Click below for important information for your class this year.
Class Expectations & Procedures (ALL)
Collaboration on Assignments Policy
Electronic Devices Policy
Grading Policy
Honor Code & Cheating
Make-Up Work & Late Work
Re-Testing
I have really been struggling with the math portion of this class. Math is not my best subject and definitely not my favorite subject. All of the math questions on our last test was one of the main reasons my test grade was so low. I am going to try to get better at the math parts by rewatching vodcasts and looking over some old homework. Now that I am not as busy I am going to try harder to wake up to my alarm and make it to the help sessions in the morning too.
I struggled with studying and focusing at home. I can fix this by putting my phone away at home.
This week I struggled with keeping motivated to study and be organized with schoolwork. I’m pretty overwhelmed with it all right now. But I’m going to start a Google calendar to see if that will help with being organized.
This week I struggled with looking at the syllabus and being motivated to do my homework
I have been struggling with the measuring portion of this class. Estimating a place after the initial measurement is difficult for me because I often forget. I’m going to do my homework and practice measuring and estimating to the next place to get it through my head.
This week I struggled with getting my test back at first. But this grade doesn’t define me as a student or person and I will over come this because I figured out better study methods and ways to improve for the next test.
Triumph: This week I started off strong by staying organized. With all the four day weeks we have had, it has been hard to get my homework organized before the due date. Instead of procrastinating, I did my labs and studied lab safety on time early. I think this is because I set reminders and made a schedule to keep me on task.
I feel like I am growing in emotional maturity and I have done well with managing my emotions this week. A situation happened in which I was disrespected by a friend in a way and I had to call them out on it, but keep it mature. They hurled insults, but I shot them down and kept calm. I hope I can keep it up!
I find myself struggling to get off my phone I’m class and actually paying attention to the lesson or what’s going on. I will start putting it away at home to help me with this
Triumph: I did really well in my 2nd day of lab with following instructions and time management. I will continue to stay on top of my work and strive to make excellent grades. I think I really am instilling more self-discipline within myself day by day,
This week in chemistry I have triumphed by learning how to navigate Microsoft 365. Normally I am not super great at anything that has to do with computers, but all of the graph stuff is getting so much easier now. I feel like the step by step instructions really helped me. Sometimes I got stuck on the 1st or even 2nd time of making the graphs, but now I have worked through it. It is so much easier now!!
This week I triumphed by Trying to fix where I messed up on my graphs. I also feel like I gave myself enough time to turn them in and still balance the other subjects.
This week I have triumphed in Chemistry by following directions carefuly to do assignments correctly
STEM: A woman had many stomach pains and assumed infections, yet tests for any fungal, bacterial, or human parasites showed no sign of any. A couple weeks passed and in her lungs on the CT scan showed they were “migrating”. Sanjaya Senanayake was a physician who decided to try a MRI brain scan. On the scan, there was a weird glowing mark in the front of the brain that was later found to be a worm. After the biopsy, a worm half the length of a pencil and still alive was found. Through this case, other cases were found that the animals through feces and the circle of life can spread parasites from host to host. Not only can it infect animals, but the woman is a prime example of how it affects humans as well. This woman was a pathway to show how it can be treated. Modern technology now can look at other cases and build off of it.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/doctors-live-python-parasite-brain
Enormous tidal waves of plasma might crash across the surface of a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and these waves could be as large as 10 percent of the diameter of the star which would be about 3.3 million kilometers tall.This is allegedly caused by a smaller star’s gravity pulling on the larger star.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/extreme-star-tidal-waves-astronomy
There is currently a research study going on about Superconducting Circuits, in which circuits are cooled down to below 4 kelvins, or -249 degrees celcius. This could allow computers to run much faster with much less electricity, and producing hundreds of gigahertz instead of a few.
https://www.sciencenews.org/century/computer-ai-algorithm-moore-law-ethics
sorry! forgot the article!
It is not possible to get to net-zero carbon emissions. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions to curb climate change and reach net zero is possible but not easy.
https://www.sciencenews.org/author/alexandra-witze
STEM:
I read about how people are more prone to catching a virus in the winter season. From my research I concluded that many colds, the flu, and many other respiratory illnesses are cause by inhaling aerosols. These aerosols are small droplets that are known for being the cause of most of these viruses. Another reason that these viruses flare up in the colder seasons is because it is proven that drier air raises the chances of contracting an illness.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/why-easier-catch-cold-flu-covid-winter
I think I would rate myself a 4 this week. This week I really made progress on getting my lab done quicker and actually understanding it. The first lab day was pretty rough, but we started to get better at it. Also I don’t think I did as bad on my test this week then I did on the first test. i studied hard so I hope it pays off!
