The Persuasive Wizard

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their carers.

This blog about ACT and SAT Science is correlated with a prior one dealing with ACT and SAT Math. I, myself, hate being bounced around between links so I thought it best to leave in the overlapping information as you might not be concerned with the math segment, nor read it. I focus here on the science segment.

Having tutored dozens of students in ACT Science and, this year, the so-called SAT Science, and evaluating student scores before and after the test, I think it may be helpful to a.) quantify the effectiveness of tutoring for these tests and b.) summarize the differences between the science portions of the tests.

There are four parts to the ACT exam, Math, Reading, English, and Science. There are three parts to the SAT exam, Math, Reading, and Writing and Language. (Where is the science, you say? Hmmm.) Both the ACT and SAT have optional Essay exams.

Who owns and creates these tests? The ACT test is owned by a nonprofit company of the same name founded in Iowa City, Iowa in 1959. The SAT test is owned by the College Board, a nonprofit company (not a college) whose first test started in 1926.

ACT Science: The ACT Science segment consists of 7 problem sets concerning which 40 questions are asked. The time allocated for the test is 35 minutes. The subjects are Earth/Space Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. While there are no specifics for any given year, we can assess the following general grouping of science passages:

1. Research Summaries, 45%, 18 questions,
2. Data Representation, 38% , 15 questions, and
3. Conflicting Viewpoints, 17%, 7 questions.

Consider the first set, Research Summaries. Here the ACT attempts to assess the students’ ability to evaluate, analyze, and interpret the design, execution, and results of one or more experiments of a research nature. Often this requires the understanding of complex drawings that are given in the passage along with the research data, itself.

The second component, Data Representation, is all about charts, graphs, and tables. Can you understand them? Can you interpolate data? Can you extrapolate data? Can you correlate data between different tables and charts? In the third component, the passage will have two conflicting viewpoints about a scientific topic, say, the extinction of the dinosaurs. Here, the test assesses one’s ability to evaluate alternative theories, hypotheses, and viewpoints and distinguish and differentiate the salient features of each.
What should be emphasized is that no prior science knowledge is actually required on these tests. There are no questions that require domain knowledge of biology, physics, chemistry, or even environmental science. All the information needed to answer the questions is in the passages. The test is about reasoning and cognition, not about domain knowledge. There are no equations to memorize because there are none to solve.

The ACT Science scores are scaled from 1 to 36 using roughly a linear mapping. There is now no penalty for wrong answers so this has artificially elevated the scores from what they were several years ago.

SAT Science: Prior to the spring of 2016, the SAT did not have a science segment and, in my opinion, still does not. The heart of the matter is that SAT (AP College company) was losing market share to the ACT.  So, the SAT announced two years in advance that “a science segment is coming, a science segment is coming.” Well, the science segment has come and we are still looking for it.

What SAT has done is take the traditional Reading and Writing and Language portions and inserted into them a science-sounding passage. Nothing has changed except the passage is ostensibly about science. I say ostensibly because the passage may simply tell the history of a scientific discovery, or the personalities involved in a scientific pursuit. As before, the Reading exam is 5 passages, 52 questions, for which are allotted 65 minutes. The Writing and Language exam is 4 passages, 44 questions, and allotted a time of 35 minutes. Somewhere in those two exams is a science-sounding passage or two.

The SAT scores are mapped from 200 to 800, said mapping seems to be less linear that the ACT. As with the ACT, there is no penalty for wrong answers.

Who takes these tests? For the most part the tests are taken during students’ junior year when the students are applying to colleges. ACT claims that 64% of the 2016 High School graduating class took their exam at least once. SAT numbers indicate that 47% of High School graduates took the SAT exam at least once. The percentages do not add to 100% because they are not related. Students can and do take either or both exams. Colleges specify which exam they utilize for evaluations, but students typically apply to several colleges. In addition, students can take either of the exams more than once and only the highest grade scored will be sent to the colleges (read grade inflation).

