Last Week in Science

Last week in Science we basically focused on motion. Our first tests were when we all chose a partner and faced each other. One time we pointed right and we pointed in opposite directions. The other time we pointed west and we pointed in the same direction. We also focused on positive and negative directions; on a number line right is positive and left is negative. Thus, we can make up positive and negative directions (other names for right and left basically). We also discussed the speed change. If a battery powered car is on and traveling, is it slowing down? Is it speeding up? or is it maintaining a constant speed? We devised an experiment where we ran the cars and marked where the car was after 1 or 2 seconds. Our hypothesis was that the car would maintain a constant speed. We will find out on Monday.

The ideas that we learned were about Christiaan Huygens and Sir Isaac Newton's theories about light. Huygens thought that light is made up of waves, and Newton thought that light is made up of particles and moved in rays. For example, for Huygens theories, you can use the idea of when you throw a rock into a body of water, and watch the ripples come off. You can also see that the ripples hit the side and keep going for a period of time.We also learned that light has no weight, which disproves part of Newton's theory. When light hits the water, it doesn't sink, for it has no weight.

How did you learn these ideas?

First, we wanted to test the two theories. We put a pencil very close to the smartboard projecter and looked at the shadow on the smartboard. It was very large, but he edges weren't very defined. Next, we put the pencil closer to the smartboard and the shadow was almost actual size, and very clear cut. We took notes about what we saw. Next, we looked at the comparison to Huygens' theory. We went to a still body of water in the classroom and dropped a little bit of water in it. When the drops hit the surface, the waves moved in a circular formation all around the dot. When it reached the side of the pool thing, it bounced off the wall at the same angle it was hit. Finally, the way we tested how light has no mass so that it wouldn't sink when hitting the water, we shined a flashlight on a beam balance and checked to see if the scale moved. When it didn't, we could tell that the light would be weightless.

Knowing how all of this is important in case it comes up in conversations and you don't want to sound like an idiot. Also, if you decide to go down the career path of a scientist or any other form of science, it is important to know things like this to build upon.