Through weeks of learning kinematics, static equilibrium, dealing problems with motion. We’ve moved to focus on momentum. Momentum is how much motion an object has. The equation for momentum is P: MV which M stands for mass and V stands for velocity. Its unit is kg m/s. Furthermore, momentum is a vector as well. We have so many problems related to momentum. To expand this idea, we also have Law of conservation of momentum which is articulate the idea that total momentum will be the same before and after a collision. This law of conservation is true only in a closed system. A closed system is a system where is no external force that acting on an object. Talking about momentum, we shall never forget collision! The collision takes a really main point in momentum. For instance, here are some examples we’ve done:
Another reading activity! Another short story from Roald Dahl! “The Landlady”! After we finished “Lamb to the slaughter”, we got another short story waiting! It is “The Landlady”. Since we all aware that all stories in this November are something nefarious. Therefore, the landlady is a short story that talks about a young man, Billy Weaver, who is new to a company and receives a mission to go to Bath, England, which he never been before. When he arrive Bath, he was told to get a hotel called ‘Bell and Dragon’; however, something caught his attention along the way which is another pub called ‘Bed & Breakfast’. He knocked the door and a lady appeared. She seems peculiar as well as a nice lady in this young gullible Billy’s eyes. When Billy entered the house, it seems odd that the room is already prepared for him. For a few minutes, when Billy signs the guest book, he found out that only two guests from the past three years have come here. They are Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple. These two guests have something in common and that is they are on a business trip and all of a sudden……they disappeared. However, Billy couldn’t think of this information and got interrupted by the landlady to drink a cup of tea. The landlady offers Billy a cup of bitter almonds tea to Billy. For a moment, Billy drank the tea, without realizing that it has poison. After signing the guestbook, having a cup of tea, Billy asked the landlady, “Excuse my asking, but haven’t there been any other guests here except them in the last two or three years?” The story ends at this point when the landlady responded, “No, my dear, only you.”
There is also a short film that can further explain few more scenes:
We have learned a new literary device from Roald Dahl which is foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a literary device uses to give a warning or a hint about the near future events in the book. Foreshadowing is really helpful and essential in crime fiction because it gives us clues of what is going to happen next. Roald Dahl uses foreshadowing to build expectations of what might happen next. As well as, foreshadowing add dramatic tension to the story. It conveys the ideas to the readers to get the feeling and ahead understanding of future events.
Over the course of literacy, we’ve done lots of writing and reading. For this November, NEFARIOUS November as we called it, we’re reading short stories that are nefarious and mysterious. For instance, our teacher picked Roald Dahl’s short stories to read, learn, and discuss. The first short story from Roald Dahl that we read is “Lamb to the slaughter” which talks about a story about a peaceful, calm, and innocent woman, Mary Maloney, who is totally obsessed with her husband; however, turn out to be a guilty murderer who killed her own husband after hearing the separation that her husband wants to have between them. She murdered him with a giant big frozen lamb leg. No one knows or even thinks about the fact that she is the murderer because she is 6 months pregnant and totally a calm woman. After the murder, she created an alibi and destroyed the evidence. She makes herself totally innocent.
From this story, we have learned some literary devices from Roald Dahl which is irony. There are three types of irony including verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. We’ve analyzed why Roald Dahl used irony in stories like this. We found out that Roald Dahl is such a genius author that could bring up a short story that has lots of hidden meaning.
After reading the story, we have a Mary Maloney’s trial. We need to decide whether Mary Maloney is guilty of murder or it’s just a crime of passion causes by her insanity. We have prosecutions, defenses, Mary Maloney, Witnesses, and the jury. We need to take one of the roles in the trial which motivated me to choose the prosecution team with my another friend. We need to fight against the defense team saying that she is not insane. She is guilty of first-degree murder and has planned the whole scene. It is hard to fight as a prosecution because we all know that she is a pregnant and pregnant woman can easily get affected by something and leads to mental health imbalanced. However, there’s something inside me that encouraged me to fight and find back JUSTICE even though it’s just fake trial in a story. As a result, the jury has decided to convict Mary Maloney of first-degree murder with all of the shreds of evidence and statements stating Mary Maloney is not insane.
“We the Prosecutors believe that after you, the jury, consider this you will put together right decisions so that when you go home today, you don’t feel guilty that it’s actually you who makes a man not rest in peace.” – Our team, the prosecution’s closing statement.
After doing this trial, it motivated me a lot. It made me think of justice that this world has. It made me want to change the way justice works nowadays because of the desire, the passion, the encouragement inside me that I have that can someday change the world.
In physics class, we have a pause from equations, solving problems, inclined planes; however, change the topic to look at physics behind everyday activities. Our task before and after water festival holiday is to research of physics behind everyday activities. We chose our own topic to research on and present it to the class after the holiday. My partner and I had chosen the physics behind mirrors. We have to research the physics of mirrors like – what kind of law is it apply to..etc. Since this task is asked to research and do on our own, there are many contents that we haven’t learn yet. We’ve tried our best to deliver a simpler explanation of the physics of mirror. We didn’t get very deep into it because we don’t have enough time, furthermore, it’s complicated.
