10th Grade

Poisoner's Handbook

Over summer, students read The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum. “Until the early nineteenth century, few tools existed to detect a toxic substance in a corpse. Sometimes investigators deduced poison from the violent sickness that preceded death or built a case by feeding animals a victim’s last meal, but more often than not poisoners walked free. As a result murder by poison flourished. It became so common in eliminating perceived difficulties, such as a wealthy parent who stayed alive too long, that the French nicknamed the metallic element arsenic poudre de succession, the inheritance powder. 

      The chemical revolution of the 1800s changed the relative ease of such killings. Scientists learned to isolate and identify the basic elements and the chemical compounds that define life on Earth, gradually building a catalog, The Periodic Table of the Elements. In 1804, the elements palladium, cerium iridium, osmium, and rhodium were discovered; potassium and sodium were isolated in 1807; barium, calcium, magnesium, and strontium in 1808; chlorine in 1810. Once researchers understood individual elements they went on to study them in combination, examining how elements bonded to create exotic compounds and familiar substances, such as the sodium-chlorine combination that creates basic table salt (NaCl).” (Blum 1) 

                 Chemicals and chemistry are an integral part of our daily life. This book takes a look at chemistry in a way that puts into perspective the importance of what we will be trying to learn throughout the year. 

                 In addition to learning and connecting chemistry concepts, you will be mastering reading skills with each chapter of this high-level non-fiction text. Anticipatory graphics will urge you to infer and predict before reading and will promote connection and retention during reading. By researching chemical properties, you will be looking at the properties of some of the chemicals that will be covered in class. 

CHEM CAR

Students will construct a car that is powered or halted by a chemical reaction. The goal is for students to learn stoichiometry and how to calculate the amount of reactants needed to produce a reaction that runs for a self-determined time repeatedly. Students will conceptualize, design, and build a car that will move on its own once a reaction is started.

Rules/Requirements:

1. Car may be no bigger than an average size shoebox.

2. Car must utilize a chemical reaction – Most students will use a chemical reaction to POWER their vehicle. However, if students wish to use an electric motor, and have a chemical reaction STOP the vehicle, then that is acceptable (however a little more difficult).

3. Chemicals MUST be approved by teachers before being allowed to test in a reaction.

4. Absolutely NO combustion reactions of ANY kind.

5. All reactions MUST be completed in an open container before testing in your vehicle

6. Vehicle must travel at least 3m but the competition is based on the car that can move the most REPEATABLE distance.

The Wind Turbine

Students read The Boy Who Harnessed Wind by William Kamkwamba and learned about the struggles of farmers and other citizens in Malawi, Africa that cannot properly irrigate their crops without electricity. A nine-year-old boy drops out of school to help his family during the famine and designs a wind turbine that saves his village. Students then designed their own wind turbines using recycled materials and compete to see who can produce the most energy. This memoir is used as a real-world example for students to find and understand empathy. 

Online Professional Portfolios

Each student in RISE designs a website to showcase their unique personality and skill set. On their website they display their projects, videos, graphic designs, and professional information including their resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn page in a manner that allows you to get to know them and their creative personality.

                                         EXAMPLE #1 EXAMPLE #2 EXAMPLE #3

Cluster Elementary STEM Nights

Students volunteer at our cluster school elementary nights to talk to students about high school STEM, showcase their projects, and engage the students in fun age-appropriate science and engineering activities. 

Pre-Covid Field Trip: Richland Creek Landfill

After reading Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte, students toured the Richland Creek Landfill in Buford, Georgia. It recently opened one of the first plants in the state that traps methane gas produced by the decaying garbage and burns it to produce power for surrounding neighborhoods.

Field Trip to Mercedes Benz for TEDX 2023: