Lord of the Rings

Seminole Ridge student is first ever to twice win NASA essay contest to explore Saturn.
Anthony Bass, Class of 2010
A Seminole Ridge student is once again the winner of NASA‘s annual "Cassini Scientist for a Day" essay contest. And—once again—it‘s the same student! NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory delivered the out-of-this-world congratulations to Hawk senior Anthony Bass, the first-ever essayist to win their contest twice.

"Cassini Scientist for a Day" challenges students to 'become NASA scientists' studying the planet Saturn through the robotic spacecraft Cassini. Participants examine three target images taken by Cassini and choose the one they think will yield the best science, supporting their choice in a 500-word essay.

Nearly 400 students nationwide entered the contest, but NASA researchers were impressed most—for the second year in a row—with Bass‘ entry. Here‘s an excerpt: "If we could analyze the composition of the impurities and isotopes of Saturn‘s rings, they could provide us with clues as to where they came from. When we look for clues in the composition of the main rings and compare this data to the composition of Saturn‘s other moons, is it really possible that these rings started as a moon?" This view of Saturn, its rings and the moon Tethys represents "Target 1" in the fall 2009 edition of the Cassini Scientist for a Day contest online at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=3704

Target 1

Mr. Landstrom uses the NASA contest as teaching opportunity for his students to practice their FCAT Writes persuasive essay skills, and encourage excellence in FCAT Science. Seminole Ridge students learned about possible images that the cameras on Cassini could take on October 11, 2009. Students needed to weigh all the factors and choose one of the targets. What do we already know about Saturn, its rings, and its moons? What do we hope to learn from the image selected? The decision is based on which image would yield the most scientific results, but the artistic value of the image can be an added bonus. The cameras on NASA Cassini-Huygens Mission have been taking stunning images of Saturn for the past five years. These images have helped planetary scientists learn more about this amazing planet.

The award certificate is to be mailed to the school. “A copy of the certificate and his essay hang in my classroom” said Mr. Landstrom, Seminole Ridge High School science teacher. Anthony is applying for admission to the Air Force Academy so that he may pursue a career in the field of aerospace/aeronautical engineering.

Great job, Anthony! Winning a national essay contest for an interplanetary mission is impressive. Winning that contest twice in a row is simply amazing!

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UPDATE: Anthony receiving plaque during the March 10, 2010 school board meeting of the School District of Palm Beach County
In the picture, to Anthony's right is his principal Dr. Lynne McGee and board member Dr. Monroe Benaim, and to his left his physics teacher Erich Landstrom and board member Dr. Debra Robinson. The School District of Palm Beach County is the eleventh largest public school district in the United States, and the fifth largest school district in Florida.

Water Bottle Rocketry

Engage
Design a rocket around a plastic 2 liter soda bottle that stays in the air the longest possible time (proxy for how high an altitude it can achieve).
Explain
High school students can document their abilities with the following concepts: inertia, gravity, air resistance, Newton's laws of motion, acceleration, relationships between work and energy or impulse and momentum, projectile motion, freefall calculations, internal and external ballistics, and the practice of true engineering.
NASA's Guide to Bottle Rockets
The rocket is made from a 2-liter soda bottle. Before launch, the bottle is filled with some amount of water, which acts as the "propellant" for the launch. Since water is about 100 times heavier than air, the expelled water produces more thrust than compressed air alone. The base of the bottle is only slightly larger than the launch tube. When the rocket is placed on the launch tube, the body tube becomes a closed pressure vessel. The pressure inside the body tube equals the pressure produced by the air pump. Fins are attached to the bottom of the body tube to provide stability during the flight. Explore
1. The rocket must be constructed using a standard plastic 2L soda bottle.
2. The only adhesive permitted in construction is low-temp glue (using a low-temp glue gun).
Note: Use of a hot-melt glue gun will result in a deterioration of the bottle and possible rupture of the bottle upon pressurization. Evaluate
1. The rocket must stay intact during the entire flight; no parts can fall off or separate during flight.
2. Rockets should be tested at low pressure (70 psi or less) before the competition.



Water Bottle Rocketry Winner Entry
Congratulations! Extend
• Include a payload of an “egg-stronaut” - a raw, large, Grade A chicken egg. Design a hydro rocket to safely return the egg-stronaut to Earth.
• Design a hydro rocket to land closest to a target area.
• Assign dollar amounts to supplies (bottles, glue, fin material, parachutes) and judge the rocket on cost efficiency (cost per second of hang time). But keep working on your MTV!

Engineer Your Life: a guide to engineering careers for high school girls!

http://engineeryourlife.org/

Engineer Your Life is a website guide to engineering careers for high school girls! Imagine what life would be like without pollution controls to preserve the environment, life-saving medical equipment, or low-cost building materials for fighting global poverty. All this takes engineering. In very real and concrete ways, women who become engineers save lives, prevent disease, reduce poverty, and protect our planet. Dream Big. Love what you do. Become an engineer.

