Scope on Safety : Waste not, want not
Planning chemical use and disposal is critical to a safe laboratory environment. It is irresponsible to simply go out and purchase laboratory chemicals without considering why they are needed and how they will be disposed of when they are no longer needed. An OSHA-based Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) should be adopted by the science department as the first step in this vital process. The procedures and operations for the purchase, use, storage, and recycling of hazardous chemicals are addressed in
Aerodynamics : What Causes Lift?
How does an airplane stay aloft when upside down? This media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site offers an explanation based on Newtons third law of motion.
Solar two
What is a method of active solar energy production? This article, part of a series about the future of energy, describes the use of large reflector power plants in the Mohave Desert. Students are introduced to the use of large solar reflectors to heat molten salt and produce energy for homes. Students view four photographs of different aspects of the solar complex. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
Graphing for Area
Middle School, difficulty level 2. Graph six points and find the area of the resulting hexagon.
Problems with a Point
A collection of problems designed to help students in grades 6-12 learn new mathematical ideas by building on old ones. Varying in difficulty and approaches, these problems are useful for teachers, students, parents, math clubs, home-schoolers, and others. Problems are classified by topic, time required, suggested technology, required mathematical background, and habits of mind that students develop or use as they work. Synopses of the problems are keyword searchable. Answers and solutions are p
Density Balloon
What happens to the density of a balloon as it is heated and cooled? This material is part of a series of hands-on science activities designed to arouse student interest. Here students use a hair dryer to heat a helium-filled Mylar balloon, causing it to rise, and let it cool, causing it to drop. The activity includes a description, a list of science process skills and complex reasoning strategies being used, and a compilation of applicable K-12 national science education standards. Also provide
Enough to Go Around : Edible Vaccines
A great feature from the Why Files, this Web site introduces the research of plant biologist Charles Arntzen of Arizona State University, a pioneer in the development of edible vaccines. Written in entertaining and readable Why Files style, this easy-to-navigate Web site explains how edible vaccines are made, how they work, how they may significantly increase vaccination rates in developing countries, and so on. Relevant links to archived Why Files stories and other sources are provided.
Measurement
Measurement is best learned through direct applications or as part of other mathematical topics. A measurable attribute of an object is a characteristic that is most readily quantified and compared. Many attributes, such as length, perimeter, area, volume, and angle measure, come from the geometric realm. Other attributes are physical, such as temperature and mass. Still other attributes, such as density, are not readily measurable by direct means.
Life Science
The life sciences investigate the diversity, complexity, and interconnectedness of life on earth. Students are naturally drawn to examine living things, and as they progress through the grade levels, they become capable of understanding the theories and models that scientists use to explain observations of nature.
2.14 Summing up
This unit is concerned with macroevolution – the patterns and processes of evolution above the species level. A crucial consideration in macroevolutionary studies is that of the evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) of the organisms in question. The unit begins with an introduction to the scope of macroevolutionary studies and illustrates methods of reconstructing phylogeny, from both morphological and molecular data.
Don't Crack Humpty
Student groups are provided with a generic car base. The groups then design a device/enclosure that will protect an egg on or in the car as it is rolled down a ramp at increasing slopes. Students will be expected to perform basic mathematical calculations using their data.
Relay For Life 2011
Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.
Sign up for this year's Relay For Life event, taking place April 8 and 9 at Plaster Sports Complex. Learn more about the event and how to donate at http://www.missouristate.edu/relayforlife
The China Model: Appeals and limitations of state capitalism
For some people, China's impressive rebound from the recent financial recession proves that a China model has emerged and will work better for China and some other developing countries than the Western model of modernisation. Zhao argues that while... (Running Time 72:01)
Designing a Medical Device to Extract Foreign Bodies from the Ear
Students learn the engineering design process by actually utilizing the steps, from identification of the problem to designing a device and evaluating its efficacy and areas for improvement. A quick story at the beginning of the activity reveals the problem: a small child put a pebble in his ear and we don’t know how to get it out! As biomedical engineers, the students are asked to design a device to remove it. Each student pair is provided with a model ear canal and a wide variety of classroo
Under Pressure
Students learn about Pascal’s law, an important concept behind the engineering of dam and lock systems, such as the one that Thirsty County wants Splash Engineering to design for the Birdseye River (an ongoing hypothetical engineering scenario). Students observe the behavior of water in plastic water bottles spilling through holes punctured at different heights, seeing the distance water spurts from the holes, learning how water at a given depth exerts equal pressure in all directions, and how
Building an Electromagnet
Student teams investigate the properties of electromagnets. They create their own small electromagnet and experiment with ways to change its strength to pick up more paper clips. Students learn about ways that engineers use electromagnets in everyday applications.
Building a Fancy Spectrograph
Students create and decorate their own spectrographs using simple materials and holographic diffraction gratings. A holographic diffraction grating acts like a prism, showing the visual components of light. After building the spectrographs, students observe the spectra of different light sources as homework.
Tools and Equipment, Part I
Through a series of activities, students discover that the concept of mechanical advantage describes reality fairly well. They act as engineers creating a design for a ramp at a construction site by measuring four different inclined planes and calculating the ideal mechanical advantage versus the actual mechanical advantage of each. Then, they use their analysis to make recommendations for the construction site.
DNA: The Human Body Recipe
As a class, students work through an example showing how DNA provides the “recipe” for making our body proteins. They see how the pattern of nucleotide bases (adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine) forms the double helix ladder shape of DNA, and serves as the code for the steps required to make genes. They also learn some ways that engineers and scientists are applying their understanding of DNA in our world.
