Welcome to Miss Webb!

Today we are welcoming Miss Webb, who is here as a student teacher from the U of S until Friday. Miss Webb will be hanging out with me in Science, Computers, IP 10, Band, Choir, Jazz Choir, and any other school events that may be happening this week. She plays the saxophone and is doing a minor in English (same as me!). We are very happy to have her here this week, and I'm sure that we will make her feel very welcome at Rivier.

Science 7 - today we continued our unit on the earth's crust. We took some notes on plates and three different kinds of boundaries (converging, diverging, and transform).

Vocal Jazz - Today's rehearsal is a blues improv catch-up lesson for the 20s who missed class due to the extended Europe trip. If you are in Vocal Jazz 10 or 30 and you need some extra help, please attend today's rehearsal.

Band - April practice charts are due by Friday. Please hand them in early in the week to avoid any last-minute panic moments!

Level 1 Band - we are in the computer lab for online theory today. Bring your instrument for private practice if you are finished the entire program.

Science 7 review questions - Topics 5-6 (Unit 2)

Science 7 Sample Review Questions (Unit 2: Topics 5 & 6)

1. We made juice in Science class and it tasted great. It was a solution that had just the right mixture of juice crystals and water. What kind of a solution did we create? Dilute, concentrated, saturated, or unsaturated? Circle one.

2. Orange juice from concentrate (in a can) is an example of a concentrated solution. What does this mean in terms of the amount of solute/solvent in the mixture?

3. What is the term given to the amount of solute (in grams) that can be dissolved in a certain amount of solution?

4. What is the unit of measurement of concentration?

5. Which of the following is more concentrated? A solution of 10g of drink crystals dissolved in 50 mL of water, or a solution of 25g of drink crystals dissolved in 100mL of water?

6. If a saturated solution has a concentration of 20g per 100mL of water, how many grams of the solute could be dissolved in 50mL of water?

7. Why are solutes generally able to dissolve faster in hot water than in cold water? Use the Particle Theory of Matter to support your answer.

8. When solute particles do not bind with solvent particles, the solutes are considered _________________.

9. What is hard water?

10. List two disadvantages to using hard water.

11. True or false: Glass is a pure substance.

12. Identify at least two raw materials used in making glass.

13. What is the difference between pig iron and steel?

14. True or false: Soap is a type of detergent.

15. What is a surfactant?

16. Name two components of toothpaste and explain their purpose.

17. What is meant by the term biodegradable?

18. What is sewage?

19. List one benefit and one drawback of using livestock manure as field fertilizer.

Updates (Festival, homework, etc.)

Congratulations to the Senior Choir, the Gr. 7 and Gr. 8 French classes, and several individual students who represented our school at the PA Kiwanis Music Festival and received scholarships during the vocal/strings week. Congratulations also to the Level 2, 3, and 4 bands on their performances at the Festival on Thursday. I have just been informed that the Level 2 band is receiving a scholarship this year! Way to go, girls!

And now, some homework updates:

- Computers 8M: Your 2nd own choice assignment is due next class in addition to any overdue past assignments (subtlety, friendship, the first own choice assignment, nature quote, etc.)

- Career Ed 9: Please bring your agendas to the next class (which will be held in my classroom, not the computer lab). Also, bring your ideas of how you plan to complete the team paper flipping exercise! It was definitely interesting to watch in the last class. Remember that no feet, hands, etc. can touch the floor or anything surrounding the paper!

- Science 7: 7L, continue to work on the questions assigned last class (p. 151-152 #1, 2, 3 (a)(b)(c), 4, 6; p. 156 #1-4; p. 161 #1, 3). 7C, new assignment will come next class.

Have a great weekend!

Congrats, Science 7!

Hi girls! All of the Mixtures and Solutions exams you wrote yesterday are graded, both for 7C and 7L. Two students from 7L and three students from 7C scored a grade of 61/62! Overall this exam was very well done. Way to go girls!

Science 7 updates (exam, rock candy, etc.)

Yesterday we began our rock candy experiment. Our jars were looking different already today, and the only foreseeable problem that we may encounter is that our jars may not be big enough (or are too full, etc.) and the solution has nowhere to go. That being said, we will observe them for a week and see what happens. So far everything looks very sticky, colourful, and delicious! :o)

We will be having an exam shortly on Unit 2 Topics 1.0-4.4 inclusive (p. 97-139). You will receive your exam review sheets next class, and you will have 2 class periods to study (1 independently, 1 game-show style). The review periods/exam dates are as follows:

Science 7C - Review today p. 2/Fri. p. 4, exam Wed. March 3rd p. 2
Science 7L - Review tomorrow p. 2/Mon. p. 1, exam Wed. March 3rd p. 6

Science 7 Paper Chromatography

7L - Paper chromatography lab report due Friday, Feb. 12th (or earlier if you are planning to be absent on Friday)

If you missed this lab due to Alice in Wonderland or other absence, please meet me on Thursday at 12pm in the Science lab. We will conduct the experiment again at that time so that you have material with which to answer your questions. Please include your chromatogram with your assignment, as well as the names of the people in your group.

