Heat

I collected the Powerhouse Lab and we took a quiz on WS 3.  We graded it immediately and also graded the quiz from the previous block.

The remainder of the period was spent talking about the mechanical equivalent of heat and using the equation Q=mcDT to calculate changes in temperature.  I did a demo lab where we calculated the temperature of the Tirrel Burner flame.

HW:  Complete WS 4; quiz on power

Powerhouse

We checked and corrected the homework.  If you didn't finish correcting it, you can find the answer key here.  The quiz next time will be on the slide problem.  We also took a quiz on WS 2b and corrected the Roller Coaster Quiz.

The remainder of the period was spent learning about power and completing the Powerhouse Lab.

HW:  Study for quiz; finish lab.

More Work

We took the quiz on the Roller coaster problem.  I also checked and we Whiteboarded WS 2b.  The remaining 30 minutes was spent working on homework.

HW:  Worksheet 3; study for quiz on WS 2b

More Energy, Less Work

I checked the Roller Coaster Problem and went over a little bit about how to solve it.  Answers for all parts can be found here.  We also corrected the Spring Lab quiz.

Most of the period was spent learning how to solve energy problems the "easy" way.  We assume there are only two energy types present, one in the initial condition and a different one in the final condition.  By assuming that 100% of the initial energy is transferred completely to the final energy type, you can set the two equations equal to each other.  This allows you to solve for a variable in the equation without having to solve for the energy first.

The rest of the period we did the Popper Lab.

HW:  Finish Popper Lab; WS 2b

Energy Bar Graphs and Energy Types

I checked and went over a few of the HW problems.  Full answers can be found here.  We also took a quiz on the spring lab and I collected the lab.

We discussed more about energy types and how to identify them.  We also talked about energy inventories and how the initial amount of energy an object has will remain constant throughout a situation, however the type of energy it will have will change.  For example, a ball sitting at the top of a hill would possess 100% Gravitational Potential energy.  I compared this with a graduated cylinder filled with 100 mL of water.  As the object loses GPE, it will gain KE, thus the amount of water in the graduated cylinder can be transferred to another cylinder, but it would still be 100 mL.

Finally, we learned the equations for GPE and KE and used them in the roller coaster problem.

HW:  Finish the roller coaster problem; finish WS 2b

Discuss Spring Lab and Elastic Potential Energy

I checked the Spring Lab for completeness and students corrected it in class.  There will be a quiz on the lab the next time we meet.  We also took notes about energy, energy types and the equations that apply to the energy stored within a spring (EPE).

I gave class time to work on Worksheet 1 and we watched the video Ring of Truth: Change.

HW:  Finish WS 1, Study for Quiz on Spring Lab

Welcome Back

I spent a good deal of time dealing with second semester issues, STAR testing, motivation, Graduation, grades, etc.  Then we started our new unit on energy and completed the Spring Lab.

HW: Finish lab if you didn't finish it in class.