Semester 2 Science Reflection

 Overview:

During this Semester we covered two main topics: Chemistry and Physics. In our chemistry unit, we learned about everything from the level of particles, which was something new to me. We also did experiments with several different solutions and looked at the physical and chemical changes different substances went through. It was really fun conducting experiments with my classmates with different substances, and I also really liked making smores in class. In our physics unit, we learned about the forces around us, as well as how different simple machines work. We learned how these simple machines use mechanical advantage to make work easier. 

Creativity:

Science isn't a class where creativity is used often, but this semester, we got several chances to use our creativity for different projects. The picture on the left shows my partner Nick and I working on a poster which was in a lab we conducted about asteroids. We were testing to see whether the mass of an asteroid affects the mass of the ejecta. We got to design the best poster we could, and it had to express our findings from the lab in a creative way. We used many different colors and drawings to show our findings. I explain our findings using the poster in this video: "Asteroid Lab Poster Explanation".

Collaboration:

In science, we had several different desk partners throughout the year. This gave us a chance to work with a new set of people, and we also learned how to collaborate and contribute to our work equally. For example, in the picture to the left, Nick and I were working on making our landing pad for the egg drop assignment. We shared our ideas on what we thought was the best way to save the egg from cracking, and we came up with a final design which we ended up calling "Jerome".

Critical Thinking:

Science is a subject in which we always need to think critically. Throughout the semester, we were challenged with many different tasks in which we had to relate our knowledge from class and use it in the real world. An example of this is when we did the "74 - Simple Machines in the Real World" assignment. For this, we had to take a picture from the internet and calculate the mechanical advantage of levers in the real world.

Content Knowledge:

Knowing how to use the information we learn in class is crucial for science. We were tested on the strength of our content knowledge throughout the year, but one of the most memorable times we were tested on this is when we did the "Cool Soda Lab". One of the reasons that it was the most memorable is because I ended up winning a can of Coke in the end as a prize. However, the main reason is because it was one of the most interesting labs we did. We had to test to see which chemicals would help cool a soda down the most. We used the information about energy transfer we learned in class to help us decide which chemicals cool soda down the most, and then my partner Anish and I came up with this conclusion: "Anish and Krishu CER Cool Soda Lab".

Conclusion:

Science this semester has always incorporated these DSLO's in our learning. These help us learn better and allow us to use what we learn in class in our everyday lives. These DSLO's are the reason science was a productive and fun class throughout the semester. The fact that we can show all the DSLO's in our learning amazed me, and I learned even better by incorporating them into my learning.