The Newsletter for Science in Motion at Susquehanna University
Volume II Issue 4 November 2002
Things are Moving at Science in Motion
It seems the science teachers in the Central Susquehanna
Valley are starting to really use the Science in Motion Program. Mike McDevitt,
our Mobile Chemistry teacher, is out more than he is in. This is a good thing
although we do miss Mike here at SU. He visits schools on the average of 3 to
4 days a week. Birgit Musheno, our Mobile Biology teacher, has already had several
school visits even though she has only been here for a month. She is probably
out an average of 2 days a week at this point. Mike and Birgit are continually
adding new experiments to their repertoire so don’t feel like if you used
the Science in Motion van one time, you can’t use it again. However, you
need to plan ahead and schedule early. Remember this is all at no cost
to your school. We will bring everything including the kitchen sink. (Just kidding
about the sink) We will also provide you with lab handouts, student worksheets
and background information. The only thing Mike and Birgit won’t do is
grade the labs after the students turn them in.
Where have the vans been and where are they going?
In September,
SIM visited Mt. Carmel, Danville and Southern Columbia Area High Schools,
Milton Senior High and Central Columbia High Schools. We had repeat
visits to Danville, Milton and Southern Columbia in October.
In addition, we had first-time visits to Williamsport, Montoursville,
Columbia-Montour Vo Tech, Shikellamy, and Warrior Run. Plans for November
include first time biology van visits to Lewisburg and Milton.
The chemistry van will be making an initial visit to Milton Jr. High
School and repeat visits to Danville, Southern Columbia, Shikellamy,
Milton, and Warrior Run. If you would like to schedule a visit for
your classes, call Mike and Birgit at 372-4780 or Melanie, SIM Secretary, at
372-4779. Not sure what is available? The answer is only a few clicks away.
Check out our Web site at www.susqu.edu/SIM.
Mike McDevitt, Chemistry Mobile Educator Says…
One
of the highlights of this position is discovering very worthwhile experiments
that I never knew existed or just never attempted in a high school setting.
Two that qualify are Chemistry Experiment #2, Freezing and Melting of Water
and Nuclear Radiation Experiment #4, Lifetime.
The
former is a very simple application of Melting Point Depression. By placing
3 ml of distilled water in a test tube submerged in a salt water and ice bath,
we can observe the cooling curve for water. On our laptops, using a Vernier
interface and temperature probe, we obtain (within limits) the classic constant
temperature plateau (flat line) while the liquid freezes into ice. After the
phase change, the line continues downward. Later the test tube is removed and
a heating curve with the melting plateau can be observed. Quite simple, but
a very enlightening experiment.
The latter experiment involves observing the radioactive decay
of Barium -137m. Within one class period, students can attain a decay curve
that can be used to calculate the experimental value of the half-life of Ba
-137m. According to Mrs. Deb Slattery, Danville Area High School, “this is slick!”
The experiment illustrates radioactive decay and half-life and it works every
time.
Both
these labs can be completed in one lab period. They are very effective and very
hands on.
Chemistry Experiment of the Month
High Precision Liquid Chromatograph
Using a High Precision Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC), students will be able to
determine the concentration (ppm) of caffeine in several beverages, such as
iced tea, Coca Cola and Mountain Dew.
Students
will run several standardized aqueous solutions of caffeine; 50ppm, 150ppm and
250ppm. From this data students may generate a calibration curve, area vs. concentration.
Later, upon testing samples of the beverages, students can interpolate the caffeine
content of the several tested beverages.
Birgit Musheno, Biology Mobile Educator Says…
Well, I’ve been at Science in Motion for a month now, and I can hardly believe
how the weeks have flown by. I was pleased to begin receiving calls for biology
van visits my very first week on the job – it seems like there was some pent-up
demand for biology experiments out there! What a pleasure it has been to drive
through the beautiful countryside this time of year, and to meet so many of
you and your students.
The maiden voyage of the Bio Van was to visit Steve Tressler, John Mazzante
and Dave Meyers at Montoursville High School, where we had
a great time blenderizing potatoes to investigate the activity of the enzyme
catalase. We also brought the enzyme lab to Geoff Goodenow’s Honors Biology
class at Lewisburg Area High School on the first Science in
Motion visit to that school. The instantaneous response and graphical display
of the Vernier probes on Dell laptop computers really got students’ attention
and helped them to understand the processes at work in this lab. You can find
a description of this lab in the Biology Experiment of the Month section of
this newsletter.
