http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html
Awesome TED talk presenting solutions to the failing math curriculum used in the US.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Nature of Science
MidTerm Check-In:
Science now seems like a perspective of curiosity. Coupled with an intrinsic motivation to figure out how things work. A willingness to ask questions about things, and then to keep asking questions and working on it until you have some answers. Even if those answers are only more questions. It also seems that to approach science one must possess the ability to admit one's own mistakes. To see that one's assumptions were misguided or that one's conclusions were inaccurate.
After just half of a semester of active engagement with various types of scientific inquiry, the scientific methodologies feel much more accessible to me. I am able to conceive of questions and make predictions with more confidence and clarity. Our water turbine experiment led me a deeper understanding of the physical interactions in the world. It showed me that I don't really understand things that I thought I understood. AWESOME!
Science now seems like a perspective of curiosity. Coupled with an intrinsic motivation to figure out how things work. A willingness to ask questions about things, and then to keep asking questions and working on it until you have some answers. Even if those answers are only more questions. It also seems that to approach science one must possess the ability to admit one's own mistakes. To see that one's assumptions were misguided or that one's conclusions were inaccurate.
After just half of a semester of active engagement with various types of scientific inquiry, the scientific methodologies feel much more accessible to me. I am able to conceive of questions and make predictions with more confidence and clarity. Our water turbine experiment led me a deeper understanding of the physical interactions in the world. It showed me that I don't really understand things that I thought I understood. AWESOME!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Turbines
Water Wheels,
We made our first little turbine in class today, out of a paper cup and double-layered construction paper blades. I stuck the blades at equal distances around the rim of the of the cup. I oriented the slits that the blades fit in straight up and down on the cup. We did manage to make the cup spin by blowing on it. We are going to build some more designs over the weekend. I am going to focus on a couple of blade shapes and orienting the blades different ways to see how effective different designs are.
WaterWheel 2/24/2011
Water Energy Copyright © 2010 EnergyBible.com. 2/24/2011
HydroGenerator Project 2/24/2011
Pelton Turbine Videos Copyright © 2011 World News Network 2/24/2011
Newton's Laws 2/24/2011
Hydro Power Project Copyright © 2011 2/24/2011
Homemade Hydro Power leifjohnston 2/24/2011
How to Build a Hydro Generator Copyright © 1999-2011 eHow, Inc.2/24/2011
Please see my group mate's blogs to see how we are thinking about the physics behind this project and photos/videos of our progress today!!
We made our first little turbine in class today, out of a paper cup and double-layered construction paper blades. I stuck the blades at equal distances around the rim of the of the cup. I oriented the slits that the blades fit in straight up and down on the cup. We did manage to make the cup spin by blowing on it. We are going to build some more designs over the weekend. I am going to focus on a couple of blade shapes and orienting the blades different ways to see how effective different designs are.
WaterWheel 2/24/2011
Water Energy Copyright © 2010 EnergyBible.com. 2/24/2011
HydroGenerator Project 2/24/2011
Pelton Turbine Videos Copyright © 2011 World News Network 2/24/2011
Newton's Laws 2/24/2011
Hydro Power Project Copyright © 2011 2/24/2011
Homemade Hydro Power leifjohnston 2/24/2011
How to Build a Hydro Generator Copyright © 1999-2011 eHow, Inc.2/24/2011
Please see my group mate's blogs to see how we are thinking about the physics behind this project and photos/videos of our progress today!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Vulnerability
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/1042
Brene Brown addresses the very aspects of the modern scientific paradigm that give me the greatest concern. She implies that it was her own inflexibility that was a symptom of her inability to be open to her own vulnerability. It is this side of science that I feel most strongly opposed to. The idea that it's only real if you can measure it, says to me that the whole world ought to be chopped up and put neatly into separate compartments.
That's what frightens me about science, that it may try to steal the magic from the world. But, I think that there is a reconciliation possible. My fear of science probably boils down to a fear that science could destroy my faith. I think that I can be vulnerable to what ever presents itself, that reality is whole-hearted.
