Facts, resources, and answers from A to Z.

A Aromatherapy

What are the Top 10 essential oils and what benefits do some people think they provide? Check out the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy to find out: www.naha.org/Top10.htm

Fact:

* Aromatherapy is not a New Age fad. In fact, it has been around for more than 6,000 years. Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians all used aromatherapy oils to promote health and healing. Greek physician Hippocrates (460 B.C.-377 B.C.), known as the Father of Modern Medicine, used aromatic fumigations to rid Athens of the plague.

B Belly Laugh

Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, by Robert R. Provine, Viking Press, 2000

"Laughter," by Steven Johnson, Discover Magazine, April 2003, p. 62-69

C Cell Phones

The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Communication Commission's page on cell phone facts: www.fda.gov/cellphones/

"New Privacy Menace: Cell Phones?" by Elisa Batista at Wired News: www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57692,00.html

D Dreams

Answers to Dream Match-Up (p. 10) Teeth falling out: Loss of power A stone: A burden in your life Rainbow: Hope and joy Bear chasing you: Feelings of anger Turtles: Slowness The ocean: Symbol of life

To learn more about the meaning of dreams, check out this PBS Web site for kids: pbskids.org/itsmylife/emotions/dreams/

For some fun science projects on dreaming, check out the Association for the Study of Dreams: www.asdreams.org/subidxeduscienceprojects.htm

Fact:

* According to Dr. Matthew Walker; a psychiatrist at the Harvard Medical Institute, an average human spends about eight years of his or her life dreaming.

E Ecotourism:

Visit the Web site of the International Ecotourism Society to learn more about environmentally friendly travel: www.ecotourism.org/

Check out the Sierra Club's ecotourism principles: www.sierraclub.org/policy/conservation/ecotourism.asp

The ecotourism game: Try your hand at developing an ecotourism project in the Amazon. Can you make ecotourism work? Good luck! www.eduweb.com/ecotourism/eco1.html

F Fried Candy Bars

For an experiment on the melting point of chocolate, see: www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/events/fow/fowtfkv2n3/htm/melt_exp.htm

For a slew of candy bar recipes, including one for fried miniature candy bars, visit: www.recipegoldmine.com/candybar/candybar.html

G Games

"Computer Game Makers Kill Off Piracy," by Barry Fox, New Scientist, October 11, 2003

Learn about the software industry's fight against piracy at the Entertainment Software Association's Web site: www.theESA.com/index.html

Kids can learn about copyrights at: www.copyrightkids.org/

Read Codemaster's press release for FADE at: www.codemasters.com/news/displayarticles.php?showartlcle=500

H Hot Cocoa

To learn more about the hot cocoa study, check out: www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/03/11.20.03/cocoa_antioxidants.html

For a fact sheet on the health benefits of antioxidants see: www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/antioxidants

I Ice Cream

Experiment Conclusion (p. 13)

One factor that determines the smoothness of ice cream is ice-crystal size. Ice crystals grow larger over time. So when a mixture sits undisturbed in the freezer, the crystals expand, making the ice cream hard. Smooth ice cream has ice crystals with a diameter smaller than 20 micrometers (two-hundredth of a millimeter). By shaking the ingredients, ice crystals have less of a chance to grow. This makes the ice cream smoother.

Also, shaking traps air bubbles. This gives the cream a fluffier texture. You can test how much air is in store-bought ice cream by letting it melt and refreeze. (You will wind up with a smaller chunk of icy cream!)

This site includes (almost) everything about ice cream from science to history: www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/icecream.html

Read about an unusual method of making ice cream: www.popsci.com/popsci/hometech/article/0,12543,458641,00.htm

J Java

Activity:

Do your students consume too much caffeine? Have them evaluate their caffeine intake with the data-collecting exercise on TE 6.

It's Your Choice (p. 16)

1. a 2. d 3. c

For a complete guide to the history and science of caffeine, check out The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug, by Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer, Routledge, 2002.

