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

 

Yellowstone, the world's first national park, was established this day in 1872

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone was the first national park in the world, and is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is dominant.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Model a geyser and determine the effect that depth has on timing of geyser eruption.
Subject: Geology
Grade level: Middle School, Grades 6-8
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Science Buddies
Description: The mechanism consists of a boiling flask and a plastic container connected vertically by glass tubing. The flask is heated and after the geyser erupts it will reset itself by sucking the cool water from the plastic container, placed above, back into the flask, and the process starts again. Length of glass tubing is changed and the time between eruptions is recorded.
Link: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Geo_p040.shtml

 

Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was revealed to the world in 1997

Dolly (1996 – 2003) was a female domestic sheep, and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in Scotland. She was born on 5 July 1996 and she lived until the age of six. She has been called "the world's most famous sheep" by sources including BBC News and Scientific American. On 14 February 2003, Dolly was euthanised because she had a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Welcome to the fascinatingworld of cloning
Subject: Biotechnology / Genetic Engineering
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair ($400)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2007
Description: Main topics: Clonings history, cloning techniques, benefits and negative sides. Biographies of three important scientists who contributed to the field.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2007/shah7a2/
 

Space Shuttle Columbia was lost, on this day, in 2003

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission.

The loss of Columbia was a result of damage sustained during launch when a piece of foam insulation the size of a small briefcase broke off the Space Shuttle external tank (the main propellant tank) under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS), which protects it from heat generated with the atmosphere during re-entry. While Columbia was still in orbit, some engineers suspected damage, but NASA managers limited the investigation, on the grounds that little could be done even if problems were found.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Is there life in outer space?
Subject: Space Exploration
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2007
Description: Main topics: life in space; the search for life in space; the debate on the existence of extra-terrestrial life; Panspermia (the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, and may be distributed to habitable bodies, in microbial form, by comets, meteoroids, asteroids and planetoids.).

Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2007/back7n2/

 

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

 

Avi Cohen, best known for playing football for Liverpool, England, was killed today in a motorcycle crash.

Cohen began his playing career with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israeli national team, before joining Liverpool for a fee of £200,000 ($450,000) in July 1979, and became the first Israeli to play in England. He struggled to establish himself as a regular at Anfield and was released in November 1981, rejoining Maccabi. On 20 September 1980, Cohen stirred up controversy when he decided to play in Liverpool's away fixture versus Southampton, which fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

Liverpool FC marked the death of Cohen with a period of applause before their Premier League match against Wolves on 29 December 2010.


- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: How to throw a football
Subject: Engineering
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimenta
Cost: Medium
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2005
Description: The objectives of this project are to determine the: proper location of the ball prior to cocking the arm, the best place for the quarterback to situate his hand along the laces, the ideal distance between the feet before releasing the ball, wrist flicking motion.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2005/papi5s0/public_html/

3,000 people were killed by a major eruption of Mount Vesuvius, on this day, in 1631

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum that were never rebuilt. The towns' locations were eventually forgotten until their accidental rediscovery in the 18th century.

On December 16, 1631, another major eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried many villages under lava flows, killing around 3,000 people. Torrents of boiling water were also ejected, adding to the devastation.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Understanding Volcanoes
Subject: Earth Sciences
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Thinkquest
Year: 1998
Description: Main topics: plate tectonics, volcanoes, volcanic database.
Link: http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/

 

Samuel Johnson, best known for his dictionary of the English language, died on this day, 226 years ago.

After nine years of work, Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755; it had a far-reaching effect on Modern English and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship." Until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary 150 years later, Johnson's dictionary was viewed as the pre-eminent British dictionary.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Statistical estimation of the the growth of the English language vocabulary over the years.
Subject: Statistics / Lexicography
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Science Fair Projects and Experiments (juliantrubin.com)
Year: 2010
Description: A statistical estimation of the No. of headwords in a dictionary, the size of your vocabulary and the growth of the English language vocabulary over the years. This is achieved by using the systematic sampling method by counting the number of words on dictionary pages placed at regular intervals from each other, beginning at a random page number.
Link: http://www.juliantrubin.com/encyclopedia/mathematics/dictionary_statistics.html

 

The 2010 Mount Carmel (Israel) Forest Fire

The Mount Carmel forest fire was a deadly forest fire that started on Mount Carmel in northern Israel, just south of Haifa. The fire began at about 11:00 local time on 2 December 2010, and spread quickly, consuming much of the Mediterranean forest covering the region. The fire claimed at least 42 lives, making it the deadliest in Israeli history. The dead were mostly Israel Prison Service officer cadets, as well as three senior police officers, among them the chief of the Haifa District. More than 17,000 people were evacuated, including several villages in the vicinity of the fire, and there was considerable property and environmental damage. The fire was defeated on 5 December after raging for four days.

Israel Police suggested that the fire was caused due to a bonfire that was lit by local residents and not extinguished properly and in time.

