Fun in the sun...with maths!

Today S2 went to the esplanade to understand Distance = Speed X Time. Angus brought his bike and some people walked and some people ran 100 metres. Stuart and Robbie had trundle wheels and measured the distance from the school to the esplanade the time took 10 minutes 8 seconds.

Tomorrow we will do some calculations with our data.

Kerr and Angus S2

Intermediate 1 Maths

Chloe, Alexander and Jonny today celebrated passing their final maths NAB. Beth passed too but was not present for the picture (probably scared off by the boys - see photo).

Mr C/Miss O

Pomegranate 2!!

Oliver Conor and Christopher give their verdict. - The pomegranate is a good model as seeds get nutrients from the pomegranate like the mother gives food to the baby. Their are lots of seeds in a pomegranate like their are lots of eggs in the ovary. The eggs are fertilised by pollen like the egg are fertilised with sperm. There is a difference as only one ova matures in a human but all the seeds mature in the pomegranate.

Melissa, Amy, Georgina and Shannon think it is a good model because the skin protects the seeds like the mothers womb protects the baby. A pomegranate gets a good supply of nutrient from the tree like a human gets a good supply of nutrients from the blood that flows from the placenta.

There is one difference though a pomegranate keeps producing seed but a mother stops making eggs when she is about 50.

James, Nico, Euan, Nathan and Nicol. We think it is a good model too because the seeds represent all the ova in the human. The skin means you can't see inside the fruit just like you can't see inside the mother. Both pomegranates and eggs need vitamins to grow.

Here we are having a pomegranate tasting session as they are good for preventing heart disease and some cancers.

Pomegranate

I understand the processes of fertilisation and embryonic development and can discuss possible risks to the embryo.

SCN 3-14a

Is a pomegranate a good model for the human ovary? This is the question S1 are answering! They have studied reproduction in humans and in plants so now they are making a comparison. They will be given their verdict tomorrow after they have played the pomegranate game.

To modify or not to modify.

I can debate the moral and ethical issues associated with some controversial biological procedures. SCN 4-13c

S3 have been studying genetic engineering. They have been looking at the debate surrounding genetically modified food. To do this they have been using Democs resources produced by the New Economics Foundation.
This is a new approach to involving citzens in public policy issues. The pupils play the democs "game" which involves research, reading and discussion of the issues. They put themselves into "role play" positions given to them on story cards.

After this they vote on policy positions and send their results to NEF who will collate the results and use them to inform the government of the views of the public. They take this into consideration when making new policies on controversial issues. So when a policy is put in place Cedars biology pupils will have had their say!

Here are a few of the cards (there are too many resources to show them all here)

Photosynthesis can't get more exciting than this!

I have collaborated on investigations into the process of photosynthesis and I can demonstrate my understanding of why plants are vital to sustaining life on Earth. SCN 3-02a

Can you take a jug of water, some sunlight and some carbon dioxide from the air and make a bag of sugar? Can you produce oxygen needed for all life on the planet? S2 are studying the amazing Cabomba plant who like all green plants can do both these things without even a brick on the wall. Here are S2 investigating how different light intensities affect the rate of photosynthesis. If you click on the video you'll hear them counting the number of bubbles of oxygen being produced!

Photosynthesis

We were answering the question "How can we prove plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis" We used a plant called Cabomba put it into clear containers with hydrocarbonate indicator. One plant we put in the dark, one in the light and we had a control with no plant.

Hydrocarbonate turns from red to purple if carbon dioxide is decreasing and turns yellow if carbon dioxide is increasing. (Robbie's answer)

Here are our results. The one in the light turned purple because the plant was using up the CO2 for photosynthesis faster than it was producing it by respiration. (Andrews answer)

The one in the dark turned yellow because no photosynthesis was happening in the dark and the plant was respiring so producing CO2 (Kerr' s answer)

The control stayed the same showing that the changes were taking place because of the plant.

Here are our pictures showing our results - sorry they are a bit blurry!

Posted by S2 boys (as all the girls were absent today)