Physical Science, Module 3, The Atmosphere

•What we did 2010
•Videos for this module


In learning about the atmosphere, I wanted to do a few more things about air this time as well as the experiments we did in 2010.  This post is only about the new ones.  =)
Air presses on us from all sides.  We don't feel it, but it is there.  That is why if you take a large, thin board and wave it in the air, you feel resistance.

Flatten an Index Card
I had the kids fold an index card in half and flex it a few times, then place it on the table so that it made a low "tent."  They could blow under it to make the tent flatten.
This was because blowing some air molecules from under the index card temporarily allowed the air above the card to have more pressure than the air under the card.

Rising Paper
I also had them place a short strip of paper on their chin and blow, causing air molecules above the strip to be temporarily displaced, making the strip of paper to rise.  This is also like air blowing over the wing of a plane.

Straw Fountain
The boys loved this one!
And as you may have guessed by now, this is because of pushing air molecules out of the way, allowing the air pressure that is pushing down on the water in the cup to be temporarily greater than the air pressure pushing down at the top of the straw.
(We taped the inside straws in place before adding water.)







Rebellious Paper Wad (p. 14)
This works if you tell the kids to blow HARD! =D




We also did the can crusher experiment from the 2nd edition, but we're using the first edition and had no directions except for things I found online, so maybe that was why this one didn't work like it was intended?
No crushing.

But... the can did suck up the icy water.
How?
Since the molecules in the can were hot, they were more spread out.
When we inverted the can into icy water, this cooled the molecules in the can, causing them to take up less space.  Since they took up less space, it drew the water up into the can.

LOL, the hot stove eye looks PINK!  How funny.


►Video of how it is supposed to work.
(You'll see my name under a comment, but my comment was apparently deleted... In case you're wondering what my name is doing there!)

►Find more air pressure experiments here.


sMiLeS,

Apologia Physical Science, Module 2 - Air

•What we did 2010
•Videos for this module

Air takes up space!  I mean, it really does!
Just look at these pics of kids trying to blow up a balloon inside a 2-liter bottle.
Since the opening of the bottle is sealed with the balloon, and the bottle is full of air, there is no room for the balloon to expand.

But Look!  What is this???
Why can JohnDavid blow up his balloon???





We all had a good laugh over that one!  =)



In Experiment 2.2, Oxygen and Fire, I also added Carbon Dioxide.  I wanted them to remember that oxygen feeds fire, and that the heavier carbon dioxide displaces the oxygen-containing air around the candle, suffocating the fire.
(Here is a neat way to pour CO2 onto a lit candle and extinguish it!  With a bit more explanation about displacing oxygen.)

Hydrogen peroxide and yeast produce oxygen.
Vinegar and baking soda produce carbon dioxide.

But first, an overflow!  Woopsie! =D



Okay, here we go...
CO2 in the yellow balloon; oxygen in the white balloon.



They always have fun when we make a mess!

sMiLeS,

Apologia Physical Science, Module 1, The Basics

•What we did 2010
•Videos for this module

This is my second time around with Physical Science!  And I think I like it the best.  (But I also said that about Biology, and some modules of General Science, haha.)

Exp. 1.1, Atoms and Molecules
A 9V battery and copper wire in water w/ baking soda... bubbles coming from the ends of the wires...
Copper atoms were able to link together with oxygen atoms, hydrogen atoms, and carbon atoms to form molecules of copper hydroxycarbonate on the end of one of the wires.

Basically atoms and elements are the same thing. 

But an atom is just the smallest amount of an element.

Read this ice cream analogy.

We talked about how atoms link together to make molecules, and how formulas for molecules were written to indicate how many of each atom actually made up a particular molecule.  H2O means that there are 2 atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen in a molecule of water.
I had written out several chemical formulas and assigned colors to each element (atom).  The kids used Legos to "build" the molecules.  They used a variety of ways to put them together, haha, but I only cared that they knew how to read a chemical formula, and that individual atoms were what made up a molecule.

