Double Slit Experiment

Elephant Toothpaste

What reaction is taking place here.

We have hydrogen peroxide in a graduated cylinder and we add potassium iodide (KI). The result is we see a mess load of bubbles as well as excess heat. Those bubbles are oxygen gas.

Here is the equation.

2H₂O₂ -> 2H₂O + O₂

Notice anything? The Potassium Iodide is not in the reaction directly, but it serves as a catalyst in the reaction. A catalyst does not get consumed in the reaction but speeds up the rate of reaction. It is the key to the Elephant Toothpaste experiment. The above equation showing the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas is exothermic, meaning that it gives off heat. If we did not add the catalyst the breakdown would still occur at a much much slower rate. You would have to leave out the hydrogen peroxide for quite a long time to see it breakdown into water and oxygen without a catalyst, but it would occur. The catalyst speeds up the process to where we see the violent explosion in the video. Other compounds can be used as catalysts as well. Metals are often good catalysts, and we can use not only potassium (from Potassium Iodide or Potassium Sulfate), but Magnesium (from Magnesium Dioxide) as seen in the video below.

I got some good info from this site

Heaven

Bottled Water

Don't Buy it

The Volcano Underneath us

Information on Mt Hood's Volcanic History

Basics of HTML

http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_examples.asp

The Color of Snow

Link

Double Rainbow Explained

You may know the famous double rainbow video from Tosh.0

The video below gives a short summary of what science can tell us about what is going on with a double rainbow

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/41294-earth-giant-double-rainbow-explained-video.htm

Check out this site for great info on rainbows and other atmospheric phenomenon

Free-Falling

The video illustrates the fundamentals of gravity.

Physical objects attract each other with a force proportional to the mass.

Free-fall is a result of the gravitational force between the earth (or in this case the moon) and the object falling (in this case the hammer and the feather).

Because the force between these two objects in proportional to mass, the acceleration is the same for all falling bodies.

Why on earth does a feather fall slower than a hammer? Air resistance

The moon has essentially no atmosphere (a vacuum) so there is no air resistance and we see how falling bodies fall at the same rate despite their mass

The moons gravity is ~16.7% that of earths

(~1.63m/s^2 on moon~ 9.81m/s^2 on earth)

This is due to the fact that the moon is much lass massive than the earth

The decreased gravity allows us to see the free fall in slow motion compared with what would see on earth.

The first scientist to figure this out was Galeileo Galilei, who also greatly improved the design of the telescope, and helped prove Copernicus's theory of Heliocentrism

Boyles Law animation

Check it

Ruben's Tube

Snowflake Close up

Here is a set of microscopic images of snowflakes. The first one looks like some amalgamation of greek architecture and a coral reef. Be sure to pay attention to the scale shown in the bottom right of the images. A micrometer (μm) is 1.0 times 10^-6 of a meter, or one millionth of a meter, or one thousandth of a millimeter.

Force of Nature

This LINK has a great visual interface to explore volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. We are talking about volcanoes in Earth Science right now so please check out the volcano page and make your own volcano.

Some Pictures

Gas Gas Gas

What is a gas? How do gases behave?

This pdf file (link) has great summary of the basics. While in Big Sky you should read sections 13.1 Gases and their Properties and 13.2 Ideal gas calculations. Make sure to read the sections on internal combustion engine and respirations (breathing). These are two great real world examples that illustrate how gases behave. I will provide some links about these topics.

Check out this calculator http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php to see how air pressure changes with altitude. Government Camp is at about ~3900 ft, the lodge at Big Sky is ~6800 ft and the summit (lone peak) at Big sky is 11,166 ft, almost as high as the summit of Mt Hood 11,235 ft. Remember that these calculations are approximate as local air pressure is not only dependent on altitude but temperature and humidity which varies (the weather).

Also check out the basics of the internal combustion engine. This is a great example that we can apply the gas laws to. http://www.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm. Watch the video on this page. The idealized representation of a piston engine is called the Otto Cycle. Click through this diagram step by step and pay careful attention to the pressure and volume changes that occur during the phases of the Otto cycle. This is an idealized representation of what happens in your family car (unless you have a diesel engine). Look at the x and y axis. The x axis is volume and the y axis is pressure. Take note of the changes. A new term to keep in mind is adiabatic, which describes steps of the process that do not transfer heat.

The Known Universe

Mt St Helens Video

affect/effect

ever get confused about the words affect and effect, well don't worry it's confusing!

English is a crazy language with lots specific rules.

Check out this short and informative link

Donald Duck in Mathamagic Land

Here is a great video that my high school teacher Mrs. Sipher showed me back in 11th grade. Please watch this! You won't be disappointed.

