| Ramora
Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kita's pocket
Posts: 5,228
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Aslan Archer
Slytherin First Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Rose Woods
Gryffindor Second Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Amrita Sandhu
Law Enforcement
Ministry RPG Name:
Laleh Kiani
 x9  x6
|  ½ of Lauralie | Koala | The being in Ern's pocket | Baby Smurf | Prouf member of The Flock
SPOILER!!: oh its Erik ok Quote:
Originally Posted by oh its Erik ok  ok that was fair Professor, while Eloise did enjoy some classic rock she probably would not know. Since even right now Eloise was more into house music than anything else. Probably last a week and onto another genre. The redhead was sure she heard Sandu say deer and yeah best not even think of the title.
<snip>
Oh Sandu was clearing her throat. Time to pay attention and listen. Wait was she really as much i scientist. The only thing she really understood was gravity and how it related to kicking a board in the air and well spinning in the air. But that was physics not astro. Tho to be fair she believe in science more than astrology divination or even arithmancy. Sorry Professor Sissay.
"I mean they do value some really horrible jokes and puns. Like really bad"
As for any real answers that actually benefited the classroom discussion, well she had none of those. Miss Fairfield seemed to live to prove her right -- there was never a dull moment with her in the lesson. She smiled to herself at the whisper the Slytherin girl made at the young man sat in front of her and pretended not to hear. As long as it wasn’t a disturbance, she could ignore a great deal.
As for the answer she gave, well, that elicited a sharp bark of laughter from Simran. The girl wasn’t wrong. “Indeed, Miss Fairfield. Scientists are so fond of humour that the strongest candidates for dark matter are acronymed “WIMPS” and “MACHOS” respectively.” Heh.
She liked this kid. SPOILER!!: Lislchen Quote:
Originally Posted by Lislchen That was...incredibly relatable.
Smiling at the professor, Anahera leaned back in her seat a little. "I'd say the same, really." Her eyes briefly darted to some of the other students filing in before landing on Professor Sandhu again. "I'm not particularly fond of the rainy weather here." PLUS how cold it got in winter. That was also something she wasn't fond of. At all.
Other than that, she did quite like Scotland. It was beautiful.
<snip>
....oh.
Maybe she'd been wrong in her assumption of this being a more hands-on kind of lesson. This seemed very theoretical. Not really something she cared for, to be honest. Hopefully they'd be doing something with the items on their desks soon after all.
"Reliability." Anahera replied after raising her hand. She might not have been particularly interested in this part of the lesson but she could speak from experience anyway. "It's important to have reliable results and that they aren't just something you observed one time. You have to make sure it wasn't just a coincidence." ”Rain makes a great number of things gloomy, unless you particuarly enjoy running through it.” Simran sighed. “Unfortunately, my healer says that if I keep doing that, I’ll catch pneumonia again. Or break my hip.” Truly a tragedy, getting old.
Ah, Miss Webb brought up a very good point. “Very true, Miss Webb. Replicability is extremely important in experimenting -- it would not do to make a claim based on an experiment that nobody else could repeat. That is not science.” SPOILER!!: Hey Ju Quote:
Originally Posted by Hey Ju Truth be told, Anna was there because she had to be. Even though she hadn't had great marks in her Astronomy OWL, it still wasn't as bad as some others RIP Herbology and Potions, so she didn't have an excuse to drop it like... she did some of the others.
At least they still spoke about the sky and such, which was the closest she would get to the subject of flying in these academic lessons.
Booriiiing.
The fact they were going to discuss about scientific stuff wasn't that appealing to Anna either, and so she would obviously keep from being the first to answer.
That Slytherin girl's answer did make her chuckle, though. Good to know not everybody took lessons so seriously. This gave Anna hope.
Anahera's reply, though, got her nodding slightly in agreement. Yep, Anna decided that had been a good answer, so she gestured with her index finger towards the girl while still nodding. "That's a good point, I second that." Boom. Good answer, Anna.
She DID agree with her dormmate, though, what could she do? It would be unfair to say that Simran disliked Gryffindors, considering that she was one herself, as was Miss Webb. However, she definitely did not like the attitude a lot of them brought to lessons. Especially considering this was a seminar class and such behaviour was in full view of younger, impressionable students.
