More Review

Students were given more time to work on their Atoms and Elements review package. An electricity unit package was also given to students. This was our last class.

Presentations and Review

We finished the last two space presentations today. A review package about Atoms and Elements was given to students. Students worked on this review package.

Space Project Presentations

Groups presentation their space projects to the class today.

Space Project Work Period

This is our fifth and final work period. Presentations are tomorrow.

Space Project Work Period

This is our fourth work period. There is only one more left.

Space Project Work Period

This was our third work period.

Space Project Work Period

This was our second work period.

Space Project Work Period

Today was our first work period for the space project.

Test

Students wrote the reproduction test today. A group space project was also introduced to students today. Students formed groups and selected topics. Projects are due on the 16th.

Review

Amniocentesis was discussed. The rest of class was a review period.

Technology

Students were given a handout on fertilization, pregnancy and embryo development. There was a discussion and a series of written questions. A handout of technology was also discussed. A DVD on genes was watched and students did an interactive quiz on the genes.

More Sex Cell Development

We reviewed sex cell development in males and females. Students worked on two diagrams. One was a cross-section of the female reproduction system and the of the was a diagram on the process of follicle development and ovulation in ovaries. A DVD on cells was watched by students. An interactive quiz was done at the end of class on the DVD (the class scored 10/10).

Sex Cell Development

Students read, answered questions and discussed sex cell development in males. Students read, answered questions and discussed sex cell development in females. A handout was given to students on these topics.

Asexual and Sexual Reproduction

A handout on DNA was given to students and discussed. A handout and questions were given to students on asexual and sexual reproduction. After students answered questions, a handout on pros and cons of each was given to students. After a discussion on asexual reproduction, students worked on a handout on the survival and development of organisms.

Karyotypes

Meiosis and mitosis were reviewed. A video on each was discussed. A stapled handout on atypical meiosis was given to students and non-disjunction disorders were discussed. A handout on karyotypes was given to students with questions on it. Answers were discussed at the end of class.

Meiosis

A handout about meiosis was given to students. A diagram in the textbook was discussed. Questions were answered by students and a comparison handout was given to students. A brief video was shown to students and was later discussed. A diagram was labelled by students. Class finished with students watching a video on meiosis.

Cancer

Cell diagrams were returned to students and the correct answers were discussed. Questions from the Cancer Activity were returned to students and discussed. A handout on cancer treatment was given to students and discussed. A political/ethical question was presented to students. Each student wrote their personal response to the question and handed it in. Cell theory was examined and written down.

Cell Division Project

Today was the last in-class time given to students for the cell division project. Projects are due the first day back to school after the long weekend.

Project Work Period

Students brought materials to work on their projects today. Tomorrow will be the last work period for the project. All projects are due after the long weekend. Students are encouraged not to use paper for their project and to be creative.

Cancer Activity

Students were given a handout on cancer and carcinogens. Students worked on a question and answer activity with a partner. These are due tomorrow. REMEMBER TO BRING SUPPLIES FOR YOUR CELL DIVISION PROJECT.

Mitosis

A PowerPoint on mitosis was shown to students. Some notes were written on mitosis. A screen-based lab activity was done in-class on onion root tip and whitefish embryo cells.

Cell Division

Cell diagrams and questions were handed in. The cell division project was introduced to students. Students worked on definitions and diagrams related to cell division. Everything was discussed and reviewed at the end of class. A short video on mitosis was shown.

Cells

Traits were reviewed with a reading from the textbook. Cells were discussed and two handouts were given to students. Diagrams and questions are due on Monday.

Reproduction Introduction

Students watched an introductory video on our reproduction unit. Genetics were discussed and students were given two handouts.

Traits

An DVD clip was watched. Dominant and recessive traits were examined through discussion, activities and two handouts.

Test

Students wrote the Electricity Topics 4-6 test.

Test Review

Today was a study period for out Topic 4-6 Electricity Test.

Circuit Competition

Students completed a circuit lab. When complete, students worked on the review. The test is Wednesday.

