Rapid Color Changing Chemistry!

Sometimes its 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 its 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

1. 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) Lets call this LIQUID A 2. 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! Lets call this LIQUID B. By the way, youre done with LIQUID A - you can put it aside. 3. 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 4. 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 its 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?

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?

(The Elephant's Toothpaste Experiment)

A clean 16 ounce plastic soda bottle 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid (20-volume is a 6% solution, ask an adult to get this from a beauty supply store or hair salon) 1 Tablespoon (one packet) of dry yeast 3 Tablespoons of warm water Liquid dish washing soap Food coloring Small cup Safety goggles

NOTE: As you can see from the picture, foam will overflow from the bottle, so be sure to do this experiment on a washable surface, or place the bottle on a tray.

1. Hydrogen peroxide can irritate skin and eyes, so put on those safety goggles and ask an adult to carefully pour the hydrogen peroxide into the bottle. 2. Add 8 drops of your favorite food coloring into the bottle. 3. Add about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap into the bottle and swish the bottle around a bit to mix it. 4. In a separate small cup, combine the warm water and the yeast together and mix for about 30 seconds. 5. Now the adventure starts! Pour the yeast water mixture into the bottle (a funnel helps here) and watch the foaminess begin!

Foam is awesome! The foam you made is special because each tiny foam bubble is filled with oxygen. The yeast acted as a catalyst (a helper) to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. Since it did this very fast, it created lots and lots of bubbles. Did you notice the bottle got warm. Your experiment created a reaction called an Exothermic Reaction - that means it not only created foam, it created heat! The foam produced is just water, soap, and oxygen so you can clean it up with a sponge and pour any extra liquid left in the bottle down the drain. This experiment is sometimes called "Elephant's Toothpaste" because it looks like toothpaste coming out of a tube, but don't get the foam in your mouth!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the amount of yeast change the amount of foam produced? 2. Does the experiment work as well if you add the dry yeast without mixing it with water? 3. Does the size of the bottle affect the amount of foam produced?

The Magic Ketchup Experiment!

You can make a pack of ketchup float and sink at your command while it's sealed inside a bottle!

* A 1 liter plastic bottle * Ketchup pack from a fast food restaurant * Salt (using Kosher salt helps keep the water from becoming foggy)

1. Remove any labels from the bottle and fill it all the way to the top with water. 2. Add a ketchup pack to the bottle. 3. If the ketchup floats, you're all set - go to step 4. If the ketchup sinks in the bottle, go to step 5. 4. For the floating ketchup pack simply screw the cap on the bottle and squeeze the sides of the bottle hard. If the ketchup sinks when you squeeze it, and floats when you release it, congratulations, you're ready to show it off. If it does not sink when you squeeze it, try a different kind of ketchup pack or try a mustard or soy sauce pack. 5. If the ketchup pack sinks, add about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of salt to the bottle. Cap it and shake it up until the salt dissolves. (Kosher salt will keep the water from getting too cloudy, although it will usually clear up over time if using regular table salt.) 6. Continue adding salt, a few tablespoons at a time until the ketchup is just barely floating to the top of the bottle. 7. Once it is consistently floating, make sure the bottle is filled to the top with water, and then cap it tightly. 8. Now squeeze the bottle. The magic ketchup should sink when you squeeze the bottle and float up when you release it. With some practice you can get it to stop in the middle of the bottle.

This experiment is all about buoyancy and density. Buoyancy describes whether objects float or sink. This usually describes how things float in liquids, but it can also describe how things float or sink in and various gasses. Density deals with the amount of mass an object has. Adding salt to the water adjusted the water's density to get the ketchup to float. Sound complicated? It is, but here's the basics on the ketchup demo...there is a little bubble inside of the ketchup packet. As we know bubbles float, and the bubble in the ketchup sometimes keeps the heavy packet from sinking. When you

squeeze the bottle hard enough, you put pressure on the packet. That causes the bubble to get smaller and the entire packet to become MORE DENSE than the water around it and the packet sinks. When you release the pressure, the bubble expands, making the packet less dense (and more buoyant) and, alas, it floats back up. This demonstration is sometimes known as a CARTESIAN DIVER.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Do different food packs (ketchup, mustard, soy sauce) have the same density? 2. Does the temperature of the water affect the density of the ketchup packet? 3. Does the size of the bottle affect how much you have to squeeze to get the packet to sink?

