woodchurch science

nasa scientists think they are on the verge of being able to predict earthquakes. they are looking at electrical signals in the atmosphere linked to seismic activity in the earth’s crust. just such a signal was received before last months china earthquake. they are working on a possible space based early warning system. read more here.

we’ve had a question from abbie wilson in year 7 about bees. einstein once said that if all the worlds bees died out then humans would follow within four years! here are a couple of articles about this problem which is worrying conservationists worldwide. article one - last flight of the honeybee, and article two - so what’s plan bee?

but here’s something to look into…did einstein really say that? here’s a letter in this weekend’s guardian:

Alison Benjamin states in Last Flight Of The Honeybee? (May 31), “According to Albert Einstein, our very existence is inextricably linked to bees.” There is no evidence for this being true, as can be found easily by reference to the myth-busting snopes.com. Snopes’ conclusion is that the supposed quote was probably concocted as part of a campaign by European beekeepers protesting about perceived threats to their livelihoods. Martin Whittaker, Edinburgh

here are some powerpoint presentations done by 11n: tom hunt, sam copley, gary davies, ben orrell-jones, dan carey

here’a a puzzle to print off. fill it in and get it to mr warren for a prize…first complete entry wins.

there are some resources available from bp education services about climate change (posters, leaflets, teacher notes). i have some copies if you want some for your lessons or if you want just a poster for your room i have 4 left…see me first come first served…

the three powerpoint presentations from educationusingpowerpoint are now available for download. don’t forget you need the latest username and password to access them. ask your subject teacher.

the year 10 separate science group now have their own edublogs which can be accessed here:
becky anderson
kelly baird
peter bird
jess cain
rosie clare
ben cookson
michael davies
lewis farrell
niall farrington
jasmine gillison
bethan harris
bradley howarth
ben kierman
lesley lewis
katrina lewis
tom lockwood
aaron lyons
rhianne mcilhatton
matthew melling
stephanie merry
becky naylor
phil o’neill
catherine percival
katherine pottinger
lee rafferty
damian seber
nathan shaw
jack small
jake wright

for this chemistry activity (C2 4.0) visit this site (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk) and use the two tabs at the top, ‘energy saving products’ and ‘home improvements’.
1. list the ways houses are heated, identifying the source of the heat.
2. list the ways houses are illuminated, identifying the source of the light.
3. list the ways houses are insulated and the materials used, for example, carpets on floors.
4. list the range of devices that use electricity. How can consumption be reduced for each of them?
5. give examples of building materials used for houses, are they renewable resources or not?
6. in pairs, identify ways to reduce some of the ways energy is used at home, try to come up with some imaginative ideas.
7. design a poster, leaflet or fact sheet about the best ways of reducing energy consumption at home.

specimen papers for biology b3, chemistry c3 and physics p3 can be found in these three documents.
biology higher page 169
chemistry higher page 177
physics higher page 179