In this activity students will learn how a solid is formed from a liquid mixture.

Materials:

Liquid white glue

Borax

Warm water

2 Large Sealable Plastic bags

Measuring Cups (1 cup)

Teaspoon

Food coloring (optional)

 Instructions

1. Fill one plastic bag with 1 cup of water and add one tablespoon of Borax and mix.
2. Seal bag and set aside.
3. Fill the other plastic bag with ½ cup of water and ½ cup of liquid white glue and mix. Seal and set aside.
4.  (Optional) Add a few drops of the food coloring to the water/Borax bag and mix well.
5. Slowly add the water/glue mixture to the water/Borax mixture.
6. Mix the contents together, by gently squeezing the plastic bag.
7. Reach in and pull out the slime.

How It Works:

The glue and Borax particles mix together to form a solid that has strong attractions to each other to allow for a new stretchy solid to form. The two liquid solutions were soluble, but when mixed became insoluble. The slime that is made is considered the precipitate. Looking for more, precipitate fun and information, visit: http://bit.ly/103ehLC. 

Discussion Questions to Ask:

• What did we add to the mixtures?
• What formed?
• Was the substance formed a liquid or a solid?

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/forceenergy.html

In this activity students will experiment with the principles of motion.

Materials:

Balloons

Pennies (other coins are optional)

 Instructions:

1. Place a penny in the balloon before you blow the balloon up.
2. Blow the balloon up and tie the end to keep the air in.
3. Move the balloon in a circular motion to get the penny moving.
4. Using enough force (without popping the balloon) continue to move the balloon in a circular motion until the penny is spinning along the inside of the balloon.
5. When you stop moving the balloon, the penny should continue moving around the inside of the balloon.
6. Allow time for each child to try to get the penny to spin.

How It Works:

The penny begins moving because of the force and motion applied to it. The penny is not stopped by the inside of the balloon because there is no friction (or resistance) making the penny stop spinning. The penny is able to move in a circular pattern around the balloon because of centripetal force, which is a force that draws things into the center of a circle. This is force is greater than gravity, which is why the penny does not fall until, you stop spinning it and gravity takes over.

Teaching physics concepts to students may seem daunting especially if you are unfamiliar with physics concepts yourself. Here is another great physics website that can get you well on your way to feeling more comfortable with teaching physics-related ideas like Newton’s laws of motion.

• http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law1.html

And for other Fun Learning Science Games, we invite you to visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

 http://www.literature-enrichment.com/

For your Spring Treasure Hunt, have your class split up into groups and start documenting what they find in their notebooks.  If anyone has a camera, a photo can be taken for identification to show the class later.  Then, have them determine which ones are safely edible and nutritious.  Asking locals, or checking in the encyclopedia or library, they can then determine their nutritional value.  Differentiate between which species are native to the local flora, and which ones are not.  Determine which ones are friendly to the land and neighboring plants, and keep those ones.  You can, for fun, dig out and replace them with ones that are – though if they have a bulb for a root under the ground’s surface, the bulb must also be under-dug.  i.e.   if the bulb is left in when though the flower has been pulled up, the plant will continue to propagate.  We found out that Daffodils, Narcissus, and some Crocuses, though lovely to look at are considered best NOT to eat and did not make our edible list.  Whereas Crocus Sativa has edible saffron in the middle, other crocuses are NOT edible, such as a different purple crocus called the Autumn crocus Colchicum autumnale, containing an alkaloid called colchicine.  Always be sure before trying flowers out for edibles, and do your homework!  We also found out that Daffodils are Narcissus, Narcissus being the Latin name of the genus for both, and are native mainly to the Mediterranean region, in particular to the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Northern Africa and the Middle East .

These Beautiful “Grape Hyacinth”, or Muscari, though not a native species to the local land in our yard, is on the other hand, nutritious.  In the Mediterranean, and in many other parts of the world, the root bulb can be used both in salad, and as well, used in replace of onion, leek or garlic – roasted in the oven, or minced and sauteed.  The skin of the bulbs can be pulled off before cooking http://www.livestrong.com/article/523815-how-to-eat-a-muscari-flower/.  The flowers themselves are a brilliant purple and can be tossed in salad and placed on the dinner plate as a garnish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscari.

