Why Maths is Important to Me

by

Sarah Bird   Hawera High School

Maths is an abstract science dealing with the concept of number, quantity and space, which makes it a rather difficult concept to explain the importance of.

In the grand scheme of things, I don’t know a lot about maths. I know how to do the basics. I can add, subtract, multiply, divide, do basic differentiation and integration, put numbers in formulas and work out the area for a two-dimensional shape.

I understand that maths is more than numbers. There are letters involved. And real-life situations to apply maths concepts to. Most of the time you will never need trigonometry in your life. Or algebra. But maths is everywhere and its importance to me and others cannot be ignored.

In calculus, we are taught the acronym DELSDEBT for optimisation problems. Finding the minimum or maximum values. For a long time, I have struggled with this concept, but I’m slowly starting to figure it out. It doesn’t always have to relate to just calculus equations either.

Draw a diagram – Be creative. Maths doesn’t always have to be formulas on a sheet and a long paragraph of information to be put directly in a calculator. It also shows that there are multiple ways to approach a problem and taking the time to draw gives you time to think about the problem.

Equations are formed – Start to put the information together in a logical manner. Find the pieces of the puzzle. Put the things that need to go together, together. Its relevant information finding. Reading the question (somehow the easiest, yet hardest thing to do in solving a problem).

Link equations- Start to put the pieces together. All the equations into one to limit the number of variables. It makes things simpler. This step is sometimes not even necessary. Not all steps are.

Substitute – There is the beginning of the solution. All relevant pieces of information are almost in place. It’s delegating what numbers go where in the problem. For a real-life problem, who does what tasks and what their tasks are.

Differentiated- This is the part of calculus where you actually differentiate the equations. There is now a direct plan on how to solve the problem. It’s also the step you need to get at least an achieved for the question in the NCEA Differentiation paper. Sometimes this is the step you need to get to and you can’t go any further. You may need more help. And if you carry on and fail the rest, at least you know you got something of the problem right.

Equate to zero- Find the values to find the maximum or minimum. Using more information to solve the problem. Last minute organisation of activities. The frantic panic of finishing internals or homework assignments when they are not yet finished, yet are so close to being complete.

Back substitute- This is where you find the maximum or minimum. The actual solution to the problem. What is the actual answer?

Test you have answered the question – If you have taken the time to follow this whole process, you might as well check you have the right answer and answered what the question asked. There is no point in answering 8 to 2+4. Double check everything is done.

Then you can let out a sigh of relief knowing that you have done everything in your power to solve the problem. As mentioned before, the problem doesn’t always have to be maths.

Maths is important to me, because there is a process that goes along with it. Yes, you can put numbers in a formula, get the right answer and you will successful with it. But sometimes you put numbers in a formula and still have absolutely no idea what you are doing and what the point of it all is. If there is process and order to how you approach a situation, it is a lot easier to find out where you went wrong, how you can improve things and what actually went alright.

Maths doesn’t always have the answers, but it’s a good way to start finding some. It will tell you whether you were right or wrong. And it might even point you in the direction of the right answer.

What Science has done for me

By Fylgia Romero
Ellesmere College

In a world full of war and conflict, science plays a very significant role for me – a young and curious member of society.

Science is defined as a ‘branch of knowledge’. Science is often associated with white laboratory coats, big textbooks and confusing equations. But science is more than just these things to me. Science for me is an eye-opener to the world around me and predominantly, the world inside me. Science is a key to every door I face throughout many different aspects I find myself in.

Science continues to play significant roles in every aspect of my journey from the moment I was still a single cell. Little did I know how far we have come in science looking back through history and to how we used to live. But little by little, it all starts to piece together. Science never fails to fascinate me as a youth full of awe and wonder.

From my understanding, science has always been there. Everything works together in our universe and it has allowed the human species to survive to this date. However, not all of us are fortunate. I am blessed to be living in this developing country. We are blessed to have the freedom and access to modern technology as well as people who have the knowledge of how to heal diseases. Science has slowly taken over. Because of the development of the medical field and our knowledge we now know how to cure, even the most degenerative diseases, saving many innocent lives. Our knowledge of physics has taken us above the skies exploring what we have not yet seen. We now have satellites which allow us to connect with people all over the world and warn us of meteorological issues. Our knowledge of chemistry has made us see matter and what does and doesn’t really matter. We now have laboratories that particularly look at creating promising chemicals in the hopes of contributing to society’s needs. Our knowledge of biology and agriculture have made us see life in different forms – all of great value. We now have procedures we consider trustworthy enough to push us, individuals, to our next steps. Science has woven our society closer together than we have ever been before having the majority of us united with the same scientific beliefs. These are just little pieces that come together to make science what it is right now.