This week I would rate myself a 3. I was rushing on assignments because I kept procrastinating on them. I also don’t think I could have studied as well as I should have on my tests this week, due to auditions being held.
My goal for the second term is to raise my average in this class. I think I can reach this goal by studying more and paying closer attention.
This term I want find a better way to study for tests. I always procrastinate studying for tests, but I’m gonna try to look at the material ahead of the night before. I have noticed that I do better studying on time rather than cramming the information in last minute.
This term I would like to prepare myself better for both assignments and tests. I plan to do this by studying more than a day before the test, and producing something as a better study habit. I also want to prepare myself better for assignements, by taking time on them and getting to understand the subject instead of rushing.
Theia is a mars-sized planet that presumably formed our moon when it crashed into Earth. New research suggests that bits of Theia stuck deep beneath Earth’s surface could have kick-started plate tectonics.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/earth-collision-form-moon-start-plate-tectonics
Miniature particle accelerators are being made on silicon sheets. These advances could revolutionize medical technology and medicine. “For example, high-energy electrons can treat skin cancer by damaging the DNA within cancer cells, killing them.”
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tiny-accelerators-electrons-lasers
It has been concluded that around 10 billion snow crabs have vanished from the Alaskan Coast from the years of 2018 to 2021. This is huge problem for many Alaskan fisheries because around $150 million is brought in through these snow crabs. After a couple studies it’s been found that the huge decline in the snow crabs was caused by a brutal marine heat wave.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/10-billion-snow-crabs-disappeared-alaska
Rate/Reflect: This recent test I ended with a 91. I am happy with this grade and wish to always do better, but I studied hard and it paid off. I studied for about 6 hours at home. I think what made me do well was how I studied. I spent around 3 hours studying the vodcasts and retook the notes entirely as if it were a lecture. After I watched the vodcasts, I made flashcards on all of the notes. I also made a quizlet and studied it throughout the day. Overall, I spent A LOT of time and learned the information. Another thing that majorly helped was making a “study guide” out of the given information and taking a test-like format. I think for next tests to make it even better I will study for longer and more consistently.
One thing I was confused about was how to identify an intensive and extensive property. I read the definition, but I didn’t really know what it meant. My question would be what does the part of the definition that says “depending on the amount of matter” mean? This was so confusing to understand at first, but after reading some more on it in the book it makes a lot more sense. For example, weight depends on mass because weight is the gravitational pull on an object. Therefore weight would be an extensive property because it depends on the amount matter in the object.
One thing that I was confused on was the difference between heat and temperature. I understand that heat requires mass and temperature, and is the energy transferred between objects. My question would be what another difference is between the two. For example, the transfer of 250J is heat, but how hot would it feel on your hand, because it requires temperature? It’s still very confusing.
Something I was confused about in the past is what constituted a chemical change. I knew that burning and rusting were chemical changes, but not what initially made up a chemical change. My question would be what makes up a chemical change? I did some more studying and looked at my notes. I noticed that many of the chemical changes are producing something like gas or light, and making a new substance. For example, if two substances were mixed and they produced carbon dioxide, that could potentially be a chemical change if the gas wasn’t just released.
New information is being discovered about dreams through studies performed with lucid dreaming. Tests on lucid dreamers are revealing how people experience dreams and what the human mind are capable of in its dream state. https://www.snexplores.org/article/lucid-dreams-science-sleeping-minds-mysteries
Scientists have been conducting experiments on rats, by making them use their cognitive functions. They have been placing digital cubes on a target and using their imagination. This research helps scientists understand the brain more, by taking the information and applying it to the concept of remembering new scenarios and past ones, applying this to human brains.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/jedi-rats-move-digital-object-using-brain
stem:
Scientists have discovered a new fossil of a not ordinary lamprey. They are saying that this fish was a “flesh eater.” The researchers found the evidence in a 160 million year old rock in North China. Their funnel shaped mouths, filled with teeth prove that they were able to consume blood of flesh. It is estimated to be the length of a small dog.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-fossil-species-lamprey-flesh-eaters
In a Jedi-like feat, rats can move a digital object using just their brain. Like tiny, hairy Yodas raising X-wings from a swamp, rats can lift digital cubes and drop them near a target. But these rats aren’t using the Force. Instead, they are using their imagination.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/jedi-rats-move-digital-object-using-brain
Work on small dots that are used in things like tv screens or help doctors with seeing blood vessels that feed tumors made by 3 scientists, has won the 2023 Nobel Prize in chemistry. “Quantum dots are a new class of materials, different from molecules”. In the 1980s, Ekimov and Brus independently showed that they could sculpt an atom layer by layer. These discoveries sparked. The quantum dots opened up a world of possible uses, for example LED lights. The 3 winners shared the prize of 11 million Swedish kronor, or around 1 million.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/quantum-dots-nanoparticles-bawendi-brus-ekimov
I was struggling with the naming parts of chemical formulas earlier this week and last week. Polyatomic and Monatomic Ions got mixed up for me, but I figured out how to separate them. I went back and listened to the vodcast, and saw a pattern of Monatomic Ions being one element, and Polyatomic being multiple. Then you name Monatomic ions that are negative with -ide and positive stays the same. Polyatomic Ions always remain the same name.