We have researched and found out that physics of mirrors involved in two laws including the law of reflection and conservation of energy. We also choose an important question about mirror: Do mirrors flip us horizontally and vertically? Ever wonder when you raise your right hand, the mirror raises your left hand; however, why don’t mirror flip us upside down when we stand upright. In the presentation, we covered law of reflection, conservation of energy, and how a mirror works especially does mirror flip us?
You can access more explanation of this research by this link:
In our last day of literacy class before Water Festival, we decided to do something fun since it is Halloween. So, we wrote a scary story of Halloween by passing the story one by one to another friend in a big table to let them continue the story until it returns to me. This is my story:
“It was a cold Halloween night when I saw a house full of spooky and creepy stuff with a light on-off-on-off; furthermore, with a clock ticking sound as loud as a big speaker. I walk past and see a bunch of silhouettes upon the wall with a weird shape that got my spine-chilling. Even though it looks creepy, it might be a Halloween decoration; I thought to myself. Due to my curiosity, I walk through the gate and straight to ring the bell. I got no fear that time because I think that this is my neighborhood. * Bream *Bream – the sound of the bell ring. The door suddenly opens without anyone opens it. “Welcome little girl, come on and don’t be afraid.”, said the sweetest voice from the inside. As I entered the hallway, a piece of note slides from one of the doors. It says, “Find Me!” “Are we playing hide and seek?”, I said. I heard nothing and I see nothing. I just walking with joy thinking that my neighborhood is going to make something fun on this Halloween day. This is a big house when I arrive the living room I see a doll moves on a chair back and forth; instantly, there’s a scary voice, “haa-ha–haa-ha–haa-ha” that keeps getting louder and louder. It’s not like someone laughing, it’s a REAL creepy voice. “What? A doll moves by itself? Who are you? Are you an……Annabelle just like the movie say? And where is the sound comes from?” Suddenly, cups, vases, and pictures hanging on the wall start dropping and windows and doors keep close-open-close-open without anyone. “Get away from me, take my candies, and let me go.”, I shouted. I literally stuck in that house don’t know anything to do. The light goes off, I fainted, and I’m gone. STOP! I realize I’m just watching a movie about “A girl in a Halloween house“. In a moment, I look around and I noticed that I’m exactly in that same house with the same scene going on. I SCREAM so hard and SHOUT for help. STOP! I woke up from my dream and it’s 10:00 in the morning. “Happy Halloween my Dear!”, a warm welcome from everyone.”
In our Khmer literacy class, our facilitator asked us to do a small research about the word “Research”. What does it mean? Therefore, we gather in small groups of 3-4 to find definitions of this word at least from 5 dictionaries. For my group, we chose to use Cambridge, Longman, Oxford, Khmer Dictionary, and Tovnah.com website. After all of these definitions from all different dictionaries, we found out that the there’s no much different meaning from each other. Furthermore, the teacher also gave us to write those definitions in a big poster to describe what is it means.
After writing definitions for the word “Research”, we were asked to write about where can we find sources for research. There are such places such as Library, Ministry, Museum, Bookstore, Pagoda, Organization, Company…etc.
Last but not least, we need to write about what can we find as resources for researching such as Video, Audio, People, Dictionary, Newspaper, Magazines, Internet, Interview, Book…etc.
After all of these works, we were expected to understand all the components of RESEARCH; therefore, we can always use the resources and the answer that we’ve learned to implement it in real research.
For past weeks, my math class has been working on inequalities. We have been focusing on this lesson for quite a few weeks. So, an inequality is a statement which indicates that one quantity is greater than or less than another. We can write the statement using symbols such as “<“, “>”, “≥”, and “≤”. But, this concept has gotten deeper rather than just 1 < 2. However, we have done lots of activities associated with inequalities such as Inequalities word problem, Two-step inequalities, compound inequalities; furthermore, we also looked at inequalities systems and graphs which includes Graphs of Inequalities, Systems of inequalities graphs…etc. On the other hand, we’re not just learning in a textbook, but all of these activities come from Khanacademy.org website which allows us to practice lots of math in an efficient way.
In our literacy class, we have one big project is to write a narrative essay about our coming of age moment. This narrative essay is about describing a moment where you feel like you’ve become an adult. The time that you feel like you have reached the age when you can act independently and have a mature mindset. I have written a 4-pages long narrative essay with one moment that is personal that I felt like I’m old enough to think and it’s when my maturity started to grow. This wordle is the highlight of the narrative essay that I’ve done:
“Things that do not belong or meant to be with me won’t stay with me. Therefore, I need to find people or things or whatever that belong and meant to be with me. Soon after, I will somehow lose everything and get out of here because of my absence in life, so while I still have a presence here, continue living because life’s a one time offer, I’ll use it well. Thanks to those who had present in my life and forgot those who absent in my life.“
One of our main curriculums is essential which contains all the main and important classes including Math, Physics, Khmer Literacy and English literacy. One of my favorite subjects is physics. First Lesson that we’ve learned is kinematics that talk about dealing problems with motions. We have learned kinematics, static equilibrium, static friction and kinetic friction. Physics is complicated, but when we develop those skills such as problem-solving and have the knowledge to understand the concept or theories of physics. We are sure inept in it. Our teacher gives homework and quizzes which makes us even more adept at solving those problems.