Our next classroom visit was to Colleen Ruths and Nicole Lucas at Southern
Columbia Area High School, where we used the laptops and temperature
probes to determine the calorie content of various foods with the Energy in
Foods lab. Now that Colleen and Nicole’s students have had this experience,
they will be more careful when eating Fritos near the fireplace this winter…those
rascals are really flammable!
While at Southern Columbia, we also ran the Transpiration lab for one class
of Colleen’s students. This is a simple, yet ingenious lab that uses the Gas
Pressure probe to measure a plant’s uptake of water through the stem as it loses
water during transpiration. Once a baseline rate was established, the student
groups chose to manipulate variables such as wind, light and humidity to see
what effect they had on the transpiration rate.
Water Quality Testing has also been popular this month! We met Southern Columbia’s
Chemistry students at the Priestly House in Northumberland so they could conduct
the testing outdoors as part of a field trip…and we also brought this lab to
Shikellamy High School for Yvonne Monahan’s students. Sheila
Furr also called the bio van to Shikellamy this month, to bring the graphing
lab “Finding the Relationship” to her students.
What can I bring to your school? Check out the variety of biology labs available
to you – they are listed on an enclosed handout as well as on our Web site at
http://www.susqu.edu/sim.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, call me anyway (372-4780) or send
an e-mail musheno@susqu.edu – we can probably design a lab that meets your needs!
Biology Experiment of the Month
Investigating
Enzyme Activity
Investigating Enzyme
Activity enables students to see the effect of environmental variables on enzyme
function. We extract the enzyme catalase from tissue, and observe the reaction
rate as it breaks down toxic hydrogen peroxide into harmless water and oxygen.
Using the Vernier sensors and our laptop computers, students can watch the reaction
take place as the change in
pressure
(due to oxygen production) over time is recorded on a graph. The LoggerPro program
displays real-time data, and makes calculating the slope of the reaction line
easy. Students record this number as the enzyme’s rate of reaction. Once the
baseline data is gathered, students can manipulate variables such as concentration,
pH, temperature and salinity to explore the effect these conditions have on
the enzyme’s reaction rate. The catalase lab is ideal for block scheduling,
because students can select which variables they are interested in testing,
and can complete testing of two or three variables.
 |
 |
| Investigating Enzyme Activity uses the laptop
computers and the Vernier Gas Pressure Sensor to collect and display data. |
The LoggerPro program displays the graph of
the reaction rate, as well as, the current pressure registered by the sensor.
In this graph, the slope of the line has been calculated for the students.
|
Mole Day Dinner
We were very pleased
with the attendance at the Mole Day dinner. All together we had 40 people from
the teaching community and the university community in attendance. In addition,
we had several special guests. State Representative Merle Phillips and his lovely
wife Helen were able to join us. We were also pleased to have Dr. Don Mitchell
and Dr. Lorraine Mulfinger from the Science in Motion Program at Juniata College.
Since Juniata actually started the program it was nice to have them. We saw
several new faces at the dinner including a student teacher. It was nice to
meet all of you and we look forward to working with you in the future.
Grant Application to the Merck Foundation - so far
so good!
With the help of
Ed Clarke from Susquehanna University, we have applied for a grant from the
Merck Foundation. Included in the grant is funding for 3 infrared spectrophotometers,
2 thermocyclers for doing PCR experiments, 8 more Vernier Logger Pros, all of
the physics probes and a wireless network with 8 laptop computers and a printer.
We have made it through the initial round of reviews at the Cherokee Plant.
Our application is now at the foundation office and we have our fingers crossed.
Workshop – Tentative Date - Mark your Calendars
We are planning a one-day workshop with the new equipment
for Friday, January 10, 2003. There will be no stipend awarded for attending
teachers, however, we will pay for your substitute teacher so you can come for
the day. There will be more information in the December newsletter.
Save a Tree
If
you wish to receive this newsletter in electronic format, please send us your
e-mail address sciencemotion@susqu.edu
or phone us at 372-4779.
Jan Reichard-Brown
Director,
Science in Motion
570-372-4778
or reichardbrown@susqu.edu