More Cost

Students worked on a Cost of Electricity worksheet. We wrote a quiz on cost of electricity. Students worked on a handout on fuses and circuit breakers. A unit test review was also given to students.

Cost of Electricity

Students saw their quiz from last day. A handout on topic 6 definitions was given to students. A handout on Cost and Measurement of Electricity was given to students. Students were given an example of how to calculate the cost of electricity. There will be a cost quiz on Friday.

More Circuit Diagrams

After we discussed and corrected the circuit diagram handout from last day, students wrote a quiz on circuit diagrams. A handout on superconductors was also discussed.

Circuit Diagrams

Labs 4-12, 4-13 and 4-14 were all returned and discussed. Students wrote down steps on how to draw circuit diagrams. Notes on symbols were written with two examples. Students were given a handout with diagrams on it. Students should complete as many examples as they can for tomorrow. There will likely be a quiz on circuit diagrams tomorrow.

Switches

Students worked on an energy review worksheet. A video on circuits was watched. Students wrote notes on switches. Unit tests were returned and corrected.

Lab 4-14 Parallel Circuits

Lab 4-10 Solar Cells was returned and discussed. Students finished copying lab 4-14. After students completed lab 4-14, time was given for students to work on the questions and answers. Labs 4-13 and 4-14 should be handed-in together tomorrow. A handout on series and parallel circuits was discussed.

Lab 4-13 Series Circuits

Lab 4-12 was handed in. Students wrote up and did lab 4-13. Questions 1-4 should be completed. This lab will be handed in after tomorrow when we finish a related lab (4-14).

Lab 4-12 Solar Cells

Sutdents did lab 4-12. This lab is due tomorrow. A handout on Electricity and Sound was given to students. This handout also had energy conversions on it. Notes on Circuits were written and discussed.

Thermocouples

Notes were written on thermocouples. There was also a demonstration on thermocouples. Thermocouples were passed around the room and there was a discussion on their importance. Solar cell notes were written. Students talked about were solar cells could be found and a lab was written up. This lab will be done on Monday.

Early Dismissal

There is no period 2 class today. There are only periods six, five and four.

Lab 4-10 Heat

Students completed lab 4-10. Questions 1-6 need to be finished for Friday. One of the questions require students to do a graph of their observations. Remember to write a conclusion.

Test

Test on Electricity Topics 1-3.

Review Discussion and Heat

Review sheets were corrected. Introductory notes to our next topic were written (heat). A lab was written up. There is a test tomorrow.

Unit Review

A review handout was given to students in preparation of Tuesday's unit test.

Electromagnet Activity

Students formed groups and competed with each other to build the most effective electromagnet. At the end of class, all designs were tested.

Simple Electric Motors

The notes from last class were finished. We talked about our 4-6 lab, magnetism and resistance. The handout from last day was corrected. Generators were demonstrated, discussed and passed around. A worksheet on simple motors was worked on by students as small groups were called up to the front of the classroom to be shown how an electric motor works.

Electromagnet Worksheet

A substitute teacher gave students a worksheet on electromagnets. A wordsearch was also given to students. Students began to work on Checkpoint page 199 (2-5). Students started to write notes on electromagnets but did not finish.

Topic Three Definitions

A substitute teacher discussed resistance. Students wrote terms related to our next topic into their notebooks. A DVD on magnetism was watched by the class.

Lab 4-6 Generating Electricity

Labs 4-4 Part A & B and Labs 4-5 Part A & B were returned and discussed. Students wrote up and went through lab 4-6. This lab is not going to be handed in.

Checkpoint

Students handed in Lab 4-5. Students worked on Checkpoint Questions (1-4 and 6). These questions are due tomorrow. A tentative test date was set for Tuesday April 12.

Lab 4-5 Building a Flashlight

Notes were written on resistance. Students worked on lab 4-5 today. Labs are due tomorrow.

