Archive for 2014
STEM Doodler Sydnie wins again!!
Sydnie took first place in Division II in biochemistry for her seventh-grade project at the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering fair. Her project focused on ways to slow the process of decomposing pumpkins using various products commonly used in homes.
The results from the experiment actually determined that a pumpkin with no type of chemical or item used on it would be the one to last the longest. Pretty interesting stuff!
Click on the image above the read the article that she was featured in.
Once again we say Congrats to Sydnie!!
Absolute facts about Absolute Zero
Last night at the Backwoods Bistro was highlighted with great food and an excellent presentation by Tim Murphy, a physicist at the MagLab in Tallahassee Florida.
The presentation focused on cooling technology, something that is critical to living in Florida during the sizzling summer. Inventions such as the refrigerator and air conditioning are used to help people all over the world stay cool everyday, but how were they created?
First there was the creation of our ways to determine heat: Fahrenheit and Celsius. Celsius is based on the cooling and heat of water, and Fahrenheit is based on human temperature.
Absolute zero is the lowest cooling point for both which is measure in -273.15 for Celsius and -459.67 for Fahrenheit.
The roughly hour presentation was educational, informative, and easy to follow, so if you ever make your way to the sunshine state, be sure to visit the MagLab to learn more about upcoming presentations!
Tag :
Science,
Technology
Is it Hypo or Hippo!?
If a hypotenuse is the longest side of a right-angled triangle, what exactly is a Hippotenuse? Just a nice funny and mathematical food for thought!
Check out the Blood Moon!
Early Tuesday morning saw the arrival of the 'Blood Moon' which was viewed worldwide for those who either got up early or stayed awake to check it out. The next time that the moon will appear as it does in these images will happen later this year around October.
From NASA:
"There are about two lunar eclipses a year, but you'll only see a blood mood during a total eclipse. There are also partial eclipses, when the moon only passes into part of Earth’s shadow, and penumbral eclipses, when the moon barely grazes the Earth’s shadow, which is so subtle most sky-gazers don't even notice."
STEM 4 All March Madness
Give fellow STEM Doodler Sydnie a big congrats as she placed 1st at her school in the Biochemistry Science fair at the regional level!!!
Heart Facts for Valentine's Day
It's that time of year again when we celebrate the love of family and friends with candy, chocolate, and Valentine cards.
The most associated object with this Holiday is the heart.
Aside from being vulnerable to Cupid's arrow, this organ is essential to life for people and animals.
Included below are just a few of many interesting facts that relate to our hearts:
The heart is a very important organ in your body. Its main function is to pump blood that will travel through the blood vessels.
Your heart is located in your chest and is protected by your rib cage.
The study of the human heart and is called cardiology. Those who study it are called Cardiologists.
The heart is made up of four chambers, the left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle and right ventricle.
There are four valves in the human heart. The valves make sure that blood only goes one way, either in or out.
Heart Facts Source: Science Kids
Tag :
Science,
Valentines Day
Kickin' Physics Part Two - Interview with Kicking Experts
Interview #1
Name:
Zachariah Gregory George [ZGG]
Date:
May 7th, 2013
Location:
The Center for Mixed Martial Arts located in El Reno/ Yukon, Oklahoma
Sydnie:
How old were you when you started training?
ZGG:
Age 5
Sydnie:
What level are you in each category?
ZGG:
Kickboxing – Black Belt
Sambo – Master Degree
Boxing – Golden Globe / Olympic Alternate
MMA – Top Ten
Brazilian Jujitsu – Brown Belt
American Jujitsu – Black Belt
Sydnie:
What made you become an instructor?
ZGG: I
am an education major and taught high school for awhile, but my true
passion has always been martial arts. So I decided to become an
instructor.
Sydnie:
In your opinion, which kick out of the front kick, round kick, or
spinning back kick will produce the most force?
ZGG: In
my opinion for me it is the round kick.
Sydnie:
Out of the three kicks I will be doing for my project, which part of
my foot should my kick land on?
ZGG:
Round kick – Instep / Shin
Front kick – Ball of foot
Spinning Back kick - Heel
Sydnie:
What kicks do the kids like most?
ZGG:
Inside leg round kick
Sydnie:
What type of kick do you like to teach the most?
ZGG: I
like to teach round kicks. Also the kicks used in self defense; there
are two or three different styles
Sydnie:
What kicks do you think are the easiest?
ZGG:
Easy … knee strikes
Sydnie:
When you learned to do the different kicks was it difficult to learn
them?
ZGG:
Yes. I feel the front leg kick is the most challenging due to the
long range of movement.
Sydnie:
Are some types of kicks harder to teach than others?
ZGG:
Yes. The front side kicks
Sydnie:
Which kick do you think has the most kinetic energy?
ZGG:
The rear leg round kick.
Sydnie:
Do you have a favorite thing to teach in Mixed Martial Arts?
ZGG:
Yes!! Clench fighting.