What about tutoring? My experience (and data from students taking the test) is that tutoring typically can add 8 – 10% to the Science score. Taking the test multiple times also helps so that by taking the test multiple times, getting tutoring, and practicing, the final Science score can be as much as 15% higher than the original score. These are my numbers based on students who attended college-preparatory High Schools.

Which is more difficult, SAT Science or ACT Science? While the ACT and College Board companies claim a similar level of difficulty, my students who have taken both tests are almost unanimous in ranking the ACT a real science test and the SAT a reading test.

If science were the only issue, then my prediction would be that science, engineering, and technical schools would flock to the ACT and separate themselves from the Liberal and Fine Arts schools who would naturally align with the SAT. However, if we throw in math, the SAT wins hands-down. (See blog). So, overall, it’s still a game and I think we should stay for the second half.

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their carers.

Having tutored dozens of students in ACT and SAT Math and evaluating their scores before and after taking the test, I think it may be helpful to a.) quantify the effectiveness of tutoring for these tests and b.) summarize the differences between the tests.

There are four parts to the ACT exam, Math, Reading, English, and Science. There are three parts to the SAT exam, Math, Reading, and Writing and Language. Both the ACT and SAT have optional Essay exams.

ACT Math: The ACT Math segment consists of 60 problems with a 60 minute time limit. It is my observation that very few students are seriously hindered from lack of time as most finish with many minutes to spare. The problems, themselves, regard arithmetic, coordinate and plane geometry, intermediate algebra, and trigonometry. There is now no penalty for wrong answers so this has artificially elevated the scores from what they were several years ago.

A calculator is not required to answer any of the problems. On some problems, using a calculator is slower than not using one. Nevertheless, a permitted calculator (ACT) may be used throughout the test. I have found calculators to be so vital to today’s students that their presence is virtual Lorazepam.

The ACT Math scores are scaled from 1 to 36 using roughly a linear mapping.

SAT Math: The SAT Math segment is divided into two tests: No-calculator and Calculator. The No-calculator test is 20 questions (15 multiple choice) for which the student has 25 minutes. It is my experience that most students do not have sufficient time because they are embarrassingly inept at even the simplest calculations and have not the remotest ability to even add correctly without a calculator. (The platitude that this generation is the “brightest and smartest ever to grace the planet,” like so many other saws in modern education, is nonsense).

The Calculator segment is 38 questions (30 multiple choice) in 55 minutes. The non-multiple-choice questions on both tests require a computation and filling in a grid with the correct numerical answer. A permitted calculator (SAT) may be used on the Calculator test.

As with the ACT, there is no penalty for wrong answers. The SAT scores are mapped from 200 to 800, said mapping seems to be adjusted by the graders each year to allow for “complexity differences year to year” (read grade inflation).

Who owns and creates these tests? The ACT test is owned by a nonprofit company of the same name founded in Iowa City, Iowa in 1959. The SAT test is owned by the College Board, a nonprofit company (not a college) whose first test started in 1926.

Who takes these tests? For the most part the tests are taken during students’ junior year when the students are applying to colleges. ACT claims that 64% of the 2016 High School graduating class took their exam at least once. SAT numbers indicate that 47% of High School graduates took the SAT exam at least once. The percentages do not add to 100% because they are not related. Students can and do take either or both exams. Colleges specify which exam they utilize for evaluations, but students typically apply to several colleges. In addition, students can take either of the exams more than once and only the highest grade scored will be sent to the colleges (yes, again, read grade inflation).

What about tutoring? My experience (and data from students taking the test) is that tutoring typically can add 8 – 10% to the Math portion of the overall test. Taking the test multiple times also helps so that by taking the test multiple times, getting tutoring, and practicing, the final math score can be as much as 15% higher than the original score. These are my numbers based on students who attended college-preparatory High Schools.

