Frog Blog on the Last Word

Last Tuesday evening Matt Cooper was joined by Sunday Business Post tech journalist Adrian Weckler and teen techie Tommy Collison on his Today FM programme, The Last Word, to discuss back to school technology (following on from their brilliant feature in last week's paper). When discussing useful websites for pupils, parents and teachers, Adrian mentioned The Frog Blog and our friends SCC English in extremely high regard. If you missed it click here to have a listen. Thanks to Adrian and Tommy for the unprompted positive comments and both are welcome in St. Columba's any time!

Recommended DVD's - Wonders of the Solar System

Wonders of the Solar System is a spellbinding series where "rock star physicist" Professor Brian Cox visits come of the most extreme locations on Earth to explain how the laws of physics carved natural wonders across the solar system. Using top class CGI and buoyed by Cox’s infectious enthusiasm, the series is sure to stimulate your pupils and have them wanting to learn more about science and astronomy. Wonders of the Solar System is available in all good DVD stores and on Amazon, from around €20. And look out for a new series starting in 2011 - Wonders of the Universe.

YouTube Saturday - What is the Universe Expanding Into?

Yes, here at The Frog Blog we like try to answer the easy questions about science. This week's slice of YouTube action is a brilliant video which looks at the expanding universe and tries to explain what the universe is expanding into. 

Guest Post - Nanoscience Part 1

This excellent interactive guest post has been produced especially for the Frog Blog by Michael Seery, a lecturer in Physical Chemistry at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). Michael also has his own blog, Is This Going To Be On The Exam?, which contains a wide range of posts surrounding chemistry and education. You can also following Michael on Twitter here. The post will presented in three parts, the first will look at what is nanoscience and why is it important. 

What is Nanoscience?

Nanoscience is the science of very small things. How small? Well before we answer that, see how good you are at thinking about the size of things. The quiz below consists of a lists of things of various sizes - can you rank them in order of size, starting with the biggest?

So how did you get on? It's clear from the list that there are some very big things and some very small things. To help group things into similar sizes, we use a scale. For example, the milliscale is used to group things the size of things based around the size of millimetres - 1 thousandth of a metre. The microscale is the scale of one billionth of a metre, 0.000001 m. When we use a microscope, we can view things on this scale. The next scale down has recently come into view, with new sophisticated instruments and clever ways of making things at this scale - this is the nanoscale - things in the size range below 1 billionth and above 1 trillionth of a metre - one nanometre is 0.000000001 m or more conveniently 10 -9 m. At this scale, we start to see things like viruses, which are 100's of nanometres in size, DNA strands, which are a couple of nanometres wide. However, this scale is bigger than simple molecules such as water - which are only parts of nanometres and atoms which are smaller still.

What are the real alternatives to oil?

This post is designed to aid teachers and pupils in a classroom discussion on renewable fuels and the real alternatives to oil, gas and coal as means of producing energy for our planet. This article first appeared in Science Spin and was written by Frog Blogger Humphrey Jones.

The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused enormous ecological and economic damage to the area. The company responsible, BP, have had a PR nightmare and have suffered enormous financial hardship with the cost of the spill somewhere close to $6 billion. An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled from the damaged well in the 87 days from the beginning of the disaster (which ironically was Earth Day) until the leak was finally capped on July 15. This incident has served to remind us though that oil will not be there forever, with peak production close, and we need to begin the search for real alternatives to powering our technology dependant planet.

Everything we do these days seems to depend on the use of electricity, the majority of which is formed by the burning of carbon based fuels, gas and oil. These materials are finite and within 100 year we will have to rely on other forms of power generation. But which is the best option? Renewable energies are clean and safe, yet currently expensive. Some people don’t want to have “unsightly” wind turbines or solar panels in their back yard. It also needs to be seen if renewable energy generation techniques provide enough electricity to meet our needs. Hydrogen has the potential to replace petrol or diesel in road vehicles without any emissions, and is currently being field tested in California and Hong Kong. And then there is the nuclear question? Can safety concerns be addressed in the world’s nuclear power stations? Can cold fusion be achieved to create large amount of energy from hydrogen, this mimicking the reactions in the Sun?

