Advanced Thinking Science

In Advanced Thinking Science for each lab, students are given a problem to
evaluate. They will first have to create a hypothesis for the outcome of the
problem. After creating a hypothesis, student will test this problem in a safe and
organized way. Throughout testing, they will record their Independent Variables,
Dependent Variables, Controlled Variables, and their data. Along with these
recordings, students are urged to create sketches, notes, and other questions that
they may encounter during experimenting. After this data has been recorded,
students will then graph what they have discovered. This graph is a visual way of
showing whether or not the experiment has a positive relationship or a negative
relationship. (This can also result in No Relationship, if all data cancels out.) After
this, students will compare and contrast their data to their proposed hypothesis.
Students will then assess the experiments flaws and consider investigating farther
into the problem that they started with.





Inquiry
First the student must find the importance of the question, and examine what the
question is asking or what the problem needs to be solved. Before beginning the
testing process explained before, the student were to come up with a testable
hypothesis. The hypothesis is a prediction of what the outcome of the experiment
will be. It will be stated like this: As the Independent Variable
increases/decreases, the Dependent Variable will increase/decrease. The
hypothesis must be testable and will predict what the student believes will occur
during experiment. The students will use their intelligence and hypothesis to
identify one Independent Variable, one Dependent Variable, and all Controlled
Variables. Independent Variables are variables in the students experiment that is
allowed to be changed. Dependent Variables are defined and cannot be changed
by the experimenter but can be changed by the Independent Variable. Controlled
Variables are parts of an experiment that can never change. If changed, the
experiment will be incorrect.



Testing
Prior to beginning the testing process you must first have completed your
inspection of the problem, and your hypothesis. Apply all classroom rules to your
testing procedures. Do all experiments in a safe and organized way. First step is to
make sure you are wearing the proper safety equipment. You will need: Goggles,
Rubber Gloves, a Rubber-Coated Apron, and Close Toed Shoes. (Girls must have
long hair tied back or out of the way.) Next you will need to acquire all the
necessary supplies. Place all supplies out in an organized way, so that you know
where to find them when they are needed. Once the process has begun, create
notes, sketches, and further questions. The appropriate method for acquiring
information is to repeat each level of an experiment four times. This is so that the
data can be averaged. Therefore creating more accurate data.






Conclusions
After experimenting, student will conclude that the experiment has either a
positive relationship, negative relationship, or no relationship. Next, they will
compare their conclusion to the hypothesis made before beginning the
experiment. It is recommended to study other reports of the problem, to see
different outcomes. After doing so, the student must find out what errors they
may have made during the experiment, then tell how they could have
fixed/improved upon this error. Using all the data they have collected, students
will then either try to fix their errors or record their data as accurate.













Chemistry Unit

In the Advanced Thinking Science Chemistry Unit, students are required to
describe substances based on their chemical and physical properties. Physical
properties are color, odor, density, hardness, and melting and boiling point.
Chemical properties are flammability, reactivity with acid, and biodegradability.
After this, students will describe elements and tell how energy is stored in
chemicals and how the chemicals change in ways such as formation of precipitate,
evolution of a gas, color change, absorption, or release of energy. Students are
required to describe substances based on their physical and chemical properties
using the information on the page before. Students will explore compounds.
Compounds are built by combining different elements. The compounds physical
properties could change a lot.






Matter Properties
Matter Properties are physical and chemical properties.
Physical Properties are:
Color
Odor
Density
Hardness
Melting and Boiling Point
Chemical Properties are:
Flammability
Reactivity with Acid
And Biodegradability




Phase Change
Phase change is when substances change in a physical way. Students will design a
model of phase change, then explain how the molecular motion is like the
temperature. Students then are required to show how matter and energy interact
during phase change.





Phase Change
When talking about chemical change, students must describe the substances
energy and identify the chemical properties of chemical change. If not already
knows, a chemical change is when a substance changes on a molecular level. The
signs of chemical change can be seen in creation of gas and precipitants, changing
of color, and changing of temperature.






Atom
Students will explore the components of an atom.







Periodic Trends

Students will have to work with periodic trends by applying previous information.
Students will need to know the following:
Periods Horizontal Rows
Groups Vertical Rows
Atomic Radius Size of Atom
Metallic Characteristic Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids. (left to right
on table.
You will also need to know the two types of bonds. Covalent is Non-Metal to Non-
Metal. Ionic is Non-Metal to Metal.







Physics Unit
Students will need to use their own knowledge to find the velocity of a given
object. This will involve the application of Newtons laws. Velocity is the speed of
an object moving in a straight line. It is found by doing speed/time. Acceleration is
an increase in speed. When using Newtons laws, make sure to focus most on the
Third Law which is for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The
first law an object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion unless
acted upon by an outside force.


Big Bang
The Big Bang Theory is the commonly regarded theory of the creation of the
universe. The Big Bang occurred roughly 13.7 billion years ago. Before the Big
Bang happened, our universe was made up of only hot and dense matter.
Hydrogen and Helium were the first elements that would be found in our
universe. Due to a gravitational force, it later collapsed in on itself. Therefore
started the expansion of the universe (the Big Bang.)