Sc 7 Paper Chromatography / Career Ed 9 self image collage

Due date reminders:

Sc 7L - "Mix it Up" - Feb 4th (Thurs)
Sc 7C - "Paper Chromatography" - Feb 8th (Mon)
Career Ed 9 - self image collage - Feb 4th (Thurs)

Sc 7 lab write-up due dates

Hi girls! Your Science lab write-ups ("Mix it Up" - p. 102-104) are due:

7C - Wednesday, Feb 3rd
7L - Tuesday, Feb 2nd

I understand that many of you are involved in Alice in Wonderland. These Science classes are happening during the production, so many of you will be away. It is still your responsibility to get the assignment handed in on or before the due date, regardless of absence.

7L, you will have one period to work on the write-ups, today in P6. We have the portable lab booked.

Catching up after midterms/finals

Hi girls! Time for a fresh start in the new semester!

Sc 7L - Today we conducted most of the "Mix it Up" experiment on pg. 102-103 in our textbooks. If you were absent today, you must arrange to meet with me to go over the lab procedure on your own time. This is your responsibility, so please see to it.

IP 10 - We are continuing the process of converting our resumés to a Pages document (found in the iWork '08 folder). When you are finished you may start brainstorming and formulating ideas for a "Family and Friends" write-up that will eventually end up in your portfolio.

7C Homeroom - We have changed seating plans. Please ensure that your desks and lockers are clean and organized in your new spot in the classroom, as the "Clean Desk Turkey" will be making more regular visits to 7C to help encourage tidiness and organization. Also, if you need to retrieve anything from the Lost and Found bin, you must pay 25 cents (which we will donate to charity on a non-uniform day near the end of the year).

Updates all around!

Updates on homework:

Science 7 - no assigned homework. 7L has begun Mixtures and Solutions, 7C will start next class. We will be "borrowing" a computer class for Science sometime soon, as we replaced Science with Computers yesterday for both Gr. 7 classes.

Computers 7 - continue working on PowerPoint presentations. Will be due after Christmas (date TBA).

IP 10 - we spent last class playing with Comic Life and making Christmas cards. The new unit on Keyboard Shortcuts will be introduced after the break. Enjoy the down time while it lasts!

Great job to all of the students who performed at the Christmas concert on Tuesday! It went very well, and I was proud of all of you. The audience was very appreciative as well. Thank you for all of your hard work!

Pizza party update!!!!

Senior choir, don't pack a lunch for Monday - we will be having our pizza party in the music room directly following our rehearsal. This party is given by Mr. and Mrs. Moon as a thank-you for our performance at the REAL Interchange mass back in October.

7C - Our pizza party for winning the magazine sale competition will be on Monday as well. I'll be going back and forth between the classroom and the music room, eating lots of pizza at every stop!

Merry week-before-Christmas! Thank you also to all of the wonderful Secret Santas we've been seeing in our classroom this week! :o)

Sc 7L and 7C homework/exam dates

Hi 7L! Your next homework check will be tomorrow on the assigned questions from pgs. 93-95:

p. 93 #10-16
p. 94 #20
p. 95 #25-26

Just a reminder that your exam dates are as follows:

7C = Monday, December 14th
7L = Tuesday, December 15th

Sc 7 notes (p. 69-85)

6.0 Human Activities Can Change Ecosystems

Ecosystems can be changed by both abiotic factors (i.e. floods, fires, erosion, high winds, etc.) and biotic factors (i.e. human activities such as clear-cutting forests, hunting, construction, using herbicides to kill weeds/pesticides to kill insects, etc.).

First Nations and Métis people of Saskatchewan do not view human beings as being at the top of the food chain, but rather the bottom. This is because humans depend on everything else on Earth for their survival.

6.1 The Impact of Technology

Human beings have a bigger impact on ecosystems than any other living things, because:

1. We exist in every biome on the planet (our species is very widespread)
2. We invent and use technology to alter our ecosystems
3. There are nearly 7 billion of us in the world

6.2 The Impact of Human Activities

Because the human population on Earth is so large (and continuously growing), we need to adapt to our growing population by altering our ecosystems.

Human beings need:

1. Space to live. We require more land for growing food and for buildings (schools, houses, businesses, etc.).
2. Energy sources to fuel our technologies.
3. Materials to build our homes, vehicles, etc.

Human beings regularly pollute the environment (air, soil, water). Because humans depend on all other living things for survival, essentially we are poisoning our own food chains when we pollute our planet.

Humans can also harm themselves by polluting ecosystems with chemicals. See pg. 74 for a diagrammatic example (spraying cockroaches, etc.).

