UPDATE: EXPONENTIAL CHANGE, AND ZOOM MEETINGS STARTING APRIL 14TH!

Students:  This update is LONG, because it contains two important items:  an opportunity to participate in a lesson on exponential change, and information about 'Class Meetings' through ZOOM which will begin on Tuesday, April 14th.  Please read the whole post, below!

But before you do that, check out this video that shows Bullard staff packing up and distributing materials at our site to students and others in the community.  We hope you know we haven't forgotten you, and that we are still working as a staff to support you!   



Again, if you only able to visit this blog or go on ATLAS with a cell phone, Fresno Unified is making laptops available if you are having trouble accessing your teachers and classes on-line.  

Today's new opportunity relates to the idea of exponential growth patterns.   One example of an exponential growth pattern comes from 'Nuclear Chemistry', which is introduced in Ch. 25 of your text (pg. 798-808).   This example, called exponential decay, is useful for predicting the stability and safety of radioactive isotopes.*   Notice how the amount of isotope keeps falling, but it doesn't quite reach zero, because THE RATE OF DECAY BECOMES SLOWER AND SLOWER. 

*  As previously taught, an isotope is an atom whose nucleus has extra mass from carrying additional neutrons.  For example, a standard O atom is oxygen-16 (8 protons, 8 neutrons).  99.76 % of the oxygen atoms on Earth are oxygen-16, but the other 0.24 % are heavier isotopes, like oxygen 18 (still 8 protons, but 10 neutrons). 

Another example, exponential increase, describes the pattern of change often seen in populations of living things (and VIRUSES) when they are able to grow or spread rapidly.  In today's blog activity, you will eventually watch a video that demonstrates exponential increase. 

BUT (!) FIRST get a piece of paper and make a drawing that predicts what the shape of the curve will look like.  Underneath, write a sentence where you explain how you think the NUMBER (N) of individuals in the population would change, and also tell me how the RATE OF GROWTH will change. 

Now, BEFORE you watch the video, take a picture of your drawing.  Attach this picture to an email, and send it to Mr. Hatfield, at:

Scott.Hatfield@fresnounified.org

NOW WATCH THE VIDEO, HERE:




NOW, ABOUT ZOOM CONFERENCING!   Students should've been contacted by district email according to their class period, and given information about when THEIR class will meet next!  Honors (Period 1) will have their first meeting at 1:00 PM on Tuesday afternoon, April 14th.  Other classes will first meet either later that same day, or on Wednesday afternoon!  You'll see something that looks like THIS . . . . looking forward to seeing many of YOU!