At the end of the class note section, return to the grounds and carefully with a clean (sterilized) pair of scissors, cut a handful of the ones that were determined to be edible. Wash the flowers with the tiniest bit of eco-friendly dish soap and water, and then rinse with water.  Share and enjoy your tasty treats.  Share with the class which ones you like, and what taste thee flowers have – nutty, bitter, sweet, etc.  Grape Hyacinth or better known as Muscari, are reported to tase nutty, though we found them to be a bit bitter.  Maybe they become sweeter as time grows in the later Spring.  We suggest a honey lime and water mixture to pour over them – unless you prefer bitters.  We garnished our plates with the hyacinths and the blue-eyed grass, and also made tea.  The plates looked so Beautiful!

For more information, we also found a wonderful site for identification and classification of local native flower species:

From UBC, http://www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/eflora/

Blue-Eyed Mary: http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/ShowDBImage/ShowStandard.aspx?index=14398)

Blue-Eyed Grass: http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/ShowDBImage/ShowStandard.aspx?index=29656

For Our Fun Learning Game about other great science activities, you can visit here!

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weather8.htm

After each Tier of your Experiment, record your results and present your findings to your Science Classroom Teacher and share with your Classmates.  First choose a critter to deal with who has been causing a bit of havoc on the land to your plants.  The critters we were dealing with were racoons and deer, but we didn’t want them to go completely away as they are so beautiful and cute!  There are 5 Stage Tiers to our experiment:  Science Experiment:  Warding off Racoons, Welcoming but only Sharing with Deer!

Tier 1:  Jars of Ammonia

Place small jars of strong smelling ammonia around the plum tree to ward off the racoons.  This seemed to reduce the number of visits to the Plum tree by the racoons, but did not stop from still making a huge mess, both of their pits and their scat, nor did this deter the canine visits.  There was also a scatter canine (dog) who left a mess too.

Tier 2:  Radio

Find a small transistor radio and place it in the area turned on.  The sound of people talking and singing seems to alert them to possible interruption and danger.  This again, helped a bit, yet, when it rained we had to find an umbrella for the radio, and also had to keep charging the batteries to keep it on all the time.  This deterred somewhat, the racoon, but not the canines.

Tier 3:  Predators – Bringing in the big guns

Determine the main predators of the critter you are dealing with, and spray the area or soak cottonballs and place near their general entrance. If you can find the synthetic scents of the predator in a local hardware store, spray the scent around the area in which you do not want the animal to eat.  For racoon, we think the key predator is the Coyote, and synthetic coyote pee ought to do the trick to scare them back to another route.  This apparently is not a favorite friend to canines (domestic dogs) either.  We are only beginning to run this part of the experiment.

Whereas we wish to reroute them, and not hurt them, this seems a pliable stage to our experiments.  And whereas also, we wish to welcome the deer, though not let them eat all of our fruits, vegetables and flowers, we are planting in 3 different areas.  This is slightly to the chagrin of our neighbours who want them to go away permanently, but we love them and believe them to be Beautiful Innocent Resident Deer who are vegetarian and who provide good “clean” “scat” for the compost for our vegetables.

Area A: By the plum tree, with synthetic predator spray

Area B. By the top of the walkway, with no predator spray

Tier 4 and Area C: By the bottom entrance, with only vegetable oil and egg mixture.  Apparently, deer so not like the mixture of Egg yolks, light spices, milk and vegetable oil.  Giving the perimeter once every 10 days to 2 weeks, this ought to deter their olfactory responses to finding other flowers and vegetables to eat.  We will see!

Tier 5: Bringing in Bear

We hope we would never come to this, and it is Synthetic Bear Pee Spray.  When we are hiking we like to have Bear spray to ward off Bears should they approach you – that is a different kind of spray altogether.  But if Bear approaches you and looks at you face to face, would you have the strength of will to dig through your hiking pouch and pull out the spray?  You bet!  But in this experiment, we are suggesting the opposite kind of Bear Spray that which wards the animals off whose predator is Bear.  Apparently Bear is the main predator of dogs, a predator of racoons, and rodents and this Spray ought to definitely make them retreat.

