Decarteret matches pole vault record at Florida State
The Northeastern women's track & field team recorded 15 top-10 marks, including another record-breaking performance by Jillena Decarteret, amidst stiff competition at this weekend's Florida State Relays in Tallahassee, Fla.
Decarteret tied the school record in the pole vault with a winning performance of 4.06m (13'3.75), beating out 20 others for the title. The sophomore's vault matched Laura Chmielewski's mark set back almost seven years ago on May 8, 2004. Decarteret has continued to make upw
Radiation from Japan reaches B.C. shores
March 28, 2011
Simon Fraser University researchers are attributing increased levels of the radioisotope iodine-131 in B.C. seaweed and rainwater samples to the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear reactor situation in Japan.
See also http://at.sfu.ca/SjllyC
Water Safety for Families with Children with Special Needs
This video addresses the unique needs for water safety for families of special needs children. Special considerations for children with cognitive disorders and wheelchair bound children are discussed. This is a good resource for any adult working with special needs students/children such as parents, teachers, caregivers, and/or babysitters. (3:32)
Bone Mineral Density and Logarithms
Students examine an image produced by a cabinet x-ray system to determine if it is a quality bone mineral density image. Students write in their journals about what they need to know to be able to make this judgment. Students learn about what bone mineral density is, how a BMD image can be obtained, and how it is related to the field of x-ray. Students examine the process used to obtain a BMD image and how this process is related to mathematics, primarily through logarithmic functions. Students
Bone Fractures and Engineering
Students learn about the role engineers and engineering play in repairing severe bone fractures. They acquire knowledge about the design and development of implant rods, pins, plates, screws and bone grafts. They learn about materials science, biocompatibility and minimally-invasive surgery.
Solid, Liquid or Gas?
Students are given a variety of materials and asked to identify if each material as a solid, liquid or gas. They use their five senses — sight, sound, smell, texture and taste — to identify the other characteristics of each item.
Our Amazing, Powerful Sun
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the students to the Sun. They explore various aspects of the Sun including its composition, its interior workings, and its relationship to the Earth.
Laser Light Properties: Protecting the Mummified Troll!
Students learn and use the properties of light to solve the following challenge: “A mummified troll was discovered this summer at our school and it has generated lots of interest worldwide. The principal asked us, the technology classes, to design a security system that alerts the police if someone tries to pilfer our prized possession. How can we construct a system that allows visitors to view our artifact during the day, but invisibly protects it at night in a cost-effective way?”
Induced EMF in a coil of wire
Students use a simple set up consisting of a coil of wire and a magnet to visualize induced EMF. First, students move a coil of wire near a magnet and observe the voltage that results. They then experiment with moving the wire, magnet, and a second, current carrying coil. Students connect the coil to a circuit and the current from the induced EMF charges a conductor.
Solenoids
This lesson discusses solenoids. Students learn how to calculate the magnetic field along the axis of a solenoid and complete an activity exploring the magnetic field of a metal slinky. Solenoids form the basis for the magnet of an MRI. Exploring the properties of this solenoid helps students understand the MRI machine.
Magnetic Fields Matter
This lesson introduces students to the effects of magnetic fields in matter addressing permanent magnets, diamagnetism, paramagnetism, ferromagnetism, and magnetization. First students must compare the magnetic field of a solenoid to the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. Students then learn the response of diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic material to a magnetic field. Now aware of the mechanism causing a solid to respond to a field, students learn how to measure the response by l
Straw Bridges
Working as engineering teams, students design and create model beam bridges using plastic drinking straws and tape as their construction materials. Their goal is to build the strongest bridge with a truss pattern of their own design, while meeting the design criteria and constraints. They experiment with different geometric shapes and determine how shapes affect the strength of materials.
Stormy Skies
Students learn that wind and storms can form at the boundaries of interacting high and low pressure air masses. They learn the distinguishing features of the four main types of weather fronts (warm fronts, cold fronts, stationary fronts and occluded fronts) and how these fronts are depicted on a surface weather analysis, or weather map. Students also learn several different ways that engineers help with storm prediction, analysis and protection.
Let Your Ears do the Walking
In the previous lesson, students learned about the issue of bycatching by fisheries and how it affects marine habitats. Dolphins are one of the main species affected by bycatching. Dolphins use echolocation to identify the location of objects in the water, but they have difficulty identifying nets, and thus can be caught accidentally. Students will learn how echolocation works, why certain animals use it to determine the size, shape, and distance of objects, and how humans can potentially take a
Does Contact Area Matter?
Using the same method for measuring friction that was used in the previous lesson (Discovering Friction), students design and conduct an experiment to determine if the amount of area over which an object contacts a surface it is moving across affects the amount of friction encountered.
Asteroid Impact
Asteroid Impact is an 8-10 class long (350-450 min) earth science curricular unit where student teams are posed with the scenario that an asteroid will impact earth. They must design the location and size of underground caverns to save the people from uninhabitable earth for one year. Driven by this adventure scenario, student teams (1) explore general and geological maps, (2) determine the area of their classroom to help determine the cavern size required, (3) learn about map scales, (4) test r
Testing the Caverns - Optional
This activity provides a fun, activity-based closure to the Asteroid Impact unit. Students build model caverns using paper mache or clay and bury them in a tray of sand. Next, they test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the earth. By molding paper mache around a balloon to form a dome, or around a small cardboard box to form a rectangular structure, students will be able to build their caverns.
Forces on the Human Molecule
Students will conduct several simple lab activities to learn about the five fundamental load types that can act on structures: tension, compression, shear, bending, and torsion. In this activity, students will play the role of molecules in a beam subject to various loading schemes.
Space Shelter
The invasion has taken place and we need to find a new home. To ensure your survival beyond earth’s occupation you must design a shelter that can be built on another planet. Students will research the characteristics of a planet of their choice. They will design a shelter that will allow them to survive on a new planet, and explain it in words.













