The Newsletter for Science
in Motion at Susquehanna University
Volume IV Issue 3 November 2004
Director's Column
I want to thank everyone who was able to attend the second annual Mole Day Dinner on Wednesday October 27th. Madge, Erica and Mike set up exhibitions and demonstrations of our newest equipment including the FTIR (Chemistry), Thermocycler (Biology) and Super Dynamics Track System (Physics). We had a wonderful time trying to capture each other’s speed using the Jugs Radar Gun! I enjoyed meeting new friends and catching up with old friends. Attending the dinner, were teachers representing Bishop Newman, Columbia Montour Vocational Tech, Danville, Jersey Shore, Milton, Selinsgrove, Shikellamy and Williamsport. We hope everyone enjoyed the “Mole”asses cookie recipe. Thank you once again for a very successful event.
I have also had the opportunity to meet more state legislators. Recently, I met with State Representatives Brett Feese and Steve Cappelli. Representative Cappelli, a long time supporter of the Science in Motion program, told me he anticipates very good news in the next few months from the House of Representatives regarding efforts to stabilize funding for our program. Representative Feese was impressed with the level of enthusiasm the program receives. After these, as well as other, very successful meetings, I look forward to continued funding at our current level and will continue to advocate for increased funding.
Erica Merriett, Chemistry Mobile Educator Says…
October was a fairly quiet month for the chemistry van. I started off the month going to Lewisburg High School to use the HPLC to analyze caffeine in soda with Jen Kelly’s chemistry students. Then it was off to Milton High School to look at Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions with Jocelyn Bailey’s Biology and Introduction to Chemistry and Physics classes. Students used the temperature probes to analyze the temperature change that occurred when they mixed citric acid and baking soda as well as when they reacted magnesium and hydrochloric acid. The students worked very efficiently and it was very clear which was the endothermic and exothermic reaction. After that, I headed out to see Sheila Furr’s organic chemistry classes at Shikellamy High School to do the Evaporation and Intermolecular Forces lab. The students there did a great job of predicting the changes in temperature for each liquid based on the molecular weight and type of bonding present.
My free time in October was spent developing the new IR lab and making sure it was ready to showcase at the Mole Day Dinner. I have highlighted the lab in the Experiment of the Month section and am looking forward to taking the IRs out to the classroom for the first time in December. Currently, I am working on organizing a crime scene that has more of a chemistry focus, and I look forward to having that ready to take out in January.
We are approaching the time of year when things are very busy with the holidays. At the beginning of December, we will be attending the PSTA conference in Hershey. However, I still have the following dates available before the winter break: December 9, 13, 14, 15, and 17th. I also have plenty of open days in January and February!
I hope everyone enjoys a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving break and look forward to seeing some of you at the Winter Workshop on January 6th!
Madge Schworer, Biology Mobile Educator Says…
The biology van has been all over the region this month! The Investigating Enzymes lab has been very popular and I shared it on my first visit to Lourdes Regional High School with Amy Mudry’s AP biology class in mid-October. Next was a quick hop for me to Selinsgrove High School to do the Photosynthesis (Vernier #7) lab using the Vernier colorimeters and a spinach extract to measure the reduction of DPIP as
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photosynthesis proceeds under varying conditions. Paulette Armbruster’s biology class gained some technique experience as well as increasing their understanding of the photosynthetic reactions. Jen Gurski’s biology classes at Shikellamy High School investigated the Effect of Temperature on Cricket Respiration with the CO2 gas sensors and discovered just how jumpy those crickets can be. October ended at Milton High School with Jocelyn Bailey and Kathy Bower’s classes Investigating Enzymes. We found that it is indeed possible to divide and conquer and have different groups work on different variables to cover this experiment in one period! Thanks for the cooperation of some great students and teachers! November sent me back to Paulette Armbruster’s class at Selinsgrove to study Cricket Respiration. Then it was on to Tri-Valley Jr/Sr High to do some on-site Water Quality Testing with Environmental Science students using the palm pilots and the Investigating Enzymes lab with the 10th grade biology class of Pam Ulicny. Shikellamy High School was the next stop with a day in Sheila Furr’s Organic chemistry classes investigating the Effect of Alcohol on Membranes using pigment release from beet cubes and the Vernier colorimeters as the model system. Yvonne Monahan’s chemistry classes analyzed Water Quality using the laptops and 8 water testing probes on water from the Susquehanna River and a local creek. Next, Erica and I teamed up in Milton to bring both the Energy in Foods lab (Erica) and the Limitations on Cell Size lab (me) to Kathy Bower and Jocelyn Bailey’s students on the same visit. Science in Motion was very visible that day in Milton! Again it was Investigating Enzymes as I traveled to the AP Biology class of Alan Zelnick at Line Mountain High School and then to Lewisburg High School to Geoff Goodenow’s Honors Biology classes.
I hope to carve out some computer
time to make the changes that teachers have suggested with this very popular
enzyme lab soon! My time between this writing and the winter holiday is completely
filled. Days are
open in the New Year, but if you have a lab in mind that you want to be sure
to get scheduled, please look ahead and send in your request as over half
of the remaining days in the school year are already taken. Remember that
you can also borrow equipment if you would like to do an experiment on your
own. We have kept the SIM equipment very busy this fall with equipment loans
as well as visits. We hope that we are truly serving your needs to bring more
hands-on experiences to your students.
Chemistry Experiment of the Month
The lab to go along with the new FTIR is ready! Here is a brief description for those of you who weren’t able to check it out at the Mole Day Dinner. In the new IR lab, students will run various liquid organic samples and try to identify them based on their IR spectra. While doing the lab, students will learn how to use the IR, and will use a table of peak values to try to identify the functional groups present in the molecule. After determining what groups are present, students can compare their findings to a list of possible structures to identify their unknown liquid.
Although this lab will be specifically useful to those of you teaching organic chemistry units or an organic chemistry class because of the exposure to various functional groups, it is also applicable to general instrumentation and analytical chemistry. The lab is full of information to help the students identify the compounds without really knowing the functional groups.
If you would like to see a copy of the lab, please e-mail me at merriett@susqu.edu and I will be happy to send you a copy as an attachment.
The IR will also be used to differentiate between various plastic-film samples in the new crime scene aimed at chemistry. Students will compare the peaks from a sample found at the scene to samples taken from their suspects. We are also working on a crime scene scenario for the IR that will involve comparing various types of oils.
Upcoming Events
The Science in Motion Winter Workshop is scheduled for Thursday, January 6, 2005, from 9:00 to 4:00 p.m. This one-day, hands-on workshop is provided to teachers at no cost through the Pennsylvania Basic Education/Higher Education Science and Technology Partnership. Lunch will be provided and, if necessary, the teacher’s home district will be reimbursed for the costs of hiring a substitute teacher for the day. Registration is limited to 20 people so please respond, as soon as possible, using the attached form.
Also, enclosed with this newsletter, you will find a Postcard Survey for the Workshop requesting input in regard to your areas of interest. Please fill this out and mail back to us right away so we are better able to meet your needs.
Hope to see you there!
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
