Hi guys. I've got a job for you. This time, to start the test, I have
to solve two riddles. And since I don't have time for such
nonsense, you'll have to do it for me.
I've got some tickets for a boat which sails along the River
Danube. I'll board in Belgrade (visit it on these websites) and
need to get to Vienna, in order to meet with a detective from a
women's association who is going to help me solve the case.
Now complete these exercises
about the rivers of Europe.
How many countries does
the Danube pass through?
Which ones?
There is a problem in Europe which
affects both you and half of the
continent. What is it?
I'm the Austrian detective that is
going to help Joana resolve
these cases. I'll also be helping
you, although in your case I'll be
giving orders. I expect you've
already guessed what this test
will be about.
The EU aims to increase the number of
women studying science and
technology degrees.
Since the issue of gender
equality has many different
aspects, for the moment, we
are going to focus on our own
field: Education and the EU.
Why?
Let's see if you can guess
Since we already know a bit about statistics,
let's look at the data first.
Key facts and figures about Europe and the Europeans. (Click on
Education, research and the information society to see graphs).
Higher education graduates by gender and field of study.
Female graduates in mathematics, science and technology in
different EU countries. Female graduates as a proportion of all
MST graduates.
Click on the graph
and look at
page 19.
Figures for the Basque Autonomous Region.
Specific education levels.
What is the proportion of female
researchers in Europe? (Page 25)
UE
Highest W value
Lowest W value
Spain
France
Spain
France
Well, now we know why.
Can you help me explain?
What is the proportion of male / female
scientists and engineers? (Page 24)
UE
Highest W value
Lowest W value
My boat trip was great. I saw lots of
beautiful cities, especially Budapest.
Sailing under Elisabeth Bridge is an
incredible experience, you can see
the whole city. Have a look at the
websites in the links above.
We have to investigate female mathematicians and
scientists who have made significant contributions
to society. There are quite a lot of them. We have
analysed an enormous dossier and have selected
the ones we think are most interesting.
Anyway, I'm in Vienna now with the
detective I told you about. She
belongs to an association of feminist
detectives based in Vienna, next to
the UN.
I have to go to the native countries of some of them
in order to find out more. I'll send you reports about
some of these women, as well as a few problems to
solve.
I'm Hypatia of Alexandria and I am going to set you
a few mathematical exercises that arose from my
research. I hope you'll be able to solve them!
We had already heard of this woman, but
we didn't realise she invented so many fun
problems and puzzles.
I'm Emilie de Chatelet, a woman who studied
the DERIVATIVE, a very important concept in
mathematics, which you will study in
secondary school.
My name is María Gaetana Agnesi. I invented
a curve which has become known as the
“Witch of Agnesi”, due to a mistranslation.
What exactly was this mistranslation?
We are a group of young mathematicians who
carry out research based on the studies of
another important female mathematician:
Emmy Noether. Noether's research into the
periodic partition of the plane is of great
importance, and curiously enough is used in
the making of mosaics.
The Muslims applied this technique, as did an
important artist called Escher, who tried to
represent the impossible.
Look at these examples.
I've just received an e-mail from Joana. She's on a plane flying
to England.
Apparently, she's off to investigate a female scientist who
discovered something important about DNA, although since
she was a woman, her discovery went unacknowledged.
She's asked us to find out some more about the case..
?
?
Who am I?
This is how I'm represented in a comic made
about me.
In these links you will see the target of my
work in a spectacular way.
I appear in this Timeline.
What problems did I have with my research colleague?
What did I discover? What is it currently used for?
You haven't finished your detective work yet! You have to find out
some more information about other female scientists. Place each
one in her country of origin (map of Europe), along with her date of
birth and date of death.
You also need to place the female mathematicians on the map.
I'm a Nobel prize-winner
Who am I?
What did I discover?
Why is this important?
This fly is related to my work.
Who am I?
What did I Who am I?
Why is this important?
My discovery had
comic
unwanted and horrific
consequences.
Joana, learning about all these scientists has made us curious
about science itself. Can you send us a link which will set us on the
right path to becoming young scientists ourselves? Who knows?
Maybe we'll discover something important in the future!
This website explains the Scientific Method to children.
This method has been used in all the research work we
have seen so far. (Click on the numbers).
And furthermore, it also shows you how to conduct
experiments, something any budding scientist needs to
know.
This SCIENCE FOR KIDS portal is also
very interesting. Try it!