Olfactory Senses of Deer, Racoons, Coyotees and Bears

Deer - The two species of deer found mostly in North America are the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus and the mule deer Odocoileus hemionus. The most important sense in these – and in most animals – is olfaction – the sense of smell.  The preorbital gland of the deer is about an inch in length, Wikipedia says it is “not entirely clear whether the preorbital gland secretions of North American deer emit an odor that is significant in terms of chemical communication”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preorbital_gland#North_American_deer.

Most of the time, the glands remain in the closed position.  The preorbital gland is a pair of exocrine glands, trench-like slits of dark blue to black, nearly bare skin and are around the eye. Interestingly, they secrete pheromones and other chemical compunds onto twigs and branches as part of their communication system to other animals.  This is most interesting whereas some people do not consider animals to be “intelligent” in the way of having abilities to communicate with one another.

The moist nose of a deer, similar to that of a dog, allows the deer to pick up the faintest of odor particles that are then drawn into the olfactory organs. A deer can detect the odor of approaching danger several hundred yards away.  Their elongated noses are filled with an intricate system of millions of olfactory receptor sites (near 3 million as compared to only 5 million in human beings. Their keen sense of smell is very important for avoiding predators, identifying other deer, and identifying food sources. Their sense of smell is important for scent communication with other deer. Deer have seven glands that are used primarily for scent communication.

Racoon - They have a good sense of smell, this sometimes being used to locate food, for example when it is buried in snow. They are also known to use scent in intraspecific communication.   Raccoons have an excellent sense of touch, in that they smell with their paws and nose. “The forepaws are much more sensitive than the hind paws, with four times as many sensory receptors and a larger number of CNS cells responding to ventral forepaw stimulation.“

twycrosszoo.org/S/0MCarnivor/Procyonidae/Procyon/Procyon_lotor/10PlotorDetPhy.htm  Typically, they identify the food with their eyes (visually) or with their noses and hands (through olfaction), they then proceed to grasp the item with their forepaws. “After grasping the object the object is rolled between the palms”, and the little pads of the digits (the fingers). The food piece is then brought towards the mouth. Raccoons always fiddle with their food with their paws before eating it, giving it a feel and assessment before eating it.  wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0MCarnivor/Procyonidae/Procyon/Procyon_lotor/11PlotorBehFeed.htm

Coyotee - Prairie Coyote Wolves are scientifically named Canas Latrans, which means “barking dogs”.  Like the deer, it is the coyote’s wet snout that keeps its olfactory response running.

Bear - One of the animals whose sense of smell is strongest of all animals is Bear.  www.buzzle.com/articles/animals-with-an-amazing-sense-of-smell.html.  Bears have thousands of small receptors opposed to their very large smeller (nose).  Better than all other animals in smell detection, Bear has 5 times the size an olfactory region in the brain as compared to human beings.

And for other Fun Learning Science Games, we invite you to visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

 http://www.literature-enrichment.com/

In Jan., 2012, CBS Sunday morning produced a VERY COOL short video clip of Charles Penniman demonstrating Maillardet’s Automaton today home at The Franklin Institute Museum in Philadelphia.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7oSFNKIlaM.  Also known as the “Draughtsman-Writer”, this Automaton was built by Henri Maillardet, a Swiss clock mechanic who worked in London producing clocks and other mechanisms around the year 1800. After going through 2 fires, it eventually was found and donated to the Institute in November of 1928, after which a number of mechanics specialists worked diligently at its restoration. Compared to other old-fashioned mechanical robots through our scientific history, the Maillardet Automaton has the largest “memory”, including the ability to construct with its mechanical pen – 4 drawings and 3 quite lovely poems in both French and English languages. The Franklin Institute explains that his robot doll, as it is sometimes named, was humankind’s “…effort to imitate a living being by mechanical means…intersecting art and science…”. http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-tech/automaton/automaton.php?cts=instrumentation.  The Franklin Institute homes objects of invention that tell the history of science and technology, such as Flight, Computing, Electricity, Photography and Instrumentation.

