Year 9 Sheep Heart Dissections

My year 9 classes finally got the chance to dissect pig and sheep hearts. 

9KEm and 9TMn got to do it as part of the new 'Me, Myself and My Environment' unit, and even though we have run out of time to finish that unit we didn't want 9PLa, 9PTt or 9RTd missing out on this fun and practical learning experience!

We had a look at the aorta, as well as the left and right atria, ventricles and chordae tendineae.

Students were really good at remembering which side of the heart is bigger and has thicker walls of muscle, and explaining WHY!  (The left side is bigger and more muscular because it pumps blood around the whole body, while the right side only pumps blood out to the lungs and back).

Here is the video of their dissections - listen carefully as James' from 9RTd gives an explanation halfway through:

Students Are So GOOD With Technology!

During the Chemical Reactions unit 9PLa demonstrated once again how capable they are with technology. They have used it in many different ways to share their understanding!

This is a Prezi made by Viola

Students in 9PLa also all made their own websites - I am not sure the general public will have permission to see them though.  If you click on the screenshot of the website below, you will hopefully be taken to a students' site and be able to see all their work, explanations, videos and the Do Now's they created for others.

If the picture doesn't link to Gustavo's site, click here

If that doesn't work, then you don't have permission to view it. 

One student in 9RTd even filmed their own video during the unit, edited it and added a great backing track - a rap about safety in science! Thanks Ricky.

As always, follow this link to see the gorgeous work my three Year 9 classes have been creating, and feel free to explore my site :) 

Making Ice-Cream - Easy!

All three of my Year 9 classes finished their Chemical Reactions unit on Friday, and we decided it was time for a treat for working so hard!

9PLa and 9PTt got to make ice-cream after Latiume sent me this link and requested to make ice-cream, and 9RTd got to launch rockets with Mr Grace in their Friday class!

I was so impressed by how 9PLa and 9PTt worked together to help set up their bags of ice-cream, which you can clearly see in the photos below. The recipe for ice-cream is not difficult, and some of the students even said they would make it at home again!

Everybody helping one another with the measurements - it is difficult to do alone!

Trey helping Lasa measure the vanilla essence.

Everyone doing the measurements.

Once the two bags were all set up students had to keep shaking them to make their ice-cream creamy!

Suzie enjoying her ice-cream in the sun.

Latiume and Tyrone were pretty happy with the outcome of their effort.

Reactants for the small ziplock bag:

1/2 cup blue milk

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Reactants for the larger ziplock bag:

Three handfuls of ice

1/4 cup rock salt

Method:

1.   Place all of the reactants for the small ziplock bag into it.

2.    Make sure the small ziplock bag is COMPLETELY sealed.

3.  Place all of the reactants for the larger ziplock bag into it.

4.  Place the smaller ziplock bag into the larger bag. 

5. Shake the larger bag from the corners, try not to touch the ice too much - it's very cold!

6.  Shake until you can feel the milk has hardened into an ice-cream-like texture.

Product:
Vanilla Ice Cream

Word Equation:
milk+sugar+vanilla essence --> vanilla ice-cream

Conclusion:

The science behind this chemical reaction is that mixing ice and salt causes the ice to be able to melt into water while it is still at the temperature of ice - below 0 degrees. Try not to touch the freezing cold ice-water while shaking the bag, as it can cause second or third-degree burns similar to frostbite. The ice-cream tasted really nice, but some bags had a slight salty taste because there was some salty water sitting in the crease of the ziplock bag, which fell into the ice-cream when it was opened! 9PLa would advise you to wash the bag before opening it, while I quite enjoyed the slightly salty ice-creamy taste; kind of like salted caramel. Yum!

Year 9 Visits the Stardome

On Friday we took all of Year 9 off to Cornwall Park to visit the Stardome. 

Students got to walk to the top of the volcano and look around. Students weren't looking forward to the big walk up the hill, but there was a sense of achievement and success when they reached the top and were able to look around!   

We then returned to the Stardome for a show on the sky screen and a talk.  My group watched a show called 'Two Pieces of Glass' about the history of the telescope and how far it has developed with todays technology. It also taught us about the discoveries that telescopes have helped with.

This is a beautiful video of the night skies from a mountain in Spain for any students who were amazed by how big our universe is. 

After the show students got to explore the different activities in the foyer of the Stardome. There was a scale that measured their mass and calculated how much they would weigh on different planets and stars (billions of kgs on a neutron star!), real space suits and telescopes, a rolling-ball demonstration of gravity and a sphere that showed what the different planets look as they rotate, among other things. 

We then went and listened to a talk about how much fuel and speed space shuttles need to get up into outer space! One thing I remember is that at the very start of a space shuttle launch, by the time the back of the space ship has reached the point where the front of the space shuttle was (by the time it has travelled its own length) the shuttle is already travelling at 100km an hour! Students in my group were especially amazed to see a video by Chris Hadfield about how astronauts brush their teeth in space!  

We finished the day with some free time at lunch - I think the rugby game that happened on the field involved most of the boys in Year 9!

9RTd Creating...

Today 9RTd started on their 'create' week as well. Two groups chose to make a MRS C GREN video...