Correspondents - Something has changed

Correspondents - please email me. A change had to be made to the way blogger was working. The password had to be changed. Email and I'll explain.

FE8B Rube Goldberg

As Eric said in his blog, in FE8B we are also making a Rube Goldberg machine. Today we came up with the main plan as a class and starting next Science class we will start constructing the machine. Our plan went something like this:
1. the ball is in a car (wheel and axle) that goes down an inclined plane
2. the car hits a wedge and stops, but the momentum flings the ball out
3. there is a pulley balancing with a cup at one end and a weight at the other and the ball lands in the cup, moving the cup downwards
4. the cup lands on a 1st class lever and tips over, rolling the ball into a cup on the other end of the lever
5. the cup goes back up the pulley as it is now lighter than the weight on the other end of the pulley
6. the weight comes down and hits the end of the lever to launch the ball
7. the ball lands in a funnel and goes around and around (like a screw) and then into a tube
8. the tube shoots the ball out to hit a 3rd class lever that spins around in a circle, hitting the handle on a driver gear on its way
9. the lever comes back and hits the ball onto the gear train that would be already moving
10. the ball would ride along the gear train that looks kind of like a bike chain and gears as there is a driver gear at one end and a slave gear at the other, connected by a chain
11. the ball will have moved accross the room and into the bucket!
I know it sounds confusing, but I think we can make it work. It seems like fun, if anything.
Until next Wednesday,
- K
P.S. I just wanted to put it out there that its not supposed to SNOW in OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!! I'm not ready for Winter yet!... :(

Da word in FE8A

Halloween video
Halloween is on Friday!! Plus the class auction is on Friday there will be many great prizes that can be bought. In class we have been designing the Rube Goldberg machine which must be finished by Nov. 12. Next each person will write a research paper on a company who uses their simple machine in their manufacturing process. The groups consist of lever, wedge, screw, pulley,and a wheel and axle. Today in class we all came up with ideas and put them all together and got 1 very big and good machine. Like the bike in the picture the are many simple machines like wheel and axle for both the gears and the wheel. Plus the pedals are levers. put it all together and this machine is much faster than walking resulting in a huge mechanical advantage.

Next time Eric :p

Sample vs. Census in the Election

In FE8B Math we have been doing Data Management. We have been learning about different kinds of graphs, how to infer things from a set of data, measures of Central Tendancy (mean, median, mode), if data is biased or reliable (which I talked about in my last blog), and data collected from a sample versus a census.
I was thinking about where you would see samples instead of a census in the real world and one obvious thing came to mind - polls that were predicting the Canadian Election and the actual results. On nodice.ca (http://www.nodice.ca/elections/canada/polls.php), the last poll posted before the actual results was a sample taken from a company called "Angus Reid Strategies". Compared to election results, they were pretty close. Here are what they said (ordered Bloc Quebecios, Conservative, Green Party, Liberal, NDP):
Agus Reid Strategies: 9%, 37%, 7%, 27%, 20%
Canada: 10%, 37.6%, 6.8%, 26.2%, 18.2%
As you can see, the results are very similar. However, if you look at a sample taken from three and a half weeks ago (Sept. 25th) from the same company, the results are very different. The Liberals and NDP are tied, and the Conservatives are much higher. Therefore, some of the samples are close, but some aren't, so you have to be careful as the sample could be almost exact, or way off.
One last thought: Even the election results aren't a census. Only 59% of Canadian citizens elidgable to vote did, so therefore the results are still only a sample. I wonder how the results would change if ALL Canadians 18+ voted...
Until Next Wednesday,
-K

Just another Blog

What an exciting week!!! Learning about structures and the conditions and terms to building structures is all so fun! Just recently we have done a reading and writing quiz/test on structures. Good thing class FE7B's love and passion for science made all the work easy to handle. Just today we had to make a structure that could withstand the weight of multiple textbooks. The team with the structure that could hold the most textbooks won! Our winners held seven textbooks but the all time record for this task was about 36 textbooks! This is an equivalent to 170 pounds! The record holding structure was shell structure made up of three cylinders that were spread apart and attached by tape. The tape would help so the cylinders would not shoot outwards when pressure was applied to it. Because the cylinders were spread out, the weight would also be spread out so the force would not be as strong on the structure. Congratulations to everybody who participated!







