Maths Tools, Whats needed

A good compass, with a built in pencil. It needs to be firm not loose.
360 degree protractor for doing bearings
A 30cm ruler with a slot in the middle for doing best fit lines
A bendy line for drawing curves
An irish compass very accurate for drawing circles with two pencils
Isosketch for drawing those plans and elevations
A good pencil sharpener

Measuring acceleration - Couple of videos

Using a mass over a pulley and a light gate to measure the acceleration due to gravity.

 or using the old fashioned ticker tape timer to measure the trolley accelerating down a slope

Diffusion ISA Ideas for AQA

One way of doing this experiment is to add a crystal of KMnO4 to a large beaker containing 1 litre of water and waiting. In the images the breaker on the right was at 65C and the one on the left at 12.9C.

A small crystal of KMnO4 was dropped into the beaker and left for a short time.

The only problem with this experiment is that it is very difficult to quantify the rate of diffusion, so we are going to modify this experiment and use a colorimeter instead.

The better alternative.#

We used a colorimeter with pasco Sparkview software to observe the rate of diffusion.

A small crystal ( just under the cuvette in the picture) was placed into the cuvette and added to the colorimerer which recorded the results.

Measuring the green absorbance the graph above was produced as the KMnO4 cystal dissolved and spread throughout the hot water.

Classic results for NaOH and HCl titration

Getting a classic set of results for the  titration of NaOH and HCl is not that difficult but it is nice when we can get students to this first time every time.

We are using the Pasco sensors and the Capstone software to capture the information.

In this experiment we are titrating NaOH against HCl.
 We set the burette dripping at a constant rate and then measure the temperature change and the pH change using probes.

The magnetic stirrer ensures the compounds are well mixed and the Sparklink Air delivers the information to the laptop where the information is captured instantaneously.
The experiment is quick to set up and easy to use, and most importantly very easy to replicate.

Knitting some Intestines

We went to the Bett Show a few weeks ago and there we saw a model of a Liver. It had been knitted so we thought we would have a go. After much searching on the net we finally found a pattern and so we have started.
The Model is life sized. We have started at the anus and rectum and we are now starting work on the large intestine. The small intestine is about 27 feet long itself and so will take a considerable amount of time to do.

Day by day the knitting goes on and the stuffing of them. The large is about half done in the picture.

Over the weeks the intestines continue to grow.








The large intestine is complete and now 20 feet or so of small intestine needs to be knitted.

Playing with Hydrogel

Adding some water to Hydrogel.
We took about 7 cm3 of hydrogel . We extracted this from a clean dry Nappy.
You Need

Disposable nappies

A disposable nappy
Scissors
A large ice cream tub or similar container
Dessert spoon or similar measure
Stirring rod
Large beaker or plastic tub to hold at least 600 cm3
Plastic gloves for those with sensitive skin
a Cut the middle section out of the nappy – the thicker piece that is designed to absorb
the urine. Discard the other piece.
b Make sure the ice cream container is completely dry - wipe it with a paper towel if
necessary. Any moisture in the tub stops the experiment from working properly.
c Wear eye protection for the next step. Put the centre piece of the nappy into the ice
cream container and gently take it apart. Small white grains should start coming away
and this is what you are trying to collect. Keep gently pulling the nappy apart until you
have collected as many of the grains as you can. Do not do this roughly or you will lose
your product and put a lot of dust and fluff into the air. Avoid breathing in any of the
dust.
d Remove and dispose of all the fluff and other parts of the nappy, keeping the grains in
the bottom of the tub. They are heavier and fall to the bottom, which makes it easier to
separate them out.
e Estimate the volume of the grains.

Now the fun Bit

f Pour them into the large beaker and add about 100 cm3 of distilled water. Stir. Keep
adding  water until no more can be absorbed and stir between each addition.
Estimate the final volume of the hydrogel.

Now even more fun

g Add a dessert spoonful of salt and stir.

Poinsettia pH paper

To make the Poinsettia pH paper:

1. Cut the flower petals (actually specialized leaves called bracts) into strips
   
2. Place the strips into a beaker.
   
3. Add enough water to cover the plant material and simmer on a hot plate. 
   
4. Filter the liquid into another container (such as a shallow petri dish) and discard the plant matter. 
   
5. Saturate a piece of filter paper with the poinsettia extract. 
   
6. Allow the filter paper to dry and cut the colored paper into test strips.