KnowAtom http://www.knowatom.com Interactive Inquiry Science Curriculum Wed, 16 May 2012 04:01:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Greenhouse Effect http://www.knowatom.com/the-greenhouse-effect/ http://www.knowatom.com/the-greenhouse-effect/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:13:10 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=907 Continue reading →]]> The Greenhouse Effect

Click to Run

How do greenhouse gases affect the climate? Explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. What happens when you add clouds? Change the greenhouse gas concentration and see how the temperature changes. Then compare to the effect of glass panes. Zoom in and see how light interacts with molecules. Do all atmospheric gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Greenhouse Gases
  • Heat
  • Thermodynamics
  • Climate

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe the effect of greenhouse gases on photons and the temperature
  • Describe the effect of clouds on photons and the temperature
  • Compare the effect of greenhouse gases to the effect of glass panes
  • Describe the interaction of photons with atmospheric gases
  • Explain why greenhouse gases affect the temperature

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Wendy Adams
  • John Blanco (developer)
  • Kelly Lancaster
  • Ron LeMaster (developer)
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Robert Parson
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow
  • Interviewer: Kelly Lancaster
  • Piccolo2D

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/the-greenhouse-effect/feed/ 0 Wave on a String http://www.knowatom.com/wave-on-a-string/ http://www.knowatom.com/wave-on-a-string/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:00:20 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=901 Continue reading →]]>

Watch a string vibrate in slow motion. Wiggle the end of the string and make waves, or adjust the frequency and amplitude of an oscillator. Adjust the damping and tension. The end can be fixed, loose, or open.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Waves
  • Frequency
  • Amplitude

Sample Learning Goals

  • Discuss wave properties using common vocabulary.
  • Predict the behavior of waves through varying medium and at reflective endpoints.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Macromedia Flash 9 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later		 Macromedia Flash 9 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Michael Dubson (developer/lead)
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/wave-on-a-string/feed/ 0 Wave Interference http://www.knowatom.com/wave-interference/ http://www.knowatom.com/wave-interference/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:58:10 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=899 Continue reading →]]> Wave Interference

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Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser! Add a second source or a pair of slits to create an interference pattern.

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Main Topics

  • Waves
  • Sound

Sample Learning Goals

  • You can watch water, sound, and light waves move and see how they are related. All can be represented by a sinewave.
  • What does this sinewave represent for these three different phenomena?
  • Use multiple sources with different spacing and see a changing interference pattern.
  • Find points of constructive and destructive interference by eye, and by using the detectors.
  • Put up a barrier to see how the waves move through one or two slits. What sort of pattern do the slits create? How can you change this pattern?
  • In the light panel, predict the locations of the fringes that appear on the screen using d sin(θ) = mλ. Use the tape measure to verify your predictions.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Wendy Adams
  • Noah Podolefsky (lead)
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow
  • Interviewer: Noah Podolefsky

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/wave-interference/feed/ 0 Vector Addition http://www.knowatom.com/vector-addition/ http://www.knowatom.com/vector-addition/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:54:25 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=897 Continue reading →]]>

Learn how to add vectors. Drag vectors onto a graph, change their length and angle, and sum them together. The magnitude, angle, and components of each vector can be displayed in several formats.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Vectors
  • Vector Addition

Sample Learning Goals

  • Explain vector representations in their own words.
  • Convert between the angular form of vectors and the component form.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Macromedia Flash 9 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later		 Macromedia Flash 9 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Michael Dubson (developer/lead)
  • Interviewer: Mindy Gratny

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/vector-addition/feed/ 0 Solutions http://www.knowatom.com/sugar-and-salt-solutions/ http://www.knowatom.com/sugar-and-salt-solutions/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:49:27 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=893 Continue reading →]]> Sugar and Salt Solutions

Click to Run

What happens when sugar and salt are added to water? Pour in sugar, shake in salt, and evaporate water to see the effects on concentration and conductivity. Zoom in to see how different sugar and salt compounds dissolve. Zoom in again to explore the role of water.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Solutions
  • Ionic
  • Covalent

Sample Learning Goals

  • Use pictures and proportional reasoning to explain changes in concentration
  • Draw what happens at the molecular level when compounds dissolve in water
  • Identify if a compound is a salt or sugar by macroscopic observations or microscopic representations.
  • Explain how using combinations of solutes changes solution characteristics or not.
  • Use observations to explain ways concentration of a solute can change.
  • Describe ways the formula, macroscopic observations, or microscopic representations of a compound indicates if the bonding is ionic or covalent.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Kelly Lancaster (lead)
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Emily Moore
  • Julia Chamberlain
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Robert Parson
  • Kathy Perkins
  • JBox2D
  • Jmol
  • Piccolo2D
  • Laurie Langdon
  • Jack Barbera

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/sugar-and-salt-solutions/feed/ 0 Stern-Gerlach Experiment http://www.knowatom.com/stern-gerlach-experiment/ http://www.knowatom.com/stern-gerlach-experiment/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:43:22 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=889 Continue reading →]]>

The classic Stern-Gerlach Experiment shows that atoms have a property called spin. Spin is a kind of intrinsic angular momentum, which has no classical counterpart. When the z-component of the spin is measured, one always gets one of two values: spin up or spin down.

