A different kind of Maths

 Why do we learn Maths? - so we can do Physics, of course.

Rubens Tube

 Always a class pleaser when I demonstrate the Rubens tube. Even more fun when we link it up to a student's phone, and they play their favourite soundtrack. Explaining how it works demonstrates how sound travels through the air much better than other ways of teaching.

Aphids

Aphids in A-Level quiz stirring debate! Some students stumbled over their life cycle and feeding mechanisms under phloem pressure. Not familiar with these intriguing insects? Brush up on your biology! 📚🔬 #BiologyExam #Aphids #AlevelBiology

 

Bourne End 2023 Sailing

 Bourne End - Upper Thames Sailing club regatta @upperthamessc

Took some 3000 photos and about 8 hours of video. Now to process this lot.

Typical week

Variety is what a typical week looks like. For some, there are loads of revision and test papers, while others are investigating Rubens tube, or doing a required practical, making up solutions, or carrying out electrolysis, either online or in person.

 

Thermal expansion making up solutions.

 When making up solutions - why is the temperature so important. Students made up a solution of NaOH to the correct molarity, then after cooling, they saw that their perfect solutions weren't so perfect after all. Lesson Learnt.

Plancks Constant Apparatus

The last two LEDs on the Plancks constant apparatus are in the IR and invisible to the naked eye but easy to see with a phone or a digital camera. Should we use the camera to obtain readings for these values, as the camera might give different weights to the human eye?

Maths Paper 2

Using the #CalculatorPaper as a clever mirror for reflecting calculations! #TechHack #Innovation

Convex lens to explain ripples

Explaining to students why the ripples in a ripple tank look the way they do by using a convex lens to show the thicker parts of the wave are lighter because it is concentrating the light and the thinner parts are less white because they are more spread out.

 

Quadrat

Using the camera quadrat to survey a transect across an area of grass, close to and far away from a tree, looking at the different plants growing at different distances. All use the same data to analyse. Excellent use for AI to count and identify.
 

Inside a computer

 It doesn't have to be a computer because it contains a motherboard and processor and RAM in it. This motherboard is in an electronic organ. It is a computer but it is not quite what a student expects to see.

Required Practical

No matter how many students I have and from many different schools, the number of students who have not done the required practicals or seen a demo of them. Many have just seen a video online and forgotten it almost as fast as they saw it.

 

LIgands

Diving into ligand structures with #Snatoms models! Crafting and examining their vibrant colours. The one to stand out? Copper Chloride - goes yellow when surrounded by Cl. A fun surprise for the students! 🧪💛#ChemistryInAction

 

Rapid SHM

 

I had 10 minutes of the lesson left, and the student and I  were online talking about Simple Harmonic Motion. He hadn't done or seen the experiments. I got out the equipment and @pascoscientific Capstone and sensors and in 10 mins we were done

Exam Paper Practice

 More and more Maths papers to practice. The students can't seem to get enough questions of the correct standard to practice, but as they do so, their scores are going up and up.

Sonometer

 Uncovering the mysteries of a sonometer! Using a tuning fork & paper rider to find out wire pitch. Exploring the intriguing links between wire thickness, tension, and pitch. #PhysicsInAction #Sonometer

Last day of Biology revision

It's the last day of Biology revision. Everything from microscopes and Cell biology to Organisation and Infection and response and Bioenergetics. It is amazing what some students can cram in a day.

 

Using Linux

 

Most of my students use PC's. A few use Macs and the odd one uses a Chromebook. None use Linux, but we look at adding this to an older PC and finding that it works great and opens up a new world to explore.

Optics

Viewing a candle through a convex lens and onto a screen – a simple setup revealing a world of optics and light magic. Making telescopes and microscopes and simple projectors. #Optics #ScienceInAction 🕯️🔬

Snatoms to balance equations

 Balancing organic chem equations like ethane combustion with @snatoms! Students found the oxygen atom count surprising, but quickly realized calculating from products made it simple. #ChemistryFun #SnatomsInAction

Batteries changed and firmware updated

The batteries changed, and the firmware was all updated. Ready to use all the @pascoscientific wired and wireless sensors

 

Practice, Practice, Practice

📚🔢 Keep practicing #MathPapers! Finished all #Edexcel? ✅ Dive into older ones & explore other exam boards. Math remains the same! Discover countless practice sets for endless challenges. 💪 #MathPractice #StudyTips

Superimposition of waves

🌊 Wave tank experiment captures the magical moment when waves superimpose & merge! Theory's cool, but witnessing it? Unforgettable! 💫 #WaveSuperimposition #ScienceInAction

 

Waterbath

Waterbaths are expensive things. But a cheaper alternative is to use a sous vide. The temperature is accurate to 0.1C, and it is much cheaper than a thermostatically controlled waterbath. Timings are shorter but then so are the lessons.

 

Exploring the Analog Thing

 Playing with the Analog Thing. Setting up the Oscilloscope and then investigating what the different parts do. Experimenting with the integrators and summers

Ready for teaching

Coronation day for the Kings, but students are still stressing about upcoming exams and what they don't know. No worries, I'm here to help fix that today. #examprep #studentsuccess

Exothermic Reaction

 Making a big bang using an old paint tin and some icing sugar. Just managed to catch the lid coming off in mid-flight as the icing sugar met the flame. Fun demo Everyone had a go and lots of slo-mo videos captured.

Pasco Drop Counter

 

Producing very accurate and quick pH curves using the @Pascoscientific drop counter. Calibration is straightforward, and then it takes minutes to get a pH curve and a temp curve for an acid-alkali neutralisation. Just the thing for revision #ScienceMadeEasy