Facts:

* In its pure form, caffeine is a toxic white powder.

* Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours and is completely gone from your body in 12. That's why even a soda at lunch can interfere with a night's sleep.

K Karaoke

National Center for Voice and Speech is an interdisciplinary team of scientists and artists dedicated to studying the powers, limitations, and enhancement of human voice and speech: www.ncvs.org/index.html

Fact:

* Think you're a lousy singer? Don't despair. "With proper training and a passion for music, 80 to 90 percent of all people can learn to become pretty good singers," says voice and speech scientist Ingo Titze. What about the remainder? "Perhaps some part of their voice-ear connection is not working properly."

L Learning Disorders 

Activity:

Help students build vocabulary skills. After reading the feature, have them complete the crossword puzzle on TE 7.

Answers:

It's Your Choice (p. 21)

1. c 2. a 3. c 4. d 5. b

Vocabulary Builder (TE 7)

1. dyslexia 2. hereditary 3. phonemes 4. sequence 5. neuroscientist 6a. cerebrum 6b. matter 7. hemisphere 8. word 9. parieto 10. occipito Bonus: twenty

Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level, by Sally Shaywitz, M.D., Knopf, 2003

For more information about dyslexia, visit the Web site of the International Dyslexia Association: www.interdys.org/index.jsp

Check out the National Institutes of Mental Health's Web site on learning disorders: www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/learndis.cfm

Facts:

* Before scientists understood dyslexia, dyslexic children were often brought to ophthalmologists (eye doctors) for treatment. The tendency for the kids to switch the order of letters led many to believe that they had vision problems.

* Many people believe that more boys than girls are affected by dyslexia. But research shows that there are as many dyslexic girls as there are boys.

M Money

For more information about the new $20 bill, visit the Department of Treasury's Web site: www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/

Facts:

* The U.S. government prints 8 billion notes each year. That's enough to wrap around Earth's equator more than 30 times!

* Want to make a mile-high tower of money? You'd need more than 14.5 million bills.

* It takes 454 U.S. bills to weigh one pound.

* According to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, re-designed $50 and $100 bills will be out in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

N NASCAR 

To learn more about the physics behind safety devices in racing cars, see: www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/trobinso/physicspages/POpart2/po2002/NASCAR /index.html

Read more about the SAFER barrier at: www.nuengr.unl.edu/cet/contacts/Fall02/Feature1.html

Fact:

* The SAFER barrier works: Instruments inside NASCAR racer Jason Keller's vehicle showed that the force on his car was 70 percent less than that on a car driven by Jerry Nadeau that had crashed into a concrete wall at a similar angle earlier in the year.

O Old Age

To learn more about cholesterol, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/

For videos, cartoons, and activities on aging, check out: www.brainpop.com/health/growthanddevelopmentfaging/index.weml

P Popcorn

For activities and fun popcorn facts, visit the Popcorn Board at: www.popcorn.org

Facts:

* Popcorn's scientific name is Zea mays everta, and it is the only type of corn that pops.

* The U.S. consumes file most amount of popcorn in the world. Despite its popularity at movie theaters, Americans eat most of their popcorn--70 percent--at home.

* What makes popcorn pop? Inside each kernel is a droplet of water covered in soft starch. The starch is surrounded by the kernel's hard outer shell. As the kernel heats up, the water expands. Pressure builds against the hard outer shell. Eventually, the soft starch inside becomes inflated and bursts, turning the kernel inside out to release steam.

* Since popcorn can't pop without moisture, it's best to store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. If left uncovered, the corn can lose 1 percent of moisture on a hot day. The corn won't be able to pop after a 3 percent moisture loss.

