Category Archives: HDYMT

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, or Never Use a Formula You Don’t Understand

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

In my grade 10 Science class I recently gave my students an introductory microscope lab, and in my haste I used a “canned” lab from a textbook. Although there are some good activities in this lab, students are presented with … Continue reading →

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Mitosis lab as the basis for a discussion of error

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

We were doing a lab in Biology the other day. AP Biology teachers will be familiar with it, but the basic idea is that students count the number of cells of each phase in the meristem of an onion root … Continue reading →

Posted in Activity, Authenticity, HDYMT | Tagged | 2 Comments

Dynamic video of the sun

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Since this is TeachScience.net I think it is time to get back to the Science part, as I have been focusing on the Teaching part lately.
One of my interests is astronomy – I am an avid amateur astronomer, and one … Continue reading →

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Using the Sloan SkyServer

Posted on May 5, 2011 by ed

In Grade 9 Science, we are currently doing the Astronomy unit. Today we were looking at the shapes of galaxies, and a variety of deep sky objects one can see with even a modest telescope. Instead of just rambling off … Continue reading →

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Getting to “I don’t know”

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

I like Isaac Asimov’s quote about Science:
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny …’
I tell them repeatedly that all the interesting stuff in … Continue reading →

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Great free tools for sound recording and analysis

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

With my grade 11 Physics class we are currently studying sound, and we have been using a variety of tools. Here are some of the great free tools that we have found useful:
Free Audio Editor
The title of this software pretty … Continue reading →

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Millikan Oil Drop Simulation

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Some years ago I wrote a little simulation program for a virtual Millikan Oil Drop lab. Since I have this Blog, I thought I would take the opportunity to share it, in hopes that others will find it useful as … Continue reading →

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Fun with waves

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

The properties of waves are sometimes hard to see when doing real-life demos, so by video recording a wave machine it can be played back, or paused, and viewed repeatedly and at leisure. It also allows us to simultaneously show … Continue reading →

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Conservation of Energy Rocks

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Somehow, when I am teaching Physics, I feel like I am holding out on my students until we get to work and energy. Once we start problem solving using energy rather than dynamics, there is a certain elegance, and a … Continue reading →

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How Do You Measure That (HDYMT)?

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Ed Hitchcock

Consider the following question:
A projectile leaves a canon at 25 m/s. If the barrel of the canon is 1.0 m long, a) what is the average acceleration of the projectile? b) If the projectile has a mass of 200g, what … Continue reading →

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