Welcome to the Science Department Homepage

“Our primary goal is to increase the scientific literacy of all of our children, by implementing an inquiry-based instructional program in which students can further develop their scientific skills.  Providing students with a vast array of scientific experiences, which are facilitated by highly qualified and dedicated professionals, will encourage the students to establish links between concepts that are tentative, subject to questioning, and revision through investigation, is vital to achieving scientific literacy for all students.”

 ~ Aresta L. Thompson

Science Expo 2008 Highlights!

Longfellow 8th graders stop and smile with Martha Council, PS Science Curriculum Specialist.February 6, 2008 -   BRIDGEPORT — The University of Bridgeport (UB) Student Center was booming with excitement and scientific talent on Wednesday as the Bridgeport Public Schools hosted its annual Science Expo.  The expo featured over 150 projects from the 7th – 12th grade winners of each school-based science fair. The top four juniors, as selected by Science Expo judges, were awarded $12,000 scholarships to UB.

 

 

 

Girls-only class hopes to improve scores

April 15, 2007 -   BRIDGEPORT — The student chatter is loud in Susan Beres' science class at 9 a.m. in Jonathan Winthrop School as 30 seventhgraders, working in teams, put finishing touches on projects for a study unit on cancer. (CT Post)

 

 

 

 

 

Murals help bring sciences to life

April 3, 2007 -   BRIDGEPORT — When Aresta Thompson is done, science will be everywhere students in Bridgeport turn.  The public schools' science director has started with the cafeteria at Thomas Hooker School.  (CT Post)

"Students Shine at 2007 Science Expo" 
~2007 Expo Slideshow

 

Rollover words for their definitions.

