Electric vitamins

Lesson - quiz Methodology

(Various rational applications of natural laws)

Classes are 45 minutes in length, are intended for high school students, and are conducted by high school students. The work of certified doctor redox scholars (a group of two or three) costs from 500 to 2,000 rubles per hour, depending on the audience.

Main objectives:

  • To popularize natural laws.
  • To demonstrate the rational, every-day application of the laws of Physics, Chemistry and Biology which are studied at school.
  • To make good habits fashionable.
  • To enable high school students to teach their peers by example to refuse cigarettes and drugs when offered.
  • To educate young people on the spirit of patriotism.

Visual aids, expendable material, educational instruments:

  1. a) A Redox doll for measuring galvanic skin currents (Patent No.2254157);
  2. b) An educational stand for displaying the transformation of sensation into electrical energy;
  3. c) Doctor redox’s tale Electric Vitamins, which won the prize of Nobel Laureate Vitaly Ginzburg’s foundation in 2005, UNESCO’s Physics Year;
  4. d) An electric ruler, used to demonstrate the increase of a man’s height after the stretching reflex;
  5. e) Gems of the Urals: doctor redox’s collection of minerals (10 to 50 items for each class).

Plan of the lesson - quiz:

  1. 1. Introduction: concerning the presentation of the laws of Physics, Chemistry and Biology as they appear in everyday life, with the use of a game.
  2. 2. The lesson (question - answer type) contains 22 questions. For each correct answer the participants get a mineral (malachite, crystal, jasper, garnet, lazurite, etc.).
  3. 3. Discussing the outcomes of the experiments in the form of a quiz with prizes.
  4. 4. Summary. Main prizes are given to students with the most gems. The following prizes are given:
    • Doctor redox’s tale Electric Vitamins;
    • Sponsors’ good habits of the lesson/quiz. Sponsors’ gifts for the lesson/quiz: books, tooth brushes, cellphones, MP3's, CD's, passes to swimming pools and fitness clubs, fermented milk products, computers. The main requirements toward the sponsors’ gifts: availability of high-tech quality parameters that are beneficial for man’s health, innovation, the category of good habits.

Before the Summary and presentation of prizes, there will be a review of the Anti-Drugs Awareness module, supported by marketing facts regarding the promotion of habits - both good and bad.

Logical inference suggests that the winner will be the one who knows how to effectively apply the laws of science, and use them correctly.

Students’ scientific work

Scholars participate in research studies and experiments confirming and clarifying the laws of Physics, whose effects are seen on health and beauty. These experiments are made possible by sponsors and advertisers.

Master classes

There are master classes available for scholars of the Electric Vitamins Project with professors, physicists, chemists, marketing experts, economists, actors, artists, and musicians.

The script of the lesson-quiz Electric vitamins

(slide No.1)

- We (presenters’ names) would like to welcome you.

- Today, we are going to have an unusual class: it will be conducted in a quiz-game format. We are going to see how the laws of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, that you study at school, work in everyday life and affect your health and beauty. Additionally, we will learn more about the rational use of these laws.

- The rules go like this: we’ll be asking you questions. If you know the answer, raise your hand. For each correct answer, you will get a gem (malachite, lazurite, garnet, jasper, aventurine, ox-eye, citrine and others stones, including semiprecious ones) as a present for your knowledge. Experimentalists will get special gifts from our sponsors (the presenters announce the special gift list). Precious gifts will also be given to those who have the most gems at the end of the game.

- Before we start the quiz, we need an assistant who knows the group well. He or she will give the floor to those willing to answer, draw gems out of the sack, show them after each question and hand them over for correct answers. (The assistant is chosen from the audience).

- Kate will be our assistant. So, let’s start.

- Science has many beautiful histories, some devoted to discoveries and others to incorrect beliefs. Today’s attention will be given to one of the former historical pages- the acquaintance of mankind with electric current.

Question No.1 (slide No.2)

- The Redox doll will help us to learn about this historical event. The name Redox is derived from Latin abbreviations for two opposing reactions. We are announcing the first question. What are these two opposing reactions?

(If the audience doesn’t answer at once, the scholars should use the suggestive questions that help develop logical thinking. For instance, the name redox consists of Latin abbreviations for two opposing reactions. Therefore, it’s easier to guess starting from the second part 'ox').

- Right, it is oxidation. And what about the opposing reaction? (Kate takes a crystal out of the sack.)

- Right, reduction. These two opposing reactions provide the means of getting energy, which is necessary for all vital processes.

Question No.2 (slide No.3)

- The Redox doll has a device which helps us to measure electric current. What is it?

