Physical Science 20 - Sept 30

Today in class we went through the process for how to write a formal lab report.  Students will need to follow this process for every formal lab we do.  For the lab we did yesterday, the formal lab report is due on Friday.  Afterwards, we learned about molarity, and how we can use it to convert molar quantities.  We did a couple of examples (slides 27&28).  I assigned C20 at the end of the period however students will have more time to work on this tomorrow.  For tomorrow, students need to focus on getting prepared for the mole quiz tomorrow.

Physics 30 - Sept 30

Today we started to look at specific types of forces.  We began with an examination of the force of gravity.  This is also called an object's weight, although not to be confused with an object's mass.  The one lesson I wanted students to learn today is that mass and weight do not mean the same thing.  Mass is a measure of the amount of matter an object has whereas weight is the force of gravity on that object.  One is measured in kilograms, the other in newtons. 

We learned about the differences between weight and the normal force and also learned what exactly a bathroom scale is measuring.  The concept of apparent weight is really important for students to understand.  This was all covered on slides 36 to 42.  Students were given some time to work on Assignment 2.4 at the end of class, which we will take up tomorrow. 

Physical Science 20 - Sept 29

Happy Tuesday Everyone!  Today in class I checked Assignment C18 and C19 and we went over them.  The answers are posted in the answer key folder in the course notes link.  Students then had a chance to do the first lab of the year.  This was called Lab C2 - The Art of Chemistry.  If you were absent today you need to do this lab over a lunch period. 

Physics 30 - Sept 25

Today in class we learned about Newton's Third Law of Motion, or the action-reaction law.  We learned about the implications of such an important law and how often we use this law and don't realize it.  I assigned Assignment 3.3 at the end of the class.

Physical Science 20 - Sept 25

Today, we did a couple of examples related to molar conversions.  We did an example where we converted to the number of molecules given the mass of a substance in grams.  We also learned how to find the mass of a certain number of atoms of the substance.  These two examples involved 2 steps, first converting our given information into moles and then converting from moles into the required.  Students then had a chance to work on Assignments C18 & C19. 

On Monday, we will continue working on Assignments C18 and C19.  They will be due Tuesday.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Physical Science 20 - Sept 24

Today in class we began to look at how to convert information using the idea of the mole.  This involved using the molar mass to convert from the mass of a substance to moles of the substance and visa versa.  As well, we can use Avogadro's number to convert from the number of particles of a substance to the moles of the substance and visa versa.  We just did a couple of examples (slides 16 and 17 in the powerpoint called The Mole) outlining the process.  We will work through a couple of more examples tomorrow and then work on Assignments C18 and C19.

Physics 30 - Sept 24

Today we finished off examples 8 and 9 about Newtons Second Law and then students had a chance to work on Assignment 2.2.  Tomorrow we will move on to Newton's Third Law.