Alcatraz Escape, Duck Echo, Red Cross Microchip

This episode is not part of any Collection. It is the seventh episode of Season 2.

Myths tested:
Was it possible to survive an escape from Alcatraz?
Does a duck's quack echo?
Does the government implant secret chips in people and can stud finders be used to find them

The Science behind Alcatraz Escape
I took my students on a field trip to the Bay Area Model in Sausalito and we watched this episode before AND after, to extra learning. The key questions:
• Was it possible to survive the conditions on the night of their escape?
• How does using models help understand conditions that can’t be recreated?

Students can study the history of the actual escape and make their own predictions, build boats, learn about tides and even how to evade detection by crafting a fictional identity, but I find the lesson of this myth is more about the use of models for understanding complex systems, and the history of the Bay Area Model and its implications for computer-based modeling.

The Science behind Duck Echo
Sound waves and hearing are the main ideas here. The key questions:
• What is an echo, technically speaking?
• Why do ducks quack?

Students can explore the structure of sounds, and the variety of bird songs. My mind was blown when I learned about the evolutionary function of bird calls…

The Science behind Red Cross MicroChip
Tracking technology and the powers of magnets are the main science ideas here. The key questions:
• How do tracking microchips (like the kind injected into dogs at the SPCA) work?
• How do studfinders work? Can you map the studs in your classroom?

Students can explore the ever-changing world of microtech (and get all paranoid if they want to). Studfinders make fun hands-on tools for even very young students—its fun to detect the invisible!

Penny Drop/Deadly Microwaves/Radio Fillings

This episode is part of Collection 1, disc 1, episode 3. It is ALSO the fourth episode of Season 2.

NOTE: This episode is one of the richer ones, science curriculum-wise. I recommend it for those new to using Mythbusters in the classroom.

 

Myths tested:
Will a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building kill a person ?
Can a person's internal organs be cooked by a tanning booth?
Can tooth fillings receive radio waves?

The Science behind Penny Drop
I use this episode more than any other, because it so beautifully illustrates the idea of gravitational acceleration and terminal velocity. The main ideas here are gravity and terminal velocity. The key questions:
• How fast does something fall?

An object falling toward the surface of the Earth will fall 9.81 meters (or 32.18 feet) per second faster every second (an acceleration of 9.81 m/s² or 32.18 ft/s²).

Near the surface of the Earth, an object in free fall in a vacuum will accelerate at approximately 9.8 m/s², independent of its mass.

With air resistance acting upon an object that has been dropped, the object will eventually reach a terminal velocity, around 56 m/s (200 km/h or 120 mph) for a human body. Terminal velocity depends on many factors including mass, drag coefficient, and relative surface area, and will only be achieved if the fall is from sufficient altitude.

The penny, falling from the top of the Eiffel Tower, reaches a terminal velocity of

• What is terminal velocity?

A free-falling object achieves its terminal velocity when the downward force of gravity (F_g) equals the upward force of drag (F_d). This causes the net force on the object to be zero, resulting in an acceleration of zero. This doesn't mean it stops falling; this means the speed of its fall doesn't continue to increase over the length of the fall. The object doesn't fall faster and faster infinitely. It falls faster and faster UNTIL it stops increasing the speed of its fall. It's still falling, it's just falling at a constant speed.

As the object accelerates (usually downwards due to gravity), the drag force acting on the object increases, causing the acceleration to decrease. At a particular speed, the drag force produced will equal the object's weight (mg). At this point the object ceases to accelerate altogether and continues falling at a constant speed called terminal velocity (also called settling velocity). Terminal velocity varies directly with the ratio of weight to drag. More drag means a lower terminal velocity, while increased weight means a higher terminal velocity. An object moving downward with greater than terminal velocity (for example because it was affected by a downward force or it fell from a thinner part of the atmosphere or it changed shape) will slow until it reaches terminal velocity.

What causes drag? Friction. Bigger surface area = higher drag. Think parachute.

• What does mass have to do with it?

Students can explore the impact of objects dropped or thrown, and the relative impact of objects of varying mass. There is a strong connection between this myth and “Bullet Dropped/Shot” in Knock Your Socks Off, Episode 12, Season 7, and with “Bullets Fired Up” in Season 4, Episode 7.

The Science behind Deadly Microwaves
The mystery of life that is the microwave is the main idea here. The key questions:
• How do microwaves work anyway?
• Why is it not OK to put metal in a microwave?
• Why does water heated in a microwave sometimes “explode” (boil over really quickly)?
• Adam and Jaime choose not to test the dog in the microwave myth. How is this an ethical decision, and what is the role of ethics in science? In TV shows?

Students can explore the electromagnetic spectrum and frequency/wavelength relationship, the anatomy of a microwave, compare foods cooked in a microwave vs. a regular oven, learn about convection ovens, and any of their own ideas about microwaves. This episode is connected to others about microwaves and EMF phenomena: Season 2, Episode 6, MRI Rays and Tattoos; (MORE HERE)

The Science behind Tanning Booth Cooking
Still more mysteries of the EMF spectrum… UV light is the main idea here. The key questions:
• How do tanning booths work anyway?
• What temperature is required to cook chicken?
• Why does skin turn brown when exposed to UV light? Why do tanning booths cause skin cancer?

Students can explore the electromagnetic spectrum and different kinds of UV light, melanin and skin coloring in various human genotypes (my students are boggled by the evolutionary roots of what they call “race”), sunscreens (fun with UV light sensitive beads!), and safe cooking techniques for chicken.

The Science behind Radio Tooth Fillings
The properties of dental fillings and radio station signals are the main ideas here. The key questions:
• What are dental fillings made of?
• What materials are able to act as receivers for radio signals?

Students can explore how radios work (cheap crystal radio kits are available), and can learn about dental fillings (do old fillings contain mercury?).

Cell Phone Destruction, Silicone Implants, CD Shatter

This episode is part of Collection 1, disc 1, episode 3. It is ALSO the third episode of Season 2.


Myths tested:
Will using a cell phone near a gas pump cause an explosion?
Will silicone breast implants explode or expand in low pressure?
Can a standard CD-ROM drive shatter a CD?

The Science behind Cell Phone Destruction
The main ideas here involve cell phone power, static electricity and gasoline combustion. The key questions:
• How much of a spark can a cell phone generate?
• How much of a spark is required to ignite gas fumes?
• Can static electricity sparks ignite gas fumes?
Students can explore creating sparks with static electricity, how cell phones are powered/insulated, and the fire triangle in the context of gasoline combustion. (See Episode 14 for a followup.)

The Science behind Blow Up Boobs
The effects of air pressure on contained fluids are the main ideas here. The key questions:
• What are the ingredients/components of breast implants?
• How does air pressure change in flight?
• How do changes in air pressure affect contained liquids?
Students can explore the behavior of silicone, contained fluids under various air pressures, and learn more about
pressurization on airplanes. (See Episode 14 for a followup.)

The Science behind CD Shatter
The speed of CD-ROM drives and the durability of CD-ROM discs are the main ideas here. The key questions:
• How fast do CD-ROM drives move? What forces are generated?
• What does it take to shatter a CD-ROM disc? What are they made of?

Students can explore how CD-ROM drives work, and what CD-ROM discs are made of. (How are CDs different from DVDs? How is computer data stored?).