“Something else scientists value, Miss Merriweather, is initiative.”
Just saying. SPOILER!!: TakemetotheBurrow Quote:
Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow Vita considered scientists to be investigators, adventurers, problem solvers. They asked the big questions and tried to get the answers, knowing that the answers might take ages to find. You had to be willing to make mistakes and learn from them, too. At least she thought so.
"I think scientists need to remember that there could be multiple ways to get a desired end result and just because one way, perhaps your way, isn't working, it doesn't mean you should quit. You need to be open to trying it someone else's way sometimes." Did that make any sense? She hoped so. It did in her head. "With that said, I think being open minded is something scientists should value. Being open to possibilities." Ah, an answer from the other side of the room. Drawing closer to the girl speaking, she nodded encouragingly as she did. All very true statements, all very real problems the scientific community faced.
“Very true, Miss Mallari. It is also extremely important not to fudge data, the way some scientists -” she coughed something that sounded eerily like Albert Einstein “- do to support their own hypotheses.” SPOILER!!: Felixr Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir Catching sight of Anahera and the smile she sent his way, Kaiser returned the favour and smiled back in her direction as he fiddled idly with the equipment on the desk. Just for something to do with his hands, you know.
In no time at all, it seemed, the lesson was starting, and Kaiser turned his attention to Professor Sandhu again, still turning things over in his hands. As expected, he instantly found himself at odds with the language, but, given they had had plenty of lessons already this term, he was at least somewhat prepared for it. Kaiser was also pretty sure that he had improved his grasp of the terminology this past month alone, so there was that.
But, uhhhh... he didn't quite know the answer to that. Kaiser had no experience with science, beyond the subject of Astronomy, so he was already feeling a little bit lost. Was he really a scientist too? This was news to him, and he felt that this was something he should have known before now.
After thinking on it for... quite some time, Kaiser put his hand up and ventured a guess. "Curiosity?" It seemed like the sort of value a scientist would hold dear; wasn't half of their research a product of curiosity? Simran nodded at the young Slytherin, and smiled. “Very right. Without curiosity, nothing would be discovered, because there would be no desire to discover it.”
“And if you yourself find yourself insatiably curious about something, it could take you very far.” SPOILER!!: Fireheart Quote:
Originally Posted by Fireheart
Avalon glanced around the room as more of her classmates filed in for the lesson. Her eyes brightened when she saw a fellow first year, Alba. "Hi, Alba! It's good to see you," Avalon said with a smile. She was glad that there'd be another friendly face in this lesson. Seminar classes made her nervous - it was sometimes difficult to be surrounded by so many older students. Looking down at the equipment on their desks, Avalon shrugged. She pointed at the scissors and string. "Perhaps we're making crafts?" she said sarcastically.
<snip>
Avalon's eyes wandered to the front of the classroom as the last student filed in and Professor Sandhu began the lesson. What was important to scientists? Avalon wasn't too familiar with science, other than what she had learned so far in Astronomy. But she assumed that herbology and potions could sort of be considered sciences as well. And some things that were important for those subjects were curiosity, open-mindedness, and perseverance, among others. She heard a few of those words being offered up by her classmates before she raised her own hand. "Objectivity is important. Science is very much fact-based, so you can't let your own judgment get in the way too often. Not to say that creativity or personal interpretation is never warranted, but it's important to be unbiased."
SPOILER!!: lazykitty Quote:
Originally Posted by lazykitty Ah....science. It was a nice word to hear, since, as the professor had mentioned, astronomy was a science. A fact that tended to get ignored sometimes here in the magical world.
"Honesty and objectivity. Scientists have to be honest with themselves when their hypothesis isn't working and they have to have the objectivity to leave their personal beliefs out of the equation." Or something like that. It had been a while since she'd had a proper science lesson. Simran rolled her eyes at the girl who pointed at her apparatus and suggested that they were making crafts. Crafts indeed. She was no Muggle Studies Professor. Though… crafting wasn’t all bad. Perhaps she’d make the first years craft a model solar system? Or model one of Jupiter’s moons? It wouldn’t be punishment, surely. She was not that petty. She absolutely was.
