High School Biology-Chemisty SMILE Meeting
21 October 2003
Notes Prepared by Porter Johnson
Information:
- Pat Riley announced that Symposia for the Junior
Science and Humanities [JSHS] will be held at Loyola
University on the evenings of 30 October, and 14
November. Details can be obtained by calling (773) 508-2182
or sending in email message to ljung@luc.edu.
The 29th annual JSHS will be held at Loyola University
on 06 March 2004.
- PITTCONN®, March, McCormick Place. The Pittsburgh
Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy will
present a number of programs for science educators. For details
see their website: http://www.pittcon.org/.
- Earl Zwicker called attention to an article by
David Perlman in The San Francisco Chronicle:
BIZARRE BURROWING PURPLE FROG FOUND: Mysterious creature
hails from time of Gondwanaland
"...In the verdant countryside of western India along the Arabian Sea,
villagers digging a well in a cardamom plantation five years ago were
astonished to spot a squat, bulbous purple frog sitting immobile nearly
seven feet down in the mud. ... With a pointed snout, glistening deep
purple skin, red eyes and a powerful talent for burrowing into the
ground, it looked like something primitive. Indeed it was. The
family appears to date back more than 200 million years to a time when
Africa and India were joined in a single vast supercontinent now called
Gondwanaland. By 150 million years ago that continent had broken up
into chunks of land masses that included Madagascar, the Seychelles,
and the western Ghats of India.. ... " For more details see the
following website: http://snurl.com/2pgt
Barbara Lorde [Attucks
School] Make Your Own Lungs
Barbara started with a prelude of how
she creates interest in her classroom using a phenomenological
approach, e.g. by
holding
up an envelope and asking questions about it (or its contents). [Many
of us were
surprised to hear that the secret of self-seal envelopes is that the
surface of the
flap is coated with thousands of tiny bubbles. When the flap is
pushed
against the envelope, the bubbles burst, releasing the glue and sealing
the
envelope.] Barbara next asked us about breathing problems
we might have.
We then made our own working model of lungs, using a clear plastic
drinking cup for the
thorax, a plastic straw for the trachea (inserted through a hole in the
bottom of the
cup), small balloons for lungs (attached to the trachea on the inside
of the
cup), and a piece of rubber (cut from larger balloon) stretched
across the top of the cup for the diaphragm. The lungs could be made to
expand and
contract in several ways:
- pulling the diaphragm out (normal breathing)
- blowing through the
straw (mouth to mouth resuscitation)
- squeezing the sides of the plastic cup (CPR)
Cellophane tape was used to seal the various openings. Several of us
made models with
two lungs (and two tracheæ). For more information see A
Model of Your
Lungs:
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=245.
A great way for students to
learn. Thanks,
Barbara!
Wanda Pitts [Douglas Elementary
School Inertia
Challenges
Wanda let us through the following exercises to illustrate the
concept of
inertia:
- COIN DROP: a coin on an index card supported by a
drinking glass drops into the glass when the card is quickly snapped
away by flicking with an index finger.
THE LOOP: a round loop (made of manila folder cardboard) is
placed on top
of a drinking glass. A coin resting is placed on top of the
loop at the center. When the loop is knocked sideways with a
ruler, the coin drops into the glass.
- KARATE CHOP: a pen held vertically has a flat ball
of clay at its top, which serves as a table. A narrow strip of writing
paper is held by the other hand, so that it rests on top of the clay at
the other end. A coin is placed on top of the paper over the
clay. When the paper is rapidly removed by
striking it vertically with a ruler, the coin remains in place on the
clay table.
- TOWER TAKE DOWN: stack of coins on a flat surface. Use a
thin ruler or index card to snap the bottom coin away without moving
the
others. A slow motion, either with the ruler or the index card,
would carry the stack of coins with it.
Ken Schug added another
example involving inertia, using a roll of toilet paper. With a
slow pull the
paper rolls, whereas with a fast
pull one piece detaches. Place an object on the end of the toilet
paper on a flat surface,
and then pull slowly (object travels with paper) or
rapidly (paper detaches).
Note that, as weight
of object is increased, the paper eventually will detach, with even a
slow pull.
We all had fun
and learned a lot! Thanks, Wanda.
Chris Etapa [Gunsaulas
Academy] Nature Walk, Part II
We finished the class with a follow-up to the previous lesson [bc100703.html],
where we brought in a wide variety of autumn leaves. Chris
reviewed some of
the physical features of leaves used to identify them. Then she showed
us some
(fantastic) collages made by students in her science club using leaves
they
had brought to class, and she gave us 15 minutes to make a
collage with our leaves.
The collages used leaves of various shapes and sizes to make
exceptionally
creative images of animals: fish, an elephant, birds, etc.
We were expected
to identify as many tree species as possible, and to describe the
type of leaves
shown in our drawing. Glue was used to attach the flattened
leaves to a heavy
paper backing.
Great job as usual, Chris!
Notes taken by Ken Schug.
Schedule of Future Presentations:
| Date |
Presenters |
| 04 November |
Lilla Green, Christine Scott |
| 18 November |
Ed Scanlon |
| 02 December |
Parham/Malvin/Giles, Barbara Pawela |
| 09 December |
Brenda Daniel |