So Proud of you all!!!

Expectations are GREAT things. You should always try to live up to them and embrace the expectations placed upon you by yourself and others. You never know what you will achieve when you try to meet those expectations! Our goal was a class average of 22 out of 25 on the quiz.

On our first key terms quiz, none of the classes met this challenge.

On our second key terms quiz, one class hit the mark AND all classes improved their scores.

On our most recent quiz, two classes hit 22! Good job to all. You studied hard and deserve your success.



But the fun is not over. It is time to find out what Detective Finan knows! Check out the Extra Credit Assignment in the Resources page (Det. Finan and the Disappearing Pencils) to find out how it ends and earn some extra points. The extra credit will be due on Friday, May 2. Have fun and enjoy!

Ready for the Quiz?

We are looking for a classroom average of 22/25! Can we do it? I believe so. To help with the types of evidence please check out the evidence review PowerPoint in the resources tab. Study hard and good luck!

4-28 Bell Work

Observations! How observant are you?

What are the differences between the two pictures?

Daily CSI Challenge (4-24)

#1: David was sitting in his hotel room reading a book, when he heard a knock at the door, and the sound of someone trying the door handle. He opened the door, where he saw a man whom he had never seen before.

The man said, "I'm terribly sorry ... I thought this was my room. Wrong floor, I guess." He then walked off down the hall toward the elevator.

David went back into his room, thought about what had just happened, and then phoned the front desk, suggesting they call the police, since the man at the door had obviously been a thief.

Why was David so sure the man had been a thief?

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#2: The clock in the courthouse ahead of Max showed six o'clock. As it began chiming, he noticed a tall man with a briefcase walking towards him. The man turned around, looked at the clock, and then quickened his steps. He took an envelope and dropped it in a mailbox as he continued on. Max moved faster, too. Miss Fritz had invited him for dinner. He didn't want to be late.

"I'm glad you could come," Harborville's oldest music teacher said. "I've made a lovely salad for us." She gestured Max to a chair. "Good thing I prepared ahead. A surprise visitor just left."

"Who visited?" Max asked.

"A teacher from Harborville's School for the Deaf,” she replied. “He was totally deaf himself; poor man, but he could read lips perfectly. He had the loveliest penmanship when he wanted to tell me something." 

"Why was he here?" he asked.

She said, "Well, evidently the school is low on funds. I was glad to help out. I had just cashed my social security check so I was able to give him five hundred dollars."

"Did he just leave?” he asked. “Was he a tall man with a brief case?"

"Yes," she replied.

"We'd better phone the police. I think that man was a phony. I know for sure he wasn't totally deaf."

How did Max figure it out?

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Don't forget to look at the Forensic Science Key Terms on the resources page. It is updated with the correct definitions. Have a great week and a wonderful weekend!

Daily CSI Challenges

#1

An inconsiderate slob dumped trash on Rachel Rabbit's lawn. One of these two suspects is guilty. Slylock Fox found evidence that may identify the loathsome litterbug.

What did Slylock observe to help him identify the trash tosser?

#2

Harborville's Beach Snack Shop had been open only an hour when Max stopped in and noticed a new poster announcing a price increase. "I put the sign up this morning," Mr. Levine told him. "I had to raise my prices 10% because I have so many new expenses. Like now I need a new window for my back room. Somebody broke it, trying to get into my store last night."

"Have you called the police?" Max asked. Mr. Levine replied, "No. Nothing was stolen." He led Max to a small storeroom in the back and said, “I use this space as an office. Sat here and made my price change poster last night. Soon as I was done, I left it on that old desk. I locked the door to the main part of my store when I left, so whoever got in was stuck in this little storeroom. There’s nothing here to steal."

When Max left he wandered down to the break wall, where Nathan and Trevor were fishing. "Did you hear that somebody broke a window at the Shack?" he asked. "Nope," Nathan said. "We've been here since dawn and haven't talked to anybody." Trevor gestured to the bucket. "We've caught some big ones." Nathan stood. "But now I'm starving. I've got a dollar left from my allowance. If Mr. Levine is there now, I'm going up to the Shack to get a Big Beach Bun."

"Better get another dime from somewhere," Trevor told him. "A dollar's not enough any more. As for me, I'm going home to get a couple sandwiches for myself."

"You both stay right here," Max said. "I know which one of you broke that window. You'd better think of a way to pay for it, because I'm telling Mr. Levine."

How did Max figure it out?

Forensic Science Mystery Bellwork

#1: One Saturday morning Nina saw the three musketeers in the mall. Jenny, Brittany, and Mitzi called themselves by that name because they always were together.

 
"I've been shopping for sandals," Jenny told Nina. "But I have such a wide foot nothing seems to fit. We've been looking everywhere."

"And it's been slow going," Mitzi added. "On account of Brittany's-" "I know," Nina said looking at Brittany, "I heard you sprained your ankle in gym yesterday. Does it still hurt a lot?"

"It's okay as long as I move really slowly," Brittany told her. "We're going to get ice cream at the Just Desserts Shop now. Want to join us?"  "Better not,” Nina said, “ Max is meeting me at home. See you later." 

Nina was taking a short cut through Harborville's city park when she saw Mr. Hansen kneeling beside a new sidewalk. The city maintenance man frowned as she drew closer. "Somebody jumped right in the middle here while the cement was still wet," he said, pointing at two narrow footprints embedded in the concrete. 

"Now I'll have to rip out this section and re-do it. Sure can't leave the sidewalk looking like this!"

"Any idea of who did it?" Nina asked.

