Most probably pseudoscience.
There's probably still many things wrong with this .gif. (ie: our star can't turn into a black hole and our solar system would probably die by the time we get into contact with a black hole) but it's still somewhat entertaining.
Credit: https://twitter.com/SciencePorn
Monday, 22 September 2014
Sunday, 21 September 2014
Trending on Reddit - Some Uncommon Images from the Apollo Program
Below are some amazing images from the Apollo Program 50+ years ago. You may find the rest on imgur. Take a look as it's just much more impressive full screen, but probably not as impressive live. Please, Elon Musk, work faster and make space travel available within my lifetime.
If you scroll the comments, you will find some people doubting the validity of the photos, as well as the actual mission itself. These are always important questions. I encourage you to delve further into the topic during your blog time if you're interested.
I've highlighted two comments below. Can you answer them?
1) Why are some of the pictures involving Earth upside down?
2) Why is the resolution of the photos so high?
If you scroll the comments, you will find some people doubting the validity of the photos, as well as the actual mission itself. These are always important questions. I encourage you to delve further into the topic during your blog time if you're interested.
I've highlighted two comments below. Can you answer them?
1) Why are some of the pictures involving Earth upside down?
2) Why is the resolution of the photos so high?
Art and Physics
I know this isn't earth and space related, but it is science related.
It's truly mesmerizing. I encourage you to watch her perform her art and the absolute concentration and body control that this requires.
Scientifically, for those who studied gr 12 physics & understand torque (gr 12), just imagine the free body diagram that this situation creates.
Its true beauty is emphasized in the end.
It's truly mesmerizing. I encourage you to watch her perform her art and the absolute concentration and body control that this requires.
Scientifically, for those who studied gr 12 physics & understand torque (gr 12), just imagine the free body diagram that this situation creates.
Its true beauty is emphasized in the end.
Saturday, 20 September 2014
Lab Fail...for Now.
Behold, the lab that both Mr. McCumber and Mr. Shin set up & tried ahead of time. Alas, no students chose to perform the lab or do any observations. We set it up, but didn't sell it well as a worthwhile option.
Well, it was at least fun. Maybe we'll incorporate it in the next unit.
Well, it was at least fun. Maybe we'll incorporate it in the next unit.
Friday, 19 September 2014
The Latest on Rosetta
After ten years, Rosetta finally caught up with its target - comet. Upon arrival, the ESA reported that finding a landing site for its rover, Philae, was proving difficult because of its irregular shape. Now, after orbiting for ten days and trying to find the optimal landing site, Philae has finally chosen the "J" landing site.
The only comparison I can draw is when my friend drove up from Windsor on a four hour trek to get to Pacific Mall only to spend an additional 25 minutes trying to get a parking spot. Even that proportional comparison is off by almost four orders of magnitude.
Things are getting exciting as the comet seems to be releasing the building blocks of life - water, methane, methanol, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. Anyways, here's a closer look at the landing spot and Rosetta's measurements of the comet, courtesy of ESA's very own Rosetta page.
 |
| Potential landing spots for Philae - courtesy of New Scientist http://sci.esa.int/rosetta/54643-j-marks-the-spot-for-rosettas-lander/ |
The only comparison I can draw is when my friend drove up from Windsor on a four hour trek to get to Pacific Mall only to spend an additional 25 minutes trying to get a parking spot. Even that proportional comparison is off by almost four orders of magnitude.
Things are getting exciting as the comet seems to be releasing the building blocks of life - water, methane, methanol, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. Anyways, here's a closer look at the landing spot and Rosetta's measurements of the comet, courtesy of ESA's very own Rosetta page.
Thursday, 18 September 2014
The Best Selfie Ever
While working to find a landing spot for its rover, ESA's Rosetta's rover, Philae, snaps a selfie with the comet 67P/C-G in the background.
First Lab - Covering up Mistakes with Another Mistake is a Severe Mistake
So, I decided to trust my mature grade 12 students and do a "free for all" lab. Rather than giving step by step instructions, I gave them a question and let them make the procedure. The theory goes that they learn more with less help.
"Help students by helping them less" Or more popularly, Dan Meyer's "Be less helpful". There's a reason why teachers rarely do this.
