FrontPage

 

 

 http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/SB/templates.htm - Smart Board Templates

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/grade/7-8/  - Read, Write, Think

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_7th.htm - Grade 7 Resources

 

http://www.brainpop.com/ - Brain Pop - All Subjects

 

http://atozteacherstuff.com/Lesson_Plans/lessonplans-middleschool.shtml - Middle School Lessons - All Topics

 

 

Social Studies

 

 

http://www.homeworkspot.com/middle/socialstudies/ - Social Studies Sites

 

http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/contnent.htm - World Atlas.com

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm - Interactive Map Quizzes

 

http://www.kbears.com/continents.html - Interactive Maps

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_7th_social.htm - Grade 7 Social Studies

 

 

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/7thSocSt.htm - 7th Grade Social Studies

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_8th_social.htm - 8th Grade Social Studies

 

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/circumcode.htm - Mr. Nussbaum's Social Studies

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/World_Continents.htm - Continents

 

 

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/continentscode2.htm - Interactive Continents - Mr. Nussbaum

 

 

 

http://teacher.scholastic.com/histmyst/index.asp - Mysteries of History 

 

 

 

http://www.sldirectory.com/teachf/socsci.html - Middle School Social Studies

 

http://www.middleweb.com/CurrSocStud.html - Middle School Social Studies

 

http://mrdonn.org/ - Mr. Donn Power Points - History & Geography

 

http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie.html - Animated Atlas - USA

 

http://www.2learn.ca/kids/social/listSocCHSWG5.asp?ID2=1 - People of the World

 

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/12188-the-medieval-era-europes-bubonic-plague-video.htm - Bubonic Plague Film

 

http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/ - Languages of Australia

 

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html - CIA World Fact Book

 

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/geog.html - Discovery School Geography Lessons

 

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Home_Page/AFR_GIDE.html  - Africa - All Countries

 

http://jc-schools.net/PPTs-socst.html#Grades6-12 - Social Studies Power Points

 

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/ - World Map Quizzes

 

http://regions.pppst.com/mideast.html - Geography Power Points

 

http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_Constitution.shtml - Best History Site

 

http://www.ipl.org/div/cquest/ - World Culture Tour with Ophelia & Parsifal

 

http://www.un.org/pubs/cyberschoolbus/ - UN Nation Info for Kids

 

http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/home.html - Salem Witch Trials

 

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Home_Page/AFR_GIDE.html - Africa - All Countries

 

 

 

https://www.cia.gov/index.html - CIA Site

 

 

 

 

http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/25202/F8190285-EE2F-5346-FABCB55B8BBA8951.pdf - Geography of the South

 

 

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/index.html - Ben Franklin's Guide to Government

 

http://web.dps.k12.va.us/ParkAve/usgov.htm - U.S. Government Quiz

 

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/index.html - Ben Franklin's Guide for Kids

 

http://www.constitutionfacts.com/?page=foundingFatherShort.cfm - Which Founding Father Are You?

 

http://www.besthistorysites.net/Multimedia.shtml - Best History Site Games & Activities

 

 

 

 

http://www.maps.com/FunFacts.aspx - Map Games

 

http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html - World Religions

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/History/presidents/Presidents_menu.htm - US Presidents

 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/white-house-101/ - White House & Presidents

 

http://www.congressforkids.net/ - Congress for Kids

 

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/lcflash.htm - Lewis & Clark - Interactive

 

http://www.classbrain.com/artholiday/publish/article_159.shtml - Lewis & Clark Sites

 

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/index.html - Lewis & Clark - PBS

 

http://www.classroomhelp.com/links/lewisandclark.html - Lewis & Clark Sites

 

http://www.kshs.org/teachers/trunks/pdfs/corps_3_lesson_2.pdf - Lewis & Clark Project

 

http://www.myschoolhouse.com/courses/O/1/73.asp - Lousiana Purchase Interactive Quiz

 

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/war1812.htm - War of 1812 - Interactive

 

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-socst.htm - Interactive Social Studies