From left to right:  JohnDavid (my son), Caleb (my nephew), Bethany (my daughter
and JohnDavid's twin), Sarah (who is new this year!), and Courtney her sister.  =)

As you can see by the grins in these pics, my son keeps us laughing.  =)

We also did Exp. 1.3, Concentration, with the Tums and vinegar, and we did some conversions between units using the factor/label method.  It was pretty simple once they got the hang of it.  And they could watch the videos at home for review (in section 4).


sMiLeS,

Physical Science, Module 16, An Introduction to Astrophysics

This module had only one very simple experiment.
Very simple.
We almost did not meet for class.  I decided to go ahead since I needed to go over some things for our upcoming Biology instead of waiting until Monday.
First thing, Cousin C asked, "Do we get to blow something up?"
He has asked me this all year.
I said, "No... um, wait!  Yes, you do!"
"Really???"  <big grin>
"Yes, you get to blow up a balloon!"  I tossed it to him.
He laughed and blew it up right away.  =D

Exp. 16.1, An Expanding Universe, is very simple.  With a marker, the kids placed dots all over the balloon, leaving a space for one dot in a different color.  The different colored dot represented our Milky Way galaxy.
They blew up the balloon and watched the "galaxies" get farther away from each other.
This is to represent how most astronomers think the universe is expanding, based on observations of the red shift, but we don't know this for a fact.  If it is expanding this way, the universe has no center.  Yes, it appears other galaxies are getting farther from ours, but if you look at all the dots, they are all getting farther from each other.
In this module, we learned the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission and the tragic accident at the Chernobyle nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union in 1986.  We learned about classifying the stars, and the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.  Also about measuring the distance to stars, light years, different kind of galaxies, and the red shift.
This was an interesting module, and now I am ready to begin Biology!  =)
--Videos we watched for Module 16.
--Play  Quizlet.  Scroll to find the Module you want.

Physical Science, Module 15, Light

-- Videos we watched for Module 15.
--Play  Quizlet.  Just scroll down and click on Physical, then scroll to find the Module you want.

Light Waves!
Unlike sound waves which need air to travel through, light waves do not need a medium thru which to travel, but can travel in a vacuum. 
Not a vacuum cleaner, heehee, but a region containing no matter.
A light wave consists of energy in the form of electric and magnetic fields. The fields vibrate perpendicular to each other, and perpendicular to the direction of the wave. Because light has both electric and magnetic fields that oscillate back and forth, light waves are typically referred to as electromagnetic waves.

Our first Experiment 15.1, Seeing Different Wavelengths of Light, said it was difficult to perform near noon.
Everyone got here at 12:05, haha!
So we tried with a flashlight.  It worked a little.

But I can't take a picture of a flashlight refracting a rainbow onto a white paper.  My camera makes blurry pics if I don't use a flash, and with a flash, I don't get any rainbows.
Just get a blank white piece of paper.
←This is how it is supposed to be done, so we may try it again sometime.
Just place a mirror in a pan of water and adjust it until you see the color spectrum on the wall or a white piece of paper.  We used card stock.


So then we made this:

This was really cool.  I found it here.  Just scroll down for full instructions.
We placed a sheet of black construction paper in a pan, and covered it with about an inch of water.  I carefully poured a medium drop of clear nail polish on the water.  It immediately spread into a large oblongish circle.
After a couple of minutes, the edges of the nail polish circle were crinkly and it was ready for the next step.  One of the kids carefully pulled the paper out, making sure the edges of the circles caught on the paper.
We placed it on several layers of napkins to dry.
Cool, huh?



Experiment 15.2, The Law of Reflection didn't work too well either.  It needed to be done in a dark room, and my small bathroom is the only room I have without a window.  Since there is no counter space in there for this experiment, we had to do it in the kitchen. 
They drew 2 lines perpendicular to each other on a piece of paper, then taped the paper down flush with the edge of the bar so they could brace a mirror against the edge of the bar (making it perpendicular to the paper).  Then they used a flash light covered with black construction paper with a small slit cut out, and directed the light ray into the mirror at the point of intersection of the perpendicular lines, and compared the angles of the light ray going in, and the light ray that was reflecting.
We could see it a little, and were able to see evidence of the Law of Reflection:  The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.  In other words, whatever angle the light had as it went into the mirror (the angle of incidence) was the same as the angle of light reflecting from the mirror (the angle of reflection).
Again, no pictures.  =\

Experiment 15.3, Refraction of Light
Okay, did I have a FAIL sign on my forehead that day?  I didn't see it in the mirror that morning!  =D
This experiment needed a dark room also.  Sigh.  I should have scheduled these at night.
Using a protractor and a ruler, they were to draw more lines.  Perpendicular, then 45°.
We didn't tho, and I'm glad, haha.
They mixed a small amount of milk in a glass dish of water, so the light beams would show up.  Then using the same construction-paper-with-a-slit covered flashlight, they shone it at an angle thru the side of the dish.
We used too much milk.
So we emptied some into the sink, added more water, still could not see the light beam.
Watered it down again.  After the third time, we could see a faint beam, and could barely tell it was refracted (bent).  But we did not see a beam refracting from the other side of the pan, and it was not a large pan.  I think the flashlights weren't bright enough, or the slits that were cut were too large, or the edges didn't get covered well and light was escaping there.