A profile of the ideal engineering student for the year 2010

Review of Engineering Education


"The Review Committee has consulted widely on the attributes needed in Australia's graduate engineers. Current engineering students were asked to develop a profile of the ideal engineering student for the year 2010."
Brian Masters: the ideal engineering student for the year 2010

"Their general response was that their future counterparts will be environmentally, economically and globally aware, professional problem solvers, computer literate and with the ability to seek out information for themselves."

"These students of 2010 would also be enthusiastic life-long learners with management and interpersonal skills, and be holistic thinkers, while having core mathematics, problem solving and design skills."
Yes, indeed: SECME RULES.
- The Executive Officer, Review of Engineering Education
Institution of Engineers, Australia
20th August 1996

Your SECME school coordinator, however, may be far from ideal...

i WAS wondering...

The Web site http://www.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.

Each of the women profiled in the series participated in her book's creation by sharing important details about her life, providing personal photographs to help illustrate the story, making family, friends, and colleagues available for interviews, and explaining her scientific specialty in ways that will inform and engage young readers. The scientists also participated directly in the creation of the Web site.


The Web site is a project of the National Academy of Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary women in science and to highlight for young people the varied and intriguing careers of some of today's most prominent scientists. The site draws from and accompanies the publication of a ten-volume series of biographies entitled Women's Adventures in Science, co-published by the Joseph Henry Press (an imprint of the National Academies Press) and Scholastic Library Publishing.

Happy Halloween!

Count the Black Dots


Did they disappear like ghosts when you tried to focus on them? A phenomenon called ”lateral inhibition” makes a bright surrounding area look darker, and vice versa. Spooky!

Carl Sagan Day 11/09

Carl Sagan Day

Announcing the First Annual Carl Sagan Day: A Celebration of Astronomy

WHAT: A celebration honoring the legacy the life and contributions of the great astronomer, author, and philosopher, Carl Sagan, on the 75th anniversay of his birth.

WHY: Carl Sagan was a Professor of Astronomy and Space Science and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He served as an advisor and consultant to NASA, and played a major role in the establishment of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). He was a Pulitzer Prize winning author and most familiar to the public through his COSMOS series on NOVA. In addition to numerous awards, recognitions and honorary degrees for his outstanding contributions, he is acknowledged as one of the most effective public faces of astronomy and space science throughout the world. Sagan died in December 1996.

WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 12 noon - 10:00 PM

WHERE: Broward College Central Campus, 3501 SW Davie Rd., Davie, FL 33314

HOW MUCH: The event is free to all! Activities is planned to take place include teacher workshops, children’s activities, showings of the COSMOS series episodes, food, magic shows, science displays, planetarium programs, telescope workshops, games, door prizes, star-gazing, and many surprises.

CONTACT: Carl Sagan Day

I was looking for an excuse to post this: Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed). Enjoy!

Hoop Glider

ENGAGE
If you throw a plain straw, it doesn’t go very far. But when you add paper hoops, the straw glides through the air!

EXPLAIN
It’s because the hoops act like wings. Things that fly, like insects, birds, and airplanes all have wings. But wings are not all the same shape and size. Different wings can be better for different kinds of flight. For example, an eagle has long, wide wings that help it glide. An airplane has wings with small flaps that move up and down to turn the plane. Try changing the wings on your glider. How does it fly with different wings?

EXPLORE
What you need:
• Paper
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Tape
• Non-bendable, plastic drinking straw

What to do:
1.Cut two strips of paper. Make one strip 1 inch wide and 5 inches long. Make the second strip 1 inch wide and 10 inches long.
2.Curl each paper strip into a hoop. Tape the ends together. Now you have a big hoop and a small hoop.
3.Tape the small hoop to one end of the straw.
4.Tape the big hoop on the other end of the straw. Make sure the big hoop lines up with the small hoop.

ELABORATE
Newton's 3rd Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Thrust is the force exerted when to throw a hoop glider.
Drag (or air resistance) is the reaction force against thrust. The more "stuff" there is, the harder it is to move that stuff through the air.
Lift is the force that keeps a hoop glider up in the air. The curved surface of the hoop glider's loops create a difference in pressure above and below the loops, which deflects the hoop up.
Gravity is the reaction force, pulling the glider down toward the center of the Earth.
Gravity is a constant and cannot be changed. But by maximizing lift, minimizing drag and with just the right amount and direction of thrust, hoop gliders can fly quite far!

EVALUATE
Hold your Hoop Glider in the middle of the straw, with the small hoop in front. Throw it gently like a spear. It might take some practice to get the hang of it. How far does your glider fly?

EXTEND
What will happen if . . .
• you make the straw smaller?
• you change the size of the hoops?
• you add a third hoop?
Choose one thing to change (that’s the variable), and predict what you think will happen, then test it!

Other websites to check out
Science Bob's The Incredible Hoop Glider
The Exploratorium's Science Explorer Hoopster
Museum of Science Hoop Glider Engineering
PBS Kids ZOOM Hoop Glider PDF

Bottle Rocket Seminar

Water Bottle Rocket Seminar

WHEN: SATURDAY, NOV. 7, 2009, CAFETERIA
8:00 am – 1:00 pm

WHERE: Don Estridge High Tech Middle School

1798 NW Spanish River Blvd.

Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Phone: (561) 989-7800

WHAT: Design a rocket around an ordinary 2 liter plastic soda bottle that stays in the air the longest possible time.