Size and Scale

This animation gives a great visual representation of the size of some small things in your universe.

Cell Size and Scale

Doodlin'

Chemistry Help-Limiting Reagent

Chemcollective has some good online chemistry tutorials. Here is one about limiting reagents

Math Homework from Gary

I got an email from Gary informing you guys of your math homework.

Here is the link to the video

http://www.ted.com/talks/conrad_wolfram_teaching_kids_real_math_with_computers.html

1.) Go to the website TED.com and search for the 17 minute lecture by Conrad Wolfram "Teaching kids real math with computers." Preferably watch it on fullscreen mode with the subtitles in English turned on. Pause it when necessary to write down at least 5 of the main ideas (in your opinion.) Or watch it more than once. I WILL QUIZ THEM ON IT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.

2.) Use wikkipedia to find out who Salman Khan is. (Make sure you find the educator not the actor of the same name.)

3.) Go to the website Khan Academy. Check out the different subjects and topics that are explained there. Choose 1 math topic you have already "learned" and watch the explanation for it. Then choose 1 you will be learning soon and watch it. Then write a few sentences describing your opinion of the website. For example, was it helpful? useful? clear? enjoyable?

Thanks,

Gary

Periodic Table

Look at http://www.ptable.com/ for an interactive periodic table

Check the electron to see how each electrons shells are filled.

Stumbleupon

I highly recommend stumbleupon to cure internet boredom. After a simple sing up you check off you interests and then start stumbling. My interests are Science, Space Exploration, Nature, Animals, Hiking, and Forestry. Some of the links on this site have been stumbled upon.

Violent Hawaii

Do you love Hawaii? The sandy beaches, the coral reefs, the volcanoes? Why not get a job researching this beautiful and fierce island chain. Here is a video that we will be watching in Earth Science that gives a great overview of some of the research that goes on in our 50th state.

I can't seem to embed it so I will just post the link

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/violent-hawaii/video-full-episode/1422/

Fearless

Music can deeply affect our mood. Although we all know this from personal experience, science is still grasping to explain how this happens. I thought I would share with you a song that puts me in a great mood. It's called "Fearless" by Pink Floyd from their album Meddle. You may have heard of their classic album Dark Side of the Moon. I listened to Pink Floyd when I was younger but I didn't find this song until my brother shared it with me this summer. It was one of those songs that with the first listen I knew it was special.

A juxtaposition between new and old

We have been talking lately around the house about the lyrics that are featured in today's popular music. I would like you to compare the lyrics of Pink Floyd's "Fearless" from 1971 with Taylor Swift's "Fearless" from 2008.

Pink Floyd

You say the hill's to steep to climb, climbing
you say you'ld like to see me try, climbing
you pick the place and I'll choose the time
and I'll climb the hill in my own way
just wait a while for the right day
and as I rise above the tree-line and the clouds
I look down, hearing the sounds of the things you've said today

Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd, smiling
mercyless the magistrate turns round, frowning
and who's the fool who wears the crown
go down in your own way
and every day is the right day
and as you rise above the fear-lines in his crown
you look down, hearing the sound of the faces in the crowd

You never walk alone, you never walk alone
walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
and you never walk alone, you never walk alone

Taylor Swift

Here's somethin' 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained
There's a glow off the pavement, you walk me to the car
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there
In the middle of the parking lot, yeah

We're drivin' down the road, I wonder if you know
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now
But you're just so cool, run your hands through your hair
Absent-mindedly makin' me want you

And I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

So baby drive slow 'til we run out of road
In this one horse town, I wanna stay right here
In this passenger seat, you put your eyes on me
In this moment, now capture it, remember it

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

Well, you stood there with me in the doorway
My hands shake, I'm not usually this way
But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave
It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really somethin'
It's fearless

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

How do the lyrics of these two songs compare? What is their message? They are both about being fearless, but what fear is each song speaking to?

A Guide to Snowflakes

Check out this wonderful website all about the intricacies of snowflakes. He gives an overview of some the fascinating crystal structures that can form based on water saturation of the air and temperature. Check out the pages linked on the left header, especially Snowflake Physics which includes a delightfully scientific comment on the claim that no two snowflakes are alike.

Plate Tectonics Video

I found an video that gives a succinct description of our current understanding of the awesome forces that shaped the early earth and how those forces have created our oceanic and continental crusts, that ride like battles ships on the plastic asthenosphere.

About this blog

Technology has changed the way we interact with each other and our world. And we must use technology wisely to foster learning and not indolence. With this in mind I have created this blog as place to share valuable resources relevant to MHA students. I will post videos, articles, pictures, and anything else that I think will help. It is my goal that this will help realize the awesome potential that computers and the internet have to connect and educate.

DP