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Wondering about what we take for granted for every day....developing curiosity.

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Have you ever woken up to a falling sensation and a strong muscle twitch as you are simply lying in bed? This phenomenon is known as hypnagogic myoclonic twitch or "Hypnic Jerk," and studies have shown that roughly 70% of people have experienced it. There is no definitive answer on why this happens, but most scientists have agreed on the following explanation. When you are falling asleep your muscles become very relaxed and enter what is essentially a state of temporary paralysis. While your body is making this transition the brain can misinterpret the sudden relaxation of the muscles and instead think that you are falling. Instincts kick in and send signals to your muscles to jerk you upright which leads to a rude awakening. Studies have found that "Hypnic Jerks" occur more frequently with people who suffer from sleep anxiety, fatigue and discomfort because the brain is more easily confused. Either way, it is a normal part of the sleep process and poses no real danger.
Source: http://www.failedsuccess.com/ind...

2.) Cracking Joints:

You may not be a knuckle cracker yourself, but chances are you have heard someone doing it. This noise is caused by pockets of gas that are escaping from the joints in the hand. There is something called synovial fluid that lubricates joints and contains nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide gas. When the joint is put in an abnormal position, bubbles of these gasses are rapidly released which causes the cracking noise. The reason a knuckle can rarely be cracked twice is because it takes time for the gases to build up again. Some claim that cracking knuckles leads to arthritis, but the studies claim that it only causes minor damage to soft joint tissue. A similar cracking noise can be produced with the knee or the ankle but it is not due to escaping gas. Tendons can be pushed out of place as joints move, and when they return to their original position they can create cracking noises. Because gas does not have to build up like it does in the knuckles, this noise can often be made repeatedly.
Source:http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/my...

3.) Goose Bumps

Goose bumps are the dots that form on the skin when a person is cold, afraid, or experiencing strong emotions. The reflex that causes goose bumps is known as horripilation and it occurs in other mammals as well. The goose bumps are caused when individual muscles at the base of each hair contract which make the hair stand straight up. This reflex is linked to the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for most fight-or-flight responses. Goose bumps provide no known benefits for humans, but the reflex makes sense for animals. When humans are cold, horripilation causes their hair stand up, but humans in general do not have much body hair. For animals with fur, air pockets are trapped between the hairs which create an extra layer of insulation. In response to fear or anger, raised hair would make an animal seem larger and more intimidating. The best example of this is the porcupine whose spikes stand up when threatened. It seems that horripilation is simply a reflex left over from the evolutionary process, a constant reminder that humans were not always as they are now.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goo...

4.) Wrinkled Fingertips

If you have ever spent time in a hot tub for too long then you most likely emerged with wrinkly fingertips. They go away soon after you dry off, but what causes them to get that way? The body has three layers of skin, the subcutaneous tissue (fats, nerves, large blood vessels), the dermis (small blood vessels, nerves, hair roots, sweat glands), and the epidermis (protects the skin beneath and keeps water inside the body from evaporating). These layers are tightly connected, and biologists have found that when the skin is submerged for a long time the epidermis begins absorbing water. Because it is so tightly connected to the dermis underneath, the skin warps which leads to the wrinkles. The reason this mostly occurs on the fingers and toes is because the epidermis in those areas has calluses which take in more water.
Source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/my...

5.) Eyebrows

Many people see eyebrows as just another facial feature to be self conscious about. Some spend a great deal of time plucking, waxing, trimming, preening, shaving (frat parties), penciling, or essentially worrying about their appearance, but have they ever thought why humans have them in the first place? Evolution has removed hair from most of our bodies so why would two little strips above our eyes remain? Eyelashes and eyelids work to keep dust and other debris out of the eye, but they can not do all of the work. The eyebrows divert sweat and rain around the eyes which makes it much easier to see. If you have ever had saltwater in your eyes you know how irritating it is, and it was just annoying enough for natural selection to create eyebrows.
Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/...

6.) Chopping Onions

No matter how manly you think you are, cutting onions will make you tear up. Onions release an enzyme known as Lachrymatory-factor synthase into the air when they are cut open. The enzyme converts the sulfoxides (amino acids) in the onion into the unstable compound sulfenic acid which rearranges itself into something called syn-ropanethial-S-oxide. Syn-ropanethial-S-oxide is a chemical irritant which causes the lachrymal glands to release tears when it comes in contact. If you have never cut onions yourself than you may not be so convinced, but shortly after the knife cuts the onion you are sure to notice. Three ways to help prevent this is to run water near to where you are cutting the onion, to put the onion in the fridge half an hour before cutting it, or to avoid cutting the root. If you still tear up while cutting onions, and have nothing better to spend your money on, you can always purchase the incredibly useful for $19.95 (available in black, white, or pink!).
Source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/my...