Possibilities are:

  • Thermometer
  • Ammeter
  • Pedometer
  • Voltmeter

- (Kate takes the gem out of the sack.) Right, it is an ammeter.

Question No.3 (slide No.4)

- Whose name does it bear?

- Exactly, Ampere (Andre-Marie Ampere).

Question No.4 (slide No.5)

- In the early days of man's first experiences with electric current, a breakthrough was made by a scientist whose name is immortalized in the unit of voltage. Can anyone identify this man?

- Right, he is Alessandro Volta. (Kate is giving a garnet for the correct answer.)

- A famous experiment also bears Volta's name. What is the name of the experiment?

  • Volta’s sword
  • Volta’s tail
  • Voltaic pile

- The right answer is Voltaic pile.

Question No.5 (slide No.6)

- The Voltaic pile consisted of coin-sized discs of two different metals stacked one on top of the other, separated by dampened slips of paper. So, the following question is: what were those metals? (The leading question: as you might guess, opposing chemical reactions went running through those metals (reduction and oxidation).

- Right, zinc and silver.

(Slide No.7)

- The largest Voltaic pile was constructed by Vasiliy Petrov, Russia's first real electrochemist. He used it to make his dream of electric lighting come true. Thanks to his efforts, Russia is the home of electric light, despite the commonly held misconception that this distinction belongs to England. Petrov was, in fact, the first academic to publish the idea of electric light, preceding Davy by years. Unfortunately, history has not preserved an image of Vasiliy Vladimirovich Petrov, so we have created the image called "A Portrait that Is Not There" in his honor, which illustrates all his most famous experiments.

Question No.6 (slide No.8)

- The Voltaic pile was demonstrated by Alessandro Volta to Napoleon as a source of energy. Nevertheless, another of his experiments seems also to be note-worthy. What creature died the death of a martyr for science in that experiment?

  • Turtle
  • Monkey
  • Frog

- Right. It was a frog. Kate, an opal goes to whom? –Aleksandr.

- Alessandro Volta was honored with dignities and fame: there was a gold medal cast in his honor, and he was appointed Count and Senator of Italy by Napoleon.

Question No.7 (slide No.9)

- Another scientist refused to swear to Napoleon’s occupational government, and was kicked out of University. He is credited with published experiments using a frog's leg, and is identified with the chemical source of electrical energy. Can anyone name him?

- Right, he is Luigi Galvani.

- Physicist Alessandro Volta and biologist Luigi Galvani argued about the nature of electric current: Galvani believed the “animal” nature of electricity was most important, while Volta stood for the “metal” one. Today we will be demonstrating both types of electricity.

- Who is willing to take the place of the frog that suffered for science 200 years ago? Kate, we need two experimentalists (Kate chooses Michael and Olga).

- In his experiment, Alessandro Volta formed a human electric circuit comprised of four people. Two people stood at the ends (today, we have Olga and Michael) and held pieces of different metals in their wet hands: one hand of the doll is made of zinc, and the other one is silver. The first person put his finger on the tongue of his neighbor, who in his turn touched the eyeball of the third “link”. The third and the fourth people stood wet-handed, holding the frog’s leg.

Question No.8 (slide No.10)

- So, here is a question: when the chain was closed, what was experienced by the person whose eye was being touched?

- Right, it is light.

- And what about the person whose tongue was touched?

- A bitter taste is the correct answer.

- What was happening to the frog’s leg?

- The frog’s leg was twitching.

Experiment No.1

- But I want you to come down because we have an ammeter which replaces the frog. Michael holds the doll’s zinc hand, and Olga- the silver one. We just close the circuit using our hands while the ammeter shows us the currents. The harder the handshake is, the more current we get!

Question No.9 (slide No.11)

- Why?

- When our experimentalists apply more strength to their grips on the doll's hands, the electrical resistance is reduced and therefore, the current increases and the resulting sensations are strengthened.

- The next question is: from which law can we calculate the resistance of this circuit? Right, from Ohm’s law. Who will tell us Ohm’s law?

(slide No.11)

- The question is: who discovered galvanic skin response which became the principle of a lie detector? Was it:

  • I.R.Tarkhanov
  • Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
  • Íå³nrich-Friedrich-Emil Lenz?

- The right answer is Ivan Romanovich Tarkhanov.

Question No.10

- What needs to be done in order to increase the current?

- Electrical resistance in the chain is reduced by moistening the points of contact; also, current is increased by increasing physical activity. Let's prove it through experimentation. We need a volunteer.

Experiment No.2. The experimentalist measures his/her current. Then he/she moistens hands and measures the current again.

- We thank our experimentalist for his courage! Let’s move ahead to another experiment!

- We need one more experimentalist for demonstrating how currents are affected by physical activity. It involves performing 30 squats.

