S3_3 The Shadow of Balerion the Dread

We investigated a legend within Game of Thrones which suggested that there was a dragon large enough to cast a shadow over entire towns as it flew overhead. For casting a shadow over Leicester, we would need a wingspan of 29.66km. For Manchester, the wingspan would be approximately 37.24km. For Birmingham, the wingspan would be 56.71km and for London, the wingspan would need to be 137.3km

S3_4 We're Walking in the Air

In the popular 1982 TV adaptation of The Snowman, a young boy wakes up in the morning tond his snowman has melted overnight. We investigated whether this would be realistic. We havecalculated how long it would take for a 1.8 m tall snowman to melt based on the power from the Sun. With complete absorption of light, the snowman would take 16.3 hours to melt. This number increases when considering incomplete absorption of light

S3_1 Setting The Record Straight

We investigate the outcome of performing world record sports events on the Moon with reduced gravity. We studied men's shotput and 100m sprint; held by Randy Barnes (23.12m) and Usain Bolt (9.58s) respectively. After calculating the world records attempts on the moon, we found that the shotput record would increase to 168m and the 100m sprint record would slow to 10.0s

S3_2 The Power Of Ice King

We consider how much power it might take for Ice King from Adventure Time to freeze princesses by using refrigerator equations. With a refrigerator of coefficient of performance 5.5, it would require 8 MW of power to freeze a female of mass 60 kg and height 1.6 m in a block of ice assuming 100% efficiency. The power required is even higher for lower efficiencies and to freeze a number of princesses in one instant

S3_5 Attack of the Aliens

Modelled after a very famous scene in the film Alien (1979), we calculated the force required by a “chestburster” alien to break through a human chest cavity in one blow. We found this force to be 155000 N. We also calculated that the speed at which the alien would need to leave the body would be 102 m/s.

A Preliminary Study of Distracted Driving

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report distracted driving is a “problem on the rise” with increasing numbers injuries and deaths each year. More than 9 people are killed each day while more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. Specifically, the number one killer of adolescents (ages 15-24) is automobile related deaths due to distracted driving. One of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving is texting while driving because it combines all three types of distraction: visual, manual, and cognitive. Texting and driving is a growing public safety hazard as seen through media and public service announcements. As health science students, we wanted to find out if college students text and drive along with their opinions behind the issue. Overall, the aim of the study was to examine if distracted driving is viewed as merely one manifestation of distracted living. After analyzing our results, it was concluded that this research needs to be continued in order to investigate the integrated pattern regarding the use of electronic devices, social media, and distraction

S3_6 Spinning Around

We explore the changing velocity of a pole dancer's spin using a pole which rotates as the performer spins. Assuming the motion is frictionless we find that an initial leg whip perpendicular to the pole lasting pi radians results in a velocity of 0.484 rev/s. By pulling the outstretched leg in to the pole the velocity increases massively to 7.74 rev/s

Interpersonal skills and Facebook use among college students

The use of Facebook® among college students is prevalent, and its relationship with interpersonal skills is unknown. A cross-sectional design study using a convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled in one of four sections of an upper-level nutrition course at a Northeastern, public university was conducted to investigate this relationship. Participants completed a paper survey containing items that assessed interpersonal skills, Facebook® use, and demographics. Data from 136 participants were analyzed to determine what, if any, relationship exists between Facebook® use and interpersonal skills. A statistically significant relationship was found between three pairs of variables: the Bergen Facebook® Addiction Scale total scores and a communication subscale, r(127) = -0.29, p \u3c0.01; the Bergen Facebook® Addiction Scale total scores and a conflict resolution subscale, r(127) = -0.34, p \u3c0.01; and the Bergen Facebook® Addiction Scale total scores and a total Interpersonal Skills Scale, r(127) = -0.25, p \u3c0.01. Given the inverse relationship of these variables, health educators may need to emphasize interpersonal skills to a greater extent than in the past; however, further research investigating Facebook® use and interpersonal skills should be conducted to better understand this relationship and determine whether or not it is a causal relationship

Three Essays on the Economic Relationships Between Climate and Agriculture

Climate plays an influential part in decision making by farmers by influencing the need and effectiveness of some inputs such as pesticides as well as expected yields. We look at the effect of climate variables and GMO incidence on pesticide expenditures for the subcategories of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides and find that pesticide usage is affected by changes in the climate with differing effects by crop and pesticide type. Additionally, we find evidence that increased incidence of GMO crops decreases pesticide expenditures. This study adds to the literature by analyzing climate and GMO effects by pesticide subcategories and considering fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. Longer term ocean related decadal climate variability (DCV) also has the potential to influence climate plus crop yields. Forecasts of DCV events can provide farmers with altered expectations of crop yields plus the opportunity to alter their crop mixes and input usage to account for the expected effects on yields. We look at the yield effect of the negative and positive phases of DCV phenomena covering the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the Tropical Atlantic Gradient (TAG), and the West Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP). We find that phase combinations across these phenomena have significant associations with climate outcomes and in turn, indirect effects on yields. In turn, this is work is used to investigate the value of DCV information and the nature of adaptations. We found initial estimates suggesting that both the use of forecasts that permit a conditional probability of future phase combinations occurring and perfect information on next year’s DCV phase can significantly increase agriculture consumer and producer welfare. This is a new result that is an estimate of the US national value of releasing DCV forecasts and accompanying yield information

An early peak in the radio light curve of short-duration Gamma-Ray Burst 200826A

We present the results of radio observations from the eMERLIN telescope combined with X-ray data from Swift for the short-duration Gamma-ray burst (GRB) 200826A, located at a redshift of 0.71. The radio light curve shows evidence of a sharp rise, a peak around 4-5 days post-burst, followed by a relatively steep decline. We provide two possible interpretations based on the time at which the light curve reached its peak. (1) If the light curve peaks earlier, the peak is produced by the synchrotron self-absorption frequency moving through the radio band, resulting from the forward shock propagating into a wind medium and (2) if the light curve peaks later, the turn over in the light curve is caused by a jet break. In the former case, we find a minimum equipartition energy of ~3x10^47 erg and bulk Lorentz factor of ~5, while in the latter case we estimate the jet opening angle of ~9-16 degrees. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to determine which is the correct interpretation, however, due to its relative simplicity and consistency with other multi-wavelength observations which hint at the possibility that GRB 200826A is in fact a long GRB, we prefer scenario one over scenario two.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted to MNRA