Friday, February 25, 2011

Urbas - Science Week of Feb 25 - March 3


Students this week have been working on mining and minerals. They worked as "miners" in order to try and determine whether an area was rich enough in mineral deposits to be profitable. The picture on the left shows a team probing a sample area and mapping the percentage of deposits in relation to land area.


Next week we are starting ISAT testing and students will be working on experiments based on Color and Light.


There is also an extra credit option available for Saturday Feb. 26. Information can be found on my BLOG home page under Extra Credit. All students need to do is go to the program and bring back proof of participation.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Urbas - Science Week of Feb. 18 - 25


Students this week tested the strength of their Tower constructions against Mr. Urbas's Epicenter Earthquake Machine. The students worked for approximately a week on their constructions, sharing ideas and strategies with their teamates. When the final day came, they were ready.


Although several of the Towers were able to withstand a Richter Scale rating of 7, not one was able to withstand the total 9 the machine can generate. This is the first time the machine actually won the battle against all contestants. At the end, most students wanted another shot at beating the Epicenter Machine. Some pictures are below.








Typical Tower with plates on three levels to simulate the load of a building.











This Tower was leaning a little bit before the start of the earthquake.












The remains of what once was a three story Tower at a Richter Scale reading of 7.









Friday, February 11, 2011

Urbas - Science Week of Feb. 11 - 17

This week in class, students put their finishing touches on their Tower constructions. Below are picture three of the groups that have made great progress in the process. On Monday, the Towers will be subjected to earthquake stresses up to a level of nine on the Richter Scale. Next week there should be some great pictures of the experiment. Stay tuned!








"All three levels are where they should be".













"Colorful and simple".











"I don't think everything is on the level"!










Friday, February 4, 2011

Urbas - Science Week of Feb. 4 - 10

Students have been busy this week building their Towers in class. That is until Wednesday, Groundhog's day, when we received a small amount of snow. Due to this minor problem, the Towers will not be due until Wednesday of next week. Below are some pictures of happy groups.






Three platforms done!














One level down, two to go!












Happiness is an almost complete Tower!