Mythbusters Assignment

Running Head: MYTHBUSTERS Standard #5: Application of Content The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use
differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues. Name of Artifact: MythBusters Date: February 2012 Course: EDUC224- Introduction to Scientific Inquiry Brief Description: This was a two week project assigned to help us students evaluate the process of scientific questioning/inquiry. The assignment required that we find and watch an episode of The MythBusters and analyze the experiment and scientific process they pose in that particular episode. Rationale: To demonstrate my understanding of Standard #5 Application of Content, I have chosen to include my MythBusters assignment because it demonstrates my ability of accessing, researching and evaluating information in order to determine its quality and validity.
MYTHBUSTERS
MythBusters Rita Mitchell Ivy Tech Community College
MYTHBUSTERS
MythBusters Introduction Science is all around us. That fact can be proven by the stars Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of Discovery Channels original series MythBusters. The show aims to expose the truth about popular myths and legends by putting those theories to the test against the scientific method. The show I chose to write about posed the question, Does one stay drier by running instead of walking in the rain? Common sense might tell you of course you do, but is that really a scientific fact? The Concept Jamie and Adams scientific process began by asking one another questions about the topic. They both expressed pre-existing knowledge on what they believed would cause conflict proving the theory. They then began to devise a plan on how to conduct the experiment. Jamie mentions how they must control the factors of the velocity of the rain. Velocity is a very important term to consider, it is often used interchangeably with speed which is incorrect. Mother Nature is unpredictable. To help scientist get an accurate measurement of an objects movement they use formulas similar to velocity and acceleration. These formulas explain motion as it relates to position, time, and distance. Velocity is the change in an object's position with respect to time and direction. (Physical Science, 2008) Velocity is measured by taking an objects
MYTHBUSTERS
change in position divided by the time it took to change that position: Velocity= Distance/Time. (Physical Science, 2008) Acceleration is the change in velocity of an object with respect to time. (Physical Science, 2008) Acceleration is measured by taking the change in velocity of an object divided by the time it took to change that velocity: Acceleration= change in velocity/time. (Physical Science, 2008) Not only did Jamie and Adam have to consider these two factors for rain but also the speed of a persons movement when walking through the rain. Speed must be calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the amount of time it took to travel. (Physics Class, 2011) Experimentation In this episode Jamie and Adam set up a homemade rain indoor course which was 150 feet in length that had sprinklers attached to the top of the ceiling. The two of them decided to wear the same cotton jumpsuits during the experiment so that clothing will not become a negative factor. They had the suits weighed dried before wearing them through the course so that they can subtract the initial weight from the weight of the newly wet suit. They also did four trials a person by walking twice and running twice with the variable of a fan to see if wind power would make a difference. To help get the velocity they set up a motion camera to capture the amount of rainfall, and used a stopwatch to measure the speed of each persons time moving through the course. The Conclusion After several trials and changing the wind variable Jamie and Adam where able to prove that by running you actually get wetter. They determined that the speed a person is going times the velocity of the rainfall will result in exposure to more or less water. I believe that most of
MYTHBUSTERS this experiment is based on solid scientific principles. They considered various parts of the investigation carefully and were able to average good results. One question I am somewhat confused about is if the rain were heavier or if the ground beneath them was more saturated like mud would the results stay constant or change drastically? While that question remains to be pondered remember that it is better to walk than run.
MYTHBUSTERS Resources
Discovery Communications. (2012). Running in the Rain Mini Myth.[Video] Retrieved on January 28, 2012. http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-running-in-the-rainminimyth.html Physical Science Teacher.com. (2008). Velocity and Acceleration. Retrieved from http://physicalscienceteacher.com/physics/velocity_acceleration.php The Physics Classroom. (2012). Describing motions with words. Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1dkin/u1l1d.cfm

Mythbusters Assignment

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Mythbusters Assignment

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Running Head: MYTHBUSTERS Standard #5: Application of Content The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use

MythBusters Rita Mitchell Ivy Tech Community College

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