THIS EXPERIMENT REQUIRES ADULT HELP IT DEALS WITH VERY HOT LIQUIDS BE SMART AND BE SAFE - ONLY DO THIS WITH ADULT HELP

A wooden skewer (you can also use a clean wooden chopstick) A clothespin 1 cup of water 2-3 cups of sugar A tall narrow glass or jar

1. Clip the wooden skewer into the clothespin so that it hangs down inside the glass and is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the bottom of the glass. (as shown) 2. Remove the skewer and clothespin and put them aside for now. 3. Get a helpful adult!

4. Pour the water into a pan and bring it to boil. 5. Pour about 1/4 cup of sugar into the boiling water, stirring until it dissolves. 6. Keep adding more and more sugar, each time stirring it until it dissolves, until no more will dissolve. This will take time and patience and it will take longer for the sugar to dissolve each time.Be sure you don't give up too soon. Once no more sugar will dissolve, remove it from heat and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes. 7. NOTE: While it is cooling, some peole like to dip half of the skewer in the sugar solution and then roll it in some sugar to help jump start the crystal growth. If you do this, be sure to let the skewer cool completely so that sugar crystals do not fall off when you place it back in the glass. 8. Have your friendly ADULT carefully pour the sugar solution into the jar almost to the top. Then submerge the skewer back into the glass making sure that it is hanging straight down the middle without touching the sides. 9. Allow the jar to fully cool and put it someplace where it will not be disturbed. 10. Now just wait. The sugar crystals will grow over the next 3-7 days. Want colored rock candy? Add food coloring to your sugar water and make sure sure that it is pretty dark in color for the best result.

When you mixed the water and sugar you made a SUPER SATURATED SOLUTION. This means that the water could only hold the sugar if both were very hot. As the water cools the sugar "comes out" of the solution back into sugar crystals on your skewer. The skewer (and sometines the glass itself) act as a "seed" that the sugar crystals start to grow on. With some luck and patience you will have a tasty scientific treat! Enjoy! The Lincoln High Dive!

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

1. 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. 2. For dramatic effect, fill the film canister with water and place on a level surface. 3. Place the hoop on the film canister as shown and balance the penny on the top of the hoop. 4. 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 World's Easiest Lava Lamp)

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, theres a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now youll 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?

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? 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?

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? MAKE A LEVITATING ORB!

1 inch (2.5 cm) wide PVC Pipe about 24 inches (60cm) long. You can also use a regular balloon if you do not have PVC pipe. Mylar tinsel for Christmas trees. There are many types of tinsel - you should look for the thinnest and narrowest possible. The tinsel used in the video is about 1 millimeter wide. If it is much wider than that, the orb may be too heavy to levitate. (see below to get tinsel from Bob) A head of clean, dry hair Scissors

1. Arrange 6 strands of mylar together and tie them together in a knot at one end. 2. Tie them together again about 6 inches (15cm) from the first knot. 3. Cut the loose mylar strands off just past each knot. 4. Charge the PVC pipe by rubbing it back and forth through your hair for 10 seconds. 5. Hold the mylar orb (by the knot) above the charged pipe and let it drop and touch the pipe.

6. It should repel away and start floating. If the tinsel keeps sticking to the pipe, the tinsel is probably not thin enough and you will need to try another kind of tinsel or order some from us. (You will usually have to "recharge" the pipe before each levitation.)