I suppose we could have watered the milk down more.  But 5 kids and 1 adult in a small bathroom gets kind of crowded!  They were ready to get out of there.  Plus the toilet seat came unhinged because someone was standing on it, and it slid over.  lol.
← This is what it was supposed to look like.  You can see the light entering the solid glass block at the dotted perpendicular line (called a normal like in the image above for exp. 15.2).  This is not a real, visible line, but it is a line that is always perpendicular to the object, and is drawn at the point light enters or exits a substance. 
Light speed in a glass slows down, so it will refract toward the normal.  When the light exits the glass (there is not a perpendicular line/normal drawn here), the light goes back to the regular speed of light (300,000,000 meters/sec, or 670,000,000 mph!), and refracts away from the normal.  You can also see at each of the points where light hits a "wall", there is some light reflected.  Watch here to see why light refracts.

Experiment 15.4, The "Magical" Quarter, er Nickel! 
This experiment was the most simple, the fastest one that day, and it worked.
It did not need a dark room.
It did not involve cutting or taping.
It did not involve a protractor, ruler, or measuring.
We had no time invested, and it worked.  (of course)
It only needed a bowl, a coin, and water.
They placed a nickel in the bottom of a large non-see-thru bowl, then backed up until the nickel was juuust out of their line of vision.  I poured in a pitcher of water, and as the water level rose, the kids were able to see the nickel without moving from their position.
The water refracted the light ray, enabling the nickel to appear in a different position.
Just like when someone is trying to catch a fish with their bare hands or a spear!  Try it.  You'll see the fish is not where it seems, since light refracts in water.


The last experiment worked, too.
Again, few materials.  Paper and a red marker.
Experiment 15.5, How the Eye Detects Color
The kids colored a red cross on white paper, then stared at it for 60 seconds.  They were allowed to blink, but not move their eyes away.  After 60 seconds, they removed the paper with the red cross, and looked at the blank paper underneath.  They were amazed that they could see a bluish-green cross appear on the paper.

See?  They're looking at it right here. →
I can't see it, can you?  haha.  =D
They look funny,  concentrating on a blank page!
There are three primary colors in light - red, green, and blue.  Together they make white light.  (These are not regular primary colors which are red, blue, and yellow, which together make all other colors.)
This phenomena  happens because of certain cones in your eyes that are sensitive to the color red.  Other cones detect colors with different frequencies.  Blue and green. 
After a while of seeing a color, the cones for that particular color cease to continue transmitting signals to the brain.  The brain then holds the same image in your mind until new signals come along.
When the top sheet with the red cross was removed, the low-frequency (red-detecting) cones took a few seconds to realize there was a change.  (Just like me sitting at a traffic light, lol!)  If red light is removed from the color spectrum, bluish-green light is left, so at first the brain only got the signals from the cones that there was blue and green light present.  So for a few seconds, the kids were able to "see" a bluish-green cross.
This one is simple and easy to try.  Your kids will love it.  =)
One more Module!  Then on to Biology.  =)

Physical Science, Module 14, Waves and Sound

--Videos we watched for Module 14.
--Play  Quizlet.  Just scroll down and click on Physical, then scroll to find the Module you want.

Sound waves!  
Exp. 14.1, The Medium Through Which Sound Waves Travel

The kids learned about transverse waves and longitudinal waves.  See this video.
They also learned that sound waves need a medium through which to travel.  They need something which they cause to oscillate (move up and down).  That would be air.
They made a "drum" with the 2-liter bottle, saran wrap, and a rubber band.  They listened to the sound wave, felt the oscillating air on their cheek,  then used the sound waves' oscillation to blow out a candle.  Think of how your eardrum vibrates when it feels vibrations and your brain interprets it as sound.

They had a GREAT time banging on pots and pans.  You'd think they were still three years old, lol.  =D
We even had to trash a small frying pan.  It was cheap, and Cousin A was very enthusiastic!  (Well, I was the one who, when it wasn't very loud, told her she should hit it a little harder, lol.)