Which is more difficult, SAT Math or ACT Math? While the ACT and College Board companies claim a similar level of difficulty, my students who have taken both tests are almost unanimous in ranking the SAT the more difficult math test. One reason for this is, of course, the No-calculator test, which sends them retching from this planet and reeling toward another.

What about the calculator portion of each test? How do they compare? I believe the SAT problems are still deemed the more difficult by students because they require the translation from logic into formula, whereas the ACT problems are more clearly worded and no “translation” is needed. There is no doubt what the ACT question is asking but you are sometimes left scratching your head as to what the SAT problem means. I do not think this has so much to do with English-as-a-second-language as I think it goes back to the fact that today’s students are not trained to think. (Keep in mind that I do teach High School physics, chemistry, and mathematics). By and large, students are accustomed to Study Guides whereby they memorize answers or “similar problems” to the test and echo them back as needed for a grade. They practice techniques in math without really understanding the underlying concepts. Actual thinking and reasoning about concepts is more complex than arithmetic manipulation alone. Here are example SAT/ACT problems related to the same subject that illustrate my point:

SAT: Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to the time interval of that change. The average acceleration of an object can be found by the formula shown here

    a = (v_f – v_i)/(t_f – t_i)

where the average acceleration is directly proportional to the change in velocity and inversely proportional to the interval of time. Which of the following represents the final velocity as a function of the other variables …

ACT: A train travels at the rate of 90 miles an hour for 2 hours and then travels at the rate of 60 miles an hour for 3 hours. Which of the following expressions represents the average velocity of the train …

Need I say more?

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their carers.

If you are considering hiking Pike’s Peak and want some practical advice from an adventurous senior-aged amateur hiker, read on.  To begin with, if you are looking for those cautions about “altitude this,” “be careful of that,” “spray on this,” and “rub on that,” read elsewhere.  This is all good practical stuff for those who do not spend their life sweating details.

My trip started in early June from Dallas, Texas, a mere 670 feet above sea level.   You have to know that cities in Texas are annotated only by population, never by altitude, because the terrain is ceaselessly horizontal.  I drove to Pike’s Peak in 12 hours and stood at the base camp early evening of the day I left Dallas.

The surrounding city is Manitou Springs at 6,360 feet elevation.  Stay in Manitou Springs.  There are many quite suitable motels, certainly if hiking is your interest.  I stayed at a rather dumpy but clean little motel built in the 1950’s I would think – neon sign outside and park-slant in front of your little door.  I made no reservations and looked no further, leaving chance to be part of the adventure.  All I wanted was a comfortable bed and a place to shower in private.  If you need saunas, pools, and business centers, we’re not on the same speaker’s forum.

The trail up the peak is called the Barr Trail and it starts just past the Cog Railway station.  Drive past the Cog Railway parking lot (where they will not let hikers park) and turn right at the top of the rise.  Cost to park is $10 per day and you pay at the little machine.  Start early.  I took my first step up the trail at 5:50 AM, but it was quite light already.  Starting 30-40 minutes earlier would have been better.  In retrospect, a day or to to acclimate to the altitude would have been a really good idea, but I did not want to wait a day or two and I had set the alarm for 5:30 AM so here I was.  Let the adventure begin.

I wore hiking shorts and a tee-shirt.  I strapped on a backpack because it is more comfortable than shoulder straps.  The contents were a long-sleeve shirt, toilet paper, four protein bars, four slices of bread, two liters of water in 1-liter Nalgene bottles, and a wonderful little device that pumps raw water through a filter to remove bacteria.   That, plus some chlorine tablets to kill little viruses left in the water and I was good to go.  I know most people buy bottled water but this was just water from the tap at the motel.  There are stream crossing along the route, if required.

The hike is 11.5 miles each way.  The first 3 miles are strenuous.  The next 3 miles are much easier.  At 6.5 miles you come to the Barr Camp at 10,200 feet.  The next mile after that is deceptively easy.  I was feeling pretty good but did have to stop frequently to try and squeeze oxygen out of the air.  If I had a headache from the altitude, I did not notice it because I was too tired from hiking to feel it.  The trail instructions said the total climb to the top would take 8 hours.  This seemed pessimistic at this point because I was averaging about 2 miles per hour at the Barr camp so I expected to be at the top in a total of 6 hours.