Math class in Fe7B is just as exciting! So far in data management, we have learned about paradox data and biased graphs. Most people do not realize that we see biased graphs every single day! Even when watching t.v you can see biased graphs that company's use for advertisement. Today I found a biased graph in The Globe And Mail and here are some pictures of it so all you readers can see them too.


The graph on the left is not biased but the graph on the right is. The newspaper wanted to emphasize how Apple's iPhone has been making many sales recently.







You can see that the reason for the problem is that the scale's intervals are very far apart.

Thank you for reading! Have a fun P.A day this Friday!

stuff happening in FE8A

KEEP YOUR EARS OPEN ! The census and sample unit test will be told soon in class this week so be
sure listen well for the date. On the topic of math we are into the new unit data-management, in this
unit we will cover ways to collect, organize, and graph data. Thursday in class each student conducted a survey on a topic of their choice then toke the data and organized it into a pie-graph. In science we have been learning about simple machines like pulleys, incline plane, screw, wedge, and wheel and axle. After
learning about these machines we will construct a Rube Goldberg machine to move a golf ball across the
class room.

Eric leis -C ya.

Hello there! Sorry for my post being late!! I think the thanksgiving turkey got to my head! So far in class FE7B math we have just started a new unit of data management! Recently we have been learning about stem and leaf plots and taking collected data and putting them into graphs, comparing different graphs and what data is suitable for what graphs etc. This new unit will help us students process different information and explore different types of graphs as well. Although, this new unit may be fun, it can also be challenging so do not forget about Mr.Foster's extra help days before and after school. You can even show up just to play some mind-challenging games.





Science in FE7B is becoming more interesting by the day!! After finishing up our safety unit, we are now entering a new unit of structures! Soon all our questions about structures will be answered. So, far we have learned about the three main types of structures. Solid, Frame, and shell.

Here is an example of a solid structure:

*A dam


Here is an example of a frame structure:

* A frame of a house

Here is an example of a shell structure:

*A hot air balloon

In FE8B Math we have been learning about different kinds of surveys like a census or a sample and how to tell if they are biased or reliable. I think it's interesting stuff to learn because you can use it in the future if, let's say, you were reading a survey that said 90% of Canadians' favourite sport is Beach Volleyball. But then, maybe it was only a sample taken from the people who went to Ashbridge's Bay, Toronto in a certain week. And maybe it was biased because the only people interviewed were those who were at the beach volleyball courts. So, therefore, you have to find out who was actually surveyed for the data before you take it extremely seriously. I'm not postive, but I'm pretty sure that not 90% Canadians think Beach Volleyball is their favourite sport, but it could easily be true about people playing Beach Volleyball at a beach.

In FE8B Science we are learning about simple machines and mechanical advantage. This knowledge will then be used in our making of the Rube Goldberg machines. It is cool to learn about the 6 simple machines (inclined plane, lever, wheel and axle, screw, wedge/gear, and pulleys) because you realize how much they are used in our lives. For example, in the summer I go to sailing camp and on a sailboat there are so many different pulleys. I never really realized it before, but there are aleast 7 pulleys on a sailboat that I can think of at the moment. Also on a sailboat are two 1st class levers: the centre board and the rudder. Here is a diagram of them all, the pulleys are green and the levers are red.



So that is what we have been learning in Math and Science and I personally am very excited for the Science unit especially as making the Rube Goldberg machine seems fun and interesting.
Until Next Wednesday,
-K

Riverdale Art Show 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,





Please come make the last Riverdale Art Show a fantastic send-off to a great 20 year span of artists. Jenny Reid has run the show with her husband Neville Reid at St. Barnabas Church on the Danforth. The congregation has also supported this show for many years under the tutelage of Jenny and many church administrators including Debra Koscec, my mother-in-law (see below).





Glenview Teacher and amateur photographer, Dan Foster, will be on hand trading donations to the show for work he has produced over the few years he has been in Toronto. Please come support local painters and photographers like me on Friday October 17th (6:30 - 10:30pm) and Saturday October 18th (9:00 - 5pm). Donations are given to the church and the artists are given a chance to get their names out. Some really great work will be shown by artists who are not starving. May we help those who are though through this important work.





Rustic Barn, shown here, was a favourite last year. Let's hope we can sell it again. It is larger (11x17) than last years. 4 other new works (if they get printed, oh please, oh please, oh please)

Branksome Teacher, Samantha Koscec has also produced new work for this show and will be on hand to discuss the creative things she did with her work. Truly wonderful stuff but not for me to publish. An opening should have some surprises shouldn't it?

