Bluey Portfolio in Sciencie

2. Graph - Metal and Specific Heat
*Compare your results to Periodic Table (Think about this graph)

3. Calculations - Show examples of how you solved for specific heat (2 or 3 examples)
Aluminum:
Mass: 19.9 g
Heat Gain = 100 mL × (27.1-24.7) × 1 cal/g
= 100 × 2.4 × 1 cal/g
= 240 cal
Heat Loss = 19.9 g × (77.8 - 27.1) × specific heat
240 = 19.9 g × 50.7 × specific heat
240 = 1008.93 × specific heat
Specific Heat = 0.238 cal/g
Real Specific Heat = 0.215 cal/g
% Error: 9.7%
Zinc:
Mass: 30.1 g
Heat Gain = 100 mL × (23.6-22.1) × 1 cal/g
= 100 × 1.5 × 1 cal/g
= 150 cal
Heat Loss = 30.1 g × (75.8 - 23.6) × specific heat
150 = 30.1 × 52.2 × specific heat
150 = 1571.22 × specific heat
Specific Heat = 0.095 cal/g

Real Specific Heat = 0.093

% Error: 2.1%

IV. Research

1. How does Specific Heat relate to a real life application?

(Land/Sea Breezes, Cooking, Mercury in Thermometers?, Water in engines, think of others…)

2. Include 2 sources for evidence 
 

Application of Specific Heat to Smelting Metal  

 
Smelting  is  a  process  where  metal  ore  is  heated  beyond  its  melting  point  and 

mixed with a reducing agent, typically carbon coke, to get rid of the ore and extract out 
base  metals  for  other  purposes.  It  is  part  of  a  branch  of  metallurgical  engineering 
called  extractive  metallurgy.  Smelting  involves  the  dynamics  of  thermochemistry 
because  metals,  even  metal  alloys,  have  their  own  specific  heat,  so  variables  such  as 
heat gain/heat loss or how much reducing agent will be needed varies. You don’t want 
to  overheat  a  metal  or  barely  reach  melting  point  for  the  extraction  procedure  to 
happen.  For  example,  the  specific heat and melting point of copper is 0.092 cal/g and 
1,085 ℃, respectively. Malachite, on the other hand, has a specific heat of 0.18 cal/g and 
a  melting  point  of  about  112  ℃.  Since  the  properties  of  copper  and  malachite  differ 
largely,  those  certain  temperatures  would  be  essential.  Therefore,  applying  the 
knowledge of specific heat is crucial to the field of smelting.  
 

 

 
Sources: 
https://www.britannica.com/technology/smelting

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extractive_metallurgy

 

Electricity Timeline Poster 

 

Otis Boykin 

 
Otis  Boykin  was  an  African-American inventor and engineer, notable for 

creating  the  electric  resistor  and  pacemaker. Boykin was born on August 20th, 
1920  in  Dallas,  Texas,  and  attended Booker T. Washington High School as well 
as  Fisk  University.  He  then  moved  to  Chicago,  where  he  was  mentored  by  Dr. 
Denton  Deere,  an  engineer  and  inventor  with  his  own  laboratory.  Boykin 
graduated  from  university  in  1941  and  had  his  first  job  as  a  lab  assistant, 
testing automatic aircraft controls. Later, he started his own firm, Boykin-Fruth 
Inc.,  which  would  take  on  multiple  projects  in  the  field  of  science.  One of his 
famous  inventions,  the  resistor,  was  an  advancement  in  electricity  because  it 
countered inductance and reactance from wires, preventing severe accidents. In 
Boykin’s  total  lifetime  he  patented  28  device,  before  dying  of  heart  failure  in 
1982.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building Series/Parallel Circuits 

PreAP Physics – Circuit Construction Kit (DC Circuits) PhET Lab
Today, you will use the Circuit Construction Kit PhET lab to qualitatively explore series and
parallel circuits.
PreLab
Draw a simple diagram for a series and parallel circuit below using your notes/homework.

Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

Beginning Observations
1)​ ​Open the Circuit Construction Kit (DC Only) PhET simulation.
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc

What can you change about the simulation?
You could select multiple electric appliances, such as the wires, light bulbs, resistors,

and how many you wanted of them. Each object was able to be moved around and connected
others, and there was a feature that let you disassemble or delete things at will.

2) Build a simple circuit with a battery, wires, light bulb and voltage source. Draw it below.

PhET diagram (draw what you see on the Circuit diagram (use symbols we have

screen) learned in class)

3) What are the main differences between what you see on the screen and what you drew in
your circuit diagram?

The main differences between the circuit on the screen and the circuit I drew is through
their characteristics. The PhET circuit is clearly a parallel circuit, while the one I drew is a series
circuit. The circuit I drew has only one power source, the two batteries, but on the PhET
diagram, it has the two batteries and a coin. Thus, that diagram is also maintained by a resistor.
Those are the notable differences between the PhET circuit and the circuit I built.

4) What flows through the wires when there is a closed circuit? What on the screen represents
these?

