Teacher's Guide for ODYSSEY^TM When the Sparks Fly: Science Feuds

Format:
      Article / Page
      Summary
      Skills

"Scientists at War," pg. 6

• Feuds are all about passion, and few are as passionate about their work as scientists are. Why do feuds begin, how do they spread, and how do they help advance science?
• Science as Inquiry, History of Science

"The Futile Feud," pg. 11

• Eavesdrop on an imaginary conversation between Galileo and Pope Urban VIII during one of the most famous scientific feuds in history.
• Science and Society, Historical Analysis

"The Calculus Quarrel," pg. 12

• What is calculus, and why did two renowned scientists argue about who invented it? Newton and Leibniz squared off, but today's scientists won.
• Vocabulary, Mathematical Applications

"Showdown in a Paris Theater: The Microbe Feuds," pg. 14

• Louis Pasteur fought the establishment when he refused to believe that microbes could spontaneously generate. He proved that single-cell organisms exist all around us - and one of his experiments is still proving it today. A sidebar (pg. 17) provides a chronology of some of Pasteur's other achievements.
• Scientific Process, Inductive Reasoning

"Nanobes? How Small is the Smallest Life?", pg. 18

• Are the tiny structures Philippa Uwins discovered too small to be alive? Join this debate between two scientists who may avoid feuding over the question.
• Observation, Drawing Conclusions

"Edison, Tesla, and the Battle of the Currents," pg. 20

• Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla often engaged in a duel of inventive genius, but never more so than in the debate over AC versus DC electricity. Learn about some of Edison's and Tesla's other inventions in the sidebar on page 22.
• Applications, Methodology

"Fighting Words: The 'Flame Wars' of Science" (Activity), pg. 24

• Match three famous scientific fights with comments made by some of the combatants.
• Drawing Inferences, Critical Thinking

"Out of Her Hands: The Woman Who Didn't Win the Nobel Prize," pg. 26

• In the race to discover the structure of DNA, one woman shared her research - but not the Nobel Prize - when her work helped break the code of genetics. A sidebar (pg. 29) goes behind the scenes of the Nobel Prize.
• Inductive Reasoning, Vocabulary

"Einstein vs. Millikan: Being Wrong Sometimes Wins the Prize," pg. 31

• Einstein believed that light behaves like a particle, but Millikan insisted that it acts like a wave. This feud eventually brought these two scientists together and earned each of them a Nobel Prize. A sidebar (pg. 32) explores the many applications of the photoelectric effect.
• Deductive Reasoning, Drawing Conclusions

"The Extragalactic Warriors vs. Shapley," pg. 34

• How big is the universe? Harlow Shapley joined this feud early, declaring that the Milky Way galaxy was the entire universe. Although he was off the mark, the extent of the expanding universe remains unknown even today.
• Inductive Reasoning, Extrapolation

"We Gush So?" (Brain Strain), pg. 38

• Although these famous scientists may have been right on target, their names are all jumbled up. Time to go anagramming.
• Following Directions

"Modern Feud: How Can We Feed the World?", pg. 39

• Can technology feed an ever-growing human population? Should we develop perennial crops and better herbicides, or is vegetarianism the answer? Should food be used to sterilize humans and reduce population size? Add your viewpoint to this debate.
• Vocabulary, Applications

"What's Up? (Planet Watch and Backyard Observations)," pg. 42

• Although Mercury and Venus are tough to see this month, backyard astronomers can spot Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Check the All-Sky Chart for other observation targets.
• Observation, Following Directions

"You Can Do Astronomy: Marking Time with the Sun" (Activity), pg. 44

• Learn the history of timekeeping before constructing your own sundial.
• Vocabulary, Following Directions

1. How do disagreements begin? What do people feud about? How are feuds different if the argument is professional rather than personal? Should feuds in science be avoided? How are they settled?
2. On the chalkboard, list examples of feuds in science that led to some positive outcome. Think in terms of inventions, discoveries, or theories born of conflict. Add to your list as you read the magazine, and discuss whether you think the advancements were helped or hindered by the dissension.

