05/04 Zimmerman

Good Morning people of 3rd period! Due on Friday was Pg. 1001 #17-19, 21, 29-35, 40-42. We then went over the homework and Coats-Haan worked out questions on the board. And Coats-Haan introduced the temperature take-home lab. Coats-Haan then talked about if "you are taking an AP Test in the morning and your "brain is fried" afterward then I totally understand if you stay home." Or "if you are taking an AP test in the afternoon and you want to get extra sleep and make a nice breakfast I totally understand as well". Also if you are missing for AP tests you need to talk to Coats-Haan individually. Then after that brief conversation, we talked about Mr. Gleason for a little bit, and then we took out page 223 from our lab manual and watched part of the amazing movie Nova: Chernobyl Video. We will finish up the movie on Monday! There are no assignments or  homework for the weekend except to study for the Nuclear Quiz on Monday :(

QOD:
Q: What were some of the key mistakes made at Chernobyl?
A: The key mistake was the kind of reactor system they were using. They were using a less pure Uranium. So when the reactor ran out of water the chain reaction increased in speed and then began to get hotter and hotter until reactor #4 caught on fire.
Another design flaw was the structure of the control rods.

5/4 qod

What were some of the key mistakes made at Chernobyl?

--ch

5/3 qod

How is half life related to the decay constant?  Do more radioactive elements have bigger or smaller decay constants?

--ch

5/2 qod

Why can't we do fission or fusion with iron?

--ch

5/1 Vidas

Today was a lovely day in Honors Physics.  We began class by turning in the homework questions, which were  on pgs. 217-220 in the lab manual.  The carbon dating problems were not collected, and we checked them using a key that was on the board.  We had a twilight zone moment when Coats-Haan realized that somehow the key had already been changed to say 2012, and she did not do it this morning... *cue creepy alien music*. Next, we talked a little bit about radiation and superfund sites.  Which leads us to our fabulous question of the day!


QOD: What is a superfund site and where was the nearest one located?
A: A superfund site is an uncontrolled or abandoned place where hazardous waste is located, possibly affecting local ecosystems or people.  This "hazardous waste" usually contains toxic substances, or more often, substances that emit radiation.  The nearest one located was Skinner Landfill in West Chester.  Luckily, the site was cleaned up, so thankfully no one in our class received any dangerous radiation!!


After we talked about superfund sites, we watched a short video on Yucca Mtn.  And when I say short, I mean about 30 seconds... blink and you miss it! Then Coats-Haan set us loose to work on the "Particle Adventures" webquest, on the lab manual pgs. 213-216.  Since we did not finish this in class, it will be due at the beginning of the period tomorrow.  

5/1 qod

What is a superfund site and where was the nearest one located?
--ch

4/30 qod

Describe the precision of carbon dating.

--ch

4/27 qod

How will we know the difference in alpha particle tracks and beta particle tracks when we look in the cloud chamber?

-- ch

Schwab 4/26

Today we came in and turned in our homework "Nuclear read and react". (The one where we wrote a paragraph on the back) We Coats-Haan couldn't get us to focus and get on to the notes she introduced herself and went around and shook everyones hand. Then we looked at our other homework and texted in our results for #of mrem/yr. We moved on to atomic notes, in which we started to learn about different parts of protons and neutrons. We have no homework tonight! Our next quiz is on 5/7
also Coats-Haan kept saying "Neato"
QOD - Gravitational force- this witch was large, representing the fact that gravitation force is based on mass. this witch was also floating away representing the fact that it isn't very strong.
Strong Nuclear- this witch was a woman of color. I don't remember why exactly, it had something to do with the particles having color?
Electromagnetic and Weak Nuclear- electromagnetic had a stick that looked like it had electricity going through it, also she looked much meaner than the others. This is because she is the one that causes pain. Then the weak nuclear witch looks like she could be the same witch a electromagnetic, she is just hiding in a doorway in shadow. They look similar because now there is evidence that they may be 2 different forms of the same force

4/26 qod

Explain the analogy with the 4 witches.

--ch

4/25 qod

How much nuclear radiation do you think you have been exposed to in your life?

--ch

4/24 Lee

Today in class we were given the option to finish up the Camera Lab or work on the test review. We were, however, interrupted by a fire drill (a brief description of our exit route: exit to the right of the room and proceed towards the emergency exit staircase. Without talking please continue toward the bleachers of the track field and line up for attendance). When we returned to our room, we began working. The class was really calm and basically we got to work on whichever work we needed to.

QOD: Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light and “n” is the denominator in determining the speed so it cannot be less than one, in turn calculating a speed greater than 3x10⁸.

