clear. We measured that transformation by using a spectrophotometer. The results were ideal. Hooray!

Day 40

10/14/2013

The Walking Dead is back on TV. I don't know why I get involved with that show. It's so stressful. Zombies, relationships, prison, babies.....it's too much! I'll keep watching it though.
The chemistry students reviewed the stuff we did on Friday with ionic compounds. Today we added the special surprise of polyatomic ions and determining the formulas of molecules containing them. The students know that the formula of calcium phosphate is Ca3(PO4)2. Wow, that's saying something. We're gonna have a quiz on this stuff tomorrow and everyone will do awesomely. Yes, that's a word.
The AP Biology students got background information on the next AP Lab, Photosynthesis. We will begin the lab tomorrow and, hopefully, I'll get the concentration of the chloroplasts right and everything will work great. We also began initial discussion of the process of photosynthesis and its varied biochemical pathways. The students also know why plants are green. A really smart-alecky answer is because they're not purple but actually that's a pretty good answer.

Day 39

10/11/2013

Every so often, a teacher has a day where everything clicks. The lessons go as planned and kids seem to really get something. Today was one of those days in both AP Biology and Chemistry. If you are reading this and you were in class today, pat yourself on the back and go tell your parents/siblings/friends how smart you are.
The chemistry students learned about ionic compounds. Specifically, they learned how to name them (super easy) and how to determine their formulas (not super easy). For example, they should know that when a calcium ion and a choride ion combine it forms calcium choride and the formula is CaCl2.
The AP Biology students learned the details of cell respiration. Here's the key thing: they now know why we breathe oxygen. Tell everyone you see! Scream it from a mountain top! WE BREATHE OXYGEN SO ELECTRONS CAN BE DRAWN THROUGH THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN TOWARD OXYGEN AND THE ELECTRONS LOSE THEIR ENERGY WHILE PUSHING PROTONS INTO THE INTERMEMBRANE SPACE SO THAT WHEN THE PROTONS MOVE BACK INTO THE MITOCHONDRIAL MATRIX, THE PROTONS INTERACT WITH ATP SYNTHASE TO MAKE ATP!!!!!! YES!

Day 38

10/10/2013

I was at an epic golf tournament at Diamond Mountain Golf Course in Susanville today. I'm not sure the word "epic" quite fits here but it totally fits the van ride we took across California. But only if epic stands for really, really long and boring.
The chemistry students did some initial work on the new unit of study, chemical bonding.
The AP Biology students worked on finishing the Cell Respiration Lab and their homework assignment on Chapter 9 in their text.

Day 37

10/9/2013

Day 37 marks the beginning of the second fifth of the school year. Another way to look at it is the school year is now 20% complete. Or we have 80% of the school year ahead of us. Or we have.....ahhh, any way you look at it, it's only October 9th.
The chemistry students did a couple of different things today. First, they filled out an evaluation on my performance so far this year. The students gave me a grade, the talked about what they liked, what they didn't like and what they would change in the class.
Here are some of their responses:
"What I like most about Mr. Button's class is when he blows something up"
"It's kinda cold in here"
"I like it when Mr. Button does the college thing"
"I like the fish tank with nothing in it by the Periodic Table"
"I like it when Mr Button says weird things that make sense if you don't think it"
"I like the labs the most"
Anyway, it's stuff like that. I take the evaluation seriously and read them carefully to try to improve what I do.
The chemistry students also got their Unit 2 Exams back today. We went over grades and what students can do if they want to improve it. We also went over the exam itself in detail.
The AP Biology students completed their Inquiry tasks and began the work on wrapping up the Cell Respiration Lab. We will go over the details of cell respiration later this week.

Day 36

10/8/2013

Time marches on doesn't it? And it carries us with it, because if it didn't, we'd never get old. I think.
The chemistry students took the Unit 2 Exam today and let me tell you, that was something. I mean it wasn't like a ninja ran into the room and disrupted everything. It was just something. Kinda how sleeping or eating jello is something.
The AP Biology students conducted their Inquiry Task today, if they were ready. The students were given today and tomorrow to complete their experiment. The classroom was filled with the sound of hard-working students and terrified crickets. It was exciting.

Day 35

10/7/2013

Well, today I conquered my fears of heights so I could film the chemistry students from the top of the PA building. Actually, I'm not afraid of heights. Just plummeting to my death. I'm pretty much terrified of that.
The chemistry students acted out a famous experiment today. Soon, all will be able to watch it on YouTube. Be patient. It's almost done. Also, we reviewed for our exam tomorrow on the Unit 2 Learning Objectives.
The AP Biology students began their Inquiry Activity on Cell Respiration. They are designing and executing their own experiments. It's all part of the AP Biology re-design; the students now take more control over what they want to learn about using the same techniques as working scientists. It's cool.

Day 34

10/4/2013

Here is a question: You've heard of the Nobel Prize, right? OK, that's not the question. Here is the question: You get prize money when you win the Nobel Prize. The Nobel family have funded the Prize since its inception. Seriously, here is the question: how did the Nobel family get its money? First one to "comment" the correct answer wins a prize (not the Nobel kind).
The chemistry students continued reviewing for the Unit 2 Exam which is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Those students are probably looking at the Unit 2 Learning Objectives and making sure that they really know them. They're so smart. We also spent some time "rehearsing" for our little surprise which should be ready this week.
The AP Biology students put in some serious work planning their "Inquiry Activity" on Cell Respiration. They will have Monday and Tuesday to conduct their own experiments. We will also be discussing the details of cell respiration. It's tough but those AP kids are super-smart.

Day 33

10/3/2013

Big tournament today at Tucker Oaks. The girls came out firing and sunk putts when the time was right. Unfortunately, the time was usually for a triple boogie.
The chemistry students began reviewing for the next exam on Unit 2. Specifically, we reviewed mole to gram conversions and gram to mole conversions. We also talked about trends found within the Periodic Table. Oh boy, tomorrow we're gonna start planning for the surprise thing we're doing on Monday. Shhhhhhh don't tell anybody.
The AP Biology students worked on the data analysis portion of the Cell Respiration Lab. Tomorrow, we will focus on the Inquiry phase of the lab where the students plan their own experiment, conduct it and give the results. So start looking for crickets. They may end up in a respirometer.

Day 32

10/2/2013

So, we're in the middle of homecoming week and I couldn't resist putting some photos here for your perusal.

Hick City!
Anyway, we still had school and here is what we did.
The chemistry students are planning to do something way different to illustrate Rutherford's famous experiment. Check out the video from Day 27 below if you want a quick review of history-making science. It's a surprise what the students are going to do so I'm not going to say anything more.
The AP Biology students began the Cell Respiration Lab today. They built respirometers and....... what? You don't know what a respirometer is? Well this is what they look like:

Respirometers are used to measure the rate of cell respiration by measuring the decrease in pressure within the respirometer while oxygen is being used during cell respiration. The respirometer at the bottom of the frame is being used to measure the rate of cell respiration in germinating peas. Cool stuff.

Day 31

10/1/2013

We are now 1/6 of the way done with school. Officially.
The chemistry students learned of the importance of valence electrons, the electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom. Valence electrons, generally, dictate how an atom behaves. Is it reactive? Maybe it has only one valence electron and it really wants to lose it. Is it stable? It probably has a filled outer energy level and is a noble gas like krypton.
The AP Biology students got background information on the Cell Respiration that will start tomorrow. We will check the rate of cell respiration in germinating peas and non-germinating peas. We will also compare the rate of cell respiration in different temperature water baths. Look back here tomorrow for pictures of the lab work.