The Newsletter for Science
in Motion at Susquehanna University
Volume V Issue 6 February 2006
Director's Column
I’m very excited to announce several improvements to our Science in Motion Web site. Under “Labs and Equipment”, you can now access the PA standards aligned with SIM biology and chemistry labs. I believe this will be a great tool for teachers using our program. There are also additions under “Services”. The “Available Dates” of mobile educators are constantly changing, so check those dates before submitting reservation forms. There is a “SIM Teacher Information Form” under “Services” which teachers can fill out on-line or print out a version to mail to SIM. By filling out this form, it allows the SIM mobile educators to better plan your SIM visits according to your daily schedule. You only need to fill out this form once a year, and it will significantly ease the scheduling process.
Due to the popularity of our Amusement Park Physics experiments, I would like to invite area high school biology teachers to volunteer to develop Amusement Park Physiology experiments to debut at the SIM Summer Workshop June 12th through June 16th, 2006. If you are interested, please contact me at thomasc@susqu.edu. I will put together a group of teachers, with Madge Schworer, to plan out experiments and perform a trial run at Knoebels in late May or early June.
An exciting opportunity for 9th – 10th grade general science, environmental science and biology teachers in Appalachian regions of PA is the iGIS Project. Inquiring with Geographic Information System, iGIS, can be used to guide students through watershed investigations using interactive computer mapping and visualization. For an application and information, visit http://alese.al.umces.edu/igis.
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January's winner of the
T2 Palm was Brett Criswell, Central Columbia High School. |
This month’s winner of the
T2 Palm was Brett Criswell from Central Columbia
High School. Brett was happily surprised to have won. Please continue
to submit reservation forms for your chance to win.
Madge Schworer, Biology Mobile Educator Says…
The first of the year brought variety to my schedule in the SIM Biology Van. My first visit following our Winter Workshop was to Geoff Goodenow at Lewisburg High School with the lab Respiration of Sugars by Yeast for the Advanced Biology classes. With the advantage of a double period, students were able to test four sugars to determine the best energy source for the yeast by measuring the rate of carbon dioxide production using the Vernier CO2 sensors and the laptop computers. At Selinsgrove High School, I then assisted Tracy Hepner as she guided her Physical Science classes through three Physical Science labs: Pulleys, Velocity, and Graphing Motion. Students were certainly busy but accomplished much. The first classroom use of the Mastercycler Thermocyclers featured in the Experiment of the Month occurred this month as Bo Meyer of Williamsport High School used them on a loan for the PCR Crime Scene lab that was a part of the Winter Workshop. The lab worked very well for the group and Bo was very enthusiastic. I was also able to visit a teacher new to Science in Motion from Bloomsburg Christian School. Joshua Greene and his students performed the DNA Fingerprinting experiment and borrowed some additional equipment for a lab later in the month. Finally, I spent the week at Milton High School with the Biology A and Applied Biology and Chemistry classes taught by Debbie Kurtz doing Crime Scene Investigation. We packed the four days with activities and left them hanging in suspense with their accusations for a Monday DNA gel analysis. Thanks to all the students for their enthusiasm!
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Milton High School students
burning fabric for Crime Scene Investigation. |
Milton High School students
analyzing blood types for Crime Scene Investigation. |
As the second semester of this school year goes on, please email me if you find you are unable to follow through with a scheduled visit. I have a “waiting list” of sorts of teachers who would like to have a visit if an opening occurs. Please also remember that I must have your reservation forms to hold your visit date. I have sent out some reminder emails. Thanks to those of you with a quick response. Remember that many labs require materials that must be ordered and the information on the reservation forms is necessary for me to prepare for your lab. Thanks for your cooperation!
Jaclyn Basgil, Chemistry/Physics Mobile Educator Says…
I hope everyone is enjoying the New Year! Brett Criswell of Central Columbia began the month of January making use of our nuclear radiation materials in his Chemistry classes. John Tamblin made use of our extensive chemical supply in his classes at Mt. Carmel. John also borrowed our FTIR’s to examine organic compounds using Infrared Spectroscopy. At the beginning of the month, Science in Motion had its annual Winter Workshop. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks again to those teachers who participated.
Kevin Horton of
Selinsgrove High School borrowed equipment including our
colorimeters and laptops to perform the lab Rate Law Determination of
the Crystal Violet Reaction with his classes. I visited Jocelyn
Bailey’s classes at Milton High School to
perform the lab Melting and Freezing Points. Students collected temperature
data during the freezing and melting of water using our Vernier temperature
probes. They analyzed the data and graphs produced to determine the relationship
between the two physical properties of water. Mike McDevitt
and Erica Merriett at Danville put our popular
GC’s to use to explore gas chromatography. I took the GC’s next
to Joshua Greene at Bloomsburg Christian High School.
