Embedded Files
The nature of coding cultivates 21st century competencies that are crucial in science such as critical thinking and collaboration. Coding offers many affordances, however within Science, it can offer opportunities for students to visualize concepts and interactions that might otherwise seem abstract while they exercise their coding skills. It can also provide students opportunities to collect data with an inexpensive micro:bit which can later be analyzed. This is particularly important for students pursuing science at the post-secondary level. Coding environments therefore naturally lend themselves to becoming engaging spaces for students within a science classroom.
Secondary Science & Micro:bits - 476096
Heart Rate Monitor
Students can use Scratch to program simple arithmetic operations to create a heart rate monitor that calculates beats per minute. A sample project created by Spencer2926 can be found here.
Coding concepts: Sequential, Variables (& lists), Repeats
Story of the Atom
Students will review sample codes within Scratch on the discovery and properties of atoms. Students can further identify the functions and features they can use within Scratch to read and alter code and create animations for other scientific discoveries.
Sample codes within Scratch discovery and properties of atoms.
For further support, explore the support for simulations and demos folder.
Coding concepts: Sequential, Concurrent Events, Repeating Events, Computational Representations, Read and Alter Code
Electron Configuration Animation
Students will further their understanding of electron configuration by visualizing applications of the Aufbau's Principle, Pauli Exclusion Principle, and Hund’s Rule and how it applies to elements in the periodic table. Explore a sample lesson from Science North. A completed example of the Scratch project by BluecoatTyler can be found here.
Coding concepts: Variables, Loops, Conditional Statements, Sequential
Animating the Solar System
Students will review and identify errors (i.e., missing planets such as Venus) in the animation of planets orbiting in the Solar System. Once identified, students will modify the existing code to correctly depict the orbital paths of planets. Students will also be required to exercise their computational and mathematical knowledge to calculate the speed of orbiting planets. An example code by teacherf11 on Scratch can be found here.
Coding concepts: Sequential, Loops, Subprograms
Virus Replication
Virus Replication
Scratch sample code models virus replication and how white blood cells in the body target viruses. This code can either be used as an example for students to create their own code to model virus replication or further modify this code to more realistically depict biological processes in the body (e.g., adding more than one white blood cell, programming white blood cell death, etc.).
Coding concepts: Loops, Sequential, Variables, Conditionals
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