Blobs In The Bottle
1. Pour the water into the bottle.
2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle until it's almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.
3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water below.
4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!
5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.
To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something called "intermolecular polarity." That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinegrette salad dessing in a whole new way.
When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started dissolving and creating a gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water. Cool, huh? By the way, you can store your "Blobs In A Bottle" with the cap on, and then anytime you want to bring it back to life, just add another tablet piece.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: This experiment should only be done with the help of an adult. Iodine will stain just about anything it touches and it can be hazardous. Hydrogen peroxide can cause eye and skin irritation - safety goggles are needed throughout the experiment. Be sure your helpful adult reads the caution labels on each container.
This is an example of the chemical reaction know as the IODINECLOCK REACTION. It is called a clock reaction because you can change the amount if time it takes for the liquids to turn blue. (see experiments below) The chemistry of the demonstration gets a bit complicated, but basically it is a battle of chemistry between the starch which is trying to turn the iodine blue, and the Vitamin C which is keeping it from turning blue. Eventually the Vitamin C loses and, bam! - you get instant blueness.
Note: If you do not have liquid starch, you can also use 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch or potato starch. The liquids will be more cloudy and the reaction will happen a bit more slowly, but it’s still impressive.
Clean up: Carefully pour all liquids down the drain with plenty of water and wash your hands. Recycle the cups or dispose of them in the trash.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the temperature of the water affect how quickly the liquids turn blue?
2. Does the amount of Vitamin C added (Liquid A) affect how fast the liquid turns blue?
3. Does stirring the liquids more affect how fast the liquids turn blue
Built A Film Canister Rocket
1. Put on those safety goggles and head
outside - no really, when this works, that film canister really flies!
If you want to try the indoor version, do not turn the canister upside down in step 5.
2. Break the antacid tablet in half.
3. Remove the lid from the film canister and put a teaspoon (5 ml) of water into the canister.
Do the next 2 steps quickly
4. Drop the tablet half into the canister and snap the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on tightly.)
5. Quickly put the canister on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK at least 2 meters.
6. About 10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the film canister will launch into the air!
Caution: If it does not launch, wait at least 30 second before examining the canister. Usually the cap is not on tight enough and the build up of gas leaked out.
There's nothing like a little rocket science to add some excitement to the day. When you add the water it starts to dissolve the alka-seltzer tablet. This creates a gas call carbon dioxide. As the carbon dioxide is being released, it creates pressure inside the film canister. The more gas that is made, the more pressure builds up until the cap it blasted down and the rocket is blasted up. This system of thrust is how a real rocket works whether it is in outer space or here in the earth's atmosphere. Of course, real rockets use rocket fuel. You can experiment controlling the rocket's path by adding fins and a nose cone that you can make out of paper. If you like this experiment, try the Exploding Lunch Bag. Be safe and have fun!
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
This is science? You betcha. Part of Newton's first laws says, in general, that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. The energy of your movement with the pencil was passed on to the hoop, making it fly out of the way quickly, but the hoop moved too fast, and there was not enough friction to affect the penny (at rest) on top of the hoop. The penny ended up above the film canister with nothing to hold it up. It was about then that gravity took over, and pulled the coin straight down into the waiting water. Yep, Issac Newton and Abraham Lincoln, together in the name of science...sort of.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the size of the hoop affect the accuracy of the falling coin?
2. Does the shape of the object on the hoop affect the accuracy of the drop?
3. Is the coin affected by how fast you fling the hoop out of the way.
The Incredible Hoop Glider!
Can we really call that a plane? It may look weird, but you will discover it flies surprisingly well. The two sizes of hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates "drag" (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level while the smaller hoop in at the front keeps your super hooper from turning off course. Some have asked why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep its "upright" position. Let us know how far you were able to get the hoop glider to fly by submitting it to our BLOG PAGE.
Roll A Can With Static Electricity
1. Place the can on its side on a flat smooth surface like a table or a smooth floor.
2. Rub the blown up balloon back and forth through your hair really fast.
3. Now the fun part - Hold the balloon close to the can without actually touching the can. The can will start to roll towards the balloon without you even touching it!
Try This Too: While you've got the balloon out, tear up part of a tissue into tiny pieces about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) big. Rub the balloon in your hair again and bring it close to the tissue pieces. They will be attracted to the balloon and then jump away.
This works a lot like our bending water experiment. When you rub the balloon through your hair, invisible electrons (with a negative charge) build up on the surface of the balloon. This is called static electricity, which means "non-moving electricity" The electrons have the power to pull very light objects (with a positive charge) toward them - like the soda can.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle.
