What is 7th Grade PLTW?

What is 7th Grade PLTW?

By Bella and Fiona, School News Team

What is the 7th grade PLTW? PLTW stands for Project Lead the Way, and can be for any grade. To specify it to one level, Mrs. Gonzalez's 7th grade PLTW includes building motors, snap circuit systems, nightlights, and many other awesome activities. They also learn about electrons, atoms, electrical currents, and a bunch of other interesting science things.

Audrey Skeen, one of the many students in 7th grade PLTW, answered a few of our questions. “We’ve done snap circuits, [which is] kind of what we’re doing right now. [Also,] we’ve done building, engineering, science and math, [and] we made motors and telegraphs. [During this unit] we’re going to be making night lights and solar powered cars.” There is always a project to look forward to!

While we were watching the PLTW class, we experienced a slight mishap. These can be expected when working with electricity and power tools, so students have to exercise caution when participating in PLTW. Jack Lee explained the reason of the accident to us. “We were trying to make a snap circuit with a light and a fan without it blowing up, and it just did blow up! [The battery] exploded because we overheated it… We had six batteries and our snap circuit was also connected to the outlet, which is like over 125 volts, [and] is way too much. [(Volts are like the amount of energy in something. A battery usually has about 1.5 volts. )]” The battery didn’t actually burst spraying stuff everywhere, but a greyish, bubbly liquid oozed out of it. Mrs. Gonzalez, who is quite experienced in electricity and building projects, hastily removed the battery before anyone accidentally touched it. The stuff inside a battery is acidic, and can give a nasty burn. PLTW is a very exciting class. Students build, learn, and experience many interesting things. You never know what will happen or what you will build in PLTW!