Rainbows: Beauty and Brains

While reading through the text book, I found a brief paragraph on rainbows on page 352. Although most of us enjoy looking at them, we sometimes fail to realize the complex science involved in creating a rainbow. 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_a_rainbow_appear_bent_or_arched_in_a_semicircle_in_the_sky

http://eo.ucar.edu/rainbows/

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2003-04/why-are-rainbows-shaped-arch

The suns light is made up of the several colors of the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. When all these colors are combined they look white, like the light we always see. Each color has a different wave length which causes them to separate when light comes in contact with a prism.

After it rains, the air is filled with water droplets in the air. These droplets act as tiny prisms, breaking the sunlight into a spectrum. When the lights hits the water, each color goes in a different direction causing each one to be visible in the order of a rainbow

The sun also has to be at the right angle. The sun is always behind you when you face a rainbow. The center of the circular arc of the rainbow is in the direction opposite to that of the sun. And the rain is in the direction of the rainbow.

Rays of a rainbow bend twice. As they enter the drops, the rays are bent, then they reflect off the back of the drops and bend again as they exit out the front of the drops.The rainbow is circular because when a raindrop bends light, the light exits the raindrop at a 40-42 degree angle away from the angle it entered the raindrop. Each color bends at a different angel causing them to separate.

Light can also enter a droplet, be reflected off the back of the droplet, only to be reflected of the front, and then off the back again before leaving. It is bent at each phase in this process, and a second rainbow can appear above the first one. In a double rainbow, the second rainbow will appear where it does because the light will be cumulatively bent some 50 to 53 degrees. So it will be bent farther from the first rainbow making it appear under it.

Rainbows don't have "ends" but are full circled, but we can't see this because the horizon of the earth is in the way. If the sun is very low in the sky, either just before sunset or just after sunrise, we can see a half circle. The higher the sun is in the sky, the less we see of the rainbow. 

HERES A GUY THAT REALLY APPRECIATES A DOUBLE RAINBOW!!

Lightning Frenzy

In 2007 my family and I lived in Florida. One of the things I remember most about Florida is the crazy lightning storms every night. I never knew why there was so much lightning in Florida, but not in New York. I decided to research it for my blog.

I started by looking in the textbook. The book doesn't mention anything about lightning, but it does have a chapter on electricity. It defines electricity as "a form of energy...a flow of electrons". Electrons are negatively charged particles that are found in the atoms of all elements. Each electron has a tiny negative charge of electricity. Light is another form of energy created by certain objects such as lightning. Light travels 186,000 miles/second. It travels so quickly that earthly distances appear to be instant, which is why lightning only flashes for a split second. I now have to find how both electricity and light are created in the sky.

 Lightning is electricity formed during a thunderstorm by the build up of large electrical fields in high anvil shaped cumulonimbus clouds. As  warm air rises, cold air moves in and meets the warm moist air which causes the warm air to rise rapidly forming large, dense, tall towers of  thunderstorm clouds. Lightning is produced when liquid and ice particles above the freezing level collide, and build up large electrical fields in the clouds. Once these electric fields become large enough, a giant "spark" occurs like static electricity, reducing the charge separation.  

Florida has all the right ingredients for lightning, especially in summer. It is a sub-tropic climate, meaning that the humidity is always very high (80-100% most of the time), so there is a lot of precipitation in the air. Also the air temperature gets very hot. Hot air rises, and mixed with the humidity, or water vapor levels in the atmosphere, clouds are formed. These clouds grow into thunderstorms

 http://www.myuniversalfacts.com/2006/03/what-causes-lightning.html


http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_causes_lightning.htm

So now I know why there is so much lightning in Florida. I figured it had something to do with the heat, but I never knew humidity played an effect. I did not know lightning was caused by liquid particles rubbing together. I never thought water could make electricity! That's kind of ironic.

This is a video of one storm in Florida. This is what I had to see almost every night!! Look, it's crazy!

Incorporating Animals In The News To a Science Lesson!

I was watching tv last night and came across this documentary about dolphins. Dolphins are one my favorites so I kept it on for a little bit and it was really interesting. The show is called planet earth. I found a clip of it on youtube.

It showed how dolphins chase fish up to the shore. The fish go real close to the sand where its shallow so the dolphins can't get to them. First the dolphins turn around and back up and then slap their tail. This stuns the fish and then they float back to where the dolphins can get them. But on the show that wasn't working. So they tried something else, which was really cool. The dolphins back up and charge the shore really fast and gain a lot of speed. They turn on their sides and, because their so fast, they hydroplane on top of the water and go right up the beach. It was really cool how they did it, and it seemed like a good idea.