Experiment No.3. The volunteer measures his/her current, then performs 30 squats, and the current is measured again.

- The ammeter shows us … µÀ. The current has increased! Thank you, experimentalists. It is a generally accepted fact that reduction of physical activity is one of the major drawbacks of a civilized society. Throughout the world, the question arises how to increase the physical activity of a population. Several medical studies demonstrate that a healthy lifestyle is far more beneficial to an individual than medication. The purpose of this doll is to increase physical activity. The more physical activity, the greater the current.

Question No.11

- Attention, please a question! If we use a first-class conductor (like a metal rod, for example) to close the circuit between the doll's hands, will the current be allowed to flow? Let's check it out!

Experiment No.4. A person who has answered “yes” is chosen for the experiment. The experimentalist takes the metal rod and connects the doll’s zinc and silver hands.

- So, there is no current. Why? Because there is no electromotive force, which is caused by redox processes.

Question No.12

- Would there be the current if the doll's hands were connected with a moist rag?

- Right, there is the current. In this case, the current has an exceptionally metal nature. The doll works as a battery of an automobile that has a cathode and an anode.

Question No.13

- And now we have a difficult question. Even the best students can have difficulty answering it: is a cathode “+” or “-”?

- The correct answer is: it can be both “+” and “-”. More importantly, in both cases, reduction processes take place on the cathode, while oxidation is on the anode.

Question No.14 (slide No.12)

- Now I’d like to cite one of the scientists whose law we can use for calculating zinc insertion’s dilution rate: "However marvelous electric laws and phenomena revealed to us in the world of non-organic or dead matter are, the interest towards them is hardly comparable to what is peculiar about the same force together with nervous system and life." Name the author of this quotation.

- It is Michael Faraday.

Question No.15 (slide No.13)

- As we see, people got to know electric current by means of their sensations. Before the German physicist Ohm worked out his law and his French colleague Ampere had any idea of his future discoveries, a Great Commander uttered a fine phrase: "Electricity, galvanism and magnetism – that is where the great secret of nature lies. I am inclined to believe that a human brain, like a pump, sucks these currents from the air and makes souls out of them." Who is this Commander?

- The right answer is Napoleon Bonaparte. After Volta’s pile was demonstrated to Napoleon, and similar experiments were carried out elsewhere, the whole world went positively mad over electricity. Some people believed it was now possible to raise the dead. Luigi Galvani’s nephew would pass electric current through the heads of publicly executed prisoners making them blink, and making the spectators faint.

- Edgar Allan Poe, a prominent writer of gothic tales, described Volta’s pile in his One Thousand Second Arabian Tale: "There was a magus who used an imperceptible fluid to make corpses that used to be his friends jerk their legs, fight, and even stand up and dance." Mary Shelley wrote a fantastic book called Frankenstein. Can anyone tell us its storyline?

- Today this fantasy has come true in a sense; there is a technique used to bring a person back from a state of apparent death. Does anyone know what it is?

- Right, defibrillation.

Experiment No.5

- Let’s discuss another type of electric current: according to Luigi Galvani's theories, we all generate "animal" electricity. The following experiment will prove that the human body generates energy that flows through it like the energy in a hybrid car. We need a volunteer. The experiment consists of a surface constructed from two plates of homogeneous metals connected by a nanoammeter, over which our volunteer shall walk barefooted. The biologically-generated electric current will be illustrated on the screen.

Question No.16

- These currents have got the name of electric vitamins. What is the source of electric vitamins?

- The answer is cell membrane potential.

Question No.17 (slide No.14)

- What is the formula for calculating membrane potential?

- Absolutely right, it is the Nernst formula. The act of walking - during which one foot bears weight and therefore generates action potential, and the other foot is characterized by resting potential - results in alternating electromotive force which is a source of electric current. In fact, there is an inherent mechanism of transferring mechanical energy into electrical energy. There is another man’s parameter which is influenced by Newton’s law. It is man’s height. Time after time it is getting less than 10 cm. Scientists trace a connection between these two phenomena. This tie is made thanks to stretching reflex that stretches the spine.

Question No.18 (slide No.15)

- Who can guess the physiological purpose of the stretching reflex? It needs to be guessed because it is completely new information, which has not yet made an appearance in textbooks. Any ideas on this matter?

(Possible answers: - For posture control?- Yes, but this is not quite the right answer. – To relieve stress?- Right, but this answer is still a bit wide of the mark.)

Question No.19

- The answer is for getting pleasure.

- That's right - every physiological action, whether it is eating, sleeping or sexual activity, is accompanied by an endorphin reward, subjectively perceived as pleasure. But again, this answer is not the one we are looking for.

