In this activity, students use an old fashion children's toy, a metal …
In this activity, students use an old fashion children's toy, a metal slinky, to mimic and understand the magnetic field generated in an MRI machine. The metal slinky mimics the magnetic field of a solenoid, which forms the basis for the magnet of the MRI machine. Students run current through the slinky and use computer and calculator software to explore the magnetic field created by the slinky.
In this lesson students will learn about the human demands of freshwater …
In this lesson students will learn about the human demands of freshwater and how clean drinking water is being impacted. Students will analyze the issues of cause and effect between human activities and water sustainability. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by create a presentation illustrating the effects of human activities on water resources.
This course will address some fundamental questions regarding human language: (1) how …
This course will address some fundamental questions regarding human language: (1) how language is represented in our minds; (2) how language is acquired by children; (3) how language is processed by adults; (4) the relationship between language and thought; (5) exploring how language is represented and processed using brain imaging methods; and (6) computational modeling of human language acquisition and processing.
Students write code using symbols to produce “graph paper” pixel art, first …
Students write code using symbols to produce “graph paper” pixel art, first practicing as a class, then in pairs or groups. The groups will trade instructions with each other and try following them to draw a picture. Students get familiar with the concept of “stamping” an image on the page or the screen, and if there is time, students use loops to reduce the complexity of their programs. These concepts will be important in their final coding project at the end of the unit.
Students compare different types of code: symbolic code, pseudocode, block-based code, and …
Students compare different types of code: symbolic code, pseudocode, block-based code, and text-based code. Students write code to instruct their classmates to assemble stacks of cups in various configurations. First, they write symbolic code and then move on to pseudocode. Students are challenged to write loops in pseudocode, and if there is time, they are further challenged to write named functions. Loops and block-based code will be used in the unit’s final project, and the movement of the cups is similar to how “sprite” objects will move in the programs they will write.
Students will explore the various types of loops available in Scratch, by …
Students will explore the various types of loops available in Scratch, by creating musical programs. The instructor presents a Scratch project with examples of short music loop scripts. Students examine the different types of loops used, and then build their own songs using the same kinds of loops and sounds. Students reflect on why programmers use loops and the benefits they offer. Loops— particularly nested loops—will be important in their final coding project at the end of the unit.
Students follow a tutorial to create a Scratch program that uses stamping, …
Students follow a tutorial to create a Scratch program that uses stamping, colors, loops, and events to create a compelling visual program. Students experiment with using Scratch’s system of numbered colors and with using the stamp block to stamp images of the sprite on the stage. Students experience the need for code to initialize their program when it starts, and they will write code to do that. By the end of the lesson, students will have created an interactive, colorful program that responds to the mouse pointer. Scratch’s color effects, stamping, and sprite movement will be important in the final coding project at the end of the unit.
The class discusses expectations for pair and group programming, and how to …
The class discusses expectations for pair and group programming, and how to make students’ collaborative teams work. The instructor reviews the design requirements for the Build My City project and makes clear the steps that students should take towards the project goals in this working session. Students begin by remixing the Build My City starter project and have their first working session using Scratch to create their Build My City projects.
Students plan their final working session together, then work in their project …
Students plan their final working session together, then work in their project groups to make final changes, test their projects, and check their project against the design requirements. Students reflect on what they want people to understand when they view their cities.