The Maillardet Automaton was a principal inspiration for Brian Selznick’s book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. His book was later in 2001 turned into Hugo, a 2001 film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Asa Butterfield, Hugo is a PG film produced in 2011 about the story of the first automaton. Set in 1930`s Paris, an orphan named Hugo lives in the walls of a train station and is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. He finds a friend (Asa Butterfield) who helps him solve the puzzle. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970179/

This photo is of a Swiss Made Automaton in CIMA museum (Centre International de la Mécanique d’Art).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CIMA_mg_8332.jpg  There is also historical evidence of a very early example of an automaton from ancient China, from the text Lie Zi in 3rd Century BC; and an even earlier meeting and dialogue between King Mu of Zhou (1023-957 BC) and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, noted as an “artificer. The text accounts Yan Shi proudly presenting The King with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his handmade automaton:

The king stared at the figure in astonishment. It walked with rapid strides, moving its head up and down, so that anyone would have taken it for a live human being. The artificer touched its chin, and it began singing, perfectly in tune. He touched its hand, and it began posturing, keeping perfect time…As the performance was drawing to an end, the robot winked its eye and made advances to the ladies in attendance, whereupon the king became incensed and would have had Yen Shih executed on the spot had not the latter, in mortal fear, instantly taken the robot to pieces to let him see what it really was. And, indeed, it turned out to be only a construction of leather, wood, glue and lacquer, variously colored white, black, red and blue. Examining it closely, the king found all the internal organs complete—liver, gall, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, stomach and intestines; and over these again, muscles, bones and limbs with their joints, skin, teeth and hair, all of them artificial…The king tried the effect of taking away the heart, and found that the mouth could no longer speak; he took away the liver and the eyes could no longer see; he took away the kidneys and the legs lost their power of locomotion. The king was delighted. (Needham, Joseph; Science and Civilization in China: Volume 2. Cambridge University Press; 1986) www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton

Another very simplified example of an automaton is that of a cuckoo clock. Once activated, the cuckoo comes out every hour and sounds “cuckoo…cuckoo”. Here is a short video from “How it is Made” showing how a cuckoo clock is made:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57NTH-v2GXU
For some of our Fun Learning Science games such as How to Become a Teenage Genius by playing Our Learning Brain, you can visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

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Have a look in your schoolyard and backyards, and see if you can find the Wild Flowers, Stones and/or Marine Life that contain Azulene (the chemical compound that would make them blue). Azulene is an organic compound, an isomer of naphthalene. Even though naphthalene itself has no color, azulene is dark blue, hence the dark color Blue in the essential oils of Yarrow, Blue Tansy, Blue Chamomile, Cypress and Black Spruce.  It is not surprising that the Spanish word for Blue is Azul.  The mushroom Lactarius indigo is blue because of a derivative of azulene.  Azulene is also found in some marine invertebrates, and in Lapis Lazuli stones found in Middle Eastern Persia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli

The compound azulene has a long history, dating back to the 15^th century as the azure-blue chromophore was first obtained through steam distillation of the German Chamomile flower.  This azure-blue chromophore was later discovered in Wild Yarrow flowers and named in 1863 by Septimus Piesse.  Its structure was first reported by Lavoslav Ruzicka in1937. With anti-inflammatory, skin healing properties, it is often in skincare products.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulene

Even though Wild Yarrow flowers, Achillea millefolium, grow in colors of bright yellow, white, pink, orange, salmon and purple, the oil of the Yarrow flower is azure blue.  Blue Yarrow oil is what is termed as volatile as it has “proazulenes”, making it blue.

www.essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/yarrow.html

Yarrow oil is both a sweet and spicy smell, and is watery in its constitution.  Yarrow is Sacred, Holy, Healing and Spiritually Protective for many First Nations Peoples.  Thank you Mother Earth for these healing flowers, stones and marine life – and for Azulene and the color Blue!