I researched more about how dolphins hunt and found more stuff.

http://www.essortment.com/dolphin-echolocation-23490.html

On this website I learned that dolphins use a technique called echolocation.  It's basically a radar that can detectet the location of fish.They dolphins make a high sonar pitch that they hear bounce off fish and they can tell where they are by that They also use it to communicate. This is a mp3 of the sonar

http://neptune.atlantis-intl.com/dolphins/sounds/tt.mp3

On page 179 our the textbook it talks about the 5 kingdoms, one being animalia.  Dolphins are in the mammalia class and the delphinidae family.
So I just thought it was pretty cool and worth blogging about

The Land

On my recent trip to Walt Disney World over the winter break, I took a ride in EPCOT called "Living With The Land."  I've been to Disney World a bunch of times and I always have to go on this ride. You sit in a boat and  take you through this huge green house of all different types of fruits and vegetables that are growing hydroponically. Hydroponically means that these fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes or strawberries, that usually grow in the ground or on a vine, are grown through a hydroponic system. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk.(wikipedia). 

There are hundreds of different types of plants grown here. On the ride, the narrator describes how the hydroponic system is one of the most efficient ways to farm. You can tell by the prosperity of the plants. There huge! This is a clip of part of the ride

 

I looked up to see how much more effective hydroponic gardening systems are then regular soil based gardening

http://www.indoor-gardening-guide.com/indoor-hydro/advantages.html

This website lists several advantages

1. Hydroponic systems allow the indoor gardener to have total control of all factors influencing the plant's growth.
2. It is impossible to overfeed a hydroponically grown plant because the roots will not absorb more than the plant can handle.
3. It eliminates weeding time and reduces pest and disease infestations.
4. Growing hydroponically is also better for the environment . Fertilizers are recirculated within the hydroponic system and pesticides and weed killers are not necessary
5. Hydroponically grown vegetables have also been shown to be healthier for you as they typically contain more vitamins and minerals than field grown produce.
6. You can grow more plants in a smaller area because smaller pots are required with hydroponics 

On page 173 of the textbook it describes an experiment where a 5th grade class tries to grow different seeds in soil. I think a hydroponic system could be used to create a similar experiment. It would help to students to learn it is the nutrients in the soil that make it grow, not just the soil itself. I think this system could be used very successfully in an elementary science class

Read more »

Science Class

In yesterday's science class, we discussed our fieldwork agenda. We must break into groups and teach half of the class about science. We are teaching them about physical science and physical and chemical changes. My group is going to discuss with them physical changes. We have to create our own lesson plan and design an experiment to teach the students about physical science. 

After researching, we found a website to give us an idea for an experiment to show physical change

http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/science9/chemistry/lesson8.html

This experiment involves ice cubes and shows a physical change when they melt. 

We are going to need 

Ice Cubes

 

Small Dishes

  Salt

A Hammer

Each ice cube is going to be place somewhere different and the students will see which ones melt fast. One will be on their desk, one in the sun, one will be sprinkled with salt, and the other one will be crushed with a hammer. After the experiment and the students have determined which melted the fastest, we will begin to explain how an ice cube melting is an example of physical change. The book defines physical change as a "change where only the physical properites are affected, that is the properties we can readily observe with our senses". We will explain the molecules are now further apart when the water is a liquid, but the basic composition of the water has not changed. It is still made up of the same arrangement of atoms of hydrogen and oxygen

StudyJams

StudyJams

I enjoyed taking on online test about the animal kingdoms. It was interesting an interacting. Hopefully one day in my own classroom I can create an online test so that students can experience something different!

I recently used Google to research how to make online quizzes. I found this website: 

http://www.classmarker.com/

On this website you can find all different types of settings that can help to you to create your own online test. You can add pictures, your questions, you can determine what can happen if a student gets the answer correct or incorrect. For example, if a student answers a question correctly,  you have the choice to have the quiz either tell them that the answer was correct right after they have answered, or you can chose to wait until the end of the quiz to have their score displayed.
It's a really cool website that you should check out if you have the time! 

Crazy Weather

http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/tsunami-rushes-through-downtown-20002

First an ice cold winter with crazy temperatures.. now a tsunami? What is next?!!!

 I found on the link above, actual footage of the water from the tsunami flooding towns in Japan.. check it out!

Page 338 of the text book has a whole box on the scientific consensus on climate change. It mainly talks about global warming and how it affects a change in climate.  It has been proven that the global climate is definitely warming. The box mentions the main reason of this warming stems from the increase in human-produced greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. The warming of temperature have been the cause of increases in floods, droughts, heat waves and wildfires. It is also indirectly related to an increase intensity of tropical storms, like the Tsunami in Japan!!

This website has several graphs showing in the increase in average temperature of the past century, the increase in CO2 levels and also the increase in human population

http://www.globalwarmingclassroom.info/Lesson2_graphs.htm


Global warming will continue to become more of a problem if humanity continues to follow the path they are on. Fortunately, many organizations have recognized the growing epidemic and have been striving to correct mankind's mistakes. The following website lists several major companies all making changes to reduce power demands and using technology to create energy efficiencies.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9192481/The_Top_Green_IT_Organizations_Green_from_the_ground_up