7.) Freckles
Freckles are flat tan, brown, or black spots that can appear on skin that has been exposed to the sun. These spots are abnormal collections of melanin, a pigment that is produced by cells in the skin called melanocytes. The melanocytes create freckles to protect the skin from sunlight, and therefore they occur more often on those with lighter skin that burns more easily. Freckles are more common on the face, arms, and shoulders because those areas get the most sun. For many people freckles fade during the winter only to return during the spring and summer months. In some cases too much sun exposure can cause certain cells to become cancerous, so any suspicious looking freckles should be checked out by a dermatologist. The best way to prevent skin cancer from developing is wearing clothing or sunscreen when exposed to the sun.
Source:

8.) Sunscreen
Sunscreen is something many people trust to keep them from getting sunburnt but how exactly does it keep the skin safe from harmful UV rays? The reason sunscreen works so well is because it uses multiple active ingredients that each do their part in protecting your skin. Most sunscreens use inorganic ingredients such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide to reflect UV radiation away from the body while organic ingredients such as octyl methoxycinnamate or oxybenzone convert the remaining UV rays into heat. The end results are creams with varying SPFs (Sun Protection Factors) that keep the body protected from UV radiation.
Source: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/my...

9.) Songs Stuck in our Heads
Almost everyone has at one point or another had a song stuck in their head, and it can last hours until that annoying tune goes away. Whether it is a backstreet boys song, a simple beat, or "It's a Small World," the constant repetition can drive anyone crazy. So what exactly causes songs to get stuck in our heads? Scientists blame something they refer to as "earworms" which create a "cognitive itch" that makes the brain to fill in the gaps in a song's rhythm. Songs trigger activity in the auditory cortex of the brain, and studies have found that the part of the auditory cortex that is active when you're actually listening to a song is reactivated when you just imagine hearing the song. In other words, imagining a song will "scratch" the cognitive itch, but this just makes it worse. In any case, the song will eventually go away by itself but if you can't wait that long you can try listening to other music or distracting yourself to get it out of your head.
Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/...

10.) Hiccups
Hiccups are triggered by uncontrolled impulses of the phrenic nerve which lead the diaphragm to spasm. These contractions result in a quick intake of breath which is what we refer to as a hiccup. Hiccups can be caused many ways such as by eating or drinking too quickly, consuming spicy or cold food, drinking alcohol, or by quick breaths because of surprises, laughs, coughs, or sneezes. In some cases they occur for no real reason at all, which can be quite annoying. So how exactly does one cure the hiccups? I have heard of many remedies including drinking water upside down, holding your breath, eating peanut butter, distracting yourself one way or another, or getting someone to scare you. Some of these may seem ridiculous, but all of them either distract you or cause you to hold your breath which allows the diaphragm to relax and can help stop the spasms. If none of these remedies works, and the hiccups do not subside, it may be necessary to get medical attention. The longest case of hiccups ever recorded was with a man named Charles Osborne whose fit lasted 68 years. He hiccupped an estimated 430 million times and averaged from 20-40 hiccups a minute throughout his lifetime. Next time you find yourself complaining about hiccups, just be glad that they will be gone sooner than his were.

source: Page on supertightstuff.com

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What are some typically unnoticed but interesting scientific phenomena that happen in our daily lives?

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Answer (1 of 7): 1.) Falling Sensation: Have you ever woken up to a falling sensation and a strong muscle twitch as you are simply lying in bed? This phenomenon is known as hypnagogic myoclonic twitch or "Hypnic Jerk," and studies have shown that roughly 70% of people have experienced it.

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CA NGSS Roll-Out Grade Level Phenomena Links

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CA NGSS Roll-Out Grade Level Phenomena Links

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Ponder things we see daily and wonder about what is happening.

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Intro

Physicists have figured out some extremely fine details of the universe, from the radius of black holes to the behavior of subatomic particles neither of which we can even see. It may surprise you to learn, then, that they lack explanations (or have only recently stumbled upon them) for many common phenomena we observe in daily life.

As you'll learn in the following slides, some of the most mysterious things of all may be those that, on the face of it, seem mundane.

