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Velocity Friday: Undefined velocities, Bernoulli, and Magnus

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One meter segments were chalk marked into the floor. Then a velocity of zero meters per second was demonstrated.  Zero meters per second was graphed, as was a negative velocity.  Then the issue of the implications of a vertical line on a time versus distance graph were covered.  Once a student said "Nothing" which triggered Billy Preston's 1974 Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.  The funnels were brand new and still in their packaging. So I unpacked them and asked a student to blow a ping pong ball out of the funnel. As hard as she tried, and she tried hard, the ping pong ball would not budge. This led to Bernoulli's theorem of pressure differentials due to velocity. The class wrapped up with the Magnus effect using ping pong balls and curved ball launchers. 

Seedless vascular plants walk

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The ethnobotany seedless vascular plant walk launched on a cold open with no attendance taken. The Phlegmariurus phlegmaria is well developed. A second plant has developed to the left. The walk began here as these mango trees also display Davillia solida, Davallia heterophylla, Davillia pectinata, Microsorum scolopendria, and Sphaerostephanos maemonensis.  The Pixel Pro 10 proved worthy in a long close up image of the strobili on Phlegmariurus phlegmaria. Davallia heterophylla Davallia heterophylla Cyathea nigricans, recovering from the damage done when the Campnosperma brevipetiolata was cut down and dropped onto the tree fern. Grace smiling, Anastasia with En Neiritancy.  Haploteris elongata. Psilotum complanatum Walking along the Pterocarpus indica trees.  Psilotum nudum A lone remnant Selaginella in Haruki. There is a need to run a rescue...

Linear velocity laboratory LRC start

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Last term a RipStik run suggested that starting on the small slope at the LRC balanced against the force of friction on the RipStik. This term the ball rolls were started at that location. The slow speed rolls were still done on 1.5 meter intervals. Medium speed rolls were timed across 3 meter intervals. Fast rolls were done on six meter intervals. 0 meters was off of the first post. Thirty meters was in front of of the south faculty building. The only downside to this arrangement was that this puts the bowler in the January morning sun at 8:00. Hot, sweaty mess. Full sun at the 0 meter mark. Preliminary results suggest this countered friction, especially where friction had the most impact at low speeds. The speeds came out similar to those in the past. The new launch location is more exposed to crosswinds, but that was not an issue this term. Prior to going out on the sidewalk, the students were asked to predict w...

2.2 Quartiles using 116 rows of Vitz data

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In the past student heights were used to introduce quartiles. Last term a set of spherical objects were used - which were too few to make the concepts clear. This term 116 Dolihner - Palikir commute times were used.  The concepts were first illustrated on the board. And then demonstrated in the spreadsheet. Boxplots were produced in Statisty , BoxPlotR , and Desmos on the Smartboard. Towards the end of class I worked homework 2.1 on a cell phone, mirroring my work to the Smartboard. The Smartboard does not drop the connection as in the past.  A new behavior was observed this term. As in the past the Google Sheets copy on link did not work on a cell phone. A View only version of the spreadsheet opened. As in the past, the Make a Copy option was attempted. This term Make a Copy failed. The end run was to copy the data in the View only spreadsheet and then paste the data into a new spreadsheet.  With mirroring functional, a demonstration of how to make a box pl...

Botany laboratory two: iNaturalist

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Seventeen hours prior to class an observation Dr.Yomai made in 2024 was identified to Genus Pipturus. This provided the launchpad for the laboratory. Prior to class the Urticeae folder was pulled from the herbarium. The class began with a look at the herbarium sheets and the information they contained. Then the Pipturus observation was brought up on the Smartboard. This allowed a demonstration of how the iNaturalist observation is a digital herbarium sheet. Observer, scientific name, location, date and notes. The iNaturalist slide deck followed naturally after the above introduction.  Prior to class a photo was taken of Jasminum sambac including a flower, leaves, and floral bracts. This was used in a demonstration of iNaturalist on the Smartboard using Smart mirror and a cell phone. The demonstration included uploading a photo, making an identification, withdrawing an ID, editing an ID, sharing an observation, and accessing the taxon page. The laboratory ha...

Velocity day one

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This term the student union was accessible and unoccupied, albeit also undedicated. The interior floor is smooth cement with somewhat irregularly spaced grooves. This groove was used as zero meters. There wasn't enough apron to achieve a stable speed, even with a ninety degree turn in. A circling 360° approach worked to cross the zero line at a stable speed. The RipStik run was made headed east. By diverting into the left entryway the run reached 30.66 meters.  The spacing seems non-metric. The grooves in the cement are generally within an inch of ten feet apart. This makes them slightly more than three meters apart. The results were strongly linear. The gap is real. There is no groove at 27 meters. The velocity was 1.57 meters per second. The cement is finished to a very smooth surface. The RipStik performs very nicely on the surface. 

2.0 Measures of middle return to M&Ms

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Measures of middle returned to M&Ms for the data source.  Covering Source used more time than the learning value warranted. The issue of mode for nominal level data in frequency tables is better saved for favorite colors day.  Column M should be deleted. A single tab was used to avoid memory issues on the Smartboard.