Things go wrong. Chaos ensues. Confusion reigns. It's messy learning. Apparently, real learning occurs through mistakes. Let's analyze these mistakes:
Mistake #1: Broken Glass
To find the volume of the rock, some of my smarter students placed and slid rocks inside graduated cylinders. However, other students dropped rocks into the graduated cylinders. It doesn't seem so bad unless I tell you that the graduated cylinders were made of glass.
A broken graduated cylinder is no problem. Usually what happens is that the student tells the teacher. The teacher turns this accident into a learning moment by getting the attention of the class and telling people not to drop rocks in glass. The teacher can make sure the area is clean of all the glass and most importantly, the mistake won't be repeated again. But nope, this process didn't occur because another mistake was made.
I'm not going to cry over spilled milk. Or broken glass. Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Mistake #2: Covering up a Mistake
Not telling your teacher and pretending the graduated cylinder didn't break can make things worse. Other students can slice their finger open. The unreported broken glass is left around the area and can hurt the 8 year old students that come here for Chinese school at night. All of this could happen because someone wanted to save their ego and not face the consequence of a broken graduated cylinder. Sigh.
Mistake #3: Broken Glass Redux
For an airplane to crash, it's been analyzed in Gladwell's book Outliers that about seven seemingly small sequential wrong mistakes lead up to the huge accident. Thank goodness we're only at mistake #3. Because we as a class didn't get to reflect on our mistake, person #2 dropped another rock into a graduated cylinder, breaking a second graduated cylinder. Or worse, the second set of broken glass occurred because of person #1.
Summary
What's interesting is that the root of the problem is me.
I realized this when cleaning up afterwards. I was looking in my prized box of 75 rocks and minerals and realized that they were all placed upside down and out of order. I spent an extra 15 minutes combing the area for any broken glass. I cleaned up the water by the sink.
It's one thing to let the students make their own procedure. It's quite another to not set the proper tone of the lab to be one of respect for the learning environment and its materials.
"Being less helpful" doesn't have to mean "be less respectful."
"Help students by helping them less" Or more popularly, Dan Meyer's "Be less helpful". There's a reason why teachers rarely do this.
Things go wrong. Chaos ensues. Confusion reigns. It's messy learning. Apparently, real learning occurs through mistakes. Let's analyze these mistakes:
Mistake #1: Broken Glass
To find the volume of the rock, some of my smarter students placed and slid rocks inside graduated cylinders. However, other students dropped rocks into the graduated cylinders. It doesn't seem so bad unless I tell you that the graduated cylinders were made of glass.
A broken graduated cylinder is no problem. Usually what happens is that the student tells the teacher. The teacher turns this accident into a learning moment by getting the attention of the class and telling people not to drop rocks in glass. The teacher can make sure the area is clean of all the glass and most importantly, the mistake won't be repeated again. But nope, this process didn't occur because another mistake was made.
Mistake #2: Covering up a Mistake
Not telling your teacher and pretending the graduated cylinder didn't break can make things worse. Other students can slice their finger open. The unreported broken glass is left around the area and can hurt the 8 year old students that come here for Chinese school at night. All of this could happen because someone wanted to save their ego and not face the consequence of a broken graduated cylinder. Sigh.
Mistake #3: Broken Glass Redux
For an airplane to crash, it's been analyzed in Gladwell's book Outliers that about seven seemingly small sequential wrong mistakes lead up to the huge accident. Thank goodness we're only at mistake #3. Because we as a class didn't get to reflect on our mistake, person #2 dropped another rock into a graduated cylinder, breaking a second graduated cylinder. Or worse, the second set of broken glass occurred because of person #1.
Summary
What's interesting is that the root of the problem is me.
I realized this when cleaning up afterwards. I was looking in my prized box of 75 rocks and minerals and realized that they were all placed upside down and out of order. I spent an extra 15 minutes combing the area for any broken glass. I cleaned up the water by the sink.
It's one thing to let the students make their own procedure. It's quite another to not set the proper tone of the lab to be one of respect for the learning environment and its materials.
"Being less helpful" doesn't have to mean "be less respectful."
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