Nuts

Perhaps you've noticed that, in bowls of mixed nuts, the Brazil nuts always seem to be sitting on top. This is known as the "Brazil nut effect," and the seemingly mundane phenomenon is actually one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in many-body physics the science that describes large quantities of interacting objects.

Among an assortment of things (whether they be nuts, sedimentary deposits, or other objects of varying sizes), larger pieces rise to the top over time in spite of their greater gravitas, while smaller objects tend to sink lower in the pile over time. Perhaps the small stuff is trickling through cracks. Convection currents may also play a role, as might condensation of smaller particles. All of these possibilities and a few more probably contribute to the Brazil nut effect, but no one knows which ones, or to what extent, so no successful computer simulations of the phenomenon have been made.

Not only nut manufacturers, but also physicists, astronomers and geologists would all benefit from an understanding of the effect, so next time you're eating nuts or granola, or fishing the crumbs out of the bottom of a bowl of Doritos, try contemplating the physics involved.

Foam

Had a bubble bath today? Maybe not but you've probably shaved, washed dishes, had a latte or beer, or, if you're lucky, eaten a piece of pie topped with a puff of whipped cream.

We encounter foam so often that few of us step back and fully appreciate how weird the stuff really is. For starters, consider this: Is whipped cream a solid, a liquid, or a gas?

According to Douglas Durian, a professor of physics at UCLA, foams are typically 95 percent gas and 5 percent liquid. Somehow these add up to give them certain traits of solids, too. The gas in the foam separates the liquid to form a matrix of tiny bubbles, and if the bubbles' liquid walls are rigid enough, the foam can sometimes keep its shape.

However, no formula exists for predicting exactly how stiff or oozy a foam will be based on the size of its bubbles or the amount of liquid it contains. "The physics of foam is poorly understood," Durian told NASA Science.

Ice

A century and a half of scientific inquiry has yet to determine why ice can make you fall down. Scientists agree that a thin layer of liquid water on top of solid ice causes its slipperiness, and that a fluid's mobility makes it difficult to walk on, even if the layer is thin. But there's no consensus as to why ice, unlike most other solids, has such a layer.

Theorists have speculated that it may be the very act of slipping making contact with the ice that melts its surface. Others think the fluid layer is there before the slipper ever arrived, and is somehow generated by the inherent motion of surface molecules.

We know you're looking for someone or something to blame, as you lie there on the ground fuming, but unfortunately the jury is still out on this one. [ The Surprisingly Strange Physics of Water ]

Cereal

You may or may not have pondered why your breakfast cereal tends to clump together or cling to the sides of a bowl of milk. Dubbed the Cheerios Effect by scientists, this clumping phenomenon applies to anything that floats, including fizzy soda bubbles and hair particles in water after a morning shave.

Dominic Vella, a graduate student now at Cambridge University, and Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, a mathematician from Harvard University, were the first to explain the effect in terms of simple physics, which they did in a 2005 paper. The Cheerios Effect, they proved, results from the geometry of a liquid's surface.

Surface tension makes the milk's surface cave in slightly in the middle of the bowl. Because water molecules in the milk are attracted to glass, the milk's surface curves upward around the bowl's edge. For this reason, pieces of the cereal near the edge float upward along this curve, appearing as if they're clinging to the edge.

Also because of surface tension, cereal floating in the middle of your bowl dents the milk's surface, creating a dip in it. When two pieces of cereal touch, their two dents become one, and, resting in it, they stick together.

Magnets

(Image credit: Kabl00ey | Creative Commons)

Magnets: pretty weird, huh? What's up with them?

Jearl Walker, a physics professor at Cleveland State University and coauthor of the widely used textbook "Fundamentals of Physics" (Wiley, 8th Edition 2007), explains that magnetic fields naturally radiate outward from the electrically charged particles that make up atoms especially electrons.

Normally in matter, the magnetic fields of electrons point in different directions, canceling each other out. (This is why the electrons in your body don't cause you to stick to your fridge when you walk by it.) But when the magnetic fields all the electrons in an object align in the same direction, as occurs in many metals (and, obviously, in magnets), a net magnetic field is generated. This exerts a force on other magnetic objects, either attracting or repelling them depending on the direction of their own magnetic fields.

Unfortunately, trying to understand magnetism on a deeper level is essentially impossible. Though physicists have come up with a theory called " quantum mechanics" that very accurately explains the behavior of particles including their magnetism there's no way to intuitively understand what the theory really means.