 

http://geography.mrdonn.org/5themes-definitions.html - 5 Themes of Geography

 

http://bogglesworldesl.com/continents_worksheets.htm - Continents & Oceans

 

http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/g101ilec/mainmenu/mnmenufr.htm - Geography 101 - Maps of the World

 

http://abcteach.com/directory/researchreports/maps/countries/ - World Maps - Printable

 

http://abcteach.com/directory/researchreports/maps/states/ - USA State Maps - Printable

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm - Interactive USA State Games

 

http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/world.htm - World Atlas - Includes Oceans & Ocean Floors

 

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/europe_map.htm - European Map - Interactive

 

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/asia_map.htm - Asia  - Interactive Map

 

http://www.fekids.com/img/kln/flash/DontGrossOutTheWorld.swf - Don't Gross Out the World - Dining Habits

 

http://www.historyonthenet.com/Titanictreasure/treachery_on_the_titanic_start.htm - Treachery on the Titanic

 

http://www.theteachersguide.com/Titanic.html - Titanic Links

 

 

http://www.50states.com/ - State Information

 

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/tools/socst-hs.html - Interactive Social Studies  &  Quizzes

 

 

 

http://www.quia.com/jg/42004.html - Geography Quiz

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/World_Continents.htm - Geography/Ocean Interactive Map & Quizzes

 

 

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/history.htm - Interactive History

 

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/usconstitution/quiz/ - Constitution Quiz

 

http://www.constitutionfacts.com/ - Constitution & Founding Fathers Quizzes - Interactive

 

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/tools/amer-gov-cs.pdf - Bill of Rights Cheat Sheet

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/analyzing-purpose-meaning-political-794.html - Analyzing Political Cartoons

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/argument-persuasion-propaganda-analyzing-829.html - WW II Posters - Persuasion

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/8SocSt.htm - Social Studies - Grade 8

 

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/tools/socst-hs.html - High School Social Studies Sites - Interactive & Powerpoints

 

http://www.softschools.com/grades/6th_and_7th.jsp - Science & Social Studies

 

 

http://www.brainpop.com/spotlight/thelaw/  - Brain Pop - The Law

 

http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edsoc.htm - Social Studies Sites 

 

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/SS-units/gov-civics.html - Social Studies Online

 

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ - Brain Pop Social Studies

 

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/SS-units/gov-civics.html#Interactive_ - Interactive Social Studies 

 

http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/ss_skills_tutor/# -  Tools

 

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/games_quizzes/electiongame/game.asp  - If You Were President

 

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/hmss/3/unit/act4.1blm.html - Know Your Rights 

 

http://constitutioncenter.org/ - Constitution Center 

 

http://www.neok12.com/American-Civil-War.htm - Civil War Videos

 

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/civilwarpage.htm - Civil War - Interactive

 

 

http://www.theteachersguide.com/Civilwar.html - The American Civil War Links

 

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/freemovies/civilwar/ - Civil War - Brain Pop

 

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-interactive/19407/57665/Events-leading-to-the-Battle-of-Gettysburg - Gettysburg Battle Interactive

 

 

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/kids/metricpyramidfinal1.pdf - Metric Pyramid 

 

http://www.brainpop.com/science/motionsforcesandtime/buoyancy/preview.weml - Buoyancy

 

 

Grade 7

 

 

Grade 8 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science

 

 

http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/SB/templates.htm - Lab Report Procedure

 

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chartstables/l/LabSheet1.pdf - Lab Report Template

 

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/Summer_Training/Elementary97/SLOF1.html - *  Lab Report

 

http://donnayoung.org/f10/science-f/labforms/labreport.pdf - Lab Form

 

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/?pID=fair - Science Experiments & Science Fair Projects

 

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/scigames.htm - Science Games

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Elementsgames.htm - Chemistry Games

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/yjackie/index.php - Yellow Jackie - Science Mystery

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/tbs/ - Blackout Syndrome -

Science Mystery

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/rov/ - River of Venom - Science Mystery

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/arc/ - Arctica - Science Mystery

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/croak/ - Croak - Science Mystery

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/arp/ - Angry Red Planet - Science Mystery

 

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/twoforks/ - Two Forks Idaho - Science Mystery

 

 

http://www.microbeworld.org/ - Microbe World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://msteacher.org/epubs/science/science4/lessons.aspx - Middle School Science Portal - Lessons, etc.

