NMY Math Science

Reebop babies are here!Coming off our study of the human...

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:49:25 -0700

Reebop babies are here!
Coming off our study of the human development and sexuality, the seventh graders have jumped right into genetics. A pair of Reebops creatures, caught in the “wild,” were used to help the class see up close and personal the impact of DNA and how genes are expressed. The class was given the genetic information for each of the parents, and they chose the genotypes for each characteristic. They gave “birth” to a new generation of 14 reebops. We will be studying them and looking for patterns and trends amongst the different phenotypes, and exploring the implications of genetic traits.

If you get a chance to stop by the studio, you should visit with the newest members of NMY7!

Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz | Pew Research Center

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:25:47 -0700

Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz | Pew Research Center:

Do you know more about science and technology than the average American?

Take this 13-questions quiz to see how you stack up….only 7% of participants answered all 13 questions correctly.

Since we are talking about human body systems, I thought this...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:16:20 -0700

Since we are talking about human body systems, I thought this would be appropriate and a great review. Enjoy!

thekidshouldseethis:

The digestive system! What happens to your food while you’re chewing it, when you swallow it, when it’s in your stomach? How does all of the digested nutrients travel around your body? (Hint.) And where does it go after that??? (Hint.)

Green Team I feel fortunate to work with the Green Team at TCS....

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:51:38 -0700

Green Team

I feel fortunate to work with the Green Team at TCS. They are passionate and action-oriented group of students who are eager to make change on campus and in the world. This year, we have record number of students participating. The Green Team had to divide up the team into focus groups so that we could maximize our energy and our efforts. The four groups are: oceans and sea life group, compost group, litter group, and the trees and plants group. Each group set goals and have made a contribution to the school and greater community.

Pictured above is the trees and plants group. They are hard at work to create signage for many of the wonderful trees and plants around campus. They identified the trees/plants and areas they wanted to create signage for, designed the signs, cut the wood, painted the signs, and are putting the signs together. Be on the look out for their handiwork around campus.

I am inspired by their commitment and passion for the environment and their community. Thank you, Green Team!

Carbon cycle videos The Class of 2015 just completed their study...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:40:19 -0700

Carbon cycle videos

The Class of 2015 just completed their study of the carbon cycle. Each group had to produce a video to demonstrate their understanding of the carbon cycle, knowledge of the vocabulary associated with the cycle, and the reason greenhouse gases are increasing in the Earth’s atmosphere.

You can check out the rest of the videos below:

Fox 5 - Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle with K & C

Carbon Cycle

Carbon Cycle - Substitute teacher

We are not studying physics this year, but I had to share this...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:56:25 -0700

We are not studying physics this year, but I had to share this cool video.

There is something about how the iPhone captures images, that allows us to see the oscillations of the guitar strings. You can see how the different frequencies produce different pitches.

Guitar Oscillations Captured with iPhone 4 (by Kyle Jones)

jtotheizzoe: Using nothing but soap and a macro lens, Janet...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:32:49 -0800

jtotheizzoe:

Using nothing but soap and a macro lens, Janet Waters photographs mesmerizing patterns on colored backdrops.

But she hasn’t stopped there, she’s using her Flickr to create a “visual library” for all of her University students. Packed with experimental photo projects galore, her stream is well worth a look.

Macro Photography Series of Colorful Bubbles and Foam

via Zeutch

Bubbles are funny things. And they do especially funny things in threes.

When they roll solo, their natural tendency is to form a sphere. But it turns out that when bubbles are squished together, they prefer to be in trios. When three bubbles come together, they are snug as bugs in rugs.

Take a 360˚ round bubble and divide it into threes. What do you get? You get three 120˚ angles. Now look at those pictures up there again …

Most of those intersections are pretty close to 120˚!! Check out this image from Robert Krulwich:

Climate Change | New Scientist

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:03:34 -0800

Climate Change | New Scientist:

As we, the sixth grade, watched the Inconvenient Truth last week, we saw several graphs that showed temperature change over time. I found this neat website that has taken that concept one step further. You can move the marker anywhere in the world, a city, an island, a portion of an ocean or sea, and it will graph the temperature change over at least the last 5 years, sometimes even more.

Pretty cool.

Thanks to RadioLab’s Robert Krulwich for bringing this to my attention.

jtotheizzoe: You are my density. (via Steve Spangler)

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:57:09 -0800

jtotheizzoe:

You are my density.

(via Steve Spangler)

tcsfilm: January 10 - Field Trip to Grocery Store I enjoyed...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:56:16 -0800

tcsfilm:

January 10 - Field Trip to Grocery Store

I enjoyed this time out and about with the seventh grade and learning more about your incredible experiment. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this. Lighting in grocery stores? Not too flattering (directly overhead, florescent and slightly green).

