Dr Voge’s Equatorial enigma…

Dr Voge is travelling by ship from south of the equator to the north.

He has a nice little second class cabin which has a bathroom, but no window.

 


Dr Voge has no compass or any other scientific instruments.

Yet, without leaving his room or talking with anyone, Dr Voge knew exactly when the ship crossed the equator.

We all know how clever he is - but how did he know?

Answers on a postcard…

 

The Sci-fun Roadshow hits Preston Lodge.

Many thanks to the team frm Edinburgh University for thier superb activities and high qulaity presentations. We all learned something.

The optical illusions proved to be a winner.

Check out the link below to access the presentations.

Sci-fun presentations.

To view the video required for the ‘Observation’ task, the password is easy to remember (if you watched the show!!)

Not so much a science teaser…

More of a corny Chemistry joke befitting of other departments!

Surely something to register on the Whatcott Scale, perhaps even the Kiernanometer…

A chloride ion steals a sodium’s electron.

Sodium calls the police and reports his electron stolen.

The policeman asks “Are you sure?”

Sodium yells “Yes, I’m positive!”

Revision materials.

Check the following links for some useful revision materials.

http://www.visit-islay.com/biology/int2/index.htm

site

More model cells

First year show off their model cells.

Well done 1 B2, B3 and C4!

 

 

 

 

 

CERN: A day devoted to Particle Physics

For quick facts and a better summary than I could manage, look here!

This morning at 8:30am GMT, the world’s largest and one of the most important physics experiments was switched on. The Large Hadron Collider, situated on the Swiss/Franco border, near Geneva, and found 100m underground, the 27km long circular tube began accelerating small particles of matter to speeds close to the speed of light. Two beams of protons are fired in opposite through a vacuum at temperatures colder than those found in deep space. It’ll take about a month for them to reach the speeds wanted before they allow the two beams to overlap, and let the protons collide - at these high energies, it is hoped that a new particle will be discovered - the Higgs Boson.

After about 40 years of colliding protons elsewhere in the world, the existence of the ‘God particle’ has still not been confirmed - now, on a much larger scale, physicists believe that they will be found. If they are, it’ll prove many theories that are surround physics - e.g. the Higgs field; it’ll explain why some objects have mass, while others don’t. But, even if nothing is found, it’ll still be useful - it’d show us that we have severely misunderstood something; that one of their assumptions is wrong, allowing them to rethink and rediscover, which may lead to the right answer.

CERN and the LHC will be a major stepping stone as physicists search for an ever simpler and more ‘beautiful’ solution to the puzzles of our universe.

Watch the videos below for a better explanation than I could write!

CERN in 3 minutes:

Why not learn about CERN in rap form?

Mr Kiernan’s S4 class having a ‘wheeze’ in Biology

Check out the pictures from our recent lung dissection.

What can you identify?

Bottom lobe of lung showing bronchioles in cross-section.

Mmm….nice.

A fully inflated lung (with heart still attached)

Trachea showing rings of cartilage (and mucus!!)

Check out the pictures from our recent lung dissection.

What can you identify?

Play video clip below to see us trying to get a tune out of a lung!

Giant arthropod wreaks havoc in upstairs science labs!!

Giant arachnid found wandering the corridors of PL!!

Can you identify the species?

Prize for first correct answer posted.

                   

Toxic problem…

There is a chemical that is very dangerous. If this chemical is inhaled, it can be fatal. Under certain conditions, contact with the skin may cause a burn. However, once a person’s body becomes dependant upon this chemical, prolonged separation will almost certainly cause death. Although scientists are well aware of this chemical and it is found in nearly every drinking source, nothing is being done to try to eliminate it…

But what is this chemical?

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Well not quite!

 However, here is a question for all you budding chemists…

How many moles are there in a mole of moles?