Lab 4-4 Part B

Students worked on lab 4-4 Part B. The lab is due tomorrow. Remember to underline with a ruler, copy out all questions (2,3,4b) and answer in sentences. Lab 4-4 Part A and Part B will be handed in together. Also remember that each lab needs its own conclusion.

Lab 4-4 Part A

The DVD handout was corrected. Students did lab 4-4 Part A. Time was given to answer questions and write a conclusion. We also wrote up lab 4-4 Part B. We will do this lab on Monday.

More Current Electricity

We watched a DVD on current electricity. Students answered a handout during the presentation and at the end of class we had an interactive quiz (8/8). Students wrote notes on cells and wrote up lab 4-4 Part A. We will do this lab tomorrow.

Lab 4-3 Electric Lemon

After lab 4-2 was submitted by students, we went through lab 4-3 together. Students were given time to answer questions and write a conclusion. This lab is not going to be submitted for marks. Lab 4-1 was handed back and discussed at the end of class.

Current Electricity

10 minutes was given to work on Lab 4-2 (due tomorrow). Notes were written on measuring current and several definitions were written down related to cells and batteries. Lab 4-3 was also written up.

Lab 4-2

Students went through lab 4-2. They copied questions 1-4 (page 174) and time was given for students to write answers. 15 minutes will be given tomorrow to finish up this lab. The lab will be due on Wednesday.

Finishing Static Electricity

Labs were handed in. A handout was given to students that was about atoms and electricity. On the second side of the handout there was an explanation of lab 4-1. Notes on the Laws of Electric Charges and Current Electricity were written. Lab 4-2 was written up and a DVD was watched on Static Electricity. An interactive class quiz was also taken (9/10).

Lab 4-1 Electric Charges

Students worked on lab 4-1 today. Labs are due tomorrow. Remember to underline headings with a ruler, answer questions in sentences and write a conclusion.

More Static Electricity

Signatures on marks were checked. Notes on lighting and static electricity were finished. Lab 4-1 was written up and will be done tomorrow. We looked more closely at how the Van de Graaff generator works (students read through a handout, drew a diagram and experimented).

Test Discussion and Electricity

Marks were given to students to take home and get signed. Tests were returned and discussed/corrected. Our second unit was started (Electricity). Students wrote notes on static electricity and had time to experiment with a Van de Graaff generator.

Test

Students wrote the unit test today. Tests should be returned on Monday. A printout of updated marks will be given to students on Monday as well.

Review

Bohr-Rutherford diagrams were corrected. Questions on chemical groups were corrected. Quizzes (Counting Atoms and Subatomic Particles) were returned to students. Time was given for students to work on their reivew packages for the unit test (tomorrow).

Bohr-Rutherford Diagrams

We had a very small class today because of the ski trip. Students were given a stapled handout of reading related to models of atoms. An activity sheet was completed by students drawing diagrams for the first 20 elements in the Periodic Table. Students worked on the test review handout from last class.

Chemical Groups

We corrected the Exploring the Periodic Table handout from last day. Students who missed the subatomic quiz (because of the band trip) wrote it. A handout on chemical groups was handed out for students to work on. A review for the unit test was also handed out.

Exploring the Periodic Table

We reviewed the ion/isotope notes from Friday (band students were given a handout with these notes on it). Students answered the isotope examples at the end of the notes. After these were corrected, the class read through a handout titled "Organizing the Elements." Students worked on Activity 4.3 - Exploring the Modern Periodic Table.

Subatomic Particles

Questions from Activity 2.9 were answered and corrected. A handout on subatomic particles was discussed and students worked on the worksheet. There will be a quiz tomorrow on the same topic.

Quiz and Building Molecules

We reviewed how to count atoms. We wrote a quiz on counting atoms. Students did Activity 2.9 which involved students reading chemical formulas, drawing diagrams and building models.

Counting Atoms

Students handed in signed mark sheets. We began to investigate how to read chemical symbols and formulas. A handout was given as an introduction and a second handout was given with examples for students to work on. A quiz will be written tomorrow on counting atoms.

