ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • MAY 16 - 22, 2013 A11

MAP CORNER

This special Newspaper In Education initiative is made possible through The St. Louis American Foundation and its NIE Corporate Partners:

The St. Louis American is proud to partner with Normandy School District, the St. Louis Public School District and the Saint Louis Science Center to provide this classroom tool for STEM education for students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades, with content based on Missouri Learning Standards.

INVENTORS & INVENTIONS

DID YOU KNOW?

stlamerican.com

MATH CONNECTIONA component of mathematics is to classify types of angles. Angles can be classified in one of four ways: a right angle measures exactly 90 degrees, an acute angle measures less than 90 degrees, an obtuse angle measures more than 90 degrees, and a straight angle measures exactly 180 degrees.

Valerie Thomas’ fascination with mirrors and reflections led her to patent the illusion transmitter, which produces optical illusion images. In this experiment, you will use mirrors to test reflections.

Materials Needed: • Two Small Mirrors • Tape • Small Object

Procedure: q Tape two small mirrors together on one

side to form a right angle.

w Stand the mirrors on their sides, and place a small object between them. You will be able to see many sides of the object in the mirrors. Move the

SCIENCE CORNER

Ms. Stovall’s 5th Grade Class Gateway Elementary MST SLPSadfjalkdj asdkfla wejecvzwm woomv p aokw pofak pofpf’ f’k paefpa wef kfkfk pef aefefkawpf kepk pfakpak ‘ pkpok k e f ‘;d epoff awoe ;flp oek paekf wpowek afk;l wpe ek a,, eok aofke;f wekoe kaw ekaoka fa’f e’ fkpe ek . Photo by Wiley PriceTeachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: kjones@stlamerican.com

CLASSOOM SPOTLIGHT

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Did you know there are many types of mirrors? When the mirror is curved to bulge outward, it is called a convex

mirror. A convex mirror creates an image that is smaller than its

actual size and slightly distorted. Convex mirrors are used in vehicles for the passenger side mirrors. This design allows the driver to see more than

a typical mirror design. Convex mirrors are also sometimes used in

dressing rooms because they project an image that is taller and more slender.

Concave mirrors curve inward, like the shape of a spoon. Concave mirrors create images by bouncing light from their curvature to a focal point in front of them. Although this image appears upside down from a distance, it will flip and magnify when you are closer. Concave mirror designs have

Valerie Thomas had to overcome discrimination due to her race and her gender as she pursued her passions in science, technology, and mathematics.

Look in the newspaper for examples of people or groups of people being treated unfairly. You can look at articles, photos or cartoons. Write down the points you see that identify unfair conditions or treatment. Once you have done that, write down some ways that this unfair treatment

can be changed. Write a fully developed paragraph outlining the issues presented in the article or photo and how changes can be made to improve the situation presented. Be sure to use specific examples from your sources to support your idea. Share your information with your classmates.

Learning Standards:

I can use the newspaper to find information. I

can write for a specific purpose and audience. I can identify a problem, and

a solution. I can use supporting details.

been used in shaving mirrors and lighting the Olympic torch.

Two-way mirrors are made by lightly coating one side of a sheet of glass with a very thin, reflective material. When the coated side faces

a lighted room, some of the light reflects and some goes into a dark room behind the

mirror, making it possible to see into the lighted room but not out. If you have seen a television show or movie where police interview a witness while others watch the interrogation, you have seen one of these mirrors.

Plane mirrors are simple mirrors such as a bathroom mirror. The images they reflect look like photographs.

Learning Standards: I can identify different types and purposes of mirrors.

object closer to the mirror and farther from the mirror to observe the changes in the image.

e Move the mirrors closer together and farther apart and observe what happens to the images. You can also try placing the mirrors (not taped) facing each other with the object between them to see an endless reflection.

Analyze: What caused the image to change in the mirrors reflections?

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete an experiment. I can analyze the results.

How to Classify Angles

Use Mirrors to Test Reflections!

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Some computer components can

be reused in assembling new computer products,

while others are reduced to metals that can be reused in applications as varied as construction, flatware, and jewelry.

The National Safety Council predicts that between 315 million and 680 million computers will become obsolete within the next few years.

INVENTOr, PHYSICIST, AND MATHEMATICIAN:

Valerie Thomas Valerie Thomas was born in May of 1943. At a young age, she was fascinated with electronics and enjoyed watching her father take things apart and fix them. When she was 8 years old, she checked out a book called “The Boy’s First Book on Electronics” in hopes her dad would help her with the projects. Her dad did not encourage this interest

because, during this time, women were often discouraged from pursuing careers in math and science. Thomas received no encouragement from her private all-girl school to pursue these topics, but chose to take all of the advanced math and science courses that she could. Thomas attended Morgan State University and earned a degree in physics. At that time, she was one of only two women with that major.

After graduation, Thomas worked as a mathematician/data analyst for NASA. She was one of the first women to work in the Landsat Satellite Group. She conducted research on Halley’s comet, Voyager satellite development, and ozone hole studies. On Oct. 21, 1980, she received a patent for the illusion transmitter. This device uses a concave mirror on the transmitting and receiving end to produce optical illusion images. The illusion transmitter paved the way for our current 3D technology.

Thomas mentors young students through the National Technical Association (NTA) and Science Mathematics Aerospace research and Technology (SMArT).

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a person who contributed to the fields of math, science, and

technology.

Look at the angles below and classify them as right, \acute, obtuse, or straight.

Learning Standards: I can describe the four types of angles. I can use the definitions of the four types of angles to identify angles.

According to estimates by the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA), everyday, U.S. businesses and consumers discard 137,000 computers and 356,000 cell phones.

E-waste is growing at two to three times the rate of any other waste source. Already, electronic products account for more than 40 percent of the lead found in landfills.

Drawing for Thomas’ Patent # US4229761 A for her illusion transmitter.

How Many Types of Mirrors Are There?

90º> 90º< 180º< 90º 180º

Bangladesh Garment

Workers Changes

3 Wage Increases

3 Better Working

Conditions

3 Trade Unions

3 Safer Buildings

3 Responsible

Manufacturing

3 Increased sales prices

of goods to cover

increased costs

3 Health Care

Mrs. Dixon’s 5th Grade ClassPatrick Henry Elementary

Students Brandon Poplar, Stacy Glenn, Malaijah Carter, Casey Glenn discuss ideas for science projects using the St. Louis American newspaper and books on science.

Photo by Wiley Price