PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Physical science can explain most experiences whether they are natural or artificial. Through physical science your child will explore cause and effect in their world so that they can better understand the processes they encounter each day. During middle school the focus of physical science is foundational content that includes energy, motion, mater and waves. There is also some concentration on the connection between physical science and technology.
By the time your child graduates from middle school, he or she will have an understanding of the basic properties of matter and motion.
The following concepts will be address in middle school physical science:
• PS1 - Matter and Its Interactions
• PS2 - Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
• PS3 - Energy
• PS4 - Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
PS1 - MATTER AND ITS INTERACTIONS
MS.PS1.1
Your child will
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develop models that will be used to describe how simple molecules and extended structures are composed. They types of models will differ in how complex they are. Simple molecules might include methanol or ammonia. Extended structures might include diamonds or sodium chloride. The model assignments might be drawings, computer generated representations that show a variety of molecules with different atoms types. MS.PS1.2 Your son or daughter will analyze and interpret information on the properties of specific substances both before they have interacted, and after an interaction has occurred, to discover whether a chemical reaction has taken place. Reactions that are studied might include heating sugar, mixing hydrogen chloride with zinc, and sodium hydroxide reacting with fat. Your child will analyze properties for density, boiling points, solubility, melting points, odor and flammability. MS.PS1.3 Your child will collect and make sense of data to explain how synthetic materials are made from natural resources and how these materials impact everyday life. Students study the chemical processes that natural resources experience in order to change into synthetic materials such as foods, medicines and alternative fuels. MS.PS1.4 Middle school students will create a model that they will use to predict and describe changes in the motion and temperature of particles. It will also be used to demonstrate the effects of that the addition or removal of thermal energy has on a pure substance. The types of models developed might include drawings and diagrams. The particles might include inert atoms and molecules. The pure substances could include helium, water and carbon dioxide. MS.PS1.5 Your child will create and use a model to describe how the number of atoms in matter does not change during a chemical reaction and the conservation of mass. The models include drawings and digital forms. MS.PS1.6 Students will complete a project where they build, test and modify a device that either absorbs or releases thermal energy through a chemical process.
The projects might include dissolving calcium chloride or ammonium chloride. Focus is on the project design and the regulation of the energy transfer along with the concentration and type of substance used.
PS2 - MOTION AND STABILITY: FORCES AND INTERACTIONS
MS.PS2.1
Middle school students will apply Newton’s Third Law to solve a problem which involves the motion of two colliding objects. The problem might include the impact of two colliding cars, between one car and an object that is not moving, and between a space vehicle and a meteor moving through space.
MS.PS2.2
Your son or daughter will plan an investigation to provide proof that the sum of the forces on a particular object along with its mass will directly impact the motion of that object. Students will work with balanced and unbalanced forces as well as qualitative comparisons of mass, forces and changes in motion.
MS.PS2.3 Students will pose questions about information to determine the factors that influence the strength of magnetic and electric forces. The devices they might use include electric motors, electromagnets and generators. The data collected could include the impact the number of wire turns has on an electromagnet, or the impact the strength and number of magnets might have on an electric motor’s speed. MS.PS2.4 Your child will build and present arguments using proof as support of a claim that gravitational interactions are both attractive and depend on the individual masses of the interacting objects. The evidence used might include charts displaying strength of interaction and data generated from digital simulations. MS.PS2.5 Middle school students will conduct an investigation and analyze the experimental design to provide proof that fields do exist between objects which are exerting forces on each other even if there is no contact between them. These investigations might include simulations and involve the interactions of electrically- charged objects and magnets. PS3 - ENERGY MS.PS3.1 Students will build and interpret graphical displays of information to describe the relationships between kinetic energy and object mass or object speed. Focus is on separately describing relationships between kinetic energy and speed, and kinetic energy and mass. Examples might include rolling balls of varying sizes downhill, and riding a bike a vary speeds. MS.PS3.2 Your child will develop a model to describe how the change in object arrangement interactions at a distance causes them to store varying amounts of potential energy in the system. Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system. Examples might include a roller coaster car at different positions on a track or books at varying heights on a shelf. Models might include diagrams, written descriptions, and pictures. MS.PS3.3 Your child will apply some of the principles of science to design, build and evaluate a device that maximizes or minimizes the transfer of thermal energy. Some of the devices might include a solar cooker or an insulated container. MS.PS3.4 Middle school students will plan an investigation so that they can determine the relationships among the matter type, the transferred energy, the mass and the change in the average particle kinetic energy measured by the sample’s temperature. Experiments might include comparing the impact of varying masses of ice melted on water temperatures. MS.PS3.5 Your son will build, use and present arguments in support of the claim that a change in kinetic energy of an object results in the energy being transferred to or from another object. PS4 - Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer MS.PS4.1 Your daughter will use mathematical representations to describe a basic model for waves. This model will include the relationship between the wave’s amplitude and its energy. MS.PS4.2 Your child will develop and utilize a model to describe the reflection, absorption and transmission of waves through a variety of materials. Focus is on both mechanical and light waves. Models might include simulations, text descriptions and illustrations. MS.PS4.3 Middle school students incorporate technical data and qualitative information to support the assertion that digitized signals are more effective and reliable means of encoding and transmitting information than analog ones. Focus is on basic comprehension that waves can bu utilized to communicate. Wave examples include the use of fiber optic cables in the transmission of radio wave and light pulses in wifi components. Life Science The focus of life sciences is all living organisms and their processes, patterns and relationships. The objective of the study of life sciences is to enable students to have a better understanding of the natural world so that they can use that knowledge to solve problems in their daily lives. The topics included in middle school life sciences are evolution and heredity, ecosystems, organisms and the integration of scientific research. By the end of eighth grade, your child should understand that cells are basic forms of life and that living things exist within an organizational system. They should also understand that heredity involves the generational transmission of traits. • LS1 - From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes • LS2 - Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics • LS3 - Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits • LS4 - Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity MS.LS1.1 Your child will carry out an investigation to provide proof that living things are composed of cells. Some living things are made of only one cell; others are made of a many different ones. MS.LS1.2 Students will develop and utilize a model to express the functions of cell parts and whole cells. Focus is on the function of cells within a system and the main role of cell parts including the cell wall, cell membrane, chloroplasts, mitochondria and nucleus. MS.LS1.3 Your daughter will argue how the groups of cells within the body interact in subsystems. Focus is on the concept that the organs within the body are formed from tissues which are formed from cells. Examples include circulatory, digestive, excretory, muscular, nervous and respiratory systems. MS.LS1.4 Your son will use sound arguments supported by scientific reasoning and empirical evidence to explain how specific structures of plants and behaviors of animals influence the probability of reproduction. Examples include nest building, animal herding, plumage coloring, pollen transfer, seed germination, flower odors and hard shell coverings.
We ran into Newtons First Law, which claims that an object resists change in motion, as the marble rolled down the floor it didn’t stop until it was acted against by friction. As we moved on, Newtons Second Law came into play when we were creating our lever as we need a ball that would roll down with enough acceleration that it could knock down the objects. Newton’s second law claims, that F=MA. So, we choose a golf ball since it would have more mass than a rubber ball, but it would have less acceleration when the lever was started. This way, it would knock the upcoming objects. Newtons Third Law claims that every action yields an equal and opposite reaction. This is proven in our Rube Goldberg Machine when the small car was rolling down the tracks as the wheels pushes against the track making the track move backwards. The track provides an equal and opposite direction by pushing the wheels forward.
For over two hundred centuries, mankind has wrestled with the problem of how to hit an object with another object. From the earliest days of the bow and arrow, to today's modern missile defense system, the need to achieve maximum accuracy and distance from a projectile has been critical to the survival of the human race. There are numerous of ways to solve the problem ranging from trial and error—as early man did—to advanced mathematics including trigonometry and calculus. (While the specific mathematical operations are beyond the scope of this work, we will briefly touch on the equations of motion and how they apply to projectile motion as the project progresses.)
Prompt: Define Newton’s Third Law, give three effects of it, and create an experiment designed to explore one aspect of it.
Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to find how changing the angle and velocity would affect the distance the object went, height the object went, and time the object was in the air. Before this lab I could not tell how the angle and velocity would change the results. I needed to figure out what angle and what velocity made the object go farther or make it stay in the air longer. I also found mass will affect the height and distance. I used the site Galileo and Einstein to figure out these factors. (Fowler, M)
Concrete operations (ages 7-11) – As a child accumulates experience with the physical world, he/she begins to conceptualize to explain those experiences. Abstract thought is also emerging.
Have you ever been in love before? Many would say that love is hard to come by, and even harder to maintain, while some would say the opposite. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, he explores similar concepts related to love and infatuation. Although the reader never directly hears from Shakespeare, one could infer that his own thoughts are similarly mirrored in his characters, with the play serving as a warning tale of sorts, and the various roles echoing different dangers when it comes to love, which of there are many. More specifically, Romeo Montague and his actions in the play are very intentional, as they help explain Shakespeare’s intentions and his own personal thoughts on the topic of love and its hazards, as well
Lillian, M. et al. (2006). Improving the preparation of K-12 teachers through physics education research. American Journal of Physics 74(9): 763-767.
Physics is everywhere. Consequently, physics is a part of sports and more specifically, hockey. As the scientific discoveries progressed with time, so did the advancements in the sport of hockey, reflecting on how important and influential science truly is. Physics takes part in the ice, the skates, the protective gear, the shots, goaltending, and all other aspects of ice hockey.
In order to live our everyday lives, we must use any form of physics to get through each day. Physics is not just a school subject matter. It is a helpful and useful subject that includes everything - to us humans and the world’s everyday learning experience. Without physics, we would be unable to know from weird facts to questionable theories. These facts and theories can help us work our way through the world.
The main concept of Jean Piaget’s theory is that he believes in children being a scientist by experimenting things and making observations with their senses. This approach emphasizes on how children’s ability can make sense of their immediate everyday surroundings. Piaget also proposed that children perceived to four stages based on maturation and experiences. Piaget’s theory was guided by assumptions of how a learner interacts with their own environment and how they integrate new knowledge and information into existing knowledge. Briefly, he proposed that children are active learners who construct knowledge from their own environment. They learn through assimilation and accommodation in complex cognitive development. Furthermore, interaction with physical and social environments is the key and development occurs in stages. An example of Jean Piaget theory carried out in the classroom is that giving children a great deal of hands-on practice, by using concrete props and visual aids. Taking into consideration and being sensitive to the possibility that
The second law is, “the relationship between an objects mass (m), its acceleration (a), and the applied force (f) is F= ma.” The heavier object requires more force to move an object, the same distance as light object. The equation gives us an exact relationship between Force, mass, and acceleration.
Sir Isaac Newton formulated three laws which describe the motion of objects and how the interact. In summary, Newton’s first law of motion states, an object will remain in a static position or constant motion until acted upon by an external opposing force (textbook). Examples of this law can be seen in our everyday lives in various situations. For instance, a driver holding a cup of coffee while operating a vehicle at a constant speed, has to make an abrupt stop. The coffee would then go from a resting state to a forward motion at the speed and direction of the
Science is everywhere; you always see it in every day life. Like when you get a ride to school from your parents, watch TV, talk on the phone, and listen to music, that’s using science. When you pass buildings science was used to build them.
Children in grades 3 through 5 are moving from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" and from "learning to write" to "writing to communicate". Students learn to work independently. They learn to read words and make mental pictures. Third through fifth graders also learn to write paragraphs, short essays and stories that make a point. The curriculum becomes more integrated. "Reading to learn" helps third through fifth graders better understand the scientific method and how to test hypotheses about the physical world. Additionally, "reading to learn" aids students in graphing and calculating scientific observations and then writing up their conclusions. Third grade science class will open new worlds of wonder and invite curious mind to explore (Williams, 2012).
Physical education takes place in the school curriculum which is timetabled and taught to all school pupils. This involves a range of different skills, learning basic movements