Science
• Thrust
• Newton’s laws
• Center of gravity/pressure
Technology
• Problem solving
• Design processes
• Construction processes
Engineering
• Prediction
• Technological design
• Modeling
Math
• Trigonometry
• Truncated cones
• Axial symmetry

WHAT SHOULD YOU BRING: (2) 2 LITER BOTTLES (PER STUDENT), PACKAGING TAPE, EASTER EGGS, PARTY HATS, DISPOSABLE PLATES (NOT CARDBOARD), PERMANENT MARKER, MEASURING TAPE OR RULER, SCISSORS, EXACTO KNIFE, AND EMPTY PAPER TOWEL ROLLS, NEWSPAPERS.

PRESENTED BY: PRATT AND WHITNEY

DIRECTIONS: FROM SOUTH—TAKE I95 NORTH TO YAMATO, GO WEST ON YAMATO TO MILITARY TRAIL, GO SOUTH ON MILITARY TRAIL TO SPANISH RIVER BLVD. TURN LEFT ON TO SPANISH RIVER BLVD. MAKE A SHARP RIGHT TO DON ESTRIDGE MIDDLE. FROM NORTH—TAKE I95 SOUTH AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ABOVE.

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10/29 UPDATE: Safety Concern
Palm Beach Post: Plastic bottle explodes in Palm Beach County boy's face as he tries to duplicate YouTube experiment

Safety is very important with any rocket. Rockets are safe when everyone understands and abides by safe behavior. Only plastic drink bottles should be used, and new bottles should be used whenever possible. Bottles should be retired from use after 10-15 launches.

CAUTION: Children should be closely supervised when they are using rockets. Even if they understand and agree to the safety rules, there will be lapses in concentration or judgment. Children cannot be made responsible for the safety of others. A child may feel it is enough to tell a two-year old to stay out of the way.

Launch Safety Instructions:
• Select a grassy field or athletic practice field that measures at least 30 meters in width. Place the launcher in the center of the field and anchor it in place. (If it is a windy day, place the launcher closer to the side of the field from which the wind is blowing so that the rocket will drift onto the field as it descends.)
• As you set up your rocket on the launch pad, observers should stand back several meters. It is recommended that you rope off the launch site.
• Do not point your water rocket at another person, animal, or object. Water rockets take off with a good deal of force from the air pressure and weight from the water.
• The team member responsible for pumping air into the rocket should wear eye protection. The bottle rocket should be pumped no higher than about 50 pounds of pressure per square inch, but never above 90 psi. Before launching, consult the following table provided for coaches in the SECME Olympiads:

Table of Distances for a Given Pressure
Pressure ----- Typical Classroom Maximums
20 psi ----- 26 meters
40 psi ----- 51 meters
60 psi ----- 77 meters
80 psi ----- 102 meters

• When pressurization is complete, everyone should stand in back of the roped off area for the countdown. Two-liter bottles can weaken and will explode. Bottles should be retired from use after 10-15 launches.
• Continue to countdown and launch the rocket only when the recovery range is clear.
If you do not experience successful liftoff, remember that the bottle is pressurized and may blast off when you touch it. Be careful; do not let it hit you. Never stand over the rocket. A team member should retrieve the rocket.

Sir Isaac Newton

by David Arns

Under a spreading apple tree,
The village genius stands;
His mind conceives of wondrous things,
He writes them with his hands;
His fame goes forth to all the world--
He's known in many lands.

A tiny babe on Christmas Day
in 1642
Was born to Mrs. Newton
while outside, the cold winds blew.
And on the farm, through childhood,
precocious Isaac grew.

And after chores, he built devices
to see just how they worked,
To see what laws of nature
underneath the workings lurked.
(When people called them "toys," that's what
got Isaac really irked.)

His mother saw he was no farmer,
sent him off to school;
He quickly showed at Cambridge
that he was nobody's fool:
He began to bring to light the laws
that all of nature rule.

In one chapter in his story
(though apocryphal, it's said),
An apple, falling from a tree
impacted on his head,
Which drew his thoughts to gravity,
and we all know where that led.

He wondered if, by any chance,
the self-same gravitation
That pulls an apple to the ground,
affected all creation:
The moon, the planets, and the sun. . .
Thus went his cogitation.

He determined that the gravity
of earth indeed controls
The orbit of our moon, as 'round
the earth it ever rolls.
Now, describing it mathematically
was one of Newton's goals.

He discovered that the math you need
to show the laws of nature,
Surpassed the knowledge of that day;
the cosmos' legislature
Required new math, so Newton wrote
his "fluxions" nomenclature.

He talked of falling bodies
and his famous Laws of Motion,
And of colors seen in bubbles
and the tides upon the ocean.
And his crowning jewel, "Principia,"
created great commotion.

Yes, Newton's brilliant mind, it was
a trunk with many twigs--
His mind branched out in every way
(right through his powdered wigs).
His greatest contribution, though,
was cookies made from figs.