It is all about static charges. Similar static charges repel away from each other. When you rub the pipe in your hair you give the pipe a negative static charge. The orb is attracted to the pipe at first because the orb has a positive charge. As soon as the orb touches the pipe, it picks up a negative charge. Since the pipe is negative and the tinsel orb is now negative, they repel away from each other and the orb levitates! The orb will also take on more of a "ball" appearance when charged since all the tinsel strands are repelling away from each other. Did you notice the orb is attracted to other objects around you - including you? That is because most objects (including you) have a positive charge.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the number of mylar strands affect how well the orb levitates? 2. Do different materials (hair, fur, wool) build up better static charges? 3. How long does the static charge last / how can you make it last longer? 4. Do different widths of pipe affect the floating ability of the orb?

* An empty soda can * blown-up balloon * A head of hair

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. 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?

CHICKEN SOUNDS FROM A CUP!

* A plastic drinking cup * Yarn or cotton string (nylon string will not work well) * 1 paper clip * Paper towel * A nail * Scissors * Water

1. Cut a piece of yarn about 20 inches (40 cm) long. 2. Ask an adult to use the nail to carefully punch a hold in the center of the bottom of the cup. 3. Tie one end of the yarn to the middle of the paper clip. 4. Push the other end of the yarn through the hole in the cup and pull it through as shown in the picture. 5. Get a piece of paper towel about the size of a dollar bill, then fold it once and get it damp in the water. 6. Now it's time to make some noise! Hold the cup firmly in one hand, and wrap the damp paper towel around the string near the cup. While you squeeze the string, pull down in short jerks so that the paper towel tightly slides along the string. If all goes well - you hear a chicken!

This is an example of how a sounding board works. The vibrations from the string would be almost silent without the cup, but when you add the cup, it spreads the vibrations and amplifies them (makes them louder.) Pianos and music boxes use wood to act as a sounding board to make the instrument louder.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. What types of string or yarn makes the loudest sound? Which ones make the quietest? 2. Does the size of the cup affect the volume of the sound? 3. Try materials other than a paper towel to see if it affects the volume of the sound.

One cup of milk 4 teaspoons of white vinegar A bowl A strainer Adult help

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Ask your friendly adult to heat up the milk until it is hot, but not boiling Now ask the adult to carefully pour the milk into the bowl Add the vinegar to the milk and stir it up with a spoon for about a minute Now the fun part, pour the milk through the strainer into the sink - careful it may be hot! Left behind in the strainer is a mass of lumpy blobs. When it is cool enough, you can rinse the blobs off in water while you press them together . 7. Now just mold it into a shape and it will harden in a few days. - Cool!

Plastic? In milk? Well, sort of. You made a substance called CASEIN. It's from the latin word meaning "cheese." CasEin occurs when the protien in the milk meets the acid in the vinegar. The casein in milk does not mix with the acid and so it forms blobs. True plastics, called poymers, are a little different. If you want to make a true plastic and learn more about polymers, try the Homemade Slime experiment. Have fun!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Will more vinegar make more casein? 2. Will you get the same results with low-fat milk, soy milk? 3. Do all types of vinegar work? 4. Will other acids, such as lemon juice and orange juice work?

1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer "airship" balloons work best) 1 long piece of kite string (about 10-15 feet long) 1 plastic straw tape

1. 2. 3. 4.

Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support. Put the other end of the string through the straw. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room. Blow up the balloon (but don't tie it.) Pinch the end of the balloon and tape the balloon to the straw as shown above. You're ready for launch. 5. Let go and watch the rocket fly!

So how does it work? It's all about the air...and thrust. As the air rushes out of the balloon, it creates a forward motion called THRUST. Thrust is a pushing force created by energy. In the balloon experiment, our thrust comes from the energy of the balloon forcing the air out. Different sizes and shapes of balloon will create more or less thrust. In a real rocket, thrust is created by

the force of burning rocket fuel as it blasts from the rockets engine - as the engines blast down, the rocket goes up!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions: 1. Does the shape of the balloon affect how far (or fast) the rocket travels? 2. Does the length of the straw affect how far (or fast) the rocket travels? 3. Does the type of string affect how far (or fast) the rocket travels? (try fishing line, nylon string, cotton string, etc.) 4. Does the angle of the string affect how far (or fast) the rocket travels?

