PSRC: Physical Sciences Resource Center
Developed by the American Association of Physics Teachers, "the Physical Sciences Resource Center (PSRC) is a web-based databank that provides K-20 teachers links to a wide range of teaching and learning resources in the physical sciences." Users can search the numerous resources by topics, type, or keyword. With each entry, the website provides a description, information on the author, subjects covered, level, intended users, resource types, possible costs, and other useful facts. Interested in
Fractals, Chaos
Paul Bourke of the Astrophysics and Supercomputing department at Swinburne University of Technology is the author of this massive resource on fractals and chaos. He gives examples of many different kinds and classes of fractals, including the Mandelbrot set and various attractors; and brief explanations accompany each one. A substantial introduction to fractals covers the underlying principles and connection to chaos theory. Many stunning, high resolution fractal image galleries show elaborate p
What's New at Sci4Kids
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the US Department of Agriculture offers its latest set of brief but engaging educational activities for kids in this Web site. The recently added feature, No Horsin' Around With These Tests!, introduces immunological concepts in the kid-friendly guise of a story about horses. Two older features are also available, one on using a biocontrol method to combat dry rot fungus in potatoes and another on mites. While these subjects may not at first appear to b
UniGene
Created by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, UniGene is "an experimental system for automatically partitioning GenBank sequences into a non-redundant set of gene-oriented clusters." In addition to gene sequences, this Web site also offers thousands of novel expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences, a useful gene discovery resource. Organisms currently cataloged include human, rat, mouse, cow, zebrafish, clawed frog, fruitfly, mosquito, wheat, rice, barley, maize, and cress. Users
Coastal and Marine Geology Program
The Coastal and Marine Geology Program Web site of the US Geological Survey is a clearinghouse of coastal related information and scientific research. Visitors will find a link to the monthly newsletter "Sound Waves;" information on topics of study such as corals, pollution, erosion, and sonar mapping; and goals and plans for the program.
Hawaii Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Bibliographic Database
This coral reef-related Bibliographic Database was developed by the Hawaii Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP). CRAMP conducts research "designed to identify the controlling factors, both natural and anthropogenic, contributing to the stability, decline, or recovery of Hawaiian reefs. The CRAMP "Bibliographic Database contains listings for published and unpublished documents concerned with the coral reefs and inshore marine resources of Hawaii." More than 2,500 references are cu
Jules Map Server
The Jules Verne Voyager, created by UNAVCO Boulder, is a precision interactive map tool to "better visualize the inter-relationships of geophysical and geologic processes, structures, and measurements with high-precision GPS monument data and solutions on Earth" as well as other major bodies of the solar system. The tool allows users to zoom or pan on a detailed local map, which is displayed in a Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection. New visitors can find helpful tutorials and practice exerci
Dendrochronology Species Database
The Dendrochronology Species Database was composed by Henri D. Grissino-Mayer, a Professor of Geography at the University of Tennessee. The database "currently contains the names of over 1,100 tree and shrub species for which tree rings have been analyzed in the published literature." Records include the authority and scientific and common name(s) for each species. For species with available data in the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB), records provide an ITRDB Code, and a link to the I
The AT&T Learning Network Community Guide
In an effort to help individuals and communities realize the importance of the Internet, AT&T created the Learning Network Community Guide. The guide consists of many different resources, and it serves a variety of purposes. Two Internet introductions, separated into student and teacher versions, can be used to maximize use of Web tools, newsgroups, and other online services. Other sections of the site suggest ways to raise community awareness of information technology (IT) and facilitate access
Food Security Learning Center
From World Hunger Year (WHY), this online Food Security Learning Center was created to provide site visitors "with an in-depth look at common hunger and poverty issues facing many U.S. communities." The Food Security Learning Center contains subject categories regarding Rural Poverty, Domestic Hunger & Federal Food Programs, Family Farms, Migrant & Seasonal Farms Workers, and Nutrition. The site also contains a Community Food Security section with subcategories pertaining to Community Supported
Honey Bee Brain EST Project
Honey bee RNA data from a recent study at the W.M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been integrated with gene research on other organisms to create this database. The project is intended to provide updated information on honey bee genes, supplemented with information from other organisms to "suggest cellular roles, biological functions, and evolutionary relationships." Users can search for information by BLAST sequence, key
What is Design?
Children between the ages of nine and twelve will be drawn into this site that explores the world of design. It encourages "kids to develop critical viewing, technical mastery, artistic awareness, and practical, just, solutions." Many interactive games and activities are available, allowing users to create their own designs and share them with others. For example, children can design their own watch with a simple step-by-step process, and many watches are featured in a gallery. A wealth of infor
BioVisa.net: Online Protocol, Journal and Forum Center for Life Science Researchers
BioVisa.net is an online community developed and maintained by life science researchers with the intent to promote information sharing among fellow researchers. The site contains links to research protocols where users can search or browse 1,774 procedures used by other scientists. Registered users can also post comments about any particular protocol. Other site features include online biological journals and forums where researchers can discuss various research topics. After the free registrati
Your sense of taste
This brief illustrated resource about the sense of taste is part of a feature that explores how humans experience flavor. The five taste qualities--including umami--are mentioned. The resource also corrects the misconception that humans can only taste certain food qualities at specific regions of the tongue. A set of connected, labeled diagrams of the tongue, taste buds, the brain, and facts about taste are noted in a sidebar. One fact compares the average number of taste buds in humans, chicken
Mineralogy 4 Kids Rockin Internet Site
The Mineralogical Society of America's Mineralogy 4 Kids Rockin Internet Site is described as "The BEST Place to Learn about Rocks and Minerals." Subjects include Minerals in Your House, Mineral Groups and Properties, Mineral Games, and All About Crystals. Another activity is entitled Rock Cycle, which offers a well done graphic and description of how rocks are transformed into the three major families: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The additional links that are provided throughout the
systems of linear equations
Solve a system of linear equations by graphing and finding the intersection of the lines of the equations. Create a system of equations, examine its graph, matrix, and table of values, and determine the solution of the system.
Who Gets the Job?
Each job candidate can see the other two candidates' black or red dots but not his own. Whoever can figure out the color of his own dot gets the job.
Barbie bungee
In this lesson, students model a bungee jump for a Barbie doll. They collect data in a table (number of rubber bands and jump distance), then create a scatterplot of the data, find its line of best fit, and write an equation of that line. Students go on to analyze the equation, noting its slope in relation to the data collected, and the meaning of the y-intercept. Since the distance to which the doll will fall is directly proportional to the number of rubber bands, the lesson provides a scenario
Science Sampler : The scientific method -- Is it still useful?
Many scientists and science educators contend that a structured scientific method does not exist, while others might argue that the scientific method is too simplistic in its approach to scientific inquiry. This article addresses the dilemmas surrounding the scientific method, and provides suggestions that will enable you to ?meld the method with process skills.?
Symmetry and Tessellations
This website provides 30 suggested activities in Symmetry and Tessellations using resources available across the World Wide Web. The author, Jill Britton, has complied this collection of links to coordinate with the chapters and activities from her publication, Investigating Patterns: Symmetry and Tessellations (Grades 5-8). The activities begin with What is Mathematics? and move on to cover topics such as Pythagoras? observations of music, patterns on Ukrainian Easter eggs, and tessellating art
