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Samuel Glass - Welcome!
Mr. Glass holding a blue flask

Samuel Glass

Samuel Glass is the collective name of a biological community of about 1x1014 eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells living on the third planet from a G2V star located at about 7.62x103 parsecs from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Formed since Julian Date 2438786.05139 and at 232 meters above mean sea level, this community of cells is composed mainly of O (65% by mass), C (18%), H (10%), N (3%), Ca (1.5%), and P (1.2%) and can be best detected by electromagnetic radiation in the 400x1012 to 790x1012 hertz range.

Mr. Glass has been a science teacher for over fifteen years, and is currently teaching chemistry at ALA at Fox Tech. He brings to the classroom his experiences as a Texas Master Naturalist, Instructional Dean of Science, laboratory research assistant, freelance web designer, and corporate manager. Mr. Glass was also named Time magazine's 2006 Person of the Year.

He really enjoys teaching, learning, and exploring our natural world as well as books, music, and film.

Oh, and he has a beard.

After growing up in a military family and living around the world, Mr. Glass moved back to San Antonio and to SAISD. He is really, really lucky to be married to his best friend of over thirty years. Together with their son, they are voluntary participants in a long-term experimental ecosystem consisting of three humans (Homo sapiens), three cats (Felis silvestris catus), eight fish (Carassius auratus, Paracheirodon innesi, Pseudacanthicus spinosus, and Xiphophorus helleri), thirty-six shrimp (Neocaridina davidi), thirty-two plants (mostly Lamiaceae), and ten unidentified species of snail.

Interested in joining Chem Club?

Chemistry Club, also known as Chem Club, provides students with a unique opportunity to experience chemistry beyond the classroom.

Supported by the American Chemical Society, Chem Club invites high school students after school to explore the ways that chemistry connects to their world.

Chem Club provides opportunities to learn about the many fields of chemistry, provide community service, and develop leadership and communication skills.

For more information, contact Mr. Glass, the teacher advisor for Chem Club. Sign up using the QR code below or go to this link.

Thanksgiving Party
11/12/2023

Chem Club will have our Thanksgiving Party on Friday, November 17. We will not have school November 20-24 for Thanksgiving break. I hope everyone gets some rest and enjoys their time with family and friends.

As our thoughts turn toward the roast turkey, we usually start a conversation about why we get sleepy after the Thanksgiving feast. The blame usually goes to tryptophan.

Tryptophan, C11H12N2O2, or more formally (2S)-2-amino-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propanoic acid is an amino acid that contains an α-amino group, an α-carboxylic acid group, and a side-chain indole. Sure, it's found in turkey, but it is also in eggs, salmon, and dairy products. Although everyone thinks turkey has a ton of tryptophan, gram for gram, cheddar cheese has more tryptophan.

Yes, it's true that tryptophan helps our body make serotonin and melatonin, which helps us sleep, but the post-Thanksgiving nap is more likely a result of all that carbohydrate we are stuffing ourselves with. Carbohydrates make our pancreas release insulin to regulate the amount of glucose in our blood. The huge load of carbohydrates and sugars that we eat results in a higher dose of insulin. This causes a drop in our blood sugar, which lowers our energy. And that makes us feel sleepy.

So, if you don't want to crash after the feast, have some more turkey and a little less of the pumpkin pie and mac and cheese.


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