 

 

http://www.brainpop.com/spotlight/weird/ - Weird Science - Brain Pop

 

http://www.examiner.com/x-55372-BP-Examiner~y2010m6d24-Gulf-Oil-Live-spill-feed-cam-leak-meter - Live - Gallons in Gulf Oil Leak

 

http://www.rossarts.org/naples/examples.htm - Science Fair Example - Tri Chart

 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/example-of-a-science-project.html - Science Projects

 

 

http://chemistry.about.com/od/testsquizzes/Chemistry_Tests_Quizzes.htm - Science Quizzes

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_7th_science_new.htm - Grade 7 Science

 

 

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_8th_science.htm - Grade 8 Science

 

http://video.pbs.org/  - PBS Videos

 

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/kids/ - Science Sites for Kids

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/ - Science News for Kids

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/gamezone/ - Science Related Games

 

http://www.sldirectory.com/teachf/scied.html - Science Sites

 

http://web.vims.edu/bridge/lesson.html - Science Sites

 

http://www.sldirectory.com/teachf/scied.html - Middle School Science

 

http://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/ - The Atoms Family (Monster Science)

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20061101/SciFiZone.asp - Monster Madness Game

 

http://www.crimespider.com/cgi-bin/search/extremesearch.cgi?dir=Virtual%20Crime%20Solving/Online%20Mystery%20Games  - Mystery Games & Crime Solving

 

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/homeworkhelp/science/science_homework_help.html - Science Homework Help

 

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/video-in-the-classroom/young-scientist-challenge.cfm - Young Scientist Challenge

 

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml - Science Experiments

 

http://www.wonderville.ca/v1/home.html - Wonderville

 

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_guide_index.shtml - Scientific Procedure

 

http://www.easy-kids-science-experiments.com/science-experiments-middle-school.html - Middle School Science Experiments

 

http://www.easy-kids-science-experiments.com/kids-science-websites.html - Favorite Kids' Science Experiments

 

http://www.billnye.com/ - Bill Nye the Science Guy

 

http://www.sciencemonster.com/ - Science Monster

 

http://www.easy-kids-science-experiments.com/water-science-projects.html - Water Experiments

 

http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/quick/quick.html - Quick & Easy Science Experiments

 

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/views/hhView.cfm?guidAssetId=745c5f64-2c62-4d69-aeaf-078c3528e193 - Ponder This

 

 

 

http://www.neok12.com/ - Science Videos, Games, Quizzes 

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/science.htm - Interactive Science

 

http://www.neok12.com/quiz-games.htm - Science Quizzes by Topic

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/tectonics/# - Earthquake simulation

 

http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/19658/2137D3D0-98F6-B3AE-E8CD90771231E951.pdf  - Dr. Dad's PH3

 

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/video-in-the-classroom/bill-nye-stuff-happens.cfm - Bill Nye - Stuff Happens in the Bathroom

 

 

http://www.dpnr.gov.vi/dep/consumers.htm - EPA Science Site for Kids

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/category/interactives-extras/interactives-games/ - Nature Interactives & Games

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Elementsgames.htm - Chemical Elements Games

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/periodictable_L.html - Periodic Table - Interactive

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/periodictable_L.html - Interactive Periodic Table

 

http://www.eco-pros.com/renewableresources.htm - Ecological Science Sites (Bottom of Page)

 

http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/dna_intro.htm - Intro to DNA

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/scienceforkids/life_cycle/index.htm - Life Cycles

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/lesson_plans/bloodysuckers2.html - Mosquito Lessons

 

http://www.howstuffworks.com/mosquito.htm - Mosquito - How Stuff Works

 

http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/mosbiol.htm - Mosquito - Rutgers

 

http://insected.arizona.edu/lesson_05/lplan.htm - Mosquito Lab

 

http://insected.arizona.edu/lesson_05/lplan.htm - Mosquito Assessment & Insect Info

