Dan+Houston

Please direct questions and updates to Dan Houston here. Please send me a note at dxhouston@ieee.org. **//Here is the Science Fair Paperwork collected for your groups this week.... Brian and Jodi Burda //**
 * Student:** Ron Hermoso will provide you with a hard copy of his report on Friday, March 8th.

Hi Mr. Houston. Sorry this is so late it just slipped my mind. We are really excited to do the project (basketball shot percentages). We will let you know what is going on as we work on the project. SORRY AGAIN FOR BEING LATE!!!! p.s. our group consists of Brendan, Chris, Ron, and me, Conor

3/6/12 Brendan, Chris, Ron, and Conor, I read your papers and have some questions for you. First a quick recap: Brendan, your title question is, "What is the best position to shoot a basketball from?" Chris, you ask, "What is the best position to release a basketball from?" You mention a hypothesis but don't say what it is. Conor, you ask the same question as Chris, but you add, "Why does the release point matter?" Near the end of you paper you hint at what a release point is when you refer to eye level. Now for my questions. What is your research question? Good research is focused on a single question. The research may answer other questions, but the research question defines the scope of work and keeps it manageable. Your research question will have one or more terms that require technical definition and you need to define them based on your reading. For example, what is a "release point"? How is it defined in terms of position of various parts of the body? Does the definition include relationship to the court? How would one measure release point? What units are used in measuring it? Next question, what is your hypothesis? What do you think the experiment will demonstrate? Why do you think the experiment will demonstrate the hypothesis? Your answer to the last question should use the terms defined thus far, like "release point." Conor, you suggested that it has to do with more arc on the ball. Can you say more about the physical cause-and-effect relationship between the eye level release point and arc? Please think about these questions between now and Friday lunch. See if you can agree on a research question, definition of terms in the question, and what instruments you will use to measure what you defined. Thanks, Dan Houston

Hi Mr. Houston our group is working on a science project and the title is The Geometry of Goal Scoring. We have met and divided up the work. We plan on meeting again. We will keep you up to speed with our project. Ryan,Jack,Markus,Nick

Hi Mr. Houston!  Our group is so excited to have you as our science committee mentor! My group consists of Markus Raad, Jack Alexander, Ryan Simone, and me, Nicholas Norambuena. Our topic is the Geometry of Goal Scoring. Our research question is "How will the success rate vary with the angle of a shot?". Our description is block off one-third of a soccer net with a cone, 5-gallon bucket or some other suitable object. Shoot into the smaller side from a set distance, but systematically varying the angle to the goal line. Take enough shots at each angle to get a reliable sample. Our hypothesis is if you take the shot from the center of the goal, then it is more likely to result in a goal. Our control group is the group shooting straight on towards the goal. The experimental group would be the group shooting from an angle. The independent variable is the angle the goal is shot from (straight foward or from an designated angle). The dependent variable is if the goal is scored or not. Thank you for your time and effort and let me know if you need more information. Nicholas Norambuena The boys --Ryan,Jack,Markus,Nick -- spent close to 2 hours together on Monday, February 20th. They worked together to complete their background research paper and then each boys chose 2 parts to complete. They have set a deadline of February 26th to complete their two paragraphs for their research paper. On the 26th, they will be emailing the paragraphs to Nicholas Norambuena. Nicholas will be putting the paragraphs together and then sending it to Jack. Jack will write the conclusion. On March 2nd, the boys have plans to meet after early dismissal for lunch. There, they will edit their paper and fix any last details.

2/23/12 Hey, Guys, Thanks for your note. I saw a note from you this morning on the wikispace page named for me. I didn’t know that was a page for messages, but now I know. I added the second paragraph below to that page so all your information at this point will be on one page. I would like to meet with you when you’re ready. I know that you’ve been doing the background work. When you have enough of it done for a review, let me know and I’ll come over after school one day for a review. We can also talk about planning your experiment. I want to offer you some guidance so that you get good experimental results. Thanks, Dan Houston

2/26/12 I met with Joe Hawkins and Anthony Cicchini after Mass this evening and discussed the project that they and Andrew Burda are doing. They met yesterday and are making good progress with their keywords, questions and search for background material on webpages. Dan