It all depends on the context. For me, as a person of strong faith, I believe science is interchangeable with faith. As much as most non-believers say that science challenges faith, I believe that science and faith coexist in this argumentative society of ours. I, as a science student, believe that the things around me are made up of millions of tiny particles – without seeing them. I believe that there are millions of other universes outside ours – without seeing them. I believe in the different biochemical systems inside my body – without seeing them. And this is why I consider science and faith connected because faith is a matter of believing without seeing, thus having faith in science and in my Creator – whom I don’t see but still strongly believe in.

Science is a realm that needs to be explored much further. There is so much we do not understand and some things we may never will. Is there even an end to knowledge? We continue in the hopes of making our world a better place for everyone even if it costs a great sacrifice. They say ignorance is bliss. But where would we be without the knowledge we have gained through discoveries made in our past? Science has done a lot for me and have seen that it has too for many individuals. As we continue putting these pieces together, I believe that science will continue expanding in our minds. We can only hope that future generations will continue our search for answers for the good.

Science in a Day

by  Jorgee Robb   Gore High School

There is a lot that science does for me in a day, but not only does science helps me, it also helps you. It is everywhere and we don’t even know that it is science because it is ‘regular’ and ‘normal.’ So now let’s consider the science of a perfectly normal day.
There’s a ringing in my ear. Slowly I pry open my eyes, darkness still fills the entirety of the room. I reach over, push snooze on my loudly ringing phone. This is the first piece of science that I use for the day. The cell phone was invented by Martin Cooper, of Motorola, back in 1973. Not only does the cell phone send and receive calls as well as texts, but also offers Google, email, a camera and just about anything your mind can imagine. I step out of the warm haven and pad down the hallway to the kitchen. I put on the jug and put bread in the toaster. Yet again, I thank people for their inventions. The first electric jug was invented by Compton and Co in 1891. The toaster was invented by Alan MacMasters in Edinburgh in 1893. Through the years both have been updated to what they are today.

Once fed and dressed, I leave for Gore in my car. Thanks to science I can travel 45 minutes by car to school. The car was invented by Karl Benz who built his first automobile in 1885 in Mannheim, Germany. Thanks to his invention, I can have a better education and more opportunity. When I arrive at the aging, rough cast building of Gore High School, like every Monday morning, I have study first. I dodge past all the juniors to the study room, where I can settle down and finish my history essay, on the Treaty of Waitangi. I pull out my laptop, which was first imagined by Alan Kay in 1968. Now with the conveniences of laptops, writing my essay is much easier than writing the Treaty of Waitangi back in 1840. Second is chemistry, where we are doing titrations. Titrations were first used by Karl Fischer in 1935, to determine the trace amount of water in a sample. Nowadays, we think this is ‘old fashioned’ technology, yet it is still relatively new. Calculus is third, where we are studying systems of equations. The calculator is extremely handy in calc and takes less brain power typing in the numbers. Blaise Pascal invented the mechanical calculator in 1642 but now it has many more features such as the ability to graph an equation or solve equations for you. Biology is next, where we are learning about CRIPR-CAS 9. This technology could forever change the way humans live by changing the DNA base sequence of the DNA of an organism. It gives people with hereditary diseases a hope and a future. School assembly is before lunch. We are able to see the words to the song we sing and the slides to the PowerPoint of the topic talked about with the help of a projector. Eadweard Muybridge invented the first movie projector in 1879, but now they are used for much more than just movies.

When I get back home, from a ‘long day at the chalk face,’ I go to feed my sheep. I get on my 4-wheeler motor bike, which helps me move hay. Edward Butler first imagined the self-moving bike in 1884. Now motorbikes come in all shapes and sizes and are extremely helpful for farmers. Stepping out of the typical Southland rain, I head inside to cook tea. Tea is easily cooked in the electric oven and takes no time or thought. However, from 1906 an electric oven had never been thought of until Lloyd Groff Copeman did. He then manufactured his design and now it is extremely uncommon for someone not to have an electric oven. Electric Ovens were invented to make cooking easier. I sit down in front of the heat pump, which is keeping our farm house mild. The heat pump was first invented by Peter Von Rittinger in 1855-57. He discovered that circulated air could be transformed into heat, making the heat pump.

