RACE ROCKS AS A SCIENCE EDUCATION RESOURCE
April and May 1997
PICTURES OF THE
GROUP 4 SCIENCE PROJECT
The Group 4 Project was started as a requirement for the science students doing the International Baccalaureate in 1997. We chose as our topic " RACE ROCKS AS A SCIENCE EDUCATION RESOURCE"
The following is a list of preliminary ideas given to the 100 students
of the first year in the initial discussion of the Project.
The list was intended to stimulate the students to generate research
problems to be planned in groups before-hand and then investigated
when they went to Race Rocks.
CONTAMINATION SITES:
- iron in South tide pools
- oiled soil near storage tanks
NATURAL PRODUCTS:
- calcium carbonate in different shell species
- natural materials as dyes
- enzymes- reactivity rates in invertebrates
- alginates and other chemicals in algae
- pigments of algae
- feathers
ENERGY:
- solar energy panels and their output
- biogas potential of algae
- wind power - real, time and historical anemometer readings.
- energy system of generators.
MATERIAL CYCLING:
- nutrients of tidepool systems
- nitrogen, phosphorous
- strand line materials
- human recycling system
ADAPTATIONS:
- mussel attachment
- seaweed holdfasts
- desiccation prevention techniques
- temperature moderation techniques-algae, invertebrates
- crevasse adaptations of invertebrates
- tidepool algae salt tolerance
ON-SITE MECHANICS:
- fog horns (3 types)
- winch (2 types)
- generator
- desalinator
PHYSICAL FACTORS:
- salinity
- ph
- wind
- waves
- currents
- temperature
- light
BIOTIC FACTORS:
- biotic associations
- distribution patterns of organisms
- behavior of organisms-invertebrates, marine mammals
- productivity
- human environmental impacts
THE TOWER AS A RESOURCE:
- internal acoustics
- trajectories
- seismology
- laser aiming
- biophysics (-as an exercise machine)
MICROECOSYSTEMS:
- tidepools
- crevasses
- rainbarrels
- rock undersides
OTHER WILD IDEAS:
- GPS exercises
- ground-truthing satellite observations
- surveying and mapping
Last modified 09/06/97 by Garry Fletcher
