Kindergarten Classes Explore the Solar System

Students at the Bronxville schools are introduced to many science concepts through out their academic careers. Concepts are presented at age appropriate times and built upon as the students move through the grades. This is an example of one of the earliest examples the students introduction to the sciences. In the kindergarten the students learn about our solar system by coloring models of the planet, selecting and describing their favorite planet, and making paper mache models of the planets.

AP Environmental Science Dam Project Presentations

This is one "gorges" dam.......

Where is the swan? I don't see a swan.....

posted for Dr. DiTullio

Geological Map Modeling

In the Earth Science II Honors course students are learning how to read geologic maps and how to understand the map patterns of folds on those maps -so making 3D models of clay and slicing them with wire to see how they would look in a horizontal plane even if they are plunging into the ground at different angles.

Posted for Dr. Ditullio

Alchemist Activity - Students Transform Copper Coins into Silver Coins into Gold Coins

The alchemists' experiments that tried to change base metals into gold led to the discovery and description of the properties of various elements and substances. Their "trial and error" approach to studying the reactions of various substances formed the basis of the modern science of chemistry. In this exercise the students heat copper coins (pennies) in a solution of a strong base (NaOH) and zinc shavings, which puts a silver-like coating on the coin. They then rinse the coin and heat it in a flame where it develops a "golden" appearance. Students are asked to "research" what is actually happening in this reaction.

Brian and Ethan are heating the pennies in the NaOH and zinc solution, carefully turning the coins to trying to ensure that both sides of the coins can be exposed to the mixture

Catherine and Pablo are turning their coins in the solution.

Morgan is heating the "silvered" penny in the flame to try to turn it "golden".

A "golden" penny with two  "base" copper coins.

Michael tranfers his and Estelle's silvered coins to a beaker of water to rinse them before they heat them in the flame to turn them into gold coins.

Silvered coins removed from the crucible in which they were heated in the NaOH and zinc powder solution.

Active Transport Claymation Videos

Mrs. McClellan's 9th grade Living Environment class made claymation videos modeling active transport. Active transports is a process of moving molecules from low to high concentration using a carrier protein. The process uses energy in the form of ATP. One example of when active transport is used, is when plant root cells move magnesium from very low concentrations in the soil, into a higher concentration in the plant cells. Students used modeling clay, iPhones, and the "Lapse-It" app to make these short video clips.

Forensic Science Students Study Blood Spatter Analysis

Bloodstain pattern analysis is a powerful forensic tool used in crime scene investigations. If the investigator understands the dynamics of an altercation, how blood behaves when it exits the body, and how it reacts when it contacts a surface, then an attempt can be made to understand what happened and to determine if a crime occurred. 

The trained forensic scientist looks at the patterns made by shed blood and tries to determine what did and/ or did not happen. Interpreting the bloodstain patterns involves physical measurement of blood droplets, pattern recognition using known photographs or experiments, the use of trigonometry, and knowledge of the physics of motion. 

Katie and Chrissy are examining their blood drop test sheet to determine which drops to measure as examples of blood droplet hitting a surface from a specified height at a specific angle.

Vivian enters the length and width of droplets previously measured into a data table. The data will eventually be compiled in an Excel spreadsheet designed to determine the angle of incidence for the blood droplet and the height from which the blood droplet originated.

Jesse measures a different sample of blood droplets.

Nick is completing his data table for the vertical blood droplet study. Entering his measurements for blood droplets falling from different height, all of which have a 90 degree angle if incidence.

Roberto and Steven are creating a low speed blood spatter pattern  produced when the angle of incidence is 90 degrees. This is done by putting a sample of blood on the back of one hand and slapping the sample with the other hand, pushing it towards the surface.

The results of the 90 degrees low speed spatter.

Kailey, Kylie, Claire and Catie make sure they have the proper height measurement on the metric side of their tape measure before they begin to make their blood droplet samples into the angle of incidence apparatus.

Kailey drops the simulated blood from a Pasteur pipette at the height indicated by Kylie.

Two droplets done!

Three droplets done!

Francie is preparing multiple blood droplets from a fixed height.

Kylie and Kailey are working on "stringing" the blood spatter on the walls of their "cabin". The cardboard box represents a 1/8 model of the crime scene where the bodies of a male and a female were found.

Vivian, Chrissy, Katie, and Matt's model is almost complete. The strings represent the "direction" from which the blood spatter originated.  The places where the strings converge are the probable positions of the victims when they were attacked.

Brain Month at Columbia University

Columbia University is hosting a series of free events centered on the brain this month.

http://www.columbia.edu/content/brain-month-columbia-2014.html

Lower Hudson Valley Engineering EXPO

On Sunday, March 30, 2014, the Foundation for Engineering Education will present the eleventh annual Engineering EXPO, to educate regional high school and middle school students about engineering as a career. It will be held at White Plains High School, White Plains, NY (Westchester County), from 11 :00 AM to 4:00 PM. Last year's EXPO saw attendance of over 3,000 students, 40 colleges, and 50 engineering or technology based businesses and societies.

The goals of the annual Lower Hudson Valley Engineering Expo are as follows:

 1. Recruit grade 8-12 students interested in math and science and teach them about careers in engineering. We need to convey all options: Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Materials, etc., and perhaps we can attract them with interesting careers in some of the new and exotic fields like nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and aerospace. It is imperative that we recruit the best and the brightest into our profession.

2. Inform juniors and seniors about requirements for engineering degrees. Several colleges in the region with engineering programs will set up booths or tables with information about admission and curriculum.

3. Enlighten the students about careers in engineering. Most do not realize that 8 of the 10 highest paying Bachelor degrees are in engineering fields. Various firms and industries have volunteered to set up displays and be available for discussions with interested students. Some very exciting work goes on in our industry. There is much to be proud of.

AP Biology Students' Evolutionary Adaptation Projects

AP Biology students presented their third quarter projects, in which each student chose an animal from a list an were to produce a "museum quality" poster that identified the animal's taxonomical classification. They were also to examine the behavioral, structural and biochemical adaptations that their animal had developed over the course of their biological history. See the "project" handout that follows for details of the assignment.

   Third Quarter First Project Newsletter 2014 by Charles Ippolito

In the first half of the class on Thursday, half the class stood by their posters, while the other half of the class viewed the posters and listened to the poster author's explanations of the information on the poster. In the second half of the class the students switched places/roles.

Lilia chose to become an expert on the koala bear.

Nicole was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the bottlenose dolphin.

Briana was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the boa constrictor.

William was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the ostrich.

Sabine was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the hippopotamus.

James was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the timber wolf. What was most impressive was his use of a pastel he had drawn of the face of a wolf in one of his art classes last year.

Matt was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the emperor penquin.

Elise used a windows tablet to illustrate the sea otter's taxonomy and adaptations.

Blake was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the walrus.

Paul was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the common skunk.

Jesse was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the seal.

Christian explains what he has learned about the evolution and taxonomy of the hippopotamus.

Fiona was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the duck-billed platypus.

Morgan was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the lion.

Andrew was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the sloth.

Caroline was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the komodo dragon. It was really depressing when none of the class remembered the important role this animal played in the movie "The Freshman", which followed the travails of an NYU student (Matthew Broderick) working for a Godfatherish conman (Marlon Brando) and his chef (Maximilian Schell)!

Lucy was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the great panda.

Chrissy was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the giraffe. I would be remiss if I did not point out her giraffe patterned blouse!