There are so many questions around this area which can lead to an excellent class discussion. Now let us take a close look at some of the potential solutions to our energy problems and some of the many unanswered questions surrounding them.

Wind Power

Wind turbines have been propping up all around the Irish countryside with opinion mixed on whether they are elegant or an eyesore. But these turbines are contributing greatly to Ireland’s energy needs, with all turbines on the island producing over 1200 Megawatts of energy, which accounts for approximately 10% of our yearly demand. But could be possibly increase the current numbers? Maybe expand the Arklow Bank Wind Farm? There was an interesting proposal from “The Spirit of Ireland” group which called for wind turbines to be used in conjunction with hydroelectric dams – to pump water up from the sea at night time. The hydro station would then release the water during the day to generate power. Would this work? Visit www.spiritofireland.org to find out more.

Science Spin

Frog Blogger Humphrey Jones has recently contributed a number of articles to Science Spin, Ireland's only dedicated science, nature & discovery magazine. The new issue contains a fantastic series of articles on a range of science topics including a brilliant look at Fermanagh's Marble Arch caves and an in-depth look at learning, memory and IQ. Within Science Spin is "School Spin", a series of articles aimed specifically at secondary teachers and pupils of science. Mr. Jones has contributed pieces in School Spin on recommended iPhone apps for science, recommended science DVD's, an article which looks at suggested science field trips (this time in the Co. Down area) and a discussion piece on renewable energies. To view the latest issue of Science Spin online click here or check out your local newsagents. 

iPhone App - Pocket Body

Our friends from eMedia in Galway (creators of the excellent Pocket Heart app) have just released a brilliant new app for the iPhone and iPad which allows you explore the human musculoskeletal system in extraordinary detail. Pocket Body uses state of the art 3D animation to allow the biology student learn more about the skeleton, muscles and how they interact. According to Mark Campbell of eMedia:

"Pocket Body features a fully anatomically accurate human character with nine layers of musculoskeletal content, enabling the user to navigate from the skin layer through the superficial to deep musculature, and on through to ligaments and the skeleton. In each layer, structures are pinned for identification and associated with each pin is additional concise relevant information including clinical notes. All of the information is presented in an interactive, mobile and accessible format which takes full use of the features of the device on which the app runs (iPhone, iPad or iTouch)"

Pocket Body is perfect for undergraduate students of science but equally useful for Leaving Cert biology pupils and medical professionals. Now, it doesn't come cheap (€11.99 for the iPhone and €15.99 for the iPad) but we think it will be extremely useful as a teaching and learning tool. Before you buy, why not check out their website to see a demo of the app being used. Click here. Another winning app from eMedia! To download Pocket Body for the iPhone click here or the iPad click here.

Sunday Business Post Back to School Gadget Lowdown

A sincere thank you to both Adrian Weckler of the Sunday Business Post, who in his brilliant back-to-school technology feature in yesterday's edition made some very generous comments about both The Frog Blog and our English Department colleagues. On the SCC English Blog:

"For students who want to engage in their English curriculum, this is a must-visit website. Maintained by the English department of St Columba’s College in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, it provides notes, interpretations and even tutorial podcasts on curriculum texts. The award-winning website also has Twitter feeds and sections optimised for smartphones."

And on The Frog Blog:

"This is another superb website from St Columba’s College secondary school in Co Dublin. This contains downloadable material on preparing for Leaving Cert science exams. It also has a new story every day about different aspects of science or the environment from the outside world."

The other sites recommended were Skoool.ie, Scoilnet, Wikipedia and Education.ie.

YouTube Saturday - Roller Coaster Physics

This week's YouTube video takes a quick look at the physics of roller coasters and gives a brief introduction to positive and negative G forces. From Time Warp.

Guest Post - Moose Give Scientists New Insights into Arthritis

Whenever we observe animals in the wild, we often do so to find out more about our environment and its inhabitants. However, a herd of moose have actually provided scientists with clues as to the origins of arthritis in humans, especially osteoarthritis.