Oh, objectivity, and said so by two different students. Yes, she should try some of that herself. “Indeed. As it is important not to let your judgement of someone else’s person cloud the validity of their research.”
SPOILER!!: Nordic Witch Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch
Professor Sandhu’s comment made Ellie glance down at her wrist watch and blush just a little. Thankfully she was just on time so why the tone that felt a bit stern though from the professor? She gave Eji another glance and put away the snacks before the lesson got underway.
Concentrating she considered what she knew about scientists, problem solvers and inventors since they worked hard sometimes even obsessively to find answers where others had failed. Raising her hand Ellie offered up. "I think a scientist needs to value critical thinking and not take the first answer they find to a question as the truth. A scientist should also be a keen observer of it’s surroundings and what they are studying and have courage to hold on to their beliefs and hypothesis even if they are laughed at by others."
”Very true, Miss Smethwyck! Well done!” she said, nodding aggressively. “One must always repeat their work, to make sure their results were not caused by error or chance.”
As for the courage bit, well, she smiled. “Many people discovering new things are laughed at. It can take generations for a novel idea to be accepted, but that is correct. It is extremely important not to lose heart, just because your peers don’t see the value of your work.” SPOILER!!: Jessiqua Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessiqua Science. A natural, physical science. Hanna thought of Astronomy as just this. And asking questions, curiosity, even if there were no answers. That was part of the interest with any kind of science, really. There were plenty of things scientists had to keep in their mind, and which values and procedures the community held dear.
Hanna listened to the answers around her, and found herself nodding along with all of them. She could quite easily expand on any of the answers, because they all were important for scientists to keep in mind. Raising her hand, Hanna said "Scientists must persevere. Whether it's dealing with rejection of proposals or applications, or experiments coming back either inconclusive. Sticking to your hunch; working with your theory. There are so many things out there now that might not be discovered if the scientists hadn't persevered." ”Perseverance is crucial, Miss Newton, thank you!” Simran said, nodding once more. “Dealing with all these things, as well as rejections when asking for funding, as well as the public insisting that your work has no value -- these can all be very demoralising for scientists, and it is important that they not give in to the feelings of inadequacy.”
“After all, it is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not failure, that is life.” SPOILER!!: RachieRu Quote:
Originally Posted by RachieRu Astronomy was one of Lili's favourite subjects. She probably would have considered it an occupation if her heart wasn't so set on Potions and Quidditch. But it still meant that she enjoyed the class. It was why there was a big smile on her face as she sat putting the date on her parchment. She had her colour coded system, so that it was easier for her to revise when she got started. But for now, she was going to enjoy the lesson, and colour code to her hearts desire. It was only the start of the year, so she didn't need to do too much studying yet.
She thought to herself for a little, thinking deeply about the question, and listening to others opinions before she put her hand up in the air. She smiled as she answered when it was her turn. "They need to act in a non-biased way. Results, and evidence can't be used, or good, if the person who completed it did so in a biased way" Ah, Miss Montague. Simran had always thought this girl had potential. Tragically, her heart was set on other courses. No matter, all good potioneers required a good grasp on their Astronomy, and she would do her level best to make sure that is what the girl had.
“Very good!” she exclaimed. “And especially if results were acquired using questionable means.”
SPOILER!!: ikenstein Quote:
Originally Posted by iekenstein Waaay to be a drama queen, Eiji. For someone who acted like he didn't like the drama he sure was dramatic aye. Céline cackled at El's comment and nodded while trying to keep a straight face. "Make sure yer writing is nice and big so we can copy aye. Cheers." In case he so felt inclined to share his genius.
If they all were as much a scientist as the Professor was they really weren't in the hands of a capable prof, were they!! JOKESSSS No but really. Céline was about as far from scientist as she could be and she was alright with that. "'s Just there, innit?" She shrugged, not sure where this was going. "Science, like. Even if you don't know anything about it it's still there." And that was about the extent of her scientific knowledge right there. Miss Myles truly was something else. Simran smiled, and then shrugs. “One could say that, yes. Personally, I believe science is more the process of finding out about the things out there, rather than the things themselves.”
