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Monday, May 31, 2010

Reflection Post - German N.

Overall, I enjoyed using Blogger in this and previous quarters. It made my life easier by checking whether there is any homework assigned when I skipped school. In my opinion, next year, we should use Blogger instead of Moodle because it can be helpful for students who skipped school to find out what did the class do on the day the student skipped school. However, I also noticed some disadvantages about Blogger, such as it is not so easy to put pictures where you want them to be in your post, which I found very frustrating when I did my scribe post. Overall, I enjoyed using Blogger throughout the 2nd semester.

Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions

On Friday 28th, after showing our colored periodic tables to ms.D, we were told that we are going do a lab about exothermic and endothermic reactions. We had to read about them for that day, so everybody already knew what they were.
For you people that had the shame of missing our class, or just aren't part of it (which is also a shame), here is a definition of both:

- Exothermic Reaction: A change in which energy (or NRG) is released.

- Endothermic Reaction: A change in which energy is taken in.

So, the purpose question was "How do measured temperatures show the difference between an exothermic and endothermic reaction?"

In the actual lab, we mixed Yeast with Hydrogen Peroxide, and Baking Soda with Vinegar.
Yeast and Baking Soda being the Solutes, and Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar being the Solvents.
After consulting it with ms.D, we decided that the independent variable of the lab was temperature, and that the dependent variable of the lab were the endothermic and exothermic reactions.

The result of the first experiment was that Yeast and Hydrogen Peroxide became instantly very bubbly and hot, and stunk like rotten bread.

The second experiment was a bit slower, as the chemical reaction took longer to occur. The result was lots of bubbles and the container becoming cold.

All of the experiments went without any injury and everyone left with good data.
The whole lab is in our Chemistry Packet, so check it out!

If you still don't understand the difference between endothermic and exothermic reactions, here is a link showing some simple examples of them.

Thank you for reading my scribe post. I hope you enjoyed it and that it was helpful.

The next scribe is... well, I can't find the list of available scribes, so I'll have to ask ms.D.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Reflection Post

I think that this time blogging was easier for us because we understood it much better this time around. Personally blogging was easier and more enjoyable this time. And of course the blogging was great for when I missed some science classes or I needed some homework. I also thought that having th 6th and 7th graders do it was fun because it was interesting to see what they were doing in class. However I still found it annoying that putting in pictures was not so easy and that you couldn't move the pictures on some computers. Also when using subscript it made the font do wacky things. So yes there are still some things that need to be fixed but over all blogger was helpful and fun.

Reflection Post

Reflection Post-Alex
I thought that this 3 quarter blogging project was a good idea. Students are able to look on here when confused, and hopefully will have things cleared up after doing so. I know that I found this helpful previously, and am finding it helpful now when studying for our final exam. I didn't like how there seemed to be quite some amount of technical difficulties when posting things on Blogger. I think it was nice that everyone had to do a scribe post each time, so each person only had to post once for that quarter. Most things about Blogger were pretty easy to use. There were 2 things that I didn't like as much was how difficult it could be to upload pictures, and not being able to copy and paste things. 
:) Alex

Friday, May 28, 2010

Reflection Post - Severyn

As I stated in my previous Reflection Post, Blogger is a great website that helped me and others during the school year. First of all, I didnt had to visit Moodle, which takes a long time to log in - I've just visited Blogger and there it was, my homework.
Other good thing about Blogger is that it is very easy to use. That's probably the fact makes me like it. You just enter the address in the URL box and that's it. I had fun working with Blogger and I think that my teacher, Ms. D should do the same Blogger project with next grades. Severyn :)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thursday's Reviewing Class

Today, May 27th, our class was about reviewing things from Chemistry Unit for our final exam. First off all, Ms. D asked us to go Dr. Heslips office. There we took some pictures and later visited Dr. Haddons balcony to take a picture with Mr. Houlis. After taking some lovely images, Ms. D and us returned to the classroom. There we started discussing exercises that were on the chemistry quiz we took Tuesday, May 25th. Here is the list of the exercises including the answers and the notes we took with Ms. D.

Protons vs. Electrons

Proton is a stable particle with positive charge equal to the negative charge of an electron. It is also found in nucleus and it is made from quarks.
Electron is an elementary particle with negative charge. It is also spinning around the nucleus. It can also be found in a lightning.