The main cause for the large-scale fire was an unusually warm autumn and dry conditions Israel had been experiencing.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: The relationship between global warming and the emissions of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) by forest fires.
Subject: Ecology
Grade level: High School - Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Medium
Awards: 2st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2003)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2003
Description: Fuel moisture determines a forest fire's depth of burn. Fires will burn deeper into the ground where global warming causes drought. Organic matter samples from different depths were burned to analyze the amount of carbon dioxide released. It was concluded that more carbon dioxide is released per unit volume of soil the deeper a fire burns.
Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2003/vanfr3j/public_html/

 

The Antarctic Treaty was signed, preserving the Antarctic continent for scientific research, 51years ago

The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. The treaty, entering into force in 1961 (opened for signature on December 1, 1959) and eventually signed by 47 countries, sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, establishes freedom of scientific investigation and bans military activity on that continent. The treaty was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat headquarters have been located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since September 2004.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Will Ice Melting at the North or South Poles Cause Sea Levels to Rise?
Subject: Earth Sciences
Grade level: Primary School - Grades K-3
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Science Buddies (Author: Kristin Strong)
Description: This project demonstrates that melting ice cubes elevate water level in a container.
Link: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/OceanSci_p015.shtml

The First Manned Hot-Air Balloon Flight Was Made 227 Years Ago

On Nov 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created on Dec 14, 1782 by the Montgolfier brothers.

King Louis XVI had originally decreed that condemned criminals would be the first pilots, but de Rozier, along with Marquis François d'Arlandes, successfully petitioned for the honor.

The first military use of a hot air balloon happened during the battle of Fleurus where the French used the balloon l'Entreprenant as an observation post.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Which Material Is Best For Hot Air Balloons: Nylon Or Polyester?
Subject: Aviation
Grade level: Elementary School Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Selah Junior High School
Year: 2000
Description: A countersink was dropped on the stretched tested materials, nylon or polyester, and the number of impacts it took to tear the fabric were counted. Then the samples of the same materials were heated in an oven and the tests were run again.

Link: http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2000/HeatherK.html

 

Johannes Kepler, the Astronomer Who Discovered "Kepler's Laws", Died 380 Years Ago

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution. He is best known for his three laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works that also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation.

Kepler's laws give a description of the motion of planets around the Sun.

Kepler's laws are:

1. The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci.
2. A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.
3. The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Stars And What They Can Become
Subject: Aviation
Grade level: Primary School, Grades K-3
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2008)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2008
Description: Main topics: How are stars born? What different types of stars are there? How do stars die? What are binary stars? All about our sun.

Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2008/lafl8s2/

 

115th Anniversary of the Discovery of X-Rays

On November 8, 1895, German physics professor Wilhelm Röntgen stumbled on X-rays while experimenting with Lenard and Crookes tubes and began studying them. He wrote an initial report "On a new kind of ray: A preliminary communication" and on December 28, 1895 submitted it to the Würzburg's Physical-Medical Society journal. This was the first paper written on X-rays. Röntgen referred to the radiation as "X", to indicate that it was an unknown type of radiation. The name stuck, although (over Röntgen's great objections) many of his colleagues suggested calling them Röntgen rays. They are still referred to as such in many languages, including German and Russian. Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Research the technology and applications of today's modern forms of diagnostic imaging (X-Rays, CAT Scans, and MRIs).
Subject: Medicine
Grade level: high School - Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2004)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2004
Description: Main topics: X-rays: discovery, physics, protection; CAT scan: invention, technology, procedure, applications; MRI: procedure, compared to X-rays and CAT scans, safety and risks, applications.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2004/sitt4b0/public_html/

 

George Boole, the Founder of Boolean Algebra, Was Born

George Boole (1815 – 1864) was an English mathematician and philosopher. As the inventor of Boolean logic—the basis of modern digital computer logic—Boole is regarded in hindsight as a founder of the field of computer science.

Boole proposed that logical propositions should be expressed as algebraic equations - logic is reduced to algebra. Boole replaced the operation of multiplication by the word and and addition by the word or. For example, if x is the set of all brown cows and y is the set of all fat cows, then x+y is the set of all cows that are brown or fat, and xy is the set of all cows that are brown and fat.

Let z = the set of all Irish cows. Then z(x+y) = zx+zy; in other words 'the set of Irish cows that are either brown or fat is the same as the collection of cows that are Irish and brown or Irish and fat'.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Implementing Logic Gates With Relays
Subject: Mathematics / Electronics
Grade level: Middle and High School, Grades 7-12
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Medium
Affiliation: Science Fair Projects and Experiments
Description: For beginners: Build from relays common logic gates and demonstrate their truth tables with LEDs or suitable bulbs connected at the input and output.
For advanced students: Construct from relay logic gates half or full adders and demonstrate their truth tables. Adders are central components in any modern computer's ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit - the main part of CPU). Build from relays alarms, counters etc.
Link: http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/zusecomputer.html