2. This is the tricky part: Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with baking soda. If you don't have a funnel you can make one using the paper and some tape.
3. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle.
4. Ready? Lift the balloon up so that the baking soda falls from the balloon into the bottle and mixes with the vinegar. Watch the fizz-inflator at work!
The baking soda and the vinegar create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide) Gasses need a lot of room to spread out and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle, and then moves into the balloon to inflate it.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
Try Some Lava In A Cup
So what's going on? Of course, it's not real lava but it does look a bit like a lava lamp your parents may have had. First of all, the oil floats on top of the water because it is lighter than the water. Since the salt is heavier than oil, it sinks down into the water and takes some oil with it, but then the salt dissolves and back up goes the oil! Pretty cool huh?
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
Most magnets, like the ones on many refrigerators, cannot be turned off, they are called permanent magnets. Magnets like the one you made that can be turned on and off, are called ELECTROMAGNETS. They run on electricity and are only magnetic when the electricity is flowing. The electricity flowing through the wire arranges the molecules in the nail so that they are attracted to certain metals. NEVER get the wires of the electromagnet near at household outlet! Be safe - have fun!
Make Some Paperclips Float!
How is this possible? With a little thing we scientists call SURFACE TENSION. Basically it means that there is a sort of skin on the surface of water where the water molecules hold on tight together. If the conditions are right, they can hold tight enough to support your paper clip. The paperclip is not truly floating, it is being held up by the surface tension. Many insects, such as water striders, use this "skin" to walk across the surface of a stream.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
A VOLCANO is produced over thousands of years as heat a pressure build up. That aspect of a volcano is very difficult to recreate in a home experiment. However this volcano will give you an idea of what it might look like when a volcano erupts flowing lava. This is a classic experiment in which a CHEMICAL reaction can create the appearance of a PHYSICAL volcano eruption. You should look at pictures of volcanoes to be familiar with the different types. (A SHIELD volcano, for example is the most common kind of volcano, and yet few people know about them) The reaction will bubble up and flow down the side like a real volcano (only much faster!) Look for videos of volcanoes erupting and be sure that you understand how heat and pressure work to really make volcanoes erupt.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
- A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle
- 3/4 cup of water
- Vegetable Oil
- Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer)
- Food coloring
1. Pour the water into the bottle.
2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle until it's almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.
3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water below.
4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!
5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.
To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something called "intermolecular polarity." That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinegrette salad dessing in a whole new way.
When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started dissolving and creating a gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water. Cool, huh? By the way, you can store your "Blobs In A Bottle" with the cap on, and then anytime you want to bring it back to life, just add another tablet piece.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the temperature of the water affect the reaction?
2. Does the size of the bottle affect how many blobs are produced?
3. Does the effect still work if the cap is put on the bottle?
4. Does the size of the tablet pieces affect the number of blobs created?
2. Does the size of the bottle affect how many blobs are produced?
3. Does the effect still work if the cap is put on the bottle?
4. Does the size of the tablet pieces affect the number of blobs created?
Rapid Color Changing Chemistry!
Sometimes it’s hard to tell SCIENCE from MAGIC
- and this little demonstration is a great example of that. In this
experiment you will watch an almost clear liquid suddenly turn dark blue
in a flash. It takes a bit of preparation, and probably a trip to the
pharmacy for materials, but we think it’s worth it.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: This experiment should only be done with the help of an adult. Iodine will stain just about anything it touches and it can be hazardous. Hydrogen peroxide can cause eye and skin irritation - safety goggles are needed throughout the experiment. Be sure your helpful adult reads the caution labels on each container.
- 3 clear plastic cups 4 ounces or larger
- A 1000 mg Vitamin C tablet from the pharmacy (you can also use two 500mg)
- Tincture of iodine (2%) also from the pharmacy
- Hydrogen peroxide (3%) yep, also from the pharmacy
- Liquid laundry starch (see below for alternatives)
- Safety goggles
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cup
- An adult helper
- Put on those safety goggles and mash the 1000 mg Vitamin C
tablet by placing it into a plastic bag and crushing it with a rolling
pin or the back of a large spoon. Get it into as much of a fine powder
as possible. Then put all the powder in the first cup and add 2 ounces
(60 ml) of warm water. Stir for at least 30 seconds. (The water may be a
little cloudy) Let’s call this “LIQUID A”
- Now put 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of your LIQUID A into a new cup
and add to it: 2 oz (60 ml) of warm water and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of the
iodine. Notice the brown iodine turned clear! Let’s call this “LIQUID
B.” By the way, you’re done with LIQUID A - you can put it aside.