Physicists wonder: why do particles radiate magnetic fields, what are magnetic fields, and why do they always align between two directions, giving magnets their north and south poles? "We just observe that when you make a charged particle move, it creates a magnetic field and two poles. We don't really know why. It's just a feature of the universe, and the mathematical explanations are just attempts of getting through the 'homework assignment' of nature and getting the answers," Walker told Life's Little Mysteries.

Static

Static shocks are as mysterious as they are unpleasant. What we know is this: They occur when an excess of either positive or negative charge builds up on the surface of your body, discharging when you touch something and leaving you neutralized. Alternatively, they can occur when static electricity builds up on something else a doorknob, say which you then touch. In that case, you are the excess charge's exit route.

But why all the buildup? It's unclear. The common (and probably partly correct) explanation says that when two objects rub together, friction knocks the electrons off the atoms in one of the objects, and these then move onto the second, leaving the first object with an excess of positively charged atoms and giving the second an excess of negative electrons. Both objects (your hair and a wool hat, say) will then be statically charged. But why do electrons flow from one object to the other, instead of moving in both directions?

This has never been satisfactorily explained, and a recent study by Northwestern University researcher Bartosz Grzybowski found that it may not even be the case. As detailed in the June issue of the journal Science, Grzybowski found that patches of both excess positive and excess negative charge exist on statically charged objects. He also found that entire molecules seemed to migrate between objects as they are rubbed together.

Clearly, the explanation of static is changing.

Rainbows

Rainbows form as sunlight shines on droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. The droplets act like prisms, "refracting" or separating light into its component colors and sending them shooting off at a range of angles between 40 and 42 degrees from the direction opposite the sun.

Of course, rainbows are no longer scientifically mysterious. They result from the way light passes through spherical drops: it is first refracted entering each drop's surface, reflected off the back of the drops, and again refracted as it leaves the drops, with all these rebounds giving it its final angular direction. This explanation has been known since the days of the 17th century physicist Isaac Newton. [ Why Can't We Reach the End of the Rainbow? ]

But imagine how mystical rainbows would have seemed before then! Because they are so beautiful and were so inexplicable they were featured in many early religions. In ancient Greece, for example, rainbows were thought to be the paths made by the messengers of the gods as they traveled between Earth and heaven.
Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.

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The Mysterious Physics of 7 Everyday Things

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Physicists have figured out some extremely fine details of the universe, from the radius of black holes to the behavior of subatomic particles neither of which we can even see. It may surprise you to learn, then, that they lack explanations (or have only recently stumbled upon them) for many common phenomena we observe in daily life.

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Video/Image Resources around the Disciplinary Core Ideas of Earth Science

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It's easy to get lost in cars and offices and grocery stores and forget that there's a bigger, more beautiful world we don't always get to see. But there's stunning stuff happening every day, in some cases right outside your door.

So let's take a whirl through some of the most incredible, sometimes mind-boggling phenomena the Earth has to offer - along with a little of the science behind them.

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25 of the coolest and most surreal natural phenomena on Earth

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It's easy to get lost in cars and offices and grocery stores and forget that there's a bigger, more beautiful world we don't always get to see. But there's stunning stuff happening every day, in some cases right outside your door.

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Video/Image Resources around the Disciplinary Core Ideas of Physics

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We often take our daily experience of life on Earth for granted, but every moment, a plethora of forces are controlling our lives. There are a surprising amount of unusual, counterintuitive, or yet-to-be-explained principles of physics that we encounter on a daily basis. In a fascinating survey of must know physics phenomena, we will discover frequently encountered occurrences that remain a mystery, bizarre forces that we fail to perceive, and how science fiction could become reality through manipulation of light.

10 Wind Chill

Our experience of temperature is pretty subjective. Humidity, individual physiology, and even our mood can change our perception of hot and cold temperatures. It's the same with wind chill: the temperature that we normally feel is not the true temperature. The air immediately surrounding the human body is warmed by body heat and stays around the body as a sort of "air cloak". This insulating cushion of air actually keeps people warm. When the wind blows on you, the cushion of air is blown away, and you are exposed to the true temperature, which feels much colder. Wind chill only affects entities that produce heat.

9 The Faster You Go, The Harder You Hit

Humans tend to think in linear concepts, largely due to some general principles of observation; if one raindrop weighs 50 milligrams, two raindrops should weigh around 100 milligrams. However, the forces that control our universe frequently subscribe to a more exponential model of reaction that follows a power distribution. An object moving at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, will strike a wall with a corresponding degree of energy. If you double the speed of an object to 80 kilometers per hour, the impact force will not double, but quadruple. This principle explains why highway crashes are far more devastating than urban accidents.

