The Universe through a Child’s Eyes
at 2:05 pm on Thursday, 7 January 2010
There is something about parenthood that gives us a sense of history and a deeply rooted desire to send on into the next generation the great things we have discovered about life. And part of that is the desire to instill in our children the love of science, of learning and particularly the love of nature. Your fascination with the universe and how to explore it as we so often do in the field of astronomy can be highly academic and dry as maybe it was if you took a course in astronomy. But when you get out there in the field at night, your equipment is just right and the night sky comes alive with activity, there is no other experience like it for majesty and pure excitement. And that is the kind of experience we want our children to come to love as much as we do. It’s actually not a big jump from play to learning for children when it comes to learning about the natural world, science and astronomy. Exploration is a natural part of being a child and growing up in a fascinating world and universe. So if we can find ways to take that natural desire to explore and instill a life long passion for astronomy, we will have given our children a truly great gift. So with a few simple family activities, we can instill that love of astronomy in our offspring. Here are some ideas. * Make star gazing part of family life. You already love to go outdoors as often as possible to enjoy the stars. So don’t let that be your private passion. Get everybody into the act. The kids will love it and look forward to those nights as much as going to the circus. * Make each new experience in growing into astronomy a fresh threshold. So the first experiences might be what you experienced as a kid, just laying on your back out in the country with the panorama of the stars overhead trying to take it all in. Go ahead and challenge them to count the stars. It’s a fun exercise and one they will save to use as a joke on their kids when they do this same thing in a few decades. * Take them along the road of learning, introducing binoculars so they can focus on particular areas of the night sky. * Now they are hooked and want to know about why some of the stars are brighter than others. They have no idea they are going to astronomy school and don’t even know it. You can tell them about the constellations as you point out how to find them by keying off the North Star. By being able to find things in that mass of stars and knowing there is such a vast amount more they can pick out, they are ripe for learning from star maps and about how the galaxies work.
Source: Noetic Science
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Sustainable Energy Is Great for the Environment
at 3:51 pm on Monday, 16 November 2009
We are all aware that using sustainable energy is great for the environment, however the other big plus point in using a home made wind turbine is how much money it can save you, not only on your power bills going forward, but also on the initial installation. If you go for a professional installation then it could cost you anything up to $7,500, however the DIY route could mean that you could build a system for a fraction of this cost and have it up and running for less than $200, maybe less than $140 if you are good at recycling materials. This, of course, leads to a second limitation. Wind farms need to cover a lot of physical space to produce large amounts of electricity. In many industrialized countries, space is at a premium. As a result, the sheer cost of purchasing land for wind farms is prohibitive. This issue, however, is losing some of its grit as offshore wind farms are becoming more prevalent. To some, one of the limitations of wind farms is they are eyesores. What we needed was a simple set of plans. None existed so we decided to make our own. Our homemade wind turbine project took us over 10 years to complete. Trying to find a source of cheap parts that we could put together with relatively simple tools was very difficult. In fact, with a little smart shopping you can easily find and make all the parts you need for a wind turbine for under $200. Imagine the profits if you sell that for even just half the price of the cheapest kits on the net. Sell three a week and youve got a nice little business going. The fact that you will be part of the solution is also another great reason to build and sell wind turbines.
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Real Life Algebra Application
at 6:31 am on Wednesday, 4 November 2009
What is Algebra?
Mathematics has long been one of the virtually frightening subjects in American classrooms. Although children in other countries graduate with excellence in maths, most of the average high school age students in the United States scratch their heads when presented with questions about converting fractions to decimals, converting measures and units, solving non-linear inequalities, or solving radical equations. This situation is distributed across the United States. Algebra is such a wide-encompassing array of various mathematical equations that it is easy for a student to get lost when asked to explain synthetic division or adding polynomials . For that matter, letters are heavily employed for replacing the numbers when it comes to algebra. While this isn’t highly complicated in and of itself, it brings itself poorly to the ‘jump in and play’ view of some math. Simply talking, if a individual is supposed to perform a particular algebraic task, he or she should be aware of the algebraic tasks that preceded it. This is to say that Algebra is a process that requires mastery of each step in order to move on. A student can’t hope for finding square root radicals and roots when he or she has not learned proportions and ratios, or converting measures and units.
Technological Breakthroughs:
Although this is nothing new, it appears that mathematics grades have slipped even further in recent years. This possibly caused by many reasons, but no result comes out of finger pointing. There have been only a fistful of external aid available for pupils to enhance mathematics skills when out of the classroom. What little software system or program there was, more geared towards assisting younger students grasp the constructs of arithmetic. Luckily, the market for such a product has coincided with the technology essential, permitting an inflow of ‘algebra software package‘ or ‘algebra solver‘ programs that permit the mastery of algebra to anyone who is equipped with standard computer knowledge.
Algebra Solvers:
There are different algebra calculators available and they vary depending on for what they have been produced for. Some may provide such abilities as graphing a circle, or solving simultaneous equations, but may not have the programming needed for resolving exponential equations or adding exponents . The users are advised to assess these algebra software package upon purchase, but many algebra solver computer software packages will promote their strengths. The best bet for anybody who is interested in computer help for subtracting rational expressions or converting decimals to fractions; fundamentally, whatever particular need you would have, is to refer the cyberspace and research the product in question.
