Welcome to Room 114 on the Web!

Hello students and parents! I'm Mr. Delgado, and I teach 7th grade science at Lincoln Middle School. This page is for my students and their families. I post the homework here every Sunday night, so if you're ever absent (or you "forgot" what the homework was!), check here first.

We're already in our fourth week of the 1999–2000 school year, and I'm very proud of how hard everyone has been working. The paper towel lab last week was a big hit (and a big mess!). You are doing real science, just like real scientists do.

Parents, welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by. I hope this page helps you keep up with what we're doing in class. Please look over the lab safety rules and the Science Fair timeline below with your child. Scroll all the way down for how to reach me.

On this page: Homework This Week | Supply List | Lab Safety Rules | Science Fair 2000 | Science Fact of the Week | For Parents

What We're Studying This Year

1. The Scientific Method & Metric Measurement (September – October)
2. Cells & the Microscope (October – November)
3. Genetics & Heredity (December – January)
4. Science Fair! (February)
5. Human Body Systems (February – April)
6. Ecology & the Environment (May – June)

Homework This Week
Week of September 20, 1999

Chapter 2 Vocabulary Words
Know these for Thursday's quiz. You need to know what each word means AND be able to use it.

• observation – using your five senses to gather information
• inference – an explanation based on what you observe and what you already know
• hypothesis – a possible answer to a scientific question that can be tested
• variable – any factor that can change in an experiment
• independent (manipulated) variable – the ONE thing the scientist changes on purpose
• dependent (responding) variable – what changes because of the independent variable; the thing you measure
• constant – a factor that is kept the same in every trial
• control – the part of an experiment that is left unchanged, so you have something to compare to
• data – the facts, measurements and observations you collect
• conclusion – a statement that sums up what you learned from an experiment
• theory – a well-tested explanation for a wide range of observations

Paper Towel Lab Report – What to Turn In
Remember our question: Which brand of paper towel absorbs the most water? We dipped one sheet of each brand into a beaker with 100 mL of water for 10 seconds, let it drip over the beaker for 30 seconds, and then measured the water left in the beaker with a graduated cylinder. Water absorbed = 100 mL minus what was left. We did three trials for each brand.

Your report needs these parts, in this order:

1. Title, your name, the date, and your class period
2. Question
3. Hypothesis – use "If... then... because..."
4. Materials
5. Procedure – numbered steps. Someone who wasn't in class should be able to do the lab just by reading them.
6. Data table – all three trials for each brand, plus the average for each brand
7. Bar graph of the averages – give it a title and label both axes (with units!)
8. Conclusion – Was your hypothesis supported? Use your numbers to explain. Name the independent variable, the dependent variable, and at least two constants. What would you change if you did it again?

Neat handwriting or typed is fine. If you were absent for the lab, the class data is posted on the bulletin board in Room 114. Late lab reports lose 10% per day.

Class Supply List

Lab Safety Rules

Safety comes first in Room 114, every time. Everyone signed a safety contract the first week, and you must follow these rules to take part in labs. If you haven't turned in your signed contract, please bring it in!

Lincoln Science Fair 2000
Thursday, February 10, 2000 · 6:30–8:00 PM · Lincoln Gym

Every 7th grader will do a Science Fair project this year! You may work alone or with one partner. Families are invited to come see the projects on Science Fair night. It's always one of my favorite nights of the year.

Timeline

The Steps of the Scientific Method

1. Ask a question that you can answer by doing an experiment.
2. Do background research. Use the library, encyclopedias (books or CD-ROM), magazines, and web sites that a grown-up says are reliable.
3. Form a hypothesis: "If I do this, then this will happen, because..."
4. Test it with an experiment. Change only ONE variable at a time, keep everything else the same, and do at least three trials.
5. Record and analyze your data. Make tables and graphs.
6. Draw a conclusion. Was your hypothesis supported? It's OK if it wasn't! That's still good science.
7. Communicate your results (that's what the Science Fair is for!).

Good Project Ideas

• Does the temperature of water change how fast sugar dissolves?
• Which material keeps an ice cube from melting the longest?
• Does the height you drop a ball from change how high it bounces?
• Does a tennis ball bounce higher when it's warm or cold?
• How does the amount of salt in water change how long it takes to freeze?
• How does the amount of sunlight a bean plant gets affect how tall it grows?
• Do seeds sprout faster in a warm place or a cool place?
• Which paper airplane design flies the farthest?
• Which brand of AA battery lasts longest in a flashlight?

Please avoid: anything with fire or dangerous chemicals, anything that could hurt an animal, growing mold or bacteria at home, and taste tests with no real measurements. And no baking soda volcanoes, please! A volcano is a model, not an experiment. :-)

Science Fact of the Week Sept. 20–24, 1999 Fall officially begins this Thursday, September 23, on the autumnal equinox. The word "equinox" comes from Latin words that mean "equal night." But here's the surprise: on the equinox, the day is actually a little longer than the night! Sunrise and sunset are counted when the top edge of the Sun is at the horizon, not the middle, and our atmosphere bends the sunlight so we can see the Sun for a few minutes before it's really up. Check the sunrise and sunset times in the newspaper on Thursday and see for yourself! Past Facts of the Week: Sept. 13–17: Water expands about 9% when it freezes. That's why ice floats, and why a full can of soda can burst in the freezer. Sept. 7–10: Sound travels about four times faster through water than through air. Aug. 30–Sept. 3: An adult has 206 bones, but a newborn baby has about 300. Some of them grow together as we get older!

Cool Science Pages Here on GeoCities

• Backyard Birds of Wisconsin – A retired couple keeps a list of every bird that has visited their backyard, with the month and year they first saw it. That's careful observation and record keeping, just like we practice in class!
• The Athens neighborhood – more pages by teachers and students.

For parents with questions about the family computer and Y2K, Brian's PC Help Page has a very clear checklist.

For Parents

Please e-mail me any time at [email protected]! I check my e-mail every evening, and I will answer within one day (usually the same night). If you'd like to set up a conference, e-mail me or contact the school office. Extra help: I'm in Room 114 before school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for extra help and to make up missed labs. Everyone is welcome! To report an absence, please contact the school office rather than e-mailing me, so it gets recorded.