Science Education

  • At the local High School, the Science Department wants to work toward integration of the following three topics: Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The idea is that during the course of the semester, a student taking a biology class should be shown how biology overlaps into physics and overlaps into chemistry. For each of these three topics, please give six specific examples where a class in the main topic could reference the other two topics, for a total of 36(!) examples. An acceptable answer, for example, could be that chemistry students studying vapor pressures are also introduced to a refrigeration cycle. Answers should be in the form of: Main Topic Subtopic 1 Subtopic 2 Biology (Chemistry) (Physics) 1. 1. 2. 2. . . . . 6. 6. Chemistry (Biology) (Physics) 1. 1. 2. 2. . . . . 6. 6. Physics (Chemistry) (Biology) 1. 1. 2. 2. . . . . 6. 6. Or any form that is as readily readable. For bonus points (i.e. - tip), see if you can name any High Schools that have tried this approach. The more detail the better. If you need clarification, please ask! This needs to be answered by Sunday, PM. Thank you in advance.


  • One other thing. Answers that relate to the colonization of space, or to the Earth as a biosphere would be appreciated.


  • Hi hsthompson, I've started work on your question (interesting topic!)and a thought occurs to me -- the relationships between the topics go both ways (actually, in a circle). What I mean is that if I choose a BIOLOGY topic and show how it can be related to a CHEMISTRY topic and a PHYSICS topic, then in essence, I could start with that same PHYSICS topic and relate it right back to the original BIOLOGY Topic. Yes? For clarity, I think it makes more sense to me to present the answer this way: 1. BIOLOGY -------> PHYSICS --------> CHEMISTRY 2. BIOLOGY -------> PHYSICS --------> CHEMISTRY . . . 36? BIOLOGY -------> PHYSICS --------> CHEMISTRY An example might look like this: 1. CLOUD FORMATION --> THERMODYNAMICS --> EVAPORATION Where each line could be read in any order. Physics students studying Thermodynamics would then learn about Cloud Formation and Evaporation. So, my questions to you are – 1 – Is that format ok with you? 2 - If so, how many examples do you want? Still 36? 3 – Is it ok to use a topic more than once? (no more than 2 or 3 times) if it can be strongly related to the other two subjects in different ways? I'll continue gathering information while I await your clarification. Thanks – -K~


  • knowledge_seeker-ga: 1 – Is that format ok with you? Yes! Seems more logical that way. My thought was to ensure that the biology student sees the other topics in the course of the study of biology, but the circular reference idea should work fine. 2 - If so, how many examples do you want? Still 36? If this seems unreasonable, you can stop earlier. Lets say a minimum of 25, OK? 3 – Is it ok to use a topic more than once? (no more than 2 or 3 times) if it can be strongly related to the other two subjects in different ways? Absolutely! They will learn better if the topic is repeated.


  • Excellent! I'm going to get as much done tonight as I can (it's almost 10pm here), and then finish up in the morning. (I have noted your deadline) Thanks for getting back to me -- -K~


