How big is the largest indoor swimming pool?

NASA Sharing Underwater Training Facility With Petroleum Industry

Geology in Action: Some real life geology on TV- with parental approval of course!

You may be interested in a new show starting tonight on Nat Geo TV. If you get cable you may want to ask your parents if you may watch this show. It's on late, but maybe they will repeat it at a better time for all of us.  There's no extra credit involved. This is just so that you have more exposure to real life science in action.

Odds and Ends before Thanksgiving Break

• The link to the on-line textbook is http://my.hrw.com/ . Did you know the book will read to you? Try it for the assignment listed below or if you want to review as you do your test corrections.
• Test Corrections are due on or before 12/6. No late corrections will be acctepted.
• Science Project reminder. Remember, if you don't have an adequate sample size you will not be able to develop a good conclusion.
• If you find yourself without a do-able  science project or you have just realized that you don't have a large enough sample size, or you don't have time to do your project and have it ready by December 7 (A Day) or December 8 (B Day) then go to http://www.explorelearning.com/ and pick a gizmo like Growing Plants, Plants and Snails, Germination, or Effect of Environment on New Life Forms. Choose a question, Form a Hypothesis, Gather Data, and do everything just like a real time experiment. Everyone has a project due - on time.  
• You will bring your project board and your data log on your due date.
• Remember to save all of your computer work.  If you are invited to go to the school science fair you will be asked to complete your research paper which is just a formalization of your project board along with an introduction and a few other short sections.  
• You will present your project to your peers.
•  If you want to get a jump on next week's assignments do the following: Read pp. 210 - 211 and pp. 212-215 in your GREEN science book. Answer the Benchmark Check questions. Write your answers in your ISN. These will have to be finished before you participate in the 2 labs for the week.
• Wear LAB SHOES each day next week.
• Have a nice break.

Science Proect Update and Due Dates

The projects are due on 12/7 for A Day and 12/8 for B Day. You will only need to have a complete SPDL (science project data log) and a complete backboard.

You may refer to http://www.nefrsef.org/ for  info about how to do a backboard. I spoke of this in class this week. If you were in class you made a model of a backboard. The model was based on lthe diagram on http://www.nefrsef.org/. Please be sure to type everything for your backboard in a clear font (Tahoma, Arial, or New Times Roman) in a size large enough to be seen from about 1-2 meters from the board. Use bold colors to back your papers, but limit the number of colors you use. Too much, too bright, too froo-frooey is distracting. Your abstract goes right where the picture shows.

Do not use staples or tacks to put your board together. If you start ahead of time you will finish on time.

Late projects will possibly lose up to 11% off the total of the possible points every day that the project is late. 
Further info and a rubric for the project will be added to the blog at a later date.

TEST CORRECTIONS due 12/6 or sooner

All students who were present in class on Thursday or Friday received back their Unit 2 test. Yes, there is an opportunity for test correcctions. the directions are listed below. They must be followed completely for ANY points to be earned. All corrections must be made COMPLETELY AND CORRECTLY or no additional points will be awarded. You know which ones are correct because I met with you and told you which ones you missed. You stood at my desk and wrote them down. If you lost that info you will need to see me during class. If time allows I will give you that info again.
1.  Identify which ones you missed (see above).
2. Write out each question and the INCORRECT answer. Explain why you chose that answer.
3. Find the correct answer. Write out the complete write answer and all of the support that you find for that answer in the book. You must also write the page number, the paragraph number, and the line number where you found your support (it's all in chapters 3 and 4).
4. Your parent(s) must sign the corrections.
5. EVERYONE must return a test. You will file it in your portfolio after it has been evaluated for extra points.
ALL corrections are due on or before 2:00pm on December 6. It doesn't matter if you are an A day or a B day student. NO late corrections will be accepted. You have plenty of time to get it in to me. Parents, if you aren't sure I will get it on time then perhaps you will want to either mail it to me or drop it in the office for your child. Just label it to my attention. I know that's pretty over the top, but assessments count for 60% of the total grade for the grading period.  There will not be a re-test. Corrections will be the only way to raise this grade.

ACCESS TO ON-LINE TEXTBOOK

The link to on-line text book is  http://my.hrw.com/

You may have some assignments that will come from the 7th or 8th grade book. You have a green book at home, but you may want to try some of the additional features.

Here is the GENERIC log in.

username ssalamander2

password j3m5x

I tried it and it worked for me. You may want to try it and look at  weathering and erosion in the red book.

Enjoy your holiday and give thanks to all of the veterans that you know.

An Exciting Opportunity for All Students

I know everyone is really busy with school, science projects, and having fun with your friends, BUT here's an opportunity to engage your creative brain and try something new. I received the following letter today and thought I'd pass it on. Try it you might like it.

Dear Florida Engineering Education Supporter:


We are pleased to announce the National Academy of Engineering’s EngineerGirl! website’s 12th annual Essay Contest. Students are asked to write about the role of engineering in providing safe and nutritious food. Details and rules can be found on the EngineerGirl! website: http://www.engineergirl.org/CMS/Contest/food2012.aspx.

Participation is open to both girls and boys in grades 3-12 and submissions must be entered by 6:00 pm (EST) on March 1, 2012. All winning entries will be published on the EngineerGirl! website and winners will receive cash prizes: first place winners $500, second place winners $250, third place winners $100. The 2012 EngineerGirl! Essay Contest was made possible by the generous support of Lockheed Martin Corporation.
The EngineerGirl! website is designed to spark the curiosity of young people, girls in particular, and encourage them to consider careers in engineering. EngineerGirl! provides career descriptions, profiles of successful women engineers, information about exciting engineering projects, and interactive tools for girls, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors, all designed to encourage girls to pursue an engineering education and career. Launched in 2001, the site is visited by more than 18,000 unique visitors a month and has been featured by the Girl Scouts of America, the Society of Women Engineers, and local and national media in the United States and around the world. The #1 website on Google for “girls + engineering,” Engineer Girl! is a trusted and entertaining resource for young girls, parents, educators, and volunteer engineers involved in student outreach. In a 2011 poll, girls’ reported that viewing the EngineerGirl! website or participating in its annual essay contest caused 63% of them to consider a career in engineering and 81% to consider studying engineering in college. Please visit www.engineergirl.org to learn more.

We look forward to reading some exciting and creative essays and we hope you will help us to spread the contest announcement. If you have questions, or seek clarification, please contact the EngineerGirl! team at engineergirl@nae.edu.

Best,

Vickie

Victoria Gunderson, Ph.D.
Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow
National Academy of Engineering
http://www.engineergirl.org/

Schedule for UNIT 2 TEST

A day Thursday, November 10.
B day Wednesday, November 9.

Re-read and review Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 in your book.

B day reviewed in class on Monday. A day will review on Tuesday.

Bring a pencil and a great attitude.

Quick Update for Science Projects

By this time all students should have submitted a formal proposal and hopefully have received approval to begin experimentation.

Recording data is IMPERATIVE (so important that you just have to do it) so make sure that ALL data is recorded by hand in ink in the Science Project Data Log or SPDL.

Take photos of how the project is set up, how data is collected, important events. Take screen shots and put them into a WORD file to save. These will both support your data.

The target (suggested) date to be finished with data collection is November 15. Remember, you have the 11th off.

Class time will be spent on what to do with your data and how to prepare the rest of your project during the week of the 15th.

More info will be coming. Record your data and have fun with science.