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Science
ClarisWorks
Slideshow and Draw, NASM and Websites
The flight of modern aircraft utilizes forces
that are studied by eighth grade students as part
of the physical science curriculum. While these
forces are usually studied in a “stand alone”
mode, the problem of “How Things Fly”
integrates the interplay among these forces into a
more meaningful context. Each student, in groups
of four, will identify one of the four major
forces involved with flight - Lift, Weight, Thrust
or Drag - and create a Slideshow page illustrating
that force along with an explanation of its
importance to flight. Students will access
research materials for this project through the
Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space
Museum’s (NASM) website and its links to other
relevant Internet URLs.
ClarisWorks
Drawing
Students will be assigned a research project on
an element of their choice. Included in the
research will be a cover sheet designed in the
computer lab, a written report, a computerized
Bohr Model using ClarisWorks Drawing Application
and a bibliography. Students will be given two
days in the library and two days in the computer
lab.
Internet
It is important that students understand that
science is not just about information, but also
the people behind the information. This provides
students with an opportunity to realize that
scientific concepts come from the minds of people
and not a machine or computer. Students are also
able to see what may have prompted a scientist to
come up with a certain theory or invention based
upon their life experiences. This allows students
to link themselves to a historical figure and get
a better understanding of how the world has been
affected through their exploits. This may also
expose students to scientists of different
ethnicities and show them how all cultures have
made a significant impact on the world we live in.
ClairsWorks
Spreadsheet
This activity is an extension of the
electricity unit taught in the eighth grade. As
the students study about energy conversions
involved with electricity, they can also become
involved in the usage of energy in their homes.
After the students collect information on several
home appliances, they create a spreadsheet to
calculate the energy output of each individual
appliance and the total energy output for all
appliances. This information can then be converted
from hourly usage to cost per kilowatt hour and
then put into a daily or monthly cost analysis.
Internet
Black scientists have played a vital role in
the history of our country. However, little is
known about many of them. This project is designed
to give us more information about the
contributions of these men and women. In order to
research this topic, students will use the
Internet as one of their sources.
ClarisWorks Drawing
Energy is defined as the ability to do work.
The energy that is available to organisms in an
ecosystem is trapped by plants during the process
of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis converts and
stores light energy from the sun in the form of a
simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is used by
the plant to carry out its life processes. The
rest of the energy is stored as carbohydrates or
lipids, which are used by other organisms as food.
It is important to remember that all food chains
start with a producer that serves as food for
herbivores. Herbivores are then eaten by
carnivores or omnivores. These organisms use some
of the available energy for life processes, but
most of the energy is lost as body heat.
 Light
and Crystals
To use
hydro-gel crystals in a hands-on activity to study
light refraction through two media. Also, to
stimulate critical thinking.
ClarisWorks
4.0 & Assistants
In the Force, Work, and Energy Unit students
learn about the factors which affect the motion of
objects. This activity will help students to
understand how increasing weight affects the
velocity of a truck on an incline, which leads
them into the study of acceleration, momentum, and
Newton’s Second Law of Motion. Students will
write their lab report on the computer using
Claris 4.0 Word Processing and Assistants for
their data table.
Computer with
internet access, scanner, digital camera, and
CD-ROM's
Students will choose a sport to communicate
their understanding of friction and Newton's Three
Laws of Motion. As a culminating activity, they
will create a six page slide show that addresses
the link between the sport to friction and the
Laws of Motion.
Computer with
internet access and multimedia software
Students will create a slide show presentation
in pairs to show their knowledge of the eight
lunar phases and lunar rotation and revolutionary
periods by creating a ten page (minimum) slide
show document.
Computer and
material appropriate to lab choice
The students will design their own experiment
following the pattern of these two labs to measure
the average speed of two different objects (i.e.
two different cars, balls, trucks).
Video camera or
desktop video camera, camera, ClarisWorks, Windows
on Science or Glencoe videodisc(s),and
student-made mousetrap cars
Students make and study mousetrap cars to
facilitate and apply their understanding of
acceleration, drag, gravity, motion, forces, and
friction.
Students will make a calorimeter to determine
the specific heat of an unknown metal. Standard
laboratory equipment will be used as well as a
calculator based laboratory (CBL). This lab can be
found in the Glencoe Laboratory Manual
on pages 45-48.
Computer and
internet access
Computer with
internet access
Students will access websites to research,
collect and analyze information about Lunar
Cycles.
Computer with
internet access
Students will read the novel Out Of the Dust
in English classes. They will select a topic
pertaining to the Dust Bowl with a partner;
research the topic on the Internet and save to a
disc; prepare a slide show; and present their
slide show with narrative to a selected group.
Inspiration
software, ClarisWorks slide show, Review notebook
concept and review sheets, review book
"Concepts in ..." Glencoe Life Science
and Physical Science CD-ROMs (Optional:
Grolier's and Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Science)
Internet,
Virginia View, Career Center, Job-O dictionary
A written pamphlet and an oral presentation
will be the culminating product of this project
that involves student research of a sicence
related career.
Glencoe Textbook
Ch-3 and Ch-4 (prerequisite reading), Computer
Lab, Scanner, Digital Camera, magazines to cut up,
science references, and one of the following
programs: Claris Works, HyperStudio, MS
PowerPoint, or FileMaker HomePage
Students will create a multimedia presentation
to clearly describe Newton's Laws of Motion.
Computer with
internet access
All materials
needed for completion of lab (refer to page 6 in Investigating
Motion, Forces, and Energy
Lab Book), Student Lab Book, Graphical Analysis
Program, ClarisWorks Word Processing Program.
In this activity, student groups complete Part
2 of the lab "Keep On Truckin," in which
the deceleration of a toy truck is measured as a
change in speed at various distances.The Graphical
Analysis Graphing program is used to produce an
appropriate graph of collected data. This graph
and a table of the graphed data will be imported
into a ClarisWorks Word Processing document as
students write a lab report of the completed
experiment. Since students conduct many labs in
which numerical data is collected, this computer
activity could be used with the labs "More
Than Just Hot Air" and "Reasons for the
Seasons," in addition to others.
Computer with
internet access
This lab is designed to familiarize students
with the daily, monthly and yearly cycles of these
celestial bodies as well as the pertinent
vocabulary.
Word
processing program (ClarisWorks, Microsoft Word,
Internet access, Scanner, Avid Cinema program, and
sports equipment to demonstrate concepts
Students will demonstrate how Newton's law can
be applied to a sport of their choice.
Computer with
internet access
Students will investigate the contributions of
scientists to the modern understanding of gravity.
Students will place major scientific contributions
of scientists who studied gravity on a time line
that they create.
Computer with
internet access
Students will create a slide show presentation
depicting the three classes of levers.
Quick Reference Section
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