Making an Inference - What's in the black box?

Black Box Hypothesis

Students in class have been investigating the black box. They only have the science process skills we've been practicing in class and access to colored water to explore the mystery of the black box. The students have formulated some great hypotheses regarding the mechanics that would cause the black box to act the way it does.

Student idea of what is inside the black box.

Black Box Mystery

The black box used in 8th grade science.

In class we are examining the water exchanger device. We are calling this the black box activity because we really don't know what is inside the box. The following is a description about black boxes from Wikipedia:

In science and engineering, a black box is a device, system or object which can be viewed solely in terms of its input, output and transfer characteristics without any knowledge of its internal workings, that is, its implementation is "opaque" (black).

As I showed the class today, when I put 100 mL of water in the funnel only a small amount of water <5 mL came out. 

What is mysterious about the black box? 

What would you like to know more about the black box? 

Leave a comment about the black box!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box

Rocket Science

We have been spending a lot of class time talking about motion and exploring the velocity and acceleration of objects. Today, for an extreme velocity and acceleration, the class watched and examined the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-133. This was the last voyage of the craft which was retired this past summer. Watch the video again!

Sea Ice Project

Today the students completed a study of the impact of melting ice on water levels. I choose this particular topic because of the number of variables involved usually causes each group to come up with different conclusions.  Also, this is a real-world problem that scientists are observing.

In today's Washington Post, it was reported that sea-ice was at its lowest volume in record (1971-2010). Click here to read more! You may ask "why is this important?" Well, the Arctic Ocean is part of the global conveyor of water. Warmer water from the equatorial oceans moves north. While cold water moves south from the north, the currents help to influence cloud formation. This conveyor moves thermal energy throughout the planet creating the various seasonal patterns and climates. 

Beyond weather, the arctic is an important zone for wildlife. Obviously, polar bears, seals and sealions depend on the Arctic ice for survival. But you can add several whales, walruses, and Native Alaskans to the list of those that depend on the Arctic ice. A very telling graphic also appeared on the website and is linked below:

Greener Classroom

Science 8 Classroom

 What does a green classroom look like? One of my goals this school year is to consider the amount of environmental waste that my students and I produce during the course of the school year. The science laboratory alone has a large volume of waste just by the very nature of the activities that the students are engaged. But there is a lot that I think I can do to make big changes here at school. Here are few things that I've started to be a little bit greener.

One of the online activities for students to complete replacing
on that was once completed with paper and pencil.

Science Notebook - Students are required to use a science notebook. My thoughts on the science notebook are two-fold. First, the students will be more engaged in the content because they are both creating and using the materials for the class. But the added effect, is that we will use less paper by not producing photocopyies. I have found that too much of the paper that we photocopy for the classroom can become a disorganized mess. But, the science notebook may be a great way to introduce order to class materials as well as lessen the impact on the environment by eliminating much of the regular photocopying.

Online Activities - Another way to reduce the amount of printing and paper that we use this year is through the class website. I am trying several means to collect student work electronically. This will no doubt eliminate the need for the copying or printing of assignments. Using the parent/student portal website, I am also able to post work in a manner that only the particular student can see his/her work.

Energy - As much as possible, I am making a conscience effort to turn off unused equipment, lights, and electronics. This will lessen the use of electricity.

As the year progresses, I am going to brainstorm more ways to make my classroom greener. If you have any ideas about reducing my impact on the environment, let me know with a comment!