Blue Tansy essential oil also is a vivid deep blue color due to its azulene content.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulene.  It is wildccrafted from common wildflowers grown in Morroco and North Africa from thee daisy family.  The Latin name is Tanacetum Annuum.  Health benefits include natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory.  Herbalist Peter Holmes says it as also a “qi” or energy regulator for the body.

www.Snowlotus.org/blue-tansy-essential-oil-article.aspx.

The following is a very cool animation video clip demonstrating the geometrics of the Schumann Resonance of Mother Earth:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Schumann_resonance_animation.ogv.  By way of transverse and longitudinal waves, Tesla researched ways to transmit wireless power and energy over long distances. He transmitted extremely low frequencies through the ground, and between the Earth’s surface and the Kennelly-Heaviside layer. By this path, he received patents on wireless transmitters that developed standing waves. Through his math experiments, he discovered that the resonant frequency of the Earth was approximately 8 Hertz.

In 1952–1954 Schumann and scientist H. L. König, attempted to measure the resonant frequencies. These researchers confirmed in mid-century, that the resonant frequency of the Earth’s cavity was indeed in this range and later named the Schumann resonance.  Since then, there has been an increasing interest in SRF in many fields of study.

For tracking weather patterns across the globe, observations of Schumann resonances document record keeping of lightning activity. The Earth’s climate and Her connection with lightning activity also show global temperature and water vapor in the upper troposphere. Scientists speculate that extraterrestrial lightning (i.e. lightning on other planets) is also observed by the Schumann resonance signatures. The Schumann resonance is also used in study of the lower ionosphere for exploration on celestial stars. Within our Solar System, there are five candidates for Schumann resonance detection besides the Earth: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan.  The latest usage of observing Schumann patterns have been in predicting potential earthquakes.

According to metaphysician and scientist, Gregg Braden, the Schumann Resonance Frequency of Mother Earth has been steadily rising and will continue to until the end of 2012.  www.2012.com.au/SchumannResonance.html.

The SRF’s occur at several frequencies between 6 and 50 cycles per second; specifically 7.8, 14, 20, 26, 33, 39 and 45 Hertz, with a daily variation of about +/- 0.5 Hertz. As long as the properties of Earth’s electromagnetic cavity remains relatively the same, these frequencies remain the same.  Braden says that “time” appears to speed up as we approach what he calls Zero Point Phenomenon. For example, one 24 hour day seems not 24 hours, but rather about 16 hours or less.

Schumann Resonance is also known as The Heart Beat of Mother Earth.  It has been 7.8 cycles for thousands of years, but has been rising since 1980. Presently it is about 12 / 13 cycles. It stops at 13 cycles and is speculated to come to a complete stop on December 21, 2012, the end of what is known also, of the Mayan Calendar, and the mark of the beginning of a new cycle of consciousness on Mother Earth.

For fun Affordable Learning Games  Teaching Elementary Science in and outdoors of the classroom visit here:  http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weather3.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weatherbingo4.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weather8.htm.http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/planetsbingo.html

Here is an indoor and outdoor activity your class can do for learning the science of The Olive Tree.

Growing From Seed:

Here are some basic instructions for growing an Olive Tree from a seed, though most likely, the plant won’t ever bear actual fruit.  For some reason we are still researching, the only ones that bear fruit once growing, are the trees that are sourced from a cutting.  However, you can still have fun planting an Olive Plant in the classroom from a pit, and watch it grow through most of its stages.  Or, you can have your class visit a Nursery and retrieve actual cuttings to plant.