- The answer is to stretch the spine.

- Yes. This reflex, unlike behaviors like sneezing or yawning, has not yet been adopted socially. If a person wants to yawn, he covers his mouth with a hand; if someone sneezes, everyone around says “God bless you.” There is no socially-accepted response to stretching, and reactions can actually be negative. Probably, no legend exists; maybe, you will be creative for developing the image of Atlas (Legends of Titans by J.Golossovker: “Happy was Atlas”…).

Experiment No.6

- We need a volunteer to be Atlas (the experimentalist is chosen). The experimentalist has to stand straight with his/her back against the wall. The main idea of this experiment is to show how much the spine stretches after the act of stretching. We will place a mark on you to fix your height before stretching. With the use of a special device, an electric ruler, we will observe the change in height. Start to stretch, and try to get ultimate satisfaction like Atlas! We will check the results when you are done.

- Let’s see…The variation is… mm(cm), that’s what we wanted to prove!

- Science is an endless, incredibly exciting, adventurous, and creative process. It is the attempt to explain natural phenomena as a logical progression from cause to effect. And, all things are connected; using the scientific method, one can draw connections even between seemingly diverse phenomena such as the workings of a frog's leg and those of a mobile phone! The great strength of science is that it is a tool essentially approachable by any individual; I can't help but wonder what incredible inventions (a bio-telephone, perhaps?) will be the creation of the people within this room today.

- In science, logical hypotheses are formed and used to deduce theories, which suggest connections between cause and effect that are confirmed or refuted through experimentation. One of the company redox project sponsors is ready to share with you one of the working hypothesis which, perhaps, some of you will confirm or refute. So, you can see the connection among three phenomena. The spine is reduced by the daily actions of what Newton's law?

- Right, it is the second one. Due to this law, a person can generate electrical energy via sensations. The stretching reflex resists the oppressive effect of Newton's law and stretches the spine. The hypothesis that links these phenomena: the new law of osteochondrosis "Newton vs. Newton" is discovered, and electric vitamins that stimulate the stretching reflex, probably, increasing the body's sensitivity to hypoxia.

- The following is our conclusion: with daily exercise and stretching, it is possible to transform gravity into electric vitamins, and protect the whole body, including the spine, from the aging process.

- I hope we convinced you with reason that physical activity should be a healthy habit, like brushing your teeth. When it is, the laws of Physics, Chemistry and Biology work together to preserve and improve upon your health and beauty.

Question No.20 (slide No.16)

- What other good habits do you know? (The audience name them)

- But, why has no one mentioned the healthy diet which includes the consumption of fermented milk products?

Question No.21 (slide No.17)

- What famous biologist proved that consumption of fermented milk products sustains life?

- Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov.

- We have just spent a lot of time talking about good habits. Unfortunately, there are also bad and harmful habits. In the case of cigarettes and drugs, the manufacturers and suppliers want new users to become addicted to their products, so that they will continue to pay for them until the end of their days.

Question No.22 (slide No.18)

- The following question is of high importance: is drug addiction curable? I ask those of you who believe that it is to raise your hand. Will you count them, Kate?

- So, according to the majority, drug addiction is curable, but this answer is not entirely correct. Advertisements of different methods of treatment for drug addiction, and particularly often showing healthy, attractive and strong young people who have beaten their addictions damage your vigilance. As an illustration of how a drug which seems to bring pleasure can ruin the brain, consider the experiment in which scientists inserted electrodes into the pleasure centers of a rat's brain. In this experiment, the rat was given control of closing the electrical circuit which led to its pleasure center; incredibly, the rat was unable to stop stimulating its own pleasure center, and continued to do so, neglecting every other natural compulsion, until it died. Similarly, a drug that brings pleasure ruins the brain. A drug dealer giving the first dose free intends to make money on you.

- The philosophy of our project is: the more good habits a person has, the less bad ones. Good habits are the shortest road to evolution. Here, it is possible to make money as a soccer player while the ball is the hypothesis.

Good habits make the laws of Physics work for your health and beauty every day!

(slide No.19)

- We would like to finish the class with a quotation from the works of Goethe: "Habit is man’s only pleasure."

- The lesson is over. Let’s sum up. Who’s got 5 gems? Please come over here.

- Who’s got four?

- Three?

- Two?

- First prize goes to Olga. She gets a Dr.Redox biostimulator. Applause!

- Second prize belongs to Michael. He gets Antistress.

- And three people who won third prize get Dr.Redox’s tale Electric vitamins.



Ïîäåëèòüñÿ:
Ñìîòðèòå íàñ: Instagram Âêîíòàêòå Youtube