Sitting here I think about my day and how the different aspects of science have helped my day. Some inventions help us day to day, while others help for specialist activities. All these inventions help not only me but you too, they make our lives much more easier and allow us to fit in more to our day. We take for granted what science and scientists have brought us, without these technologies and inventions our lives would not be what they are today.

Paper Making – My First Encounters

by 
Nakita  Corfield
Dargaville High School

 
It was there! After school, while exploring through my grandfather’s shed I found a
“How-to-make paper” guide. You see, after witnessing my after school delicacies of blackberries that grow across the gravel road being covered with dust as cars drove by, I knew I had to take action against waste contamination.

And it was there, at that moment when I found the kit that I knew I could do something about it. I could use paper that I drew on, spilt juice on, and even paper that my dog had stepped on with her wet and dirty paws to make new and fresh paper. I spent hours ripping apart paper into the tiniest pieces that I was able to make. Next, I would soak the torn paper for a couple of nights to soften it. Then I could use my blender to create a pulp. Once this step was complete, the hard part was over. All I had to do is lay the pulp onto drying racks and wait. This was the most irritating part for my 7 year-old self. All I wanted was to witness my magnificent masterpiece reborn.

My paper looked nowhere near as good as store bought fresh paper. The oddly coloured grey pulp sat in uneven piles all over the rack. If I didn’t allow enough time for the paper to completely dry, it would crumble through my fingers. So getting the timing right was key.

Little did I know that 10 years later I would be researching the` Kraft Process’ of how paper is created through NCEA. This research internal made me realise that I was introduced a lot sooner to science than I initially thought. It wasn’t when I first made hokey pokey during my intermediate years, it was even sooner – I just didn’t understand it yet. At the age of 7, I accomplished the art of papermaking. Like how I pulled apart old pieces of paper whereas paper mills finely dice the wood that they receive into the correct sizes, ready for the cooking process. However, unlike H2O that I used to soak the pulp in, a special solution called white liquor which is a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide is used. This removes the lignin – a substance in trees which make the cells of the trees wood hard. Once all of the required lignin is removed from the pulp, it is then screened for any knots and twists that were missed. If only I had added this step into my process! Then I would have had clean smooth paper. An extra step at the paper mills of bleaching the pulp is added. This enables the paper to become the desired colour. Finally, like my process, the pulp is laid out and left to dry.

Now that I know what steps I can use to make my homemade paper even better, I hope to use it in the near future!

Below is the first in a series of science blogs written by our Year 13 Students.

This one is by Jasmin Mosimann from Motueka High School

Kiwi Hunt

With our receivers in our packs and the aerials strapped on the back, we head off on our kiwi hunt into Kahurangi National Park. Although Dad and his three colleagues, Sandy, Robin and Paul are all volunteers for Friends of Flora and have plentiful  experience hunting down kiwi, this would be my first sighting of a kiwi in the wild. Today we would be hunting down Iwa, one of the 40 Roroa/Great Spotted kiwi relocated into the Flora Catchment over 4 separate relocations since 2010. I know that today would be a monumental day, since Iwa is one of the last Roroa to have her transmitter removed for good and to be released back into the wild where she can no longer be tracked or protected. I am excited yet nervous that we will find her at all, as we set off into the still awakening forest. The white huff of dewey moisture hangs low on the forest floor, reluctant to leave. Its damp fingertips trace my exposed arms and legs as it makes its way through the forest, winding its way between the maze of trees, seeking out the coldest, dreariest corners of forest. Spidery tentacles of moss draw it in thirstily as it passes. Like the arms of a giant, silver, mountain and red beech penetrate the rich, moist soil in their desperate reach for the skies, frozen in time to age and allow lichens and mosses to flourish, warts and numerous extra fingers to grow. These noble, majestic giants are now beginning to lose their leaves as the seasons change, littering the forest floor with small serrated leaves ranging from mud brown through to russet orange, pale yellow and lime green. Our footsteps are muted by the spongy wet foliage underfoot, and the rest of the forest is equally still, aside from the odd bellbird chattering in the treetops.

