James Lincoln Introduces us to PASCO’s new Modular Circuits Kits
James Lincoln (physicsvideos.com) introduces teaches to PASCO’s new Modular Circuits Kits at NSTA 2017.
Test the Rainbow! Understanding pH
Students often struggle understanding pH. While we can tell them that it is a logarithmic function, students are more likely to associate “logs” with a calculator button or a piece of wood. So how do we get them to understand what the pH scale really means? Look for a lesson, instead of a pot of gold, at the end of a rainbow.
Let’s start with the acids. First have the students pour 10 mL of 0.1 M HCl into a test tube. Using graduated cylinders and pipets they can add 1 mL of that solution to another test tube with 9 mL of water making a 0.1 M solution. They should repeat the process of taking 1 mL of the previous solution and adding 9 mL of water until there are 5 solutions. They won’t know it, but they just performed a serial dilution. Now they can add some universal indictor to the solutions for a splash of colour.
Indicators are nice, but they really are just an indicator. In this case the indictor was not able to distinguish between the first four test tubes. (Note to self: get some new universal indicator!). Since the true colors aren’t shining through, it’s important to remember that to really understand pH, your students need to take actual pH measurements.
Now comes the pHun part! After recording the data for the solutions, it is important for students to try to make some meaning out of those measurements. Time to dust off those concentration calculation skills. They should be able to calculate the concentration, and write the concentration of the acids in scientific notation.
No need to travel somewhere over the rainbow, all your students need now are some good guiding questions and they should see that pH is primarily based on the negative exponent of the concentration of H+. With this understanding, pH=-log[H+] can be something more powerful than just a formula to plug and chug in calculator.
You can even extend this activity to pOH and its relationship to pH if you drop the base. Following the same procedure, students can perform a serial dilution starting with a 0.1 M NaOH solution.
After this colourful and engaging activity with the Wireless pH sensor and some fresh universal indicator, your students will be able to find the rainbow connection: a better understanding of the pH scale, what it means and how it’s measured.
Ready to Ship Advanced Physics Teaching Apparatus
It’s hard to believe that the end of the budget year is fast approaching. If your department has unspent funds now is a great time to consider acquiring one or more of PASCO’s premier instructional apparatus. The very popular featured products below are all in stock and can be shipped in time to make this year’s budget deadline.
1. Microwave Optics
The transmitter emits a large 3 cm wavelength that makes it easy for students to visualize and understand electromagnetic interactions. The system can be quickly adjusted with magnetic mounting components, rotatable transmitters and receivers and a Goniometer with rotatable arms featuring built-in degree and millimeter scales. Durably designed, the system will provide years of trouble free labs with components made of either cast-die aluminum or stainless steel.
WA-9314C ($2995) – Basic System for investigation electromagnetic interactions
WA-9316A ($3995) – Advanced System includes accessories for Brewster Angle and Bragg Diffraction experiments
2. Educational Spectrophotometer System
This very versatile system’s open design is ideal for education. When used with Capstone software, students can graph the spectral lines of gases; precisely measure the relationship between angle wave length and intensity; and analyze the transmission characteristics of filters and chemical solutions. The sensors can connect to PASCO’s full range of interfaces including the very affordable Wireless Airlink or the powerful 850 universal interface.
OS-8450 ($1912) – Includes Light and Rotary Motion Sensors and Optics Bench
OS-8537 ($1257) – Sensors and Optics Bench not included
3. Photoelectric Effect System
Planck’s constant is a central quantity in quantum mechanics and its discovery was one of the greatest breakthroughs in understanding the nature of light. With this system your students will be able to perform the photoelectric experiment to determine Planck’s Constant to within 5%. Students will also be able to verify that stopping voltage is independent of intensity and find the characteristics of the photodiode. Can be used with the 850 Interface and Capstone software
SE-6614 ($3156) – Basic System, includes Mercury Light Source with Hg tube
SE-6609 ($5666) – Basic System plus DC Current Amplifier and DC Power Supply
4. Electron Charge-to-Mass Ratio System
This system reproduces J.J Thompson’s landmark experiment to calculate the charge-to-mass ratio of the electron. A very sharp and visible electron beam within the vacuum tube allows for its radius (R) to be easily measured using the built-in fluorescent scale. The system also provides a measurement for the accelerating potential (V) applied to the electron gun as well as the magnetic field (B) produced from applying a current to the Helmholtz coils. With these measurements students can then accurately calculate the electron’s charge to mass ratio using the formula e/m=2V/B2R2.