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Expensive Electricity
at 5:46 pm on Monday, 26 October 2009
With electricity costs heading north, many home owners are forced to think of better solutions to save on their electrical bills. The most talked about device to date – DIY wind power. Wind turbines have been around for ages, providing free energy from the wind converted into electricity. Although there are a number of large corporations manufacturing wind turbines of various sizes and capacity, up till recently, wind turbines are beyond the reach of the average family. The smallest scale wind turbine costs at least $3000 to install. The use of wind turbines has been around for many centuries in rural areas, but now we are finding more and more people in suburbia turning to this great power saving system to not only save them money but to also generate an income in its own right. So how does that work? With so much emphasis nowadays on carbon emissions and the depletion of fossil fuels, far more people are looking at alternatives and as a result of this, there are far more people wanting to learn about this industry. The ability to produce your own wind turbines can easily result in a burgeoning home industry, building them for friends and neighbors. Turbines are whats being used in remote areas adjacent to solar energy. This eras homeowners are now turning to depend on wind energy which will save them as much as 90% depending on how much energy is produced as well as the size of the Wind Turbine. Countries like Spain, Brazil, Denmark and even South Africa has already been introduced as to what is Wind Power.�These nations power towns through wind farms.
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Algebra – the Major Branch of Mathematics
at 8:30 pm on Friday, 7 August 2009
What is Algebra?
Algebra is a broad category of mathematics that uses abstraction by exchanging alphabetic characters for numbers. This abstraction is the very reason why most people find algebra scary and too difficult to handle and it is the same reasons why some students find it fun to play around with. Algebra topics extend from working with fractions to factoring binomials all the way to finding the y-intercept. Most people get down to learn Algebra by adding, subtracting, reducing and simplifying fractions . They then move on to understanding equivalent fractions, finding Least Common Multiples (LCM) and converting fractions to decimals.
Oh no! It’s Exponents, Radicals and Graphing
There are numerous higher level topics. To start off with there are exponents. A power is the small number placed to the right and slightly above a number or algebraic expression. An example is (x + y)3 where the 3 is the exponent and refers the power to which that number is raised. The above algebraic expression is read, x plus y to the third power. While working with exponents you will oftentimes come across exercises that require you to add, subtract, multiply and divide. You can work with fractional and negative exponents . If that isn’t enough to make your head spin, then you can move on to radicals. A radical, in simple terms, is the undoing of an exponent. The V beside 4 denote a radical expression which means, the square root of 4, which equals 2. The contrary exponential equation is 2^2 which is read, 2 to the 2nd power, and equals 4. Additionally, powers can be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided by radicals. Radicals can be converted into powers and powers back into roots. If powers and radicals aren’t enough, there is always graphing. Start with graphing straight lines and defining if the line is horizontal or vertical or something else. Does the line have an x-intercept or a y-intercept? Can you find the slope of the line? you master the mathematical art of graphing, you will notice a whole new world filled with parabolas and hyperbolas.
Want Help?
While you are learning algebra if the terms and concepts seem too much to handle, relax and take a break. It’s time to look around because there exists a wide array of resources that is able to help you master the subject. Look for math tutors or software packages that will walk you through gradual process on how to solve any problem. Know that frustration is not your only friend because any of these tools can help you become an algebra guru in no time.
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Ignore Algebra at Your Own Peril
at 1:55 am on Sunday, 26 April 2009
Algebra is the one which is used for getting our daily tasks accomplished. The human beings forever continues counting, measuring, dividing, and multiplying.
The History
Invented in the first millennium BC, algebra was first invented in the middle-east. The ancient brains used algebra for solving day-to-day problems while the Asian or rather Chinese counterpart used geometry for the same purpose
What is the Nature of Algebra?
Although you may see algebra as solving formulas, simplifying rational expressions, and converting fractions to decimals, algebra is one of the sciences that has the most applicability when it comes to practice. Since this aspect has been understood, the education system pressures us to learn algebra from the beginning of our pupil life.
Algebra I
The students are given an introduction in this study course to numbers, solving linear equations, graphing systems of linear equations, graphing linear inequalities, laws of exponents, resolving quadratic equations , and factoring polynomials. This course of study sets the foundation for the rest of the sophisticated algebra waiting to be searched in the next two levels.
If a student is keen on learning algebra down to its roots, then this is a subject area course that should be tackled well.
Algebra II
Once the pupils are sound with Algebra I concepts, Algebra II can be taken up for widening the spectrum of this marvelous section of mathematics. There are two views of Algebra II; stressing more on the topics studied in Algebra I and introduction to new concepts. When it comes to the new introductions, adding and subtracting matrices, quadratic functions, solving exponential equations, probability and statistics are notable.
At this stage, the subjects are more concentrated on the depth of mathematical concepts rather than the coverage of many topics.
College Algebra
This is one of the most key degrees of studying Algebra with nearly no new topic brought in. I assume it is quite hilarious, but this is what maths is. Mathematics is called the queen of all scientific disciplines. Do you know why? That’s because of the unpredictable nature of maths!
How to get assistance on Algebra?
Algebra has the most diversified methods and tools available for getting aid. The first and the foremost principal source is an Algebra instructor from whom you can get help and assistance.
In addition to books, pupils should never undervalue the use of Algebra package that is particularly designed to solve algebraic problems with illustrative steps. This software package really contributes insight in to Algebraic operations of solving equations, by allowing pupils to simply watch and learn through good examples.
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