2/17/14 4th

• Bellringer: How to DO science

• Introduce Fast Plants Project

• Science Practice Worksheet

JUNIORS!!!!ACT STUDY SESSIONS

• THIS ROOM (#127)

• Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Each day focuses on a different subject

• Mr. Cabey

SENIORS!!!!!!

• FAFSA Should be done FRIDAY

• Workshop in the College Lab tomorrow after school

How to DO science• Answer ONE of the following:

1)What are the steps of the scientific method in order?

2)In an experiment, what is the “control” and the “variable”

3)In an experiment, what is the “dependent variable” and the “independent variable”

2/17/14 5th /6th • Bellringer: How to DO science

• Finish Water Notes… (10 min)

• Introduce Fast Plants Project

• Science Practice Worksheet (HW)

• Quiz Wed. (Water Properties, Scarcity, Pollution, video)

JUNIORS!!!!ACT STUDY SESSIONS

• THIS ROOM (#127)

• Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Each day focuses on a different subject

• Mr. Cabey

SENIORS!!!!!!

• FAFSA Should be done FRIDAY

• Workshop in the College Lab tomorrow after school

How to DO science• Answer TWO of the following:

1)What are the steps of the scientific method in order?

2)In an experiment, what is the “control” and the “variable”

3)In an experiment, what is the “dependent variable” and the “independent variable”

Environmental Impacts

on Wisconsin Fast

PlantsResearch

Project

Guidelines

• This will be the biggest grade for 3rd quarter (possibly 2nd semester)

• We will be piecing together a scientific research project, step by step.

• This project is graded two ways1)several progress checks(HW/CW) 2)research paper (project)

Questions #1

• What are the two ways that this project will be graded?

Research Project

• We will be growing “Wisconsin Fast Plants” in a controlled environment to study one variable factor at a time

• The results of the study will provide valuable information about the different environmental variables that we test

What are Wisconsin Fast Plants?

(Brassica rapa)

•They are plants developed at the University of Wisconsin that grow and flower very fast. This makes them an ideal species to study

•Purpose: To determine the effects that pollution/chemicals have on living things.

Question #2

• A) What is the name of the plant we will be working with?

• B) Why is this an ideal plant to study?

8 Different Projects

• Each row will be doing a different project

• How does _____________ affect the growth of Fast Plants?

• Make sure you LABEL your Fast Plants and know exactly what your group is studying…

• Different Options…

#1 - Different Amounts of Fertilizer

• Because fertilizer is cheap, farmers often add too much fertilizer to their crops and the rest runs off into streams and rivers, causing harmful algae to overtake an ecosystem.

• Finding the correct amount of fertilizer in an important process to get the healthiest fruits & Vegetables while not adding any extra that will get into the environment.

#2 – Household Chemicals in the Soil

• Chemicals from households get into the environment everyday through the sewer systems. Some can have very harsh effects on plants, animals and even humans.

Test various amounts of common chemicals in the soil to see how the growth of Fast Plants are affected.

#3 - Acid Rain

• Pure water should have a pH of 7 (neutral). However, areas with factories and dense urban populations tend to

have acidic rainfall (4 - 6 pH) which scientists are still working to understand. You will test how various pH’s can affect plant growth.

#4 - Metals in the soil

• Cars and factories put metals (such as mercury, lead and nickel) into the air everyday which eventually lands in the soil and impact foods we eat as well as entire ecosystems.

• Scientists are still studying and discovering what the major effect of metals in the environment can be

#5 Other Options…

• Caffeine / Nicotine (human health connection)

• Water Scarcity

• Something else (approved by me)

2/18/14 5th / 6th • Bellringer: SPECIAL JUICE

• Finish FAST PLANTS INTRO • Meet with groups: Proposal 1-5

(checked by me)

• Complete Practice Worksheet• Water QUIZ Tomorrow

Special Juice

I invented a special juice that I think makes people smarter. For an entire week I gave students on the northside of the class special juice and students on the southside of the class regular juice. At the end of the week I gave each class a practice ACT and graded it.