- In the last cup, mix 2 oz of warm water, 1 Tablespoon (15
ml) of the hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) of the liquid
starch. This is, you guessed it, “LIQUID C”
- Okay, that was a lot of preparation, on to the fun part. Gather the friends and family and pour all of LIQUID B into LIQUID C. Then pour them back and fourth between the 2 cups a few times. Place the cup down and observe….be patient....somewhere between a few seconds and a few minutes, the liquid will suddenly turn dark blue!
This is an example of the chemical reaction know as the IODINECLOCK REACTION. It is called a clock reaction because you can change the amount if time it takes for the liquids to turn blue. (see experiments below) The chemistry of the demonstration gets a bit complicated, but basically it is a battle of chemistry between the starch which is trying to turn the iodine blue, and the Vitamin C which is keeping it from turning blue. Eventually the Vitamin C loses and, bam! - you get instant blueness.
Note: If you do not have liquid starch, you can also use 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch or potato starch. The liquids will be more cloudy and the reaction will happen a bit more slowly, but it’s still impressive.
Clean up: Carefully pour all liquids down the drain with plenty of water and wash your hands. Recycle the cups or dispose of them in the trash.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the temperature of the water affect how quickly the liquids turn blue?
2. Does the amount of Vitamin C added (Liquid A) affect how fast the liquid turns blue?
3. Does stirring the liquids more affect how fast the liquids turn blue
Built A Film Canister Rocket
- One empty 35mm plastic film canister and lid. These are getting harder to find, but stores that develop film should have some. (The white canisters work much better than the black ones do.) If you have trouble finding canisters, you can get them HERE.
- One fizzing antacid tablet (such as Alka-Seltzer - Get this from your parents)
- Water
- Safety goggles
1. Put on those safety goggles and head
outside - no really, when this works, that film canister really flies!
If you want to try the indoor version, do not turn the canister upside down in step 5. 2. Break the antacid tablet in half.
3. Remove the lid from the film canister and put a teaspoon (5 ml) of water into the canister.
Do the next 2 steps quickly 4. Drop the tablet half into the canister and snap the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on tightly.)
5. Quickly put the canister on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK at least 2 meters.
6. About 10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the film canister will launch into the air!
Caution: If it does not launch, wait at least 30 second before examining the canister. Usually the cap is not on tight enough and the build up of gas leaked out.
There's nothing like a little rocket science to add some excitement to the day. When you add the water it starts to dissolve the alka-seltzer tablet. This creates a gas call carbon dioxide. As the carbon dioxide is being released, it creates pressure inside the film canister. The more gas that is made, the more pressure builds up until the cap it blasted down and the rocket is blasted up. This system of thrust is how a real rocket works whether it is in outer space or here in the earth's atmosphere. Of course, real rockets use rocket fuel. You can experiment controlling the rocket's path by adding fins and a nose cone that you can make out of paper. If you like this experiment, try the Exploding Lunch Bag. Be safe and have fun!
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does water temperature affect how fast the rocket launches?
2. Does the size of the tablet piece affect how long it takes for the rocket to launch?
3. Can the flight path be controlled by adding fins or a nosecone to the canister?
4. How much water in the canister will give the highest flight?
5. How much water will give the quickest launch?
2. Does the size of the tablet piece affect how long it takes for the rocket to launch?
3. Can the flight path be controlled by adding fins or a nosecone to the canister?
4. How much water in the canister will give the highest flight?
5. How much water will give the quickest launch?
The Lincoln High Dive, A Newton Experiment
- A Lincoln penny (or other small coin)
- A piece of card stock or stiff paper
- A film canister, baby food jar, or other similar size container with an mouth slightly larger than a penny
- Pencil or pen
- Scissors
- Cut the cardstock paper into a long strip about .75 inches (2 cm) wide and form it into a hoop as shown. The paper should be stiff enough to hold the hoop shape on its own and the hoop works best when it is between 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) across.
- For dramatic effect, fill the film canister with water and place on a level surface.
- Place the hoop on the film canister as shown and balance the penny on the top of the hoop.
- Time for Lincoln's big moment! Place a pencil through the center of the hoop and in one swift motion fling the hoop off to the side as pictured. If you do this correctly, the hoop will fly out of the way, and the penny will fall straight down into the canister with a splash. 10 points for Lincoln!
