Saturday, 2 March 2024

Building a working full adder circuit

Creating our own full adder circuit using AND XOR and OR gates to understand how computers work.




 

Friday, 1 March 2024

Life cycle assessments


 Which has the best life cycle assessment?  Do plastic bags or paper do the most environmental damage? The students were horrified that the plastic bag was more environmentally friendly. This sparked a tremendous environmental debate on how to make better paper bags or an alternative.

Thursday, 29 February 2024

Wireless Thermometers


 The @pascoscientific thermometers are probably one of the most useful items of kit that we have. Used virtually every day in one experiment or another, they are more unbreakable than the glass analogue ones, and the students can read the values. What is there not to like.

Wednesday, 28 February 2024

Solving Quadratics


 Solving Quadratics using the formula on paper as a surd and then converting the answer to a decimal in the calculator, using the formula typed into the calculator, or using the polynomial solver. I teach all three and let the students decide the most appropriate to use when needed.

Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Eclipse


Using a Tellurium to demonstrate an eclipse. Why doesn't an eclipse happen every month, and how the moon's phases work. Being able to see the moon's orbit and then the size to scale dispels many of the preconceived ideas the students have of space.

Monday, 26 February 2024

Translation


 Translation of RNA to Proteins is one of the hardest concepts and mechanisms for students to understand. Using the @Molymod molecules, the students can visualise and play with the models to improve their understanding.

Sunday, 25 February 2024

Keyword Variables

Dependent variable is the variable of which the value is measured for each and every change in the independent variable. 

Independent variable is the variable for which values are changed or selected by the investigator

Doppler Rocket

Demonstrating the Doppler effect with the @pascoscientific Doppler Rocket: As the rocket moves away, students can hear the pitch drop (red s...