 

http://insected.arizona.edu/lesson_05/mosquitolife.htm - Mosquito Life Stages

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/lesson-plans-grades-grades-5-and-6.pdf - Insects & Other Pests

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/feeding-frenzy.pdf - Experiment - How Insect Mouth Parts are Adapted

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/camouflage.pdf - Stealth & Survival Insect Camouflage

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/youre-on-insect-camera.pdf - Insect Camera Experiment

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/a-day-in-the-life-of.pdf - A Day in the Life of an Insect

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/feeling-buggy.pdf - Insects & Humans - Comparisons

 

http://www.orkin.com/downloads/create-an-insect.pdf - Create an Insect

 

http://insected.arizona.edu/default3.html - Insect Education - Univ. of Arizona

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/health/anatomy/cell/index.htm - Cell Tutorials, Games, Quizzes

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/endangered_animals/endangeredanimals_1.htm - Endangered Species & Their Habitats

 

http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/quick/quick.html - Science Experiments

 

http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/agesubject/subject.html - Hands on Science Lessons

 

 

http://www.cool-science-projects.com/Middle-School-Science-Projects.html - Cool Science Projects 

 

http://www.cool-science-projects.com/volcano-project.html - Volcano Experiments

 

http://www.cool-science-projects.com/egg-science-project.html - Egg Science

 

http://www.cool-science-projects.com/simple-machine-science-project.html - Simple Machines

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20100428/Feature1.asp - New Waves for Safe Flying

 

http://www.imaginon.org/fun/whippingboy/aratslife.asp?themeid=2&activityid=9 - Rat's Life

 

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/fling/plague/index.shtml - Bubonic Plague Game - Fling the Teacher - Interactive

 

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/The-Problem-of-the-Plague-43008.html - The Problem of the Plague - Interactive Game

 

http://teacher.scholastic.com/histmyst/index.asp - History Mysteries - Scholastic

 

http://www.secretsatsea.org/ - Secrets at Sea Interactive Game

 

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20100512/TeacherZone.asp - The Algae Invasion

 

http://www.bigelow.org/edhab/fitting_algae.html - Algae

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20030402/Note2.asp - Chemicals Killing Algae

 

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20100512/Note3.asp - Mercury in Tuna

 

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/tools/science-ms.html - Middle School Science

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/sciencefairzone/topics.asp - Science for Kids

 

http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/forensics/pract-rpt.html - Lab Report

 

 

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistrylabexperiments/a/labreports.htm - Writing a Lab Report 

 

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chartstables/l/LabSheet1.pdf - Lab Report Template

 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/450163/Lab-Report-Template - Lab Report Template

 

http://sites.google.com/site/grahamscience/samplelabreport.JPG

 

http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/dissection/html/glenintdissdemo.html  - Frog Dissection

h  

http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edsci.htm - Science Lessons - All Topics

 

http://www.fossweb.com/modulesMS/index.html = Foss Web Science - All Topics

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_8th_science.htm - Internet for Classrooms Science - Gr. 8

 

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_7th_science.htm - Internet for Classrooms Science - Gr. 7

 

http://www.tipton-county.com/mms/practice%20tests%207.htm - 7th Grade Science Tests

 

http://www.hersheypark.com/groups/pdf/middlehigh.pdf - Hershey Park Science

 

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/wanted.htm - Famous Scientists

 

 

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/mosquito_tool/ - Mosquito Breeding Sites - Interactive

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20040107/Feature1.asp - Sounds in Nature

  

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/kids/metricpyramidfinal1.pdf - Metric Pyramid

 

http://www.funbrain.com/measure/index.html - Measure It

 

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/goodscientists.pdf - Puzzle

 

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/lessons/dogs_turnips/dogs_and_turnips.html - Scientific Ideas Through Reasoning  -  Word Game 

 

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/matter.pdf - Properties of Matter Notes

 

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/mfm05_pg50_newton/mfm05_pg50_newton.html  - Newton's 2nd Law - Push the Shopping Cart

 

http://history1900s.about.com/od/1900s/a/typhoidmary.htm - Typhoid Mary

 