What is the Hypothesis, Control, IV, and DV(Remember IV is what the scientist manipulates and the DV is what gets measured at the end)

What is the control group?

• The control group will not have any experimental factors applied to it

• It will serve as a comparison to the rest of the experiment

• Without a control, you don’t know if your results are because of your variable or because of luck/chance/something else

What are the constants of our experiment?

• Soil: Each plant will grow in a 50% potting soil 50% peat mixture

• Sunlight: Each plant will be under fluorescent U.V. lights 24 hours a day/5 days a week

• Water: Each plant will receive 50mL of water daily

• Climate: Each plant will be indoors in a 65-80°F classroom

•What is wrong with this experiment???

Example #1

• I think that putting skittles in the soil will make a plant grow really tall

• I put skittles in the soil when the plant was 3 inches tall and after two weeks it was 10 inches tall.

• I conclude, skittles make plants grow tall

•Example #1 did not have a

CONTROL GROUP

Example #2

• I think that putting skittles in the soil will make a plant grow really tall

• I plant two seedlings, one under a tree and one in an open field. I place skittles in the soil of the plant in the open field and use the plant under the tree as a control.

• After two weeks the skittles plant grows taller than the control

• I conclude, skittles make plants grow tall

•Example #2 has a control group but does not have constant factors, it is an invalid experiment

Example #3 (Controls & Constants)

• I think that putting skittles in the soil will make a plant grow really tall

• I plant four plants of the same species under the same conditions

• The control plant receives no skittles in the soil to compare to those that receive skittles

• I put 5, 10 and 20 skittles in the soil for the 3 experimental plants

Example (Controls & Constants)

• All of the plants grow the same height

• I conclude, skittles have no affect (good or bad) on plant growth.

• This experiment is VALID

•Why are having these constants important to having a fair experiment?

2/18/14 4th

• Bellringer: SPECIAL JUICE

• Meet with groups: Proposal 1-5… Get checked by me

• Complete Practice Worksheet

Special Juice

I invented a special juice that I think makes people smarter. For an entire week I gave students on the northside of the class special juice and students on the southside of the class regular juice. At the end of the week I gave each class a practice ACT and graded it.

What is the Hypothesis, Control, IV, and DV(Remember IV is what the scientist manipulates and the DV is what gets measured at the end)

2/19/14

• Bellringer: Proposal Review

• Plant Fast Plants

• Research Variables …. What kind? How Much?

Proposal Review

1) What independent variable are you adding to the soil of your Fast Plants?

2) What are you predicting will happen when this substance is absorbed by the plant?

3) Why do you think this will happen?

Planting Rules

• Rinse out containers before use… WHY?

• 3 seeds spaced out per container

• Fill 65% (DO NOT PRESS DOWN) add seeds, then fill remaining 25% (total fill amount is 90%)

• Add 50mL of water per container, SLOWLY

• Label Period, Dates, Plant #s, group name or Initials

Research for Independent Variable X

Fast Plant #1 gets ZERO of variable X

Plants 2, 3 & 4Too much of X may kill plants 2-4Not enough of X will have no impact on plants 2-4

Ideally plant #2 is minimally affected and #4 is majorly affected/killed

Researching the IV

Find published research papers or science fair papers

How much X will kill a plant (take into account the size of the plant researched)

Research specific ingredients within X

Stay on the side of caution…

2/20/14 4th

• Evolution Debate–Water Plants: 30 mL EACH

• Grade HW• Scarcity NOTES

2/20/14 5th/6th

• Bellringer: Evolution Debate–Water Plants: 30 mL EACH

• Quiz• Grade HW• Grade Quiz

Evolution Debate

1) Can evolution and religion co-exist? Explain.

2) Reflect on your thoughts about this strange debate that just took place

(refer to reflection starters on north wall)

• Evolution Debate

30 mL of Water to Each Plant

• Pick ONE person from your group to water the plant today. Rotate a new person each day. Everyone needs to participate.

