Initial Questions for Ask a Scientist Partnership - September 2015

1. The universe is infinite. The universe is always expanding. How can it be both? (GW, grade 7)
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   Thinking about tides: could notice them in super small bodies of water like swimming pools? (From 4th grader, Levi)
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4. Can we photograph a black hole? How? (Stefan, gr. 6)
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   If we fell from really really high up, would we smash flat like a pancake upon landing? (Stefan, gr. 6)

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7. What does a black hole look like? Can it be seen? (GW, gr. 7) 

   
   
   
   

   If the universe is always expanding, will there be superplanets of collected mass that suck us all back in again, forming a big squish? (Oscar, gr. 6)

   
   
   

    How fast would a person have to spin to have their (hoop) earrings fall off? (Oscar, gr. 6)

   
   

   Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (Fiona, gr. 6)

   
   
   

    Is it possible for the pH of water to become so high that it effects the development of the shells of clams and mussels in Casco Bay?  What causes such events?

   
   
   What is the spawning dates and times of elvers?  What is the cycle of their lives?

How fast would you need to be rotating in order for your eyes to be unable to look at your toes? (Oscar, gr. 6)

If you put a portal at the bottom of the Marianas Trench and sucked ALL the water out of the ocean, what would the earth look like? 

1. If you went into deep space and closed a box, then went back to Earth, would the atmosphere upon re-entry crush the box to get to the vacuum?
2. (Claire gr 8)
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4. If Earth has different kinds of bacteria, would the Moon have at least one kind of bacteria or does bacteria need oxygen to survive? (Levi, gr. 4)
5. If humans are also evolving, what direction will we evolve in? (Duncan, gr. 4)
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Yarmouth Middle School Begins - Ask A Scientist

It is in children’s nature to be curious. Their questions often probe the very fundamentals of the physical world. However, they can lose the spark for asking the most interesting questions when they become self conscious in early adolescent years. 

This is where "Ask a Scientist" comes into play.  For graduate and undergraduate students at GWU, it will develop writing skills and abilities to explain important physical concepts For middle school students it will create an atmosphere of learning, build an understanding of the world and nature, and foster an habitual interest in science. The GWU team will seek to answer questions that are most difficult to answer in an intuitive way with simple language and metaphors, getting to the heart of scientific inquiry. Albert Einstein once said, "If  you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself." While our participating students are twice as old, it is in this spirit that we will proceed.