Posted by David Wetzel
Global warming is more of concern for our children than it is for adults today, although this does not mean we need to ignore green living. This is why this new generation must help focus on development of green living and Eco-friendly ideas.
Earth Day is April 22nd and now is the time to start planning for projects students can participate in support of Earth Day
Green Living Science Projects
The following are examples of green science projects students can investigate as science fair projects or complete as in class case studies.
- Wind Energy Demonstration - Build a wind tower with small electric motor which generates power to do work or charge a battery. Use an external fan or hair dryer to simulate wind. Supply supporting information from major wind energy manufacturers.
- Renewable Energy Survey - Conduct a study on the best renewable energy sources to use in your area and identify the opportunities and challenges to implementing such a plan.
- Bio-diesel - Create bio-diesel from discarded fryer oil. Show the reactions and the issues around using bio-diesel in conventional diesel vehicles. Research new applications for bio-diesel fuels.
- Composting - Perform an analysis of various waste streams to understand the potential reduction from composting (cafeteria, home, restaurant, etc.). Supporting evidence on uses of compost or organic matter in bio-fuels.
- Cheapest / Greenest Batteries - Calculate the life cycle cost of various types of batteries in typical applications. For example, how many alkaline, rechargeable NiMH or Lithium AA would be required to operate a digital point-and-shoot for 1 hour per day for 1 year. Calculate the extended cost per year and measure the landfill and toxic metal contribution in addition to the total cost.
- Energy Audits - Create and execute an energy audit in various settings and attempt to measure the impact of various changes. Obtain electric bills or other usage metrics and do before/after data analysis. Focus on specific areas such as compact fluorescent (CF) lighting or setback thermostats.
- Carbon Footprint - Calculate the carbon footprint of various people you know. Suggest ways for them to lower their footprint. Explain the concept and compare footprints of your users to those in various places/countries.
- Green Rooftops - Build a green rooftop and demonstrate the value in food/plant production and energy savings.
Resources
Who Killed the Electric Car-Again!
Understanding Scientific Inquiry
Science Case Studies
Problem Solving and Science Process Skills
Google Earth and Global Warming Projects
Posted by David Wetzel
I am always on the lookout for interactive websites that students can use in science and below is one that requires students to use critical thinking skills as they learn about the Periodic Table of Elements.
The Periodic Table
The Periodic Table by Anneberg Media is an interactive Web site where students can learn about the Periodic Table of the Elements: how it is organized (into groups); the atomic structure of each group; characteristics of isotopes; the scientific notation that is used to define atoms and elements; and how the chemical properties of elements are determined by their atomic composition.
Student Interaction
Students:
- explore the basics of the atom and how scientists came to understand its structure, learn how the number of protons in an atom determines what element it is, and discover how elements, which interact to make up all living things and materials in the world, can be organized and understood using the Periodic Table.
- learn about atomic structure, including how negatively charged electrons fill the orbitals of atoms and how the placement of electrons affects the chemical nature of elements; students will also learn the notation systems that are used to describe the orbital configuration.
- explore the Periodic Table further to learn how it can be divided into groups (the vertical columns of the table) and periods (the horizontal rows); that atoms can come in different types of forms like isotopes; (how to calculate the mass of an atom, and how the properties of those groups and periods vary depending on the structure of each atom.
- investigate the characteristics of families of elements, such as the halogen family and noble gases.
Additional Resources
Web Elements by the University of Sheffield
Periodic Table by Los Alamos National Laboratory
Posted by David Wetzel
Individual students learn in different ways. When manipulatives are used, their senses are peaked for learning since students can touch and move objects to make visual representations of mathematical concepts.
Manipulatives can be used to represent both numbers and operations of these numbers. In addition to meeting the needs of students who learn best in this way, manipulatives afford the teacher strategies for reinforcing a math concept.
Virtual manipulatives are an additional tool for helping students at all levels of ability to make connections within and between math concepts.
For some students mathematics is just too abstract. These students need visual interactive multiple instructional strategies that combine auditory, visual, and mental activities. They benefit from a combination of visual (i.e., pictures and 2D/3D moveable objects) and verbal representations (i.e., numbers, letters, words) of concepts. This is possible with use of virtual manipulatives.
The ability to combine multiple representations in an interactive virtual environment allows students to manipulate and change the representations. This strategy increases exploration possibilities to internalize concepts, making conjectures between math relationships.
Interactive Virtual Math Resources
Interactive Problem Solving
A Website for Math Learning
Wikis in Math Class
