It's Science Project Time!

Mrs. Cureton's Principles of Physics classes are currently reviewing the Scientific Method in preparation for their science projects that are due on March 2, 2015.

Students will watch videos about testing popcorn that has been soaked in water or dried in the oven, and about the cohesive force of water molecules and how it affects the number of drops of water that can be held on a coin.

Project ideas may be found in the textbook, where each chapter has several Mini Labs that can be used as an experiment. Also recommended is the website sciencebuddies.org, where students can find a list of projects from the various branches of science. All projects must be approved by Mrs. Cureton, for safety reasons.

Students are allowed to work with a partner, as long as they are in the same class period. Any students may enter their project in the Mineral Area College science fair, which will be held on Friday, April 10, 2015. Application forms for MAC must be given to Mrs. Cureton by March 13.

Physics in the News

In a matter of science imitating life, a topic Mrs. Cureton's classes read about in Science World Magazine on Tuesday was featured prominently in the news the same day.

Peter Higgs, a physicist from the United Kingdom, was awarded the Nobel Prize on October 8, 2013, for his discovery of the Higgs bosun particle. This particle helps physicists understand the nature of all matter. Mr. Higgs was 83 years old at the time of this award. He had been working on this project for many years, and achieved his goal in 2012.

Our magazine used the analogy of a field of snow to explain the significance of the Higgs bosun particle. On a farmer's field covered with snow, photons, (elementary atomic particles which have no mass) could be compared to skiers, who glide across with little effort. Snow-shoers could tramp across the surface with some effort, comparable to electrons, which do have mass. The Higgs bosun would behave like people trying to walk through deep snow in sneakers. It is a massive elementary particle.

The Higgs bosun was discovered by shooting elementary particles at high speed through an underground reactor with a 17-mile circumference.

Blue Bloods Keep Us Healthy

Did you know that horseshoe crabs have blue blood? Mrs. Cureton's biology classes know. That's because a feature article in Science World Magazine detailed how humans use the blood of horseshoe crabs to test medicines and medical equipment for bacteria.

Horseshoe crabs are trapped and drained of almost two-thirds of their blood. They are tagged so they are not used again too soon. A chemical in their blood causes it to form a clot when exposed to gram-negative bacteria. This bacteria can cause death in humans if it reaches the bloodstream.

Scientists use horseshoe crab blood to test syringes and artificial joints and any equipment that comes in contact with the human bloodstream, to make sure the gram-negative bacteria is not present. Before this discovery of the properties of horseshoe crab blood in the 1970s, scientists used live rabbits to test for the bacteria. The rabbits got a fever if the bacteria was present.

If you recently got a flu shot or any other vaccine, thank a horseshoe crab that the needle and medicine were safe.

WELCOME!

It's that time again! Welcome back.

You might want to check out some of these past reports. You never know when something you see here might give you hints for success in future class activities!

They're Not Called Tasmanian Angels

Mrs. Cureton's classes learned from Science World Magazine that Tasmanian Devils are in danger of extinction, due to Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD). It is a contagious form of cancer that slowly kills Tasmanian Devils by starvation. Devils can catch the disease through saliva from an infected Tasmanian Devil. Because these animals are very aggressive, and fights are common, DFTD is sweeping through the population. A photo of a Devil with DFTD can be found here. It's kind of graphic, so you may not want to check it out.

An attempt to save the Devils is being made through Devil Ark, a sanctuary and captive breeding program that hopes to reintroduce healthy Tasmanian Devils into the wild.

Some students wished they could have a Tasmanian Devil as a pet. This is illegal, because Tasmanian Devils are a protected species. They sure are cute, though. Don't you think?

Of course, once they grow up, and you see them in their natural habitat, you might change your mind. They're not called Tasmanian Angels, you know.

Dominopalooza 2011

On March 3-4, Mrs. Cureton's freshman Physics classes practiced graphing by plotting the speed of falling dominoes. Students placed the dominoes different distances apart (close, medium, far), measured the length of the line, and then toppled them while timing the result.

A bar graph was used to interpret the data. Speed, the dependent variable in this activity, was displayed on the y-axis (vertical). The independent variable, the distance apart of the dominoes, was displayed on the x-axis (horizontal).




Some groups discovered that closely-spaced dominoes fell faster, and some groups found that farther-spaced dominoes fell faster. In a perfect experiment, under controlled conditions, there is an optimal distance of 2 cm at which a straight line of dominoes falls the fastest. More closely spaced dominoes fall slower because it takes them longer to fall over, and more distantly spaced dominoes fall slower because it takes them longer to hit the next domino.



If you want to study this phenomenon in detail, check this out. Or for a little bit simpler version, look here. In our class, we did not measure the spacing between dominoes. Mrs. Cureton has found that procedure to be too time-consuming for the classroom.

















Students also discovered which members of the group had a steady hand for setting up dominoes. Some found this out the hard way!






Likewise, they found out who had a quick thumb on the stopwatch...or better yet, who actually remembered to hit the button when the dominoes were toppled.
















Don't bother crying over toppled dominoes! The only solution is to set them up and knock them down again. Remember to time it!











After a long two days of dominoes, Mrs. Cureton saw them everywhere. She even imagined them hanging from the ceiling.















It's a good thing she has 365 days to recover before her classes topple dominoes again.

Grasping at Straws

The Principles of Physics class has a straw tower competition every year. The challenge is to build a tower out of one package of plastic drinking straws (the bendy elbow kind, 100 straws per package). The tower must support a tennis ball for 15 seconds. The tallest tower that supports the tennis ball wins.







Each group is allowed 12 inches of masking tape to hold straws together. That's usually not enough. Creative ways of connecting straws have included cutting the ends off and shoving other straws into the ends, tearing the tape into tiny strips, cutting straws lengthwise and using those threadlike parts to tie other straws together, and cutting holes in the middle of straws and shoving other straws through them.

The key to building such a tower is to make sure that the center of gravity of the tennis ball is over the base of support of the tower. If not, that tottering tower will tip over, and toss your tennis ball to the tile.

The straw tower contest is held in May, with the winning group in each class earning bonus points.






Here is last year's overall winner, designed by Brad W., assisted by Brendan B., Megan S., Jamie D., Courtney B., and Jake C. They drew out a specific plan, assigned duties, measured precisely, and constructed this magnificent tower. After the time limit and official testing, they actually added more levels to their sturdy structure.










Each year, new designs are created. In some classes, it's not the great height of the tower that makes a winner, but the ability to actually support the tennis ball for 15 seconds. A few groups got carried away with making the tallest tower, forgetting that it must balance a tennis ball.













To look at some towers, you might think it's a mission impossible. In fact, many trials resulted in failure to support the tennis ball for 15 seconds, or for any seconds. But one simple, last-minute adjustment can make it work. Which was proven by the group of Jesse C., Christin F., Rachel S., and Zach B., who shored up their tower to take first place in 1st Hour.

Does anybody else think this one looks like some kind of cartoonish WhoVille skyscraper from a Dr. Seuss story?