"A kid over there on the slide said that girls named Brittany, Mitzi, and Jenny were the only ones near here. But he doesn't know which one ruined my sidewalk."

"I know who did it," Nina declared.

How did Nina figure it out?

#2: There was nothing Leon, the driver, could do about the impending crash of the car he was driving. Leon knew the car would be completely demolished in the crash.  After the crash Leon didn’t have a scratch on him.  How can that be?

                                                    What is Forensic Science
Here is a short video about what a Forensic Scientist does.

Help with questions today (4-14-14)

Here are a couple of videos that might help with the questions in class today.

Quiz on Wednesday! Be prepared!

Our goal for this quiz is for all classes to have an average score of 22/25. Together we can achieve great things but we must support and care for one another!! The quiz will be over the water cycle diagram (resources), water cycle key terms (resources), Solutions and solution terms (resources). Go over your terms and try to really apply the definitions to real world situations (think about West Virginia water article). I do not want you to just memorize words but rather search for connections in your world. Below is some information on Solutions. It might be helpful as you prepare for the quiz.

Solutions and Mixtures

Before we dive into solutions, let's separate solutions from other types of mixtures. Solutions are groups of molecules that are mixed up in a completely even distribution. Hmmm. Not the easiest way to say it. Scientists say that solutions are homogenous systems. Everything in a solution is evenly spread out and mixed together. Other types of mixtures can have a little more of one thing (higher concentration) on one side of the liquid when compared to the other side. Let's compare sugar in water (H₂O) to sand in water. Sugar dissolves and is spread throughout the glass of water. The sand sinks to the bottom. The sugar-water could be considered a solution. The sand-water combination is a mixture. 

Can anything be in a Solution?

Pretty much. Solutions can be solids dissolved in liquids. When you work with chemistry or even cook in your kitchen, you will usually be dissolving solids into liquids. Solutions could also be gases dissolved in liquids (such as carbonated water). There can also be gases in other gases, and liquids in liquids. If you mix things up and they stay at an even distribution, it is a solution. You probably won't find people making solid-solid solutions. They usually start off as solid/gas/liquid-liquid solutions and then harden at room temperature. Alloys with all types of metals are good examples of a solid solution at room temperature. 

SOLUTION	EXAMPLE
Gas-Gas Gas-Liquid Gas-Solid Liquid-Liquid Liquid-Solid Solid-Solid	Air Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in Soda Hydrogen (H2) in Palladium (Pd) Metal Gasoline Dental Fillings Metal Alloys Such as Sterling Silver

A simple solution is basically two substances that are going to be combined. One of them is called the solute. A solute is the substance to be dissolved (sugar). The other is a solvent. The solvent is the one doing the dissolving (water). As a rule of thumb, there is usually more solvent than solute. Be patient with the next sentence as we put it all together. The amount of solute that can be dissolved by the solvent is defined assolubility. That's a lot of "sol" words. 

Science has special names for everything. There are names for the different types of homogenous mixtures. Solutions refer to these mixtures when the particles are very small. You may hear about colloids. Colloids are just solutions with much bigger particles. Colloids are usually foggy or milky when you look at them. In fact, milk is an emulsified colloid. You may also hear about colloids if you study soil. Milk is an organic colloid, while soils can be made up of inorganic colloids, such as clay. 

Making Solutions

So, what happens? How do you make that solution? Mix the two liquids and stir. It's that simple. Science breaks it into three steps. When you read the steps, remember...
Solute=Sugar
Solvent=Water
System=Glass.

1. The solute is placed in the solvent and the concentrated solute slowly breaks into pieces. If you start to stir the liquid, the mixing process happens much faster.

2. The molecules of the solvent begin to move out of the way and they make room for the molecules of the solute. Example: The water has to make room for the sugar molecules to spread out.

3. The solute and solvent interact with each other until the concentration of the two substances is equal throughout the system. The concentration of sugar in the water would be the same from a sample at the top, bottom, or middle of the glass.

Can Anything Change Solutions?

Sure. All sorts of things can change the concentrations of substances in solution. Scientists use the word solubility. Solubility is the ability of the solvent (water) to dissolve the solute (sugar). You may have already seen the effect of temperature in your classes. Usually when you heat up a solvent, it can dissolve more solid materials (sugar) and less gas (carbon dioxide). If your friend was mixing sugar and water, she would be able to dissolve a lot more sugar into hot water rather than cold.

Next on the list of factors is pressure. When you increase the surrounding pressure, you can usually dissolve more gases in the liquid. Think about your soda can. It is able to keep the fizz inside, because the contents of the can are under higher pressure. Think about a bottle of soda. The first time you open the bottle, a lot of bubbles come out. If you open and close it over a few hours, fewer and fewer bubbles will come out of the solution. When you opened the bottle the first time, you lost the high pressure that was keeping the carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas in solution.

Last is the structure of the substances. Some things dissolve easier in one kind of substance as opposed to another. Sugar dissolves easily in water and oil does not. Water has a low solubility when it comes to oil. Since oil is not soluble in water, it will never truly dissolve. Oil and water is a mixture, not a solution. The two types of molecules (oil and water) are not evenly distributed in the system.

Water Cycle Video - Watch Tonight!

Are you still wondering about the Water Cycle? Here is a video that takes you through the entire process. Enjoy!

Water Cycle



Look at all of these big words! Yikes! They are really not that daunting when you spend a little time looking at them more closely. We will begin to look at the Water Cycle today and over the next week. Check out this great website (Interactive Water Cycle) to learn more. Also look in the resources folder for a document on the water cycle...good definitions in an easy to understand format.