Science World back issues from April 2009:
Up, up, and away.(PHYSICAL/FLIGHT)(car that flies for Giles Cardozo)
Apr 06, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new invention could have teens someday asking, "Hey mom and dad, may I fly the car?" That's because a British engineer, Giles Cardozo, has built a roadster that can also take to the skies. "As a kid, I thought a flying car would be great," ...
Mistaken identity.(EARTH/FOSSILS)(Texas, Pleurocoelus or Paluxysaurus jonesi as state dinosaur)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Do you know your state flower, tree, and bird? What about your state dinosaur? Texas chose the Pleurocoelus to represent its state after the dinosaur's bones were discovered there. But when Peter Rose, who at the time was a graduate student in geology at Southern Methodist University, ...
Picky eater.(LIFE/INSECTS)(Dung beetles)
Apr 06, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dung beetles are named for their unappetizing eating habits. The insects are coprophages (kop-RAH-fa-JUHZ), or animals that feed on other organisms' waste. But scientists have found at least one member of this group, a Peruvian beetle named Deltochilum ...
Superbug.(GRAPH IT/HEALTH)(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus )
Apr 06, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The spread of a potentially deadly strain of bacteria is on the rise among teens. Bacteria are one of the main causes of human illness. But since the 1950s, germ-killing drugs called antibiotics have helped people fight off infections. However, ...
Eco-bottles.(GRAPH IT/RECYCLING)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Soda is going green. Or at least its plastic bottles are. The Coca-Cola Company recently opened the world's largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new plant is able to transform up to 45 million kilograms ...
Coconuts to car parts.(PHYSICAL/MATERIALS)(husks as car parts)
Apr 06, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With more than 50 billion coconuts harvested every year, shelling the hairy fruit can result in a heap of husks. Normally, this outside covering is discarded, but Walter Bradley, an engineering professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has found a way ...
Numbers in the news.(SCIENCE NEWS)
Apr 06, 2009 ... 1,000,000,000 is the estimated number of wild frogs that end up on people's dinner plates each year. Scientists worry that eating the amphibians may contribute to frogs' worldwide decline. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] $5,000 in scholarship money and a new hybrid bus for ...
Wheelchair wheelies: a Las Vegas teen breaks skate-park records--in a wheelchair.(PHYSICAL: FORCES AND MOTION)(Aaron Fotheringham )(Cover story)
Apr 06, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wearing a dirt-bike helmet and elbow pads, 17-year-old Aaron Fotheringham pulls up to the lip of a curved ramp at Doc Romeo Skate Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. He pushes off and heads for the ramp on the opposite side. Up he goes, and then back down--gaining ...
Hands-on science: (no lab required).(how Aaron Fotheringham spins his wheelchair to complete a backflip)
Apr 06, 2009 ... After reading "Wheelchair Wheelies" (p. 8), try this activity to learn more about how Aaron Fotheringham spins his wheelchair to complete a backflip. PREDICT In order to make a complete revolution during a backflip, Aaron has to rotate around a central point. Because ...
Name that element! Our popular mystery series returns! This element can improve your dart game or reveal the microscopic world. It helps race-car drivers and cancer patients. What is it? Follow these eight clues to find out.(PHYSICAL: CHEMISTRY)
Apr 06, 2009; ... CLUE 1 SPLIT PERSONALITY The mystery element has a reputation for being tough. That's because it usually contains small amounts of other elements, which turn it hard end brittle. In fact, its name means "hard stone" in Swedish. But in its pure form, this ...
I want that job! Pandas, elephants, and lions, oh my! As a zoo nutritionist, Karen Lisi helps feed them all.(CAREERS)
Apr 06, 2009; ... WHAT DOES A ZOO NUTRITIONIST DO? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I work at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. We have more than 400 different species and 2,000 individual animals at the zoo. It's my job to formulate diets to meet each of their nutritional needs. ...