They put saran wrap on bowls, and banged on pans held near the bowls.  The sound waves hit the saran wrap and made it vibrate, and the rice bounce.  They discovered if they kept doing it louder and louder, the rice would vibrate right off the bowl.
We did need to sweep.

Exp. 14.2, The Speed of Sound - we were running short on time, and left this one until last.
We ended up not getting to do it.  =\
Sound does not travel as fast as light, so at a distance, one would be able to see two rocks being hit together just before being able to hear them.

Exp. 14.3, Wavelength and Sound

When the kids blew across the tops of the glass bottles, they moved air around inside the bottle.  If they blew at a constant rate, air began traveling up and down, forming a wave.  Different amounts of water allowed the sound waves to travel at shorter or longer distances.  If the wave was allowed to travel all the way to the bottom of the large jug, it made a much lower sound.  Long wavelengths produce a lower pitch.
So then, shorter wavelengths make a higher pitch.
This is the same as when someone plays a wind instrument.  When musicians cover various holes with their fingers, they are changing the wavelength of the sound waves produced.


Exp. 14.4, The Doppler Effect
We didn't have time for this one either, but they had watched a video.
Scroll down to #7, The Doppler Effect.

Exp. 14.5, The Amplitude of a Sound Wave
With the stringed instruments, they plucked a string, then plucked it harder.  The sound did not change pitch, but it did change volume.  This shows that the amplitude changed, not the wavelength.
In order to change pitch, they needed to turn the key thingy (no, I don't know what it's called).  This would lengthen or shorten the string, which would change the pitch.

Overview:


With every item of expensive jewelry, famous paintings, a cleverly-written book, a very expensive car, we usually want to know who is the designer?  The creator of something we really like or admire.
Suppose someone told you, oh, that just happened by chance; someone just found it, and it was already like that.  Or that we had a bunch of stuff in storage in a warehouse for years and years.  When we opened it one day, we discovered all these things were put together, and no one really knows how it happened.
We would not accept that answer.  Most will be determined to find out who did this great work!
I just can't imagine that anyone who has studied science would believe it all came about by chance.  Creation is so much more complex than jewelry, cars, or artists.
No, there is a designer, and He is God!
I think this with every chapter I read of science.  =)

Apologia Physical Science - Elements

=)

LOL! Module 11 (part B), The Forces in Creation

Module 13 did not have any experiments (but I did post videos for Module 13), so I told the kids to study the last several Modules, and we would have a QuizGame today.  And they could win chocolate!  Abigail was the winner by 2 points.
I was pleased with how much they remembered.  As I was asking questions, and sometimes pausing for discussion, I came to an experiment in Module 11 that we had skipped because of it's simplicity.
(Ohhhh yeah, I had this planned!)

Experiment 11.2 - The "Bent Space" Theory of Gravity.  Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
The kids didn't know what page I was on, but willingly got ready for this (unknown to them) VERY simple experiment.  I handed out goggles, and told them to wear coats and gloves.  And the girls especially might want to wear something over their hair.  (But I didn't say it was necessary!)
I explained I would just let them read and get together what materials they needed, and I would just video.  They didn't do the experiment quite right, but that wasn't the point today, lol!
I could hardly keep a straight face!!!

Bethany snapped a few pictures as I videoed them reading, following the steps, and waiting for something to happen...
Just see their faces as they realized this extremely simple experiment was totally over, and nothing had exploded!  😄
Rebekah looked up at me, slightly incredulous, "Why are we dressed like this?"
And then they all realized what was going on.  It was hilarious!!! 😂
Caleb was funny! "Stupid goggles.  Made me mess up my hair for nothing!"
Rebekah -- "I was just waiting... WHAT'S gonna happen?"
Abigail thought it was going to blow up!
Rebekah answered, "Yeah, she put explosives in the cantaloupe???"  ROFL!! 🤣
Just watch the video...


Still ROFL!

I Found More Elements! (not really)

I found another resource!
Dynamic Periodic Table.  All I can say is go look and see what all it does.
Thanks, Michelle at Applie's Place!

Red Wagon Tutorial DVDs for Apologia

This fall with Biology, we will be using the Audio CDs since I think the kids need to hear the pronunciations as the book is read.
Whew!  Lot of big words!  ETA: I had to get the 2nd Edition books since the Audio CD is only available in 2nd Edition.  $igh...

