The Science Fair - A Juvenile Science Adventure Novel

The Science Fair
A Juvenile Science Adventure Novel
by Julian T. Rubin
Read for Free
http://www.juliantrubin.com/the_science_fair.pdf

Joab and Dina - thirteen and twelve years old - live in a little town in Israel. In the holidays, they solve scientific detective mysteries with the help of their German Shepherd dog - a hobby that their mother dislikes.

This time they are engaged in a mystery that involves a few interrelated scientific hot topics like ethanol fuel, solar energy, genetic engineering and photosynthesis.

The mystery is about the race between two renewable energy companies to be the first to invent a new promising technology.

On their way, they find a lost dog, compete in a chess tournament, investigate a deserted farm on a dark night, participate in a treasure hunt game and are stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel at the Luna Park.

A science fair event is running in the background and at the end, when Joab and Dina present their project, everything falls into place and the mystery is unfolded.

julianrubin2000@yahoo.com

 
 

The Effects of Color on the Brain's Ability to Complete Mathematical and Logical Problems

Science Fair Project Information
Subject: Psychology & Human Behavior
Grade level: High School - Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Awards:
Second place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2003)
First place, Renfrew County Regional Science Fair
First place, Pfizer Canada Minister's Award of Excellence (2003)
Matthew Helfrety Memorial Award
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair
Description: The mathematical skills of 87 volunteers were tested by tests copied onto six different colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The tests were administered weekly over a course of seven weeks given a time limit of ten minutes. At the end of the experiment the results were graphed, compared and analyzed.

Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2003/pikec3c/public_html/

Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in the United States, graduated on this day in 1849

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 – 1910), born in Bristol, England, was the first female doctor in the United States. She was the first openly identified woman to graduate from medical school, a pioneer in educating women in medicine in the United States, and was prominent in the emerging women's rights movement.

She attended Geneva Medical College in New York. She was accepted there — supposedly because the faculty put it to a student vote, and the students thought her application was a hoax — and braved the prejudice of some of the professors and students to complete her training and graduated, on 23 January 1849.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: The Effect of Age and Gender on Human Blood Pressure
Subject: Medicine / human anatomy
Grade level: Elementary School, Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Selah Intermediate School
Year: 2002
Description: Subjects of different age and gender were tested for blood pressure; results tabulated, graphed and compared.
Link: http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2002/KendraC.html

 

Dan Shechtman Wins 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Israel Celebrates Its10th Nobel Laureate

In 1982, Dan Shechtman discovered the impossible, till then, quasiperiodic crystal structure characterized by a fivefold symmetry in contrast to the then prevailing classical crystallographic restriction theorem stating that a crystal can possess only two, three, four, and six-fold rotational symmetries. For this discovery Dan Shechtman was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: In Which Temperature Do Crystals Grow Best?
Subject: Chemistry
Grade level: Elementary School, Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Selah Junior High School
Year: 2000
Description: Crystals were grown in same size beakers and other conditions maintained the same for all experimental groups besides the temperature of the crystal growth environment (hot, cold, room temperature); after three days crystal growth was compared, graphed and tabulated.
Link: http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2000/KaitlynS.html

Steve Jobs, father of the Macintosh PC, iPhone and iPad died this day (October 5, 2011)

Apple Remembering Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
1955-2011

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Determine if dangers of using a cell phone in a public place are similar to second-hand smoke.
Subject: Medicine
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Medium
Equipment: spectrum analyzer, microwave signal generator, different cell phones
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2003)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2003
Description: In this experiment was determined how much cell phone signals change over distance; results were graphed and tabulated; usage conclusions and recommendations were made for different mobile phones.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2003/petel3o/public_html/

Dan David, founder of the Dan David Prize, died today (6 September 2011)

The Dan David Prize annually awards 3 prizes of $1 million each awarded by the Dan David Foundation and Tel Aviv University to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the fields of science, technology, culture or social welfare. There are three prize categories - past, present and future. Prize laureates donate 10 percent of their prize money to outstanding doctoral students and researchers in their own field from around the world.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: AMPK and Cisplatin Resistance
Subject: Medicine
Grade level: High School, Grades 11-12
Academic Level: Advanced
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: High
Awards: Grand Prize Winner, Google Global Science Fair 2011
Affiliation: Google Global Science Fair
Year: 2011
Techniques Used: Flow Cytometry, Microscopy, Western Blotting
Description: Ovarian cancer cells tend sometimes to develop resistance to the drug cisplatin used for chemotherapy. This invetigation provides proof that the enzyme AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase) plays a role in the development of resistance to cisplatin.
Link: https://sites.google.com/site/ampkandcisplatinresistance/home

Japan 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

The 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami was caused by a 9.0-magnitude undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred 11 March, 2011. The epicenter was approximately 72 kilometers (45 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku.

The earthquake triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 29.6 m (97 ft) that struck Japan minutes after the quake, in some cases traveling up to 10 km (6 mi) inland. The Japanese National Police Agency has officially confirmed 11,362 deaths, 2,872 injured, and 16,290 people missing across eighteen prefectures, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. The earthquake and tsunami caused extensive and severe structural damage in Japan, including heavy damage to roads and railways as well as fires in many areas, and a dam collapse. Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water.

Many electrical generators were taken down, and at least three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to hydrogen gas that had built up within their outer containment buildings after cooling system failure. On 18 March, Yukiya Amano—the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency—described the crisis as "extremely serious." Residents within a 20 km (12 mi) radius of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and a 10 km (6 mi) radius of the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant were evacuated. - Wikipedia