Sinking/Floating - Gravity vs. Buoyant Force

Today looked like a kindergarten water table class as the the students explored buoyancy! Using balls, corks, and an eye dropper, the kids experienced what a buoyant force felt like. They tried to combat the force of gravity with the balls and corks, but always lost. They were challenged to see if they could get their eye dropper to float, or suspend, at various levels in their tank of water. They quickly discovered that by adding or subtracting water, they could get the eye dropper to suspend at certain levels. The connection was made that more water meant more mass.

Massing Water

During the past couple of classes we have been investigating the relationship between the mass and volume of water. We massed various amounts of water and recorded the mass and volume for each amount. They looked at their data to see if there was a pattern developing between the mass and volume. They concluded that 1ml of water had a mass of 1g.

Bird of the Week - lX

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the Northern mockingbird. The Mockingbird is a medium sized songbird, about 8 - 10 inches long with a wingspan of about 12 - 14 inches. It is pale gray above and whitish below, with a long tail. It has a thin bill. The Mockingbird has two white wingbars and large white patches show in the wings when it flies.

The Northern Mockingbird is known for its long, complex songs that include imitations of many other birds. It is a common bird of hedgerows and suburbs, and has been slowly expanding its range northward. The Northern Mockingbird is a loud and persistent singer. It sings all through the day, and often into the night.

The Mockingbird is found in areas with open ground and shrubby vegetation, such as in parkland, cultivated land, and suburbs. It eats insects and fruit. The male and female birds look alike.

To learn more about the Northern mockingbird and to hear it's song, click on this link:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Mockingbird_dtl.html

Science Test

Yea, it's that time! Time for a test! Your test is next Tuesday, November 4th. All 92 of you will take it at once during period 2. I'll explain how this works in class. To best prepare for the test, here are 4 things you should do:
1. Do your Chapter Review to the best of your ability. We'll correct it class on Friday.
2. Work on your Study Guide. Do a little of it at a time. The sample questions on your Study Guide must be answered in full and complete sentences on a separate piece of paper by Monday. Refer to your Science binder for help. We will go over it in class on Monday.
3. Make sure your Science binder is complete and in order. See me if you are missing anything. This is where most of the test questions will come from.
4. Review this Blog. Looking at the photos, videos, and reading what I've written, will help to refresh your mind as to what we have been working on.
In addition, I am having 3, optional "Study Parties". They will be held on Friday (Halloween) at 7:15AM and again at 2:30 - 3:00. The other one will be Monday morning at 7:15AM.
Good luck!

Bird of the Week - Vlll

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the American crow. The crow is widespread, common, obvious, and known to most people. What a lot of people don't know is how complex their life is. Young crows remain with their parents until they can find a home of their own, and individual relationships may last years. Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most, but not all populations, the young stay with their parents and help them raise young in subsequent years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.
American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred, several thousand, or even up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.
The American Crow appears to be the biggest victim of West Nile virus, a disease recently introduced to North America. Crows die within one week of infection, and few seem able to survive exposure. No other North American bird is dying at the same rate from the disease. If you see a dead crow, do not pick it up! Tell your parents about it.
The American crow is omnivorous. This means it eats food that is animal or vegetable. Things such as waste grain, earthworms, insects, carrion, garbage, seeds, amphibians, reptiles, mice, fruit, bird eggs, roadkill, and nestlings are part of it's diet.
The male and female Crow look alike, however, the male averages slightly larger. Crows live in out area year round. It's common call is a harsh "caw." It also has a variety of rattles, coos, and clear notes.
To learn more about the American crow and to hear it's call, click on the this link:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Crow_dtl.html

Volume of a Solid

This week we have been finding the volume of a solid. First, we worked at determining the volume of a regular shaped (rectangular prism) object using the formula V = L x W x H. The units were cubic centimeters (cm3). Using wood blocks and a metric ruler, we measured the length, width, and height of the blocks to the nearest mm. We then used a calculator and multiplied the length times the width times the height and rounded the answer off to the nearest tenth. The units were cm3. We next worked on finding the volume of an irregular shaped object by displacement. We put some water into a graduated cylinder and recorded it's volume. We then lowered our object into the water and the water level went up. We recorded this new level of water and then subtracted the original amount of water from the new amount of water. The result was the volume of the object placed into the water. The units were cm3 or ml.

Bird of the Week - Vll

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the European starling. The Starling is not native to North America. All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s. Today, European Starlings range from Alaska to Florida and northern Mexico, and their population is estimated at over 200 million birds. Its successful spread is believed to have come at the expense of many native birds that compete with the starling for nest holes.
The Starling is a stocky, black bird with a short, square-tipped tail. It is about 8 - 9 inches long. It has pointed, triangular wings and has a long pointed bill which is yellow in the breeding season (spring and summer). It has shimmering green and purple feathers in the spring. The male and female birds look very similar.
While many Starlings migrate, some do winter over in our area. Starlings eat many kinds of invertebrates, fruits, grains, seeds, and garbage. They forages(look for food)in open, grassy areas. They feed in large flocks, often with blackbird species. Starling nest in cavities (holes) in trees.
For more information about the European starling and to hear it's song, click on this link:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/European_Starling_dtl.html
Photos taken from All About Birds.