Tuesday, May 29, 2012

SENIORS TAKE NOTE: CLIMATE, FOSSIL FUELS, RENEWABLE ENERGY, DEADLINES!

Seniors will take their final this week.  

A Study Guide was issued at the beginning of Tuesday's classes.  

There will be an after-school study session tomorrow (Wednesday, May 30th) for the Senior Final between 3:00 and 5:00 in Room N-63.   Those seniors who attend the two-hour session will earn ten points of extra credit and have their questions answered.  

Mr. Hatfield will be available at lunch and after school on both Tuesday and Wednesday.  Additional time is available on exam day at lunch for Seniors who haven't completed their final.


Links to Power Point notes are found below:

FOSSIL FUELS


GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE


IPCC FINDINGS


HYDROELECTRIC AND GEOTHERMAL POWER


SOLAR POWER


ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

BIOLOGY: THE FINAL SYLLABUS

This is the last syllabus, covering the nervous system, vertebrate and primate evolution as well as a comprehensive review of evolution.  There will be some in-class assignments (video handouts) that can be completed that day in class which are not shown due to space limitations.   Seniors will have the opportunity to submit all the RA's, but must do so before May 31st.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA: VIDEO AND STUDY GUIDE

Episodes from PBS's "Evolution" series have been previously featured in instruction.   The centerpiece of that series, a two-hour episode entitled "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", will be shown in class in its entirety over the course of several lessons (we are, in fact, close to completing it).   Students have been given a study guide to this video, which not only uses actors to reenact key events in Darwin's life, but provides vivid demonstrations of Darwin's ideas, and how scientists explore these ideas today.

Students will be expected to complete the study guide based on the video, which will involve writing short responses (1-2 paragraphs) to a series of prompts to specific parts of the video.   As such, they may find it necessary to review the video.  

The paragraphs generated by students will be critical to completing their final quarter project in this course, so it is vital that all students complete the study guide immediately.


Here is Part 1, courtesy of Google Video:




 Here is Part 2:




Here is the PBS web site that accompanies the series.

You can also watch the videos there, but they are lower in resolution.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: CLIMATE AND FOSSIL FUELS




Wednesday, May 2, 2012

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: "WILD WEATHER: COLD!"



Here is the Donal McIntyre video on cold weather.   Note the information on polar winds moving to the south from the Arctic 'desert', the limits on human exposure to cold, what causes frostbite and the powerful winds at Mt. Washington.   Notice the concept of 'wind chill'.   Be aware that you are responsible to learn how to calculate wind chill factor as part of the "The Weather: Cold" handout.