Materials:

Empty milk or juice carton (2 for each student)

Scissors

Compost

Sea Soil (Soil that has been fertilized with seaplants like kelp)

Cactus Potting Soil (sandy)

5/6 Olive Pits

Small pebbles or small broken terra cotta pot pieces

Desk-size piece of leftover cotton fabric

Thick Pencil or Pen

1/2 Spray bottles to share

First Carton:

1  Have all students bring from home 2 empty milk or juice cartons, and a handful of pebbles.

2  Lay out a piece of cotton fabric to catch dirt drippings

3  Cut the first carton down to about 3 inches and fill with compost.

4  Place the Olive seeds sporadically across the compost soil.

5  Once the seeds are in place, spray with water bottle to moisten the seeds.

6  Keep the seeds and compost damp (but not soaking wet).  Place them on window sill where they will receive lots of warm sunshine

7 With constant daily spraying and sunshine, germination will take place within several weeks.

Second Carton:

1  After the seeds have begun to sprout, cut the top off the second milk/juice carton.

2  In the bottom of the carton, poke the pencil or pen through the middle and create a hole about 1 inch in diameter.

3  Layer the bottom of the carton with 8 or 10 of the pebbles, not covering the entire surface, though enough to allow water to flow through.

4  With a ratio of about 1:3 mix seasoil with cactus potting soil and fill the carton to about 3/4.

5  Move the healthiest looking germinated seeds from the short cartons to the second taller cartons.

6  Water the seedlings well – only when the soil in the pot feels dry.

7  Keep the plants in the same warm, sunny area indoors – even if is warm outdoors, as the plants are still in a stage where they need extra nurturing.

8  As it grows, prune the lower leaves off of the Olive Tree as it begins to grow, to encourage its upward growth into a tree.

9  Transplant the small trees outdoors only if you live in a warm climate.

Planting From a Cutting: 

If you want to grow an Olive plant that one day bears actual fruit, it is better to grow from a cutting than the seed.

1  Find a friend or local tree nursery who would give you a small cutting of their already growing olive tree.

2  With a sharp set of scissors or branch trimmer, cut a small branch off a tree, just under where the “V” is (sort of two small branches in one).

3  Dip it in water and if you have some available, then dip the cutting in “root stim” (Comes in a small bottle and looks like this: (http://www.progressive-growth.com/proddetail.php?prod=34022).  Root stim is a plant hormone that can aid in getting a cutting to grow a root.  You could possibly borrow a bottle from a neighbor or a nursery may donate one to your class.

4  Follow the same instructions of the Second Carton section from above.  Keep the plant in the sunlight, Spray the Leaves, and water once a week.  It is important to spray the leaves everyday as this is how the plant will first take in water, whereas there are no roots as of yet.  Olive plants need lots of sunlight as they are originally a plant from the Middle East.

Note:  if you are planting from a raw cutting, it is always best to cut just under one of the “V’s” or “W’s” where the very new baby growth is, as this is what will grow new roots with best possibility.  The older wood pruned off can be saved for other activities, like handing someone an olive branch (sign of peace).

For more tips on growing and pruning Olive Trees, you can visit here:

http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/olives.html

and here:

http://www.olivepicking.com/Pruning-Olive-Trees.html

Olive Tree Nursery Outing:

Have your class visit a local Tree Nursery.   Phone ahead and ask if they have any Olive Trees there to study.  If there are no Olive trees yet around to study, study some of the other trees at the Nursery.  If a trek to a local nursery is not possible, have a simple outdoor trek around the school grounds.  Ask the Learners to study the growth patterns of the tree branches.  If your school is close to the ocean, visit the beach and retrieve seashells that clearly show the spiral growth pattern.  It is called the Fibonacci Spiral. Here are some of the other plants and seeds they may find to see the Spiral: the Pinecone, in the Branch growth pattern of trees, the mini-fruit pieces of the Pineapple, the Artichoke flower, a Fern during its uncurling, and Seashells.

Science and Math are so intricately connected in all areas.  The Fibonacci Spiral and The Fibonacci Sequence is a great example of this. Fibonacci is a Number / Integer Sequence, that when applied in geometrical form, manifests in a Spiral as in that of a Pine Cone or a SeaShell.  The sequence was named after an Italian mathematician known as Leonardo of Pisa (or Leonardo de Fibonacci).  In 1202, he wrote a book called Liber Abaci in which he gives name to the number sequence.  There are historical examples of the sequence showing up in East Indian mathematics as well.