Matter vs. NRG

Matter is anything that takes up space or anything that has mass.

NRG is not matter, it is an ability to do work or cause change.

*Mass vs. Weight

Mass is the amount of matter inside an object. Uses kg or g as units. It also stays the same.

Weight is the amount of force put on the object by gravity. Uses newtons as units. It also changes itself depending on the position. (Ex. On the moon, on the poles.)

Solute vs. Solvent

Solute (dissolute) is a mixture that is added to the solvent, where the solvent dissolves it. The process is called a chemical change. (Chemical change – a change in matter that produces one or more new substances.)

Solvent (dissolvent) is a substance that is mixed with the solute.

(Ex. Cedevita: solute = powder, solvent = water)

Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous

Homogeneous mixture is a mixture where you can’t see the different parts. (Ex. Alcohol.)

Heterogeneous mixture is a mixture where you can see the different parts because everything is grouped up. (Ex. Sperm.)

*Capacity vs. *Volume

Capacity is the amount of matter an object can contain.
Volume is the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object.

*SI is the metric system that measures them. Here is the list of some other chemistry-related vocabulary words.

Shape a 3-dimensional geometric shape.


Molecular Motion the movement (average) of particles in a state of matter.

Molecular Proximitydistance of particles in a state of matter.

To see a Table about the States of Matter, please click on the link below:

States of Matter Table

Last thing Ms. D said is the relation to today’s world; if someone would solve the Filament state of matter, and make it be together and stay for more than one second, that person would create a whole new type of energy, more efficient one. So, that means that no more oil or gas needs to be spent. After the long reviewing session, Ms. D showed us the assignments for homework, located on Moodle.

Due Friday, May 28th:

1. The 7th Blog Comment. Remember, you must have three 8th grade comments, three 7th grade comments and two 6th grade comments.

2. Color in the TWO Periodic Tables in your packet - be sure to read the directions for what you need to do for each.

Follow the link below:

Moodle for 8th Grade

The next scriber is Daniel!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Class On Friday

In class Friday we went over the liquids and solids observed in a lab on Thursday. As a class we decided which substance was compound which was an element and which substance was a mixture. After everyone went up and wrote substance under where they thought it belonged we all went through to check each-others answers. This is what we ended up with:

In the table below the numbers next to the letters underneath "symbols/formlas" are meant to be down lower and smaller-like in this image-

Quiz tuesday:
-over 3 parts in your book you read as homework
-your chart in the packet
-and the 2 sets of notes


  • pure substance (simplest)
  • can't be divided
  • no "+"'s in formula
  • and has only one chemical symbol


  • pure substance
  • 2 or more elements combined chemically
  • has a ratio (always the same)
  • ONE chemical formula


  • 2 or more elements involved
  • NOT CHEMICALLY combined
  • 2 or more chemical formulas
  • formulas have "+"'s


    Homogeneous- uniform mixture, same throughout
    Ex.cedvita, mineral water, salt water

    Heterogeneous-not uniformed mixture, not same throughout
    (Looks like a salad. You can tell where the tomato is, where the lettuce is, where the cucumber is; it all stands out)

    Solution is a homogeneous mixture.
    2 parts:

    -Solute(what you have less of): part that dissolves

    -Solvent(what you have more of, and usually a liquid): dissolving part

    In salt water:

    In cedvita:
    solute-orange powder

    In mineral water-
    solvent-H2O (liquid)

    Stated by Ms. D, "96% of the time H2O is the solvent"



    And these are all, man-made solids, and last less than a second usually.

    ¬We also figured out how to read the substances formulas' using math.

    In the formula above there are 4 hydrogens, because you multiply H x 3 and you get 3 hydrogens. Then add the H at the beginning. and you get a total of 4.

    There are also 2 carbons and 2 oxygens used to create the substance.

    In case you want to look up more formulas, this is a cool site I used:

    Next scriber is Severyn.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Elements, Mixtures & Compounds!

Today in class we had Mr. Tim as our teacher because Ms. D went on a field trip with the 7th graders.Mr. Tim discussed elements, compounds, and mixtures to us.

An element: a substance which cannot be broken down into other substances by ordinary chemicals. Each element is represent by a symbol. Example: oxygen = O , gold = Au, helium= He

Here is a link to "The Element Song"

A compound: two or more elements can be combined to form compounds. Compounds are very different from the elements from which they are formed. Example:NaCl, made from sodium, a dangerous and explosive element, and chlorine, a poisonous gas.