One mile past the Barr camp (7.5 miles from the trailhead) the climb separated the men from the boys (women from the girls).  The altitude began to take it’s toll and the climb was noticeably more difficult, more like the first three miles or worse.  At this point, I thought of going back but forced that thought aside and kept thinking, “I can make one more mile.”   Reality is not something you should dwell upon.  At about 3.5 miles from the top one passes an A-frame shelter.  From there it is tough-going, and you classify everything up to this point as easy by way of comparison.  After the A-frame I was going 50 – 100 feet and then stopping to gasp for air.  My pace slowed to a crawl.  Snaking my way along, I found a metal sign that said it was 2 miles to the top.  But, oh those last 2 miles.

By now, good portions of the trail were covered with snow and ice – which caused some sliding and stumbling, probably encouraged by my weariness and lack of attention.  I put on my long-sleeve shirt, but cold was not a primary concern.  Somewhere in all this I lost one of my bottles of water.  It’s still there, somewhere in the snow field.  The trail was indiscernible in many places so there was a great deal of scrambling over rocks to find the trail.  Then, I lost the second bottle of water somewhere else. (They were hanging on side patches on the pack and they were knocked out, I suppose, during the scrambling parts.  They likely fell silently in the snow.)  Of course, one-by-one as I lost them they were close to empty anyway.  Melting ice-water flowed under the snow so I just scooped up the water in my palm and drank away.  Yes, I know I had the filter contraption, but at this point I also did not care.  I might die later but I needed water now.  Water is water, I thought.  Worry about first things, first.

The last mile was all mental, a step or two at a time, 50 feet and then rest.  You never quit huffing and puffing because there is too little oxygen.  Plus, I did not know where the “top” actually was so I did not know how many more switchbacks I would encounter.  I could see the top but did not know exactly where the trail ended.  I looked down 1.5 miles below me at Colorado Springs.  It was awesome.

Finally, I stepped out onto the peak and there was the visitor center in front of me, children playing in the snow, and tourists who had driven up taking pictures.  I was a little sick at my stomach but I believe this was from one of the protein bars that had chocolate in it.  (I dislike chocolate and it sometimes regards me mutually.)  I was exhausted but my legs were not rubber.  I looked at my phone – almost 8 hours from the time I started.

Now, several days later, I can only say I loved this hike and will do it again.

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their carers.

This year I wrote the curriculum for my High School Engineering class.  One of the things I included was an introductory tutorial on C++ programming.

Let me say, up front, if you have never programmed in C++, it can be addictive, particularly if you do it on an iPad or smart phone.

In the hierarchy of programming, C++ is an intermediate level language.  At the lowest level is assembler programming where you actually input ones and zeros as your code.  (In the early days of intelligence satellites, power and memory were at a premium.  We put almost everything into Assembler code.  Can you imagine?)    At the highest level of programming, you are simply moving objects around and the code is built internally, based on the associations of the objects.  Most 3D printer-application programs work this way by permitting you to create objects at a very high level, combine them, and output to the 3-D printer.  C++ lies in somewhere between those two extremes of programming..

With C++ you can get your hands dirty.  You create the logic and let it play out.  I teach at a High School where the use of iPads is one-on-one.  The students use them for all my lectures, the class calendar, note taking, and assignment submissions.  Thus, while we do have computers available, they are becoming obsolete.  I wanted to make use of the iPad so that the students could program at their leisure.  Plus, it just sounded like fun.

The fantastic thing is that several companies make C++ iPad applications.  I bought my first and downloaded it to my smart phone.  Now how cool is that – programming in C++ from a smart phone?  The application program operates identically for the iPad.  For about $4, you get the application and unlimited compilations, which you will need because of the nature of using the compiler to find errors in code and logic.

