Advanced Math and Science Content

for Teachers of Advanced Learners

SCIENCE SESSION #2

Topic: - Biomimicry, Grades 6-12

Date: November 13th, 2012

Developed in partnership with DPI~AIG and

NC School of Science and Mathematics

Advanced Learners and

the new NC SCOS

Advanced Content for Teachers of

Advanced Learners

• Why? – To ensure the growth of advanced learners

– To develop teachers’ understanding of

advanced math/science content and

instructional practices

• What? – 14 Content-based PD sessions, webinar and

archived; 7 mathematics, 7 science

Myra Halpin

Ph.D. from NC State University

in Science Education –

undergraduate majors in

Chemistry and Biology

43 years teaching

experience

• 7 years in middle school

• 2 years k-5

• 4 years college

• 30 at the high school level

Why Biomimicry for my class?

Goals for teaching?

- Teach concepts in context

- Stimulate thinking

- Get students attention with interesting

information

Essential Standards – some are listed at end

but I am confident that you will think of

additional ties that I haven’t thought of for

your grade level.

Biomimicry – Bionic – Biomimetics

Humans have been learning from nature

For a long time.

Biomimetics – Otto Schmitt coined the term

in writing about his efforts to design a

trigger based on the nerve cell of a squid in

the 50’s.

Bionics – 1958 – goal to understand

nature’s principles and use them as stimuli

for innovation (then came the Bionic Man

‘74)

Biomimcry

-defined as a focus on how organisms in

nature have solved a problem that we are

trying to solve and then mimicking or learning

from that process.

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

by Janine Benyus defines biomimicry as a “new

science that studies nature's models and then

imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and

processes to solve human problems"

Biomimicry -

Nature is a model of sustainability.

For almost 4 billion years organisms

have been evolving here on earth. If an

organism survived, it has likely

developed unique adaptions to meet

challenging environments.

For example – Think of an animal that

moves slowly, how does it protect itself?

[Chat the name of an animal that

comes to your mind.]

Share your example

Porcupine

Blue tail lizard

Snail

Turtle

Puffer fish

Armadillo

Opossium

Oysters

Biomimicry- Flying Machine

• Da Vinci’s

Flying

machine

sketched

after

dissecting a

bat.

The Project Ornithopter aircraft

accelerates, by flapping, on

level pavement to lift-off speed

in a test. Credit: Project Ornithopter

Mercedes-Benz bionic car

Who would have thought that a box

shape would be aerodynamic and

stable?

Not only did they copy the body shape, they

mimicked the materials in the body. The

trunkfish has hexagonal shaped plates on

it’s side to make it ridged and strong.The

concept car uses plastic plates for light

weigh and strength.

This car is reported to be 30% lighter and

safer plus gets 55 miles per gallon.

ExploraVision National Winners

• Tejas Sundaresan

and Jaehyeong

Lee at NCSSM

were curious

about how one

could get water in

the dessert.

John Petranka

Inspiration from Beetle

Inspiration

Resourceful

Self Cleaning

plants

Lab – Make your own Water

Collecting Device

Additions -

• spacing between lines

• other hydrophobic materials such

as RainX

• Pilot test needed

Questions?

Velcro – Inspired by Cockleburr

George de Mestral, actually observed

these burrs stuck to his dog when he

was out one day, and this inspired him

to invent Velcro. Velcro comes from a

contraction of two French words: from

velours for velvet comes ‘vel’ and ‘cro’

comes from crochet, which means

hook, so Velcro might translate as

velvet hook.

Activity – Hitch Hiker

I am sure all of you have experienced

walking in the woods and getting

seed burrs stuck to your clothes.

Beggar’s Lice or Stick-tight Desmodium

cuspidatum, Fabaceae

Beggar-ticks (Bidens pilosa, Asteraceae)

Making Use of waste CO2

• Lots of interest today is how to reduce

CO2 from the air. Brent Constantz of

Stanford University was inspired to

make concrete from the CO2 after

thinking about how coral is produced

• He formed Calera, a company in

Monterrey Bay to take the waste CO2

to make a new type of cement. The

plant takes waste CO2 gas from a

local power plant and mixes it with

seawater to form carbonate, which

combined with calcium in the

seawater and makes calcium

carbonate.

Spider Silk or goat Milk

• Silk is 5 times stronger that

steel and much more

flexible.

Scientists have inserted

spider gene in goats and

the goat produces the

spider silk protein that can

be used to make silk

fibers.

Sea Shells Chemistry

How can a mussel make a glue that sticks to rocks in water.

Not only that but is strong enough to with stand the pounding

of waves. Think about this! Do you know of any glue you

can apply under water?

• ‘

Scientist have figured out how to

mimick the ‘glue’

INCH WORM

INCH Worm

John Petranka

Bullet train had a problem

of noise and vibrations

when going through tunnels

at high speeds. Engineer

were inspired by birds

entering the water without

making a splash to change

the front end of the train.

Resources

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpflickr/8086655155/

• http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_arc

hitecture.html

• http://www.asknature.org/article/view/what_is_biomimicry

• http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs.html

• http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/case-studies/

Biology:

Bio 2.1 Analyze the interdependence of living organisms within their environments.

Bio 2.2 Understand the impact of human activities on the environment (one generation affects the next).

Bio 3.2Understand how the environment, and/or the interaction of alleles, influences the expression of genetic traits.

Bio 3.4 Explain the theory of evolution by natural selection as a mechanism for how species change over time.

Bio 4.1 Understand how biological molecules are essential to the survival of living organisms

Bio 4.2 Analyze the relationships between biochemical processes and energy use in the cell.

Chemistry

Chm 2.1 Understand the relationship among pressure, temperature, volume, and phase.

Chm 3.1 Understand the factors affecting rate of reaction and chemical equilibrium.

Chm 3.2 Understand solutions and the solution process.

Physics:

Phy 1.3 Analyze the motion of objects based on the principles of conservation of momentum, conservation of energy

and impulse.

Phy 2.1 Understand the concepts of work, energy, and power, as well as the relationship among them.

Phy 2.3 Analyze the nature of moving charges and electric circuits.

Phy 3.1 Explain charges and electrostatic systems.

Essential Standards

• 8.E.1 Understand the hydrosphere and the impact of humans on local

systems and the effects of the hydrosphere on humans. 1.1.-4

• 8.L.3 Understand how organisms interact with and respond to the biotic

and abiotic components of their environment.

• 8.L.5 Understand the composition of various substances as it relates to

their ability to serve as a source of energy and building materials for

growth and repair of organisms.

Essential Standards 2

Preview of Things to come

• December – What is Color?

Planned for later –

Energy and Sustainability

Nano-biotechnology

Space Exploration

Unique opportunities for

students

RESOURCES

• NCSSM – www.ncssm.edu

• halpin@ncssm.edu

• Links for DPI Science

• Sneha Shah-Coltrane DPI Director of Gifted Education and Advanced Programs

919-807-3849 Sneha.shahcoltrane@dpi.nc.gov