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Honors Physical Science
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| The following is NOT required work for Honor Physical Science. It was developed as a possible set of assignments for summer work. All of this material will be covered in class. |
Students that choose Honors Physical Science may be expected to begin their year early by completing the following assignments during the summer. Whether or not these assignments are to be a part of the honors curriculum will be decided at a later date. These assignments should be turned in the first day of class in August. They will count as a major grade for the first nine weeks.
All work should be neatly completed, following the instructions given. Any sources used must be cited (i.e., Internet, print media, etc. should be cited in a simple bibliographical manner). Quality of work is more important than quantity.
There are three sections. The first is a performance exercise involving data collection with a simple pendulum. The second selection involves research on three science topics to be covered during the year. The third is an informed opinion essay on a topic that combines several Earth Science topics with those found in Physical Science. Specific details follow.
1. Students should go to the pendulum page on this website. Read the information given and complete the data collection and analysis. The material to be turned in should include all data (in tables), answers to the questions, and all graphs required. click on Pendulum
2. Choose any three of the following topics. Develop a set of review notes for that topic. These notes could then be used by students on homebound instruction or developed into web pages. You must research the topic and make decisions as to the most important information. Then try to present that information in a clear, concise, interesting manner.
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Candle Flame - What makes a candle burn? What chemical reactions are taking place? How much heat is being released? What is the history of candles? Does a candle obey all the laws of conservation of mass and energy? What are the products of the chemical reactions that take place? What scientific topics are related to candles as they burn? These are sample ideas to investigate and include in your topic notes. |
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Solubility - What is a good definition of solubility? What factors govern the rate of solubility? Why do some compounds dissolve easily and others with more difficulty in a variety of solvents? What are solubility rules? How are chemical reactions governed by solubility? What are solubility curves? How are they generated? |
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Specific Heat - Define specific heat. Using as many common examples as possible demonstrate the importance of specific heat to the world. How does specific heat compare with thermal conductivity? Why does water has such a high specific heat? Why do metals have such low specific heats? How is specific heat important in melting, freezing, and boiling points? |
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Dynamics - Explain how forces generate motion. What is a thorough definition of forces? How is kinematics related to dynamics? What are Newton's Three Laws of Motion. Explain the difference between velocity and acceleration. How does energy come into this study? |
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Moles - Moles are the units for amount of substances in the SI metric system. What are moles and how are they used in chemistry. What are the 4 main rules involving moles. What is Avogadro's Number and how does it relate to this topic. Why can scientist (and students) not just use grams instead? What are some examples of its use? |
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Radioactivity - What is a good definition for radioactivity? What created radioactive elements in the first place? What particles and energy is given off by radioactive elements? What is the rate at which these special elements release this energy/material called? Who did the pioneering work in this field? What are the dangers to humans involved in radioactive fields? How do nuclear power plants use the energy from radioactive elements to produce electricity? |
3. Using the information given on the "Glaciers Are Coming" page, put all this information together into one cause-effect relationship that would explain why the planet went into a glacial period at that time. This may include several steps. You must research the topic in general first. Then try to establish which of the supposition steps is most correct. What would be the results? Did those results happen as you expected? If not, what combination of steps might have been needed to cause the glaciation? Your informed opinion paper should be 1/2 to 1 full typed page. Use the knowledge gained in Earth Science to help you.
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Page Last Updated: Friday March 02, 2007 Webmaster: Larry Jones Pickens County School District |