Growing Spheres Help Students Absorb Scientific Principles

March 14, 2012

John Fedors, Educational Innovationsby:  John Fedors

Hydrophilic spheres from Educational Innovations offer a variety of interesting applications and opportunities for scientific inquiry. They come in a variety of sizes: regular, jumbo, & gigantic. For the following examples, I prefer the regular or #710 size. However, whichever size you choose, they will expand to about 300 times their original dehydrated size.

Growing SpheresAs they absorb the water, they become almost invisible, due to having the same refractive index as water. When placed in de-mineralized or distilled water and kept away from sunlight, they will dehydrate to their original size and can be re-used. Dehydration time will depend on air humidity.

Once enlarged, these clear spheres can be used to demonstrate:

* The lens of an eye (such as those of a shark, calf or sheep) that has the ability to magnify the print on a page. A thin slice may be used to mimic a cornea transplant.

* The suspension of small items such as a coin.

* Roots of a germinating seed.

Enlarged growing spheres can also help to observe the relationship of Surface Area (A=4pr2) to Volume (V=4/3pr3) mass in grams. They can be used to graph relationships. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

101 Things Everyone Should Know About Science

November 26, 2011

Dia Michelsby:  Dia Michels

Science affects everything—yet so many of us wish we understood it better. Using an accessible question-and-answer format, 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Science expands every reader’s knowledge. Key concepts in biology, chemistry, physics, earth, and general science are explored and demystified by an award-winning science writer and a seasoned educational trainer. Endorsed by science organizations and educators, this book is perfect for kids, grown-ups, and anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of how science impacts everyday life.  101 Things Everyone Should Know About Science, written by Dia Michels and Nathan Levy is offered by Educational Innovations for $9.95.

Sample Questions from 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Science!

1.  Name some characteristics of all mammals
2.  Name three of the bodily fluids
3.  What are the three states of water?
4.  What mineral is found in a saline solution?
5.  What do we use calories to measure?
6.  What happens over time when iron is exposed to oxygen?
7.  At the same pressure, which is more dense—hot air or cold air?
8.  How does a semiconductor work?
9.  Each year, Earth revolves once around what?

  • the Sun
  • the Moon
  • its axis
  • the Milky Way

10.  What are the four major directions? In which direction does the needle of a compass point?
11.  The continental divide separates:

  • which animals are nocturnal and which are diurnal.
  • the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere.
  • the direction water travels to the sea.
  • where it rains from where it snows.

12.  Why is it colder an hour after sunrise than it is at sunrise itself?
13.  What is a hypothesis?
14.  What is the goal of a double-blind, placebo controlled study?
15.  How can you use a lemon to light a light bulb?
 

Answers:

Read the rest of this entry »

8 Comments | Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Elementary level, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

Thermal Conductivity: If you Want a Good Thermometer, Don’t Use Your Body

November 26, 2011

Marty Sagendorfby: Martin Sagendorf

An Easy Question:  Which is warmer – which is cooler?

In the strictest sense, it’s a matter of energy.  And we use temperature as a measure of energy level.  As we all know, the greater the energy level, the higher the temperature… But, although this is absolutely true; sometimes it’s not exactly what we perceive in everyday life.  When asked, we all can testify that when we touch a piece of metal we’ll say it feels cold.  But is it really cold?  Is it or isn’t it ‘cold’?

The Answer Is…

… very simple.  If the piece of metal is at room (ambient) temperature it cannot be ‘cold’ – it must be at the same temperature as the temperature of the room.

But First:

Let’s discuss ‘perceived temperature’: this is what we ‘think’ the temperature is.  It isn’t always the actual temperature (of the object we touch).  Thus we enter a wonderful combination of both physics and biology.  Physics describes the absolutes.  Biology describes the biological reactions (interpretations) of our physical world.

It’s a matter of thermal conductivity and our nerves.  Some materials are good conductors of heat (energy) and some are not.  Our nerves sense only temperature – so if thermal energy is rapidly removed from the tissues surrounding our nerve endings (like at our finger tips), our nerves sense that the temperature ‘they feel’ is cooler – e.g. the material is removing thermal energy from the body tissue surrounding the nerve ends at a rate faster than our body can re-supply energy to the tissues – thus our nerves sense this as ‘cooler’.

Now:

A truly illustrative and memorable way to present the question: Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

Gro-Beast Alligators

September 3, 2011

Jill BrownBy : Jill Brown

Each year I purchase the Gro-Beast Alligators from Educational Innovations for my Fourth Grade class.  These growing alligators start at about three inches long and grow to over a foot long when placed in water!  From this one item, I have developed lesson plans that incorporate Math, Science, Reading, Social Studies, Writing, Technology, and Language Arts!Gro-Beast Alligator

Observation is the first action taken by learners to acquire new information about an organism; therefore, the first thing my students do is observe their polymer alligator.  The students in the picture below are in the process of measuring the length, weight, circumference, and area of their polymer alligators. Students in my class also trace their alligators on graph paper then they calculate the area of each and eventually compare the area of their small (dehydrated) alligator to that of their fully grown alligator. (Math & Writing & Language).  These measurements are compiled into a line graph for each student’s crocodile which aids students in making predictions about the rate of future growth of their growing reptile.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

How Do Tides Affect Marine Animals?

January 18, 2011

Dr. Helen Pashleyby: Dr. Helen Pashley

Objectives:

1.    Students will brainstorm factors that might affect an animal living on the seashore at high and low tides.

2.   Students will identify strategies that shore animals use to survive conditions at low tide.

3.   Students will design an experiment to test whether the strategy adopted by their simulated shore animal would be effective in helping it survive low tide.

Focus Question:

How do marine animals survive low tide?

Background:

The seashore is an inhospitable place for marine animals to live. Seawater has much less temperature variation throughout the year than air.  In other words, during the summer in New York it can be 98˚F but the sea isn’t much warmer than 75˚F. In the depths of winter it can be –10˚F on land, but the water will be 48˚F. Animals that spend all their lives out at sea have a fairly steady environment. Those that are exposed to air at low tide, may face broiling hot temperatures in summer and freezing cold temperatures in winter.  They may be soaked in fresh water when it pours with rain, and pounded by rough waves during a storm. Animals that can survive on the shore have to be tough! Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Biology, Elementary level, experiments, Middle School level | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

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