Possible+Themes+and+World+Issues

Some ideas on unit titles for an approximately 12 week physics "trimester"
//Ray Machines// (e.g. optical devices, sonar, earthquake location,...) //A Waving World// (focus on applications of wave concepts) //Other Mysteries// (polarization of light, information about chemistry, biology, geophysics, and astronomy from spectra and from interference phenomena) || //Conceptual Models// (Waves and Rays) //Controlled Experiments// (with mathematical relationships between variables) //Design Challenges// (Telescopes, projectors, etc.) || //Waves// //Sound// //Light// (possibly //Optics//) || //Communications// (via both sound and light) //Energy transfer// (via both mechanical and electromagnetic waves) ||
 * "Guiding Pedagogical Idea" || Possible Unit Titles ||
 * Combination of technology and concept themes ||
 * Skills and Concepts ||
 * Content Areas (as in our draft curriculum) ||
 * Other? ||


 * ~ Some Connections between Physics and Big Issues in the World ||
 * Communications * The Internet ([|fiber optics,] total internal reflection and critical angle, related to refraction of light, "dark" fiber glut)
 * Communications satellites (EM waves from oscillating electrons in a wire, )
 * Phones (sound--speakers and microphones, EM waves to and from cell phones)
 * Voice (the voice box, propagation of sound through the atmosphere, acoustics in an auditorium)
 * Antennas for focusing waves (this is related to reflection off of a flat surface) ||
 * Learning about the Universe
 * Spectral lines tell you about the composition of stars
 * Doppler shifts in spectral lines tell you about the motion of stars and galaxies
 * Spectral lines from a mineral sample can tell you about the elemental composition of that mineral, whether it is from Earth, Mars, or somewhere else
 * "Gravitational Lensing"--even gravity can act like a lens, bending the light of distant stars and galaxies
 * The finite speed of light was first estimated by looking at the moons of Jupiter over several years ||
 * Music
 * Acoustics (of a concert hall)
 * Musical instruments (wind instruments, string instruments) ||
 * Biology connections
 * The ear (sound)
 * The eye (light and lenses)
 * Sunburns and skin cancer
 * Fiber optics used in surgery to look into blood vessels or other
 * Solar radiation and the greenhouse effect
 * Special "night vision" goggles
 * Cameras with heat sensors to detect moving animals ||
 * Cameras with heat sensors to detect moving animals ||


 * Energy and the Environment** (with connections to waves); 8 weeks
 * Energy can move
 * Heat transfer
 * Physical motion of matter or stored energy
 * Waves carry energy
 * EM waves with energy in different wavelengths
 * (Wavelength, frequency, speed, and amplitude and concepts worth understanding for energy purposes)
 * Mechanical waves
 * Sound
 * Seismic and other through materials
 * (Waves also have their own interesting characteristics worth having some awareness of…) Quick mention of interference, diffraction, Doppler shifts, all in a single class period.
 * Energy can be “concentrated” in different densities
 * Potential energy in different fuels
 * Resonance of waves
 * Earthquake (and other) dangers to structures
 * Sound resonance
 * Quick connections to waves benchmarks
 * (Compare resonance to a swing—connect to SHM)
 * (Recognize resonance as an interference effect)
 * (Different frequencies of waves mean different things in an earthquake!)
 * Energy can be transformed from one form to another, BUT cannot be created or destroyed (sort of…)
 * Kinetic vs Potential energy
 * Chemical vs nuclear vs mechanical vs heat energy
 * There is a difference between energy which can be used to do useful “work” and energy which is “lost” to heat
 * Electrical energy can be generated in power plants
 * Coal-fired
 * Nuclear
 * Hydro
 * Wind
 * Solar
 * Thermal


 * Light Machines** (means of gathering information about the natural world); 3-4 weeks
 * Optical devices
 * Telescopes
 * Microscopes
 * Projectors
 * Cameras (including pinhole cameras)
 * Lasers
 * Fiber optics
 * The eye

Activities for students during the 3 months of these topic areas
 * Build and explain a “light machine”. Describe its applications to science or otherwise. (Make this the main focus for a 3-4 week “independent study” unit in which students present all work on a wiki?)
 * Give standard instructions for building a simple version of each device
 * Explain relevance of refraction
 * Make ray diagrams
 * Build several varieties of the device
 * Describe the applications of the device to a scientific issue
 * Many heat related experiments
 * Conductivity of materials
 * Specific heats
 * Efficiency of machines
 * Making generators from small motors
 * Connections between heat and other forms of energy (temperature changes due to electrical heating, friction, etc.)

Grade 8 SAS Pudong Environmental Science Issues: Check out Alternative fuels, fossil fuels, alternative fuels http://env-ngo.wikispaces.com/AcidRainwp3