NSTA Recommends -- Science and Food for Grades 9-12

NSTA Recommends – Science and Food

Grades 9-12

The following are excerpts from NTSA Recommends book reviews.

This multimedia software program bases its science activities on actual NASA research. Using benchtop labs copied from those at the Kennedy and Johnson space centers, the program designers present students with problems currently under investigation. As a supplement to a high school or community college biology curriculum, BioBlast incorporates basic biology with supporting sciences such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, nutrition, astronomy, and statistics to engage students in lunar research.

Global Issues Population Growth: An Instruction Manual in Integrated Science
by John W. Jewett, Jr. and Stefanie A. Saccoman
Reviewed by Charles Jervis – Science Teacher

What links such a diverse range of materials? The title tells it all. Population growth has a global perspective. The causes and effects of population growth are of great interest to ecologists, environmentalists, health scientists, and others. The relationships among large populations and nutrition, resource use, transportation, and technology in general need to be understood to be able to plan global and local resource use. All of these issues indicate that a full appreciation of the complexities of population growth requires an interdisciplinary approach.

Science Fair Success Using Supermarket Products
by Salvatore Tocci
Reviewed by Bill Williams – Science Curriculum Coordinator

The text is arranged into five chapters of experiments exploring readily accessible food products: beverages; dairy products; fruits and vegetables; meat products; and snacks, desserts, and candies. Each experiment is preceded by a topical explanation of the products to be explored. These sections alone present enough valuable information to make the book worth purchasing. Within the context of relevant exploration, these pockets of factual knowledge are fascinating.