Sweet Science

Pecan Pralines


You will find science everywhere. Particularly in the Kitchen .

The skills and knowledge needed to do science well are required in the kitchen too; develop questions, predict, experiment, measure, record, analyze, identify varibles IV, DV, "controls", and particularly develop and reach conclusions ( I really like the Kitchen Science conclusions...yummy).




Dr Barbara Heine Hagerman, famous scientist and "foodie" in her own right, elegantly stated,

‎"... and I loved seeing the SCIENCE part of cooking - reading thermometers...change in physical properties of the candy, etc"


Growing up in New Orleans, THESE WERE MY FAVORITE..

Pecan Pralines

Pecan Pralines:

1 cup granulated sugar (sifted)

1 cup light brown sugar (packed)

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

2 ½ tbl unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cup pecans toasted

Butter or pan spray a metal sheet pan (do not use parchment)

Place sugar in middle of a heavy sauce pan (Make sure it is very clean)

Add cream and butter and salt

Cook over VERY low heat stirring continuously with a CLEAN wooden spoon until all the sugar has dissolved, be careful not to simmer

Place candy thermometer in syrup and increase heat to medium high and allow it to boil until it reaches 236 degrees F (3-5 minutes)

If you don't have a candy thermometer a small teaspoon of syrup dropped into a bowl of cold water should form a soft ball.

Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit until it cools to 220 degrees F (about 2 minutes)

Stir syrup until it thickens up and add the pecans

IMMEDIATELY begin spooning the mixture into dollops on the cookie sheet a tablespoon at a time

Let cool then store or serve with ice cream

(Or for easier method pour out the syrup and flatten it in the pan – let it cool then break up into pieces)

Elements For Life Project

"ELEMENTS NECESSARY FOR LIFE" PROJECT


THE ASSIGNMENT: You and your partner have been asked by the American Chemical Society (ACS) to design an advertisement/presenation which promotes an element that is necessary for the health and well being of the human body. You may choose an age group (children, teenagers, adults, or senior citizens) and/or sex (male or female) you intend to target, as the nutritional requirements for your element may change depending on these factors. Pregnancy may also be a factor you need to account for. For example, the daily requirements for the element calcium vary depending on whether you are male or female, and whether you are a child, teenager, adult or senior. In addition to this, pregnant and nursing women have additional calcium requirements for their diet. Not every element will have different RDA’s for each of these different people groups, so you will need to check carefully.


The following is a list of elements that students have had success with in the past:
F, Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo, Cd, Sn, and I.
Several additional elements have proven to be harder but not impossible to successfully research: Li, Si,V, B, Br, and Te.

developed by Michael Geyer

with assistance from Cynthia Bedell

downloaded from The Catalyst (www.TheCatalyst.org)

edited and adapted by Todd Conner


Elements Necessary for Life” project



Your advertisement must be presented in such a way that the average reader in your age group will understand it. Do not rely only on text in your presentation. For example, add some visual aids such as tables to convey information, or pictures of foods that your mineral can be found in.

You will prepare a PowerPoint presentation promoting your element.

You will also prepare a Tri-fold, colored pamphlet that could be distributed to your audience.

The following is required information for your advertisement:
- Element name and symbol
- History/Discovery – (who? when? where? )
- Description- basic physical and chemical properties
- Abundance/Sources - (Where is it found? How is it obtained?)
- Biological role
• Recommended daily allowances (RDA’s)
• Main food sources of element
• Why does your body need this element required, how does it help the body?
• Problems if you get too much in your body (include symptoms)
• Problems if you get too little in your body (include symptoms)
• Are mineral supplements containing this element available at the local pharmacy?
(Look specifically for a supplement that only contains the one element, not a multivitamin. Use a multivitamin as a last resort, and let your audience know that you are referring to a multivitamin if you do so.)
• If so, what is the average cost for a daily supplement? (Pay attention to how many pills make up a daily supplement.)
- A bibliography which includes at least three sources (including books, web addresses, magazines, etc.).

When conducting a search for the above information, you will want to search under the name of your element as well as the following: minerals, trace minerals, essential minerals, or macrominerals.

