Innovative Uses News
A popular, inexpensive, product sold in northern climes is a single-use packet that warms up upon “activation” and stays warm for a few hours. They come in different sizes, most are small enough to fit in an adult palm, and they’re advertised as “hand warmers,” “feet warmers,” or generically as heat packs.
In the true spirit of the holiday season, we decided to perform some tests to quantify the differences between LED and traditional holiday lighting options. We tested the “clear” C7 sized LED and incandescent bulbs.
Continue reading about Comparing LED and Traditional Holiday Lights…
Alan Gleue, physics teacher at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas, called our tech support line with a challenge. He wanted to be able to use Vernier sensors to investigate resistivity in copper wire. The issue was troubling Alan - how to measure small changes in voltage with enough precision to be able to see the relationship between wire length, cross-sectional area, and resistance.
Brian Lamore, physical science teacher at the Chinquapin School in Highlands, Texas, wanted to get his students to investigate which battery was the best. Based on their experiences (and with a little help from advertising) the students made their predictions.
Two groups of local science students from Westview High School, Beaverton, OR, recently won honors with projects using our sensors to monitor their school environment.
Continue reading about Students Monitor Classroom Conditions…
Did you know that even if a fluorescent lamp is labeled “green” it may still contain some mercury? We used a Vernier Spectrometer to study the emission spectrum of a modern fluorescent tube.
Students at Susquehanna Township High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, participated in a program where the students studied the life cycle of the blowfly and its relationship to the decomposition of a deer.
Judy Day, with the Science House, a NC State University K-12 science outreach program, has developed an activity investigating a plant’s response to gravity. Judy uses a ProScope USB digital microscope to record changes over time in a plant that has been placed on its side.
Continue reading about Determining the Mass of a Copper Atom…
Airplane noise in the Long Beach area is a frequent topic of debate. This motivated Riley, Tim, and Mario to measure the noise level at points along the flight path of Long Beach runway 30 as their science project. Based on their research, they believed that planes landing would create a higher level of sound intensity compared to planes taking off.
We investigated whether the color of olive oil is due to chlorophyll. We tested two grades: extra virgin (purported to have the maximum amount of chlorophyll of all grades of olive oil since it is derived from the first pressing of the olives) and light (alleged to contain no chlorophyll).
Continue reading about Determination of Chlorophyll in Olive Oil…
The new Vernier Spectrometer allows students to do a wide variety of new lab investigations. We’ve revisited Spectral Analysis of Food Dyes with some additional ideas.
Continue reading about Spectral Analysis of Food Dyes Revisited…
We’ve been having fun putting the new Wireless Dynamics Sensor System through its paces. This new sensor system, which includes a three-axis accelerometer, dual-range force sensor, and altimeter, is perfect for exploring physics topics both in and out of the classroom. Here are just a handful of things we have tried.
Continue reading about Fun with a Wireless Dynamics Sensor System…
This paper introduces the use of a gaseous CO2 sensor and data logging equipment, for a variety of purposes in the school laboratory, including measurements of respiratory and photosynthetic rates of animals, plants and microbes.
Paul Lulai, physics instructor at Saint Anthony Village Senior High School in Saint Anthony Village, MN, developed an activity to measure the stress limits of printer ribbon.
Continue reading about Measuring Stress Limits of Printer Ribbon…
Using the average current, the students determine the number of electrons liberated during the reaction. Knowing the mass of copper lost by the anode and the number of electrons liberated, the students are able to determine the number of copper atoms removed from the anode, which they use to determine the mass of a single copper atom.
Continue reading about Determining the Mass of a Copper Atom…
Jean-Jacques Rochat spent a few days skiing near his chalet in Ovronnaz, Switzerland. Even though he is no longer a science teacher (now a principal), he could not resist collecting data.
Ute Kaden took her Vernier LabPro and sensors to the North Pole! At a latitude of 89° 58.5′ she measured salinity, temperature, barometric pressure, and acceleration due to gravity.
Anna Mika, 7th grade teacher at Cumberland Middle School in Cumberland, WI, worked with her students to design a research project that NASA could implement on a high-altitude research balloon. The students’ project was to measure the protection from UV radiation provided by various clothing materials.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Kentucky, Heidi Anderson, AP Biology teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, KY, has developed an inquiry-based investigation of heart rate. What makes her approach unique is she studies crayfish.
Spectral analysis of four common food dyes is a great way to introduce spectral analysis, as it helps students understand the relationship between the color of the solution and the ideal wavelength they should use to measure variations in absorption. Students are often surprised to see that yellow dye peaks in the blue wavelengths and red dye peaks in green wavelengths.
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