July 8 MSTF Spider Silk

July 8, 2008
All three of us split up into separate groups (divide and conquer). Estaban is refining the power point, Scott is continuing to work on the biology lab, and I’m working on the chemistry lab. Each one of us will stop to ask or answer questions dealing with our particular responsibilities. It is fun and interesting when Tom the graduate assistant sits down with us just to talk. I had many questions concerning the chemistry lab equipment and how to substitute expensive equipment for inexpensive equipment that meets relative error adequacy for the high school level. Electronic or manual calibrated micropipettes cost $100 and up whereas plastic micropipettes can measure to the tenth of a mL. High school students in general cannot be trusted with this sensitive equipment. Plastic micropipettes are extremely cheap and unbreakable. They are not near as accurate but will clearly do for the purpose of our lab. Janelle had the idea of using drops from a bottle and each student calibrated their own dropper which is actually more accurate than a plastic pipette. This could be a separate lab within itself concerning measurement, calibrations, conversions, and mathematical logic. I will probably use this lab before I do the spider silk lab. I know I have said it before but I’m going to say it again, “I enjoy the all the help we get in the lab research area and the people. They are obviously intelligent, but also are very humorous. I look forward to each morning in the lab.” I will definitely miss all of them. I hope we can have contact in the future!