Environmental Science Biomes

These three packets are all the notes for the current unit.
Ecology
Ecosystems 
Populations & Communities

The material from these notes will be on the quiz on Wednesday.

Gas and Atomic Structure Makeup Test

I have posted the Gas and Atomic Structure Makeup Test on Castle Learning. You have until Sunday November 26, at midnight, to complete the test. If you score an 85% or above I will average this score with your test score to improve your grade. If you do not score at least an 85% it will not change your grade.

Atomic Structure

This is the link to the notes on Atomic Structure.

Quarter Chem Test Coming

This is the link for the quarter test review packet key. The quarter test will be given in lecture classes on Wednesday, November 8.

Gas Laws & upcoming

For Gas Law problems, Rule #1 - ALL TEMPERATURES MUST BE IN KELVIN

Click this link for the problem sheet and an answer key.

We will have a quarter test on November 8, 2017. This test will include all materials since the beginning of the year. There will be review sheets passed out in lab sections on Thursday and Friday. Please make sure that you know this material.

These are links to videos about the topics that we will be covering in this unit.

Three States of Matter

 Phase Change

 Phase Diagrams

 Boiling Point

 Vapor Pressure

 Gases

 Avogadro's Principle

 Dalton's Law

 Graham's Law

 Boyle's Law

 Charles Law

 Gay Lussac's Law

 Combined Gas Law

 Ideal Gas Law

 Mole

Environmental Science will have a quiz on Thursday. This is the FAQ sheet about the topic, and this is the notes of the PowerPoint presentation of the material that was shown in class.



In chemistry we have started a new unit. This is the link to the PowerPoint notes.

There is a chemistry test on Tuesday. There is a Castle Learning makeup posted. You will have until Tuesday Oct. 31, 2017 at midnight to complete. Go to Castle Learning and log into your account and take the Matter and Energy retest.If you score 85% or above I will average the retest and your original grade, if it raises your grade. If you score below
an 85% your grade will not be changed.

Review work

Many students missed Chem on Friday, due to a field trip. I was asked to post the review material that we did in class. Here are audio files of review for heat calculations and heating curves. Please refer to this heating curve or a similar one during that review.

We will have a unit test on Tuesday, Oct 24.

Testing

There is a one time reprieve for the PT test makeup. This will be posted today on Castle learning and students will have until Saturday at noon to complete. Same deal as last time: score an 85% or above and I will average it with your test score and change your grade. In order to benefit you must get a score of 85%, score below that and it will not change your grade. The test is called PT Makeup Revisited.



How to prepare for a test
Go through the notes and look at the terms that were used. For this unit these terms are:
Density
Standard temperature
Entropy
Endothermic & Exothermic
Conservation of Matter
Conservation of Energy
Kinetic & Potential energy
Formula unit & Empirical formulas
Balancing simple equations
Celsius & Kelvin
Phase
Boiling, Melting, Condensation, crystallization, Sublimation, deposition, fusing
Heating curve
Vapor pressure
Table H
Dynamic equilibrium
Specific heat
Allotropes

Make sure you understand these terms and you should do well.  The Test will be next Tuesday and will be 40 questions in the same format as the Regents test. Do well on the test and you will not have to do the makeup.

Table H

The worksheets from class can be found at this link. This is a link to a workbook on all the reference tables. Table H starts on page 31 and there is an answer key to the set 1 questions. This is a link to the set 2 questions key.

Balancing Equations & Invasive Species

In Environmental Science we are working on a project about invasive species. Students will prepare a presentation and show to class, beginning Thursday, 10/12. The presentation should include 6 organisms. The starting point is 3 animals and 3 plants, but fungi, bacteria or protists could be substituted for the other organisms. In class we were given worksheets, as a place to start for the information. All students will fill out brief evaluations of each fellow student and these will be considered in giving the final grade for this project.

In chemistry we are going through the notes on Matter and Energy, which can be downloaded here. We got to a worksheet on Accounting for Atoms, to help learn how to balance equations. Download Accounting for Atoms here.


There are many great videos on the Internet about the chemistry that we are learning. Here is a list of some that you may find helpful. Just click on the links.

chemical equations

balancing chemical equations


physical chemical properties

Law of Conservation of Matter

Empirical Formula - Molecular Formula

Three States of Matter

Phase Change

Entropy

Chemistry Test Periodic Table

We took the first unit test today. I should have it graded and the grades on the portal by Tuesday evening. There is a makeup test posted on http://www.castlelearning.com/ . Log into your account and take the test. You may take all the time you need, but the test must be completed by Monday night, 10/9/2017, by midnight. To raise your grade you must score an 85% or above. If you score >85% I will average your original grade with your makeup grade. The makeup cannot lower your test grade.