We will also be using the instructional DVDs for the computer from
← Red Wagon Tutorials.
These are taught by Steve Rosenoff, one of Apologia's teachers, and are available for live classes at Red Wagon Tutorials.
There is more accountability this way for the student, but if you want to actually own the CD-Rom/DVD, (much cheaper, and this is what I did) Steve Rosenoff also sells some of them on ebay.  Search Apologia DVDs.

They are also available at Apologia and Christian Book Distributors. →

Do not confuse the DVDs with the audio CDs.  Big price difference!

I'm not sure about version 2.0 (good to check about this), but the 1.0 version that I bought must be played on a computer that can play a DVD.  If your computer will not play DVDs, you may be able to get a DVD drive put in.
Both versions are 2nd edition.  We are using 1st Edition books, but I think it will work fine, since he gives all the answers during the lecture.
There are 2 tutorials per Module.  There are printable tests, quarterly tests, and fill-in lecture notes that go along with Steve Rosenoff's tutorial.  He gives the answers after your child has had a chance to think of them.  I went thru one right after I had studied a chapter, written my blog post, and hunted and found helpful videos online for the kids to watch.  So I thought I pretty much knew a lot about the chapter.  The tutorial was an excellent review and I remembered/learned even more.  =D
I'm planning to have the kids do them each Friday after reading that half of the Module.  (Steve Rosenoff has a schedule on his site, so I knew which pages needed to be read before doing the lecture)

Physical Science, Module 12, The Forces in Creation - Part 2

--Videos we watched for Module 12.
--Play  Quizlet.  Just scroll down and click on Physical, then scroll to find the Module you want.

We continued our study on the fundamental forces of Creation, and focused on the electromagnetic force - the force that exists between particles with an electrical charge. 
Experiment 12.1 - Electrical Attraction and Repulsion

This was a simple experiment, done with balloons rubbed in your hair.  Most of us have all done that as kids, and then stuck the balloon onto the wall.
This time, we also made 2 balloons repel each other.  (ok, I am prone to say "we", and one of my kids pointed that out.  If I accidentally say "we" it means I was there while the kids were doing it, haha!)
We They hung the balloon by a thread from the chandelier thing over the table, because the ceiling was too high.  =)  Two kids each rubbed one balloon in their hair - the hanging balloon, and another balloon.  When brought closer together, this caused the balloons to repel, because of the stray (negative) electrons the balloon picked up from the kids' hair.  The balloons now both had negative "like" charge.  Like the North ends of 2 magnets will repel.
Rubbing a balloon in your hair will cause the balloon to pick up negative electrons from your hair.  If both balloons are negatively charged, they will repel each other.
The first rule of electrical charge:  Like charges repel one another.

Then cousin C put a piece of Scotch tape on the table and quickly ripped it off, then held it with both hands, sticky-side toward the hanging balloon.  This made the balloon move toward the tape.  Ripping the tape from the table caused the tape to lose negative electrons.  Since it lost some negative charges, it's "net" charge was now positive.  When Cousin C held the tape near the balloon that was negatively charged, they were attracted to each other.   
The second rule of electrical charge:  Opposite charges attract one another.  Keep in mind that nothing loses or gains the positively charged protons (which are in the nucleus of an atom), but only loses or gains electrons, which are always negative.

↑ In this picture, the balloon is being attracted to the static in her hair!  It stayed there thru 3 pictures, and no, it wasn't taped on.

Experiment 12.2 - Making and using an Electroscope
We used a glass, a plastic lid, a paper clip, needle-nose pliers, and aluminum foil to make a simple electroscope, which is a device that can be used to detect as well as store electrical charge.  We also needed a balloon.
Each kid made their own.  (JohnDavid had 3 sets of pliers! =)  This kept them all busy, and when one electroscope worked better than another, I was very glad we had done three.  Finally another one started doing better also.  It all had to do with Rebekah's hair having a lot of static that day!  =)

(1)  After rubbing balloons in their hair, they brought the balloon near, but not touching, the paperclip.  This made the pieces of foil move apart as long as they held the balloon there.
(2)  Then they did it again, but this time they touched the paperclip, and when they removed the balloon, the foils stayed apart.
(3)  Then they touched their paperclips with one finger.  This made the foil hang straight down again.
(4)  Then while no longer touching the paperclip, they (a) brought the balloon close to it again, which made the foils move apart.  When the foils moved apart, they (b) touched the paperclip with a finger from their other hand.  This made the foils fall back down.  Then at the same time, they (c) removed their finger and balloon.  This made the foils once more stay apart.
This is the concise explanation!!!  It was actually more "busy" than this, with the kids trying the different steps multiple times, getting their timing right.  It didn't work every time on each kid's electroscope, except Rebekah's, the static girl, but each kid did see success with different parts of the experiment. 