This week we have been learning about naming and writing chemical formulas. Most of it is not way too hard, but I have been struggling with the problems that add in transition metals and some of my polyatomic ions. The roman numeral thing is a little confusing for me and I do not have my ions memorized all the way. The science geek homework has helped a lot with this, so I will continue to practice this weekend and I will also refresh on my polyatomic ions.
I have been struggling with memorizing these ions. I could fix this by putting my phone up and limiting distractions so that I can focus and work to learn the ions.
This week I triumphed in keeping up in Chemistry despite having to miss a day. I was able to gain a better understanding of chemical formulas thanks to a help session.
This week I have triumphed in science geek. I have used it to study for the test and learn ions, names and charges.
This week I triumphed in not procrastinating as much as I normally do. I still don’t feel like I was super ready, but I worked super hard and I got over my fear of taking that test. That’s the most important thing now to me. I feel like I did a good job of studying throughout the week because normally I only study the night before. I most definitely could have studied more throughout the week, but I was super busy this week and did the best I could. Even if I do bad I’m just glad that I triumphed by really working my hardest.
A new type of parasitic wasps have been located in Brazil, so a couple of researchers were sent out to study them. These wasps are notorious for being found on a certain mountain in Brazil’s Serra dos Órgãos National Park. They placed Malaise traps at 15 sites along the mountain. By the end of the month the researchers said that the trap was like an “insect soup”. They kept this going for a year and switched out traps once a month. By the end of the trial the investigators looked at the results and saw the team had identified 98 pimpline species.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/parasitic-wasps-brazil-mountain-home
Food contaminated with fungi can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins high and dry, and that’s potentially good news for food safety.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/aspergillus-fungi-mycotoxins-aflatoxin-food-contamination
Bionic plants are starting to be talked about in many areas of the world. Plant-like lights are talked about in hopes of replacing streetlights in the future. Liquid trees are being placed in benches in cities. These ‘ trees ‘ contain a bacteria that perform photosynthesis and produce Oxygen. These measures are being taken to help reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions and reduce global warming.
https://www.snexplores.org/article/glowing-plants-algae-photosynthesis-greener-technology-future
Rate and reflect: I think I would rate myself a 3/5. This semester was rough. I knew in advance it was going to be rough too because almost everyone says this either is the hardest or is one of the hardest classes at our school. I wish I was not as busy because I feel like I could focus better when I wasn’t as busy. I still haven’t done good on any tests in this class, but I really am trying my best. I’m finally finding new ways to study. At the beginning of the year, I only knew how to study for memorization because that is the only thing I had been taught. I feel like I am getting better at studying for application. Unfortunately, it hasn’t shown up on my tests scores, but I feel like having a new strategy has helped me feel better about exams coming. I always have been a terrible procrastinator, but this class has really taught me to always study in advance. I’m really hoping the exam goes better, but whatever happen, I’ll try to come back next semester hopefully with more motivation and a better game plan.
For this semester I rate myself a 3/5 in class by interacting and paying close attention in class. For a while i was not really giving my all but towards the end i had to really lock in because i had fallen behind in class and that made everything harder to understand.
This semester I rate myself a 4 because I have done well on studying and well on completing homework. However, I have not found much motivation for studying and doing homework, except for the fact it is schoolwork. I’ve found that I find motivation when I think about college and the future, which pushes me to do better.
During the second semester I’d like to improve on my skills of following directions. For example, during the lab today I was unable to finish within the time limit. To do this, I will try to pace myself more.
T: This week I prepared well starting off the week strong. Although I am typing this early, I am already ahead because I wont be worrying about this as well as memorizing and doing homework. Tonight I plan to make flashcards for memorization and do my chem homework in a study hall. I am triumphantly starting this week because I am planning my week out before it even starts, and I am not stressed knowing I have my time pre-planned out.
This week in chemistry i triumphed by understanding the material in the notes. Most of the time I don’t get the subject the 1st time, but this time it actually made sense. Now of course it’s not perfect, but hopefully it will get there.