Of course, iPads have some serious limitations.  To begin with, they are not computers.  The code you write is not compiled by the iPad like it would be in a computer.  The code you write onto the iPad is sent to the cloud, along with any input data.  The program is compiled in the cloud, executed, and the answer downloaded to the iPad over the wireless internet.   It is s0 slick.  The ability to sit there and play with a program, read and fix compilation errors in real time, and then get the program running, is just unbelievable.  You can get on a high quickly.  Are there limitations with the iPad.  Yes, some serious ones.  What you sacrifice with the iPad application is the ability to interact at the speed required to play a game, for instance.  But, if your aim is to teach programming, you worry not a bit about that limitation and might even call it a blessing – one less interruption.

I highly recommend that you try teaching C++ with the iPad.  Half of the students could not ewait for my assignments.  They wanted the entire month’s assignments immediately so they could start building their library of programs  Teaching C++ this way turned  turned out to be one of the most successful ideas I have implemented in secondary education.

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their careers.

In any physics class, the study of electrostatics always turns into fun.  My students take an entire class period playing with the van de Graaff generator, gleefully shocking themselves, others, and making everyone’s hair stand on end.  Robert van de Graaff built his prototype in 1929 and since then, thousands of students have entered their variants into Science Fairs around the world.  The van de Graaff generates static charges by having a dielectric belt continually rotate around two pulleys.  (A dielectric is any insulator that can be polarized, like polyvinyl, plastic, rubber, silk, nylon, or similar).  Mechanical friction knocks off charges, which are then gathered onto the belt and transferred to a large conducting sphere at the top.  The charges continue to build until their quantity is sufficient that they leap off onto a grounded post, resulting in a dynamic electric spark that can be up to several inches long.

The van de Graaff in most classrooms generates up to about 300,000 volts.  That sounds enormous, and is, but voltage is a measure of how much energy is generated per charge.  If you do not have many charges, you do not have much total energy.  The charge flow involved is only about 10 millionths of an ampere, enough to produce an exciting shock, but not enough to cause injury.  By contrast, US house current is nominally 120 V and 20 amperes and your typical lightning bolt is 100 million volts.

 In addition to the van de Graaff, I show them a Jacob’s Ladder.   In the Jacob’s Ladder, two long straight wires project vertically into space, almost parallel, but getting gradually farther apart as they rise.  A spark starts at the bottom where the wires are in closest proximity.  Once a spark occurs, that spark ionizes the air, heats it, and causes the ions to rise.  This rising, ionized region makes it easier for the next spark to occur above the first.  The process continues until the spark climbs to the top, like it was climbing a ladder.  You get quite a bit of sound for your money as the spark pops and sizzles its way up.  The Jacob’s Ladder is a mainstay of old Frankenstein Movies where the arcs keep climbing in the lab awaiting the genesis of the monster.  I show students a clip from the 1931 classic where Dr. Frankenstein wails, “It’s alive, it’s alive.”

The name, Jacob’s Ladder, comes from the Biblical account in Gen 28: 10 – 17, in which Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham dreams about God.  I read this to the students:

Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.  And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.  And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!  And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.  Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (ESV)

At room temperature, in average humidity, it requires a potential difference of about 1-3 million volts to arc a distance of one meter.  That is about 25,000 volts per inch.    For my class demonstration, I found a broken neon sign at a garage sale.  The tubes were cracked but the transformer still worked.  Five dollars put it in the back of my car.  The transformer listed an output of 4,500 volts at 25 mA (25 thousandths of an ampere).  Under the right circumstances, currents of even 100 mA can be lethal.  The Jacob’s ladder demonstration is for knowledgeable teachers, not classroom horseplay.

