Catalyst – March 23, 2010

Catalyst – March 23, 2010 Monday Mystery Element • Comes from the Greek “Lutetia,” meaning “Paris” • Usually found with Ytterbium • The most costly of all rare earths ($75/g)

GEEopardy Earth and Space Science Life Science Environmental Science Science As Inquiry Physical Science Q $100 Q $100 Q $100 Q $100 Q $100 Q $200 Q $200 Q $200 Q $200 Q $200 Q $300 Q $300 Q $300 Q $300 Q $300 Q $400 Q $400 Q $400 Q $400 Q $400 Q $500 Q $500 Q $500 Q $500 Q $500 Final Jeopardy

$100 Question: Science As Inquiry Johanna wants to heat up a liquid in a test tube over a Bunsen Burner. Her lab partner, Greg, is in charge of making sure they are safe in the lab. What are 3 things that Johanna and Greg should do to be safe?

$100 Answer: Science As Inquiry • Wear goggles • Point test tube away from all people • Tie long hair back • Report any breaks/spills to teacher • Know where the fire extinguisher is

$200 Question: Science As Inquiry Drew Brees is known for being a horticulturist. He wants to test how much fertilizer is needed to help his daisies grow as tall as possible. Idenitify the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE, DEPENDENT VARIABLS and THREE CONSTANTS in this experiment.

$200 Answer: Science As Inquiry IV: amount of fertilizer DV: height/growth of daisies Constants: Amount of water, pot/flower bed, type of plant, amount of sunlight, location in yard, how much Drew Brees pep talks the plants

$300 Question: Science As Inquiry • What metric unit would be the most appropriate for measuring the following? Include unit and prefixes if necessary. • Width of a human hair • Biomass of all trees in a forest • Duration of an eye blink • Distance from here to Minnesota • Mass of a penny

$300 Answer: Science As Inquiry • Millimeter OR Micrometer • Kilogram OR Megagram • Millisecond OR Microsecond OR Nanosecond • Kilometer • Gram OR Centigram

$400 Question: Science As Inquiry A) Predict how far a 2-kg soccer ball will travel if kicked with 60 N of force? B) Explain your prediction.

$400 Answer: Science As Inquiry • A 2-kg soccer ball kicked with a force of 60 N will travel around 100 m. • According to the data table, the soccer ball travels further with greater force and less mass. Therefore, a 2-kg ball kicked with 60 N of force will travel further than a 2-kg ball kicked with less force, and it will travel further than a 3-kg ball. The distance also increases by 20 in Trials 1 and 2, so it should continue to increase by 20 m.

$500 Question: Science As Inquiry Describe a flaw in the following conclusion: If I kick a 4-kg soccer ball with a 40-N force, it should travel 70 m.

$500 Answer: Science As Inquiry As mass increases, distance traveled decreases. Therefore, a 4-kg soccer ball kicked with a 40-N force should travel less than the balls with less mass.

$100 Question: Physical Science What is the difference between distance and displacement?

$100 Answer: Physical Science Distance is a scalar (tells how far you traveled) Displacement is a vector (tells you how far you are from your starting point)

$200 Question: Physical Science • Explain the Law of Conservation of Energy. • Apply this to the dropping of a ball.

$200 Answer: Physical Science • Energy cannot be created or destroyed. • When the ball is at rest, it has potential energy. When the ball is dropped, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy.

$300 Question: Physical Science A student pushes a 60-kg crate across a frictionless floor with a force of 120 N. What is the acceleration of the crate?

$300 Answer: Physical Science Using equation F = ma 120 N = (60 kg)(a) a = 20 m/s2

$400 Question: Physical Science What are the three types of heat transfer?

$400 Answer: Physical Science • Conduction • Convection • Radiation • Heat Transfer!

$500 Question: Physical Science • Describe what happens in a nuclear fission reaction. • Describe what happens in a nuclear fusion reaction.

$500 Answer: Physical Science • In a nuclear fission reaction, the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller pieces, produces energy. • In a nuclear fusion, atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy.

