danaleeling

A unit and heat, temperature, and the difference between heat and temperature began with an older video from 1980 that rather concisely and accurately covers the two concepts in a series of six videos. The videos also introduce terminology and vocabulary carefully, covering a number of topics. On Wednesday the freezer was broken for my demonstration of the Celsius temperature scale. I bought ice and vegetable oil at the store. Some of the ice was used to demonstrate zero degrees Celsius, the rest was used to chill a small beaker of vegetable oil. Another beaker of congealed cooled coconut oil was used to demonstrate the melting temperature of coconut oil. A third small beaker of oil was put on the hot plate, that would rapidly start smoking up around 300 degrees Celsius - which is when I discovered I lacked a hot pad to remove the small beaker. I also covered the mathematics underneath calculating heat capacity from a change in temperature. Sweetmarshya "Marcia...

With the sun crossing the equator on the 23rd of September, the ethnobotany class took to cleaning up the Haruki cemetery on campus. The following are images from the clean-up.  Arlynn clears tall grass while Tulpe watches Justin and Jerome did heavy grass whacking work along the front of the cemetery Ixora casei on the far right, Cananga odorata in the background More Ichaemum polystachyum cutting, Venister chipping in Arlynn, the Cananga odorata on the back left. Hibiscus tiliaceus behind Arlynn Adelma next to the Acacia auriculiformis, Alpinia carolinensis behind her in the background In the center left, Coffea arabica. On that is growing Piper nigrum Jerome strikes a pose - photographs were being taken by Bredalyn On the left side of the image is Volkameria inermis, formerly Clerodendrum inerme Almost everyone was engaged in the Ohigan clean-up I was cutting Hibiscus tiliaceus that was blocking sight li...

After what was a failure to demonstrate that force is equal to a change in momentum , Wednesday was devoted to coverage of Newton's laws of motion and force from a RipStik. This is a lecture-demonstration done while riding a RipStik and holding a ball as seen in images captured last fall . Thursday's laboratory turned attention to the issue of friction and what has the largest impact on the force of friction. Rangpino and Dorothy working on whether surface area affects the force of friction Stacey and Janice Stacia working on the effect of weight on the force of friction Merenda and Maylina worked on how surface roughness affects the force of friction The red line is the roughness data (using particle size in micrometers), the purple line is the weight data, and the blue line is the surface area data (in square centimeters) for three sets of data. The set up on the board on Thursday. On Friday each group presented their findings to the class. T...

Healing plants presentations in ethnobotany continue to evidence the deterioration in general knowledge coupled with what appears to be an overall lack of preparation. The banning of the presentation of Psidium guajava is likely necessary. Four students fell back on this plant, all with the same remedy. The tree grows outside the classroom. Venister presented on the Kosraean use of the heated leaf of kiuf to treat groin swelling. I was unable to determine whether the leaf was Hymenocallis littoralis or Crinum asiaticum. Note that in Pohnpeian the two plants have the same local name, kiepw. There is always the possibility that either can be used in this treatment. Via-Marie covered the Pohnpeian use of Psidium guajava for diarrhea, mehntang. Justin described the Mwoakillese use of the skin of the lime fruit for constipation. A tea is made from the skin and consumed for four days. Jerome shared the Pohnpeian use of Senna alata as an anti-fungal. Young leaves are c...

Based on the providing a transition from coverage of momentum on Friday , I attempted to show that the external force would be equal to the change in momentum. The layout was similar to attempts to measure this from a few terms ago, but with some changes. I began by repeating from Friday the relationship of kinetic energy to momentum. Then I added the caveat, "provided that no external forces act on the system." I then introduced a Newtonian definition of force as the change in momentum with respect to time. I also outlined the procedure I hoped to follow. I noted that I intended to start from rest, an initial velocity of zero, which would have a momentum of zero. I hoped to increase my momentum over a three meter distance, then use a 1.5 meter distance to measure my final velocity. The final velocity would be used to calculate my final momentum. Two imers timed the time t₁ over the first three meters, during which my momentum increased. Three timers measured timed ...

As noted in an earlier blog, over the years I have gradually developed better transitions and connections between the aspects of motion in the physical science class. Linear motion often yields a slight amount of non-linear curvature. Week three specifically explores that curvature as acceleration . Week four began with addressing the misconception that previous laboratory had measured the speed of the ball when the ball hit the floor. Thus week four began with gathering data on height versus speed at the bottom of that height . I chose to make a small, subtle, yet in retrospect a critical change in the way the laboratory during the fourth week was approached. I brought in marbles, more than previously. I brought along a mass scale, timers, scotch tape, and a plethora of rulers. More so than in prior terms I emphasized the pedagogical nature of the laboratory up front. I noted the history of the course as being originally designed to serve both the general education science wi...