Today's Homework

Hi Boys and Girls - Sorry I couldn't come to school today. I'm feeling better now, so I expect to be back tomorrow. Tonight's homework:
Seventh Graders:  make sure that you have the following definitions in your vocab sections:

Allele - A variant, or version, of a gene.
Dominant - The genetic condition in which one copy of a version of a gene (an allele) in an individual gives rise to an observed trait. Ex: brown hair is dominant over blond hair.
Probability - likelihood of each possible outcome. Ex: Mendel found that the probability of a seed being green was about 1 out of 4 in every third generation of pea plants.  Also, a branch of mathematics studting the type and number of results to expect in a given number of  trials or chances.
random - unpredictable, without reason or pattern.
recessive - genetic condition in which a trait is not observed in the phenotype of a heterozygous individual.
Sixth Graders: Work on your Lab Reports for Dissolving Duels, do Friday.  Then, work on finishing your "My Water Cycle Story".  Also, make sure that you have the following definitions in your vocab sections (if you already have identical definitions for some or all of these terms in your current vocab section, you don't need to re-write them):

1. physical properties - characteristic of a substance or material that we can observe without changing the material, help to identify pure substances, and don't change if the sample is large or very small. Ex: color, density, flexibility, hardness.
2. quantitative data - measurements (data with numbers), such as volume or mass.
3. qualitative - characteristics people can perceive without making measurements.
4. solid - substance with definite shape and volume, as particles are closely packed together, and move very little (vibration).
5. Solubility - how well a substance can dissolve in a certain solvent such as water; solubility can be measured, and varies from substance to substance.
6. Soluble- A substance (a solute) that is able to dissolve in a solvent (solid, liquid or a gas). "Insoluble" means that the solute won't dissolve in a certain solvent.
7. Solute/solvent - the solute is a substance that dissolves in the solvent. Ex: sugar in water
8. Solution- The mixture that results when one substance, the solute, evenly dissolves in a solvent, another substance - usually a liquid such as water.
9. substance - Anything that has mass and takes up space.
10. vapor - The gas phase of a substance (ex: water vapor, not steam, is gaseous water).
11. Variable - Any factor that can change the outcome of an experiment.