Seasons Lab

Our last class was spent doing a lab on the seasons. If you did not finish answering the questions that went along with the lab, it was to be finished for homework.

Don't forget - lab grades weigh more heavily on your overall grade than other assignments.

Here is the worksheet for the lab:

Fill out the diagram based on your observations in the lab.

Answer the following questions based on the lab performed:

1.      Do all places on Earth experience the same season at the same time?

2.      Does Earth's distance from our Sun affect seasons? Why or why not?

3.      What are the motions of Earth and our Sun that create the 24-hour day/night pattern we know on Earth? 

4.      How long does it take for Earth to go through a cycle of seasons or to go from one winter to the next? What is this period called?

5.      What changes as we go from summer to winter?

6.      What motions of our Sun and Earth can you propose that will explain these observations about the seasons on Earth?

7.      Does the direction of tilt of the Earth change? 

8.      What is the relationship between our Sun and Earth in the northern hemisphere summer?

Winter?

9.      What do you observe about the direction of incoming “solar rays” in the winter and summer?

10.  Where are the Sun's rays striking most directly in the northern hemisphere summer?

In the northern hemisphere winter? 

11.  Does distance from our Sun influence Earth's seasons? 

12.  When does the longest day of the year occur in the northern hemisphere? 

13.  What do we call it? 

14.  What is the relationship between our Sun and Earth that makes this happen?

15.  When does winter solstice occur in the northern hemisphere and what happens? 

16.  Where is our northern hemisphere axis pointing?

17.  What does equinox mean?

18.  When is the equinox?

19.  Where do the equinoxes occur in your model?

20.  What happens with our Sun's rays in the spring and fall? 

This is something like what your diagram should look like:

Which season it is in each hemisphere should also be indicated in the diagram. Don't forget - we have four seasons throughout the year.

The Big Bang

Today we discussed the theories of the origins of the universe. The one that is the most widely accepted is the Big Bang Theory. We talked about what cosmology is, the Big Bang, the Doppler red shift, dark matter and dark energy. Then, we did a lab using balloons to simulate what is happening still in the universe as it expands. The lab can be found on page 840 of your textbooks.

Today we also did notebook checks. As I mentioned in class, grades for the progress reports go in at noon tomorrow. If there is something you need to see me about, you must do it before then.

Graphs

Today, we review SI conversions and scientific notation briefly to make sure everyone understands it. Then, we move on to figuring out which type of graph to use when so that our data is most conveniently displayed.

Our assignment (Graph Lab: Data Presentation) provides six different scenarios of collected data and you are to choose which graph would present the data in the most easily read fashion. Then, you must prove this by actually drawing up a graph for each set of data. Don't forget to add a title, label the axes, choose the proper scales, etc. If a legend is necessary, please include one.

Remember- this is a lab grade. Make sure to do your work properly.

If you did not finish in class you were given the opportunity to finish it for homework.

Have a nice weekend!

Select the best type of graph to present your data and graph the set of data shown. 1.      Which ice cream flavor is preferred in Mr. Nobunny’s science class? Ice Cream Flavor Vanilla Chocolate Butter Pecan Pistachio Cookies and Cream Coffee Strawberry Number of students 12 10 9 2 6 8 5 2.      Does Coach Corner’s training method improve baseball skills? Week of Training 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Batting Average .019 .165 .200 .260 .400 .312 .540

3.       Which television show is the most watched on television? Television Show Network Number of viewers Family Guy FOX 10,000,000 Tosh.O Comedy Central 6,700,000 The Colbert Report Comedy Central 8,500,000 Top Chef Bravo 8,000,000 Mad Men AMC 9,400,000 Cupcake Wars Food Network 5,100,000 4.      What were the SAT scores for students attending the University of Miami last year? Number of Students 170 540 1200 570 SAT score 700-999 1000-1199 1200-1399 1400-1600 5.      What were Fiona Apple’s SAT score  her senior year in high school? SAT score 1200 1275 1325 1400 Month Taken October November December February

6.      What was the average GPA in Mr. Oberst’s science class? Quarter GPA 1st  9 weeks 3.5 2nd  9 weeks 2.4 3rd  9 weeks 3.1 4th  9 weeks 1.9