Chemistry with Mr. Goff

There is another Google Form for today. Mr. Goff will read through your responses and give feedback as needed. If he misses a question that you think is important, please add a comment here or send him an email.

Also, don’t forget about Khan Academy. We will do a set of lessons every week that you can do at your own pace. Our class code is AJXQVDKC

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. Nothing urgent here, just some thoughts about last week and plans for next week. Feel free to watch/read later.

A quick summary of the video, if you don’t want to watch it: Last week was good, so I am going to try and do some fun stuff this week (including those 20 second songs that a majority of you seemed to think would be a reward). We will finish up with soap and sizes of atoms on Monday and Tuesday, then Wednesday start something new based on the results of our surveys. Khan Academy will continue to be due on Friday (I put the due time as noon so I look at the results before the weekend).

Not in the video: My goal is to decrease the amount of time you are spending on chemistry each day. Most of you seem to be spending about a half hour which I think is a bit too long for this type of learning. I will do my best to lesson your chemistry workload.

As always, if you need anything, please email me with questions or needs.

If you have any time requests for online meetings between 10 am and 2 pm for this week, please comment below.

I am still taking your questions here, but as you might expect with more information comes updated answers. I will copy Ms. Alcodray’s statement below:

Hello Students,

I just wanted to update you on the fast-moving situation regarding our online classes. This afternoon, Governor Gretchen Whitmer expressed her “dismay” about the Michigan Department of Education’s statement, releasing her own statement assuring educators and parents that this time could possibly count. The MDE released its original statement because in order for our time to count, the Michigan legislature must change the law; the MDE has no power here. So what does that mean for us? *It is very possible—even likely—that our time online will count. So keep working.* Our state lawmakers do not want to anger parents and educators across the state. So let’s keep our momentum going. 

I do not have any new or different information other than to share the official answer to your questions is as follows:

It is the expectation of your administration and teachers that you participate in online learning.  The work being assigned to you is to ensure that you do not fall behind academically. Our goal remains 1200+sri, and proficiency in all subjects.  All  careers require a minimum SRI of 1200 and proficiency in math.  We are not sure when we will return, but we will continue to provide you with learning opportunities.  As a family, it is important for us to continue to grow and thrive academically.  Thank-you

If you have more questions that you want me to send to the administration, please fill out this form. Be polite! I will be reading them and curating the list to send. Any rude behavior will be noted and dealt with as necessary.

I have posted a new assignment on Google Classroom. There is an article about the corona virus (with a video and a link to a good Twitter thread). If you have any questions or suggestions please email me! (gofft at dearborn).

First, some clarification.
1. In the video with the physicist, she refers to everything as “surface tension” but what we care about in chemistry is what the particles are doing at the surface. Soap is a “surface active” molecules, which means it can do cool stuff on surfaces, like clean dirt, destroy viruses, and move around boats and pepper flakes. The fancy word for it is “surfactant” (like surface+activated). What was happening is the soap molecules were gliding across the surface with the polar end in the water and the non-polar tail in the air. They just push everything out of the way!
2. The lipid bilayer in the model of the virus is a layer of fat (some molecules of fat are called lipids) that have a charge on the end. The model was supposed to look like a round head, with a tail. It was supposed to remind you a little bit of the soap models.
3. There is a saying in chemistry that goes “like dissolves like” and that is the idea behind how soap destroys viruses. The lipid bilayer is a lot like soap, so the soap can dissolve it and break down the virus. That is what today’s article is about.

For today, read the article (there is a video if you are struggling with the text), check out the twitter thread that is linked in it, and then fill out the Google Form. GUIDING QUESTION: What does soap do to a virus?

Enjoy your weekend!

I posted an interactive Google Form on Google Classroom. It’s kind of like a quiz, but not really.

