Science Scope back issues from December 2007:
Making some bones about it.(ISSUES IN-DEPTH)
Dec 01, 2007; ... Bone is the Rodney Dangerfield of organ systems. It gets no respect. We hang our organs on it, we bend it, we weigh it down, and we ask it to perform throughout our lifetime without praise. While most people regard bone as a static entity in our body, this is a serious misconception and ...
Moon phase as a context for teaching scale factor.
Dec 01, 2007; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As you walk down the halls of many middle schools, you may notice content-specific signs outside of classrooms that say "Science" or "Math." Rarely do you see a classroom with multiple labels such as "Science/Math" to indicate that both subjects are ...
Science, the ultimate math word problem.(EDITOR'S ROUNDTABLE)(Editorial)
Dec 01, 2007; ... Science is a proving ground for skills learned in math classes, and, for most students, science is often the first place where they have had to repeatedly use math to answer questions and solve problems. A lack of math skills can have a very negative impact on students' overall performance ...
En"light"ening geometry for middle school students.
Dec 01, 2007; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many science topics can naturally be integrated with a variety of mathematical concepts, including the study of light and optics. Working collaboratively with the math teacher on my team, we integrated the concepts of light, optics, and geometry to create ...
Inertial mass.
Dec 01, 2007; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mass and weight represent different fundamental properties of matter, one a scalar (a real number) and one a vector, yet the terms are frequently confused. A casual inspection of canned food in a grocery aisle confirms this: A one-pound (weight) can of ...
Making and measuring a model of a salt marsh.
Dec 01, 2007; ... Students are often confused by the difference between the terms accuracy and precision. In the following activities, students explore the definitions of accuracy and precision while learning about salt marsh ecology and the methods used by scientists to assess salt marsh health. These ...
Pinatas, episodic events, and real-life applications.(SCIENCE SAMPLER)
Dec 01, 2007; ... Teaching students to gather and analyze data can be challenging. In particular, many students find the concepts of mean, mode, median, and range to be confusing, even though these concepts are typically introduced to students in second grade, and covered in more detail in subsequent ...
Sinking and floating: bringing math to the surface.(full understanding of density)(SCIENCE SAMPLER)
Dec 01, 2007; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The concept of density underlies the explanation for a variety of natural phenomena such as weather patterns and plate tectonics. However, we often find that although students can identify the formula d = m/v, they are not able to apply it to other ...
Using the IFSMU method to solve mathematical word problems.(SCIENCE SAMPLER)
Dec 01, 2007; ... After implementation of new state standards in intermediate-level science, I began to worry about my students, most of whom have trouble in math. How would they ever be able to solve an algebraic word problem, such as determining the speed of a moving object given distance and time ...
Mean, median, mode, and range.(SCIENCE SAMPLER)
Dec 01, 2007; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A hands-on approach to mean, median, mode, and range turned a simple lab into a two-day opportunity for cooperation among lab-group members and among lab groups. The concepts of accuracy and precision were introduced and distinguished from each other. Data ...
The Mathematics/Science Housing program.(SCIENCE SAMPLER)
Dec 01, 2007; ... The National Middle School Association (1999) has identified transition programs, interdisciplinary teaming, and varied instruction as three of the five fundamental practices among exemplary middle schools. A transition program focuses on creating a smooth change of schools for the young ...
Debugging safely.(integrated pest management)(SCOPE ON SAFETY)
Dec 01, 2007; ... The hazards of pests in the classroom are numerous. Mice can contaminate food and supplies and trigger asthma attacks, cockroaches can cause allergic reactions and aggravate asthma, flies can spread disease, bee and yellow jacket stings can be life threatening, and spiders and ant bites ...
The blue bottle demonstration.(TRIED AND TRUE)
Dec 01, 2007; ... One challenge teachers face is how to engage students in scientific inquiry before they have learned to work effectively in small groups. We suggest using the demonstration format to conduct a guided inquiry on the first day of school or very early in the year. This engages students, ...
The icy fringes.(SCOPE ON SKIES)
Dec 01, 2007; ... The composition of the planets in our solar system is dictated in part by their distance from the Sun. The Earth-like rocky planets are closer to the Sun, while the gaseous Jovian planets are farther out. Separating the two types is the main asteroid belt. Located within the belt is a ...
Can you identify our Mystery Photo?(MYSTERY PHOTO)
Dec 01, 2007 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Can you identify the nickname of this Archimedean solid known as a ...
November's answer: a cranberry bog!(MYSTERY PHOTO)
Dec 01, 2007 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last month's photo was correctly identified by Ella Bowling's seventh-grade science class at Mason County Middle School in Maysville, Kentucky. Ella and her class will receive a copy of Visual Thinking Puzzles, by Michael J. DiSpezio. If you would like to ...
SORCE satellite.(NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment )(SCOPE'S SCOOPS)
Dec 01, 2007 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A NASA satellite designed, built, and controlled by the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder is expected to help scientists resolve wide-ranging predictions about the coming solar cycle peak in 2012 and its influence on Earth's warming climate. ...
Quick to judge.(SCOPE'S SCOOPS)(Report)(Brief article)
Dec 01, 2007 ... New research suggests that a factor in our decision making about people, including candidates for office, happens in just one-tenth of a second. Alexander Todorov, assistant professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University, has studied how people react to the faces of ...
Biotechnology in the middle school curriculum.
Dec 01, 2007; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Biotechnology is a fairly new concept for middle school students as well as teachers. If the latest craze of TV shows focused on crime scence investigation events were not so popular, the term and concept might be even more obscure to the public. Student ...