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Category Archives: International System of Units
A Letter from the President
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| Dear Sally:
Thank you for writing. I want you to know that I am listening, and I appreciate your perspective. On December 4, the Department of the Army indicated that it will not approve an easement for the proposed Dakota Access pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe and that more work is necessary to explore alternative routes. The Department stated that it has been having discussions with officials from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who expressed concerns about the risk that a rupture or spill could pose to the tribe’s water supply and treaty rights. The Department indicated that consideration of alternative routes would best be accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis. As President, my greatest responsibility is ensuring the safety of the American people. That includes protecting the rights of all our citizens, as well as the integrity of our energy infrastructure. My Administration has been committed to setting the highest possible standards for oil and gas production and transportation and to making sure our pursuit of energy resources does not put our communities or the environment at risk. As new energy infrastructure is developed, the Federal government works with State, local, and tribal governments—which play a central role in the siting and permitting of pipelines—to address the concerns of local communities. That’s one reason why Federal agencies have engaged in a series of consultations open to leaders from all 567 Federally‑recognized tribes about how the Federal government can improve its working relationship with tribal governments on infrastructure‑related issues. We have made a great deal of progress in building a brighter shared future with Indian Country, and we remain committed to strengthening our nation‑to‑nation relationships as we tackle the work that must still be done. Again, thank you for writing. I am optimistic that together, we can grow our economy and create new opportunities while securing a cleaner and safer future for all our people. Sincerely, Barack Obama |
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Learning the International System of Units is easy if you only get rid of the centimeter!
The metric system was based on tens. The international system of units is based on thousands. Once you get rid of the centimeter and go straight to the millimeter, students understand the simplicity of measurement with SI. We need to stop assessing students’s ability to measure using centi as an appropriate prefix.
John Mather – Guest Speaker April 16, 2016
Come join us at the USA Science and Engineering Fair on April 16, 2016 at the Convention Center in Washington, DC for some Green Chemistry and Natural Dyes workshop.
Click here for the flyer: usasef_flyer
American Chemical Society Illustrated Poem Contest – Earth Day
The American Chemical Society sponsors an Illustrated Poem Contest each year to help celebrate Earth Day. This year’s theme is: “The Great Indoors – Your Home’s Ecosystem”
The Central New York Section’s deadline is: April 2, 2016 and the entry must be received by this date. Information on where to send the poem and entry form are at the bottom of the form.
If you are not from Central New York, locate your coordinator at: http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/cced/cced-illustrated-poem-contest.html
Entry Form: PDF 2016 CCED Poetry Contest Entry Form (1)
Entry Form: word doc so you can type information before printing: 2016 CCED Poetry Contest Entry Form
Information/Rules flyer: CCED 2016 Poetry Contest Flyer (1)
The History of Chemistry for the Classroom
Workshop for High School Teachers of Chemistry
The History of Chemistry for the Classroom
The ACS Division of the History of Chemistry is sponsoring a workshop for high school teachers of chemistry on the Saturday before the August, 2016 American Chemical Society meeting in Philadelphia (August 20). The event is free, but attendance is limited to 20 teachers. Applications are now being accepted. Send email to Gary Patterson (gp9a@andrew.cmu.edu).
Location of workshop: Chemical Heritage Foundation, 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Why Attend?
–Chemistry is much more than chemicals and formulae. The study of actual chemists is fascinating and history helps to put all of chemistry in perspective.
-Students respond more enthusiastically to chemistry that is part of the real history of humanity.
-When did chemical companies first open for business? When did the chance observation that adventitiously fermented grain yielded an interesting beverage lead to the regular use of beer? Why is fire so important in the history of humanity? Find out answers to these questions and more…
Details: The workshop will consist of lectures, roundtable discussions, great food, and a tour of the Chemical Heritage Foundation museum.
-The introductory lecture will cover the early history of the teaching of chemistry by Gary Patterson, the Historian of the Division.
-The history of inorganic chemistry by Jay Labinger from CalTech.
-The history of organic chemistry by David Lewis, the leading authority on the history of Russian chemistry.
-The history of physical chemistry by Cathy Cobb, the best known historian of physical chemistry and a current high school chemistry teacher.
-Seth Rasmussen and Carmen Giunta, the authors of the national standards for the inclusion of history in the chemistry curriculum will also be assisting.
The Chemical Tree, by William Brock: A copy of the book will be mailed to each participant and each participant will be expected to read the book in advance of the workshop so that teachers can participate fully in the discussions following each lecture.
-Continuing education credit is available for this event.
An application format is given below. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2016. Please fill out the application below and email to: Gary Patterson (gp9a@andrew.cmu.edu).
Application for the Chemical History Workshop
Chemical Heritage Foundation
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Name:
School Name:
School Address:
Home Mailing Address:
Email address:
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Will you also attend the High School Day at the ACS Meeting? ______
-Sunday, August 21, 2016
-The High School Chemistry Teacher Program is held at each National American Chemical Society meeting as part of the Division of Chemical Education program. This is a day of workshops and hands on activities specifically geared towards the high school setting. Registration is separate from this application.
A Day at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
I spent the day learning about Metrology and while I was there, an apple fell from a descendant of Sir Issac Newton’s tree that inspired the theory of gravitational forces.
Social Media Correspondent wanted for American Chemical Society National Meeting in Boston, August 16-17
As part of the American Chemical Society (ACS) fall meeting in Boston later this month, the K-12 education division will host a two-day HS chemistry teacher’s program August 16-17. The program includes workshops, resource sharing, and networking specifically designed for HS teachers. The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) is looking for a chemistry teacher attendee to serve as our social media correspondent. The purpose of the AACT social media correspondent is to share learning experiences and insight about the days’ programs and takeaways with teachers in the ACCT community who couldn’t attend the live program. The correspondent would be responsible for attending both days (August 16-17) of HS day programming while sharing the events of the days via live social media tweets & posts. Post-meeting they would be responsible for writing a post for the AACT blog which summarizes their experience at the event.
As compensation, AACT will cover the $100 registration fee plus $50 (for current AACT members), -or- cover the $100 registration fee and provide a free AACT membership for nonmembers.
What we’re looking for:
+A current AACT HS teacher member -or- HS chemistry teacher interested in becoming an AACT member
+A currently active Twitter & Facebook user; comfortable using hashtags, attaching images, and using features of both social media platforms.
+Enjoys writing, and can commit to a 400-600 word blog post by August. 27
Please email Nicolle at n_dipasquale@acs.org if you’re interested. I’m happy to answer any questions or provide more details!
If interested, contact:
Nicolle DiPasquale | Digital Content Editor American Association of Chemistry Teachers American Chemical Society teachchemistry.org
202.872.4428 | n_dipasquale@acs.org
Follow AACTconnect on Facebook & Twitter!
Smart Materials Workshop July 27-28th Syracuse University
Great time learning Photo Origami and 3D printing with Patrick Mather at Syracuse University along with Eric Carpenter of the University of Colorado Boulder.