If you have any problems you must come to me as soon as possible. NO TIME EXTENSIONS will be granted for any reason!

Matter & Energy

We have a test on Tuesday. See previous entries to get the notes. This is a link to the study guide that was handed out in class for this test.

This is a link to the notes on the next unit, Matter and Energy.

Tests on Tuesday

Chem students can get the latest, and final, copy of the notes from this link.

This is a copy of the notes/study guide for the upcoming test.


Environmental student should be thinking about the invasive species project. Remember, a starting point is 6 species with 3 animal and 3 plants. You can swap out one of each for a fungi, prokaryote or eukaryote. You might fine many commonalities (translate that as an easier time) if you pick all your organisms from a particular region.

End of September

In Chemistry and Environmental Science the test has been moved to Tuesday, 10/3.

We started a video in Environmental Science on invasive species. To view it, you can look here: http://www.chedd-angier.com/frontiers/season12.html . Click on episode #4. We will spend the class tomorrow, Thursday, in the computer lab deciding on our projects.

For the chem test students should study their notes and read the Topic 5 in the review books.

For Environmental Science make sure that your review sheets are filled out as you will be allowed to have them for the test.

Herbicide Banned

In class we discussed the banned herbicide Dicamba. These sites report information about the problems encountered.:
WNYC Broadcast
West Virginia PBS

Periodic Variation

We will be doing a worksheet on Periodic Variation of Properties. Download the worksheet here. If you need graph paper you can make it from this website.

Answer Key

Chem students should read and practice the questions, particularly the Regents Review questions in their books. Click here: to download an answer key to the for Topic 5, Periodic Table.

New Notes in Chem

I have added new notes for the chem class. To download the new notes click on this link. We will be having a quiz in lecture class about the material that we have covered on the Periodic Table.  We have completed the Penny Drop Lab and if yo9u have not handed it in yet, it is due by the next lab class, Wednesday or Friday.

Environmental science - You have to register for college credit by the 22nd to avoid a cost. There will be a person in the school tomorrow, Wednesday, to provide proof of residence. They will be in the Commons from 12-1. NON'T MISS IT.

Sig Figs

This is the answer key to the Sig fig Worksheet that was handed out in class.

Periodic Table

In Chemistry we will be beginning the unit on the periodic table. You can download the notes here.

First Week

Started out in chem with some intro material, including significant figures. This is a link to a You Tube video made available by Brightstorm on Significant figures. Here is a Sig Fig practice worksheet. This is the link to the notes for the first unit.

In environmental we took a tour of Yellowstone park. This is a link to a handout that will be given on Monday on some Interesting Facts about Yellowstone.

Voorheesville HS

Mr. Vandenburgh was injured and will not be returning for a few weeks. In the interim, I will be filling in. There are two classes, Regents chemistry and Environmental science. Materials for both classes will be posted here.  You can use this site to find what is going on in class and download copies of class material and notes.

In Environmental Science we will be talking about a landmark book, "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. Click the link if you would like to read the book.

Let's Start Review

This is where you can go to a link to look at all the past Chemistry Regents Exams.

This is where you can find notes for all the material that we cover in the Regents Chemistry Class.

We have finished all the new material for the class. Next Wednesday, 6/7, we will have our last unit test of the year. This will be on Acids, Bases and electrochemistry.

The best way to improve your grade is to do well on unit tests. I have posted practice tests on Problem Attic.

Acid Base practice test
Redox practice test

The best way to score better on the upcoming test is to spend time on the material, and there are several ways to do that. You could review the notes from the units materials that have been posted on previous blog entries or the links above. You could look at videos from reputable sources like, Kahn Academy, Brightstorm, Study.com, Crash course, and many others. To find sites to view type in your topic and see what is available. Key words are important and your search will narrow if you use them appropriately.

If you have topics that you would like to go over, bring questions into class. I will cover your topics first. If you don't put in some work you will not see any great improvements.

Redox

On Tuesday 5/30 and Wed 3/31 we will be doing this lab activity, on galvanic cells, in the media center. The link to the interactive site you need for the lab is here.

I have posted practice tests on Problem Attic for the next test.

www.problem-attic.com/test/7mp4eqro Acid Base practice test

www.problem-attic.com/test/44xpgegs Redox practice test

Electrochemistry - Redox

We will be doing a lab in class. To do this lab, you can go to this link. You will need the lab paper, which you can download and print.

Notes to go with this unit are here. 