When the circuit is closed, blue dots with minus signs on the screen are representing
electrons flowing through the wires. That shows that electricity is present.

Part 1 – Series Circuit
Construct a simple series circuit with the following amounts of light bulbs using the PhET
simulation. Remember in a series circuit, there is only on path for electricity to flow. Keep the
battery source the same. Draw the proper circuit diagram in your table and rank the relative
brightness in your table.

Number of Circuit Diagram Relative Brightness of
Light Bulbs bulbs (use words like
brightest, least bright, etc.)
1
Brightest

2 Somewhat Bright

3 Least Bright

What can you conclude about what happens to the brightness of the bulbs as you add more
bulbs in series? Why do you think this is the case?

In conclusion, the more light bulbs are added into a series circuit, the less the brightness
of the lightbulbs will be. This is probably because the power source in a series circuit always

remains constant, so the light bulbs have the share the electricity equally. With a greater
amount of lightbulbs, the power that each of them shares decreases.

Part 2 – Parallel Circuit
Construct two parallel circuits one with 2 light bulbs in parallel and one with 3 light bulbs in
parallel and rank the relative brightness of the bulbs. Remember, in a parallel circuit there are
multiple pathways for electricity to flow. Keep your battery source the same.

Number of Circuit Diagram Relative Brightness of
Light Bulbs in bulbs (use words like
brightest, least bright, etc.)
Parallel
Bright
2

3 Bright

What can you conclude about what happens to the brightness of the bulbs as you add more
bulbs in parallel? Why do you think this is the case?

When the number of light bulbs is increased, this has no effect on its brightness. This is
probably because in a parallel circuit, the power travels through multiple places, and the
lightbulbs aren’t in a position where the electricity can only flow in one place, like a series circuit.

Instead, each light bulb is placed so that it has its own circuit, so other light bulbs won’t drain
away its electricity.

Conclusion Q’s
1. How does the parallel circuit compare to the series circuit?

The parallel circuit has more sources where the electricity can travel, unlike the series
circuit. Parallel circuits also requires more resistors to control the flow of electricity as well.
2. What happens when you break a parallel circuit (try it out in the sim if you need to!)? How
would this property be useful when designing circuits?

If you break a parallel circuit, the light bulb that is connected to that area where it broke
will go out, but the other bulbs will stay lit. This property is useful in designing circuits because it
shows that the characteristics of the flow of electricity, like how all areas needed to be
connected to each other
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel circuits?

The advantage of a series circuit is that it is efficient to construct and doesn’t require
many materials, but it can be a downfall if multiple lightbulbs are connected inside the circuit,
because the abundance of electricity within the circuit will decrease. For parallel circuits, its
advantage is that multiple light bulbs can be placed inside without sacrificing its brightness, and
if one section of it breaks, the others are still able to function, but it does require more materials,
effort, and can be hazardous because it has more electricity and thus is harder to control.

 
 

Science Portfolio Reflection

1. What was your favorite science activity or topic this year? Why did you enjoy this
activity? Be specific

My favorite topic this year was probably the Chemical Reactions unit because it was a subject
that I found the most interesting and useful. Chemistry is a comprehensive study of the
chemical world around us, and we can apply it to almost any kind field or profession.

2. Which topic or skill did you find to be the most challenging? Explain

I found the Phase Changes topic the most challenging because it involved calculating the gain
or loss of heat energy, which I’ve never had any experience with

3. Provide an example of 3 types of graphs that were used this year in science? Why did
it make sense to use these graphs for those activities?

Pie Charts: they were mostly used in Classifying Matter because it easily displays different
variables at a time
Bar Graphs: they were used in topics such as Simple Machines, Velocity, and Acceleration,
because it exhibits the values of two variables simultaneously
Line Graphs: they were used mostly in the Phase Changes, Heat, and Solubility topics. It is
easy to visualize the fluctuations in data of different variables with them

4. What were the key tips you remembered about solving math problems in science this
year? Word problems? Provide an example from this portfolio of a science math
problem that was challenging to solve this year.

Some key tips I learned in solving math problems, especially word problems, this year was to
read the question carefully and figure out the main purpose of the question. For example, in
the Velocity Worksheet, “An auto travels at a rate of 25 km/hr for 4 minutes, then at 50 km/hr
for 8 minutes, and finally at 20 km/hr for 2 minutes. Find the total distance covered in km and
the average speed for the complete trip in m/s.” This was a bit hard because there were
multiple calculations you had to make, and then you had to convert to a different unit.

5. Which lab conclusion or sample of writing are you most proud of in this portfolio?

I was most satisfied with the Simple Machines lab conclusion I wrote. I thought it was the
most grammatical and eloquent sample of writing I wrote in Science all year.

6. What are you excited to learn about in science next year? Do you want to pursue a
career in the sciences? Explain

I’m excited to learn Biology next year and do experiments. I would probably like to be a
mechanical engineer or inventor if I had a career in the sciences.