SE-9629 ($6555) – Complete system with e/m tube and power supplies
Introducing PASCO’s New Wireless CO2 Sensor
The ability to easily and affordably measure CO2 levels is great news for Biology and Environmental Science teachers.
PASCO’s new Wireless CO2 Sensor communicates directly with a wide range of Bluetooth equipped computers without requiring an expensive interface.
Ambient environmental Carbon Dioxide levels are typically very low. This means any experimental changes to CO2 levels tend to be significant in percentage terms providing convincing and reliable evidence of the phenomenon being studied.
Investigations based on the wireless CO2 sensors are easy to setup and they work.
Other opportunities for CO2 investigations include:
- Cell Respiration
- Photosynthesis
- Metabolism of cold blooded animals
- Enzyme activity
- Fermentation
- Indoor & Outdoor CO2 levels
- Pollution
- Decomposition
Measuring Temperature Changes in Endothermic Reactions
Students at Chatham Kent Secondary School using PASCO’s wireless temperature sensor to measure temperature changes in endothermic reactions.
The Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (MK) is equipping their communities’ grade 7 and 8 science classrooms with PASCO sensors
The Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (MK) is equipping their communities’ grade 7 and 8 science classrooms with PASCO sensors on the heels of their 2016 purchase for elementary schools
IN 2016 the MK facilitated the purchase of a comprehensive package of science probes for their member communities’ elementary schools. The probes enable students to collect real world measurements to help in their understanding of concepts relating to temperature, light, sound, weather and life sciences. To ensure that the teachers were comfortable and proficient in the use of probes a full-day training session was provided at a central location.
This year the MK continues to ensure that their communities’ pupils have equivalent access to instructional technology by equipping their middle school programs with a range of wireless sensors for teaching grades 7 and 8 science. The sensors acquired include Temperature, Pressure, Light, and Conductivity which they look forward to using with their Chromebook computers.
In addition to equipping middle school grades, the MK will also pilot a comprehensive set of probes at one of their communities’ High School.
Allan Mackenzie, the MK’s Technology Integration Specialist, coordinated this year’s acquisition after extensive consultations with both teachers and AYVA’s Product Specialists.
AYVA is delighted to be working with MK and look forward to supporting their schools for many years to come.
Show Me The Money! Multiple strategies for funding your Wireless Sensor Purchase
It seems that many public schools are operating with science budgets that haven’t increased in over 20 years and are barely sufficient to purchase the consumable requirements for the year. However, despite this wide spread apparent lack of funds many schools are still finding the means to make a significant investment in wireless sensor technology. When possible we ask our customers how their purchase is being funded. See below for a summary of the range of responses we’ve received. Regardless of the funding source, the following points are often incorporated in the successful grant proposals.
Wireless sensors:
- Support a STEM approach to teaching/learning
- Are superb tools for Formative and Summative Assessment
- Support Inquiry-based Learning
- Are compatible with BOYD, iPad and Chromebook initiatives
- Are extremely portable and can be easily shared throughout the school
- Are very durable and may outlast your teaching career
Click here for a presentation on the educational arguments for wireless sensors:
Popular Funding Sources
- Your Science Budget
- You can purchase a probe ‘system’ for as little as $71 (the cost of a Wireless Temperature sensor). Wireless sensors are very affordable because no interface is required and the Sparkvue software can be downloaded at no charge. At these prices there is no need to wait for a windfall of new money to get started.
- Your Principal
- Most schools have discretionary funds that are controlled by their principals. With competing interests these funds can be challenging to access, however with the right pitch and supporting documentation you just might be able to sway some additional dollars in your science departments direction. Your principal will like the fact that probes can be easily shared, and that they support STEM approaches to learning.
- Your Board’s Technology Funding Grants
- We often get sizeable orders from schools that have received an internal grant from their board to fund a technology initiative. The orders sometimes accompany and an iPad or Chromebook purchase. Try reaching out to an instructional technology resource contact in your board to see what funding opportunities might be available.