The foil and the paperclip, as all other forms of matter, have both negative and positive charges.  The number of positive and negative charges are equal, so there is no "net" charge.  However, the balloon had picked up stray electrons in the kids' hair, and therefore had an overall "net" negative charge.

(1)  When the balloon was brought near the paperclip, the positive charges in the paperclip and foil were attracted to the negative charges in the balloon.  And the negative charges in the paperclip were repelled away from the balloon and traveled down to the foil.  Now both pieces of the foil have more negative than positive charges, and since like charges repel, the pieces of foil move apart.
(2)  In the next part, when they touched the balloon to the paperclip, this actually transferred some of the negative electrons from the balloon to the aluminum foil.  So when the balloon was removed, the extra negative electrons stayed, and the foil stayed apart.
(3)  Then touching the paperclip allowed these extra electrons flow into their bodies. (Not many!  They're okay!)  This caused the foils to be "neutral" again.
When something is charged up by touching an electrically charged object (steps 2 and 3 - the balloon charged the foil, then the foil charged their hands), this is called charging by conduction.

(4)  In the last part, they were actually able to make the foil have a positive charge.  Bringing the negatively charged balloon near made the foils have an overall negative charge.  Touching with the finger drew the negative charge from the aluminum foil.  Removing their finger and balloon at the same time actually removed most of the negative charges.  This left the foils with extra positive charges, making the foils once more move apart.
This is called charging by induction.


We also learned about electrical circuits: closed and open circuits, series and parallel circuits.
In Experiment 12.3 - Current and Resistance, they made a short circuit with a AA battery and aluminum foil.  This was similar to the way we made an electromagnet, and when they turned the page to see the next experiment, Rebekah eyes widened and she said, "No! That gets hot!"  LOL.  But she decided to do it anyway, and yep, it got hot!
They held a small length of foil to each end of a AA battery, and felt the heat on the ends of the battery as the electrons traveled from the negative end to the positive end.  This experiment was punctuated with small cries of "Ow," "That's hot!"  (I tried it myself.  They were in no danger, or great pain or anything. =) Then we tried a longer piece of foil, and it took a few seconds longer to get hot. A wide piece also takes longer to get hot since the traveling electrons are spread further apart
They discovered that the positive end of the battery got hotter, and learned that electrons were flowing in a circuit from the negative end to the positive end.  Since more were in the positive end, that was the hotter end!
Finally, (around 30 sec. in the video) I saw cousin C sneakily doing something while the girls weren't looking.  He then held his foil on the battery longer than the girls did, and said, "I can hold it forever!"  He did hold it a little longer that time.  It turned out that he had put tape over the ends of his finger and thumb to protect them from the heat.  haha!
I can't wait for JohnDavid to take this class!  It will be a fun year!  =D



We also talked about resistors, which is anything that slows the flow of the electrons.  This can be a light bulb, or any electrical appliance, or simply a resistor put in on purpose to slow the flow of electricity.
A plug has two prongs.  One for flow of electricity to the light, then the electricity goes thru the light, then travels back down and out the other prong.  The light will make some resistance in the flow.  Heat makes some metals get hot and some to glow.  In a light bulb, the filament glows.
I learned a lot in this Module!  =) 

New Resources for the Elements!

Here are a couple of new resources that I think are just Awesome!  They are now listed under Educational Links.

• The Periodic Table of Videos - Videos of experiments and discussion for each element. Good if you are specifically focusing on certain elements.  GREAT resource.
• The Periodic Table of Elements with pictures of each element.  =) 

And don't forget another one of my favorites:

• Jefferson Labs - L♥VE the Periodic Table Elements online interactive games!!!  Learn the elements; calculate the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons; balance chemical equations, and more!  Choose your level and # of questions.  AWESOME!

Physical Science, Module 11, The Forces in Creation - Part 1 (part A)

--Videos we watched for Module 11.
--Play  Quizlet.  Just scroll down and click on Physical, then scroll to find the Module you want.