Sydnie:
Do you still have trouble with some stuff you learned when you were
still going through your belt training?
ZGG:
Absolutely! You are never done learning. It is a practice that you
continue through your lifetime.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview #2
Name:
Dennis Wayne Eagles [DWE]
Date:
May 4th, 2013
Location:
The Center for Mixed Martial Arts located in El Reno/ Yukon, Oklahoma
Sydnie:
How old were you when you started training?
DWE:
Age 10
Sydnie:
What level are you and in what categories?
DWE:
Brazilian Jujitsu - 2nd Degree Blue Belt
Trained in Kickboxing, Greco and Freestyle Wrestling
Muay Thai
Tae-kwon-do – Blue Belt
Sydnie:
What made you become an instructor?
DWE: I
became an instructor to inspire kids. I like to see the
transformation from start to Black Belt. Especially the mean ones
like you Syd. LOL
Sydnie:
In your opinion which produces the most force?
DWE:
The spinning back kick should be the strongest.
Sydnie:
Out of the three kicks I will be doing for my project, which part of
my foot should my kick land on?
DWE:
Round kick – Top of the foot / Shin
Front kick – Ball
Spinning Back kick - Heel
Sydnie:
What kicks do kids like the most?
DWE:
Tornado and Crescent kicks
Sydnie:
Which muscles are used in each of the kicks?
DWE:
Back, Thigh, Hip, and Whole body
Sydnie:
What type of kicks do you like to teach the most?
DWE: I
like to teach the Round House and Tornado kicks
Sydnie:
What kicks do kids think are easy
DWE:
Snapping Kick
Sydnie:
When you learned these kicks was is difficult to learn them?
DWE: I
don't think it was difficult to learn but to master them, yes.
Sydnie:
Are some kicks harder to teach than others?
DWE:
No, I think it is about learning what the right combination of
experiences are best to reach each individual. Some people are better
visual some are better hands on.
Sydnie:
Which kick do you think will produce the most kinetic energy?
DWE:
Muay Thai because you kick the persons legs.
Sydnie:
Do you have a favorite thing to teach in Martial Arts?
DWE: I
love to teach it all!
Sydnie:
Do you still have trouble with some stuff you learned when going
through your belt training?
DWE:
Yes. I am always learning, trying to improve, trying to be the best I
can be.
Interviews conducted at the The Center for Mixed Martial Arts located in El Reno/ Yukon, Oklahoma
Kickin' Physics Part One - Experiment of Kicking Power
“Ay-Yah”!!
When I do karate kicks,
I wonder which one creates the most force. Having earned my green
belt in Martial Arts, I started thinking of ways to improve the power
of my kicks. To my surprise, it turned out to be more about physics
than brute strength.
In doing my research, I learned about kinetic energy, momentum, velocity, mass and force and their importance in performing my kicks. All this and I had a great time kickin' it!
In doing my research, I learned about kinetic energy, momentum, velocity, mass and force and their importance in performing my kicks. All this and I had a great time kickin' it!
Experiment Question
Which kick in Mixed Martial
Arts creates the most force: A front kick, round kick, or spinning
back kick?
Variables
Independent Variables: The type of kick
performed
1)Front kick
2) Round kick
3)
Spinning back kick
Dependent Variable: The movement of the
bag
Constant: The person (mass) performing
the kicks with the same leg.
Hypothesis
My
hypothesis is that the front kick will create the most force.
Research
In
order to perform the kicks it is important to know the proper
technique.
Six steps in performing a front kick starts by getting in
the proper stance, raising the left knee, extending left leg,
striking bag with the ball of the foot, bring left leg back to the
bent position, and set leg back to stance.
Next is the round kick. Start
in stance, raise knee to belt level keeping the supporting leg bent,
supporting leg pivots while the raised leg extends forward striking
the bag with the instep of the foot, bring the extended leg back to
raised knee belt level, set leg back to stance.
Finally, the steps
for performing a spinning back kick. Start in stance, head should be
facing opponent, use the hips and supporting leg to pivot around
while raising left knee to belt level and dropping opposite shoulder.
At this point, thrust leg out and around with the foot back keeping
body up right, knee back to bent belt level than returning to the
stance.
It is
impossible to talk about kicks without mentioning muscles and their
importance. The human body has about 650 muscles, and the smallest
motion requires at least two muscles that work opposite of each
other.
An example of this is when the leg is bent, the muscle on the
front of your thigh will contract while the muscle on the back side
of the thigh will relax. Muscles that bend a joint are called
flexors, and those that straighten a joint are called extensors.
Muscles
exert force by contracting. This contraction requires energy. The
body gets this energy from nutrients in food and stores it in a
special chemical called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This energy is
released when the muscles contracts. A chemical reaction breaks down
the (ATP) into adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Some of this energy is
released and used to contract the muscle. The rest is thrown off as
heat. This is why you get hot when you exercise.
