Snapshot Science

Beautiful physics

Snapshot Science — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:18:35 +0000

This video shows an interesting merge of physics and make-up which might just be the hook you need to get certain individuals in your class interested in science (you know who they are!).

Teaching ideas

Ask the students to create another voice-over for the advert which explains how the nail varnish works in more scientific detail.

Ask them to predict the shape of the magnetic field of the magnet in the lid.

Discuss other beauty/magnets crossovers: magnetic earrings, and the possibility of creating removable tattoos using magnetic ink.

Weblinks

This idea came courtesy of Physics Central.

Magnetic tattoos research

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Science in the news-letter #3

Snapshot Science — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:14:02 +0000

This week’s newsletter features invisibility cloaks for buildings, lab-grown hamburgers and how to charge a mobile phone using a T-shirt.

Flipping forces

Snapshot Science — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:16:25 +0000

Next Tuesday is Pancake Day and to celebrate the flipping fantastic feast that it is, here is an idea that can be used to reinforce knowledge of force diagrams with KS2 or KS3 students.

Using the downloadable resource, students create their own diagrams to show the forces involved when flipping a pancake.

This is ideally done on the computer, where they can use PowerPoint to add arrows, labels and even animate their creations. Or, you can display the instructions (slide 1) on the whiteboard and print out the other slides as handouts which the students can draw on.

Weblinks

Some other pancake lesson ideas for science:

This lesson explores how to teach chemical reactions and physical changes by cooking pancakes. This idea is also covered in more detail in UPD8 Wikid’s Cook unit.

A fun KS4 idea using pancakes to teach about plate tectonics. Mmmm … maple syrup asthenosphere.

Science in the news-letter #2

Snapshot Science — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:24:34 +0000

Another five science new stories from around the world feature in this week’s edition.
Thank to you all those who sent me such positive comments about the newsletter – I am glad it proving to be useful.

Chemistry speed dating

Snapshot Science — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:55:15 +0000

Using anthropomorphism is a really useful technique when it comes to teaching the more challenging concepts in chemistry.

After all, atoms behave just like people in a lot of ways, including matters of love.

If you need evidence, take a look at how elements behave at a party:

Googling some ideas for a valentine’s day chemistry lesson, I came across a really great idea from a wiki set up by a school in the USA and have decided to use the idea and adapt it slightly so it addresses what students need to know about atomic structure and ionic bonding for GCSE.

I present…chemistry speed dating.

Assign each student an element, whose role they take during the lesson. I would stick to group 1, 2, 6 and 7 elements and avoid high atomic numbers (as the students will be drawing the structures). You can throw in a few group 3 if you want to make bonding diagrams a little more tricky but best to avoid group 8s as they do not enjoy any form of social activity. If you have a mixed sex class you may wish to make one sex metals and the other non-metals but be aware of the high probability of sexual innuendos involving bonding and filling shells (I will let you use your imagination here).

Each student then does some initial research on their element and fills in a ‘dating profile’. This involves them finding out about appearance and uses, as well as drawing atomic structure to show electron shells.

Now in the usual speed dating format, ask metals (or non-metals) to sit at desks whilst the others circulate round with their profiles. They have 5 minutes with each other before a bell is rung and they move on. You only need to do two or three rounds of this. During each ‘date’ each element should inspect each other’s profile and fill in a compatibility sheet. They have to think about how they would bond, name the compound they would form and draw a dot cross diagram. This gives an opportunity for paired work, plus the students could check each other’s completed sheet.

After the dating each element should fill in the ‘rate your dates’ section where they think about which element they are most compatible with and why. If you want to push the embarrassment factor a little more you could ask metals to announce which non-metal they would most like to bond with before impersonating Cilla Black and cooing about having to buy a hat (to blank faces most probably).

Resource

The chemistry speed dating document can be downloaded by clicking on the link below. This contains all the worksheets for the lesson plus an example which you can use to show the students how to fill them in.

Weblinks

Interactive periodic table – useful for research

Element research project – the document I used as inspiration for this post. From the wiki of HenryStreet School.

