ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • SEPTEMBER 15 - 21, 2016
A15
The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides
newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and
students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.
Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell
[email protected] or 314-289-5422
CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT
SCIENCE STARS
Hamilton
Elementary
School 5th grade
teacher, Chevelle
Stewart, helps students
African-American Chemist
& Educator Lloyd Ferguson
Lloyd Ferguson was born in
1918 in Oakland, California.
His love of chemistry began at
a very young age. His father
built a shed so he could conduct
chemistry experiments away from
the house. Ferguson excelled
in school and was able to skip
two grades! He graduated from
Oakland Tech High School in
1934, at the age of 16.
Shawn Long and JaLynn
Lancaster with a symmetry and
proportion lesson found in the
newspaper as a STEM lesson.
Hamilton Elementary School
is in the Saint Louis Public
Schools District. Photo by Wiley
Price/St. Louis American
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:
[email protected].
Science of Taste
SCIENCE CORNER
Do you prefer foods that are
sweet or salty? Do you like
foods that are sour and bitter?
Have you ever wondered
how you can experience
taste? You have approximately
10,000 taste buds that help you
taste the foods you eat. Taste
buds are found on your tongue, on
the roof of your mouth, and even in
your throat. If you stick out your tongue and look
in the mirror, you will see many small bumps on your
tongue. Those bumps are called papillae, and they contain
taste buds. Taste buds contain tiny, microscopic hairs called
microvilli. Microvilli send messages to your brain about what
you are eating. Did you know that your saliva affects your
sense of taste, as well? Saliva helps to break down your food
more quickly so it can reach the taste buds. Have you ever
SCIENCE INVESTIGATION
Did you know that your nose is
partly responsible for what you
taste? In this experiment, you
will observe how your nose affects
your sense of taste.
Materials Needed:
• Blindfold • Different Flavors of
Yogurt and Pudding • Spoon
• Notebook • Pencil
• Cup of Water
noticed that when you smell a food that you enjoy —
that you might start to drool? The saliva is sending
messages of hunger to your brain in preparation
of tasting the food. Your nose also helps to
interpret taste. In the
experiment “Tasting
With Your Nose,” you
will see how the sense
of smell is linked to the
sense of taste.
Want to Know
More? Check out
wonderopolis.org and
browse through their articles about taste buds.
Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main
idea and supporting details. I can make text-to-text and
text-to-world connections.
Tasting With Your Nose
e Give your volunteer a spoonful of a
different flavor and ask them to identify
the flavor. Record their answer in your
notebook.
r Repeat steps 2 and 3 until your volunteer
has tried 4 different foods.
Yogurt
t Ask your volunteer to stop pinching their
nose closed. Repeat steps 2-4 and record their
responses.
Procedure:
Analyze: Was your volunteer able to guess
q Ask a volunteer to put on a
the flavor of food more accurately when they
could use their sense of smell? Think about
a time when you had a cold and your nose
was congested. Did it affect the way foods
tasted?
blindfold and pinch their nose
closed.
w Give your volunteer a spoonful
of food and ask them to identify the
flavor. Record their answer in your
notebook. Give them a cup of water
to sip in between food samples.
MATH CONNECTION
z
The students in room 216 were
given a taste test. They tried gala
apples, honey crisp apples, and
jonathan apples. There
were 28 students. 12
preferred gala apples and
9 preferred honey crisp.
How many preferred
jonathan? ______
What percent
of students
preferred honey
crisp? ______
DID YOU KNOW?
People can have approximately
10,000 taste buds. The older you
get, the fewer taste buds you have.
Learning Standards: I can follow
sequential directions to complete a
procedure. I can draw conclusions and
analyze results. I can make text-to-self connections.
Taste Test!
Write the number of students that
preferred gala as a fraction. ______
x Janet’s grandpa read a newspaper
article about the health benefits of
eating pumpkin seeds. He read that
they have antioxidants that can
help fight cancer, and that the seeds
help lower bad cholesterol and raise
good cholesterol levels. His grandpa
decided to roast some seeds with
olive oil and garlic for a savory taste,
as well as a batch with nutmeg and
a pinch of sugar. When he served the
Taste buds live
10 to 14 days.
pumpkin seeds,
5 of his 8 family
members preferred
the savory recipe, and 3 of his
8 family members preferred the
sweet recipe. What percent of
his family preferred the savory
recipe? ______ What percent of
his family preferred the sweet
recipe? ______
Learning Standards: I can add,
subtract, multiply, and divide to solve
problems. I can make-text-to
world connections.
Animals have taste buds, too! On
average, pigs have 15,000 taste buds,
dogs have 1,700 taste buds, cats have
470 taste buds, and chickens have
approximately 30 taste buds.
After graduation, he began working as a porter with the
Southern Pacific Railway Company to save money for college.
Two years later, he did just that. He attended the University
of California, in Berkeley, and earned a bachelor’s degree
(with honors) in chemistry. He was the first member of his
family to attend college. Ferguson continued studying at
the University of California and in 1943, he became the first
African American to earn a PhD in Chemistry. While working
on his PhD, Ferguson worked with Dr. Melvin Calvin on a
national defense project to develop a material that would
release oxygen in a submarine.
Ferguson went to work for North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical College in Greensboro, North Carolina, after he
earned his doctorate degree. Ferguson then accepted a
job offer at Howard University in Washington, D.C., as
a chemistry professor. He worked his way up to head of
the chemistry department. He created the first doctoral
program in chemistry that was offered at a historically
black university. Ferguson wanted African Americans to
pursue careers in the STEM fields. He created programs
such as the Support of the Educationally and Economically
Disadvantaged and the Minority Biomedical Research
Program. In 1965, Ferguson joined the faculty of California
State University. While teaching, Ferguson continued to
research. One of his topics included the science of taste
sensations.
Ferguson has received many awards and honors, including
the California State University Outstanding Professor Award,
and the Distinguished American Medallion from the American
Foundation for Negro Affairs. He was elected to the
American Chemical Society (ACS) and was the first African
American to receive the ACS award in chemical education. In
1972, he became the cofounder of the National Organization
of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. He has published
numerous journal articles and seven textbooks. California
State University has a scholarship named in his honor. His
influence continues to enrich the lives of many students
today.
Learning Standards: I can read a biography
about an African American who has made
contributions in the fields of science,
technology, engineering, and math.
MAP CORNER
Enjoy these activities
that help you get
to know your St.
Louis American
newspaper.
Activities —
Common
Resources: Look at
the advertisements in the
newspaper. Try to find 3 items for sale that
are produced from the same resource. For
example: paper towels, a wooden chair, maple
syrup, paper, and toothpicks are all produced from
trees. List the 3 items for sale and their resource.
Cost vs. Benefit: Cost is defined as what you give up when
you make a decision to do something, benefit is the positive
rewards/consequences of this decision. Look through the
newspaper for an advertised item that you want. List the
costs and benefits associated with that item. What
would you have to give up in return?
Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper
to locate information. I can evaluate resources, costs,
and benefits. I can analyze
and draw conclusions. I
can make text-to world
connections.