Science Infoblog

As part of their coursework a class of year 11 students had to imagine that they were in a newsroom reporting on increased earthquake activity around Auckland. This seismic activity had finally culminated in the disastrous formation of a new volcanic cone within the Auckland City limits. While students were working on their project the Auckland City Council civil defense planning team were doing an exercise testing their ability to cope with the real thing.

The videos show learning in progress and by themselves are not an outcome .

In the first video a scientist is being interviewed about the causes of the disaster.

and seismic activity shook the newsroom around in the second

The final video in the series rocks!

The winner of the video award will be announced shortly.

Phun lets you move objects around in 2D obeying the laws of physics. You can control gravity, how things collide, friction and the strength of motors. Download the software and see if you can make a simulation like this one on YT. Enter the competition

Competition:

1 Tell Mr West you want to enter the competition (three categories, junior, senior and interested parents/members of the community.

2 Download Phun (see previous post to dowload the software or Mr West for a copy)

3 Use the software to produce a simulation/cartoon (you will have to interact with some physics as you do this!)

4 See Mr West or Mr Duff if you need help to get started.

5 Email your simulation to Mr West (john.west@greenbayhigh.school.nz) or bring it along to E11 on a memory stick.

Entries must be in before the end of term 1

A very handsome trophy will be awarded to the winner in each category.

Have phun….get physical or use your artistic talents and get creative.

Have you ever wondered how cars, bikes helicopters and people move around in games like Grand Theft Auto 4.

Objects that move around in the real world follow Newton’s laws of motion. To develop software that mimics the real world you need to understand the physics of motion.

Rockstar North is the developer behind Grand Theft and they are based in Edinburgh Scotland. They are currently advertising for a physicist and people to test their games to check that they are realistic!

Phun is an educational, entertaining and addictive piece of software for designing and exploring 2D multi-physics simulations in a cartoony fashion and you can download it for free.

ICT Challenge trophy

Release your artistic and scientific skills. Dowload PHUN and use it to illustrate a physics concept (friction, gravity, collsions, billiard table etc)

There are three different categories for junior and senior students and a separate category for enthusiastic parents.

email mr West as an expression of interest and for further details ( john.west@greenbayhigh.school.nz ). Have PHUN