A mixture: made from two or more substances, elements, compounds, or both in definite proportions, and these proportions are not always the same. Example: soil, cake, milk

Homogeneous mixture: the substances in a homogeneous mixture are so evenly mixed that you can't see the different parts. Example: cake batter, petrol, plastic spoon

Heterogeneous mixture: in a heterogeneous mixture you can see the different parts. Example: salad, gravel, car

After discussing those topics, we reviewed temperature, weight, mass, volume, and density. We gave a definition, units, and the equipment used for each property.

Temperature: - a measure of the average NRG of motion of the particles of a substance
- Celsius and Kelvin
- thermometer
Weight: - a measure of the force of gravity on an object.
- Newtons, kilograms
- force scale, spring scale
Mass: - a measure of how much matter is in an object.
- kilograms
Volume: - the amount of space that matter occupies.
-centimeters cubed
-ruler, graduated cylinder
Density: - the measurement of how much mass of a substance is contained in a given volume
-TBB, ruler

Finally we got to our rotation lab on matter. In this lab we had to smell and examine 12 different substances and write down their symbol/formula, their physical properties, decide if the substance was a solid, liquid or gas and decide if it was an element, compound or mixture.

Here are some substances that were examined: .
  • Copper- Cu, solid, element
  • Hydrogen peroxide- H2O2 , liquid, compound 
  • Rubbing Alcohol-C3H8O, Liquid, compound
The homework from today is to complete "States of Matter-pg 42-47" and by reading those pages fill out States of Matter Note Taking Section in our Chemistry Packet.
Also don't forget another blog comment is due tomorrow (Friday).

The next scriber is Alex.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Diet Coke and Mentos

On May 14, 2010 we had a short Friday class, first everyone got their constellations project back graded. We watched the Myth Busters season 4 – this time the myth they tested was Mentos & Diet Coke.

Here is a link to the video that inspired the myth:

This video has gotten so many views on YouTube and all over the internet so the Myth Busters decided to test it.

This video is explaining about what they did in the experiment and what is happening inside the diet coke bottle:

Homework – answer the 9 questions about the Myth Busters experiment and read pages 6-15 in the textbook. Do Tuesday.

the next scribe is Holly

by Abigail

Friday, May 14, 2010

Big Bang History & Interesting Facts!

On Thursday in class we learned about the history of the big bang, and its theory. It was first proposed in 1927 by a priest named Georges Lemaitre.

Big Bang Order:

1) We started of as NOTHING!

2) The first big bang is thought to have been equivalent to dropping a 2.2 kg's bag of sugar.

3) What we call the "Real Big Bang'' was an inflation or an expansion of the universe that interrupted the standard linear expansion shortly after the first big bang.

4) Particle Soup- HUGE amount of matter formed which gets cooler and gets a larger volume (plus, - , 0 , Q , N) In other words:
(protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks, neutrino)

5) The first elements after this were;
1) Hydrogen- (first most abundant element/ first created element)
2) Helium- (second most abundant element/ second created element)
3) Lithium- (third most abundant element/ third created element)

What happens next?
Scientists are still debating on which one of the three will happen next.
  • Some say the universe will have a continual expansion
  • Some say it will have a "big crunch" and it will all crunch together
  • Others say that eventually everything is going to stop

At the end of class we got a Chemistry Unit Note Taking Guide and a Chemistry Packet.

In the Chemistry Unit Note Taking Guide we have to do the thirteen questions about Describing Matter which is on pg. 6-15 in the textbook.
And bring Chemistry Packet to every class from now on!!

Next scribe is Abigail


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Stars! & Black holes! & Galaxies

Last Friday, we spent class reviewing eachother's constellation fact sheets. Each student recieved 3 people for whom he or she was to read their sheets and grade them. Because that class was short and unchanging, I am also blogging for today's science class on May 11.

Today at the beginning of class we had a quick discussion about Branimir; the astrophycsicist that came to our class and talked to us last week. We wrote him some of our comments and criticisms on his lecture, which included the following:
Lack of media
Shorten his bullets on his powerpoint
Speak louder and clearer
Interact with the students more
Simplify some vocab

Showed enthusiasm and true knowledge of the subject
Gorgeous pictures
Interesting at most parts

Branimir has never taught to students our age; and I think he deserves an extra arm of applause for having the courage to do so now. In about three days, he becomes a doctor of astrophysics.

