GIZMOS- HS BIOLOGY/PHYSICS 2010
Maria Cell Structure Grade 8 Science Cartoon diagrams of animal and
Price plant cells. Clicking the name of the
Grade 9 organelle (located in the left panel)
Essential provides a red arrow that highlights
the selected organelle in the cartoon.
The view-finder (in which the cell is
shown), mimics a slide as viewed
under a microscope (in
magnification and movement). this
GIZMO is not very effective. the red
arrows are not very clear and the
accompanying descriptions lack
depth eg. mitochondria:
"powerhouse". The recap questions
appear to be at a harder level than
what is provided in the activity.
Ewa Sitarz Chemical SNC 1D/1P Practice balancing various chemical
Equations SNC 2P equations! You can change the
coefficients of reactants and products
to balance the equation. As the
equation is manipulated, the amount
of each element is shown as
individual atoms and histograms.
Such calculations like finding molar
masses of reactants and products can
also be achieved.
Ewa Sitarz pH Analysis SNC 1D/1P You can test the acidity of common
SNC 2P/2D substances using pH paper. Some of
the materials including soap, lemon
juice, milk, and oven cleaner can be
tested by comparing the color of pH
strips to a standard scale. Great
visual!
Nick Ionic Bonding and Grade 9 - 11 Ionic Bonding - Shows and allows
Tsigaridis Boyles/Charles students to manipulate atoms and
Law Grade 11/12 their electron configurations.
Students are asked to grab and drag
electrons to show the electron
transfer. The Gizmo has a a check
feature which will check the students
work, and it also has a summary
feature so that the student can
remember what they have completed
thus far. This is a great review
resource. SNC1D/P, SNC2D/P,
SCH3U, SCH4C
Boyles/Charles Law - This allows
students to control the variables that
affect these two gas laws including
temperature, volume, and pressure.
They can watch as they change one
variable, how the other variables are
affected. This will help them
understand this concept. SCH3U,
SCH4C
Sean Golf -Range 11-12 Physics Cartoon diagram appropriate for
Henderson grade 12 physics projectile motion
and grade 11 kinematics. The
purpose of the gizmo is to "try to get
a hole in one by adjusting the
velocity and launch angle of a golf
ball. Explore the physics of
projectile motion in a frictional or
ideal setting. Horizontal and vertical
velocity vectors can be displayed, as
well as the path of the ball. The
height of the golfer and the force of
gravity are also adjustable." The
gizmo engages students through the
golf analogy and teaches them how
the angle and velocity of the ball
affect its path and distance. Though
the animation is somewhat "cheap",
the analysis questions at the bottom
are helpful in student learning.
Recommended
Sean Distance- Time Grade 11 This gizmo allows users to "create a
Henderson graphs Physics graph of a runner's position versus
time and watch the runner complete
a 40-yard dash based on the graph
you made. Notice the connection
between the slope of the line and the
speed of the runner. What will the
runner do if the slope of the line is
zero? What if the slope is negative?
Add a second runner (a second
graph) and connect real-world
meaning to the intersection of two
graphs." This gizmo allows students
to visualize what a distance time
graph looks like in "real life" as the
runner illustrates the motion.
Recommended activity: Show
students a distance time graph and
ask one of the students to try to
demonstrate what the motion looks
like. After they are done ask the
other students to respond. Then run
the gizmo and show the students the
actual motion. Recommended
Sandra Roller Coaster SPH3U Cartoon of a vehicle (3 masses to
Physics SPH4U choose from) goes down a roller
SPH4C coaster. The shape of the roller
coaster can be adjusted: initial
height, height of middle "hill" and
final height. Coefficient of friction
can also be chosen. Students can
watch the animation and play with
the variables. At the same time they
can watch a graph form (there is a
variety of choices: v-t, d-t, K-t, U-t,
etc.. many more choices)
Sandra Food Chain SNC1D Pyramid of numbers shows 4 trophic
SNC1P levels, fixed types of organisms.
Students can choose which animal is
healthy and which is diseased. They
watch table, bar graph and line graph
form of each population over time.
Matt Craig Gravity Pitch grade 12 This simulation demonstrates a
physics famous thought experiment called
"Newton's Cannon". The idea is that
if you throw a projectile fast enough
horizontally, you can make it enter
into orbit around Earth. The
simulation offers the user to adjust
the speed of the projectile. Through
trial and error and careful
adjustment, I found that a speed of
7.0 km/s launches the ball into orbit.
