FBRI & the Middle School Connection

Young Naturalist Award

A research-based essay contest for students in grades 7 - 12 to promote participation and communication in science.

American Museum of Natural History

Survey of Various Logging Equipment and Its Relative Capacity to Harvest Biomass in Maine
Ian Stone

Adviser: Dr. Benjamin

The purpose of this project is to determine the amount and types of logging equipment utilized throughout the state of Maine. This project should provide knowledge about equipment that can be used in biomass energy harvests. Previous studies have used mail surveys of loggers to determine unused logging capacities (Egan et al 2006). Comprehensive knowledge of the amount of various pieces of equipment in operation would be very useful to determine the amount of equipment currently in use that has the potential to harvest biomass for energy purposes. The study will also show if loggers could use current equipment to harvest biomass for this emerging market, or if new equipment will have to be purchased. To accomplish this, a phone survey of insurance agents will be conducted. Results from this survey will establish whether most of the insurance is underwritten by in-state companies. If it is determined that in-state companies hold a majority of the market share, information from these companies will then be used to determine types of equipment that are being insured. Since even used logging equipment is quite expensive, almost all contractors would have a note on their equipment. Due to this fact, little to no logging equipment would be uninsured and the data from the insurance companies should capture 90 percent or better of the equipment. A second survey of logging contractors will be used to determine the logging systems they employ, whether they carry insurance on their equipment, and the amount of fuel that is used and relative efficiencies. In addition to these basic questions several questions will be asked to determine logger perceptions toward biomass harvest and their willingness to engage in this market. Expected findings are that the underwriter insurance companies’ records will provide sound information on the amount of equipment in use. In addition, the survey response rate from logging contractors is expected to be low, but the response rate in the sample should correspond well to the information from the insurance companies. If this is true, it means that information obtained from insurance companies about the logging equipment insured is likely what logging equipment is actually being used. This information can then be used in the future to determine combinations of equipment that could possibly be used in biomass harvests, as well as what equipment, if any, the average logger would need to purchase to break into this market.

Interview with Ian Stone on July 7, 2008 (39:31 minutes)

Wood Fuel Chemistry (BangorDaily News 07/26/07 - pdf file)

Become a more informed energy customer. Ask your parents if you can see your family’s energy bill and come up with ways to reduce your monthly energy usage.

Download the “Electric Bill” Worksheet (pdf file)

Bangor Hydro Example Electric Bills

• Big Company
• Ima Freezin
• Jack Russell
• Mickey Mouse
• John Q. Public
• Mr. & Mrs Jack Sprat

Making Paper
10 easy steps

down load the pdf file: Make Paper

Today there is a revival in homemade papermaking crafts. Not only is it a fun experience for you, but also it’s a good way to recycle scrap paper into wonderful possibilities. Below you will find a simple papermaking recipe to get you started. If this is the first time you are making paper, don’t be afraid to experiment with different fibers. Add whole flower heads to the pulp mixture or add scraps of yarn, tin foil, even seeds. Its all comes down to what you want. Experiment with different textures and colors. Remember, some of your ideas will turn out while others may not. Have fun with it and express your creativity.

Simple Recipe:
Paper Possibilities include:

• Computer Paper (unprinted)
• Newspaper (If you want a grayish colored paper)
• Magazines
• Paper Bags
• Office Paper
• Typing Paper
• Napkins
• Construction Paper

Materials:

• Sponge
• Screened wood frame
• Wood Frame (mold)
• Plastic Basin/Tub
• Fabric
• Liquid starch (optional)

Instructions:
1. Select the type of paper to be recycled. You can even mix different types to create your own unique paper.

2. Shred your paper and mix in warm water (little by little). Stir the paper slurry until no flakes of paper remain. If there are, stir longer.

3. Now is the time to add the liquid starch for sizing (this is not necessary but if the paper is going to be used for writing on, you should add some, the starch helps to prevent inks from soaking into the paper fibers). Stir 1.5 teaspoons of liquid starch per 10 cups of pulp.

4. Take a basin and place a cookie rack over it. Lay your screened frame on top of the cookie rack and then the framed molding on top of the screen.

5. Take a measuring cup and pour some of the paper pulp of your choice in the mold. You can add some accents to the pulp in your measuring cup (spices, leaves, flower seeds, paint, etc…). Gently wiggle it side-to-side until the pulp on top of the screen looks even. If the paper is very thick, remove some pulp from the mold. If it is too thin, add more pulp.

6. Gently press down on paper with a sponge to remove excess water (wring the excess water from the sponge back into the large plastic tub). Slowly remove the mold and continue patting paper with sponge (if it sticks to the mold, you may have pulled to fast or not pressed out enough water).

7. Place an absorbent, dry rag on top of the paper and hold secure while flipping the paper off the screen (be careful not to tear paper). Lay paper flat and continue to gently pat with sponge or dry rag (remove as much water as possible).

8. At this point you may wish to press additional decorative details into your paper.

9. Lay your piece of paper out on some cardboard where it can dry and will not be disturbed.

10. When the sheet has dried peel it off the cardboard and voila! You have paper!

Science Literacy

http://efolio.umeedu.maine.edu/~tvassiliev/ScienceLiteracy/ 

Noteshare Notebook format

http://efolio.umeedu.maine.edu/~tvassiliev/NanoscaleScience/

Acetic Acid: a colorless, pungent, water-miscible liquid, C2H4O2, the essential constituent of vinegar, produced by oxidation of acetaldehyde, bacterial action on ethyl alcohol, the reaction of methyl alcohol with carbon monoxide, and other processes: used chiefly in the manufacture of acetate fibers and in the production of numerous esters that are solvents and flavoring agents.