Thanks for reading.

Mr. F

PS: Maybe we see you @ St. Barnabas?

video
I hope everybody had a good thanksgiving.
For the next few weeks we will be making Rube Goldberg machines. A Rube Goldberg machines is a big machine made of smaller machines in order to complete a simple task like turning off an alarm clock. Rube machine video This is a video of a Japanese Rube machine that makes soup by pushing a toy car. I personally like these machines and the one we make in class will be very good. see ya in a week
Eric

Another Wednesday, Another Blog Post

In FE8B Science we have started to make our "Skills Levers". I'm not quite sure what they will end up doing, probably something to do with "skills", but I am sure they will be interesting and cool. To make the lever, each group had to measure out and cut (with Dustless Cutters) 8 pieces of wood and then glue them together in a certain layout. We also had to drill a few holes (using a Hand Drill) in order to push a skewer through and make the fulcrum for the lever to move on. I would try to explain what the lever looks like, but it's kind of difficult and I wouldn't want to confuse you. I would probably confuse myself, too... Anyways - making the lever was fun, even though using the tools sometimes was nerve-wracking because you don't want to mess up and ruin the project for your whole group. Everything turned out fine though. Well actually, now that I think back on it, there's kind of a funny story that happened:
To drill the holes, you have to make a dent in the wood where the drill bit will go in (called a pilot hole) first with and awl. An awl is a tool that has a sharp point used for making pilot holes. Anyways, a girl in my group was making a pilot hole, but Mr. F said she needed to push harder on the awl. Even after she started pushing harder, Mr. F was still not happy and decided to show her how to do it. Then, he basically smacked the awl REALLY hard and split our wood in half. (Everything was okay though after some Wood Glue). I'm sorry to be telling this story to everyone Mr. F, but that was pretty hilarious, I'm not going to lie. :)
Well that's all for now.
Until next Wednesday,
-K

The math and science update

Currently class FE7B has been working very hard in class. Firstly, with a new science project where we have to make a very nice poster using as many materials as possible to really send the message of safety and awareness when using tools. New ideas are sprouting everyday. With quizzes on tools this past week, now class FE7B can share their knowledge on safety with other classes around the school. Science is a very fascinating subject but in order to work with fascinating tools, you have to be prepared! You must learn to crawl before you walk.

Now math is a completely different story!!! We have been learning about problem solving and have just finished our last test in everything we've learned so far such as exponents, squares, decimals, place value etc. Now we have been given a sheet about these mysterious problems about "magic squares". We had to add and subtract the numbers given to us in a form of a sqaure have the same sum for every row, column, and diagonal. Who knows what this new unit will bring us!!

Is this fair?

I took this picture while I was out biking on Saturday morning (around 9:30am).

I was collecting images for a structures unit I am working on and happened to see this picture waiting to be taken.

The officer of the car was up the street writing tickets for illegally parked cars. I wonder if he actually read the sign post that he parked in front of or just assumed that because he was writing tickets for the same offense it would be fine (pun intended).

If you look carefully at the sign it says "No Parking 8am - 6pm, Monday to Saturday"

I think reading is one of those things you do to keep your brain engaged and toned like Math as K said.

FE8B - Science and Math

So, in FE8B Science we have been studying the hand tools we will use this year. We had tests that we have to get 100% on to pass, but only 2 people passed so we ended up writing our own questions to be on the test. We haven't gotten those tests back yet, but I think it was easier this time and more people will probably pass. We haven't been doing much else in Science.
In Math we have been doing many things including Prime Factorization, Exponents, Expanded Form Using Powers of Ten, Scientific Notation, Square Roots and Square Numbers, Factors and Multiples, and Order of Operations. I was thinking about when you will use these in real life situations, and I couldn't really come up with anything. We can use Exponents and Scientific Notation if there is a really big number we don't want to write all the digits of, but the rest I didn't know. So, I asked my older sister in grade 11 and my dad what they thought and they came up with a really good point: This just exercises our minds and makes them stronger. When we work hard at these equations, our brains get exercised and become more "in shape" each time. Then, other kinds of math we may encounter in the real world we be easier because we are "toned". Therefore, doing our homework - as boring or difficult as it may be - is worth it in the long run.
Until Next Wednesday,
-K