Please Help!

Im very new to photography! And im trying to practice where i can and i figured id practice portraits inside my house.
i have a 500 watt hot light. 3x3 foot PVC Square and i put a sheet inside to soften the light...
#1 I want a black background. Which material should i use i dont want any reflection off it i want it a solid flat black...
#2 Should i just hang white sheets on the sides of my background and let the light hit the enitre sheet or what...
#3 WHich settings should you typically be at or try to achieve doing a black background portrait...

I soon will buy lighting and plan to.. for now this will do becuas ei bought my camera 2 weeks ago and id rather practice with this before dropping 500 on a nice set of light...

1. Black velvet or velour, though in reality, as long as it's several feet behind your subject then anything black will work.
2. I don't know why you would want sheets on the sides of your background.
3. You'll need to meter it and do a bit of trial and error. With only 500 watts of continuous light for a portrait, I would recommend a tripod to allow some fairly slow shutter speeds. Use a high enough ISO so you can get your shutter speed up to about 1/30 to avoid subject movement.

Thanks Alot Curtis. I said sheets on the side cause i figured it would some what work as a softner to my 500w but then again im so clueless so hey curtis is my position with my stuff what would you do...

First, learn about light. There are some concepts that you'll need to understand to get predictable results. Here's a good place to start:
http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com

While you're learning, practice. Put each individual concept to work.

Be patient with yourself. No one learns this stuff overnight.