8 Orbit is Just Constant Free-fall

Satellites stand out as a notable recent addition to the stars, but we seldom ever think about the concept of orbit. We know the general idea-an object circles around a planet or other large object in space and never falls. But the reason orbit happens is surprisingly counterintuitive. When an object is dropped it falls back to the surface. However, if it is high enough and moving fast enough, the earth curves away from it before it can impact. The same effect prevents Earth from colliding with the Sun.

7 Heat Induced Freezing

Water is the most important liquid on Earth. It's is also one of the most mysterious and counterintuitive compounds in nature. One of water's lesser know properties, for example, is that hot water freezes faster than cold water. It is not fully understood why, but the phenomenon, known as the Mpemba effect, was originally discovered by Aristotle over 3,000 years ago. The mysterious effect has been attributed to a range of phenomena, but it remains a mystery.

6 Air pressure

You are currently being pressed on from above by 1,000 kilograms of air, the equivalent of the weight of a small car. This is because the Earth's atmosphere is actually quite heavy, and humans stand at the bottom of an ocean of air carrying an atmospheric pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch. We are adapted to withstand this pressure, and avoid being crushed by absorbing equally pressurized air into our bodies. However, impermeable objects such as plastic bottles released at altitude are crushed by the time they reach the Earth's surface.

5 Metallic Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table, making it the simplest element in the universe. Its atomic number of 1 means it has only 1 proton, 1 electron, and no neutrons. Although Hydrogen is known as the quintessential gaseous element, it displays some rather peculiar properties that link it to the alkali metals, rather than other gases such as helium. Hydrogen is located in the column of the periodic table just above Sodium, the volatile metal that makes up table salt. Physicists have long understood that Hydrogen behaves like a metal under extreme pressure, such as that found in stars and the core of gas giant planets. Attempts to produce the compound on Earth have been fraught with challenges, but some scientists believe they have created small samples through pressure treatments involving diamond crystals.

4 Coriolis Effects

Due to the relatively large size of planet, its motion is not directly felt by humans. However, the Earth's clockwise rotation causes objects travelling in the Northern hemisphere to be deflected in a gentle clockwise direction in what is known as the Coriolis Force. As the Earth's surface moves at a different rate relative to the atmosphere, a discrepancy between the rotation of the Earth's and the movement of the atmosphere causes an object heading towards the north to pick up the energy of the Earth's rotation, and begin to curve to the east. The opposite occurs in the southern hemisphere. As a result, navigation systems must compensate for the Coriolis Force to avoid deviation to the right or left of the target.

3 Doppler Dynamics

Sound may appear to be an independent phenomenon, but our perception of sound waves is affected by speed. Austrian physicist Christian Doppler discovered that when a moving object such as a siren produces sound waves, the waves bunch in front of the object and disperse behind it. This induced wave disturbance, known as the Doppler Effect, causes the sound of an approaching object to rise in pitch due to wavelength shortening. When the object passes, the trailing waves extend and are perceived lower in pitch. The Doppler Effect is also seen in the bunching of waves in front of a ship and the dispersing wake.

2 Sublimation

It would appeal to logic that chemicals in the process of changing from the solid state to a gaseous state would have to pass through the liquid state before entering the gaseous state. However, water is capable of transforming straight from a solid into a gas in certain situations. Sublimation may cause glaciers to disappear into thin air as lens-like concentration of sunlight turns the ice into steam. Likewise, metallic elements such as Arsenic may actually transform directly into a gaseous state when heated, releasing toxic fumes. Water may sublime at temperatures below the melting point upon application of a heat source.

1 Cloaking Devices

Rapidly developing technology is turning the strangest science fiction plots into science facts. We only see objects when light bounces off of them, producing an image with a range of wave lengths. Scientists have long theorized that objects could be rendered invisible by disrupting the way light interacts with them. If light can be deflected around an object, it could become invisible to the human eye. Recently, theory became reality when scientists produced a clear hexagonal prism that deflected light around any object inside of it. When placed in an aquarium, the prism caused a goldfish swimming into it to become invisible, while a land based cloak caused farm animals to vanish from site. The scrambling effect works according to the same principles that make stealth aircraft "invisible" to radar.

Mike Williams is an ardent follower of science with a passion for the unexplained or unusual. His writing interests include mysteries and the more perplexing facets of natural history.

