Immersive Research Projects for the High School STEM

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Immersive Research Projects for the High School STEM MODEL IMMERSIVE PROJECTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES Table of Contents Sound Investigations ................................................................................................................................... 4 Sound Production and Propagation .................................................................................................................. 4 Sound Attenuation ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Modeling the Human Ear ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Light Investigations ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Comparison of Commercial Lighting Sources ................................................................................................ 8 Light and Other Wave Phenomena .................................................................................................................... 8 Optical Instruments Based On Lenses and Mirrors ..................................................................................... 9 Building a Microscope from a Smartphone .................................................................................................... 9 Modeling the Human Eye ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Forces and Newton’s Laws ..................................................................................................................... 11 Statics and the Strength of Natural and Manmade Materials ................................................................. 11 Friction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11 The Dynamics of Hopping and Jumping Animals........................................................................................ 12 Gravity, Projectile Motion, and Flight ................................................................................................ 13 Gravity and Elevation ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Magnetism ................................................................................................................................................................ 13 Electromagnets ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 The Flight of Projectiles in Sport ...................................................................................................................... 14 Trebuchets ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Flight Involving Wings .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Flight Involving Rockets and Propulsion....................................................................................................... 16 Collisions ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Collisions in Sport .................................................................................................................................................. 18 Collisions Involving Automobiles ..................................................................................................................... 19 Fluids ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 Non-Moving Fluids and Pressure ..................................................................................................................... 20 Moving Fluids and Circulation ........................................................................................................................... 20 Renewable Energy Technology ............................................................................................................ 22 New Advances In Energy Production .............................................................................................................. 22 Alternative Energy Conversion Efficiency ..................................................................................................... 22 Energy Transfer and Storage in Biological Systems .................................................................................. 23 Human-Powered Energy Sources ..................................................................................................................... 23 Microbiology ............................................................................................................................................... 25 Yeast Ecology and Evolution with Kombucha .............................................................................................. 25 1 Growth of Bacteria ................................................................................................................................................. 27 Bacterial Cell Division .......................................................................................................................................... 27 How Thermal Fluctuations Organize DNA in Living Cells ........................................................................ 28 Statistics of Gene Expression ............................................................................................................................. 29 Mutation and Mutagens ....................................................................................................................................... 30 Evolution ................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Sexual Selection ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Morphology and Phylogenetics ............................................................................................................ 33 Morphological Classification Based on Patterns ........................................................................................ 33 Biomechanics, Force and Torque ..................................................................................................................... 33 Acids and Bases .......................................................................................................................................... 35 General Acid-Base Reactions ............................................................................................................................. 35 Lewis Structures ..................................................................................................................................................... 35 Arrhenius Model ..................................................................................................................................................... 36 BrØnsted-Lowry Model ........................................................................................................................................ 36 Population and Growth Studies ........................................................................................................... 38 Demographic Study ............................................................................................................................................... 38 Carrying Capacity ................................................................................................................................................... 38 Reproductive Strategies ...................................................................................................................................... 39 The Cancer Phenomenon .................................................................................................................................... 39 Disease Spread And Prevention ........................................................................................................................ 40 Virulence ................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Ecology and Environment ...................................................................................................................... 42 Ecosystem Modeling .............................................................................................................................................. 42 Decomposition ........................................................................................................................................................ 43 Relative Soil Fertility ...........................................................................................................................................
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