As we approach a river, its persistent gurgling and pounding drowns all other noise, yet somehow, in its presence, it is more silent than the gentle hushing of the forest. The swing bridge to the other side is a thin steel contraption, barely wide enough for a person and hanging uncomfortably low over the water. As I cross, I look down into the gushing current through the loose wire mesh beneath my boots,  ripping tightly to the sides as it wavers side  to side. Once on the other side  we carry on and the rhythmic thumping of the vigorous water fades as the sounds of the bush take over again. The cheerful chattering of a fantail follows us as it snaps up the insects which we disturb. Darting left and right, its movements are as sharp as a tango dancer as it thrusts its tail in every possible direction, watching its back wherever it goes. Its boldness and fearlessness is astounding, as it flits about just inches from my head, before landing on a twig in front of me at eye level. It cocks its head at me, incredibly pompous for its size. Its cinnamon chest is puffed proud as it fans and un-fans its tail, attempting to frighten hidden prey into movement. I imagine its life in the forest when I’m not here watching it, building its nest with moss, hair, grass, fern scales and rotten wood fibres before finding a mate and laying its eggs. Feeding its young would mean frantically hunting insects all day, flushing them out from the canopy and bringing them back for its young. Although I know this lifestyle must be challenging, threatened every minute by stoats, rats and possums it seems somehow very serene and free-spirited from my perspective.

The rhythmical beeping of the receiver gets louder and more persistent as we continue up the steady incline. The vegetation here is quite different than that of the valley below, with thinner trees which are spaced further apart. Beech is still dominant, but some prominent alpine species of shrubs are also beginning to show such as the mountain nei nei, a peculiar tree with a wig of spiked leaves at the end of each warped branch, straight out of a Dr Seuss book. With the antennae plugged into the receiver and the volume on ‘high,’ I hold the cobalt blue antennae above my head, moving it from left to right. Turning back to the left, the beeps become closer together, indicating that the kiwi is on this side of the ridge. We carry on up the hill for another 500 metres, until we are directly uphill of where we expect the kiwi to be. From here on we must be as silent as possible, as not to awaken her in her burrow. Luckily the dampness of the forest helps dull our footsteps as we head off the path, weaving between trees and over fallen branches as we move down the hillside. Now that we are in amongst the trees without a trace of humans or a track, it is difficult not to be intimidated by the vastness of the Kahurangi, the blanket of podocarp forest draped over the hilltops, down into the countless valleys, spread all the way to Karamea on the coast.

As the beeping of the receivers get louder, we turn the volume right down and hold them to our ears, whilst trying to pinpoint her burrow. Once we think we have the right tree trunk, there is a mad scramble to find all of the entrances into the burrow and block them so that she can’t get out. Once we have her trapped, it takes a lot of digging into the decaying tree and deep into the umber soil so that we can flush her out to the main entrance, and Dad can catch her. He grabs her by her legs, with one finger between them so that they don’t rub together to prevent injury. Once she is safely out, he cradles her in his arms so that Sandy can measure its bill, which is used to help determine Iwa’s gender and age.

Although all of the kiwis in the project have been recaptured every year to replace the batteries in the transmitter, the beaks of kiwi grow significantly over short periods of time. Her weight is also measured, an astounding 3.45 kg the heaviest kiwi in the project, a pleasant surprise indicating that she is well nourished. Once all of the measurements and inspections have been completed, it is time to remove her transmitter. As Sandy slides the scissor blade between Iwa’s leg and the tape holding the transmitter, I think of how monumental this is for the kiwi and for the project. The amount of time and effort which the whole project has required is significant, and now it is all coming to an end.

The kiwi introduced to this area will only be able to be traced by acoustic recorders to monitor the approximate number of kiwis still in the Flora Catchment. Once the transmitter is off, Iwa will only be identified by a small metal band around her ankle. She will now be free! Once Sandy has cut it off, she asks if I  would like to hold her, so like I had practiced the day before with my dad on one of our chickens, I put my hand around her legs, with one finger between, and hold tight. Cradling her with my other arm, I’m surprised by the large size of her feet and claws and how soft her feathers are,  reminding me how fragile and vulnerable she and her species are. As she relaxes into me, and the warmth of her small body fuses with mine, I think of how special this moment is, and if this will still be possible in the future. Out here, the landscape  constantly reminds me how small and insignificant I am, yet isn’t judgmental or vindictive.

The seemingly insignificant forces of wind, rain and ice carve the rock and sculpt the landscape, yet the flora and fauna learn to adapt, forever changing and evolving. This is a place that I hope a girl just like me hundreds of years in the future can still experience, with its same raw natural beauty.

