Zombies Attack: Physics Students Try to Survive the Apocalypse
For the final unit in Physics, junior students are learning more than equations and formulas… they are learning how to survive! Zombies have overrun Clemente, Humboldt Park and Chicago and the juniors need to learn crucial survival skills to make it out alive.
In order to survive and thrive in this new world, these IB learners are exploring transformation of energy. Classes will learn about conduction, convection and radiation and how heat transforms. They will also investigate reflection and refraction of light through mini-labs and online simulations. Armed with this knowledge, students will determine the application of these concepts in a post-apocalypse world. Physics students studied the concept of conduction this week, or, heat transfer through direct contact. In perhaps the most popular experiment of the year, each student tested how conduction works while eating a popsicle. While icy treats may be scarce in a zombie-infested city, they will have to tie their understanding to the ultimate survival test. The ultimate test of resilience will be in student-designed solar ovens created at the end of the unit; the juniors will synthesize and apply their understanding to create an oven that would function without electricity and provide necessary cooking means for their survivor colony.
Furthermore, as an added component to the zombie survival unit, Physics classes created character profiles that will allow them to track their progress throughout the unit. Each student will measure their hunger, thirst and health until the end of the year, which will be impacted by the choices each individual makes. This week, while on a “scavenging mission”, students were confronted with a mysterious noise and had to decide to investigate a potentially lurking zombie or run from the unknown. Many students took the courageous route and were rewarded by gaining hunger points while those who ran lost health and thirst points. They were also responsible for deciding if Clemente is an ideal zombie hideout using an interactive resource map, analyzing pros and cons of their position and making a final determination on if they should hunker down or keep moving. Keep your fingers crossed for the Clemente juniors as they navigate this fearful adventure!
A special thanks to Amber Sipich (www.ambersipich.com) for designing and creating the student profiles!