Scientific Method (As applied to a video game)

  • Observation: Mario got really big after eating that mushroom.
  • Theory: Maybe the mushroom CAUSED Mario to get really big!
  • Prediction: If I make Mario eat another mushroom, he will get big.
  • Hypothesis testing: I'll make Mario eat some mushrooms and see what happens.

    ******************************************************************************* "Humans explore the universe with five senses and call the adventure science." -Edwin P. Hubble *******************************************************************************

    Investigating the real world

    This page is subject to the same laws of entropy as the rest of the U N I V E R S E.

    Energy

    Heat

    Electricity

    Magnetism

    What is magnetic? (Move a very strong magnet past a bar of aluminum or copper and you may notice a slight magnetic effect.)

  • Magnetic beach sand
  • Compass
  • Motors
  • Solenoids
  • Magnetic computer memory: Lay out some donut magnets, face some of them North up (ones) and some of them North down(zeros). Use a bar magnet (read head) to detect which donuts are "ones" and which ones are "zeros." Now shrink everything by a factor of 100000 or so and you have the workings of a hard drive. (Do something similar with static electricity and you have RAM memory!)
  • Tape heads

    Light

    Geometric Optics: Light appears to travel in straight lines like a stream of particles
  • Use wax paper and a paper cup to make a pinhole camera.
    Lenses & Mirrors:
  • Convex
  • Concave
  • Fresnel
  • Compound Telescope Microscope
    Wave Optics: Light behaves like waves.
  • Polarizer
  • Pinhole/Comb Diffraction (use laser)
  • Diffraction grating
  • Bubbles, Oil Spots and Dichroic filters - Colors are selectively reflected or transmitted because the light waves reflecting off the two surfaces of a very thin boundry interfere with each other. This effect is used to reduce reflection in camera and binocular lenses.
  • Laser "speckle" effect is caused by optical standing waves.
  • Hologram is created by capturing the interference pattern of light waves.
    Root Beer Mug optics: Handle "bends" light like a fiber optic cable.
    Why is the sky blue?:

    Add a few drops of milk to a container of water. Shine a flashlight from the side. What is the color of the beam? What is the color of the transmitted light? Is the beam polarized? Is the sky polarized?

    Converting light energy into electrical energy: Solar Cells.

    Sound

    Waves:

    Listen for beats in 2 tones which are very close in frequency.

    Chemistry

    Lightstick: Stored chemical energy becomes light energy.

    Aluminum/Penny cell: Stored chemical energy becomes electrical energy.

    Heat pack: Supercooled liquid (sodium acetate). The clicker, shocks the solution, causing crystals to form. As the acetate freezes, it gives up it's latent heat.

    Steel wool: Slow oxidation (rust) Fast oxidation (burn).


    Life

    5 senses

    Plants

    Animals

    Other

    Fungus, Bacteria, Virus...

    Earth

    Weather

    Kite Aerial Photography
    Shuttle Photo of Racine, WI (very slow!)
    photos of the earth.

    Technology (Putting it all together)

    VCR

    Electromagnetic motors, solonoids, brakes, heads.
    Simple machines, pulleys, screws, levers...
    Converting electricity to light (flashing 12:00).

    Computer:

    Magnetic disk drive read heads.
    DRAM memory - Imagine storing a static charge on tiny balloons. 1 is charged, 0 is discharged. The "balloons" are so small they lose their charge in a fraction of a second so they have to be continuously read and recharged.

    Car:

    Engine converts chemical energy (fuel) to mechanical energy.
    Alternator converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
    Battery stores electrical energy as chemical energy.
    Hydraulic brake cylinders provide mechanical advantage to foot pressure.

    Bogus Science Scavenger Hunt (Newspapers, T.V., Radio, Internet...)

  • USA Today:"X-rays were discovered at the turn of the century by Nobel laureate Marie Curie...MRI works on cell nuclei which like the earth have positive and negative magnetic poles..." July 8, 1997
  • CNN/Time poll: 53% believe in E.T., 80% believe in govt. coverup of E.T.?!?
  • AP: "By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer: ...Nitrogen oxide is a key ingredient of ozone, which is a primary component of Smog..."
  • Reuters: "Eclipses may be viewed through unexposed film" (NOT!)
  • AP: Photo of egg, caption says that eggs can only be balanced on the equinox (and some nonsense about gravitational balance...) 1998

    Science Myths

  • Sound of thunder travels (conveniently) 1 mile each second (3600 m.p.h).
  • Solar eclipse rays are more intense than regular sunshine.
  • Drains always flow counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

    More science myths

  • Bad astronomy: http://smart.net/~badastro/bad.html
  • Bad K-6 Science: http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/miscon.html

    More Science web sites

  • Do-it-yourself Science for kids: http://www.halcyon.com/sciclub/kidlink1.html
  • Whyfiles - Science behind the news: http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/
  • NASA GOES Live Weather Satellite photos: www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/
  • Discovery Channel online: http://www.discovery.com/
  • More Science Links.../
  • Back Home
    Copyright (c) 1998 by Brian Nitz