Did you ever imagine that you can use light to move a microscopic plastic bead? Explore the forces on the bead or slow time to see the interaction with the laser's electric field. Use the optical tweezers to manipulate a single strand of DNA and explore the physics of tiny molecular motors. Can you get the DNA completely straight or stop the molecular motor?

Did you ever imagine that you can use light to move a microscopic plastic bead? Explore the forces on the bead or slow time to see the interaction with the laser's electric field. Use the optical tweezers to manipulate a single strand of DNA and explore the physics of tiny molecular motors. Can you get the DNA completely straight or stop the molecular motor?

Gene insertion of opsin, light-activated cell-membrane channels, into neurons of interest allows researchers to manipulate light to either excite or inhibit neuronal activity to gain a better understanding of brain function and dysfunction, and explore therapeutic applications.

A brief introduction to organic chemistry
Carbon can form covalent bonds with itself and other elements to create a mind-boggling array of structures. In organic chemistry, we will learn about the reactions chemists use to synthesize crazy carbon based structures, as well as the analytical methods to characterize them. We will also think about how those reactions are occurring on a molecular level with reaction mechanisms. Simply put, organic chemistry is like building with molecular Legos. Let's make some beautiful organic molecules!

Our Coast, Our Future (OCOF) is a collaborative, user-driven project focused on providing coastal California resource managers and land use planners locally relevant, online maps and tools to help understand, visualize, and anticipate vulnerabilities to sea level rise and storms.

This is a collection of outreach resources about the Sun that are meant to be used in informal education settings. This toolkit was originally designed for NASA Night Sky Network member clubs and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Astronomy from the Ground Up network of museum and science center educators. The toolkit includes background information about the Sun, magnetic fields of the Earth and Sun, and space weather, activity suggestions, and detailed activity scripts. The themes of this toolkit address both the constant nature of the Sun as a reliable source of energy and the dynamic nature of the Sun due to its changing magnetic fields. The activities and related materials in this collection include The Sun in a Different Light - Observing the Sun, Explore the Sun cards, Magnetic Connection, the Space Weather PowerPoint, Protection from Ultraviolet, and Where Does the Energy Come From cards. These activities can be done separately or as a group as part of an informal education event. Institutions that are not part of the Night Sky Network will need to acquire the various materials required for each activity.

This quick-lab provides a concrete experience with crystal formation from saturated salt solutions that can help students make solubility problems more relevant to their experience.

This PBL activity teaches young students about stranger safety. By bringing in a guest speaker to the classroom, having students create their own scenarios and responses, and having them write a letter to someone they want to thank for keeping them safe, this activity allows students to practice their writing and listening skills while learning an important real-life lesson about strangers at the same time.

Students work in groups to collect fossils and sediments from the Hamilton Group (Devonian), process their samples, and determine the paleocology and diversity metrics for each formation in the Hamilton Group. Analysis also includes comparing collection techniques (bulk vs. targeted) and diversity of each formation. Each student individually writes a paper summarizing their work.

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In this activity about light and reflection, learners use a special device called a Mirage Maker䋢 to create an illusion. What they perceive as an object is really an image in space, created by two concave mirrors. Learners will be surprised when they try to grab the object on the mirror and there's nothing there! Activity includes a light-ray diagram to help explain how the image is created.

How does an object's speed change as it falls through the atmosphere? When first learning about how objects fall, usually just one force--gravity--is considered. Such a simplification only accurately describes falling motion in a vacuum. This model of a parachute carrying a load incorporates a second force--air resistance--and allows experimentation with two variables that affect its speed: the size of the parachute and the mass of its load. This model graphs both the parachute's height above the Earth's surface and its speed after it is released. Motion continues until a constant speed is achieved, the terminal velocity.

A web page and interactive applet showing the definition and properties of a parallelogram. The applet shows a parallelogram where the user can drag any vertex. The other points then move in such a way that the figure remains a parallelogram at all times. A control to hide the details allows a classroom discussion where students can try to infer what the properties are as it is reshaped by the discussion leader. Text on the page has the formal definition and properties of the parallelogram with links to related pages. A companion page is http://www.mathopenref.com/parallelogramarea.html showing the ways to calculate the area of a parallelogram Applet can be enlarged to full screen size for use with a classroom projector. This resource is a component of the Math Open Reference Interactive Geometry textbook project at http://www.mathopenref.com.

Explore the factors that affect a pendulum's motion. A pendulum is a weight hung from a fixed point. Pendulums swing back and forth in a regular motion known as a period. The length of the period is affected by the pendulum itself. Experiment by changing the length of the string/rod, the mass of the weight, the angle at which the pendulum is released and the friction (or damping force) exerted on the pendulum. Which of these factors affect the period of the pendulum?

Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, and the amplitude of the swing. It's easy to measure the period using the photogate timer. You can vary friction and the strength of gravity. Use the pendulum to find the value of g on planet X. Notice the anharmonic behavior at large amplitude.

Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, and the amplitude of the swing. It's easy to measure the period using the photogate timer. You can vary friction and the strength of gravity. Use the pendulum to find the value of g on planet X. Notice the anharmonic behavior at large amplitude.

Explore the motion of a pendulum suspended by a spring. A pendulum is a weight hung from a fixed point. Pendulums swing back and forth in a regular motion known as a period. The period of a pendulum is affected by the length of the string/rod. A spring is a resilient device that can be pressed or pulled but return to its original shape when released. Springs are commonly helical coiled metal devices. When a spring is compressed or stretched and then released, it will vibrate at a particular frequency. This frequency is called the period of the spring. The period of a spring is affected by the spring constant (a measure of the elasticity of the coils). How does a pendulum behave when the length of the spring that suspends the mass is constantly changing?