Great First Week

We had a great first full week at Prairie Creek! :)

In math we reviewed rectangular arrays and learned about factors and divisibility.

Factors are the numbers you multiply together to get another number. For example, 3 and 4 are factors of 12, because 3x4=12. Also 2x6=12 so 2 and 6 are also factors of 12, and 1x12=12 so 1 and 12 are factors of 12 as well. So ALL the possible factors of 12 are 1,2,3,4,6 and 12.


In science we investigated using pendulums, and conducted controlled experiments to discover how changing one variable at a time affected the outcome. After starting with a standard pendulum system, we changed were angle of release (where we let go of the pendulum), mass of the bob (how many pennies were hung at the end of pendulum), and string length. We determined that the angle of release and mass of the bob did NOT affect the number of swings a pendulum made in 15 seconds. The length of the string, however, did affect the number of swings in 15 seconds. The shorter the string, the greater the number of swings a pendulum made in 15 seconds. Conversely, the longer the string, the fewer swing cycles a pendulum completed in 15 seconds.

Science vocabulary for the week:

Variable - Anything you can change in an experiment that might affect the outcome.
Controlled Experiment - An experiment in which only one variable is changed at a time.
Pendulum - A mass, hanging from a fixed point, that is free to swing to and fro.