Thank you Laure for joining us on our excursion. The seventh grade are researching and answering the question, “Is California minimum wage a living wage?” The shopping trip was to calculate their grocery and toiletry needs for the year. They had to find an apartment, calculate other expenses such as cell phone and internet. It has been an eye-opening experience!

(via Biocomicals: When I was a little stem cell) A little humor...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:22:14 -0800

(via Biocomicals: When I was a little stem cell)

A little humor as we begin our study of stem cells.

jtotheizzoe: A Map of Everyone You can’t tell from where you’re...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:36:56 -0800

jtotheizzoe:

A Map of Everyone

You can’t tell from where you’re sitting, but this map has 341,817,095 dots on it. Built with U.S. and Canadian census data, there’s a dot on here for everyone.

Check out the zoomable version here. And when I say “zoomable”, I’m not kidding. Very cool.

This is impressive. Worth a visit. Definitely, need to zoom in.

staceythinx: Some of the many branches of the nudibranch family...

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:06:23 -0800

staceythinx:

Some of the many branches of the nudibranch family tree. Photography by David Doubilet

It is amazing to believe that these are not the creation of someone’s imagination!

This brings together two things I enjoy: cell mitosis and...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:18:23 -0800

This brings together two things I enjoy: cell mitosis and donuts!

Great visualization of the prevalence of the elements. Very...

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 07:43:30 -0800

Great visualization of the prevalence of the elements. Very cool!

feminerds:

Totally in love with this image.

In seventh grade, we have just begun deconstructing the process...

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:38:55 -0800

In seventh grade, we have just begun deconstructing the process of cell division and mitosis. This is a great way to visualize what is happening during DNA replication.

jtotheizzoe:

infinity-imagined:

The DNA Replication Complex, an assembly of proteins that synthesizes new DNA before cell division. It consists of Helicase, Primase, Single-strand binding proteins, and DNA polymerase III. Because DNA strands can only be copied in one direction, the complex must pull out loops of one strand and replicate it in fragments. At this moment there are hundreds of trillions of these molecular machines in constant activity within your body.

be sure to check out Drew Berry’s full DNA animation here, it will rock your genetic socks off. He also gave a fine TED talk about how he animates the unseeable world of biology.

In humans, this process is happening at the staggering speed of 3,000 DNA bases per minute. And in bacteria? Would you believe 30,000 bases per minute?!? That’s 500 nucleotides per second!!!

jtotheizzoe: socialismartnature: Extreme close-ups of human...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:52:31 -0800

jtotheizzoe:

socialismartnature:

Extreme close-ups of human eyes by Suren Manvelyan

Here’s looking at you. Eyed say you’ll have a hard time unseeing these amazing photos.

These images of the eyes are spectacular.

Energy Projects and Dark Matter Sixth grade started the school...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:55:00 -0800

Energy Projects and Dark Matter

Sixth grade started the school year by exploring how to define energy. Through our research, we discovered that there are seven different forms of energy: heat (thermal), light (radiant), motion (kinetic), electrical, chemical, nuclear and gravitational. The class divided themselves into groups and each member of the class was in charge of learning more about each form of energy and then make a presentation to the group. They researched for two weeks and shared their knowledge through various presentation methods.

Due to our numbers, we had an extra person and it was suggested that they research dark matter/dark energy. LC was eager to take on the daunting task. She was able to make the information accessible for everyone so we all walked away with a fundamental understanding of this topic and it’s relationship to energy. One component of her project was this song, “Dark Matter,” that she made in GarageBand. I thought it was worth sharing it with everyone!

Credit: LC & CL on vocals

SNAPSHOT:Excited about Circuits The class jumped feet first into...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:18:00 -0700

SNAPSHOT:Excited about Circuits
The class jumped feet first into exploring electricity. We defined what electricity is and then looked at the two types of electricity: static and current electricity. Developing an understanding of these categories, the students were eager to get into the lab and get their hands on some electrical equipment. Students have had several class to experiment and dig up their understanding of how circuits work. They were challenged to make various circuits: two-battery circuits, parallel and series circuits, and circuits with motors.

Cross-posted on the NMY6 blog.

SNAPSHOT: Yeast Experiments (Round 1) After learning about cell...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:56:00 -0700

SNAPSHOT: Yeast Experiments (Round 1)

After learning about cell respiration in cells, the seventh grade took to the lab to see the process for themselves through a series of yeast experiments. The class brainstormed different variables that they wanted to test: temperature of water, amount of yeast, type of yeast, amount of sugar, and type of sugar. Students paired off, and set off to design their experiments. They had to identify a question, develop a hypothesis, identify a comprehensive list of materials and write a clear, detailed procedure.

On Tuesday, they ran a test run of their experiment to identify any errors in their procedure and clarify the type of data they wanted to collect. The next steps will be to make edits to their lab report, run the official experiment, collect data, do their analysis and come up with a conclusion.

This was cross-posted on the NMY7 blog.