Today’s lesson is posted to Google Classroom. I will be slower with answering questions and giving feedback today, so please be patient. Remember, our goals is to just try and learn what we can while we are apart. Your first priority should be to your health, your safety, and the health and safety of your family. I will copy the text of the lesson from Google Classroom below:

The demo from yesterday is a classic demo on surface tension. Here are a few more things you can do by playing with soap and water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsksFbFZeeU (I’ll copy the link below too)

Click the Google Doc below to create a document that you can answer the questions on (it will automatically share it when you turn it in). Also, if you change the color of the text, or use italics, it will help me when I read it. Thanks!

How is experiment 3 similar to the demo from yesterday? How is it different?

How could you design a demonstration/experiment to prove the boat moved because of the soap, and not just because the Q-tip made waves in the water?

Insert a drawing into your document to model what you think soap does to make the pepper/boat move across the surface. (You can insert an image of your own drawing, or draw with the computer using “insert–> drawing –>+new. Use the line scribble tool to free hand draw)

What other questions do you have about the video?

BONUS: Describe any other experiments you could do to help us answer questions about these demos.

BONUS BONUS: If you can record yourself doing some experiments, I will figure out how we can share them and learn from them

Check out google classroom for today’s lesson, and please send me any ideas about non-traditional/fun educational things we can do as remote earners.

Posted to Google Classroom:

Watch this “viral” soap and pepper video: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9kOH4HhZBA/

1. What do you notice about what is going on in the video?

2. What do you wonder?

3. This teacher was using a physical model to represent the virus and the importance of washing our hands.  Describe the different parts of the demo and model and what each part represents. 

4. What was the best, or most powerful, part of this model (in your opinion)?

5. Was this model missing anything?

6. What other questions do you have?

BONUS: What do you think this has to do with figuring out the size of atoms?

We officially have a Google Classroom and a Khan Academy class. The Google Classroom code has been sent via email (please go sign up) and the Khan Academy code is posted in Google Classroom.

Please try to do both assignments early in the week so we can work out any kinks before next week. I am still figuring out Khan Academy, so feedback and patience will be required on your part.

Looking ahead to remote learning part 3, I will try and post my own videos and lessons but I am also looking for suggestions on supplementary learning that we can do together. This should be chemistry adjacent, but does not have to be “normal” chemistry. My ideas so far:

1. Start a book club. We could pick a book (or have a choice of a few) and read it together. If we can’t find one that is easily accessible online, I can always read it like an audiobook and share the files.
2. We could binge some educational videos together. There are plenty of documentaries and other educational stuff on different streaming services, or YouTube, and then start a discussion board or do something based on what we watch.
3. We could try class games. We could do online ones like Minecraft, or something like one-on-one games like chess or Scrabble. If a couple of people are into it, we could also try online table top RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons (but put an educational spin on it?)
4. Puzzles and riddles are also a good thing to do in groups, but people would need to promise not to find answers online (We can try to invent our own, but that would take some time).
5. Internet and social media scavenger hunts. We could make lists of online challenges or things to find online. I can open up my SnapChat and Instagram so you can send me messages, or you can email me what you find.

Ok, this post got a little long… TL;DR: If you have suggestions for fun and educational things to do as a class, please share. I am open to suggestions.

Also, stay safe, wash your hands, and check in with your friends to make sure they are doing the same.

Plans for the school closing and remote learning:

1. You must check your school email everyday and use your school email to communicate with me.
2. You should check the blog at least once per week for updates.
3. I have started a Google Classroom to help us with our remote learning (class code: 4iirx3v), please use your school email address.
4. The current plan is to assign Khan Academy chemistry things through the Google Classroom.
5. Please help and support one another as things change or as people struggle to cope with these changes.
6. Read books. Find a book that you and your friends can read and talk about together.
7. Take care of yourself and your family.

(in reflection, the last three on this list may be the most important…)

Since Khan Academy is pretty dry, I will try to post some fun stuff to instagram and snapchat (goffsclass for both) and maybe youtube. That might be part of Remote Learning Plan part 2…