You and your partner will present your information to your classmates in a five minute presentation. You each are required to speak during the presentation. You will be given class time to perform some of your research. However, you cannot hope to complete this project with class time only.

Pamphlet Presentation

Your pamphlet must be designed so that it can be folded into thirds, and will have six panels for presenting your information. The following are the minimum requirements for your pamphlet:

Title panel must show the element name and symbol and a graphic,

Back panel must include your bibliography of at least three sources, with your name at the bottom of this panel, and

You must use some color in designing your pamphlet. Black and white only is not acceptable.

PowerPoint Presentation

For those of you who are computer literate, and have some PowerPoint experience, you may prepare your presentation with PowerPoint. Do not rely only on text in your presentation; add some visual aids. In addition to visual aids, you may also include sound effects or movie clips. Check spelling and grammar, it will count towards your final grade.

You will be allowed to use one of the class computers to make your presentation to the class. Your presentation must be saved on your school provided server space. You should also have it saved to a floppy disk, “just in case”. If you have prepared your presentation at home, be sure that it is compatible with and runs on the school system. In other words try it out before it is your time to present. You will be required to print out a “hard-copy” of your slides and turn it in after your class presentation.


NOTE: If you have any specific questions see your instructor. Do not make any assumptions! If you are unsure about anything, ask. If you would like to add your own creative touch, make sure you get approval from your instructor.


Rubric



Presentation method

_____pamphlet ______PowerPoint ______video (+10% EC) _______ other/w permission

A. Required Content (20 points)
Element name and atomic number
(2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Atomic configuration (2) present ______ (0) not present ______

RDA’s (if established) (2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Main food source (2) present ______ (0) not present ______

bring in a sample for the class to see
( 1) present ______ (0) not present ______

bring in a sample for the class to taste bonus +2

Why body needs/how it helps body
(2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Toxicity (if applicable) (2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Deficiency (if applicable) (2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Mineral supplements/multivitamin(2) present ______ (0) not present ______

average cost for a daily supplement
(1) present ______ (0) not present ______

Bibliography (2) present ______ (0) not present ______

# sources (0) 0 ______ (1) <3_______ (2) 3 _______ (+1) >3_______


B. Visual Presentation of Content
Picture(s) or drawing(s) included
(5) present ______ (3) minimal ______ (0) not present______

Color included
(5) present ______ (3) minimal ______ (0) not present______

Use of supporting data
(2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Persuasive “selling points”
(2) present ______ (0) not present ______

Typed or written neatly 5 4 3 2 1

Neat/organized 5 4 3 2 1




C. Oral Presentation

Eye contact with audience
(3) good ______ (2) fair ______ (1) poor______

Enthusiasm (as shown to audience)
(3) good ______ (2) fair ______ (1) poor______

Voice projection
(3) good ______ (2) fair ______ (1) poor______

Dress/appearance
(0) normal school dress ______ (+2) dressed up ______

Time (-2) <3 min______ (1) 3-5 min______ (+1) >5 min ______

Summation and Conclusion
(3) good ______ (2) fair ______ (1) poor______



D. Notes (bonus)
(Any extra background or chemistry-related information)







Total Points = ___________ out of _____

IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITY

Physical Science Improvement opportunity.

There will be an opportunity to IMPROVE your Term Test score on Wednesday December 15, 2010 (or Thursday 12/16/10 in the event of of schedule changes interruptions)


This test will be shorter, with significantly fewer questions, so each question will have increased value. The improvement opportunity will cover the same material and time frame as the original term test.


The improvement assessment will be heavily based on VOCABULARY.



NO FIELD NOTEBOOKS to be used on this improvement test. You may retrieve your past work from your in-class file to help you prepare. YOU MUST RETURN YOUR PAST WORK TO THE FILE WHEN DONE.



You may demonstrate your test preparation, notes etc on one (1) 8.5 in. by 11 in sheet of notebook paper and you may use that on the test.

GOOD LUCK !

Interactions

Biotic and abiotic interactions shape, determine and define the success (or lack there of) for all habitat.

Cocos Island and the Gemelas Seamounts

In September 2009, National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle, and a team of leading marine scientists from Central America and across the globe gathered together in Costa Rica. Destination: Cocos Island—Isla del Coco, ringed by some of the most shark-rich waters anywhere—and the submerged and all-but-unexplored summits of the Gemelas (“Twin Sisters”) Seamounts.