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/b/bubonic_plague/intro.htm#whatis - Bubonic Plague Info

 

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/broadstreetpump.html - Broad Street Pump

 

http://www.sciencecourseware.org/VirtualEarthquake/VQuakeExecute.html - Virtual Earthquake

 

http://www.webelements.com/index.html - Periodic Table

 

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/chap2.asp - Bottled Water vs. Tap

 

http://hubblesite.org/ - Hubble

 

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/time/seasons.html - The Seasons

 

http://www.solarviews.com/ - The Solar System

 

http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/  - Astronomy

 

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/time/tides.html - Lunar Tides

 

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/seas/html/classroom/matrix_58.html?printable  - Ocean Topics

 

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02galapagos/background/education/media/gal_gr5_6_l3.pdf - Invent a Deep Sea Invertebrate 

 

http://www.dosits.org/ - Sounds of the Sea & Sea Creatures

 

http://www.epa.gov/owow/OCPD/Marine/contents.html - Turning the Tide on Marine Trash

 

http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/shark-videos/ - Shark Videos

 

http://42explore.com/shark.htm - Shark Site 

 

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001458/shrkquiz.htm - Shark Quiz - Interactive

 

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001458/ - Shark Movies

 

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001458/ - The Truth About the Monsters of the Deep

 

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20031112/Note3.asp - Plastic Endangers Seals

 

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/form_wildcats.htm# - Build a Food Web

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.softschools.com/grades/6th_and_7th.jsp - Science & Social Studies 

 

 

 

 

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/dietcoke.htm - Coke Float Experiment

 

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/dunkinfordensity.pdf - Dunkin' for Density Experiment

 

http://pzweb.harvard.edu/ucp/curriculum/pressure/s2_reinforcement_cup.pdf - Forces in Fluids - Upside Down Cup

 

http://www.workman.com/more/games/fliersclub/ - Paper Airplane Interactive

 

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/emm05_pg77_electromag/emm05_pg77_electromag.html  - Electromagnets - Lift Interactive

 

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/emm05_pg41_circuits/emm05_pg41_circuits.html - Can You Light Up the Bulbs?

 

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/mem05_pg69_potential/mem05_pg69_potential.html  - Potential & Kinetic Energy - Take the Paint Can Up the Ladder

 

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/mfm05_pg126_coaster/mfm05_pg126_coaster.html - How Roller Coasters Work

 

http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/wslm05_pg18_graph/wslm05_pg18_graph.html - Waves

 

 

THE GULF COAST OIL LEAK

 

 

Gusher in the Gulf

By Bill Nye | Published: May 28, 2010 – 9:56 am

For over a month now, a broken oil well has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

The last few days, I’ve appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News regarding the oil and gas gushing from the Gulf of Mexico’s seafloor. Watching and listening to spokesmen and reporters up close gives one a deep sense of how serious this whole business is. From the chairs in these various studios, it’s quite a ride.

When we drill into a deposit of oil, it often comes gushing out because the hollow spaces underground hold natural gas along with liquid oil. The gas acts like the propellant in a can of hairspray or paint. It was produced by ancient bacteria, and its pressure is still there. When we poke a hole in the underground cavity, sometimes we get a gusher; sometimes we get what petroleum workers often call, a “blowout.” The Deepwater Horizon rig was destroyed by a catastrophic blowout of natural gas and oil. It caught a spark, probably from one of the dozens, or hundreds, of electric motors on board, and the whole rig blew up killing 11 men.

With all this, oil workers look to avoid blowouts. Whenever we run pipes anywhere, we put valves in the lines. For a couple of centuries, we have been drilling for oil. So at the top of each well, we put a shutoff valve.  The bigger the well; the bigger the shutoff. This well is huge, 53 centimeters (21 inches) across. So, the shutoff valve is huge. It weighs more than a hundred tons. By long tradition, it’s called a Blow-Out Preventer (B.O.P.).

Here, the expression “preventer” is, at best, inappropriate. It didn’t prevent anything as far as we can tell.

