Wednesday, August 25

Today was the first day of Honors Chemistry class with Mr. Henderson. Class time included seating assignments, introductions, the reading of school policy statements, a short lesson on the nature of science, and a short lab (Lab MM1 - Observations Lab).

Mr. Henderson (whom we are allowed to call Mr. H) began class with seating assignments and attendance taking. He read two school policy statements (Academic Honesty and Alcohol/Drugs/Hazing) and then did an intriguing demo. Mr. H sprayed a sheet of white paper with Windex and the invisible message "Welcome to Chemistry" became visible in pink. After a little time, the message disappeared and became invisible once more. Nobody really knew how it worked and Mr. H didn't discuss it, so it must not be that important. But it was fascinating - something you don't see everyday.

Mr. H then talked introduced himself and the course. We had received two packets - The Honors Chemistry Survival Packet and the Unit 1 Packet - and a Course Notebook (composition book). Mr H did a quick review of the Survival Packet. He assigned it as a reading assignment and he requested that we come prepared to ask questions regarding its contents. He suggested that we tape pages 5-6 of the Survival Packet into the front of our course notebook. He also suggested that we tape pp. 7-8 (list of abbreviations) into the back of our course notebook. Mr. H then acquainted us with the Unit 1 Packet. He explained how its purpose was for our use in class to get us thinking about, learning and practicing chemistry. He pointed out the section of Reading Sheets and the Lab Description pages at the end of the packet.  Mr. H said that we could leave our textbook at home or wherever we plan to do our homework. And he said that we should bring a writing utensil, the Unit 1 Packet, a calculator and the course notebook to class everyday. 

After the logistical part of the class was completed, Mr. H discussed the topic of science. He told a story of how scientists (paleontologists, biomechanists, and computer scientists) figured out the running speed of the T-Rex (18 mi/hr). The point of the story seemed to be three-fold:

1. Science has a unique answer to the question "How do we know what we know?"
2. Science is concerned with the question "To what extent are we sure of what we know?
3. And science is different than our other subjects in the manner in which knowledge is acquired and accepted.

Mr. H said that "Science class is different than your other subjects because the room is bigger." Pause. He explained that the room doesn't end after the last row of students. The room continues to include the laboratory where the answers to questions can be found.  He said he wasn't sure if it was more correct to say that "The science room is bigger than your other subjects because science is different" or to say "Science class is different than your other subjects because the room is bigger." Either way, Mr. H made it clear that the laboratory plays a vital role in our learning in science class.

Mr. H wrote on the whiteboard, explaining that science follows a pattern. The process of science begins with a question. An experiment to answer the question is designed. Data and observations are collected and an answer to the original question is developed. Mr. H said that in the laboratory, the question is the Purpose of the lab and the answer is the Conclusion to the lab. The data and observations address the big questions of "How do we know what we know?" and "To what extent are we sure of what we know?" Mr. H emphasized that science is different than other subjects because the answers to questions are not found in the textbook, but in the back of the room.  Those answers may have found their way into our textbooks, but before they did someone found the answer in the back of the room.

The period ended with a short lab experience. Mr. H showed us how to use our lab notebooks; he emphasized that the right side of each open page is for labs; the left side is for class notes, reading notes, etc. We did Lab MM1 - Observation vs. Inference. Mr. H blew strange looking soap bubbles into the air and asked us to record observations and to make inferences. After several minutes of this, we discussed the difference between an observation and an inference. Several examples were given of each. We finished by writing a Conclusion.

In the last minute of class, Mr. H showed us how to view a short (3-minute) instructional video about logging into WebAssign. The second part of our homework assignment involved logging into WebAssign, changing our password and taking a short survey.