- New Schools
- Those fortunate enough to be teaching in a school within the first few years of opening have the opportunity to get their science program started on the right foot. We have lots of experience in equipping new schools with sensors and would be very happy to assist you in compiling a list of instructional materials to support all areas of the science curriculum.
- Corporate Advertised Grants
- Many Corporations offer provincial and national grants to fund educational projects. To see some of the currently offered grants being offered check our grant and scholarship section of our website. These grant can be quite generous and are definitely worth checking out.
- Non Advertised Corporate Grants
- Corporations receive significant tax breaks and enjoy the good will which is generated when they fund educational initiatives. Although many larger companies have allocated budgets for grants and sponsorships, they’re not typically publicized. This is where following the credo ‘it never hurts to ask’ can really work to your school’s advantage. To start you might want to approach a close friend or relative whose company you feel may be good candidate.
- Your Parent Council
- Parent councils love to fund the purchase of science probes. Councils take great pride in their schools and are easily persuaded of the potential for probes to make a tangible difference in their children’s education. Parents also recognize that career opportunities in STEM are more plentiful and financially rewarding than other paths and are keen to support technologies that make science more engaging.
Be sure to share the ‘Imagine Wireless’ presentation with the council.
- Parent councils love to fund the purchase of science probes. Councils take great pride in their schools and are easily persuaded of the potential for probes to make a tangible difference in their children’s education. Parents also recognize that career opportunities in STEM are more plentiful and financially rewarding than other paths and are keen to support technologies that make science more engaging.
High School Science!
Wireless Temperature Sensor Classroom Experiment
In this lab we melted wax in a test tube and measured the temperature as it cooled over 30 minutes.
The students were asked to draw a graph (cooling curves) of their results and were able to compare it with the more accurate data from the thermometer.
It was great to be able to show the students what their graphs should look like.
Tamara Manweiler
Maple Ridge Secondary School
This activity will take your breath away!
Respiration is a process in a living organism that involves the exchange of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide. When humans breathe oxygen is inhaled into the lungs and then absorbed into the blood stream. Carbon dioxide of course flows in the opposite direction and is exhaled. Over the course of day this continuous cycle is carried out 19,000 times. But what happens when we interrupt the cycle by holding our breath?
Our test subject in the video explores what happens to his lung’s CO2 levels when holding his breath for varying times.
Results
Materials Used
Wireless CO2 Sensor PS-3208 $309 (Available Summer 2017)
A Valentines Day Experiment
Forces of Attraction
Valentine’s Day is here and attractive forces are on everyone’s mind. In science, a general rule is “opposites attract.” In solution chemistry, there is another saying, “like dissolves like.”
Although “like dissolves like” sounds as if it contradicts “opposites attract,” it is actually an extension of the same physical phenomenon. For example, polar molecules will be attracted to other polar molecules through the attraction of the opposite partial charges on the atoms. Therefore, charged (or partially charged) solutes will dissolve in charged (or partially charged) solvents. So “like does dissolve like.”
Hydrogen bonding will occur between the polar -OH group on the ethanol molecule and the polar water molecule.
A quick demonstration highlighting “like dissolves like” can be performed with some canola oil, water, and a colored ionic compound such as copper(II) chloride.
- Mix the water and the oil together.
- There is a phase separation because they are not “like” enough. (The oil is nonpolar while the water is polar.)
- Add copper(II) chloride.
- The ionic copper(II) chloride passes through the oil layer and into the water layer, where it dissolves and the water layer turns a blue-green.
Copper chloride dissolves in the water layer but not in the oil layer.
To demonstrate nonpolar solubility, you can use hexane, water, and iodine. In this case, the nonpolar iodine will dissolve in and color the nonpolar hexane, but it will not affect the polar water. London dispersion forces can be used to explain the nonpolar–nonpolar interaction.
Finally, you can create an inquiry experiment for your students by having them determine if unknown compounds are more polar or nonpolar, based on their relative solubility in water. If you are testing unknown compounds that are not colored, you can measure another property of the mixture, such as pH or conductivity, using the Wireless pH or Wireless Conductivity Sensors, to determine if the solute will dissolve in the polar solvent.
With these quick demonstrations and activities, you can use the students’ established ideas about forces of attraction to introduce the important concepts of molecular structure and “like dissolves like.”
Related Products:
- Wireless pH Sensor (PS-3204)
- Wireless Conductivity Sensor (PS-3210)