I can learn from her perspective in every aspect of my own life and in my deepest internal processes. I think that she hit the nail on the head. Humankind is caught in a trap of our own design, we can't invest ourselves whole-heartedly in our lives, and wonder why our return is so poor. If I can trust that I am good enough, that I can learn and that no learning will hurt me, I believe that science will lead my into deeper connection.
Brene Brown addresses the very aspects of the modern scientific paradigm that give me the greatest concern. She implies that it was her own inflexibility that was a symptom of her inability to be open to her own vulnerability. It is this side of science that I feel most strongly opposed to. The idea that it's only real if you can measure it, says to me that the whole world ought to be chopped up and put neatly into separate compartments.
That's what frightens me about science, that it may try to steal the magic from the world. But, I think that there is a reconciliation possible. My fear of science probably boils down to a fear that science could destroy my faith. I think that I can be vulnerable to what ever presents itself, that reality is whole-hearted.
I can learn from her perspective in every aspect of my own life and in my deepest internal processes. I think that she hit the nail on the head. Humankind is caught in a trap of our own design, we can't invest ourselves whole-heartedly in our lives, and wonder why our return is so poor. If I can trust that I am good enough, that I can learn and that no learning will hurt me, I believe that science will lead my into deeper connection.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Candle Experiment
Defining the problem:
How many variable do we need to account for?
-Candle size, wick length, wax ingredients.
-I researched candle wax composition and found that the two types of candles that we are using are definitely made of different mixture of paraffin and other oils but was unable to determine the exact ingredients.
Carrying out the study:
We have two 16 oz. jars with lids.
We have votive candles and birthday candles. We are going to measure and weigh the candles. We are going to cut one of each type of candle so that we have two different sizes of the same candle.
The votive candles are 29.4 grams in weight, 3.7 cm in width and 3.8 cm tall .The wick is 1 cm in length.
The birthday candles weigh 3.3 grams and are 8 mm at the widest point, 7 cm long and the wick is 5mm long.
We need to determine how much oxygen is in each jar.- Diatomic oxygen gas constitutes 20.8% of the volume of air.
We also must find the volume of the jars. They are both 26.33 in^3
So, the volume of O^2 in each jar is 5.48 in^3.
We began the experiment by lighting the candles, putting the lid on the jar and measuring the time until the flame goes out. We lit each candle several time, to see if the burn time remained consistent. We cut the candles so that we had a full size and a half size of each type.
We then examined the results. Both of the candles burnt the longest amount of time the first time that we lit them. The votive candle (both sizes) burned for a consistent amount of time after the first lighting. We observed the similar results for the birthday candle, though the birthday candles were less consistent.
Our reflections on our findings are as follows: When a candle is freshly lit the thick wax on the tip causes it to burn for slightly longer in an environment with a limited air supply. The candle burns for slightly less time each successive lighting after that. We think that this has to do with the shortening of the wick with each lighting. We think that the longer burn time for the initial lighting has to do with the amount of wax on the wick.
this experiment has caused us to form many new questions .
- What causes different sizes of flames, besides the candle wax composition and wick length?
- Why does does the burn time decrease after several lightings?
- How does jar shape affect burn time?
- Why are birthday candles less consistent than votive candles?
- Does wax burn at a different temperature than the string in the wick?
Candle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
How does oxygen Affect how fast a candle will burn?
Mayntz. http://candles.lovetoknow.com/
Oxygen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen 2/15/2011
How much oxygen does a burning candle use?
We formed our question: Does candle size and type affect oxygen consumption?
Our investigation of the known has been tentative, but we have learned that candles are made of mixtures of different materials.
We articulated our expectations, we think that a bigger flame will use more oxygen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle 2/15/2011
Our investigation of the known has been tentative, but we have learned that candles are made of mixtures of different materials.
We articulated our expectations, we think that a bigger flame will use more oxygen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle 2/15/2011
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