Finding the Speed of Light with Peeps - Science Experiment

Yes, I know that this is different than the typical discussion on Dr. Z Reflects, but I just had to share this wonderful science experiment.  



This 5-minute video shares a wonderful demonstration of applied mathematics and science. Using a tray full of peeps, you can actually demonstrate how wavelengths move across a microwave. 

The experimenter (couldn't find his name in the credits) places a tray of marshmallow peeps into a microwave and turns it on for a couple of minutes. He pulls it out and then looks for the specific places where the peeps have really melted. These places are about 2.4 inches apart.  Based upon the assumption that the microwaves are melting the peeps in places where the wave actually travels through the peeps, it is possible to use these calculations to compute the speed of light.

I can see 10 year old students doing this and suddenly having a realization light going off in their heads by this demonstration.   This is a MUST WATCH video and MUST IMPLEMENT in your classroom.

Watch the Earth Shake and Twitter About It!!!!

Just heard about a 7.2 earthquake in Baja California through Twitter.  Can you believe that a friend was on a golf course in Palm Springs when she felt the shake. First thing she did was twitter this incident to her tweet-network. Next thing I knew, there were tweets from Palm Springs, San Diego and Orange County. One tweeter mentioned that he was following the LA County Fire Dept's tweets as they responded to earthquake news. (@lacfd) 

Anywho, I was looking for immediate information about the quake and I found the IRIS Seismic Monitor map. This is OUTSTANDING!!!!  Click on the map above (after you finish reading this posting and leave your comment) and it will take you to their live map of the latest seismic activity around the world. The color of the rings indicates the recency and the size of the rings indicate the magnitude. See the Big Red in the California region?

Click on these buttons to access informative educational resources:

Earthquake Headlines - takes you to the latest Google News about earthquakes;

Special Events - leads you to the Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments page on the IRIS site.

Education Links - links you to the IRIS page on their website that is filled with instructional resources.

This page is a lucky find. Do you see how you might use it in your teaching?

Share your thoughts with us.

Z

Related articles by Zemanta

• Mexican Earthquake Felt In Los Angeles (news.sky.com)
• 6.9 Earthquake in Baja, California (laist.com)

Photo: IRIS Seismic (iris.edu/seismon)