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Main Topics

  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Spin
  • Quantum Measurement

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe the observations made in the Stern-Gerlach experiment.
  • Describe how spins behave in the presence of a magnetic field.
  • Recognize that spin is quantized.
  • Describe how measuring spin along some direction changes its state.
  • Argue from experimental observations that spin in the x direction and spin in the z direction must be incompatible observables.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Macromedia Flash 9 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later		 Macromedia Flash 9 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Michael Dubson (developer/lead)
  • Sam McKagan (co-lead)
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Sam McKagan

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/stern-gerlach-experiment/feed/ 0 States of Matter – Basic http://www.knowatom.com/states-of-matter-basics/ http://www.knowatom.com/states-of-matter-basics/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:38:38 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=886 Continue reading →]]> States of Matter: Basics
Click to Run

Heat, cool and compress atoms and molecules and watch as they change between solid, liquid and gas phases.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • States of Matter
  • Atoms
  • Molecules

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe characteristics of three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.
  • Predict how varying the temperature or pressure changes the behavior of particles.
  • Compare particles in the three different phases.
  • Explain freezing and melting with molecular level detail.
  • Recognize that different substances have different properties, including melting, freezing and boiling temperatures.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Wendy Adams
  • Paul Beale
  • John Blanco (developer)
  • Sarah McKagan
  • Emily Moore
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Noah Podolefsky
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Piccolo

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/states-of-matter-basics/feed/ 0 States of Matter – Advanced http://www.knowatom.com/states-of-matter/ http://www.knowatom.com/states-of-matter/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:34:55 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=884 Continue reading →]]> States of Matter

Click to Run

Watch different types of molecules form a solid, liquid, or gas. Add or remove heat and watch the phase change. Change the temperature or volume of a container and see a pressure-temperature diagram respond in real time. Relate the interaction potential to the forces between molecules.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Atomic Bonding
  • Chemistry
  • Dipole
  • Interaction Potential
  • Molecules

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe a molecular model for solids, liquids, and gases.
  • Extend this model to phase changes.
  • Describe how heating or cooling changes the behavior of the molecules.
  • Describe how changing the volume can affect temperature, pressure, and state.
  • Relate a pressure-temperature diagram to the behavior of molecules.
  • Interpret graphs of interatomic potential.
  • Describe how forces on atoms relate to the interaction potential.
  • Describe the physical meaning of the parameters in the Lennard-Jones potential, and how this relates to the molecule behavior.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Wendy Adams
  • Paul Beale
  • John Blanco (developer)
  • Sarah McKagan
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Noah Podolefsky
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Piccolo

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/states-of-matter/feed/ 0 Sound http://www.knowatom.com/sound/ http://www.knowatom.com/sound/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:27:21 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=882 Continue reading →]]> Sound

Click to Run

This simulation lets you see sound waves. Adjust the frequency or volume and you can see and hear how the wave changes. Move the listener around and hear what she hears.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Sound
  • Waves

Sample Learning Goals

  • Explain how different sounds are modeled, described, and produced.
  • Design ways to determine the speed, frequency, period and wavelength of a sound wave model.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Ron LeMaster (developer)
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow
  • JASS SDK by Kess van den Doel
  • Oscillator.Java by Matthias Pfisterer

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/sound/feed/ 0 MRI http://www.knowatom.com/simplified-mri/ http://www.knowatom.com/simplified-mri/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:25:28 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=880 Continue reading →]]> Simplified MRI

Click to Run

Is it a tumor? Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can tell. Your head is full of tiny radio transmitters (the nuclear spins of the hydrogen nuclei of your water molecules). In an MRI unit, these little radios can be made to broadcast their positions, giving a detailed picture of the inside of your head.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • MRI

Sample Learning Goals

  • Recognize that light can flip spins if the energy of the photons matches the difference between the energies of spin up and spin down.
  • Recognize that the difference between the energies of spin up and spin down is proportional to the strength of the applied magnetic field.
  • Describe how to put these two ideas together to detect where there is a higher density of spins

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Michael Dubson
  • Ron LeMaster (developer)
  • Sam McKagan
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/simplified-mri/feed/ 0 Household Circuit http://www.knowatom.com/signal-circuit/ http://www.knowatom.com/signal-circuit/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:20:17 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=878 Continue reading →]]> Signal Circuit

Click to Run

Why do the lights turn on in a room as soon as you flip a switch? Flip the switch and electrons slowly creep along a wire. The light turns on when the signal reaches it.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Signal Circuits
  • Circuits
  • Switches

Sample Learning Goals

  • Explain what happens when you turn on the switch.
  • Determine whether the blue spheres are positive or negative charges. How can you tell?

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/signal-circuit/feed/ 0 Semiconductors http://www.knowatom.com/semiconductors/ http://www.knowatom.com/semiconductors/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:17:57 +0000 knowatom http://www.knowatom.com/?page_id=876 Continue reading →]]> Semiconductors

Dope the semiconductor to create a diode. Watch the electrons change position and energy.

Please click here for license

Main Topics

  • Semiconductors
  • Diodes
  • Transistors

Sample Learning Goals

  • Recognize that the battery is the driving force in a circuit.
  • Describe how n and p dopants change the structure of electron energy levels in a semiconductor.
  • Explain why an np junction acts as a diode, allowing current to flow one way but not another.

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later		 OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later		 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

 

Java Required http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/all-137794.html

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Sam McKagan
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams

Translated Versions:

]]> http://www.knowatom.com/semiconductors/feed/ 0