The WHS Times
WEBUTUCK HIGH SCHOOL'S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
What's Happening in Our Classrooms?
From Our Science Department.....
Food Science:
In Food Science students are currently examining the nutritional content of our food. Students explored how we can release, capture, and measure the amount of Calories in several food items using a simple calorimeter. Below you can see Eric Golden lighting a tortilla chip on fire so we can break those chemical bonds in the food through combustion. That energy stored in the food will be transferred into the water in the can as thermal energy. Students measured the change in temperature and calculated how many Calories per gram are contained in the foods they were testing. (Special thanks to our resident student fire department volunteer Joseph Bartlett for ensuring proper ventilation to avoid any unscheduled fire drills :)
Environmental Science:
Students in our new Environmental Science elective are being asked to take ownership of their learning during Free Choice Fridays. Students are able to choose the path that they would like to take and explore environmental science topics meaningful to them. The goal is for students to complete an original research project that can be shared with the community at the Webutuck STEAM Fair. Students are also assisting with the recycling program at the high school. Teams of students collect the recyclables from each classroom and separate returnables from recyclables. The goal is to build sustainable habits that will extend beyond their school years.
Earth Science:
In Earth Science students are observing and analyzing models and simulations of the formation of the stars and planets. Using the data collected from the simulations the students then formed their hypothesis on what the planets are made of. In lab the students are modeling planetary orbits by drawing ellipses, calculating their eccentricity and comparing the data they collected to the data on planetary orbits using their real life data found in their Earth Science Reference Table (ESRT).