I glued two wooden blocks together and attached the transformer with screws. For the conductors, I used two 3-foot welding rods I found in my garage.  The nice thing about welding rods is that they are mostly iron, a relatively poor conductor, and are extremely stiff.  So, they stand up tall and straight.  I screwed them to the board, hooked up the wires and I was in business.  At the base, the wires are only a quarter inch or so apart.  But, as the spark climbs the “ladder” it gets to be almost two inches across before it reaches the top.

IMG_0299

Here is the photo or you can click on the link to see it working.  Jacob’s Ladder is easy to make and a great demonstration device.  Just keep yourself and students a couple of meters away and enjoy the dancing arc as it climbs the ladder skyward.

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their careers.

Hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions occur in aqueous solution.  If a precipitate forms, a chemical reaction has occurred.  But, how does one predict a precipitate?  The following list is not original with me, but is one that I organized in a special way because my job is to get students, every student, to memorize it in less than 20 minutes.  I can do this with no problem at all.  Before they come to me, they know the ions.  Then, I teach them how to “memorize” the solubility list.  First, here’s the Ion Solubility list.

It looks formidable, does it not (until you learn a few tricks)?  Here is the 20-minute memorization lesson

1.)  The ions in green are ALWAYS soluble.  I call these “trump” ions.  If they occur in a compound, you can bet the compound is soluble and will NOT form a precipitate.  The “trump” cations (positive-charged ions) are the alkali metals (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+, and Fr+), H+, and the only polyatomic cation, ammonium, NH₄⁺.  Just look at the Periodic Table, take the entire first column and add the ammonium ion and you have the soluble cations.

2.)  The other “trump” ions that always are soluble are the acetate and the nitrate anions (C₂H₃O₂^–, NO₃^–), which are negatively charged.

3.)  Then, there are the halides, Cl^–, Br^–, and I^–.  These ions “trump” everything unless they are fighting the SLiM brothers, Silver, Lead, and Mercury, well-known outlaws from the Old West.

4.  Finally, there is the sulfate ion, SO₄^–, who is always soluble unless the SLiM (Silver, Lead, and Mercury) brothers come around or if Sul’s Fate (sulfate) is to be “cursed” by  Sir Barah.  (that is, the ions Ca²⁺,  Sr ^2+, Ba²⁺,  and Ra^2+.  The mnemonic is “Cursed by Sir, BaRa,” as if BaRa were the name of a gentleman with the title, “Sir”).

5.  Now, we get to the list of things mostly insoluble, these are the ones below the heavy red line.  The first three are easy.  Phosphate, carbonate, and sulfite (PO₄^3-, CO₃^2-, and SO₃^– ) are ALWAYS insoluble unless trumped.

6.  The hydroxide ion, OH^–, is always insoluble unless  trumped, or if the hydroxide rides (note the rhyme) with Sir BaRa (Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺, Ra²⁺).

7.  Finally, the sulfide ion is always insoluble unless it is trumped or rides the Earth, that is,  the alkaline earth metals (second column in the Periodic Table.)

8.   The final thing to note is that every exception is either silver lead or mercury (the SLiM brothers), or some part of the alkaline earth metals, the second column in the Periodic Table.

All this may seem difficult at first glance.  But, the method is tried and true.  Use my technique and in 20 minutes it is all committed to memory – almost forever.

 Note:  For those who take more than one year of chemistry, you learn that there are measures of solubility and that what I have called “soluble” are really “highly soluble,” and what I have called “insoluble” are really measures of extremely low solubility.  Ignore that until you need it.  Learn to walk first, then run.

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their careers.

In teaching Chemistry, students are presented with memorizing the Metals Activity Series.  This a list of metals in order of their reactivity.  The ones at the top, like lithium and potassium are highly reactive, whereas the ones near the bottom, like gold and platinum, are only weakly reactive.  In the past, I wrote a similar blog, but now I add some visual information to make the mnemonic stick in the students’ minds.

