Newton's Laws Project

Students did a fantastic job on the Newton's Laws Project! They were challenged to make a car out of recycled material that traveled a minimum of 1.5m demonstrating Newton's Third Law of Motion. Almost all students were successful and there were some very creative and unique designs:

Newton's Laws Project

Students are working hard on the group and individual part of the Newton's Laws Project. This project (both the group and individual) is due this Friday, April 8. On Friday students will "sell" their vehicle and demonstrate how their vehicle works to the class. Stay tuned for pictures!

*Don't forget to check the student portal for any missing assignments!

We are going outside on FRIDAY!

*Please be sure to dress appropriately. Wear winter boots and your winter jacket.

Tuesday: Force Bench Experiment

Follow these directions in the computer lab:

1. Go to the FOSS website by clicking here. Login to the Force & Motion Multimedia. Click on "Force Bench" and "Free Experimentation".

2. Turn to page 53 in the green Force & Motion Resources book. Follow the instructions on each page (pages 53 - 61) and go through each guided experiment.

3. AFTER you have gone through the green book, turn to page 73 in your F, G & M lab notebook. Read the directions on page 73 and complete questions 1 - 5.

4. Please check the student portal for your current science grade and check for any missing assignments!

5. When you are completely done with the Fore Bench Experiments, please go to the GoNorth! website. Read this week's Trail Report (week 2) and watch/listen to the different clips of this week's adventures!

Forces

The latest topic in 6th grade science: FORCES! This week we started the discussion of how things move and will continue this to the end of the trimester. We are using FOSS course materials and chapters 5 & 6 in the science textbook.

MN Standard: 6.2.2.2.2 Identify forces acting on an object. Describe how the sum of forces affects the motion of an object.

By the end of this discussion, students will know, understand, & be able to do the following:

Know:

1. A force is a push or pull.
2. Friction is a force that acts to resist movement.
3. Use tools to apply force and investigate friction and motion.
4. Use multimedia simulations to investigate force and motion.

Understand:

1. Net force is the sum of all the forces acting on a mass.
2. A net force applied to a mass produces acceleration.

Do:

1. Analyze illustrations of motion.
2. Describe change of motion as a result of net force.

Dotmaker - Monday

Go to the FOSS website and login. ( Login: rmsscience6 Password: rocks )

Click on the "Enter the Program" and then click on "continue". Click on Dotmaker.

Turn to page 54-55 in your Force & Motion Lab Notebook. Follow the directions on the top of page 54 to complete Dotmaker A & Dotmaker B.

When you are finished with this, take a few minutes to check out the GoNorth! site.

This week in science...

We had a very exciting week learning about acceleration in science! Ask your student about the two labs that we did this week, "Faster & Faster" and the "Rolling Dotcar" lab.

We'll wrap up acceleration next week!

Next topic: Acceleration!

Our next topic is....acceleration! We will use our Force & Motion Lab Notebook (Investigation 5) and Chapter 5 from our science textbook. At the end of this unit, students will Know, Understand and be able to DO the following:

Know:
- Acceleration is change of velocity per unit time.
- It's measured in units of displacement per unit of time per unit of time (for example: meters per second per second).
- Things rolling down slopes accelerate; acceleration is greater on steeper slopes.
- The mass of a car rolling down a slope has little effect on its acceleration.

Understand:
- Experience acceleration in walking/running labs.
- Use cars to gather position and time data for analysis.
- Make and use tables and graphs to determine acceleration.

DO:
- Explain the difference between constant velocity and acceleration.
- Identify and interpret graphs to explain accelerating motion.
- Discuss how mass and angle of slope effects the acceleration of rolling cars.

For extra practice you may use the FOSS website (login: rmsscience6; password: rocks).

Motion Test: Friday, Jan. 21

Our next science test is on Friday, January 21st. The topics covered on the test relate to motion (distance, position, time, speed). We'll wrap up the topics on Monday and begin to review for the test for the remainder of the week.

If you are ready to get studying, a good place to start is your Force & Motion Lab Notebook (volume 1 & 2). You can also use the in-class quizzes to review practice problems.

Here are a few resources to help you study:

Quizlet
FOSS Force & Motion

Walk/Run Races

Comparing Speed

This week in science we'll continue to practice calculating speed. We'll spend some time in the gym on Tuesday and Thursday to find our walking and running speed. Be sure to wear tennis shoes!

This week's KUDo's:

Know - Average speed is the total distance traveled divided by total time from start to finish.
Understand - Slope of a line on a distance vs. time graph represents speed; steeper slopes mean faster speeds.
Do - Explain speed in terms of distance and time. Explain how to use graphs to determine head starts.

Air Trolleys!

This week in science we learned about motion! We observed air trolleys in flight and calculated the distance traveled. Getting excited about the air trolley lab:

Thrilled to test out the air trolley (and work together!):

Measuring the distance of the air trolley together (look at that team work!):

End of First Trimester!

The end of our first trimester is on Thursday, December 2nd. Any missing work or Element Baby Books need to be turned in by Wednesday, December 1st to receive credit! Don't delay!

Element Baby Book Project!

To finish our first trimester of 6th grade science, we'll spend the next several days making an "Element Baby Book". Each student has adopted an element from the periodic table and will create a baby book for that element.

There are several important due dates to keep in mind. The "Element Baby Book Fact Sheet" is due on Tuesday, November 16th. This must be completed before you begin to work on the actual baby book. The final project is due Tuesday, November 23rd.

Element Baby Book Requirements

Resources:

Periodic Table
Chem4Kids
Visual Elements
ChemiCool

Destiny

Mixtures & Solutions Test

Here are a few items to help you prepare for the Mixtures & Solutions test on Wednesday, November 10th:

Review Sheet
Quizlet
Study Stack

Salt Concentration Lab Packet Due!

Don't forget to complete the lab packet that we started in class this week. These will be collected in class tomorrow!

We do have a test coming up next week on Mixtures and Solutions. Stay tuned for some study materials to be posted...

This week in science...

We have had a BUSY week in science! We have done two labs this week to learn more about saturated solutions. We worked with salt and a new material: citric acid. On Thursday, we have another lab planned to discover a new mystery chemical. We'll take a look at the solubility of our mystery chemical to see if we can determine what it is.

Separating Mixtures

We had a busy week in science! We've started a new unit on Mixtures & Solutions and completed the first part: Separating Mixtures. This first part involved four different labs where students had the chance to learn the difference between a mixture and a solution, learn to separate mixtures, observe crystals formed, and a final challenge to separate a dry mixture. This picture shows one group that planned their procedure and successfully separated their dry mixture.

Be sure to ask your student to tell you about their experience in science this week!

Unit 1 Test Corrections

The test on Unit 1 Matter & Physical Properties has been returned to each student. They have the opportunity to make corrections and to receive half credit back on the questions they missed. These corrections are due on Wednesday, October 13th.

Mixtures & Solutions

We have started an exciting new unit called Mixtures and Solutions. This new topic allows us to do several hands-on experiments in class. Be sure to ask your student what they did in science this week! :)