Classroom Bloopers

Sounds funny, but it is true. One definition of "inspire " is to "breathe life into." Also, we do "expire" if we don't breathe, because we need oxygen to live.

The H does not stand for Hot, or C for Cold as it does on water faucets. Water is made up of 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen (H2O). The H stands for Hydrogen and the O for Oxygen. CO2 is carbon dioxide.

You would hold a "beaker," not a "deacon" over a flame. A "deacon" is usually a person in a church who assists the minister. A beaker is a container used in a lab.

Carbon monoxide is "odorless," Therefore, there is no way you could "smell" it. Odorless means "without smell or having no odor."

The proper spelling is Oxygen and Hydrogen. They are not made of "gin", which is a type of alcoholic drink.

The proper spelling is "veins." In addition, there are no CATERPILLARS in our bodies. The very small blood vessels that connect arteries and veins are "capillaries."

Blood travels in both directions in the legs, arms, and elsewhere in the body. During blood circulation, the arteries carry blood away from the heart. The capillaries connect the arteries to veins. Finally, the veins carry the blood back to the heart.

This is partly true. Although people usually think "inspiration" is a new idea,it is also the act of breathing in. However, they meant to say "expiration" instead of "expectoration." Expiration is breathing out; expectoration usually refers to coughing or spitting something out.

The moon is not one of the 10 planets in our solar system. It is a natural "satellite" that revolves around our planet. Nothing grows on the moon, but many things grow on the Earth.

"Dew" is water droplets condensed from the air, usually at night, onto cool surfaces, (like the leaves of a plant). The plants are not actually perspiring.

This is true to some degree. Super-saturation is when a chemical solution is more highly concentrated than normally possible because of certain unique conditions of temperature and pressure.

All mushrooms are not shaped like umbrellas, and the umbrella shape is not caused by the need for an umbrella.

The body consists of many parts. Three of its main sections include the cranium (skull portion covering the brain), thorax (chest cavity), and abdominal cavity (the area between the thorax and pelvis). The bowels (NOT VOWELS.) are the digestive tract below the stomach.

Flowers do NOT have "pistols." They do have "pistils, which are something else entirely." A pistil is the seed-bearing organ of a flower.

The alimentary canal is located in the human body. It is the mucous membrane-lined tube of the digestive system that runs through the body, and includes the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, and intestines.

The skeleton is the vertebrate (bone) structure that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and parts. Bones in the body provide support, hematopoiesis, mineral protection, locomotion, and hearing.

The permanent teeth fall into four classes: the molars, the bicuspids or premolars, the cuspids or canines , and the incisors. In a full set of adult teeth, there are thirty-two teeth.

The tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the Sun and the Moon. The Earth's great oceans are pulled to and fro. The fluids in our bodies are also affected to some degree.

A fossil is a remnant or trace of something from a past time. It could be a skeleton, footprint, or leaf imprint embedded in rock or the earth’s crust, etc. Some fossils are of animals that have become extinct.

True. Alcohol can cause very serious problems for unborn fetuses (babies). And it can cause some women to "miscarry" (where the baby arrives so prematurely that it is incapable of living on its own).

The term is "positive" or negative...not affirmative. If you have positive blood, for example, a transfusion of negative blood would be deadly, and vice versa.

A planet is defined as a non-luminous celestial body illuminated by light from a star There are 9 planets in our solar system.

Rhubarb does look like a bloodshot celery stalk, but it is actually a separate type of plant with long-stalked leaves. Although not frequently prepared anymore, rhubarb pies are very good.

This student meant to say "an IMAGINARY LINE (not "menagerie lion") which CIRCLES the Earth and divides the north and south hemispheres for the purpose of determining "latitudes."

Germinate means "to sprout, or to begin to grow."

One definition for "litter" is babies produced by a multiparous mammal like dogs, cats, etc. (multiparous means normally giving birth to more than one offspring at a time). A "liter," on the other hand, is a unit of volume that is a little larger (1.056)

No, that would be a definition for a "momento," not "momentum." Momentum is defined as "the force of motion."

Nope -- the Pope lives in the Vatican. A "vacuum" is a space that is empty of matter -- it can be large or small.