Assignment Review

Students were given a printout of marks that is to be signed for tomorrow. A textbook assignment was returned and discussed. This assignment was from pages 554-555 when a substitute teacher was in class. Reading graphs was the main content. Safety and graphing quiz assignments were returned and discussed. Lab 1-3 and Lab 1-8 were also returned and discussed. Marks for these labs were only deducted half the normal amount because it is so early in the year. Any future labs will be marked normally. Periodic table activity sheets (from Friday) were corrected and discussed.

Periodic Table Introduction

A summary handout on matter was handed out. The chart on the handout was filled out by students and then discussed. Periodic Tables were given to each student with a brief explanation. A wordsearch and a second activity sheet was given to students to help familiarize themselves with the Periodic Table. Enjoy the February break!

More on Particles

A Particle Theory handout was given to students to read through (aloud). There was a question handout completed and corrected relating to the handout. Notes on elements and compounds were written.

Particles

Lab 1-8 was handed in. The class watched a DVD on atoms while they answered a related question sheet. An interactive quiz was done by the class...8/8 good job! The DVD questions were corrected. Notes were written on the Particle Theory.

Lab 1.8

Students completed Lab 1.8. Time was given to complete questions and conclusion. The lab is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

More Chemical and Physical Changes

Lab 1.3 was handed in at the beginning of class. A homework check was done on the chemical/physical changes handout from Friday. We discussed the correct answers on the chemical/physical changes handout. A demo was done to illustrate an example of chemical change that releases light. Students finished writing up Lab 1.8. We will do the lab tomorrow.

Time was given for students to work on lab 1.3. A handout on chemical/physical changes was handed out and discussed. Demos were done that illustrate different examples of changes and the clues to watch for. A question handout was distributed to students and time was given to complete the questions on this sheet. A homework check will be done on Monday for these questions. Lab 1.3 is also due on Monday.

Lab 1.3

Properties of Matter Station sheets were returned and discussed. Students were given more time to write up the lab. Students completed the practical part of the lab. Labs are due Monday. Next class is Friday (Thursday is early dismissal...periods 6,5,4.)

Property of Matter Stations

We discussed answers from yesterday's notes. We discussed an introductory handout on chemistry that was handed out on Friday by the sub. Students completed the Properties of Matter Stations activity and handed in a worksheet based on the activity. A handout was given to students on how to write a science lab. Students started to write up lab 1.3.

Chemical and Physical Properties

The safety and graph quiz assignment was handed in by most. Mr. McDowell gave a one day extention due to the fact that he was ill on Friday and had a substitute teacher teach. Notes and discussions were done on chemical and physical properties. Questions were answers by students and will be discussed next class.

Graphing Questions

A substitute teacher had the class read through pages 553-555 in the "new" textbook. Questions from "TRY THIS" (page 554 and 555) were copied and answered by students. These questions/answers are due tomorrow.

Graphing and Quiz Assignment

Students were given time to complete a new graph individually. When complete, students brought up their finished graph and Mr.McDowell discussed what to change for the next one (which will be handed in for marks). Students were given a Safety and Graphing Quiz Assignment that is due Monday before the second bell (10:10am).

Graphing

We further discussed the graphing handout that was given to students yesterday. We went through a graph together and discussed the seven steps. Questions were answers by students and then corrected as a class. The questions are on the back of the graphing handout.

Safety

Signatures were handed in today for bonus marks at the beginning of class. We also went over safety (WHMIS) which included a stapled worksheet. A handout on graphing was distributed and briefly discussed. We will start our first graph tomorrow.

Introduction

In this first class we went over procedures and the details of the class. Two handouts were distributed...the course outline and lab guidelines. We will begin doing classwork on Tuesday. Bonus marks will be awarded tomorrow to students who get their course handout signed.

Welcome to Mr.McDowell's Science 9 Class!

This blog is going to be very useful to you this year. Information about assignments, due dates, quizzes, tests or what we did in class will be found within this blog. If you are ever uncertain about an assignment or due dates, this should answer your questions. Please be in the habit of checking this blog once in a while. Good luck and have fun!