The team worked with local marine scientists and conservation organizations to document these aquatic ecosystems. The data, they hope, will help to establish new scientific baselines for intact—and critically important—environments.

While Cocos has helped define the world’s image of an untouched island paradise for centuries, the Gemelas Seamounts have lurked, mostly unseen and unknown, beneath hundreds of feet of seawater. But marine creatures know them as fertile and important waypoints on their wanderings. These rich feeding grounds may be critical to the survival of many of the migratory predators that pass through them.

This could all be endangered through intentional and unintentional interactions with coastal environments.

As climate change has warmed the Earth, oceans have responded more slowly than land environments. But scientific research is finding that marine ecosystems can be far more sensitive to even the most modest temperature change.

Global warming caused by human activities that emit heat-trapping carbon dioxide has raised the average global temperature by about 1°F (0.6°C) over the past century. In the oceans, this change has only been about 0.18°F (0.1°C). This warming has occurred from the surface to a depth of about 2,300 feet (700 meters), where most marine life thrives.

Perhaps the ocean organism most vulnerable to temperature change is coral. There is evidence that reefs will bleach (eject their symbiotic algae) at even a slight persistent temperature rise. Bleaching slows coral growth, makes them susceptible to disease, and can lead to large-scale reef die-off.

Other organisms affected by temperature change include krill, an extremely important link at the base of the food chain. Research has shown that krill reproduce in significantly smaller numbers when ocean temperatures rise. This can have a cascading effect by disrupting the life cycle of krill eaters, such as penguins and seals—which in turn causes food shortages for higher predators.

Higher Sea Levels

When water heats up, it expands. Thus, the most readily apparent consequence of higher sea temperatures is a rapid rise in sea level. Sea level rise causes inundation of coastal habitats for humans as well as plants and animals, shoreline erosion, and more powerful storm surges that can devastate low-lying areas.

Stronger Storms

Many weather experts say we are already seeing the effects of higher ocean temperatures in the for m of stronger and more frequent tropical storms and hurricanes/cyclones. Warmer surface water dissipates more readily into vapor, making it easier for small ocean storms to escalate into larger, more powerful systems.

These stronger storms can increase damage to human structures when they make landfall. They can also harm marine ecosystems like coral reefs and kelp forests. And an increase in storm frequency means less time for these sensitive habitats to recover.









Try a tide simulator don't forget to click on the neap/spring identifier.

Two oceanic bulges—one on the side of the Earth facing the moon and the other on the side opposite from the moon—move in relation to our satellite as it orbits us, causing in most places two high tides a day as our planet rotates on its axis. The moon's gravity pulls the ocean toward itself to create the near-side bulge, but this doesn't account for the bulge on the far side.

Here, follow a step-through animation that explains why water rises on the side of the Earth away from the moon. Tides also make a difference in our interactions on a quite regular schedule..

(More cool stuff )

Why do the biggest tides happen when the moon is new and full?

Although tides are affected mainly by the moon's gravity, gravity from the sun also pulls on the oceans. In fact, the tidal force of the sun is almost half ( 46%) that of the moon. When the moon, sun, and Earth line up, we see either a full moon (if we're between the moon and the sun) or a new moon (if the moon is between us and the sun). At these times, the gravitational forces of the sun and moon work together, increasing the overall pull on the Earth and its oceans.

Why is the tide cycle 24 hours 50 minutes long instead of just 24 hours long?

You might think that, because the length of the tide cycle is determined by the Earth's rotation, the tide cycle should be 24 hours long. The reason it's longer is that, during a 24-hour period, the moon travels about 12 degrees of its 360-degree orbit. The extra 50 minutes is how long it takes any spot on the Earth to "catch up" to the moon's new position.





So... what do you think?

Questions?

Change Matters

There are four (+) states of matter that we know about: solids, liquids, gases, plasma (and some other "odd" phases. Each of these states is made up of particles that move by different amounts.

All solids, liquids and gases are made of particles. The only difference between them is how much energy the particles have. If you give the particles energy; or take energy away from them; then you can change their state.