SPOILER!!: hermionesclone Quote:
Originally Posted by hermionesclone Lucas generally liked to spend the remainder of this time until the start of the lesson looking up at the stars. But, today was a different story. With no stars in sight, he simply looked around him, instead, especially at the equipment in front of him. This....... was going to be technical, wasn't it?
A thoughtful expression crossed his face but he didn't have long to ponder on that. His eyes found Sandhu when she started talking about..... science. Natural science. Physical science. It was all very technical but it was also Astronomy and he loved Astronomy. So if he had to start getting technical with this, he was going to do it.
What is important to keep in mind as a scientist? Easy! Lucas raised his hand up in the air, an answer already in mind. Every scientist had to be a bit curi- ........ oh. Someone else had already said that. Uh. Frowning slightly, he lowered his hand again and tried to think again. What else was important to keep in mind?
Think..... think.
Oh! "Well, I guess you have to be willing to take risks, right?" he started, his hand right up in the air again, "I mean, sometimes, the experiment or the...... the thing you're trying to find out is dangerous. It might help but it's dangerous. But if you don't take the risk and try and experiment, you're never going to know the answer." “That is very true, Mr Dakest. Risks must be taken, but not unnecessary ones,” she said, fixing the boy with a careful look. “Madam Curie, for example, did some great research and won two Nobel prizes for it, but she also contracted cancer for not taking precautions against radioactivity. While she didn’t know the effects of this, we do now, and although any research involving such radioactive materials carries its own risk, it is also our job to keep the risks minimal.”
“You must stay alive and well if you are to contribute further, after all.” SPOILER!!: PhoenixRising Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising Reason to like astronomy: star-gazing. And even though Astronomy class tended to be more involved than that, it was kinda nice to not have a lesson early in the morning.
Her eyes gazed around as Professor Sandhu was speaking about how Astronomy was a physical science, a natural science and Maeve was trying hard to take it all in. It wasn't as if it was a difficult question; things to pay attention to as scientists and yet why was the sixth year struggling to form any sort of conclusive answer?
"Paying attention to the little details?" was what Maeve offered in hopefully something not redundant to what was said. Clearly she wasn't good at that. ”Very correct, Miss Walsh!” she nodded, turning towards the blackboard, now full of their answers. “Every variable is important, any small thing could change the outcome of your experiment.” Now, returning to the centre of the room and her desk, she clapped her hands together in glee. It was time to reveal the true focus of the seminar lesson. “As you may have noticed, the topic of experiments was brought up several times. Scientists of all fields have one process that they all follow -- we call it the Scientific Method. It is a way to make guesses, and see if we are correct.”
“The process begins with a problem statement, from which a hypothesis is drawn. Every hypothesis must name two variables -- what is changed and what is observed. We call these the manipulated and responding variables. We also have variables that don't change -- the constant variables.”
“On your tables is the apparatus to create a simple pendulum. I will show you how to set it up, and how to take the measurements, and then you will do it yourselves with variables.” Now behind her desk, she pulled the retort stand and clamp onto the table.
“The clamp is attached to the retort stand with screws -- please don’t use the string to tie them together. It’s more work than it’s worth.” Could they all see her? No matter, she would go around the room to be sure they were setting up correctly later. “After the clamp is attatched, we will construct the pendulum. First tie the string to the pendulum bob. This is now your pendulum. Now tie it to the pivot -- that’s the clamp.”
Everyone following so far? Good. “Now, you displace slightly and release. One oscillation is complete when the pendulum returns to the starting position. I want you to time how long it takes the pendulum to complete ten oscillations. Now it’s your turn.”
“Once you’ve managed to get ten oscillations, you can use the metre rule or the extra string to change the length and see how that affects the period of the oscillations and tabulate your results. Raise your hand if you need help!”
She’d just be taking a little walk around the room otherwise, making sure everything was going okay.
OOC: Hi guys! We’ve come to the mini-activity! I know this was a LOT of text, but you don’t actually have to tabulate these results. Just say the students did! Please title your post if you need help from Simran.
You’ll have approximately 3 days to finish this activity before we move on to the next question, but I’ll be by in between. Have fun!
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