I then visited Sheila Furr with the GC’s at Shikellamy.
The students analyzed various compounds using the GC to determine their various
components.
I visited the chemistry classes of Selinsgrove’s Randy Moyer
to perform analysis of organic liquids using the FTIR’s. Deborah
Slattery’s classes at Danville were also introduced
to our FTIR’s this month. Deborah has a working knowledge for the FTIR’s
and decided to perform the lab without a mobile educator. This freed me to
visit the classes of Tracy Hepner at Selinsgrove.
The students in her chemistry classes were asked to perform a pre-lab to determine
any foot problems that they were experiencing. In the lab, we compared the
pre-lab findings to the findings from the Underfoot Pressure lab.
The students were able to calculate their foot pressure while standing and
while walking. They calculated their individual foot area using our forensic
ink and forensic paper. They were also able to watch a virtual step as they
walked across our hi-tech Novel Foot Pressure Platforms. This is always a
favored lab with students!
Trish Edson of Hughesville brought Science in Motion into her classrooms to perform the chemistry lab Melting and Freezing Points. John Tamblin of Mt. Carmel borrowed an HPLC as well as a UV-VIS spectrophotometer which will allow two students to perform independent projects. We are looking especially forward to the results from the UV-VIS lab. This is the first it is being used since Dr. Thomas and I finished writing it. The student will be able to examine the effectiveness of different sunscreen brands as well as different SPF levels. The HPLC will be used to analyze common beverages to determine caffeine concentration.
I visited Erica Merriett at Danville where students used motion detectors to study the relationship between mass and acceleration. This will lead them into their next topic, Newton’s Second Law. Danville High School’s Jack Deal also used the services of Science in Motion in his Physics classes. His students studied momentum and impulse using our dynamics carts, masses and tracks. My last visit of January was to Shikellamy High School. Sheila Furr’s chemistry students performed inorganic analysis of liquids using our FTIR’s. The students were able to determine the identity of unknown samples by comparing the wavenumbers of their peaks in the spectrum produced to a table of known values.
Thanks again to all for a great
month at Science in Motion!
Greg Stout, Mobile Educator Says...
January certainly was a month of contrasts as far as the weather was concerned! On January 11th, Dan Smith’s Juniata High School students conducted their third stream survey in SIM’s cooperative pilot program with the Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC). Students performed five Water Quality analyses onsite at Lost Creek and collected/prepared water to send to the PA DEP lab for additional tests. Despite periods of pouring down rain, the students completed their assignments in excellent time and with good precision.
On January 26th, Sheila Furr’s 10th graders from Shikellamy High School endured low temperatures and high winds in our third visit to Shamokin Creek. Additionally, the creek was higher than anticipated due to last week’s rain and snow melt. However, the students were able to persevere long enough to take their measurements and collect the requisite samples for the CBC/SRBC program.
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Shikellamy High School students perform flow rate analyses at Shamokin Creek. |
Greg Stout, SIM, performs Water Quality analyses with Shikellamy High School students at Shamokin Creek. |
If you’ve noticed, the days
are getting longer as we move away from the winter solstice and draw closer
to…. “Spring”! It may seem far away, but
I am already receiving new requests and setting dates for April and May visits
using our Vernier Water Quality equipment. If you are interested in setting
up a visit or simply borrowing some of this equipment, please let me know.
Biology Experiment of the Month
Crime Scene PCR
The Experiment of the Month highlights the Mastercylcer Thermocycler. A thermocycler is used to perform polymerase chain reaction, PCR, experiments. The experiment Crime Scene PCR allows students to use real-world forensic crime scene lab techniques in their own classroom. Students learn what types of human DNA sequences are amplified and analyzed in crime scene investigations. After the PCR reaction, students separate the amplified DNA via electrophoresis in agarose gels and stain the gels to view the DNA bands. This lab works well on its own or can be added to the existing SIM Biology Crime Scene.
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Mastercycler Thermocycler |
Save a Tree
If you wish to receive
this newsletter in electronic format, please send us your e-mail address at
sciencemotion@susqu.edu or phone
us at 570-372-4779.
Courtney
Thomas
Director, Science in Motion
570-372-4778
thomasc@susqu.edu