If you heat up a solid - you give it some energy. This causes the particles to move more and the solid to change into a liquid, or melt. If the liquid is heated then it may evaporate and turn into a gas.

Taking energy away from a gas (cooling it down) may cause it to turn into a liquid - or condense. Further cooling of the liquid may cause it to turn into a solid - or freeze.

Energy Changes

To change a solid into a gas you need to give the solid particles a lot of energy, the particles need more energy to turn from a liquid into a gas.

If you want to make a solid warmer then you give it some heat - the graph shown here describes this. The change from a solid to a liquid requires heat energy but the temperature doesn't rise. There isn't an increase in temperature because the energy is all used in changing the particles from a solid to a liquid. The same thing happens when the particles change from a liquid to a gas - at first the heat given to the liquid just causes it to warm up. Then any more heat given does not cause the temperature to rise because it is all used to change state from liquid to gas.

For a very simple self check, CLICK HERE



Reversible Changes? hmmmmm? perhaps... check your understanding,

Presto Change O


You can dive deeper into the atom with the interactive from Jefferson Labs...some weird stuff awaits







Take the Particle Adventure ... it gets REALLY Weird



What is the World Made of?

Why do so many things in this world share the same characteristics?

People have come to realize that the matter of the world is made from a few fundamental building blocks of nature.

The word "fundamental" is key here. By fundamental building blocks we mean objects that are simple and structureless -- not made of anything smaller.

Even in ancient times, people sought to organize the world around them into fundamental elements, such as earth, air, fire, and water.

Trivia: Who first classified the fundamental elements as earth, air, fire, and water?

START THE ADVENTURE, and find out ...

So what else is there?

Elementary, My Dear Watson, this is all there is ...(maybe)

Hey Everyone Colleen made a great find and submitted it for adding to the 9/25/10 Post .. "You are made from the Stuff of Stars" I thought I would put it here too!

Click Here


More to come...

What do you think?

What examples can you describe?

Quick Link to Benthic Creatures

Quick Link to BENTHIC CREATURES
Looking for shelled gastropods, bivalves, and mollusca? Then try the

Shell Museum

Thanks.. Food is great!

Grandma's Pecan Pie on Great Day St. Louis December 2009

Grandma's Pecan Pie

by Abby Buzick

KMOV.com

Posted on December 7, 2009 at 3:52 PM

Recipe Courtesy Chef Emma Voskuil

9 inch unbaked pie shell (you can use frozen)
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter melted
1 cup pecan halves
Whipped cream or topping (optional)
Vanilla bean ice cream (optional)

Defrost pie shell if it's frozen
Preheat oven to 375F
Beat eggs in a medium bowl
Add sugar, syrup, salt, and vanilla until well combined
Stir in pecans and melted butter
Pour into shell
Bake 45-50 minutes or until filling is set in the center
Let cool completely before cutting or refrigerating.
Cut and serve with ice cream or whipped cream

Cinnamon Pumpkin Soup

by Emma Voskuil KMOV.com

Posted on October 20, 2010 at 7:53 AM

Cinnamon Pumpkin Soup

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots – peeled and small diced
• 2 celery stalks – small diced
• 1 yellow onion – small diced
• 8 cups pumpkin peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 2-3 pounds)
• 8 cups of chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 1 dried chili de arbol
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 small pumpkins bowls (see below for recipe)

1) Melt butter in a large stock pot
2) Sauté vegetables until soft
3) Add pumpkin and stock
4) Take a coffee filter and put in cinnamon, cloves and chili, tie with string and place in stock pot attach the string to the handle of the stock pot
5) Cover and simmer until the pumpkin falls apart when stabbed with a fork
6) Pull out coffee filter pack of herbs
7) Puree soup in a blender
8) Return to stock pot
9) Add in cream and honey
10) Bring to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper
11) Pour into individual pumpkin bowls

Pumpkin Bowls

• 4 small pumpkins (about .5 -1 pound each)
• Warm water
• Pan spray

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Cut the pumpkin tops off leaving a good amount on the bottom
3) Scoop out the seeds and pulp
4) Rinse with warm water
5) Dry out the pumpkin as best you can with paper towels
6) Place on a baking sheet
7) Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until slightly hardened
8) Use to serve pumpkin soup

You Rock!