7.0 Technologies have been developed to manage wastes that humans generate

Many years ago, all of the wastes that humans generated were biodegradable (could be broken down by scavengers and decomposers). However, now we produce many types of waste that are not able to be broken down to return nutrients to the soil.


7.1 Human Generated Waste: Dealing With Our Garbage

Garbage dumps used to be the most common places in which our waste was disposed. However, these dumps were unattractive and potentially dangerous (rainwater washing bacteria from garbage into the water systems, etc.) and so we developed technologies to improve our garbage disposal practices.

Examples of garbage disposal methods:

1. Recycling depot
2. Composting
3. Household hazardous waste operation
4. Sanitary landfill
5. Incineration

Landfills waste a great amount of energy. Reusing and recycling wastes is much more environmentally efficient than cutting down more trees for paper or drilling/mining new sources of oils and minerals, for example.

7.2 Have We Learned From Our Past?

Humans use a tremendous amount of energy and materials, while also creating a great amount of waste. In the past, we didn’t worry much about the impact that we had on ecosystems. Fortunately, with the “go green” movement of today’s society, we are paying more attention to our actions with regards to the environment.

Sc 7 questions for homework

Pg. 68 #1-3 (Communicate)

7C = due Thurs. Nov. 26th
7L = due Mon. Nov. 30th

Sc 7 Unit 1: Topics 1-4.1 Exam Study Guide Qs

Vocabulary to define, understand, and give examples where appropriate:

- habitat
- species
- producer
- consumer
- decomposer
- scavenger
- ecosystem
- biotic
- abiotic
- interaction
- chlorophyll
- photosynthesis
- by-product
- carnivore
- herbivore
- omnivore
- food chain
- water cycle
- evaporation
- condensation
- precipitation

Sample study questions:

1. What is meant by the term “seventh generation”? How can we help to ensure the survival of the seventh generation by our actions today?
2. List three beliefs held by the First Nations/Metis people of Saskatchewan regarding nature and the environment.
3. What happens, in scientific terms, to the body of an animal who dies in its natural habitat?
4. What are the six basic needs of all living things?
5. How can biotic and abiotic things interact with each other? Give at least 5 examples.
6. Explain how a puddle can be considered an ecosystem.
7. Draw 3 different food chains that have at least 4 steps in them (remember, they must always begin with a primary producer).
8. Describe how decomposers can be both beneficial and/or harmful to the environment/the human body.
9. What is photosynthesis? Draw a picture and describe in words how this process works.
10. How can human beings create and contribute water vapour to the atmosphere?
11. List 3 examples each of: carnivores, herbivores, omnivores.
12. Life on Earth would cease to exist without producers. Explain why, using as much detail as you can. Support your answer with examples.
13. What happens to the water that falls to the ground in the form of various types of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, etc.)? How is the water cycle completed?
14. List 5 biotic and 5 abiotic components of our classroom ecosystem.
15. What is the main purpose of photosynthesis? How do humans benefit from this process (at least 2 reasons)?

Sc 7 Unit 1 Exam - Topics 1-4.1

Hi girls! Your Science 7 exam dates are as follows:

Science 7C = Tuesday, Oct. 20th (P.1)

Science 7L = Wednesday, Oct. 21st (P.2)

I will be posting review questions shortly.

Science HW (categorized food lists) due next class

Hi 7C and 7L! Your categorized lists of food and their plant and animal components are due next class.

For 7C = Due Thursday, October 1st
For 7L = Due Friday, October 2nd

Remember, you should have 3 columns labelled "Food", "Plant", and "Animal." Take all of the foods listed on your original food tracking list and put them under the "Food" heading. If that food has plant components, list that under "Plant" (i.e. Bread - list "wheat" under the plant heading). If the food has animal components (i.e. meat or dairy), list the animal from which it came in the "Animal" column.

Also, please remember to leave the textbooks in the classroom at the end of each lesson! It is not fair to those who share textbooks to come in for class and not have the books they need for the class.

Thanks!

100th post!

Hi Science 7L! Your list of foods you've eaten over the past couple days is due tomorrow in period 6. We will be categorizing your lists into plant products and animal products, so keep that in mind and you will have a head start on the brainstorming.

100th post on this blog = YAY! Celebration time. Party, party, party.

That was fun.

Sc 7L virtual terrarium homework assignment

Hi Science 7L! Remember that your virtual terrarium assignments are due on Tuesday. Many of you finished your drawings today in class, but for those of you that didn't, here is a reminder of what to include in your representations:

- water
- oxygen (represented by 02 symbols)
- food
- energy
- some sort of shelter (for people, animals, plants, etc.)
- interactions between living and non-living things
- at least one plant and one animal

Once you have finished your drawings, write down a list of how you've represented each of the above points (ex: water = raindrops and lake formed from a stream coming down a mountain; energy = sun producing energy for a flower to grow, berries for humans and animals, etc.).

Leave a comment here if you have any questions about this over the weekend.