Mass Spring Lab Online Assignment

Instead of having class face-to-face tomorrow, we were to complete the mass spring lab online assignment. Although I was confused when I arrived on the website, I played around with the different gadgets. I put different sized weights on the springs to see how they varied. The lighter weights sprung up and down faster and longer than the heavier weights. I also got to see how friction plays a part. The more friction, the less the springs bounce. I also noticed that it does not matter how much weight you put on the springs when there is no friction, they will never stop moving. I experimented and put all different sizes on and changed the slider to no friction and they springs kept moving up and down. When I did this, the softness of spring three did not matter either, since I set it so the softest it could go, and the spring never stopped, since there was no friction. This was a neat experiment. It put everything in perspective since it was so interactive. I could see how everything was related. It was also neat that it showed the energy of each spring if you chose. It appeared in a graph as the spring was moving. Another neat thing that this lab could do was see how gravity affected the springs in different places, such as on the moon and or on Jupiter. I really like this lab since it was so interactive and fun. It did not seem like science as I was experimenting with the springs. Overall, I enjoyed this lab.

NSTA Web Seminar

The web seminar called "Celebrating Astronomy: A Star's Story" on NSTA just got done. Although it was a lot of information to take in for one night, it was a very interesting seminar to watch. All the presenters did an excellent job and seemed to know what they were talking about. It was neat to see the spectrum pictures and see where the sun falls in a spectrum. It was also need to see what a star consists of. I never realized that all of those different elements made up stars, so that was neat to see. This was also a fun experience since it was held over the internet on a program called "Elluminate." The seminar was also very hands-on. Viewers could ask questions in a chat box and give their input. Also, the resources that were given during the presentation will help me in the future when I am a teacher. The presenters used great websites to show us what we can use when we teach. These will be great use to me if I ever teach science. I appreciate the hard work it took to present this seminar. Overall, the web seminar was a very neat experience.

Class on Tuesday, Sept. 23

Today's class was more informative instead of doing a experiment. Due to the nature of the internet and technology, there was a lot of confusion in the class about blogging, so we spent the first part of class discussing how to blog and where to post our blog URL at. After that, we discussed a little about the web seminar that will take place instead of regular class on Thursday. We are supposed to log on to the NSTA website at 5:00 pm to attend a web seminar about space that our teacher is hosting along with others. After discussing all of this information, we went over our Module 1 Reading Guide since we have a quiz that will be posted sometime today which is due by midnight tomorrow. The reading guide was nice to go over as a refresher since I have not taken a Physical Science class for a while. Now I feel a little more comfortable about taking the online quiz!

Graphing Your Motion

Today, we did the lab called "Graphing Your Motion" which we were tried to start on Tuesday. The Lab Quests were charged and ready to go today. They worked! Once we discovered that our Lab Quest worked, my group found an empty classroom to complete the lab in since we needed more room. After we hooked the motion detector up to the Lab Quest, we started. First, we started with the position and time graph. We discovered that the slower you walked, the broader the line would be on the graph. So, if you would go faster, the line would be steeper. After we completed the position and time part, we moved on the the velocity and time part. This graph was more complex for us. Ours looked like big squiggles. We discovered that the slower you walked again, the squiggles on the graph were more spread out. When we walked faster, the graph was closer together. This would be a neat experience to try in the classroom someday, only if I grow more accustomed to technology. Right now, I would not trust myself doing this since I am not very familiar with this equipment. This lab was interesting though, showing us in person what position and velocity mean. It was neat to see what the speed of the walker did to the graphs. Overall, this lab was a great learning experience.

Technical Difficulties!!

On Tuesday, we discussed D2L further and got to ask any questions we had about the class. After that, we were supposed to do a lab called "Graphing your Motion" using Lab Quest computers and motion detectors. Due to technical difficulties, we were not able to get any data from the lab. After trying to figure it out for a while, the instructor informed us that it was because the power strips were not on all night, causing the batteries to die which is why we could not perform the lab. Once we figured this out, the class time was up, so we did not complete a lab at all on Tuesday.

Moving Man Online Lab

Before Tuesday's class, we were to complete an online lab called "Moving Man." On that website, there was a man at the top of the screen that you could drag along the top for twenty seconds. The whole time while the man is moving, the position, velocity, and acceleration of the man is posted. You can see exactly what everything is while you move the man. It allows you to correlate the terms position, velocity, and acceleration with the man. I do not fully understand these terms, but this experiment let me actually see what each word means and what happens to each one when the man moves. I understand these words better now by seeing firsthand the results of the moving man. I also understand that it does not take much to change the position, velocity, and acceleration. I played around with the lab a couple of times to compare the numbers and I noticed that even the slighest movement of the man causes the numbers to change dramatically. This experiment was neat to do since it allowed me to learn more about something I know very little about!

The Science of a Kiss Lab 9/9/08

On Tuesday, September 9, 2008, we did an interesting experiment. It was called "The Science fo a Kiss." Before we started the lab, we were presented with two containers filled with Hershey kisses. One was skinny and tall and the other container was short and round. We were asked which one contained more or if they contained an equal amount. By doing this, we could put in perspective what the information in the lab was about. Before we found out the answer, we had to complete the lab. In the lab, we had to measure the kiss mass (kg), height(m), gravitational field(m/s/s), and gravitational potential energy(J). We were to drop kisses from .1m, .5m, and 1m and see the results. We recorded the information needed to complete the formulas. This experiment was useful in reinforcing the use of formulas. We were required to use formulas to record the information. After we filled in all of the information, we went back to the containers to see if the information matched. My group thought there was an equal amount in both containers, but it turned out that we were wrong. The shorter container had more kisses in it than the tall and skinny container. Although everything did not turn out perfectly, this experiment was interesting to see the results from dropping the kisses. This lab would also be a good one for me to use in the future with my students.

Snowflake Lab 9/4/08

I just want to say that I have NO experience with blogging so this is my first time ever!! On the first day of ELED-121, we did a fun experiment that would be neat to do with my students in the future. We were learning about patterns in nature, so we each got to create our own snowflake. My group chose to do a two-repeat pattern so we didn't confuse ourselves! We each had an instruction sheet which also helped to follow along while making our snowflakes. When I do this with my students in the future, I would make sure the directions were very clear to them before they started since this project could be very confusing for young students. I would make sure the instructions were clear so they have a better understanding of not only HOW to do it but also WHY they were doing it. By making the snowflakes, they are creating their own example of pattern. After they were done with it, they could discuss others examples of patterns they find in nature.