The Scientific Method

The scientific method isn't just used in science! People use it everyday without realizing it.  Our homework was reading background information about Antony Van Leeuwenhoek, the father of microscopy, and using context clues and inferences to answer questions. One of the questions on the homework is "how did he [Van Leeuwenhoek] use the scientific method? This was challenging for many students because the reading did not say specifically, but rather relied on inferences and a knowledge of the scientific method.  We are reviewing the scientific method today, please look at the link below and relate something you do daily to the scientific method.

Scientific Method Steps

Anton Van Leeuwenhoek

Forces: Cause & Effect

Below is a link to a youtube video showing sky divers.  Every step and action taken has a cause and effect relating to force.  Before watching the video, write all the cause and effects you can think of.  We will watch the video and compare our predictions to what actually happens. Scientists make predictions everyday, and to make those predictions they rely on their schema & resources around them to predict outcomes.  It is ok not to be correct when predicting.

Scientific Eye Parachute Forces Clip

Gold & White or Black & Blue?

The dress on facebook has created a debate: what color is that dress? There have been articles and opinions that have created misconceptions about light, translations to the brain, and the color spectrum. This dress is a great example of an optical illusion.

New York Times Article



NBC News Video Clip

Optical Illusion

How many black dots do you see below? Look carefully, the answer may surprise you.

What is an optical illusion? Optical illusions are caused by a mismatch of what the eyes see and what the brain interprets

Turning Arrow Experiment

One of the science stations we are doing is the turning arrow experiment.  This is a perfect hands on example of refraction.  Take a look at this website to get more information and visuals.

Reverse Arrow Article

Do you observe refraction? Post below, I'd love to hear about it!

Live Space Walk 2/25/15

On 2/25/15 we watched a live spacewalk on NASA's website. We observed the communication and the astronauts in space making repairs on a robotic arm on the International Space Station (ISS). We observed Earth and the sun from a very unique and amazing view.  We also used twitter and tweeted an astronaut named Douglas Wheelock (@Astro_Wheels). We asked him what time zone they use while in space and he responded to us within 30 minutes! The students were very excited to get a live tweet from space, thank you Douglas Wheelock! You can view other questions asked by adults and students on twitter using #askNASA.

Today I will show a clip from apollo 13 demonstrating problem and solution and how that relates to engineering. I encourage my students to be engineers whenever possible and to find times in their lives when they themselves are engineers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egWvQuT5TCU

I also will show them the original Apollo 13 math that saved the day and sold for $388,375 in 2011.

http://gizmodo.com/5863778/the-math-that-saved-apollo-13

Light!

We will be doing science stations for the next few days.  We will be exploring light and what happens when it is reflected, refracted, etc. Here is a copy of the worksheets we will use at each station and a description of what we will be doing. We will also have a station reviewing sound and amplification.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5-R28AdFXfoNk9yYXRrZHNSX2FBV2phTUF2R09aUQ/edit?pli=1

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife: Camp Wallace

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife department has a summer camp called Camp Wallace beginning June 15th. Sign ups are first come first serve, please fill out the form if you and your child are interested in going.  The cost for five days is $235.00.  If you register online you get a discount and it is $225.00. If you have any questions, you can contact John Coffey at: john.coffey@ky.gov and (859) 358-5175. 

http://fw.ky.gov/Education/Pages/Camp-Earl-Wallace.aspx