This module briefly introduced the four fundamental forces of Creation, then focused on gravitational force.
*the gravitational force - the force of gravity
*the electromagnetic force - the force that exists between particles with an electrical charge
*the weak force - governs certain radioactive processes in atoms.  Physicists have said that this is a different facet of the same force as the electromagnetic force, and have combined the two names and called this force the electroweak force.  However, in this course, they are discussed separately as the mathematics required to understand how they are the same is rather intense.
*the strong nuclear force - the force that holds the center of the atom (the nucleus) together
These are called "fundamental forces" because all forces in Creation can be traced back to one of them.

Experiment 11.1, Force and Circular Motion
The kids had an empty pen tube, string, and metal washers.  They threaded the string through the pen tube, and tied one washer to the top, and two to the bottom.  They pulled out 6 inches at the top, and marked the string with black marker so they could keep it at that distance while swinging the top washer around in a circle.  It took a few tries and adjustments to get the hang of keeping it going steady so that the top washer stayed 6 inches out, but they did pretty good.

When each kid got it going and was ready, they would say, "Go!" and one of the others would use the stopwatch.  We wanted to see how long it took the washer to make 20 rounds.  We did several trials for each kid, to get an average number of times.  It was around 11 seconds, give or take.
Then we added 2 more washers to the bottom for more weight.  We discovered that with more washers, the downward pull was stronger, and we had to twirl more quickly to keep the string out at 6 inches.  It only took around 7-8 seconds.  The stronger the pull, the faster the top washer would need to go to stay 6 inches out.

Then the last thing we were supposed to do, and I forgot! was to go outside, wear safety goggles, stay away from the windows, and get the washer twirling.  Then one of the kids was to cut the bottom string with the 4 washers, allowing the top washer to fly free.

This was to be an example of centripetal force - the force that is always directed perpendicular ⊥ to the velocity of an object.  Centripetal force pulls toward the center of the circle.
When the washer flew free, it began traveling in a straight line, in the direction of it's velocity as it had been trying to do all the time, but was prevented since it was tied to a string.  The 4 washers hanging on the bottom of the string provided the centripetal force.  The force was in the center, and at any given moment, the direction the top washer was trying to go was perpendicular ⊥ to the center of the circle.

← Generally, objects try to travel in a straight line from in whatever position they currently are.  That can be changed by applying force.  If the force is perpendicular to the velocity of the object, the object's path will begin to curve.  If this continues, the object will move in a circle.  But to stay moving, force must be applied continually.  An acceleration must occur.  Just like if you are driving up a hill, you must keep your foot on the gas.  You may go at a steady speed, but you are still giving the car gas (accelerating).

The acceleration that must occur to keep an object traveling in a circle is called centripetal acceleration.

General principles of circular motion:

1. Circular motion requires centripetal force.
2. The larger the centripetal force, the faster an object can travel in a circle.
3. The larger the centripetal force, the smaller the circle of motion.

Here is a picture of how centripetal force works in our solar system.  Instead of traveling in a straight line, the moon travels in a circle because of the earth's gravity.

Consider the orbits of the different planets; they all travel at different speeds.  The ones that are closer to the sun take less time for their orbit.  Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, takes 0.24 years to orbit the sun.  Neptune, the farthest planet from the sun, takes 164.79 years!  Pluto, no longer considered a planet, takes 247.7 years.

We didn't do experiment 11.2, The "Bent Space" Theory of Gravity (Einstein's General Theory of Relativity) since I didn't have a bowling ball or other suitable really heavy object, as well as the simplicity of the experiment.  If you placed a heavy bowling ball on a couch cushion and rolled a marble around in the circle the dent created, that is Einstein's picture of gravity.  (You'd really have to read the book to grasp this!)  ETA:  We actually DID do the experiment later, LOL!!!!!


I tend to believe in the theory of gravity!  Yes, it's still a theory.  =)
But for some reason, I forgot about experiment 11.3, The Graviton Theory of Gravity.
Boy, my mind was not with me that day!  I've also had a hard time getting back into writing the science posts.  I've done other posts, but they required very little thinking!  =D

Joshua 10:12-13 (KJV)  
¹² Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
¹³ And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
This doesn't mean the sun revolves around the earth.  It just means that Joshua and the children of Israel thought it did!  This is simply telling us what happened from the people's perspective.
The Bible is the single most accurate historical document of its time.  As a historical document, it must quote its subjects accurately, and tell what happened from the perspective of those who made or watched it happen.