The simulation is very simplistic
with limited control, but it does
demonstrate the concept quite
effectively. For this reason I will
give it a "general recommendation"
but not a high recommendation.
Matt Craig Shoot the Monkey grade 11 This simulation depicts a monkey
physics falling from a tree. Your job is to fire
a banana out of a cannon to hit the
monkey as it falls. You have control
over the speed and angle of the
cannon. This simulation employs
trial and error to adjust the
parameters to hit the monkey. I don't
believe it is effective in aiding
understanding of projectile motion
so I do not recommend its use. There
are many far better projectile motion
applets out there
Nate Golf Range (Grade 11/12 This Gizmos explore the physics of
(Projectile Motion) Physics) projectile motion in a frictional or
ideal setting.Horizontal and vertical
velocity vectors can be displayed, as
well as the path of the ball. The
height of the golfer and the force of
gravity are also adjustable.This
Gizmos allows you to to vary the
angle and the initial velocity of
projection. The display on the screen
shows the path of the golf ball on a
grid, also you can alter the
acceleration due to gravity. This
Gizmos comes with assessment
questions,students exploration sheet
and vocabulary sheet that target all
learners. Excellent Gizmos!(****)
Nate Unifrom Circular (Grade 11/12 Great Gizmos its measure the
Moti on Physics) position, velocity, and acceleration
(both components and magnitude) of
an object undergoing circular
motion. The radius and velocity of
the object can be controlled, along
with the mass of the object. The
forces acting on the object can also
be recorded.
The display allows you to view :
1. the description of whats
happening
2. a table of values with the time x
and y distance and the velocity in the
horizontal components
3. A bar graph showing how the
position,velocity and acceleration
changes.
4. graph showing the x and y
position throughout the uniform
circular motion
This Gizmos comes with a few
multiple choice question that tested
both problem sloving and conceptual
questions.(****)
Amy Yu Natural Selection SBI3U This is a great Gizmo to offer to
students as an alternative to
performing the Peppered Moth
Experiment the traditional way (i.e.
cutting out light and dark "bark" out
of paper, and as well as paper moths,
and performing the experiment as
per the Grade 12 Biology Textbook).
Some students are more computer-
orientated and prefer this online lab
to the kinesthetic cut-out activity, so
I provide it as an option. It is great to
demonstrate the change in
environment that drove the peppered
moth's population phenotypes to
change, and really highlights how it
was the change in environment (bark
colour) and not the soot, that
changed the percentage of moth
phenotypes from light to dark. Great
review for the Evolution Unit.
Amy Yu RNA and Protein SBI4U The students have an opportunity to
Synthesis work with a DNA template sequence
and arrive at the complementary
RNA sequence that will evenutally
code for an amino acid sequence.
Several misconceptions are
addressed, such as adding uracil (U)
to the RNA strand instead of
thymine (T), as well as the number
of nucleotides that code for a codon,
and the number of amino acids that
are coded by a single codon. This
Gizmo is beneficial because it also
addresses things like redundancy,
more specifically,why sometimes the
3rd base of a codon can be changed
and the same amino is translated.
Overall it is a great complement for
the Molecular Genetics Unit to
illustrate the Central Dogma.
Emily Diffusion SBI4U but Chamber showing particles with a
Monagha more so SBI 4C partial barrier. GIZMO shows how
particles diffuse from high to low
concentration over time. GIZMO
comes with student worksheet and
vocabulary page in either PDF or
WORD form. Student Worksheet
takes students through the effect of
changing the variable "temperature"
and answer corresponding
questions. Afterwards, worksheets
suggests manipulating 2 additional
variables and obtaining results.
Good for illustrating concept of high
to low concentration but questions
are not specifically related to the cell
of how diffusion is used in the cell.
The vocabulary sheet talks about
dynamic equillibrium, which is
useful but i'd change the follow-up
questions. Therefore, not that useful
if prep time is a problem.
Emily Osmosis SBI4U or This GIZMO illustrates the idea that
Monagha SBI4C a cell membrane will allow for
solvent to diffuse accross it
depending on the solute
concentration inside the cell, thereby
changing the volume of the cell.