Rocks aren't alive. Life is.

So think of them as separate. Rocks over here; life over there.

Then along come Robert Hazen and his colleagues with their study, "Mineral Evolution," published in the American Mineralogist and all of a sudden categories shatter. I'm amazed. I hadn't thought of this, even remotely.

Here's what they found:

To hear the story, listen closely to how you rock! NPR

A SUPERNOVA thanks to Hubble...

This Hubble Space Telescope photograph shows supernova, 1987A, with its three rings. Material from the explosion has begun to hit the inner ring.

This explosion happens because the center, or core, of the star collapses in less than a second. The outer layers of the star are blown off in the explosion, leaving a contracting core of the star after the supernova. The shock waves and material that fly out from the supernova can cause the formation of new stars. There are many beautiful images of supernova remnants, the expanding shell of gas made up of the outer layers of the original star.

Supernovae last one or two years, and can shine brighter than a whole galaxy for this time. What happens to the star after the supernova depends on how big it was to begin with. If the star was only a few times bigger than the Sun, the core will shrink into a tiny neutron star only a few miles across. If the star was much bigger than the Sun, the core will shrink down to a black hole.

A typical neutron star is the size of a small city, only 10 Kilometers in diameter but it may have the mass of as many as three suns. It is quite dense. One spoonful of neutron star material on Earth would weigh as much as all the cars on Earth put together.

Now that's HEAVY!

States of matter.

This figure shows the four common states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.

Consider water as an example. Solid water is ice. Liquid water is, well, water. We call water in its gaseous form "water vapor". A plasma created from water would include electrons, protons (hydrogen atom nuclei), and oxygen atom nuclei (protons and neutrons).

There are special names for most transitions from one state to another. Freezing is turning from a liquid to a solid; melting is turning from a solid to a liquid. The transition from liquid to gas can happen by boiling or evaporation. Condensation is changing from a gas to a liquid. Sometimes (usually at low pressure) a solid can become a gas directly (without first melting to become a liquid); this transformation is called "sublimation". Removing electrons from atoms (usually in a gas) to produce a plasma is called "ionization".

Stars are made of plasma, so plasma is the most abundant form of matter in the universe.

There are several other very exotic and unusual forms of matter that we don't encounter in daily life. A Bose-Einstein condensate can only form at temperature near absolute zero, and was first created in a lab in 1995. Degenerate matter can come into being under incredibly high pressure inside white dwarf and neutron stars. There are other very strange, very rare forms of matter as well.

Last modified June 25, 2008 by Randy Russell.

Run through this over view of "matter"- take notes






Now go to STRANGE MATTER

What do you think?

Examples and Answers

Graphing examples

Interpreting Graphs 1 and drawing a graph from a "story!"

Example of graphing Distance (vs) Time

7th graders demonstrate inertia and motion.







A great review of Acceleration!! (and Newton)








Comments box is open...

Did you get these answers ?

Coral Video

Earth the Coral Sea

Goldilocks and Coral. hmmmm?

Picky Picky Picky


Rick MacPherson writes in Coral and the Goldilocks Effect:

For as much as I love coral reefs, I've gotta admit that coral polyps are the prima donnas of the ocean. Most coral reefs are located between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn--not much more than 30 degrees north and south of the equator. Not too far north nor too far south, but just right. Corals are also found farther from the equator in places where warm currents flow out of the tropics, such as Florida and southern Japan. Reef building corals grow best in waters with a temperature of between 21 and 29 degrees Celsius (70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit). It is possible for soft corals to grow in hotter and colder places, but growth rates under these conditions are very slow. Again, they like it just right.

Tropical coral species are particularly fussy about temperature. As I've described before, when sea surface temperatures start to climb more than 2-4 degrees Celsius for an extended period of time, coral polyps get stressed and can expel their algal symbionts. Once the algae (zooxanthellae) are evicted, the translucent coral polyp appears white (or bleached). If temperatures remain elevated and the coral cannot reacquire new heat-tolerant algae, the coral may die.



