Thursday, October 4, 2007
Bio Exam Friday
Friday is pep rally day so we have shortened, 33-minute periods. To accommodate this abbreviation, the Bio department constructed a shorter test: 25 multiple-choice questions followed by 2 "short answer"/constructed response questions.
Even so, be prepared to work quickly YET carefully. Strictly apply the test-taking skills reviewed in class today:
The SECOND AFTER the test begins, quickly jot down anything that you memorized (or wrote down but put away) in short term memory (EVEN seconds before the test!) directly on the test paper. This way, you have a quick and LEGAL cheatsheet to which you can refer for the whole test! In the past, SO MANY of my students have effectively applied that simple tip.
1. Carefully read each question while circling, underlining, highlighting the KEY words or data in each question;
2. Let the key words guide your thinking so that you can PREDICT an answer, which you can quickly jot down; to help you predict an answer, it can be very helpful to do a simple DRAWING, SKETCH of a graph, DIAGRAM, or TABLE;
3. SCAN the answers to look for a match to your predicted answer;
4. If you see a match, just circle that choice! If you do not see a match, ELIMINATE answers that cannot be correct and get the right answer to that specific question via elimination. If two or more answers remain, ONLY one of them can be right, so re-read the question and plug the answers in to the question to help clarify which one is correct.
If a question is too difficult or unfamiliar, SKIP IT, initially, and then come back to it if there is time remaining. Each multiple-choice questions are worth the same number or points so do not have one question take up so much time that you run out of time for other questions that you can answer.
I will post the answers to the practice tests that are on Blackboard in the "Class Documents" section.
Good luck tomorrow.
Chem 7/8- we performed the experimental procedure to determine the "heat of fusion/melting" of water. As is the case with all experimental procedures, there is BUILT-IN "experimental error", which REALLY means built-in "IMPERFECTIONS' in the experiment, even if YOU follow the procedure PERFECTLY. We discussed some of these imperfections that are unavoidable in this experimental design.
We did a sample heat of fusion calculation to use as a template for the lab write-up.
We also discussed that a NEGATIVE sign in any of these energy equations indicates that energy is being LOST/RELEASED/LIBERATED by/from the substance.
Chem 9- we looked at the animation (posted on Blackboard in the "Cicale's Assignments" section) that showed several things: the molecular level view of the phases and phase changes of a substance, the energy required for or released during those phase changes, and the heating curve that accompanies the aforementioned phenomena.
Even so, be prepared to work quickly YET carefully. Strictly apply the test-taking skills reviewed in class today:
The SECOND AFTER the test begins, quickly jot down anything that you memorized (or wrote down but put away) in short term memory (EVEN seconds before the test!) directly on the test paper. This way, you have a quick and LEGAL cheatsheet to which you can refer for the whole test! In the past, SO MANY of my students have effectively applied that simple tip.
1. Carefully read each question while circling, underlining, highlighting the KEY words or data in each question;
2. Let the key words guide your thinking so that you can PREDICT an answer, which you can quickly jot down; to help you predict an answer, it can be very helpful to do a simple DRAWING, SKETCH of a graph, DIAGRAM, or TABLE;
3. SCAN the answers to look for a match to your predicted answer;
4. If you see a match, just circle that choice! If you do not see a match, ELIMINATE answers that cannot be correct and get the right answer to that specific question via elimination. If two or more answers remain, ONLY one of them can be right, so re-read the question and plug the answers in to the question to help clarify which one is correct.
If a question is too difficult or unfamiliar, SKIP IT, initially, and then come back to it if there is time remaining. Each multiple-choice questions are worth the same number or points so do not have one question take up so much time that you run out of time for other questions that you can answer.
I will post the answers to the practice tests that are on Blackboard in the "Class Documents" section.
Good luck tomorrow.
Chem 7/8- we performed the experimental procedure to determine the "heat of fusion/melting" of water. As is the case with all experimental procedures, there is BUILT-IN "experimental error", which REALLY means built-in "IMPERFECTIONS' in the experiment, even if YOU follow the procedure PERFECTLY. We discussed some of these imperfections that are unavoidable in this experimental design.
We did a sample heat of fusion calculation to use as a template for the lab write-up.
We also discussed that a NEGATIVE sign in any of these energy equations indicates that energy is being LOST/RELEASED/LIBERATED by/from the substance.
Chem 9- we looked at the animation (posted on Blackboard in the "Cicale's Assignments" section) that showed several things: the molecular level view of the phases and phase changes of a substance, the energy required for or released during those phase changes, and the heating curve that accompanies the aforementioned phenomena.
# posted by C @ 7:04 AM 