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10 Bizarre Physics Phenomena - Listverse

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We often take our daily experience of life on Earth for granted, but every moment, a plethora of forces are controlling our lives. There are a surprising amount of unusual, counterintuitive, or yet-to-be-explained principles of physics that we encounter on a daily basis.

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San Diego COE Phenomena Database Toolk

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Access Google Sites with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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Search for Phenomena by Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI)

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This site is a curated collection of science phenomena for the NGSS, along with phenomenon based learning resources and help for how to use phenomenon to drive student questions in the classroom centered around 3 dimensional teaching and learning.

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6 Steps to Coming Up With an Engaging Phenomenon

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6 Steps to Coming Up With an Engaging Phenomenon

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Resource for everything NGSS

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This briefresource about phenomena was developed for educators, and describes how phenomena can be used in NGSS classrooms to drive teaching and learning.

In addition, the three minute video interview below with Brian Reiser introduces phenomena and their connection to the NGSS and three-dimensional learning:
Resource about Engineering Problems External Resources About Phenomena

Qualities of a good anchor phenomenon- a resource from the Research + Practice Collaboratory

www.ngssphenomena.com - a collection of interesting phenomena that could be instructionally productive

Video discussing phenomena in the context of evaluating instructional materials. From Achieve and the Teaching Channel.

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This briefresource about phenomena was developed for educators, and describes how phenomena can be used in NGSS classrooms to drive teaching and learning.

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NSTA Blog Post

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When I began aligning my instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS), I got lost in the details. But when I realized that phenomena could be used to anchor linked disciplinary core ideas, I started to visualize the course as a whole and was able to build storylines around the phenomena. I now begin each unit by asking students to observe or experience a phenomenon, generate questions, then design investigations to answer their questions.
How do you choose good phenomena?
First, you need to understand what is meant by phenomena. Phenomena

are observable events,

can occur anywhere in the universe,

can be explained using our knowledge of science, and

can be predicted using our knowledge of science.

Because the anchoring phenomena will be both the foundation of and common thread throughout the unit, they must be something students can't find an answer to quickly and easily with little experimentation or exploration. The phenomena must also relate to all the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and science and engineering practices (SEPs) students will encounter during the unit. They can be directly observable, like dry ice subliming or a pencil looking bent when it is resting halfway in a glass of water, or they can be portrayed in video clips, such as a slow-motion video of single replacement reaction viewed under magnification or a person doing parkour.

When planning a unit, I begin by reviewing the relevant DCIs and ask myself questions about the concepts involved. I teach physics and chemistry in high school, so this example shows my selection process for Newton's second law, covered in HS-PS-2-1.

What topics or investigations cause the most confusion for students?

What are the really important aspects of Newton's second law that will provide what students need to gain an enduring understanding?

What is abstract or invisible and would make this concept difficult for students to visualize?

Why does this matter to my students?

Can I link this topic to a challenge for students?

These questions led me to one concept in physics, objects falling to Earth. This concept can be experienced in different ways, but one video clip from YouTube exemplified the phenomena for me. It shows an ostrich feather and a bowling ball being dropped together in the world's largest vacuum chamber. Student questions about this video included these:
Why did both objects hit the ground at the same time? Why do objects fall? Was the acceleration of the objects constant as they fell? How fast were the objects going when they hit the ground?
I prefer to post student questions in the classroom throughout the unit so we can refer to them and ensure the investigations the students are designing and conducting are moving us toward a better understanding of our anchoring phenomena.

Plenty of tools are available for students as they investigate these questions, including video analysis software, motion detectors, cell phone cameras with slow-motion filming, and even traditional ticker- tape times. Once the students have been introduced to the tools, they can decide how to use them to investigate the class questions.

The following links can help you learn more about using phenomena, including examples of phenomena that can be used throughout our courses. Good luck! If you need help finding good phenomena, don't forget to visit the NSTA Learning Center or ask a question on one of NSTA's member-only e-mail lists.
Alison Hapka teaches high school physics and chemistry and works hard each day to inspire young learners to love science and the pursuit of knowledge. She received a Bachelor's degree in physics from Loyola University and a Master's degree in geophysics from Boston College. She also took certification classes from West Chester University. Before entering teaching, Hapka worked in research and development for a hazardous waste remediation company. She has taught physics, chemistry, Earth science, and computer science at the high school level. The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. Future NSTA Conferences
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When I began aligning my instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS), I got lost in the details. But when I realized that phenomena could be used to anchor linked disciplinary core ideas, I started to visualize the course as a whole and was able to build storylines around the phenomena.