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Science in the news-letter

Snapshot Science — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:24:16 +0000

This idea came from @ejw232, a teacher on Twitter, who asked if there was any website that supplied print-off news headlines she could display in her classroom. I’m never one to shy away from a challenge, so here is the first (I’m hoping of many) science in the news downloads.

It includes five of the most interesting, and relevant to school science, news stories of the past week. Each story has QR code and URL which will send students to the news story and a question to get them thinking. This could used as an enrichment activity, competition or homework.

I would love feedback on this new idea. Please let me know if this is useful or if there is anything you want added to make it more useable in the classroom.

Thanks!

Cell alchemy

Snapshot Science — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:31:03 +0000

Credit: Karin Pierre, Institut de Physiologie, UNIL, Lausanne.

The story

Researchers in California have successfully converted mouse skin cells into brain cells, eliminating the need for stem cells.

It is hoped that the same procedure could be carried out on human cells, bringing the possibility of stem cell therapy for conditions such as Alzheimer’s closer to reality.

This is a great story to use in a GCSE lesson on stem cells. Students could discuss why this is a better alternative to using those from embryos.

Weblinks

BBC news story

Great stem cell teaching resources from the Learn Genetics website.

Global warming in fast-forward

Snapshot Science — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:25:30 +0000

This video comes courtesy of NASA and shows how global temperatures have changed over the last 131 years. It would make a great starter to any lesson on climate change. You can clearly see that temperatures started to showed a significance increase from the 1970s due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, industry and vehicles. Students could be asked to spot this trend and come up with an explanation for it.

Spider-goat, spider-goat…

Snapshot Science — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:48:55 +0000

Credit: the prodigal untitled13 @ Flickr

…does whatever a spider-goat does.

Can she swing

from a web?

No she can’t

she’s a goat…

…however, she can produce spider silk proteins in her milk.

The story

You may have watched the Horizon programme Playing God on BBC2 on Tuesday, and if you didn’t there is still time to catch it on iplayer. If you are teaching about genetic engineering it is well worth spending time watching it as it covers some amazing uses of this branch of biotechnology.

Despite the range of ‘synthetic biology’ examples out there, in this post I have decided just to concentrate on the spider-goats, the transgenic poster girls of the moment.

Spider silk is incredibly lightweight yet strong. It is five times stronger than steel of the same diameter. It is also biodegradable and compatible with the human body. This amazing material has a myriad of applications in industries as diverse as space flight, fashion and neurosurgery.

There is no wonder that biotechnology companies have been scrambling to find a successful way of mass producing it over the past few years. Attempts have included farming spiders (fail – they tend to eat each other), and the genetic modification of different organisms such as tobacco plants, before Nexia Biotechnologies was successful with the modification of goats that expressed the silk proteins in their milk. The spider-goat was born.

Teaching ideas

A novel material

Silk is a natural polymer so you could use this as an example when teaching about materials in GCSE chemistry. Can the students match up it uses to its properties? For example, it could be used instead of nylon in fishing lines because it is strong but biodegradable and therefore better for the environment.

As I have already covered, silk has properties that often mean it is a better choice of material than its more traditional rivals. Students can research into the advantages and disadvantages of silk compared to another material for a range of applications.

Genetic engineering

The actual process by which the goats were created is an example of genetic modification. This resource can be used to teach the method and can be used with KS5 students when studying recombinant DNA or as a way of extending the more able at GCSE.

Students are given slide 2 printed out as cards. They have to use the diagram on slide 1 to put the statements in the correct order to show the method used. Slide 3 contains some extension questions.

Ethical questions

Of course, there is scope for an ethical debate on this and other examples of transgenic animals. Are the scientists ‘playing God’ (as the title of the Horizon programme mentioned suggests) and what opinions do your students have about the ethics surrounding the spider goats?

Weblinks

Video clip of the Horizon programme showing the spider goats.

The father of genetics

Snapshot Science — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:37:26 +0000

This is a great video about Gregor Mendel and his work – a topic found in most GCSE science specifications.

It was produced by Nottingham Trent University for their ‘My favourite scientist’ project. You can find videos about other scientists on their website.