ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • DECEMBER 13 - 19, 2018 A15

Music can inspire you to do many things and feel a variety

of emotions, but did you know it can improve your

brain activity? Many scientific studies, including

one at Stanford University in August of 2007,

have found that music can improve memory and

concentration. As your brain detects patterns in

the music, it stimulates the brain waves.

Furthermore, learning to play an instrument has

even more benefits than simply listening to music.

The 2007 Stanford study found that people who played

music had a larger vocabulary and could handle multiple

tasks simultaneously.

Music has also been proven to enhance exercise—fast paced

beats inspire runners to keep pace, upbeat tempos encourage

participants to enjoy the workout and continue

moving, and slow tempos allow for an effective cool

down and stretch session to enhance flexibility.

For A Video About the Effect of Music on the Brain, Visit: http://ed.ted.com/

lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-

your-brain-anita-collins.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction

text for main idea and supporting details.

Use the newspaper

to complete

the following

activities.

Activity One — Giving

Directions: Choose

a partner for this

activity. Select a news

story you would like for

them to read. Give them directions to

reach the article (e.g., section B, page

6, three lines down, two columns

to the right). Did your partner find

the correct article? Read the article

together and summarize the main

idea and supporting details.

Activity Two — Natural Disasters: Collect news

articles about natural disasters. Locate the geographic

location on a map and determine the cause and effect.

Learning Standards: I can use the

newspaper

to locate

information.

I can follow

directions.

I can

determine

cause and

effect.

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and

resources to more than 8,000 teachers and students each week throughout the

school year, at no charge.

AFRICAN AMERICAN PHYSICIST, EDUCATOR,

AND JAZZ MUSICIAN:

Stephon AlexanderStephon

Alexander was

born in Trinidad

and moved with

his family to the

Bronx in New York

when he was 8

years old. He first

became interested

in physics when

he took apart a

used computer

to see how it

worked. Alexander attended De Witt Clinton high school,

where his love of science was recognized and encouraged by a

physics teacher. The same teacher also cultivated his love of

jazz music and Stephon began to play the saxophone.

In 1993, Alexander received his bachelor’s degree in physics

from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Seven years later,

he received his doctorate degree in physics from Brown

University. He continued to follow his love of music and

used it not only as a form of stress relief, but as a means

to help him understand difficult concepts. In an interview

with National Geographic, he stated, “For me, playing and

composing music can help my mind relax, the way a muscle

would relax, and allow me to think more freely.” Alexander

also uses music to explain difficult concepts (such as the

Big Bang Theory) and has produced music professionally. He

states, “By connecting physics with music, I want to inspire

young people and open their eyes to new possibilities.”

Alexander served as an assistant professor of physics,

astronomy, and astrophysics at Penn State University before

transferring to Haverford College as a physics professor. In

2012, he joined Dartmouth College as a professor in the

Department of Physics and Astronomy. He was elected as a

National Geographic Emerging Explorer.

Stephon Alexander’s Homepage Is Found Here: https://stephonalexander.org/.

To Listen to His Music, Visit: http://pitchfork.com/

reviews/albums/19576-rioux-stephon-alexander-here-comes-

now/.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a

person who has made contributions in the

fields of science, math, and technology.

Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: nie@stlamerican.com.

SCIENCE CORNER

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

DID YOU KNOW?

Cont

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Jenn

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Wirt

hwei

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Desi

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Beth

Sha

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Background Information: In this experiment, you will be creating a model that

displays the rings of Saturn. Note: The rings of Saturn do not

go in alphabetical order.

Materials Needed: • Small Styrofoam Ball

(about 1.5 inches in diameter) • CD

• Permanent Markers • 4 Colors of

Sequins or Glitter • Glue • Dowel

• Modeling Clay • Paper • Protractor

• Compass • Ruler

Procedure:

q Cut your foam ball in half and

place one piece of it on the

CD.

w Trace around the foam ball with

a magic marker. (You will glue the

foam ball to the center of the CD later).

e The D ring will be created first. In reality, the D ring

is 4600 miles across. Mark a point that is about 3 mm

from where you outlined the planet. Use a compass to

help you draw a circle that is 3 mm thick. Place white

glue inside this area and sprinkle one color of sequins or

glitter on the glue to represent the D ring. Let it dry.

r The C ring will be created next. It is larger than the D

ring—over 10,000 miles wide in real life. In your model,

use your ruler and compass to create a circle that’s 7

mm thick. Cover the circle in glue and place a different

color of sequins or glitter. Let it dry.

t The B ring will be created next. In reality, it is 15,000

miles across. In your model, it will be 1 cm thick.

Measure this area, cover it with glue, and place a third

color of sequins or glitter.

y The A ring comes next. In reality, it is 9000

miles wide. Make a circle that is 5 mm thick. It

has a gap 2/3 of the way across the width of the

ring. Make a thin black circle here to show the

division, and then add white glue and

glitter to the rest of the A ring.

u On the outside of the rings, draw

another black line about 2 mm thick.

Leave a small space after the last

black line.

i The F ring is the smallest and final ring in this model.

A sliver of the shiny CD will serve as the F ring. Color

the rest of the CD black.

o When the glitter and glue has dried, glue one half of the

foam ball to the top of the CD. When that is dry, glue

the bottom of the ball to the bottom of the CD. When

everything has dried, place a dowel into the bottom of

the Styrofoam ball and position it at a 27 degree angle.

Use your protractor to find the angle.

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions

to create a scaled model.

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

MATH CONNECTION

If every star in the Milky Way was the

size of a grain of salt, they would fill an

Olympic sized swimming pool.

A bolt of lightning contains

enough energy to toast 160,000

pieces of bread.

MAP PREP

This special Newspaper In Education initiative is made possible, and delivered to classrooms, through The St. Louis American Foundation and its NIE Corporate Partners:

In Mrs. Kristy Roesch’s 4th grade class at the James Avant Elementary School in East St. Louis, Illinois, students Ja’Nyi Tolden, Karrisa

Temple and Garnet Patton

learn about neuroscience from

an experiment they found

using the STEM page in the

newspaper. Photo by Wiley

Price/St. Louis American

Photo courtesy John Sherman, johnshermanphotography.com

An equation used in physics is F=MA (Force=mass times

acceleration). Use the formula to solve the following math

problems.

z If a 6 kg soccer ball is traveling at a rate of 1.4 m/s,

what is the force on it? __________

x I am a roller skater with a mass of 115

pounds. If I am accelerating toward a wall

at 3.7 m/s, what will be the amount of

force at which I hit the wall? __________

Make a Model of the Rings of Saturn!

The B enefits of Music!

Equations & Physics!

Because of thermal

expansion, the Eiffel

Tower is 15 cm taller in

summer.

Albert Einstein

said, “If I were

not a physicist,

I would probably be a musician. I often

think in music. I live my daydreams in

music. I see my life in terms of music.... I

do know that I get most joy in life out of

my violin.”

c How much force must be applied to a toy car that has

a mass of .28 kg to achieve an acceleration of 2.6 m/s?

__________

v How much force is needed to move a 0.2 kg

snowball at a rate of 16 m/s upward? __________

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract,

multiply, and divide to solve a problem. I can

apply a mathematical formula.