In Spiritual Theory, Life must look back on itself before it can move forward.  In Relation to the human species, we must look back toward our Ancestors to learn Wisdom and give Gratitude to Life in the Present in order to move into the Future in the best way and in the Best Direction.  Because in theory the Spiral is not quantifiable in the concrete sense; i.e. it is a sequence that is Infinite (no final end number), mathematicians use straight lines around the spirals to give it as close to a concrete geometric equation as is possible.  Hence, the spiral looks like a spiral of expanding squares as shown here, and is known as the Golden Mean Ratio.  In biological settings, The Fibonacci Sequence can be seen in the Spirals of the Pinecone, in the Branch growth pattern of trees, the mini-fruit pieces of the Pineapple, the Artichoke flower, a Fern during its uncurling, and Seashells.

To further see the mathematical relationship of the Fibonacci Number Sequence to the Fibonacci Spiral, you can visit our Math-Skills page: http://www.math-lessons.ca/blog/2012/04/05/fibonacci-sequence/.

And for other Fun Learning Science Games, we invite you to visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html.

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html.

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html.

Basic Science Tutorials

Great Selection of basic science topics from Jefferson County School website.
Very comprehensive list of science and other tutorials from the Vocational Information Center.

Science Practice Questions

1. The _______ Theory defines acids and bases in terms of the electron-pair concept; according to its definition, an acid is an electron-pair acceptor, and a base is an electron-pair donor.

1. Arrhenius
2. Lewis
3. Clark
4. Brønstead-Lowry

2. In chemistry, a _______ is any compound produced by a chemical reaction between a base and an acid.

1. Salt
2. Radical
3. Crystal
4. Electrolyte

3. In the periodic table of the elements, elements are arranged in order of their atomic  ______, which is the number of _______ found in their nucleus.

1. Mass, protons
2. Number, neutrons
3. Mass, neutrons
4. Number, protons

4. Any physical manifestation that is part of the observable structure, function or behavior of a living organism is its ________________.

1. Genetic code
2. Chromosome
3. Genotype
4. Phenotype

5. The manner in which instructions for building proteins, the basic structural molecules of  living material are written in the DNA is a __________ ___________.

1. Genotypic assignment
2. Chromosome pattern
3. Genetic code
4. Genetic fingerprinting

6. A ______ ______ is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an ecological community.

1. Food web
2. Food chain
3. Food network
4. Food sequence

7. Gas laws are physical laws concerning the behavior of gases.  Boyle’s law and Charles’ law may be combined to give the general or universal gas law, which is expressed as:

1. (pressure x volume)/temperature = constant
2. (pressure x temperature)/volume = constant
3. (pressure x constant)/temperature = volume
4. (temperature x volume)/pressure = constant

8. Classification is a grouping of organisms based on similar _______ and ______________.

1. Traits, evolutionary histories
2. Traits, biological histories
3. Behaviors, evolutionary histories
4. Traits, evolutionary advancement
5. Characteristics, evolutionary histories

9. The groups into which organisms are classified are called taxa and include, in order of size, ______, _________, __________, _________, _________, and _____________.

1. Genus, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species
2. Order, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Genus, Class, and Family Species
3. Genus, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species
4. Kingdom ,Genus, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species
5. Family species, Order, Class, Phylum/division, Kingdom, and Genus

 Answer Key

1.  B
The Lewis Theory defines acids and bases in terms of the electron-pair concept; according to its definition, an acid is an electron-pair acceptor, and a base is an electron-pair donor.

2.  A
A salt is any compound produced by a chemical reaction between a   base and an acid.

3.  D
In the periodic table of the elements, elements are arranged in order of their atomic  number, which is the number of protons found in their nucleus.

4.  D
Any physical manifestation that is part of the observable structure, function or behavior of a living organism is its phenotype.

5.  C
The manner in which instructions for building proteins, the basic structural molecules of  living material are written in the DNA is a genetic code.

6.  A
A food web is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an ecological community.

Note:  A food web differs from a food chain in that the latter shows only a portion of the food web involving a simple, linear series of species (e.g., predator, herbivore, plant) connected by feeding links. A food web aims to depict a more complete picture of the feeding relationships, and can be considered a bundle of many interconnected food chains occurring within the community.