But bleaching can result not just when conditions are too warm, but also when conditions are too cold. Some recent news from Heron Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef describes how unusually cold weather has resulted in a winter bleaching event. Just the other day I described how the relatively rare phenomenon of sun-dried tides can cause mass coral bleaching and mortality. In a twist on that theme, if unusually low tides are coupled with chilly, windy (conditions that are just wrong for coral) a similar mass mortality can result. These images of bleaching are courtesy of Ove Hoegh-Guldberg's fantastic website Climate Shifts.

1. Where do coral reefs grow?

Coral reefs can be seen throughout the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans, generally within 30 degrees N and 30 degrees S latitudes.

2. Why do you think that coral reefs only occur between certain latitudes, and then only within certain areas?

Studies have shown that most reefs grow well between the temperatures of 23-25 degrees C. The temperature is ideal year round in these locations, not too hot, and not too cold.

3. What major factors limit where coral reefs can found? List 5 major factors limiting the occurrence of coral reefs and describe HOW these factors limit the establishment or success of coral.

	Factor	Requirements	Why is it important?
	Temperature	18-30 C (64-86 F)	Stable temperature between 18-30 C is necessary for the survival of coral reefs.
	Salinity	33 - 36 parts per thousand
	Light	The maximum depth for actively growing coral is 70m	The need for light for coral reefs� symbiotic plant is thought to limit reefs building corals to shallow water.
	Wave action	Reef development is generally more abundant in area that is subject to strong wave action.	Waves carry food, nutrients, and oxygen to the reef.� Waves distribute coral larvae.� Waves prevent sediment from settling on the coral reefs.

Corals historically thrived in clear water, but recent bleaching events have revealed that water can be too clear! Corals need some nutrients and plankton for food, but not enough to promote algal overgrowth and rapid bioerosion rates.

The corals of the Florida reef tract provide clues to how “Goldilocks” these reef builders can be. The offshore reefs, where waters are clearest, have declined dramatically over the past several decades such that coral cover is now too low to sustain reef accretion. Only on patch reefs is coral cover at least in double-digit percentages.
Hallock, Pamela. " Goldilocks and the Three Biogenic Carbonate Minerals: What Determines “Just Right”?. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida

There is a greater variety of species in, on and around coral reef than anywhere else in the ocean. This is a link to Florida Coral Reefs

What would you do ? This is a "REAL LIFE " interactive about coral. Make decisions by yourself or with classmates



The Comment/Bonus box is open...

What do you know now?

What would you like to know more about?


How will you find out?

Coral Legacy

Coral in Peril

" There has long been a belief that the sea, at least, was inviolate, beyond man's ability to change and to despoil. But this belief, unfortunately, has proved to be naive. "
--Rachel Carson


How much do you know about coral?

Try a Worldwatch quiz or Ocean world - I like this one

What is coral? When you see pictures in National Geographic of huge rock like things in the ocean with fish swimming all around, is that coral? Well, sort of. That is a coral reef.

Take a Live FISH EYE VIEW.... look for yourself...

©1995 -2010 Quantum Leap Network, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

Coral is an animal that belongs to the phylum cnidaria. A phylum is a group that scientists place animals in which share certain characteristics. Cnidarians are radially symmetric, which means that they are the same all the way around, 360 degrees! They are built like sacs with a hole in one end that is surrounde

d by stinging tentacles. Jellyfish are cnidaria. Now, you are probably thinking, jellyfish don't look anything like what I thought coral was! That's because the most common pictures of coral are colonies called reefs.

During the mating season coral polyp release eggs and sperm into the water (picture below) and when an egg and a sperm meet they form a larva known as a planula.

Mountainous star coral (Montastraea faveolata) in the process of releasingboth eggs and sperm.

Click here for a larger view!

The baby coral looks like a little tiny jellyfish and it floats around in the water until it finds a hard place to attach to, usually a coral reef. Then it lands and starts to build itself a shell. It builds it by combining carbon dioxide (CO₂) and calcium (Ca) in the water to make calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) also known as limestone. This shell is shaped like a round vase and the coral polyp lives inside.

Coral Polyp
(Photo courtesy Jeffrey N. Jeffords)

Coral polyps are primarily nocturnal. At night a coral polyp will stick its tentacles out of its vase and let the tentacles wave in the current. Then, when plankton float by, the coral polyp stings them with its tentacles and brings the plankton inside its shell to have for lunch.