Why is the Metals Activity Series important?  One of the most difficult problems chemists face is predicting reactions.  Will two things react and, if so, what will be the product(s)?  Centuries ago, alchemists sought to turn lead into gold.  They were not successful, but in attempting a solution they discovered that certain metals were more reactive than others.  Over the years, this information was put into a table.  I include my version here.

Carbon and hydrogen are not metals, of course, but I add them because they are reference elements and occur in thousands of compounds.

Now, how in the world does a student memorize this list?  Without help, no student will remember more than one or two for any length of time.

So, you devise a clever device, in this case a mnemonic, and then remember all of them, for years.  I searched and found several mnemonics, but most were for a shortened form of the table.  I combined some of the ideas I found with my own and came up with a mnemonic that works as a good memory aid.  I would credit all those with contributing material, but have no way of establishing original authorship.

The difficulty with a chemical mnemonic is, “Do you use the name, gold, or the atomic symbol for gold, Au?”  “Do you use the name, sodium, or the atomic symbol, Na?”   I decided that my mnemonic would combine them to keep it short and sensible.  Here it is:

Little Kathy Bakes Cakes.  Nasty Maggie Aligns Carbon Zebras INTo Lead–Hard Cages Monkey Security Guards Patrol.

 In practice, this mnemonic works well because the logic connects.

Here are the visuals I use to teach the idea:

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas, for the low price of $12.95.  Now available in Kindle e-book for $7.45.  The Persuasive Wizard is an excellent gift for anyone seeking a better job, a raise in their current job, investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.

If you ask young and old drivers to rank the top-10 production dream cars, the Porsche 911 would be on the list, perched near the top.  My particular dream is the Carrera S Coupe.  While I love a convertible, and I have owned several, the summer days of Texas convert most trips into a sweat-soaked, oven-baking experience.  You arrive red as a beet and smelling like the great outdoors.  A coupe with air conditioning for me.

What makes the 911 so special?  First of all, the body style has lasted through decades, back to the progenitor Porsche 356, first manufactured in 1948.   My supervising professor owned a classic version.  I could only drool.

The Porsche 911 is unique in being a rear-engine car.  Did I mention that it flies?  Porsche drove the latest 400 hp S at 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, but Porsche is notoriously conservative.  Even a duffer like me can pass 60 mph in slightly over four seconds (it takes one shift of the clutch).  Top speed is 187 mph.  I tried 125 mph in my Mustang Cobra.  I dared 130 mph in a Mercedes on the autobahn from Berlin to Innsbruck.  I have not approached 187 mph in any vehicle.

Porsche enthusiasts swear their babies hold their value.  As a physicist, I prefer data over unction.  I took my current values from NADA’s “Good-Condition Expected Retail Price.”  I assumed a driver would drive 10,000 miles each year.  So, I looked up the NADA retail of a 911 S coupe from each year model, assuming an odometer of 10k per year.  I verified the original MSRP through MSNauto.  I then calculated the value as a percentage of the original MSRP and plotted it.  While this has some shortcomings, it does take into account price increases and thereby accounts for inflation.

Here is the data.

The data show that the Porsche 911S coupe depreciates about 10% per year and finally reaches a bottom at about 30% of the original MSRP.  At first glance, this does not sound too bad.  If you could buy a car for $30k and sell it in ten years later for $10k, you would think that was an okay deal.  Of course, a new Porsche 911S coupe costs a grand and some change.  So, a depreciation of $10k per year is not pocket change to most.  It is a Porsche dream car, after all.

Oh, by the way, it is two syllables, Por-shah, not Porsch.  Don’t be an uneducated ninny.

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their careers.

One great privilege of my being a commissioner for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is the opportunity to work with Texas history.  Recently, I viewed firsthand a  daguerreotype of Sam Houston (1793-1863), soldier, American statesman, and early governor of Texas.  In the photo, framed in the typical gold-plated leather case, Houston is wearing a cowboy duster and cravat.  His little daguerreotype is only about 2’’ x 3’’ but you feel this gigantic Texan staring you in the face.