Finishing Acids & Bases

We are either finished with, or will finish in the next few minutes of the next class. Next unit is         he final unit of the year, Electrochemistry.

Links to labs and notes are below:
Ghost penny lab
Acid Rain Lab
Electrochemistry notes

Acids & Bases

Video link on acid rain.

Red cabbage as pH indicator

pH indicators

Strong vs Weak acids & bases

Setting up and Performing a Titration
       Titration Calculations

Link to notes on Acid Base Unit

Builders Lab

We started a lab, the Builders Lab, in class today. This lab will be due next Wednesday.

All labs will need to be handed in by May 31, 2017. All students must have completed their 1200 minute minimum requirement of successful lab reports by that time in order to be able to take the Chemistry Regents Test.

The unit test for the Organic Chemistry section will be on Thursday May 11. Students are encouraged to practice from the notes and all unit handouts, as well as available resources on the internet.

This is links to an online textbook for the current unit:

Organic Chemistry

Hydrocarbons

Straight-Chain Alkanes

Branched Alkanes

Unsaturated Hydrocarbons

Alkenes and Alkynes

Isomers

Alcohols

Ethers

Aldehydes and Ketones

Carboxylic Acids

Esters

Amines

Alkyl Halides

Substitution Reactions

Addition Reactions

Oxidation Reactions

Polymerization - Addition Polymers

Polymerization - Condensation Polymers

Organic Naming

In order to get better at naming and drawing organic compounds you have to practice. This is a link to an answer key for the problems that I handed out in class.

This is a link to a set of practice Regents type questions.

And this is an example of one of the many Internet available resources, if you just look for them.

All classes will have a quiz on Friday. 

It will cover the same material as the Wednesday quiz did.

Goodbye Nuclear, Hello Organics

We went over guidelines designed to help students maximize their lab report grades. Download this link.

Tuesday is a test on Nuclear Chemistry.

In lab classes today, students got a start on a homework assignment. Trends in Alkane Boiling Points has students graphing data and then answering questions pertaining to the information.

The lecture notes for the Organic Chemistry unit can be found here.

Nuclear End of Unit

We watched a video about Marie & Pierre Curie's groundbreaking work in the early 20th century. This link takes you to the video series it was a part of. The section on the Curies is in video #2 the second half.

Links:
Worksheet packet for Nuclear
Answer key for Nuclear Worksheet Packet.
Answer key for Regents Question pack.


The next unit is Organic Chemistry. This is the packet for notes that I passed out in class.

Radioactive Decay simulation

This is the data that is needed for the Radioactive Decay Simulation lab. If you are in my Day 2 lab this is what you will graph for the lab. Be sure to align the paper in landscape format and put the number of trials on the horizontal independent axis and the number of blocks/chips on the vertical/dependent axis. All other groups should add your data to these totals to graph correctly.

More Nuclear

I have edited Mark Rosengarten's notes down and added some problems to make a 10 page review packet for the nuclear unit. Click here to get the packet.

Nuclear Chemistry

Tests have been graded and handed back. We went over the test, question by question, in class.

We began the nuclear unit. The link for the notes for the Nuclear unit is here.

We currently have three labs scheduled for this unit:
Isotopic Pennies
Decay chain of Uranium
Half Lives

We will have a quiz on material from the nuclear unit on Wednesday.

First Unit Test Coming

Our first test will be this Thursday, March 30. The test will be on all the material that we have covered since I started on March 6th. This includes energy diagrams, equilibrium and vapor pressures; and includes information on Tables H & I. Links to notes and appropriate resources can be found on the blog entries for the past few weeks.

We started watching the video Atom: Clash of the Titans, in preparation for the upcoming unit on the nucleus. This can be viewed at home by following this link.

The link for the notes for the next unit, Nuclear, is here.

First Unit Finished

All classes have finished the first unit. Click here for the notes on the Phase Changes.

First and fourth block classes will have a quiz on Monday.

There will be a unit test for all classes on Thursday.

We talked in class about how air pressure is exerted all around us. We saw a short video where they filled a train tank car with steam and then sealed it and the container collapsed. I discussed a small scale demo of this processing a soda can, and I offered students 3 points extra credit of Thursdays test if they do the experiment at home. To do this at home a person needs to put a small amount of water into an aluminum can and heat the water to boiling. The can should be held with tongs or a couple of forks (turned to hold the can). After the water boils you should see the condensation of the steam at the top. Wait two seconds and then invert the can into a large unbreakable container of cool/cold water. The can should collapse under the pressure. Bring the can in and get the 3 points. This is how it should look.

Similar experiments can be dine on other scales, like a 55 gallon steel drum.