A coral reef is about a million of these individual coral polyp shells all stuck one on top of the other. When coral polyps die, new ones land and grow right on top of the old empty shells. There are over 500 different species of coral. Some look like brains and some like fans and some like the antlers of deer, but they are all made up of tiny coral polyps.

Organisms other than coral can form reefs. A reef is simply a structure in the shallow parts of the ocean that serves as a home to animals and plants. Many sunken ships have become reefs and humans even create artificial reefs to replace the coral reefs that we have destroyed. Some artificial reefs are specially constructed for the purpose, but others are made of tires linked together, old appliances linked together and even discarded military equipment like tanks and helicopters.

You can dive to greater depths in this adventure in the Coral Realm

Coral Reefs are often called : The Rainforests of the Sea ?

Can you explain what might make people say this? (Bonus points available)

The comment box is open

Eureka Moments

EUREKA !!




Scientists from Ancient Greece - Did some REALLY COOL STUFF

Thales and some others - who may have started it all

And FAMOUS SCIENTISTS different lists and ways to search ...

How is this or how are they important to us today? What could we possibly have in common?

Well, For example: We are studying MOTION. 2500 years people were too...

Looking for evidence of acceleration and gravity? Have you ever REALLY watched water fall? Have you ?


Strato (who died around 268 B.C., he is sometimes called Straton) did. he observed much more carefully than Aristotle, and realized that falling bodies usually accelerate. He made two important points: rainwater pouring off a corner of a roof is clearly moving faster when it hits the ground than it was when it left the roof, because a continuous stream can be seen to break into drops which then become spread further apart as they fall towards the ground.





Famous in the history of "Discovery" is Archimedes' shout... EUREKA!! .. truth or fable?
We are not certain,... but the math is proven!



We still use the word today.... ( and the math!)

We call them “Eureka” moments, sparks or breakthroughs, and we say things like “The lightbulb just went on.” We talk about good ideas as if they burst forth in one instant, and in one mind. But what if ideas are actually the works of hunches cobbled together and incubated over time?

This is how author Steven Johnson talks about ideas. He rejects the history books that tell romantic stories of inventors working alone in a laboratory, and instead presents stories of collaboration — of “ideas built on top of other ideas.”

In his book Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, Mr. Johnson traces seven centuries of innovation and argues that these tales of invention — a swath that takes in everything from the printing press to the Internet, the pencil to the flush toilet and an incubator made entirely from car parts — prove that an “idea is not a single thing, it is more like a swarm.”

“Ideas are growths of other peoples’ hunches,” Mr. Johnson said.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Eureka+moments+really+come+flash/3646918/story.html#ixzz11yLZQ4bL

So what should one look for in a biography of a scientist?

Students should read about the phenomenon that was studied, how the experimental apparatus was configured, what was done with the findings, what specific errors and corrections were made, where ideas came from, and how the scientist’s colleagues, the public, the press, the government, or the funders reacted to the work. Students should be aware that scientists
encounter obstacles and experience setbacks as well as successes. Students should consider books that describe the work done by men and women in different areas of science, from various cultures, and who lived in different time periods.



Here is a great site to get one started searching for Great Women in Science... (yes, it is OK to play the games while you are at it)

The Web site iWASwondering.org is inspired by Women's Adventures in Science, a biography series for middle-school-aged students co-published by the Joseph Henry Press and Scholastic Library Publishing. Women's Adventures in Science chronicles the lives of contemporary, working scientists. Despite their varied backgrounds and life stories, these remarkable women all share one important belief: the work they do is important and it can make the world a better place.




....Many have made great sacrifices... often breaking social barriers along the way..


















Scientists change and improve how we understand the universe... Sir Isaac for example..




Other links for scientists
Famous Scientists and a Time Line of Scientists, a TOP TEN LIST you might even find a video of your scientist here on "BIOGRAPHY"

Here is a site that was put together by another student working on the same project
Sizzling Smart Scientists .

Don't forget your textbooks may provide examples too!

	The Light Stuff		Einstein's Big Idea homepage

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