What is Physical Science?

(c) M. Prince 2012

Physical Science is the study of nature.  What physical scientists do is study natural processes like motion, energy, magnetism, electricity, sound, light, and matter.  In this class, we will do the same.


In class today, I wanted to know what students thought about physical science before I provided information about all that it entails.  I encouraged them to think about all the things they were curious about over their lifetime.  I must say that I was really impressed with their curiosities.  I immediately found many questions connected to what we will cover this year.  Here are some of the questions students shared in class today:




First Period:


How does a toy car function from small batteries in a controller? (Jeremiah)
How does a light bulb produce light? (Kearston)
How is an elevator able to hold all that weight? (Alana)
How does an engine make a car go? (Chris)
How does an electric wire provide energy for homes all around the world? (Matthew)
How does a faucet work? (Chasity)
Why does an explosion occur when you put aluminum foil into a microwave oven? (Naomi)
How does a cellphone work? (Mikayla)
How does the wing make the plane fly high in the air? (Riziki)
Why don't roller coaster carts fly off the track on steep hills? (Dylan) 



Second Period:


Why does helium make things float? (Sydney)
What if you could take a certain strand of animal DNA and isolate it then apply it to a human, thereby giving the human a quality from the animal? (Ian)
Why does a magnet interfere with electronic appliances? (Peter)
Why does light travel so much faster than sound? (Tyler)
On a plasma ball, what causes the electricity to move up to the glass and move with your hand? (Claire)
What if gravity stopped working? (Luke)


Fifth Period:


Why does Earth have a gravitational pull? (Ty)
How do scientists think? (Mary)
How does a boat float when it is so heavy? (Jordan)
How does the Earth's satellite sit in one place instead of moving all over the place and bumping into the moon? (Oscar)
How does the wind blow if nothing blows it? (Amanda)
Why does the Earth rotate without us feeling it? (Aniyha)
How does gravitational pull keep the planets up? (Amanda W.)



Sixth Period:


How does yogurt clear some of the bacteria in your stomach? (Hayley)
How does someone get so much technology into a phone so thin? (Ke'Andre)
How does a touch screen phone know when you tap on something and it responds to your tap? (Noah)
How does a small computer chip hold so much data? (Skylar Wi)
How do the clouds stay moving in the air and not fall down? (Graci)