  • Hi hsthompson, Ok…I got there! Sorry for the delay. That took a lot more work than I expected. I've set up the answer in the following format: BIOLOGY: PHYSICS: CHEMISTRY: They are in no particular order, except that in which they either occurred to me or I was led to them during the course of my research. In some cases I've included links to discussions or explanation of one or more topics listed. As far as your mention of "colonization of space, or the Earth as a biosphere" goes, any discussion on greenhouse gases, O2 and CO2, ozone, air scrubbing, fuel use and emissions, and heat generation, would lead naturally to either of those topics. I went beyond the 25 minimum you indicated in case any of these are beyond the education level of your students. In some cases the physics especially, was a bit deep. Also, in a few cases, I found a strong link between two of the subjects, but couldn't make the leap to the third. I've included some of those as well, in case you have some background that I don't. (I'm strongest in Biology). You mentioned high schools that teach an "integrated" approach to the sciences as you have suggested. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to follow up on that. Though I'm not sure if high schools work to integrate various scientific disciplines, I do know that there is a trend in education to integrate across other disciplines, at least at the lower levels, where one teacher has access to the children full time. It is difficult to coordinate more than one teacher in different courses. I was involved in an alternative elementary school (board of directors and science teacher) and all of their programs were integrated. For example, if students were learning about Native Americans in History class, they would read stories about them (or by them) in Reading class, learn about their art in art class, and maybe learn Native American games in gym class. It should be noted that in many cases it is difficult to tease apart the differences between the various topics and the course in which it would be taught. Many of them do overlap, so for example, both a chemistry teacher and a physics teacher would probably teach radioactive decay of elements. The fields of Biochemistry and Biophysics seek to relate some of these overlapping topics, but many more topics bridge multiple subjects of study. Anyway, here's the list. I hope these fill the gap you were looking to fill. If there is anything I've said that needs further explanation, feel free to ask for clarification. Thank you for your question. It has certainly been an enlightening project! -K~ ---------------------------- 1. B: FLOCK BEHAVIOR – birds, fish P: EMERGENT SYSTEMS C: INANIMATE VS ANIMATE CHEMISTRY --------------------------- 2 B: SOCIAL INSECT BEHAVIOR – Ants, termites P: SWARM INTELLIGENCE C: INANIMATE VS ANIMATE CHEMISTRY SWARM INTELLIGENCE http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/local/scisoc/emergence/geer.html ---------------------------- 3 B: NUTRITION – Calories, weight gain/loss P: ENERGY CONVERSION C: CALORIE LAB – calorimeter / calculating food calories PEANUT LAB http://imet.csus.edu/imet1/dave/portfolio/peanut_lab.htm ----------------------------- 4 B: ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE – BIG BANG P: ASTROPHYSICS – Black holes; e=mc2 C: DENSITY / MASS ----------------------------- 5 B: PHYSIOLOGY - HEARING P: SOUND WAVES –Doppler effect C: CHEMICALS – density, sound waves through various fluids ----------------------------- 6 B: EARTH'S POLES – COMPASSES P: MAGNETIC FIELDS C: MOLECULAR CHIRALITY MAGNETISM, CHIRALITY AND LIFE http://ghmfl.polycnrs-gre.fr/croxwww.htm ----------------------------- 7 B: PLANT ROOT SYSTEMS P: FLUID DYNAMICS C: CAPILLARY ACTION- movement of molecules superconductor kits http://www.futurescience.com/sc.html ----------------------------- 8 B: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM – converting food to energy P: ENERGY CONVERSION – chemical energy to mechanical energy C: ENZYME ACTION – chemical reactions / enzymes ENERGY CONVERSION LAWS http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/Mod1/Rules/EnConversion.htm ENZYME LAB (see day 6) http://plymouthschools.com/Science/Grade10Biology/biochemistry.htm ----------------------------- 9 B: GREENHOUSE EFFECT – causes, fuel burning P: ALTERNATE FUELS - photons - solar panels C: UNDERSTANDING CO2, CARBON, CYCLES Anthropogenic Carbon http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-55/iss-8/p30.html ----------------------------- 10 B: FOSSIL FUELS – creation of P: PRESSURE & TEMPERATURE C: CARBON ATOM / CARBON MOLECULES HOW FOSSIL FUELS FORMED http://www.fe.doe.gov/education/energy2.html ----------------------------- 11 B: HEALTH / MEDICINE - MRI machines P: MAGNETIC RESONANCE C: MAGNETIC EFFECTS ON ATOMS HOW STUFF WORKS – MRI http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/mri1.htm ----------------------------- 12 B: GLOBAL WARMING P: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF HEAT ABSORPTION / REFLECTION C: CO2, CARBON ----------------------------- 13 B: CLIMATE – studying historical climates using ice cores P: DRILL PHYSICS - torque C: UNDERSTANDING ISOTOPES - isotopic composition of water LAB: VOSTOK ICE CORE http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/dees/ees/climate/labs/vostok/ ICE CORE DRILL http://www.icedrill.ch/icedrill_pictures.html ----------------------------- 14 B: PALEONTOLOGY – dating fossils P: RADIOACTIVITY, nuclear decay, half-life C: PERIODIC TABLE: ISOTOPES; CARBON 14, Potassium-40, Uranium, HOW CARBON 14 DATING WORKS http://www.howstuffworks.com/carbon-14.htm ----------------------------- 15 B: THE CELL - MITOCHONDRIA P: CHEMICAL ENERGY TO ELECTRICAL ENERGY C: GLYCOLOSIS, KREB CYCLE, electrons THE MITOCHONDRIA http://cellbio.utmb.edu/cellbio/mitochondria_1.htm#Substructure ----------------------------- 16 B: EARTH'S CO2 / O2 CYCLE – plants / animals P: LIFE IN SEALED CONTAINER (submarine, spaceship)– building "air scrubbers" C: CO2, O2, Sodium hydroxide interactions How are people able to breathe inside a submarine? http://science.howstuffworks.com/question83.htm ----------------------------- 17 B: THE HEART – how it self-paces P: ELECTRICITY /PACEMAKERS C: PERIODIC TABLE: ELECTROLYTES - calcium, potassium, chloride, sodium ----------------------------- 18 B: POLLUTION - RADON P: NUCLEAR DECAY C: PERIODIC TABLE: NOBLE GASSES ----------------------------- 19 B: RESPIRATION (breathing mechanics) P: AIR PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL C: GAS EXCHANGE ACROSS A MEMBRANE RESPIRATORY PRESSURE CYCLE http://www.bmb.psu.edu/courses/bisci004a/respir/lungpres.jpg ----------------------------- 20 B: POLLUTION – automobile P: THE COMBUSTION ENGINE - force, energy C: EXOTHERMIC CHEMICAL REACTIONS ----------------------------- 21 B: BIRDS – flight, wing design P: BERNOULLI'S PRINCIPLE - flight C: JET CONTRAILS – water vapor, saturation, temperature CONTRAILS http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20000518.html ----------------------------- 22 B: OZONE DEPLETION - causes and effects P: ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION, ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUMS C: OZONE CHEMISTRY, CFC's OZONE CHEMISTRY MODULE http://chemistry.beloit.edu/Ozone/ ----------------------------- 23 B: WEATHER – jet streams P: THERMODYNAMICS, air pressure C: LIQUIDS - precipitation, temperature HOW JET STREAMS AFFECT WEATHER http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wjet.htm ----------------------------- 24 B: WEATHER – cloud formation P: GAS LAWS - Pressure, temperature C: CHEM LAB – making clouds MAKING CLOUDS IN A BOTTLE http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/esi/1998/p/phenomena/projectesther.htm ----------------------------- 25 B: PHYSIOLOGY: BLOOD - "THE BENDS" (SCUBA) P: BOYLES LAW C: DISSOLUTION OF GASSES IN LIQUID HOW STUFF WORKS – THE BENDS http://www.howstuffworks.com/question101.htm ----------------------------- 26 B: METEOROLOGY – storm systems P: FLUID DYNAMICS - turbulence C: CHEMICAL REACTIONS - effect of turbulence ----------------------------- 27. B: FRESH VS SALT WATER ENVIRONMENTS P: ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE C: SALINITY, DENSITY ------------------ 27. B: PHYSIOLOGY – VISION: light, color P: DOPPLER EFFECT – redshift, galaxies C: CHEMICAL PROPERTIES – light emission and absorption THE RED SHIFT & THE HUBBLE’S CONSTANT http://www.geocities.com/beyondearth2001/redshift.htm ------------------ 28. B: WEATHER - Rainbows P: LIGHT – wavelengths, refraction C: OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF CHEMICALS, chirality, polarimeter HOW RAINBOWS WORK http://science.howstuffworks.com/rainbow.htm OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF CHEMICALS http://www.faqs.org/faqs/sci/chem-faq/part5/section-2.html ----------------- 29. THE ORGANIZERS – B: CAROLUS LINNEAUS P: ? C: DMITRI MENDELEEV ------------- 30. B. PHYSIOLOGY – neurons, axons, ganglia P. ACTION POTENTIAL, voltage C. PERIODIC TABLE: Electrolytes: Na, K, Action potential http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/4d.html -------------- 31. B. PHYSIOLOGY – SMELL/TASTE – CHEMO-RECEPTORS P. ACTION POTENTIAL, voltage C. PROTEINS – binding to chemicals ----------------- 32. B. PHYSIOLOGY – blood flow P. POISEUILLE'S EQUATION, hydrostatic pressure C. O2, CO2, Hemoglobin, Iron, BIOLOGICAL FLUID DYNAMICS http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/brochure/1995/node13.html -------------- 33. B: VISION – spectral sensitivity, retina P: PHOTONS, wavelength, C: --------- 34. B: CELLS – membrane potential P: ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL, dielectric constant C: ELECTROLYTES – Na, K, Ca -------------- 35. THE BASIC UNITS – B: THE CELL P: THE PARTICLES C: THE ATOM ******************************** USEFUL SITES BIOPHYSICS TOPICS http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/contents.html PERIODIC TABLE – STUDENTS http://www.webelements.com/webelements/scholar/index.html ======================================


  • I just noticed that #7 has a link that shouldn't be there. I don't think superconductors have anything to do with plant root systems. :-) Sorry about that. -K~


    • December 01st 2008 Posted to munchsmadonna.com edit