Unit 1 Study Guide 2008

For the District Unit 1 Test, you will be asked questions about the scientific method and measurement. Never fear, it is primarily stuff we have already gone over in class.

You need to know:

The three types of variables--Controlled, Independent and Dependent

How to read a thermometer (sometimes each line is two units)

How to read a graduated cylinder to find the volume of a liquid in milliliters (remember, you must measure from the bottom of the meniscus!)

How to read and interpret a graph, data chart, and data table

How to make predictions from a graph, data chart, and data table

The difference between inference and observation

The safety symbol for flammable materials and sharp objects

How to measure volume using the displacement method (ending volume – starting volume)

How to calculate the volume of a regular shaped object (length x width x height)

How to calculate density (mass ÷ volume)

The last 2 q’s are graphing questions. It is almost like I knew what was coming!! (Aren’t you glad, we practiced this with our Lab and P.O.D.!!) No wonder my students get the highest scores in the district. You must label a pie chart. You must properly format a line graph.

Remember: 1. DRY MIX 2. Scale 3. Plot Data

Open House Tonight!!

Welcome to 6th Grade Physical Science at Broadmoor Middle.
This class blog is used primarily to inform students about upcoming tests and post online study guides. The study guides generally have links embedded into them to give further information. My contact information is always on the board, on this site, and available from the school. Thanks for coming!

Unit 7 Exam Study Guide!!!

1. Remember average speed? You should. Avg. Speed = Distance (m) / Time (sec)

2. Friction is the force that opposes motion and transforms work into heat. Friction can be decreased by adding things like oil or water onto two surfaces that are rubbing together. Friction can be increased by adding things like sand or grit between two surfaces.

3. Know the three classes of levers:

1st Class— Fulcrum in the middle

2nd Class—Load is in the middle

3rd Class— Effort is in the middle

4. Work happens when an object is moved a distance by a force. If two forces are going the same direction they add together. If they are going opposite directions they will subtract from each other.

5. Machines make work easier.

6. Efficiency compares the output of a machine to the input: Efficiency = output work / input work x 100%

7. Power = work (j) / time (s)

8. Inclined planes (ramps) that are longer have more Mechanical Advantage.

9. You might also want to review the concepts of kinetic and potential energy and the law of conservation of energy from Unit 5.

Video Clips on Simple Machines

More Help For Unit 4 Test....

You need to be certain that you can interpret graphs that show the motion of an object.

There are 2 kinds of graphs on the test:

Speed Graphs: This is where DISTANCE is plotted against TIME

Acceleration Graphs: This is where SPEED is plotted against TIME

For some help remembering....click here. (You need to have PowerPoint to view this file)

Unit 4 Test Study Guide

You should know the following:
1. Speed = Distance ÷ Time and when we graph speed, distance is on the Y axis and time is on the X axis
Constant speed on a graph is a straight line.

2. Acceleration = Speed ÷ Time Constant acceleration is a straight line on a speed vs. time graph

3. Friction is when two surfaces rub against each other. Friction causes things to slow down. Friction is very important for brakes to work

4. Forces are pushes or pulls. They can add together (if they're going the same direction) or subtract from each other (if they are acting in opposite directions)

5. When there is no air resistance objects fall at the same speed and will hit the ground at the same time.

6. More mass, more inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to remain in motion or stay at rest.

7. What factors (kinds) of things affect the rate of an object accelerating:
mass: more mass = less acceleration less mass = more easily accelerated
force: more force = faster acceleration less force = slower acceleration

8. In order to test something you would:
A. Make a hypothesis: “IF I do _______________ , THEN I think _______________ will happen.”

B. Test the hypothesis: “I will change ____________ and record what happens. I will repeat it several times.

C. Analyze the data: “I wrote down my observations in this chart and then made a graph.”

D. Make conclusions based on facts: “When I did _______ the measurement changed to ________, this proves my hypothesis as correct.”

Unit 2 Test Study Guide

In addition to the things posted below about the Atom, you need to know the four states of matter:
Solids
Liquids
Gases
and Plasma

"Uhh, Mr. Finke...what is Plasma?"

Something we haven't studied that you really at this point only need to know is the fourth type of matter. Plasma= fourth type of matter that won't get talked about again for quite some time, just know it.

The little molecules in Solids do not move around but do vibrate in place. A lot like a very well-behaved class of kindergarteners. Sitting in one place.......but still vibrating. That is why solid stuff holds its shape.

The little molecules that make up Liquids do move around and are still fairly close together. They will move around and take the shape of whatever container they are poured into.

The molecules that make up Gases are moving around very rapidly and are very far apart. They will keep spreading apart until something stops them from spreading apart.

You should be able to draw the little boxes that we sketched in class that show the movement of the molecules for each state of matter. You can read up on these three states here.

Finally, you must know that water's boiling point in degrees Celsius is 100. Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius. As we add energy to a substance (like water), the molecules move faster and the substance heats up. As we take away energy from a substance (like water), the molecules move slower and the substance cools down.

Unit 2 On Atoms and Such

Our second unit of study for this year will focus on the atom, the smallest unit of matter that retains its unique properties.

"What? I don't understand a word you are saying, Mr. Finke!"

That's okay, you'll pick it up over time and with practice during class. Meanwhile, take some time to head over to science-class.net and check out the slideshow called "The Atom 2" for some review help. Out of all the models shown on that slideshow, you are only required to learn how to draw the BOHR model.

In order to draw a Bohr model, you really need to know the three all essential 
ATOMIC RULES!!!
Atomic # = # of Protons (P)
Atomic # = # of Electrons (E)

Atomic Mass = P + N

"Uhh, okay Mr. Finke, but I still have no idea where to get
that information."

Ah, yes. The actual information about each type of atom is found
in the Periodic Table.
Here is an example.
This link will give you all the information about each element.
We really only focus on the first 18 elements in the 6th grade.


You should also know:

How to determine what element is being represented by a Bohr
model shown to you.  IF the model shown has 6 protons it must be a
atomic model of Carbon, because only Carbon has 6 protons.  8 protons
would have to be Oxygen, etc....

You need to know that table salt is a compound made up of Sodium 
(Na) and Chlorine (Cl).
You need to know that Rust is made of Iron (Fe) and Oxygen (O).
You need to know that we cannot cut an atom of anything in half and
still have that same element, therefore an atom is the smallest unit of
an element that is still that element.