 THE SETUP |
 THE DIVE |
This is science? You betcha. Part of Newton's first laws says, in general, that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. The energy of your movement with the pencil was passed on to the hoop, making it fly out of the way quickly, but the hoop moved too fast, and there was not enough friction to affect the penny (at rest) on top of the hoop. The penny ended up above the film canister with nothing to hold it up. It was about then that gravity took over, and pulled the coin straight down into the waiting water. Yep, Issac Newton and Abraham Lincoln, together in the name of science...sort of.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the size of the hoop affect the accuracy of the falling coin?
2. Does the shape of the object on the hoop affect the accuracy of the drop?
3. Is the coin affected by how fast you fling the hoop out of the way.
The Incredible Hoop Glider!
- A regular plastic drinking straw
- 3 X 5 inch index card or stiff paper
- Tape
- Scissors
- 1. Cut the index card or stiff paper into 3 separate pieces that measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm.)
- 2. Take 2 of the pieces of paper and tape them together into a hoop as shown. Be sure to overlap the pieces about half an inch (1 cm) so that they keep a nice round shape once taped.
- 3. Use the last strip of paper to make a smaller hoop, overlapping the edges a bit like before.
- 4. Tape the paper loops to the ends of the straw as shown below. (notice that the straw is lined up on the inside of the loops)
- 5. That's it! Now hold the straw in the middle with the hoops on top and throw it in the air similar to how you might throw a dart angled slightly up. With some practice you can get it to go farther than many paper airplanes.
Can we really call that a plane? It may look weird, but you will discover it flies surprisingly well. The two sizes of hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates "drag" (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level while the smaller hoop in at the front keeps your super hooper from turning off course. Some have asked why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep its "upright" position. Let us know how far you were able to get the hoop glider to fly by submitting it to our BLOG PAGE.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the placement of the hoops on the straw affect its flight distance?
1. Does the placement of the hoops on the straw affect its flight distance?
2. Does the length of straw affect the flight? (You can cut the straws or attach straws together to test this)
3. Do more hoops help the hoop glider to fly better?
4. Do the hoops have to be lined up in order for the plane to fly well?
Roll A Can With Static Electricity
* An empty soda can
* blown-up balloon
* A head of hair
* blown-up balloon
* A head of hair
2. Rub the blown up balloon back and forth through your hair really fast.
3. Now the fun part - Hold the balloon close to the can without actually touching the can. The can will start to roll towards the balloon without you even touching it!
Try This Too: While you've got the balloon out, tear up part of a tissue into tiny pieces about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) big. Rub the balloon in your hair again and bring it close to the tissue pieces. They will be attracted to the balloon and then jump away.
This works a lot like our bending water experiment. When you rub the balloon through your hair, invisible electrons (with a negative charge) build up on the surface of the balloon. This is called static electricity, which means "non-moving electricity" The electrons have the power to pull very light objects (with a positive charge) toward them - like the soda can.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the size of the balloon change the power of the pull?
2. Does the length of the persons hair effect the power of the static electricity?
3. How much water can you put in the can until the balloon can't pull it anymore?
Build A Flizz Inflator
- One small empty plastic soda or water bottle
- 1/2 cup of vinegar
- Small balloon
- Baking soda
- Funnel or piece of paper
1. Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle. 2. This is the tricky part: Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with baking soda. If you don't have a funnel you can make one using the paper and some tape.
3. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle.
4. Ready? Lift the balloon up so that the baking soda falls from the balloon into the bottle and mixes with the vinegar. Watch the fizz-inflator at work!
The baking soda and the vinegar create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide) Gasses need a lot of room to spread out and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle, and then moves into the balloon to inflate it.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does water temperature affect how fast the balloon fills up?
2. Does the size of the bottle affect how much the balloon fills?
3. Can the amount the balloon fills-up be controlled by the amount of vinegar or baking soda?
2. Does the size of the bottle affect how much the balloon fills?
3. Can the amount the balloon fills-up be controlled by the amount of vinegar or baking soda?
Try Some Lava In A Cup
* A clear drinking glass
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Water
* Food coloring (optional)
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Water
* Food coloring (optional)
- Fill the glass about 3/4 full of water .
- Add about 5 drops of food coloring - I like red for the lava look.
- Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the glass. See how the oil floats on top - cool huh? It gets better.
- Now the fun part: Sprinkle the salt on top of the oil.
- Watch blobs of lava move up and down in your glass!
- If you liked that, add another teaspoon of salt to keep the effect going.
So what's going on? Of course, it's not real lava but it does look a bit like a lava lamp your parents may have had. First of all, the oil floats on top of the water because it is lighter than the water. Since the salt is heavier than oil, it sinks down into the water and takes some oil with it, but then the salt dissolves and back up goes the oil! Pretty cool huh?
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. How long will the effect go on if you keep adding salt?