7. A  Gas laws are physical laws concerning the behavior of gases.  Boyle’s law and Charles’ law may be combined to give the general or universal gas law, which is expressed as:

(pressure x volume)/temperature = constant

Note:  Boyle’s law and Charles’ law are concerned with the relationships between the pressure, temperature, and volume of an ideal (hypothetical) gas. Van der Waal’s law includes corrections for the non-ideal behavior of real gases.

8. A
Classification is a grouping of organisms based on similar Traits and evolutionary histories.

Note: Taxonomy and systematics are the two sciences that attempt to classify living things.  In taxonomy, organisms are assigned to groups based on their characteristics. In modern systematics, the placement of organisms into groups is based on evolutionary relationships.

9. A
The groups into which organisms are classified are called taxa and include, in order of size, Genus, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species. 

• Their eyes may be blue, unlike albinos, and have white fur, meaning, they are leucistic;
• Some rare genetic conditions cause the calf to be born white, though turn brown within a year or two.
• If they are albino, they will be without pigment color throughout their lives, just like albinp people.
• Sometimes farmers have crossbred cattle with bison, and the cross-genetics of white cattle is what causes the white fur to result.

The National Bison Association estimates the occurrence of White Buffalo being born is one out of every 10 million births.

This white calf was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on The Heider Farm, and was  named Miracle, the first one born since 1933.  She lived to be 10 years old and during her life, had several calves.   http://whitebuffalomiracle.homestead.com/Miracle_and_Calves.html

http://whitebuffalomiracle.homestead.com/

http://whitebuffalomiracle2.homestead.com/

The Sacred Lakota People have within their family who is known as The White Buffalo Calf Woman or Pte Ska Win.  She is a Sacred Woman from Pure Spirit origin, who equals The Female Messiah / Shekinah.  In Lakota Spirituality, it is She who brought forth their Peoples’ Seven Sacred Rites.

This link is a photo of a Most Gorgeous Sculpture depicting The White Buffalo Calf Woman with Her Calf.  Sculpted by Artists Lee Leuning & Sherri Treeby, this piece was the winning sculpting in 2009 for the Avero organization:  http://www.avera.org/img/mckennan/sculpture/12-White-Buffalo-Calf-Woman-large.jpg.

Other Buffalo Facts:

Female African Buffalo, in particular, are notable for their apparent altruism. Female buffalo express a sort of shuffling behavior -  in which during resting time, the females stand up, shuffle around, and sit back down again. They then sit in the direction they think that they should move, and after an hour of further shuffling, the females move to travel in the direction they finally decide on. This decision is communal and not based on hierarchy or dominance.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo.  If hunted by a predator, The Buffalo Herd huddle close together to build their strategy, as like other species, they are stronger when joined together.  Calves remain protected in the middle of the adult members. If a buffalo is under duress, the others move to rescue the other.  If the call is from a calf member, then not only the Mother comes, but the entire herd. In one recorded instance, known as the Battle at Kruger, a calf successfully survived an attack by both lions and a crocodile, after the herd intervened.

Similar to domesticated cattle, Buffalo sing a 2–4 second low pitch call that is repeated at 3-6 second intervals.  This signals the herd to move. When it is time to change direction, herd leaders sing a sound like a creaking gate. When signaling others of a place to drink water, they have an extended maaa’ call, and the call is made by usually one to a few individuals, and is made up to 20 times a minute before and during the movement to the oasis.

Females begin having kids after about 5 years old, and their pregnancies last about 11.5 months. Newborns hide in greenery for the first few weeks, while the Mom nurses now and again, before the Calf joins the main herd. The Maternal bond between Mother and Calf lasts longer than in other species, though if a new Calf is born, the bonding with the first calf ends, and the Mother keeps all other offspring out of the way to protect the newborn – The White Buffalo, a Most Interesting Mammal.

For Our Fun Learning Game about other Mammals, you can visit here!

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html.