This is the part where I show the results from a number of the Required Research Projects in Mrs. Gibney's Class. Note that these DO NOT go into all the detail that your science project will need, nor should you feel the need to steal any of these ideas. They should give you an idea as to what's done and what's not, though.
PLANTS AND MUSICResults? Of course not. Check out this table:
Average plant heights:
Control 9.6 cm
Classical 8.9 cm
Rock music 8.9 cm
For some reason, classical did really badly. Why? I don't know. If classical music should help your brain cells, then why doesn't it help plant cells? (Maybe it is that thick cell wall) Also, the control had the tallest grass shoot, reaching 15 cm tall! The Rock music group scored for lowest shoot, at 3.4 cm tall.
MUSIC AND SLEEP
BACTERIA: KITCHEN VS. BATHROOMMUSIC AND NUMERICAL MEMORY
11/18/1998 LEONID METEOR SHOWER STRIKES EARTH!
Meteors streaked through the skies over Asia in blazes of red and white as the biggest meteor storm in decades reached its climax just before dawn today.
The shower is caused by the Earth's passage through the long tail of the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The storm got its name because it appears to come from the direction of the constellation Leo.
Though the night sky remained bright in the Tokyo area, meteors could be seen streaking across the skies every two or three minutes at the peak of the display. In the United States, the best seats were wherever the sky was darkest and clearest. The crowds that gathered at sites in the Mojave Desert in California early Tuesday were enthusiastic. Hey, if you missed the meteor shower because it was too cloudy (I did too!) don't fret. It will be back next November, just as bright as it was this year!
12/1/1998 CLINTON DECLARES WORLD AIDS DAY
President Clinton marked World AIDS Day today by pledging a package of assistance to nations that must combat the spread of the deadly disease while caring for increasing numbers of children orphaned by it.
Clinton announced $10 million in grants for the care of AIDS orphans and highlighted a 30 percent increase in funding to the National Institutes of Health for research on HIV prevention and treatment around the world. Though the grants are small, Clinton said, they will make a huge difference by giving orphaned children a place to live, food to eat or a chance to go to school.
The president is sending his AIDS policy adviser, Sandy Thurman, to southern Africa to gather facts about AIDS orphans and report on how the United States can respond to the problem.
Today's announcement came as AIDS organizations declared Clinton had not done enough to staunch the spread of the disease both abroad and at home. They said that, research dollars notwithstanding, Clinton's administration had failed in areas such as needle exchange programs and prevention, education efforts among U.S. minorities, whose HIV infection rates are going up.
Earlier this year, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV IDS criticized Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala for an "almost complete silence and continued inaction" on needle exchanges. Clinton's drug policy chief Barry McCaffrey opposed the programs, saying they jeopardized efforts to cut drug use.
As for AIDS in the United States, Vice President Al Gore was to announce $200 million for housing assistance for AIDS patients and their families. And Clinton was highlighting an earlier announcement of $156 million toward fighting AIDS among U.S. minorities.
11/30/98 HURRICANE SEASON ENDS WITH DEADLIEST TOLL IN 200 YEARS
This year's Atlantic season won't soon be forgotten, following an onslaught of storms that left a staggering trail of death and destruction across Central America and the Caribbean.
Six of the named storms - including the season's monsters, Georges and Mitch - affected the continental United States and caused millions in damage.
The season, which started June 1, ends today after producing the deadliest toll in 200 years. And more of the same is possible next year, said the hurricane forecaster William Gray of Colorado State University.
Gray, who underestimated this season's activity, said the last four years have been the most active ever for hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. He expects even more hurricanes in 1999.
With the gradual fading of the latest cycle of the El Niño phenomenon, which tends to suppress Atlantic hurricanes, 1998 saw 10 hurricanes and four tropical storms. And for the first time since 1893, there were four hurricanes at once in September.
The death toll of Hurricane Mitch will probably never be known, although it is estimated at 10,000. The deadliest single storm on record was in 1780, killing at least 20,000 people on Martinique. A 1900 storm killed 8,000 to 12,000 at Galveston, Texas.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Here's the upcoming events for Mrs. Gibney's seventh-hour class:
LINKS
Some useful links:
GOODBYE!