$100 Question: Life Science What is the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

$100 Answer: Life Science Prokaryotic cells do not have nuclei or membrane-bound organelles. Eukaryotic do have nuclei and membrane-bound organelles.

$200 Question: Life Science • Describe each of the following organelles: • Mitochondria • Ribosome • Cell membrane • Chloroplast

$200 Answer: Life Science • Mitochondria: makes energy (ATP) for the cell • Ribosomes: makes proteins • Cell membrane: controls what goes in and out of the cell • Chloroplast: only in plants, allows photosynthesis to occur

$300 Question: Life Science Widow’s peak (W) is dominant to straight hairline (w). If a homozygous recessive mother mates with a heterozygous father, what is the chance that their kid will have a widow’s peak? Draw a Punnett Square of this situation.

$300 Answer: Life Science w w 50% chance of widow’s peak! Ww W Ww ww ww w

$400 Question: Life Science How is information in DNA used in the cell?

$400 Answer: Life Science DNA contains genetic code. RNA is the copy of DNA. RNA travels to the ribosomes. Ribosomes read the RNA and make proteins.

$500 Question: Life Science Describe the process of natural selection.

$500 Answer: Life Science Organisms will have mutations (changes in DNA). Therefore, there will be changes in these organisms. The organisms with the best mutations will survive and reproduce while the organisms with the bad mutations will die off.

$100 Question: Earth and Space Science • Put the rock layers in order from oldest to youngest. • If you found a fossil in rock layer F and a fossil in rock layer A, which do you think would represent a more evolved species?

$100 Answer: Earth and Space Science Trap heat from the Sun (like a greenhouse!)

$200 Question: Earth and Space Science Why did the atmosphere become richer in oxygen around 4 billion years ago?

$200 Answer: Earth and Space Science Organisms evolved the ability to photosynthesize, pumping out oxygen into the atmosphere.

$300 Question: Earth and Space Science Halley’s Comet completes one orbit around the Sun about every 75 years. The orbit of the comet is represented in the picture. Describe the gravity changes experienced by the comet as it approaches, goes around, and moves away from the Sun.

$300 Answer: Earth and Space Science Gravity is highest when Halley’s Comet is close to the Sun. It is lowest when the comet is furthest from the Sun. Gravity is always affecting the comet’s path.

$400 Question: Earth and Space Science • Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products. The half-life of Uranium-235 is 713 million years. • If a rock has 50% of its original U-235, how many half-lives have passed? How old is the rock? • If another rock has 25% of its original U-236, how many half-lives have passed? How old is this rock?

$400 Answer: Earth and Space Science If 50% of U-235 is left, that means ONE half-life has passed and the rock is 713 million years old. If 25% of U-235 is left, that means TWO half-lives have passed and the rock 14,260 million years old.

$500 Question: Earth and Space Science Describe the theory of plate tectonics.

$500 Answer: Environmental Science The theory of plate tectonics explains the processes that constantly reshape the Earth’s surface. The lithosphere is broken up into tectonics plates. Movement of heat and matter in the core and mantle cause plates to slide, shift, and split.

$100 Question: Environmental Science What do greenhouse gases, such as CO2, do in the atmosphere?

$100 Answer: Environmental Science Trap heat from the Sun (like a greenhouse!)

$200 Question: Environmental Science Identify three different renewable sources of electricity

$200 Answer: Environmental Science Hydropower, wind power, solar power

$300 Question: Environmental Science If an oil spill kills all the seals, what would happen to the polar bears?

$300 Answer: Environmental Science The population of polar bears would decrease.

$400 Question: Environmental Science How come an ecosystem can support more rabbits than wolves?

$400 Answer: Environmental Science 90% of energy is lost every time you go up a step in the food chain. A rabbit (primary consumer) gets only 10% of the energy from the grass. The wolf (who eats the rabbit) gets only 1% of the original energy. There is not enough energy to support large populations of wolves.

Catalyst – March 23, 2010