This is kind of a lame animation,
however it gets the idea across. The
vocabulay sheet and student
worksheet are more useful than the
"Diffusion" Gizmo as it is
specifically related to cell parts. I'd
use this if it could be incorporated
into a powerpoint lesson, the class
together could make predictions
based on lesson. I would not book
computer lab time for them to go
through the student worksheet
Lena Photosynthesis Grade 11&12 Study photosynthesis under a variety
Ferreira Biology of abiotic conditions! Oxygen
production is used to measure the
rate of photosynthesis. Manipulate
light intensity, carbon dioxide levels,
temperature, and wavelength of
light. Explore limiting factors, and
it graphs your results.
Lena Pollination: Fruit Grade 9 LDCC Label diagrams that illustrates the
Ferreira to Flower Grade 10 anatomy of a flower (open and
closed), and understand the function
of each structure. Compare the
processes of self pollination and
cross pollination, and explore how
fertilization takes place in a
flowering plant.
Ian Evolution – SBI4U The artificial artificial and natural
Natural and selection gizmo is an interesting
Artificial Selection gizmo. It provides students the
opportunity to observe what happens
when animals eat insects of different
colours. Students can change the
colours of the background (nice little
optics piece), which makes the
insects more visible. Then there is
the opportunity to have students
artificially select for different
colours of insects. The gizmo shows
the genetic makeup of the
chromosomes and allows you to see
which genes you will be pairing.
You can also change the mutation
rate so that the colours of the insects
will change in a random fashion.
Ian Hardy-Weinberg SBI4U I think that this gizmo is very good
Equilibrium for teaching Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium. It allows students to
mate lots of generations of the birds,
create the progeny and then move on
to the next generation. The data is
collected by the computer and
expressed in a table form and a
graphical formula for both the allele
and genotype frequencies. You can
then export the data from the table
and create your own graphs if you
want or print the materials.
Dave Density Grade 9 Science This is a neat little tool to show how
Kleiman Laboratory (all strands) to measure density, the process of
displacement to measure volume and
finally to play with buoyancy. A
variety of objects of different shapes
and masses can be chosen from a
shelf. A large container of liquid of
variable density on the screen where
students can drop their object in and
test if it sinks or floats. The pre-
made student guide helps students
make predictions and test various
scenarios. It is quite an extensive
exercise. This would very nicely fit
into the grade 9 curriculum when
teaching density as a physical
property of matter. It also reinforces
lab techniques however it seems like
an experiment that can be easily
done in class with real materials.
Dave Cell Energy Cycle Grade 11 C This GIZMO is pretty poor. You
Kleiman Biology drag and drop the components of
(maybe U) cellular respiration and
Grade 12 photosynthesis onto a mitochondrion
Biology (that and a chloroplast. It is a glorified
would be a summary of the products and
stretch) reactants of these processes and how
they are connected with each other.
It reinforces the location of each
process and show a confusing
“balance” of the equation where the
components are multiplied on the
screen.
Thomas Electrical Circuits These gizmos These circuit diagrams are very easy
Picket beautifully fit to construct by simple click and
into Strand F: drag. The permutations are endless
Physics: for the students on the production of
Characteristic simple parallel and series circuits
of Electricity with attachment of various meters:
Unit of the volt, ohm, and ammeter. The
Grade teacher’s guide, vocabulary sheet,
Curriculum. student activity sheets, and follow-
up questions are appropriate.
Tom P Pith Ball Lab Gizmo would In this activity, you will experiment
be perfect for with the variables that change the
Grade 9 balance of forces on two pith balls.
Electricity Unit Pith balls are small and made of a
when teaching cork-like materials. They are
about static lightweight and coated with a
electricity conductive material such as graphite.
There are follow up questions to
assess the students understanding.
Stuart Building DNA SBI3U This gizmo provides students with
Lithwick SBI4U the chance to assemble DNA from
components, and then convert it to
its 3D double helical structure. The
instructions were not perfectly clear
that you would be assembling just
the leading strand first, then the
lagging strand, then winding it. But
otherwise, it is a pretty good way for
students to learn about the assembly
of DNA molecules.
Stuart DNA SBI4U This gizmo permits students to
Lithwick Fingerprinting determine the genetic fingerprints for
Analysis 3 frogs, and then compare them to
determine which are twins. This is a
fun, straightforward way for students
to understand the use of DNA
fingerprinting. It is really easy to
use, and a lot of fun. Stu approved!
Stuart Evolution: SBI3U I have grouped these two together
Lithwick Mutation & SBI4U because their interfaces are very
Selection similar. These are two very cool
Evolution: Natural gizmos! They let students observe
& Artificial the process of evolution based upon
Selection backgrounds and mutation rates that
can be defined by the student. This is
a great chance for students to
observe evolution at work.