Agricultural Residue:  refers to usable materials recovered primarily from annual crops as byproducts of food and fiber production.

Biofuels: broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass.

Biomass: the amount of living matter in a given habitat, expressed either as the weight of organisms per unit area or as the volume of organisms per unit volume of habitat.  Organic matter, esp. plant matter, that can be converted to fuel and is therefore regarded as a potential energy source.

Calibration: to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).

Cellulose: an inert carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, the chief constituent of the cell walls of plants and of wood, cotton, hemp, paper, etc.

Control: A standard of comparison for checking or verifying the results of an experiment.

Electromagnetic Spectrum: The entire range of radiation extending in frequency from approximately 1023 hertz to 0 hertz or, in corresponding wavelengths, from 10-13 centimeter to infinity and including, in order of decreasing frequency, cosmic-ray photons, gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.

Electron Microscope: a microscope of extremely high power that uses beams of electrons focused by magnetic lenses instead of rays of light, the magnified image being formed on a fluorescent screen or recorded on a photographic plate: its magnification is substantially greater than that of any optical microscope.

Enzymes: Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts.

Ethanol: A colorless volatile flammable liquid, C2H5OH, synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches and widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent and in drugs, cleaning solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverages. Also called  ethanol,  ethyl alcohol,  grain alcohol.

Experimental Design: the design of all information-gathering exercises where variation is present, whether under the full control of the experimenter or not.

Fermentation: a process in which an agent causes an organic substance to break down into simpler substances; especially, the anaerobic breakdown of sugar into alcohol.

Fibers: the structural part of plants and plant products that consists of carbohydrates, as cellulose and pectin, that are wholly or partially indigestible and when eaten stimulate peristalsis in the intestine.

Fibril: Any of various threadlike fibers or filaments that are constituent parts of a cell or larger structure. Cellulose fibrils are the main component of cell walls in plants. Fibrils make up the contractile part of striated muscle fiber in the body.

Fungus: any of a diverse group of eukaryotic single-celled or multinucleate organisms that live by decomposing and absorbing the organic material in which they grow, comprising the mushrooms, molds, mildews, smuts, rusts, and yeasts, and classified in the kingdom Fungi.

Fossil Fuels: hydrocarbons, primarily coal and petroleum (fuel oil or natural gas), formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth’s crust over hundreds of millions of years.

Geographic Information System(GIS):  system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth.

Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS): the standard generic term for satellite navigation systems that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage.

Green Process: The invention, design and application of chemical products and processes to reduce or to eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.

Hemicellulose: Any of several polysaccharides that are more complex than a sugar and less complex than cellulose, found in plant cell walls and produced commercially from corn grain hulls.

Life Cycle Assessment: The assessment of the environmental impact of a given product or service throughout its lifespan.

Nanotechnology: The branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules)

Near Infrared Light: 0.75-1.4 µm in wavelength, defined by the water absorption, and commonly used in fiber optic telecommunication because of low attenuation losses in the SiO2 glass (silica) medium.

Pulp: Any soft, moist, slightly cohering mass, as that into which linen, wood, etc., are converted in the making of paper.

Scanning Electron Microscope: An electron microscope that forms a three-dimensional image on a cathode-ray tube by moving a beam of focused electrons across an object and reading both the electrons scattered by the object and the secondary electrons produced by it.

Tensile Test: A standard test piece is gripped at either end by suitable apparatus in a testing machine which slowly exerts an axial pull so that the steel is stretched until it breaks. The test provides information on proof stress, yield point, tensile strength, elongation and reduction of area.

Transmission Electron Microscope: an electron microscope that transmits a beam through a specimen, detecting its electrons and forming a highly magnified image on a screen.

Variables: A factor or condition that is subject to change, especially one that is allowed to change in a scientific experiment to test a hypothesis.

Xylanase: The name given to a class of enzymes which degrade the linear polysaccharide beta-1,4-xylan into xylose, thus breaking down hemicellulaose, which is a major component of the cell wall of plants.

Xylan: A yellow, water-soluble, gummy polysaccharide found in plant cell walls and yielding xylose upon hydrolysis.

Xylose or wood sugar is aldopentose - a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms and including an aldehyde functional group. It has chemical formulaC5H10O5. Xylose is found in the embryos of most edible plants.

Why Should You Be Scientifucally Literate?
By Robert M. Hazen
An ActionBioscience.org original article

WebSite: http://www.actionbioscience.org/newfrontiers/hazen.html

http://www.kids.union.edu/fsnChromatography.htm

During this chromatography experiment students are going to see how things that are seemingly the same such as pen ink or trees are very different and have very unique properties. The students will be able to see how something such as litmus paper can be used to detect slight differences in substances. This technique is being used in crime labs, to detect chemical weapons using bio-active paper, and identify whether specific molecules are present to turn wood into specific chemicals. Students are going to be able to see that the tests that they are doing in the lab are really used in the field, giving the experiment new importance.