Students will present their Build My City projects to the class, either …
Students will present their Build My City projects to the class, either in the form of a gallery walk in which they browse others’ projects or in formal, one-group-at-a-time “keynote” presentations. Students will reflect on what they learned about other classmates by viewing their cities. Objectives
This is an exercise that is used in an undergraduate, non-major course …
This is an exercise that is used in an undergraduate, non-major course titled "Coral Reefs: Biology, Geology & Policy". The course uses this popular environment as a proxy for environmental decline in general and has two broad goals beyond the course content: 1) to encourage science majors to think about complex environmental problems outside the context of their individual major, and 2) to help non-majors understand the scientific thought process in the context of their own personal interests and opinions.The computer model described here was built to provide a user-friendly interface that is visually stimulating but non-"threatening" to math-phobic students. It runs on FREE software that can be run on any computer. It can be run and modified by an instructor or student with no modeling skills.For this exercise, it demonstrates how losses of grazing fish and/or the addition of nutrients to the reef system will reduce the relative abundance of corals and algae on the reef - leading to eventual decline. The main lessons for the students are:1) If you increase a particular stress, there is often little or no change until suddenly the system rapidly declines.2) If multiple stresses are added, the pattern is more complicated but basically the same. 3) Once the system collapses, simply returning to the "safe" side of the collapse threshold has no result.The Big Picture: All of this is referred to as "non-linearity" and demonstrates that on the reef (as in most natural systems), it's a LOT easier (and cheaper) to not "break it" in the first place than it is to "fit it" once it crashes. Coral Reefs Computer Model Modeling Environmental change Diversity Reef Decline Anthropogenic Stress
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This is a set of two, one-page problems about the sizes of …
This is a set of two, one-page problems about the sizes of moons in the solar system. Learners will use fractions to compare the sizes and distances of Jupiter's moons. Options are presented so that students may learn about the Juno mission through a NASA press release or by viewing a NASA eClips video [6 min.] about the creation of graphic of the 88 largest objects in our solar system. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.
This interactive, scaffolded activity allows students to build an atom within the …
This interactive, scaffolded activity allows students to build an atom within the framework of a newer orbital model. It opens with an explanation of why the Bohr model is incorrect and provides an analogy for understanding orbitals that is simple enough for grades 8-9. As the activity progresses, students build atoms and ions by adding or removing protons, electrons, and neutrons. As changes are made, the model displays the atomic number, net charge, and isotope symbol. Try the "Add an Electron" page to build electrons around a boron nucleus and see how electrons align from lower-to-higher energy. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology. The Concord Consortium develops deeply digital learning innovations for science, mathematics, and engineering. The models are all freely accessible. Users may register for additional free access to capture data and store student work products.
Organic Chemistry research involves the synthesis of organic molecules and the study …
Organic Chemistry research involves the synthesis of organic molecules and the study of their reaction paths, interactions, and applications. Advanced interests include diverse topics such as the development of new synthetic methods for the assembly of complex organic molecules and polymeric materials, organometallic catalysis, organocatalysis, the synthesis of natural and non-natural products with unique biological and physical properties, structure and mechanistic analysis, natural product biosynthesis, theoretical chemistry and molecular modeling, diversity-oriented synthesis, and carbohydrate synthesis.
Students explore how mathematical descriptions of the physical environment can be fine-tuned …
Students explore how mathematical descriptions of the physical environment can be fine-tuned through testing using data. In this activity, student teams obtain satellite data measuring the Earth's albedo, and then input this data into a spreadsheet-based radiation balance model, GEEBITT. They validate their results against published the published albedo value of the Earth, and conduct similar comparisons Mercury, Venus and Mars. The resource includes an Excel spreadsheet tutorial, an investigation, student data sheets and a teacher's guide. Students apply their understanding to the real life problem of urban heat islands and deforestation. The activity links builds on student outcomes from activities A and B: "Finding a Mathematical Description of a Physical Relationship," and "Making a Simple Mathematical Model." This is Activity C in module 3, Using Mathematical Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability, of the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.
This activity combines field exercise soil collection with lab analysis of soil …
This activity combines field exercise soil collection with lab analysis of soil bulk density. Students develop a lab procedure to measure density and analyze data using Microsoft Excel computer software.
Material covered in this course includes the following topics: Laws of thermodynamics: …
Material covered in this course includes the following topics:
Laws of thermodynamics: general formulation and applications to mechanical, electromagnetic and electrochemical systems, solutions, and phase diagrams Computation of phase diagrams Statistical thermodynamics and relation between microscopic and macroscopic properties, including ensembles, gases, crystal lattices, phase transitions Applications to phase stability and properties of mixtures Computational modeling Interfaces
This course was also taught as part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) programme as course number SMA 5111 (Materials at Equilibrium).
In this presentation, we will focus on the SHOP system and ow …
In this presentation, we will focus on the SHOP system and ow is has affected the participant’s health. In continuation of this, we will provide an introduction, to the computer system, developed to monitor and control the participant’s nutritional composition of the food they collected in the shop.
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