Thomas Solar System Grade 9 Survey the solar system, observing
Watkins Explorer the length of a year and the orbital
path of each object. The positions of
the eight official planets are
displayed, as well as one dwarf
planet, Pluto. Learn about Kepler's
Laws and how planets are classified.
It's a neat way to see the flight paths
and speeds of the different orbits as
well as the relative distances of the
planets from the Sun. Some things
are immediately obvious, that the
planets further away orbit more
slowly and that the gas giants are
much further away from the sun than
the rocky inner planets.
Discover how animals, plants, and
Tom. W Interdependence of Grade 7 sunlight interact to maintain a
Plants and balance of gases in Earth's
Animals atmosphere. Place aquatic plants and
pond snails into sealed test tubes and
incubate in a light or dark room.
Measure concentrations of dissolved
carbon dioxide using the indicator
bromthymol blue, and use this
information to infer oxygen levels as
well. A good way to see how plants
and animals keep things balanced
and how we can manipulate the
equilibrium of ecosystems by
removing or adding plants and
animals from that system. It was a
bit unclear how it all worked at first
and not very straightforward. I found
this demo a bit dull and most
appropriate for younger students.
Andrew S Human SBI 3U Activity concerns a person
Homeostasis exercising at different temperature
scenarios. You are to decide how
much fluid ,food and clothes to wear
to help the person stay alive. The
concept is good but the instructions
are sparse. Difficult to understand
the interactive component. The
multiple choice quiz at the end is
useful. Analyzing the 4 graphs is a
valuable activity. Overall I would
not use this.
Andrew S Identifying SBI 3U Models the hands on lab performed
Nutrients in class. You can choose unknown
test tubes of food and click and drag
them to perform 4 tests with various
solutions. You can test with
Lugol,Benedict, Biuret and Sudan
Red. The program will actually
“heat” the test tube for you.
Coloured results are then shown.
You are then to choose if your food
contains carbs,lipids or proteins.
Good multiple choice questions at
end.
This took a little while to figure out.
Demonstrating it in front of a class
would be helpful.
Overall I liked this Gizmo.
Kristen Moon Phases Grade 6 Space Moon Orbiting the Earth Simulation
Knaggs Strand When you press play, the moon will
start to orbit the earth. Students can
adjust the speed to meet their needs.
The screen is split, on the left side of
the screen you see the moon going
around the earth and on the right side
of the screen you see the right side
allows you to see the phases of the
moon as seen on earth. Good
introduction to the moon phases. The
exploration guide needs to be
followed, as the students will not be
able to do the assessment questions
successfully. The assessment
questions are a good review once all
concepts are taught.
I like how there is a cross curricular
connection to the Aboriginal Inuit
people of Greenland, which ties in
with creation stories.
Kristen The Seasons Summer and Winter Simulation
Grade 6 Space
Knaggs Strand Students are able to visualize the
sun’s rays hitting the earth at
different times of the year. The
important concepts for this level are
the tilt of the earth and indirect and
direct light that hits the earth.
There is a student worksheet that is a
good diagnostic to see what the
students already know. The teacher’s
guide also includes an introductory
activity to do before the gizmo.
The actual gizmo gives more
information than a grade 6 student
would need (e.g. sun angles). I
would change the worksheet so that
it was not as in depth.
Dale Refraction SNC2D/2P This Gizmo allows you to examine
Simnett the factors that influence refraction.
You may alter: the indices of
refraction for both substances, angle
of incidence and how you view the
results (light ray, wave front).
Students may proceed to make
measurements of angles, lengths and
area to perform an analysis. The
downfall of this gizmo is that it is
limited to refraction and does not
address total internal reflection (you
get an error message). This gizmo
would provide useful for an
introductory visualization
of refraction but does not advance
past that.
Dale Doppler Effect SPH3U/SNC1D The Doppler effect gizmo allows an
Simnett examination of the frequency of
sound waves that are observed when
an object moves in various ways.
The gizmo allows you to alter
frequency and velocity of source,
velocity of sound, and the motion of
the source. Sound waves are
displayed as they radiate outwards
and the observed frequency is
displayed. This allows students to
visualize that changes that occur due
to the doppler effect, including sonic
boom and supersonic speed. I would
recommend this gizmo for student
use.