Q Quench 

To learn more about why, what, when, and how much we eat, visit: www.foodpsychology.com/

Fact:

* Your eyes' tendency to focus on vertical lengths can cause optical illusions. "When people go to the St. Louis Arch, they say it looks so tall instead of saying it looks really wide," says nutritional scientist Brain Wansink. "The width is actually the same as the height." For examples of optical illusions, including the St. Louis Arch, see: www.psych.utah.edu/psych3120-classroom/09_04_03.pdf

R Rainy Days

To learn more about NASA's program to measure rainfall rates around the world, visit: trmm.jpl.nasa.gov/

Facts:

* City pollution may also create rain clouds. The tiny dirt particles in the air act as cloud seeds--water droplets condense onto the particles to form clouds.

* City-caused rainfall is enhanced in urban centers that are near a coast. Warm, moist air blows off the water and collides with the rising city air to create more rain clouds.

S Shyness

Are you shy? Get some tips on how to build your confidence: www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/shyness_p2.html

Facts:

* The amygdala is an almond-shaped region of the brain that is involved in emotion and survival.

* Once shy, always shy? Not necessarily. Though an active amygdala may indicate shyness, most people can overcome their inhibitions by trying new things or seeking counseling. Medication is also available for people with social anxiety disorder, an extreme form of shyness.

* While you might be born with a "shy brain," environmental factors--such as overprotective parents or, accidents--shape your temperament.

T Tongue Splitting

The American Dental Association is in the process of developing an official statement on tongue splitting. In the meantime, read its statement on another oral modification procedure--piercing: www.ada.org/prof/resources/positions/statements/piercing.asp

Fact:

* Just like fingerprints, every person has a unique tongue print.

U Underwear

Philips' new technology measures heart rate like an electrocardiogram (EKG). This Web site has an explanation of how an EKG measures electric potential changes in the heart. www.cardioliving.com/consumer/Heart/Electrocardiogram.shtm

V Vending Machines

To learn more about the Center for Science in the Public Interest's effort to improve school foods, including a link to its School Foods Tool Kit, visit: www.cspinet.org/new/200309151.html

Read up on the nation's first dairy-only vending machine: www.midwestdairy.com/content,cfm?contentalias=df_news_vending

W water

Definition of water-treatment methods (p. 28)

Reverse osmosis: Water forced through semi-permeable membranes to remove minerals.

Distillation: Water is turned into vapor. Minerals are separated. Vapor condenses into water again.

Micron filtration: Water flows through filters that remove particles larger than one micron.

Ozonation: Use of ozone gas to kill microbes in water.

"Message in a Bottle," by Brian Howard, E/The Environmental Magazine, September/October 2003 You can read the story online at: www.emagazine.com/september-october_2003/0903feat1.html

"Bottled Water Regulation and the FDA," by Lauren M. Posnick, Sc.D. and Henry Kim, Ph.D., Food Safety Magazine, August/September 2002. Story available at: vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/botwatr.html

"Bottled Water: Better Than the Tap?" by Anne Christiansen Bullers, FDA Consumer Magazine, July/Augnst 2002. Read it here: www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2002/402_h2o.html

X X-Files

To learn more about the Roswell incident, go to the International UFO Museum and Research Center's Web site: www.iufomrc.org/

The Coalition for Freedom of Information is working with the Sci-Fi Channel to get the secret NASA documents regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). Its Web site includes more information and popular news articles about space and UFOs: www.freedomofinfo.org/media.html

Fact:

* The Sci-Fi Channel polled 1,021 American adults over 18 years old and found that more than 72 percent believe that the government is not telling the public everything it knows about UFOs. And 68 percent think that the government knows more about extraterrestrial life than it is letting on.

Y Yes?

Life Strategies for Teens, by Jay McGraw, Fireside, 2000

Bringing Up Parents: The Teenager's Handbook, by Alex J. Packer, Free Spirit Publishing, 1992

Z Zapped

Learn how a microwave works at: home.howstuffworks.com/microwave.htm

Fact:

* When you boil vegetables, some of the healthy antioxidants leak out of the veggies and end up in the water. A solution? Use less water--or pour the cooking liquid over rice and eat it too!