Bats striking out: breaking bats and a wood-eating pest spell serious trouble for baseball.(EARTH: TREES)
Apr 06, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A baseball game last spring turned dangerous when Pittsburgh Pirates' player Nate McLouth drove a ball into right field with a loud "Thwack." The hit had snapped his bat in two and sent a shard of wood hurling straight toward the dugout. The flying club ...
Not so sweet potato.(GROSS OUT)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Last December, Khalil Semhat caused a commotion when he discovered a monster veggie on his farm in the country of Lebanon. While harvesting one of his fields, Semhat dug up what looked like an 11.3 kilogram (24.9 pound) potato. The super-size vegetable was to be the world's largest potato ....
The truth about: "rehab" & drug addiction: the reality is far from glamorous.(HEADS UP: REAL NEWS ABOUT DRUGS AND YOUR BODY)
Apr 06, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Popular culture is filled with stories about the glitzy lives of celebrities, from the designer clothes they wear to their latest romances. It's easy to assume that everything they do is glamorous--including going to "rehab." "Rehab" is a ...
Mystery photo.(YOU CAN DO IT)
Apr 06, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S THIS? The first mass produced one ...
Explain this!(YOU CAN DO IT)(gorilla easter egg hunt )
Apr 06, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Egg Hunt? Answer Key: This gorilla is strutting its stuff while searching for eggs at the Cincinnati Zoo's annual Easter egg hunt. Though it's not unheard of, gorillas rarely walk with an upright, bipedal (using two ...
Tease your brain.(YOU CAN DO IT)(matches)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Can you add an odd number of matches to the inside of this giant square to divide the square into four sections of equal area? ...
Why is a tomato considered a fruit?(ASK Science World)
Apr 06, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Any plant structure containing seeds is technically a fruit, says Marvin Pritts, a professor of horticulture (the science of growing plants) at Cornell University In New York. The plump, red part of the tomato plant fits Into this category because its ...
Tips for using Science World in the classroom.(Teacher to Teacher)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Maureen Van Ackooy, this Teacher's Edition's contributor, suggests: Try this activity that stretches the imagination, increases vocabulary, and familiarizes your students with the element symbols. Using the periodic table on p. 14 from "Name That Element!", have students create words with ...
Science news.(CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING)
Apr 06, 2009 ... DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 3 to 7. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letters of the correct answers below. 1. The engineer who designed the Skycar took his invention on a "test drive" from--. (A) the United Kingdom to Mali ...
I'm melting!(CHART-READING SKILLS)(chemical elements)
Apr 06, 2009 ... One of the clues that helped you determine the mystery element in "Name that Element!" (pp. 12-14) was the element's high melting point. An element's melting point is the temperature at which it changes from a solid to a liquid. Complete the chart and answer the questions below in complete ...
Maple versus ash.(CRITICAL-THINKING SKILLS)
Apr 06, 2009 ... In "Bats Striking Out" (pp. 16-18), you read about the problems facing bats made from the wood of maple and ash trees. Use the information from the article to answer the following questions about the characteristics of each wood, and then use the answers to complete the Venn diagram below ....
The truth about "rehab" and drug addiction.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Dear Teacher: "Rehab" is a commonly used term that can refer to a range of drug treatment options. Teens who read about celebrities checking into residential drug treatment centers--places that look a lot like five-star resorts--may have a glamorized view of drug addiction and ...
Lesson plan and worksheet.(juvenile drug addiction)
Apr 06, 2009 ... NATIONAL STANDARDS Science (NSES): Life Science: Regulation and Behavior; Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal and Community Health Language Arts (IRA/NCTE): Evaluation Strategies KEY CONCEPTS * "Rehab" is a commonly used term ...
What do you know about "rehab" and drug addiction?(STUDENT WORKSHEET)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Answer the questions below to find out what you know about treatment for drug addiction. 1. Drug addiction is a short-term illness that is cured with medicine. (A) True (B) False 2. People who are addicted to drugs have a compulsive and sometimes ...