4/24 qod

Why is the index of refraction never less than one?

--ch

4/23 Meese

This fine Monday in Honors Physics was a great one, because it appeared that no on had a "case of the Mondays."(I am counting on you to get that Office Space reference to add humor to my blog) The class was started off by turning in the webquest about Tiffany's diamond and the light waves worksheet. Then something happened that hasn't happened in quite a while, Coats-Haan emerged from a prolonged state of relaxtion and taught our class. It truly was quite a privelege for her to decide to share her knowledge with the class. The class was instructed to finish the telescope lab from Friday and then to proceed onto the physics dissection lab involing a disposable camera. We had to take apart the camera and answer the questions on the worksheet. Coats-Haan and I shared a laugh about Zach Sieber being in intense pain and the class proceeded. The remaining 30-35 minutes keft of class was left to the students to finish the labs. At the end of class we were reminded that we have a reflection and refraction test on Wednesday. Other than finishing the labs, there was no homeowrk, but the the test review is due on Wednesday. I am unsatisfied with the length of my blog, and thus, I begin to ramble. I wonder why God has forsaken me this week, for I have a test in all of my six classes, except band, I am extatic. Also, I want to point out that Coats-Haan hasn't told 3rd period to stay classy in a while and with this being the week leading up to prom and our proms theme is "keeping it classy", it just all seems to fit. I will end my blog by giving a shout-out to my bff Mitchell Clark who tore his ACL last weekend, keep him in your prayers for a quick recovery, because it couldnt have happened to a nicer guy (unlike Zach Sieber, of whom I would laugh at).

QOD: The focal length of a disposable camera is determined by taking out the inside lens of the camera and bring it closer and closer to a word on a paper until the lens focuses in and you can read the word. You then take a ruler and measure the distance from the paper to the lens being held in your hand.

4/20 qod

You are attacked by a gang of pirates.  They hold you at knife point and tell you that you will have to walk the plank, if you cannot solve a major problem for them.  They have a double convex lens and they need to know what the focal length is.  What do you do?

--ch

04/19 Miley

Today in Honors Physics we learned about 3D vision and interference. We didn’t have any homework to check over or to turn in, but it would have been wise to start working on the Physics of Bling. Before we got into our notes, we had a contest to see who creped on Amalea the most. Nathan won by a landslide stating that he saw Amalea getting into bed last night, Mr. Ebersole expresses how awkward that was, and decided we needed to move on. Our notes were titled Polarization and 3D Viewing. Within these notes, we learned about polarization, common light sources, polarized filters, a filter's effect on light intensity, depth vision, and different objects that were affected by polarized filters such as 3D glasses, View Masters, and 3D movies. During this presentation, we learned how the 3D glasses at Rave work. The glasses have two polarized filters: one with a vertical component and the other with a horizontal component. Having these two filters allow us to filter the vibrations of light to travel through allowing us a different image for each eye.  If you weren’t in class, you’ll need to email Mrs. Coats-Haan to obtain a copy of these. Once we got through out notes, we had the rest of class to work on the Polarization Practice Sheet within pages 209-212 of our lab manual. If we didn’t finish these questions, we had to finish them for homework and turn them in tomorrow. We also have two other homework assignments which are due on Monday: The Physics of Bling and Diffraction and Interference Reading Questions. We’ll also have our study guide for the light test (Wednesday) given to us tomorrow so we can start working on them tomorrow. Remember, stay classy! 

4/19 qod

How do the 3d glasses at the Rave work?

--ch

4/18 qod

How do fiber optics work?

--ch

4/17 qod

Which presentation was your favorite?  What did you learn from it?

--ch

4/16 Han

Today was another semi-wonderful day in Coats-Haan's favorite 3rd period class. The start of class was pretty good, continuing with our "Lights and Media" notes that we had begun on Friday. We learned new concepts such as Fermat's Principle, the law of reflection, what causes refraction, and Snell's Law. We also took time to debated the pronunciation of Fermat's name for a short period of time. These notes consumed most of the class time. We also did the two examples that went along with the notes on the back of the "Brain Busters" worksheet. After we completed our notes, we moved on to another lab that we had to do in class and complete for homework (one of the many grueling assignments that was given to us). The lab had the same steps as the refraction experiment we did on Friday, except this time we were required to calculate the refraction index of our two trials. Our homework for the night was to complete this lab, as well as page 199 in our lab manuals, and page 846 #'s: 1-11, 13-15, and 18. When light enters a medium, it moves toward the medium if traveling slower. This happens because the lights refraction index is greater, causing it to bend toward the medium.