* A clear drinking glass * 1/4 cup vegetable oil * 1 teaspoon salt * Water * Food coloring (optional)

1. Fill the glass about 3/4 full of water . 2. Add about 5 drops of food coloring - I like red for the lava look. 3. Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the glass. See how the oil floats on top - cool huh? It gets better. 4. Now the fun part: Sprinkle the salt on top of the oil. 5. Watch blobs of lava move up and down in your glass! 6. 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?

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? 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?

A packet of yeast (available in the grocery store)

A small, clean, clear, plastic soda bottle (16 oz. or smaller) 1 teaspoon of sugar Some warm water A small balloon

1. Fill the bottle up with about one inch of warm water. ( When yeast is cold or dry the micro organisms are resting.) 2. Add all of the yeast packet and gently swirl the bottle a few seconds. (As the yeast dissolves, it becomes active - it comes to life! Don't bother looking for movement, yeast is a microscopic fungus organism.) 3. Add the sugar and swirl it around some more. Like people, yeast needs energy (food) to be active, so we will give it sugar. Now the yeast is "eating!"

4. Blow up the balloon a few times to stretch it out then place the neck of the balloon over the neck of the bottle. 5. Let the bottle sit in a warm place for about 20 minutes If all goes well the balloon will begin to inflate!

As the yeast eats the sugar, it releases a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas fills the bottle and then fills the balloon as more gas is created. We all know that there are "holes" in bread, but how are they made? The answer sounds a little like the plot of a horror movie. Most breads are made using YEAST. Believe it or not, yeast is actually living microorganisms! When bread is made, the yeast becomes spread out in flour. Each bit of yeast makes tiny gas bubbles and that puts millions of bubbles (holes) in our bread before it gets baked. Naturalist's note - The yeast used in this experiment are the related species and strains of Saccharomyces cervisiae. (I'm sure you were wondering about that.) Anyway, when the bread gets baked in the oven, the yeast dies and leaves all those bubbles (holes) in the bread. Yum.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Does room temperature affect how much gas is created by the yeast? 2. Does the size of the container affect how much gas is created? 3. What water/room temperature helps the yeast create the most gas? 4. What "yeast food" helps the yeast create the most gas? (try sugar, syrup, honey, etc.)

clean dry paper clips tissue paper a bowl of water pencil with eraser

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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) 6. 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)

JCSGO Christian Academy R1- Inc. Lingayen, Pangasinan A.Y. 2012-2013

PROJECT IN SCIENCE VI
Submitted by: Justine Aira B. Rendon Submitted to: Mr. Jeffrey Del Castillo

I know, it's not exactly an experiment, but illusions are still cool. Illusions are images that use your EYES to confuse your BRAIN Take a look at this grid:

Did you notice the small grayish dots between the black boxes. They are not part of the drawing - they were put there by your brain! Scientists call this "visual vibration." Basically it means that when you see patterns of black and white, your eye sometimes confuses the two and blends them into patterns of gray that you see here. You are seeing something that is not really there!

This elephant is missing a leg...or is it? The artist confuses his viewer by changing they way our brain is used to seeing things. It seems the more you look at the elephant, the more confusing it gets.

Want to see the gears move? Look at the dot and then move your head towards the screen and away from it.

This uses visual vibrations to create a cool effect. Try moving your head close to, and then away from the screen. The fuzzy dots appear to move.

This simple line drawing is titled, "Mother, Father, and daughter" (Fisher, 1968) because it contains the faces of all three people in the title.How many faces can you find?

Look at the dots in the center. Which one is bigger?

Like many similar illusions, the dots are the same size...really! It can be hard to tell because your eye uses the other dots to make a comparison.

Hey, this is weird. It looks as though it's moving, but it's not.
The shapes confuse the eye (really the brain) into believing that they are m