The idea now is to pump a fluid that will block the flow. In the oil field this fluid is often a special mixture whose molecules lock together when it’s under pressure. Oil drillers call it “mud.” It looks like mud, but there’s more to it.

The molecular lock-together feature of a fluid is called “dilatancy.” The classic dilatant fluid in our everyday experience is cornstarch mixed with a small amount of water. It’s goopy, until you slap it or shake it. It locks up and does not splatter at all. So it is with drilling mud.

British Petroleum (BP) has been pumping drilling mud into the Preventer plumbing for almost two days. It seems to have slowed the oil flow a little, but not enough.

The engineers, or at least the spokesmen for the engineers, said they plan a “junk shot.” The idea is to add bits of hard  material to the mud. Traditionally, in the Texas oil field, drillers add cut-up car tires and old driving range golf balls. This “bridging” material sometimes helps the dilatant mud molecules lock up. The pipe is so big, and the flow so fast, that a golf ball isn’t really that big an object. It could easily jam against an edge or pipe joint– and that would be good. Looking at the BP executive’s faces, it doesn’t seem like this is going to work either.

Next, I expect engineers along with the Remotely Operated submarine Vehicle (ROV) drivers will cut some large portion of the top preventer off. The next pipe up the drill string is called the “riser,” and I imagine that’s what they’ll go after next. It’s big job because the material is a hard type of stainless steel. And, it’s a long way around the big pipe with a fancy saw and buffing grinder, especially when you’re doing it with a claw-fingered robot to work the material and grainy video to guide you.

After that, I hope the managers let go of the idea of trying to capture any more oil until the relief, or drilled-in-from-the-side, well is cut. I hope they put a cap or slug made from a few thousand tons of concrete on top. They could let it ooze very slowly for a few weeks, until they can get to the well casing or liner by coming in from the side. Drilling these relief wells will take a few months, because it’s, once again, miles down and hundreds of meters of solid rock.

About the rate of oil flow: there have been a great many questions about how much oil is flowing per day. At first, looking at satellite data, people thought it was about 5,000 barrels a day. A barrel is 42 gallons. So, it’s a great many gallons. (A “drum” is 55 gallons– another confusing feature of the old English system of units.) Well, it turns out most of the oil isn’t making it to the surface of the sea. It’s floating somewhere in between the sea floor and surface– a goopy mess for any living thing in the ocean.

I have some small experience in oil fields, or in the “oil patch.” I worked for a shipyard that built the world’s premier oil slick skimming boat. We had a machine derived from skimming technology that performed the seemingly trivial task of separating oil and water.

You might think it would be easy, but in nature, dust particles or plankton organisms (plankters) get covered with oil in such a way that they neither sink nor float. They’re neutrally buoyant. As small globs of oily goo, they clog up all kinds of plumbing– including the gills, fins, and wings of fish and birds.

This fundamental experience helped me explain to news anchors and viewers why there was such discrepancy between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations satellite assessment of size of the spill compared with the measurement of the pipe gusher’s oil leak.

I hope BP takes this business very seriously. Any information they are not disclosing will come out one day when various employees or friends of employees reveal the true decision process. I remain concerned that the traditions of oil spills on land are too strongly influencing the procedures being developed on the bottom of the Gulf, an ecosystem people all over the world depend on.

We use a lot of energy. This disaster helps us recognize how complex or oil technology is, and how much can go wrong. Let’s learn from this, wean ourselves from oil, and change the world.

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Science Lab Report - Bloom's Taxonomy 

 

Bloom’s Experiment Form (for use with any Science Topic)

 

Remembering

List the materials used in this experiment.

Materials: _________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Understanding

Outline the procedure for conducting this experiment

Procedure:

1. _______________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________

 

Applying

Record data observed and collected during your experiment.

Data:

What I did	What I observed

Analysing

Examine your data and draw conclusions.

Conclusions:

1. _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Evaluating 

Describe how you would rate the success of you experiment.  Establish a set of criteria for measuring the result.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Creating

Create a series of “What if” statements about your data to show things that might be different should variables be changed.

What if… __________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________What if… __________________________________________________________