Of course, the nose is part of the body but most importantly, you NEVER want your heart to stop. First aid for nosebleeds is simple:Keep the victim quietly seated, leaning forward if possible. Gently pinch the nostrils closed. Apply cold compresses to the victim's nose and face. If the person is conscious, it may be helpful to apply pressure beneath the nostril above lip. Instruct victim not to blow his/her nose for several hours after the bleeding has stopped, or clots could be dislodged and start the bleeding again.

You would want to create artificial "respiration," not perspiration. The best way to start a person's breathing is to use Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). CPR is something everyone should learn.

The best treatment for fainting is to put the victim's head lower than his/her feet. If someone is beginning to faint, get him/her to immediately put their head between their knees.

Actually, it shouldn't stay in the cow for the cow's sake. Cows who are producing milk, need to be milked regularly. Instead of keeping it in the cow, keep it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh longer if it stays cold.

Ouch. That would hurt. To remove a foreign body on the inside of the eyelid, proceed as follows: Pull upper eyelid over the lower eyelashes. If the irritant is still there, then lift the eyelid and remove the object with sterile gauze.

That would be an "atomizer" -- a device for producing a fine spray. "Agonize" means "to be in extreme pain."

Lets hope that the artificial respiration helps the victim START BREATHING again. Many people are saved every year by receiving artificial respiration in the form of CPR, etc.

You do "quarantine" a dog after he bites someone in order to control his movements until you can determine that he is not suffering from rabies or other disease. Animals who do have rabies and are beyond treatment are usually "euthanised" (which typically means that since the animal

One definition for "horsepower" is the power exerted BY a horse when pulling. But the more accurate definition is 745.7 watts or 550 foot-pounds per second.

The sound of thunder reaches us after we see the lightning because light travels much faster than sound. Count the seconds between the light and the sound. For every five seconds in between, the lightning is one mile further away.

When atoms are split, an "explosion" of nuclear energy can be created. The atom bomb was invented based on this principle.

Talc is a soft mineral found in flat, smooth layers of rock. It is true that purified talc is frequently used to make powders such as baby powder!

The Earth's gravity is what keeps us from "floating" off our planet! Gravity is the force of attraction that acts between all objects based on their mass. Gravity is considered to be the force that holds our universe together.

There may be many reasons people choose to run around in circles! The 9 planets in our solar system naturally rotate (orbit) around the sun as a result of particular forces of nature.

Sunlight is a combination of seven visible colors: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Rainbows appear when raindrops reflect the visible light colors from the sun at different angles. You can see the rainbow when the sun is at your back and the rain is in front of you.

A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances. Chemists frequently work with solutions in their labs. They also come up with the other kind of "solutions" by solving a problem through their research.

Magnets can be pointed (aimed) in any direction. But the hands of a compass will always naturally point toward "magnetic north" unless a stronger magnet is placed nearby to interfere with the natural pull.

A vibration is a "to and fro" motion called "oscillation."

The seasons in countries located south of the equator are reversed from those in North America. In South America winter is from June to September and summer is from December to March.

This is just a coincidence. There is no relationship between the 180 degrees between north and south, and the 180 degrees Fahrenheit difference in boiling and freezing points for water. In addition, remember there are two different ways to measure temperature -- Fahrenheit (F) and Centigrade (C). Water freezes at 0 degrees centigrade and boils at 100 degrees centigrade.

There are 13 main vitamin groups, but there are 8 additional types of vitamins in Vitamin B. They were named after letters of the alphabet for ease in referring to them, not because of any correlation to the number of letters of the alphabet! It is unlikely that finding a new vitamin for every letter of the alphabet would help us live forever!

The weight pushing down on the Earth results primarily from the earth's gravitational pull, the weight of the earth pushing inward, and the weight of our atmosphere -- not from people stomping around!

Lime is "calcium oxide," and it is found naturally in crushed limestone. It's green color has nothing to do with how it would taste, and it should not be eaten! However, there is a fruit called a "lime" that does have a distinctive citrus flavor, and it can be eaten.

You should never look directly into the sun because that can seriously damage your eyes! People look at an instrument called a "sundial" to tell time. The sun's shadow falling across the sundial moves throughout the day, continuously pointing to the number for the correct time.

It is true that over time some dead animals become fossilized and some become oil -- but this is a result of the particular natural forces acting on each -- not a matter of what they PREFERRED to be!