• You need to bring your household chemical/redbull/product on MONDAY unless its something you need from me (talk to me)

2/21/14• Bellringer: PB & J

1)Water 30 mL per plant (slowly)2)Finalize I.V. amounts for plants 2,3,43) List materials and write procedure (checked by me)4) Talk to me about availability about your IV. – Do I have it or do you need to bring it?*** #3 and #4 will be checked for a grade Monday ***

PB & J• Write a detailed procedure for

making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

• Assume the reader has no concept of how to make a sandwich

Procedure…

• Variable X should be absorbed by the plant’s roots

• Variable X should be diluted with water and applied to plant 2,3,4 in the same way that pure water is applied to plant 1

• Take into account the amount of mass in X when diluting with water…

Water plants: 30mL EACH• One person from each group is excused each day

from the bellringer to measure and water their plants

• That person needs to write “WATERING” on today’s bellringer, and have it on the desk to receive the stamp.

• Today is the person closest to the window from each group

2/24/14

• Monday: BR: Add IV / measure• Tues: continental divide…Watershed• Wed: Watershed/measure• Thurs: BR: ACT

• ACT

• Friday: BR: Rubric• Add IV/,measure…start writing INTRO

2/24/14 4th

• Bellringer: Grade Checks

• Measure and Water FastPlants• Write Procedure!!!– Get Procedure checked by me

• Start on Introduction Outline

• Add IV to the plants Tomorrow!

2/24/14 5th/6th

• Bellringer: Grade Check

• Measure Plants / Record Data• Get procedure checked by me

• Add Experiment variables

Graduated Cylinders

• Graduated Cylinders will be contaminated with oil, alcohol, fertilers, ect. from now on.

• Always wash them before and after using.

• Some Cylinders are for WATER ONLY.

• Upside down in strainer means CLEAN

Grade Check

Total / CW/ HW / P / A

Grade Check..

1) What is your highest category?2) What can you do to KEEP that category

high?3) What is your lowest category?4) What can you START doing to raise up that

category?5) What grade do you expect to have at the

end of Quarter 3 (March 24th)?

2/25/14 4th

• Bellringer: Rubric Annotations

• Add I.V. to your plants

• Finish Writing Procedure

• Introduction OUTLINE (You can use iPads)

2/25/14 5th / 6th

• Bellringer: Rubric Annotations

• ROTATE THROUGH 3 STATIONS1) Gallery Walk2) Watershed Demo3) Work on Procedure/Intro Outline*

* Procedure and Intro Outline are due Friday

Rubric Annotations

• Following my directions, annotate your rubric

• Have the TITLE and DATE on today’s bellringer, when I see you have annotated your RUBRIC I will give you a stamp.

ACT, is it fair?1) Is it FAIR to judge a students college acceptance or scholarships based on standardized tests?

2) Is it FAIR to judge a teacher’s merit (abilities) based on their student’s standardized test scores (or improvements on those tests)?

Explain your answers

Practice ACT – Thursday’s next 6 weeks

• Week 1: Practice Test• Week 2-5: Test Corrections, skills practice• Week 6: Practice Test

Juniors: Helps prepare you for your ACT, April 22

Seniors: Critical thinking skills, improve test taking skills in general, YOU WILL TAKE MORE STANDARDIZED TESTS IN YOUR ACADEMIC CAREER

Research Tips

• www.fastplants.org Click “FAQ” and “Life Cycle”

• Google [Phytoremediation and __________]• Google [How does _________ affect plant growth]

(fertilizer, bleach, windex, alcohol, acid rain, motor oil, ect.)

2/26/14

• Bellringer: LD50

• LD50: Worksheet and Graphing

• Measurements and watering FRIDAY

LD50

• Take a guess…

• What does Lethal Dose 50% mean? • And why is it useful to scientists?

2/22/13 HAPPY FRIDAY!

• BELLRINGER: Chocolate Overdose

• Take measurements of plants

• EITHER water or add another round of experimental variable (depends on group)

• Finish LD50 Worksheet

Chocolate Overdose

• LD50 of Caffeine is apprx. 190mg/kg

• There are 6mg of caffeine in a 1 ounce chocolate bar

• How many chocolate bars would a 150lb person (70kg) to reach the lethal dose 50%?

Show your work!