Swarm!(LIFE/INSECTS)(locusts)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Locusts normally avoid one another. But occasionally, the grasshoppers gang together and go on a feeding frenzy. Researchers in England have discovered what triggers the animals to swarm: a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger released by the nervous ...
Fowled-up flights.(GRAPH IT/WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT)(a collision with Canada geese crippled both engines of a U.S. Airways jet Flight 1549)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Last January, a collision with Canada geese crippled both engines of a U.S. Airways jet Flight 1549. The quick-thinking pilot saved everyone onboard with a miraculous soft landing in New York's Hudson River. Bird strikes, which have more than doubled since 1997, have become a growing ...
Super slitherer.(EARTH/CLIMATE)(Titanoboa cerrejonensis, monster snake)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If an average-size snake gives you the shivers, imagine spotting one the size of a school bus. Scientists recently unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13 meter (42 feet)-long snake in South America. The snake, named Titanoboa cerrejonensis, lived in ...
Tough tissue.(PHYSICAL/MATERIALS)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Extra-strength paper that's harder than a cast-iron frying pan could give the game of rock, paper, scissors a whole new outcome. Using proteins called enzymes, scientists have broken down wood's cellulose, or material in a plant's cell walls, into microscopic fibers 5,000 times thinner ...
Numbers in the news.(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... $79,000,000,000 will fund renewable energy and public transportation as part of a new act signed by President Obama to boost the economy and create green jobs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 37,964 planets our galaxy could support alien life. Scientists used a computer ...
Protected paradise: the creation of three new marine monuments has turned a huge swath of Pacific Ocean into a safe haven for sea life.(EARTH: OCEANS)
Apr 20, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, you can find the deepest spot on Earth, pristine coral reefs, and erupting underwater volcanoes. Millions of nesting seabirds, giant coconut crabs, rarely seen beaked whales, and endangered green sea turtles all call ...
So long to sorting: a new trend in recycling is spreading across the United States.(PHYSICAL: TECHNOLOGY)
Apr 20, 2009; ... One bin is for paper; a second for plastic, a third for glass, and a fourth for metal cans. Sorting has been at the heart of recycling since its beginning. But many communities across the United States are adopting a new, simpler system called single-stream recycling. This method allows ...
Farm-fresh perspective: new England kids get back to the roots of their food.(LIFE: FARMS)(The Farm School)
Apr 20, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thirteen-year-old Ella MacVeagh grabs a shovel. The bleating of sheep isn't all that fills the air. There's also the pungent smell rising from the barn she's about to muck out. But Ella isn't a farm kid doing her family's chores. She's a teen from the ...
Rough waters: one of the world's most turbulent rivers is home to a wide array of fish species. Now, large dams are threatening their future.(EARTH: RIVERS)
Apr 20, 2009; ... For most of its length, Africa's Congo River is calm. The continent's largest river slowly meanders over a high, flat plateau, collecting water from 3.6 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) of land. Near the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the water forms a large pool ....
How do moons comes into existence?(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moons form in one of three ways, says Mark Sykes, director of the Planetary Sciences Institute in Arizona. The oldest moons were born alongside the planets. Bits of gas and dust that didn't join to form the planets gathered on their own. ...
Explain this!(YOU CAN DO IT)(Beppu is Japan's hot spring capital)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Buried Alive? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWER YOU CAN DO IT The city of Beppu is Japan's hot spring capital. Much like the geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles (steam and gas vents) at Yellowstone National Park, the approximately 2,800 hot springs ...
Tease your brain.(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Here are views of six cubes. Which one of the cubes can not be made up from the unfolded cube at the bottom? ...
Science news.(CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING)
Apr 20, 2009 ... DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 3 to 5. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letters of the correct answers below. 1. A spike in serotonin levels drives locusts to --. (A) mate (B) swarm (C) camouflage themselves ...