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Category Archives: Science
Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn: Leveling Students by Trauma Response
My students are working on solving physics word problems systematically. This is one of the most frustrating (for the students) assignments I give them, but a valuable one because it’s essentially end game for every assignment they will see for … Continue reading
Cartesian Diver Home Lab
Today I had one of my classes do a mini lab at home, to make a Cartesian Diver out of a plastic straw, an elastic (that’s a rubber band for those of you outside the Boston area), a few paper … Continue reading
Saving Grandpa’s Life: The Value of Science Education
My father, the wonderful and caring person whom my students can blame for much of my sense of humor, is in the hospital. (He’s doing well and should be released in a few days.) While my fourteen-year-old daughter Margaret didn’t … Continue reading
How a Fuse Works
My physics classes are studying electricity. One of the demos I do for electricity is to show how a fuse works by exploding a strand of wire. +19-6
Can I Take This Class Again Next Year?
Yesterday was the last day of school. As I said “Good bye. Thanks for a great year and have an awesome possum summer!” several of my students said that they wanted to take the class again next year. One student … Continue reading
The Fun of Research & Development
I’m finally getting around to grading the 5-second timer labs my students did earlier this quarter. One of my students’ timers was a ceramic bowl with an amount of men’s cologne that burned for 5 seconds. Unbeknownst to me until … Continue reading
Certainty and Uncertainty
One of the things most high school students don’t learn about in their science classes is quantitative error analysis. (The closest they usually get to the topic is significant figures.) This year, I started off by teaching my students to … Continue reading
Learning by Screwing Up
One of the signs on my wall states, “You can’t learn effectively without the freedom to make mistakes.” It’s a new school year, and my new batch of students is working on learning this lesson. +5-7
Diet Coke & Mentos Final Exam: Physics Version
I gave a chemistry final exam involving Diet CokeTM & MentosTM back in 2006. I’ve done it as a lab experiment a couple of times since then, but not as a final—until this year, when I did a physics version. … Continue reading
Shocking My Students
Electricity & Magnetism is a fun topic, especially for teachers who enjoy watching teenagers act like themselves. +9-4