Some
important terms to my project are:
Mass - A
body of matter. The amount to material an object contains.
Inertia -
The tendency of a body to remain at rest or stay in motion unless
acted on by an outside force.
Velocity -
The rate at which an object changes its position. To measure it you
need to know speed and direction.
Momentum -
The product of a body's mass and velocity.
Potential
Energy - Energy that is stored or dormant “sleeping.” The example
of this during the experiment is when I am in my stance getting ready
to kick.
Kinetic Energy - Energy in action shown by motion. An example of this is when
I am striking the bag during the kick.
Materials for experiment
-Kick
boxing bag-
-Assistant-
-Video
camera-
-Tape to
mark the bag-
-Pen-
-Paper
to record the results-
Procedure
First
warm up by stretching to prevent injury
1)
Place a piece of tape on the bag to have a consistent strike zone
2) Have
the assistant start the video camera
3)
Perform 10 front kicks
4)
Perform 10 round kicks
5)
Perform 10 spinning back kicks
6)
Watch video and record bag movement
7)
Assign a number rating to the amount of movement of the bag:
0=no
movement
1=slight
movement
2=moderate
movement
3=hard
hit
4=knocked
the bag over
8) Record the data
Record the results
8) Record the data
Record the results
Results
The
front kick produced the most movement from the force generated by the
kinetic energy. The round kick was second, and the spinning back kick
showed the least amount of momentum.
Graphs
Click on each graph below to enlarge:
Conclusion
My
hypothesis was that the front kick was the strongest. My results do
support my hypothesis. The front kick is the strongest because of
the energy used in performing that kick. The other kicks create
energy but not as much as the front kick. The force generated by the
kinetic energy caused the bag to have more momentum.
Experiment Bibliography and Acknowledgments
Ward, Alan, Experimenting With Energy, New York Philadelphia, Chelsea House Publishers, 1991
Graham John, Hands - On Science Forces and Motion, New York, Kingfisher Publications plc, 2001
Stein, Sara, The Body Book, New York, Workman Publishing, 1992
Earth Moon and Sun, Delta Education LLC, OH, 2011
Webster's New Notebook Dictionary, Wiley Publishing Inc, Cleveland Ohio, 2000
Jenkins Darlene, P.H.D Power Kicks, The Physics Of Martial Arts, SCIENCE BUDDIES (http://www.sciencebuddies.org,) 2/26/2013
TPT 2006, "Tae Kwon Do By Peta and Kha," Twin Cities Public Television, (http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/taekwondo.htm)
Blot Pierre, KARATE for beginners, New York, Sterling Publishing Co Inc, 1996
Virginia Alexandria, Human Body, Time Life Inc, U.S.A, 1992
George, Zachariah, In person interview, May 7th, 2013
Eagles, Dennis, In person interview, May 4th, 2013
All of this would not have been possible without the invaluable help of the instructors at The Center for Mixed Martial Arts in El Reno and now Yukon, Oklahoma.
Experiment created and written by Sydnie
Math and Measurements with Mr. Owens
How accurate should you be when you weigh or measure something? Let's use the weight of STEM Doodler Sydnie for an example:
Sydnie weighs 5.7 stones (A stone is 14
pounds)
Weight in pounds: 80 lbs
Weight in ounces: 1280 oz
Weight in kilograms: 176 kg
Weight in grams: 176,000 g
Weight in milligrams: 176,000,000 mg
If we weighed Sydnie in milligrams,
every time Sydnie breathed in or out her weight would change.
How small is a milligram? By
definition, one cubic centimeter is equal to one centigram of water.
So, one cubic millimeter is equal to one milligram of water.
How small is a millimeter? Let's say we
have a meter stick which measures 39.37 inches or a little bigger
than a yard. Converting this amount into millimeters would yield
1,000 millimeters, which is the smallest unit on the meter stick.
Milligrams work for some measurements, but not for them all. Take ground beef for example. You wouldn't want to buy ground beef in
stones nor would you want to use milligrams, so instead we would use pounds and ounces while the rest of the world uses kilograms and grams.
Also remember that there are smaller units than the
millimeter. These include micro, nano, pico, femto and atto. Each one
is ten times smaller than the previous. An atto meter is very small.
Also
There are larger units than the
kilometer. Each of these are ten times larger than the one previous
one before. These measurements include mega, giga, tera, peta, and
exa. An exameter is very big.
But
How about outer space? There we would use
light years or the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) during
one year or about 6.8 trillion miles.
If we wanted to measure Sydnie more
accurately, we could weigh her to the nearest microgram and we
would know how much her weight changed as she breathed in and out. In conclusion, there are many ways to use weight and measure, but not all of them are used for the same types of elements.
Measurements created and written by Jack Owens
Check out some STEM art!
The following images were created by some of the STEM doodlers who make up the logo from our first post and business card.
To mark in the new year, each created an image utilizing colors of the rainbow.