From the discussion, Ms.D continued to show us the Star Notes Powerpoint we had started to watch in one of our previous classes. Our final exam will include most of this information, which is why I will include a summary of the most important facts below.

-Blue stars are the partiers. They are hot, big, young and die fast.
-White stars are middle everything. Middle aged, middle sized and middle brightness.
-Red stars are old, colder and dying.

A globular cluster is a glob of stars

Galaxies are large systems of stars in dust (interstellar matter)
There are several million galaxies with several trillion stars in each one.
There are three main types of galaxy:

Spiral galaxies:
Our galaxy is a spiral galaxy
Young populations
Have lots of interstellar matter
Has arms and a a black hole in the middle

Elliptical galaxies:
-Old populations
-Very little interstellar matter

Irregular galaxy:
-No shape, distorted due to gravity from neighbouring galaxies

We know other galaxies exist because of the use of math, and pictures taken using radio waves

Additionally, we learned what a Hertzbrung Russel graph is. It is a graph that explains how stars age.

Next, we were taught how a star dies. There are basically three different ways of stellar death, and how they go is based on their mass.

-If the star is the mass of our sun:
Red Dwarf: Running out of fuel
Red Giant: Out of fuel
White dwarf-Hot, small star, dead when it runs out of energy

No worries, our sun won't die for another 4 million years, and we'll most likely die out by then anyways.

-If the star is 4x the mass of our Sun
Same steps as Sun
Past White Dwarf
Electrons+protons combine = neutrons= neutron star!
The neutron star then becomes stronger than nucleur forces inside of an atom

-If the star is 10x the mass of our sun
-Same steps as previous deaths
-Past neutron star
-Collapses past nucleur forces
-Forms a gravity well-cosmic vacuum cleaner
-Which then turns into a black hole

In the middle of our discussion, we also talked about atoms and molecules , and learned that zombies are actually just reanimated atoms.

At the end of class we began a discussion on the Big Bang, but ran out of time. For the next class the volleyball girls will not be here to take notes so I hope the next blogger does a supreme job of summing up the class.

We have no homework for Thursday.
Also the following link is something spiffy I found that stimulates all of the astronomical events we discussed in class.

Additionally, something I personally found intriguing was that when we look into space, we look into the past since things are so many light years away. For example, if there is a galaxy one billion light years away, we won't know its dead until a billion years from now.

The next blogger is Cornelia.

My favourite subject in Science

Reflection post about astronomy.

I like astronomy because of many reasons. The one reason is because it's very interesting and unexplored. The space is very, very big and unknown. You never know what you can find in the universe. Maybe there are some other creatures in other planets. We can't never know how are they living, maybe they are more developed then humans and technologicaly. The universe is so big that we can't know if there are some planets that maybe we can live on it. Because of all these reasons, I think astronomy is a great scientific discipline. You never know what can you discover about universe.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The universe!

On Tuesday a guy came in and told us about the universe and wormholes and physical theory and stuff like that. He works as a theoretical Physicist at the university here in Zagreb. The difference between a Theoretical Physicist and an Experimental Physicist is that a Theoretical Physicist makes up mathematics, and an Experimental Physicist tests those mathematics. The man who came in is clearly a Sci-Fi enthusiast, and yes, Star Trek does teach you stuff.
This man went briefly into supernovas. Apparently, there are 5 types of supernovae, each more difficult to explain than the last.

That there is a cool looking supernova, so I decided to throw it in.

Then the guy went on to talk about wormholes and parallel universes. Wormholes are supposed to be like a shortcut in space, its like going across the Pacific in a Honda to get to China, thus far impossible. Not to mention the negative energy and stuff. Apparently, energy can go backwards according to this man (which is supposed to be a violation of physics because all energy needs to move forward or be non-existent) but that is what is theorized to be in the "Throat" of a wormhole. Also, there is no going through wormholes without going backward or forward in time, so it's relatively impractical to be something that is used on a regular basis.

Today, I wasn't there but we had to work on a Constellations project. It is due tomorrow. You can find instructions and Rubrics on Moodle.

Thanks guys!