2. Do different kinds of food oil give different effects?
3. Will other substances (sand, sugar. etc.) work the same as salt?
4. Does the height or shape of the glass affect the experiment?
Make An Electromagnet
- A large iron nail (about 3 inches)
- About 3 feet of THIN COATED copper wire
- A fresh D size battery
-
Some paper clips or other small magnetic objects
- 1. Leave about 8 inches of wire loose at one end and
wrap most of the rest of the wire around the nail. Try not to overlap
the wires.
- 2. Cut the wire (if needed) so that there is about another 8 inches loose at the other end too.
- 3. Now remove about an inch of the plastic coating from both ends of the wire and attach the one wire to one end of a battery and the other wire to the other end of the battery. See picture below. (It is best to tape the wires to the battery - be careful though, the wire could get very hot!)
- 4. Now you have an ELECTROMAGNET! Put the point of the nail near a few paper clips and it should pick them up!
- NOTE: Making an electromagnet uses up the battery somewhat quickly which is why the battery may get warm, so disconnect the wires when you are done exploring.
Most magnets, like the ones on many refrigerators, cannot be turned off, they are called permanent magnets. Magnets like the one you made that can be turned on and off, are called ELECTROMAGNETS. They run on electricity and are only magnetic when the electricity is flowing. The electricity flowing through the wire arranges the molecules in the nail so that they are attracted to certain metals. NEVER get the wires of the electromagnet near at household outlet! Be safe - have fun!
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does the number of times you wrap the wire around the nail affect the strength of the nail?
1. Does the number of times you wrap the wire around the nail affect the strength of the nail?
2. Does the thickness or length of the nail affect the electromagnets strength?
3. Does the thickness of the wire affect the power of the electromagnet?
Make Some Paperclips Float!
- clean dry paper clips
- tissue paper
- a bowl of water
- pencil with eraser
- Fill the bowl with water
- Try to make the paper clip float...not much luck, huh?
- Tear a piece of tissue paper about half the size of a dollar bill
- GENTLY drop the tissue flat onto the surface of the water
- GENTLY place a dry paper clip flat onto the tissue (try not to touch the water or the tissue)
- Use the eraser end of the pencil to carefully poke the tissue (not the paper clip) until the tissue sinks. With some luck, the tissue will sink and leave the paper clip floating!
How is this possible? With a little thing we scientists call SURFACE TENSION. Basically it means that there is a sort of skin on the surface of water where the water molecules hold on tight together. If the conditions are right, they can hold tight enough to support your paper clip. The paperclip is not truly floating, it is being held up by the surface tension. Many insects, such as water striders, use this "skin" to walk across the surface of a stream.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. How many paperclips can the surface tension hold?
2. Does the shape of the paperclip affect its floating ability?
3. What liquids have the strongest surface tension?
4. Can the surface tension of water be made stronger? (try sprinkling baby powder on the surface)
Make Your Own Volcano
- A volcano - Talk to an art teacher about making a volcano out of paper mache or plaster. You can also use clay or if you're in a hurry to make your volcano, use a mound of dirt outside.
- A container that 35mm film comes in or similar size container.
- Red and yellow food coloring (optional)
- Vinegar
- Liquid dish washing soap
- Go outside or prepare for some clean-up inside
- Put the container into the volcano at the top
- Add two spoonfuls of baking soda
- Add about a spoonful of dish soap
- Add about 5 drops each of the red and yellow food coloring
Now for the eruption!:
- Add about an ounce of the vinegar into the container and watch what your volcano come alive.
A VOLCANO is produced over thousands of years as heat a pressure build up. That aspect of a volcano is very difficult to recreate in a home experiment. However this volcano will give you an idea of what it might look like when a volcano erupts flowing lava. This is a classic experiment in which a CHEMICAL reaction can create the appearance of a PHYSICAL volcano eruption. You should look at pictures of volcanoes to be familiar with the different types. (A SHIELD volcano, for example is the most common kind of volcano, and yet few people know about them) The reaction will bubble up and flow down the side like a real volcano (only much faster!) Look for videos of volcanoes erupting and be sure that you understand how heat and pressure work to really make volcanoes erupt.
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:
1. Does vinegar temperature affect how fast the volcano erupts?
2. Does the shape of the volcano affect the direction the eruption travels?
3. What can be added to the "lava" to slow it down and make it more like real lava?
4. What combination of vinegar and baking soda creates the biggest eruption?
2. Does the shape of the volcano affect the direction the eruption travels?
3. What can be added to the "lava" to slow it down and make it more like real lava?
4. What combination of vinegar and baking soda creates the biggest eruption?
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