Pg. 14 - "Showdown in a Paris Theater: The Microbe Feuds"

• Talk It Over:
  1. What is "spontaneous generation"? What evidence convinced 19^th-century scientists that it occurred? What evidence led Pasteur to question the established view?
  2. How might the world be different without the discoveries of Pasteur? How did his work influence food, medicine, and family life?
• Connections:
  1. Visual Arts: On pages 14, 15, and 16, you see cartoon drawings of important figures in the Paris feud. Use these caricatures (or create your own) to design a comic book version of what happened on the Paris stage that night in 1864. Let your art reveal drama, and let your dialogue give information.
  2. Creative Writing: Make an entry in the journal of Felix Pouchet, written sometime soon after Pasteur's presentation. Show Pouchet's anger and his strong belief that he was correct but outfoxed. (Don't hold back. This is Pouchet's personal journal.)
  3. Mathematics: Pasteurization involves heating a liquid such as milk or fruit juice to kill microorganisms. However, if even one microbe lives (or is introduced later), it will multiply and spoil the food or possibly cause disease. Pretend that a glass of milk (at room temperature) contains one microbe that divides in two every 10 minutes. Pretend also that the milk won't become dangerous until it contains 100,000 of the organisms. How long can the milk sit before it becomes a health hazard? (Answer: The threshold is crossed between 2 hours 40 minutes and 2 hours 50 minutes.)
• Student Assessment:
  1. "When a scientist can take a hypothesis . . . and create an experiment that clearly supports (or refutes) the idea, he or she is following the scientific method." Use this quote as the thesis sentence of an essay. In your essay, cite specific examples from the article to show how Pasteur followed the scientific method.
  2. You are to present the Global Science Achievement Award to Louis Pasteur. In a brief speech, summarize his accomplishments and make clear to the audience why he deserves the honor.

pg. 39 - "Modern Feud: How Can We Feed the World?"

• Talk It Over:
  1. Often, when we hear an argument (or a heated scientific discussion) we tend to look for where someone is wrong. Try thinking from the opposite perspective. In what ways is Pimentel right? In what ways is Krattiger right? Can both sides be correct in a feud?
  2. How do you think we might use modern (or near-future) technology to feed the world's people? What genetically altered crops offer promise for the future? What high-tech machinery might be helpful? Can technology help bring world population growth under control?
• Connections:
  1. Nutrition / Economics: Considering the advice of Pimentel and Krattiger stated at the end of the article, design an ecologically healthy school lunch program. Plan five lunches for a one-week menu. Would this menu prove popular in your school? What problems might arise? How might they be solved?
  2. Language Arts: Write a letter to David Pimentel or Anatole Krattiger. In your letter, state your views on the role of technology in dealing with world hunger. Point out specific parts of either man's argument with which you either agree or disagree, or about which you have a question.
  3. History: Research ways in which crops have been altered in the past in order to improve food production. Make a time line of those developments. How have past attempts been successful or unsuccessful in meeting the food needs of a growing human population?
• Student Assessment:
  1. Write a two-paragraph essay comparing and contrasting the views of Pimentel and Krattiger. After your thesis sentence, explain the principle differences between these two scientists in their approach to world hunger. In the second paragraph, show what they have in common.
  2. In a formal team debate, each side begins with one speaker who sums up the case. After this first round, a second speaker from each side responds to questions from the opposition, offering additional information and challenges to the opposing team. Pick a side in this feud, and write a three-minute response, assuming that Krattiger and Pimentel were the opening speakers.

"While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred."

Community Connection: Invite a family psychologist or conflict counselor to discuss interpersonal conflict, the biological basis of anger, conflict management, and how to seek positive outcomes when conflict is unavoidable. He or she may also discuss circumstances when conflict is actually desirable.

"Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven."

Small-Group Activity: After a visit from a conflict counselor (above) or class research into the topics suggested above, split the class into teams of two. Challenge each team to create a poster that teaches something about how to deal with conflict. The posters should offer information and advice, while being attractive and easy to read. Display posters around the school.

"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king!"

Large-Group Collaborative Activity: Split the class into teams of four students. Ask each team to select one of the feuds described in the issue and turn it into a mini-play. Roles to be assigned within teams include actor, director, writer, and stage manager. (Students may assume more than one role.) Expand this activity by learning about standard playwriting techniques and formats.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Whole-Class Project: Design a bulletin-board display based on the feuds in this magazine. For each conflict, draw a large "Y." At the top points of the "Y," paste pictures of the competing scientists, annotated with information on their respective roles in the conflict. At the bottom of the "Y," write "What We Got Out of It" and describe the benefits that emerged from the feud.

Home

Back

Print

Updated: 8/8/08 01:38 pm
Log In