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.
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?
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.
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
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
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?
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.
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 plasticasthenosphere.
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.