As part of a 50-year research project, the moose were observed and their behavior documented. These moose now have arthritis, and researchers speculate that the causes of their disease may be routed in poor nutrition starting from an early age. Combining the moose research with other recent studies about human arthritis has lead experts to the conclusion that osteoarthritis - the most common form of arthritis among humans - is much more complicated than previously thought.

Before, osteoarthritis was thought to be caused by the general wear and tear of growing older. If you lived long, the reasoning went, and then you'd probably suffer damage to bones and muscles after prolonged use. Adding to the age factor, arthritis was said to be made even worse if you were overweight or obese. Furthermore, scientists have also established that genetic predisposition is at least partly to blame as well.

Standards in Maths and Science

Over at More Stress Less Success, Frog Blogger Humphrey Jones outlines his views on the recent debate concerning standards in Leaving Certificate mathematics and science. He believes that while the percentage of pupils obtaining top grades is too low and that the number of pupils failing maths and science subjects are too high, it is unfair to compare us to other educational systems, like A-Levels or the IB, when maths remains compulsory for all sitting their Leaving Cert, when all pupils sit at least six subjects and when the Leaving Certificate has not been prone to the obscene levels of grade inflation as seen in other systems. He suggests pupils should sit only three or four subjects at Leaving Certificate if we really want to improve maths and science scores. For the full article, click here.

YouTube Saturday - Fish vs. Terrapin

Who would win in a fight between a fish and a terrapin? Luckily for us good ol' National Geographic have the evidence to show that terrapins may not have it all their own way. In this video an emperor cichlid fish pushes and shoves a much heavier terrapin to protect their young from being eaten. Enjoy!

Clare Wind Farm Gets Green Light

The green light has been given for a €200 million community owned wind farm in County Clare, the largest in Ireland. West Clare Renewable Energy Ltd. (WCRE) plans to construct 28 3MW wind turbines on the western slopes of Mount Callan, a 391-metre high mountain located between Ennis and Miltown Malbay. The company says the ambitious project will be capable of generating enough electricity to power every home and business in County Clare. The Scheme is also predicted to reduce CO2 emissions over its life time by a massive 4,400,000 tonnes of carbon and to provide up to 300 jobs during the construction phase.

Clare based entrepreneur Padraig Howard is one of the people behind the project (Mr. Howard is also a Founding member of another ambitious wind energy project Spirit of Ireland), noted that there is a potential 80,000 new jobs to be created in the green economy by 2020 according and that Clare has easily the potential to create 10,000 thousand of these jobs by 2020. What a fantastic prospect and a brilliant use of our natural resources! Well done to all concerned and to the Clare County Council for recognising the significance to approving planning permission for such an ambitious breakthrough project.

Leaving Certificate Results 2010

Congratulations to the St. Columba's class of 2010 on achieving a set of outstanding Leaving Certificate results. Our Warden (our name for the principal) outlined some of the impressive statistics on the St. Columba's College website earlier which highlights the extraordinary efforts of this year's cohort.

• An average points score of 459 per candidate (our highest ever and, once again, will see us among the highest achieving schools in Ireland).
• 40% of candidates achieved 500 points or more.
• 62% of candidates achieved 450 points or more.
• 76% of candidates achieved 400 points or more.
• 93% of candidates achieved 350 points or more.
• 96% of candidates achieved 300 points or more.
• 77% of candidates achieved a grade A, B or C at honours level.

The results in the sciences weren't bad either - more to come on that soon. Over the past five years pupils of St. Columba's have attained an average of 442 points per candidate in their Leaving Certificate. We, along with all the staff, would like to offer our sincere congratulations to all pupils in St. Columba's, and nationally, who received results today. Click here to download full analysis of this years results, with a comparison with those of the past four years.

That Mitchell & Webb Look on Richard Dawkins

The brilliant That Mitchell and Webb Look is one of the funniest sketch shows on television. In this sketch the boys take the proverbial out of Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion. Enjoy!