Learn a new Science word! Genome [n]: 1. The total genetic content contained in a haploid set of chromosomes in eukaryotes, in a single chromosome in bacteria, or in the DNA or RNA of viruses. 2. An organism's genetic material. Viscosity [n]: Physics. the property of a fluid that resists the force tending to cause the fluid to flow. Record [v]: to set down in writing or the like, as for the purpose of preserving evidence. [n]: an account in writing or the like preserving the memory or knowledge of facts or events. Surface Wave [n]: Physics. A mechanical wave that propagates along the interface between differing media, usually two fluids with different densities. Rover [n]: Ecology [n]: The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments. Also called bionomics. Nodule [n]: Anatomy. A small mass of tissue or aggregation of cells. Botany A small knoblike outgrowth, as those found on the roots of many leguminous plants. Mineralogy A small rounded lump of a mineral or mixture of minerals, usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment. Wetland [n]: A lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife. Death rate [n]: The ratio of total deaths to total population in a specified community or area over a specified period of time. The death rate is often expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 of the population per year. Spectrum [n]: Physics The distribution of a characteristic of a physical system or phenomenon, especially: a. The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, as by an incandescent body, arranged in order of wavelengths. b. The distribution of atomic or subatomic particles in a system, as in a magnetically resolved molecular beam, arranged in order of masses. c. A range of values of a quantity or set of related quantities. Gene therapy [n]: The treatment of certain disorders, especially those caused by genetic anomalies or deficiencies, by introducing specific engineered genes into a patient's cells. Spectrograph [n]: A spectroscope equipped to photograph or otherwise record spectra. Silica [n]: A white or colorless crystalline compound, SiO2, occurring abundantly as quartz, sand, flint, agate, and many other minerals and used to manufacture a wide variety of materials, especially glass and concrete. Recessive allele [n]: an allele that produces its characteristic phenotype only when its paired allele is identical Cell [n]: The smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable of independent functioning, consisting of one or more nuclei, cytoplasm, and various organelles, all surrounded by a semipermeable cell membrane. Purpose [n]: the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc. Plate tectonics [n]: A theory that explains the global distribution of geological phenomena such as seismicity, volcanism, continental drift, and mountain building in terms of the formation, destruction, movement, and interaction of the earth's lithospheric plates. Primary succession [n]: one of four types of ecological succession of plant life, and occurs in an environment in which new substrate, devoid of vegetation and usually lacking soil, is deposited. Groundwater [n]: Water beneath the earth's surface, often between saturated soil and rock, that supplies wells and springs. Hydroelectric power [n]: a form of energy generated by the conversion of free-falling water to electricity; the generation of electricity by using the motive power of water. Water pollution: The addition of harmful chemicals to natural water. Intertidal zone [n]: the area between the land and sea that is covered by water at high tide and uncovered at low tide. Smelting [v]: To melt or fuse (ores) in order to separate the metallic constituents. Purebred [adj]: Of or belonging to a recognized strain established by breeding individuals of unmixed lineage over many generations. Hanging wall [n]: a. The mass of rock overlying a mineral deposit in a mine. b. The overlying block of a fault having an inclined fault plane. Moment magnitude scale [n]: A scale used by seismologists to compare the energy released by earthquakes. Erosion [n]: the process by which the surface of the earth is worn away by the action of water, glaciers, winds, waves, etc. Impermeable [adj]: not permitting the passage of a fluid through the pores, interstices, etc. Environmental science [n]: the branch of science concerned with the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the environment and their effect on organisms. Nuclear fusion [n]: a thermonuclear reaction in which nuclei of light atoms join to form nuclei of heavier atoms, as the combination of deuterium atoms to form helium atoms. Passive transport [n]: The movement of a chemical substance across a cell membrane without expenditure of energy by the cell, as in diffusion. Water cycle [n]: The cycle of evaporation and condensation that controls the distribution of the earth's water as it evaporates from bodies of water, condenses, precipitates, and returns to those bodies of water. Trench [n]: a long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor. Filtration [n]: The process whereby fluids pass through a filter or a filtering medium Meteor [n]: a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere. pH [n]: A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, numerically equal to 7 for neutral solutions, increasing with increasing alkalinity and decreasing with increasing acidity. The pH scale commonly in use ranges from 0 to 14. Inflammatory response: The body's reaction to invading infectious microorganisms; includes an increase in blood þow to the affected area, the release of chemicals that draw white blood cells, an increased þow of plasma, and the arrival of monocytes to clean up the debris. Flash flood[n]: a sudden and destructive rush of water down a narrow gully or over a sloping surface, caused by heavy rainfall. Community [n]: a. A group of plants and animals living and interacting with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental conditions. b. The region occupied by a group of interacting organisms. Tundra [n]: One of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Animal cell [n]: a form of eukaryotic cell which make up many tissues in animals Cytoplasm [n]: The protoplasm outside the nucleus of a cell. Axon [n]: The usually long process of a nerve fiber that generally conducts impulses away from the body of the nerve cell. Communicate [v]: to give to another; impart; transmit. Mercalli scale [n]: A scale of earthquake intensity based on observed effects and ranging from I (detectable only with instruments) to XII (causing almost total destruction). Hot spot [n]: Physics. an area of abnormally high radioactivity. Geology. a region of molten rock below and within the lithosphere that persists long enough to leave a record of uplift and volcanic activity at the earth's surface. Genetics. a chromosome site or a section of DNA having a high frequency of mutation or recombination. Punnett square [n]: a diagram used by biologists to determine the probability of an offspring having a particular genotype. Red blood cell [n]: A cell in the blood of vertebrates that transports oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the tissues. Frequency [n]: a. the number of periods or regularly occurring events of any given kind in unit of time, usually in one second. b. the number of cycles or completed alternations per unit time of a wave or oscillation. Abbreviation: freq. Skeleton [n]: a. The internal structure composed of bone and cartilage that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and other parts of a vertebrate organism; endoskeleton. (b). The hard external supporting and protecting structure in many invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans, and certain vertebrates, such as turtles; exoskeleton. Estuary [n]: 1. That part of the mouth or lower course of a river in which the river's current meets the sea's tide. 2. An arm or inlet of the sea at the lower end of a river. Tributary [n]: a stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water. Wavelength [n]: Physics. the distance, measured in the direction of propagation of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation. Wave [n]: 1. a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell. 2. Physics. a progressive disturbance propagated from point to point in a medium or space without progress or advance by the points themselves, as in the transmission of sound or light. Tsunami [n]: an unusually large sea wave produced by a seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption. Upwelling [n]: A process in which cold, often nutrient-rich waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface. RNA [n]: A polymeric constituent of all living cells and many viruses, consisting of a long, usually single-stranded chain of alternating phosphate and ribose units with the bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil bonded to the ribose. The structure and base sequence of RNA are determinants of protein synthesis and the transmission of genetic information. Also called ribonucleic acid. Skeletal muscle [n]: A usually voluntary muscle made up of elongated, multinucleated, transversely striated muscle fibers, having principally bony attachments. Also called striated muscle. Inference [n]: The act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. Theory [n]: A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena. Selective Breeding [noun]: The intentional mating of two animals in an attempt to produce offspring with desirable characteristics or for the elimination of a trait. Hurricane [noun]: 1. a violent, tropical, cyclonic storm of the western North Atlantic, having wind speeds of or in excess of 72 mph (32 m/sec).
(Photo courtesy of Blackham School)

 
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