On  February 23 – March 7, 2013 the Travis Letter will return to the Alamo for the first time in 178 years.  Be there!

In 1836, the Texians waged a war of independence against Mexican oppressor President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.  Volunteers came from other states to aid, men like Kentuckian Jim Bowie and Tennessee freedom-fighters led by Davy Crockett.  Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis and 189 volunteers made a monumental and pivotal stand for freedom at San Antonio de Bexar, the Alamo.  Facing nearly certain death against an opposing force that eventually swelled to almost 3,000 soldiers, Travis vowed never to surrender or retreat.

During the siege, Travis managed to send a courier to General Sam Houston appealing for reinforcements, stating that he (and the Alamo defenders) would “die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country – Victory or Death.”  The siege lasted from February 23 to March 6, thirteen days.  (It was a leap year).  Houston’s reinforcements never arrived.  Santa Anna killed all the freedom fighters and the battle cry for Texans forever rings, “Remember the Alamo!

In a partnership with the Texas General Land Office and through the considerable efforts of Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a marine veteran, former Texas state senator, and lover of all things Texas, the letter will return to the Alamo for the first time in 178 years.

Travel to the Alamo during those dates and read the original letter yourself.

This is a unique opportunity to reflect on the cost of freedom and to remember those on both sides who sacrificed their lives.  Above all,

Remember the Alamo!

Commandancy of the The Alamo

Bejar, Feby. 24th. 1836

To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World—

Fellow Citizens & compatriots—

     I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna — I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man — The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken — I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls — I shall never surrender or retreat.  Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch — The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days.  If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country — Victory or Death.

William Barrett Travis.

Lt.  Col. comdt.

P. S.  The Lord is on our side — When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn — We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Travis

Order from Amazon.com, The Persuasive Wizard: How Technical Experts Sell Their Ideas.  Now available in Kindle e-book.  The Persuasive Wizard is a must for anyone wanting a better job, desiring a raise in their current one, seeking investment funding, or just needing to persuade others.  College and High School students find it invaluable as they begin their careers.

This year, I chose to teach in a private High School. The first week of school has just ended.

In this school, all the High School students must bring their own iPads to class.  How did it go?

Our basic mechanism for communication is Edmodo, a 2008 social networking invention of Nic Borg and Jeff O’Hara.  These two gentlemen created a software suite with tools for academia.  They claim connectivity with 8.5 million teachers, educators, and students.  Their software permits the teacher to set up web-based groups; my groups are my individual classes.  Edmodo allows the teacher to (easily and collectively) post material online.  It also permits the students to submit online.

Normally, the first week of school is a paper mill.  In the usual scenario I distribute a 5-page syllabus for each student, another 3-page description of the Advanced Placement nuances, and 3-pages of laboratory safety rules.  After that comes the 12-pages of PowerPoint slides for the safety lecture and the 14-pages of slides for the first topic lecture, then the 1-page instructions for the first laboratory experiment.  Multiply that by the number of students, being sure to add extra copies for students who misplace theirs.  With the iPads, I printed out not a single page, not one, and neither did the students.  It’s all there in their iPads.  The environment outside is singing our praises for all the trees and carbon we spared.  The environment inside sings reduced expenses for paper, toner, and copier repair.  Add to this the hour or so I save by not waiting for the copies and not having to carry them back to the lab.

The students use a different software package to download these documents.  They take notes directly on their iPads using their finger, a stylus, or a keyboard.  No need to keep folders for each class.  It’s all in the bits and bytes.  Their little spines appreciate the reduced backpack.

With the iPads I post all my assignments online and review them daily before I begin the class.  That capability let me retrieve an entire 4’x6’ white board whose sole duty prior was to show upcoming assignments.

Are there problems with the iPads?  Oh, don’t go negative on me.  Of course.  The technology is nowhere near plug-and-play, at least, not yet.  I will address the problems in a later blog after I collect more data.

At this point it is full speed ahead.