Dwayne’s Study Zombies

Hey, did anyone out there watch the 2010 Winter Olympics? Watching all those skiers and skaters made me wonder how come you can slide down snowy or icy surfaces so fast, but if you tried the same thing on grass or concrete, you wouldn’t slide as much. I mean, what makes ice so slippery? I know it has something to do with friction but I don’t really know what friction is, so I tried to look it up. But then I realized something. The internet has a LOT of information! There’s like over 25 MILLION results when I put the word “friction” into google.com. When I looked at the first one at Wikipedia, it said:

Friction is the force resisting the relative lateral (tangential) motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, or material elements in contact. It is usually subdivided into several varieties.

Already I’m like, WHOAH, what does THAT mean? I have no idea! That’s why sometimes I feel stupid, ’cause I read stuff on the internet when I just wanna find out a simple answer to a simple question like, “Why is ice slippery” and I get this sentence about relatives and ladders and tangerines. I don’t get it! (more…)

You know what I love? The fair! It’s got all those crazy rides that spin you all around, and up and down, and I feel like I’m gonna get sick, but I just keep riding them!! They’ve always got these deals going too where you can get a bracelet or something and ride all day long! I used to be able to ride on those spinning ones (the one at my fair was called the GRAVITRON!!) all day and night, but nowadays I can only ride them a couple of times, and then I gotta take a breather and go on a much more tame ride, like a roller coaster.

Check out this practice question I found about the GRAVITRON!

A man stands on a ride at an amusement park that spins around. As the ride spins faster, the man is pushed back against the outer wall and finds it very difficult to pull himself away from it.

Which statement best explains this event?

1. There is glue on the wall holding him on.

2. The ride is creating a magnetic force that pulls the man toward the metal in the walls.

3. The ride is creating a new center of gravity inside the walls.

4. The spinning of the ride creates a centrifugal force that pushes the man outward from the center.

5. The ride creates an optical illusion the makes the man think he is falling backward into the wall. (more…)

Hey, GED studiers! Anyone out there who wants to be a scientist? I think it’d be totally kewl… like, I could be like Dr. Jeckyl, all in my secret chemistry lab, with mysterious equipment, putting together a secret formula…. Well, I guess real science isn’t quite like that, but still. Like, you could work on a space ship. Or in a laboratory, with microscopes and exploding chemicals and stuff. Or on secret work for the government! And maybe you’d win a Nobel prize! (more…)

Okay, GED science time! Kewl… I totally can’t believe my dreams are gonna become reality. Did you ever want to be invisible? I sure did… you know, sneaking into movie theaters… pretending to be a ghost and haunting Curtis… awesome! And pretty soon, they’ll be real invisibility cloaks… I just gotta save up my money, dudes, cuz I bet they’ll be expensive. (more…)

Okay… GED science pop-quiz time!!! Here’s a practice question jus’ like you might get on any GED science test… (more…)

So.. static electricity!!! Makes your hair stand on end! It’s all science, I tell ya’, GED science! Yes, it is. And you can prove it. See, there’s this thing called a Van de Graaff Generator. Kewl science name, right? It’s a MYSTERIOUS object that makes your hair stand on end! No joke. (more…)

I got a GED science experiment for you! Forget books for studying for the GED test…. I learn things by doin’ them! That’s right. Get out from in front of your computer, cuz here’s a GED experiment anyone can do right in their own home. Ok. Here it is. Now, do this before you read anything more. Get up from your computer. You got to be wearin’ shoes, so put them on if you’re barefoot! Then, stand on the carpet and rub your feet back and forth. Now, touch the doorknob. (more…)

So, did you get the GED practice question I gave you last time? One thing I know is, on the GED test, there’ll be charts and graphs to look at, and you gotta figure out what’s goin’ on with them to score high on your GED. Here’s the one I showed you last time:

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Ever think about water? Okay, okay, you’re thinking about your GED, not about water. But water is killer weird, dude. Like, it’s this stuff that’s all over the place… and even inside your body, dude! And it CHANGES… yeah, you boil it an’ what happens? you get STEAM, that’s a gas… and in the winter it freezes and becomes solid ICE… and then usually it’s like just WATER man, that’s a liquid. So it’s three different kinds of matter. (Hey, dudes, this stuff’s on the GED test!!) (more…)

Machines? Simple? Dude, I always get confused by machines. I ain’t like Curtis, like, all knowin’ how to fix cars and everything. But on the GED science test, you gotta know some basic stuff about machines. An’ they got these things, you wouldn’t even think they were machines at all that are called “simple machines.” (more…)