Jasmin Mosimann

At our Science Communication sessions in January  a number of you  commented that 6 minutes wasn’t long enough to get a science message across  to a public audience.
Here’s a link to a series of 6 min TED science talks that might help convince you otherwise.

Don’t forget also there are a number of posts in our blog archive that will help you prepare your talks,

e.g. March 7th 2017 : Engaging Hearts and Minds: Themes are Messages

April 21st 2017:   Welcome Everybody…Some Musings on Introductions

May 12th 2017:   Tell me what I want to hear,    to name just a few.

Simply go to the archives tab on the left and select the specific month.

For those of you working on films and science blog writing see what good examples  you can find in these science communication styles and we’ll  put them up on a future post with any that we  come across.

Don’t forget to check to  keep posting on Knowledge Forum!

Many names over the centuries have become synonymous with scientific achievement and discovery, etched in our collective understanding for the ages. Like famous explorers – famous scientists leave their names in the footprints of history with phenomena, units, models and formulae named after them. The most famous scientists tend to be those who not only make great discoveries that advance mankind, but also manage to communicate their work and the importance of their work to the world outside their lab. They are also great science communicators.

Yesterday, Stephen Hawking passed away. Arguably one of the most well known physicists of our time. Hawking radiation, just one of his many theoretical accomplishments carries his name. Hawking wasn’t just a theorist though, he made the transition from academic to popular culture with his books aimed at children and adults as well as appearances in popular media such as the Simpsons, Star Trek and the Big Bang Theory. Stephen Hawking was a passionate Science Communicator in whose honour the prestigious Stephen Hawking medal for Science Communication was named. This is awarded annually at Starmus festival to recognise excellence in Science Communication at an international level.

The story of Starmus festival in itself is a great story of Science Communication. In 2007 Brian May, founding guitarist of the rock band Queen, completed his PhD dissertation on zodiacal dust in the solar system. Along with one of his co-supervisors who also happened to be a musician, they founded the festival as a way to “celebrate science and the arts with the goal of bringing an understanding and appreciation of science to the public at large.”

In a world where we are exposed to and consuming more information than ever before, it is vital that Scientists are able to convey their work to the public in a way that the public will understand. Scientists like Stephen Hawking attempted to bridge the gap between academia and the public through writing, speaking and films aimed at explaining their very complicated research to a public audience. This trend of scientist as communicator carries on with many leading scientists today writing, filming and speaking about their work to the public. (Including our very own budding scientists, the OUASSA students, who are presenting their work to the public on the 13^th of July at the Otago Museum). After all, as our own Ernest Rutherford is quoted as saying “It should be possible to explain the laws of physics to a barmaid”.

Bloom’s Taxonomy – good critical thinkers travel up towards the pointy end.

The New Zealand Curriculum defines critical thinking as “examining, questioning, evaluating, and challenging taken-for-granted assumptions about issues and practices” and critical action as “action based on critical thinking”

As scientists, we need to be thinking and acting critically in order to ensure that the most evidence based and experimentally supported theories and ideas are being moved forward. Much has been written about how to teach, particularly science students to think critically (You can start travelling down that rabbit hole here)

Unfortunately, especially in high school, many students are driven by credits, exams and assessment and so knowing the “right answer” sometimes feels more important to students than critically thinking about the presented information to form their own answer. Another issue is that thinking is very hard to assess – because it goes on in the students’ minds, it is often difficult to see how they arrived at an answer and instead just assess the answer itself.

Critical thinking is an important skill to learn though, in this increasingly data driven world, we are evaluating information almost constantly. Learning how to separate the “wheat from the chaff” will help us make more informed and evidence based decisions, as well as stopping us from falling for “Fake News” 🙂

The scaffolds in Knowledge Forum are designed to help with this. By making your thinking explicit, you are not only showing that you are examining evidence and thinking critically, you are also able to think about your own way of thinking and evaluate the way that you are approaching information.

It has been agreed that the most effective way to improve your critical thinking is to practise. In Knowledge Forum, the scaffolds are an easy way to help you do this. In school, think about applying those same questions to your schoolwork. Every lesson is a new theory, now you need to find the evidence to support new theory and build your knowledge of the topic. Building your critical thinking skills will help your understanding of the topic and enable you to access those excellence and beyond grades.