Table of Contents

Monday (Chemistry)
Oobleck.......................................................................................................................1
Marble Races..............................................................................................................
Chromatography.........................................................................................................

Tuesday (Biology)
Germ Swab.................................................................................................................
Taste Threshold..........................................................................................................
Hearing Threshold......................................................................................................
Programming Activity................................................................................................

Wednesday (Physics)
Egg Drops..................................................................................................................
Slinkies.......................................................................................................................
Balloon Cars...............................................................................................................

Thursday (Psychology)
Peripheral Vision.......................................................................................................
Optical Illusions........................................................................................................
Pavlov's Law.............................................................................................................
Make Up Time..........................................................................................................















1

Safety Instructions
Though all of this week's activities are safe, there are many safety habits practiced in all variety
of labs. Becuase these are very important for those who go into many science fields, these will be
highlighted and practiced this week as they are in laboratories all around the world.

1. Do not wear opened toed shoes or sandals in a lab.
2. Tie back long hair and remove loose clothing.
3. Do not eat in your work area.
4. Keep your work area clean with any supplies toward the center so they are less likely to
fall.



Thoughts throughout making book:
Will activities be group or solo or does it depends on the activity (label each
independently)
For oobleck we could make a big batch and see if people can walk on it...
Do we need a worksheet for the programming one?
For hearing, we'll just play sounds till they hear it and we'll tell them if their
'normal' or not?
Which things need more info, which need less?
Can we get rid of the safety page?
Do you think the conclusions are a good idea?
Are we combining optical illusions and peripheral vision?

















2
Chemistry

Oobleck
Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid. Normal Newtonian substances, such as water, don't resist
stress and therefore don't show strain. Non-Newtonian substances change their viscosity when
subjected to stress. Oobleck shows its strain by thickening and acting like a solid. This is called
dilatant, or shear thickening, behavior. Ketchup, another non-Newtonian substance, goes through
shear thinning when it reacts to strain by thinning and becoming more liquid like. This is part of
why hitting a ketchup bottle on a table is effective. 2 other types of behavior are thixotropic and
rheopectic. These are different because they happen more slowly than shear thickening or
thinning, which are near instantaneous. Cream is rheopectic, so its viscosity slowly increases
when applied to stress, and honey's viscosity slowly decreases making it thixotropic.

Material
Bowl
. . Amount of cornstarch
Amount of water
Coloring, if desired

Procedure
A. Put food coloring in water and stir.
B. Put cornstarch in bowl.
C. Slowly add water while stirring.
D. Mix until there are no more lumps!

Conclusion
1. What did the oobleck look like?


2. What happens when your try to push your hand into the oobleck?


3. What happens if you set your hand on the oobleck?


4. What other non-Newtonian substances can you think of?
Shear thinning:
Shear thickening:
Thixotropic:
Rheopectic:


3
Marble Races
As was discovered with oobleck, different liquids have different viscosities. All substances also
have different densities, with solids typically being the most dense and gases the least dense.
Density is equivalent to grams per centimeters cubed. This activity is going to be used to
determine the viscosity of # of liquids and the density of # of substances (maybe 6).

Materials
Plastic, glass, and metal marbles
(3) 20 ml test tubes
10 ml water
10 ml soap or oil
10 ml honey or syrup

Procedure
1. Determine the density of each marble type by measuring the mass and volume of each
marble.
2. Determine the density of each liquid. Don't forget to remove the graduated cylinder from
the mass of the liquid!
3. Now consider the viscosity of the liquids. List them in order from least to most viscous.


4. Do viscosity and density relate? How can you tell?



4
Remember: Density=
Mass/Volume
Mass Volume (ml
or cm^3)
Density
Plastic
Glass
Metal
Mass of
graduated
cylinder
Mass of
cylinder and
liquid
Mass liquid Volume Density
Water
Soap or Oil
Honey or
Syrup
Chromatography
Chromatography is the study of the separation of liquids. This might sound a bit fancy, however
the etymology is Greek and combines color (chroma) and writing (graphe). There are many types
of chromatography including gas chromatography, paper chromatography, ion exchange
chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography,but they all have stuff in
common. There are typically two phases in chromatography: the mobile phase and the stationary
phase. In our experiment, the paper will signify the stationary phase while the ink and water
combinatijon will make up the mobile phase. During the experiment, the water dissolves the ink
which allows it to move along the paper. What determines how far it flows is the charge of the
ink. Most everything has a small charge (like magnets). Paper doesn't have a charge, but water
does have a small charge, so ink molecules with charges will move further up then molecules
without charges.

Materials
(3) Filter papers
(3) Pens or markers
Stirrer stick
Beaker
Water or isopropyl alcohol

Procedure
1. Take the filter paper and pens. Put a dot on the filter paper about 3/4 an inch from the
bottom. Label with a pencil which is which.
2. Put the filter papers together on a stir stick.
3. Fill a beaker about 1/2 an inch, then set the filter papers in the beaker so that they are just
in the water, without the water going over the marker dots.
4. Wait 5 to 10 minutes before filling out the chart below.
5. Now try to identify which pen made each example in the front of the classroom.
Example A: __________________________
Example B: __________________________
Example C: __________________________


5
Which Pen? Bottom Color(s) Middle Color(s) Top Color(s)
Biology
Germ Swab
You've probably heard before that you are surrounded by all types of germs. These can be
bacteria, funguses, or viruses. Then there are thousand of bacteria and fungi that exist beyond the
ones that make us sick. They really are everywhere. Don't forget that while some are bad, many
are good and necessary for survival. This activity allows for different locations to be swabbed
and tested for how many bacteria and fungi there are.

Materials
Petri dish with agar/gelatin
(4) sterile cotton swabs

Procedure
1. Use sharpie outside to separate the Petri dish into 4 zones. Label each zone as you swab a
new thing.
2. Take a cotton swab, dampen in, and rub it on some surface, then gently roll the cotton
swab onto the Petri dish. Do this 4 times in 4 different locations.
3. Each day check back to see if any new bacteria or fungi have grown, and draw a sketch
below.
Conclusion
1. Which area has the most bacteria? The least?


2. Why do you think that might be?


6
Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday
Taste Threshold
There are four basic tastes which humans can taste: sweet, salty,
bitter, and sour. We are able to taste these becuase of our taste
receptors (or fungiform papillae), which are each made of about
150 taste cells.

Materials
Sugar solution (10%, 1%, .1%, .01%,)
Salt solution (10%, 1%, .1%, .01%,)
Vinegar solution (10%, 1%, .1%, .01%,)
Coffee (or other?)...
Cotton swabs
Glass of plain water

Procedure
Use cotton swab to spread some of one of the solutions
around your mouth. Guess which taste it has (sweet, say, sour, or bitter) and fill in the
chart. Take a sip of plain water and repeat. After filling in the chart below, try to label
what each area on the tongue tastes in the diagram above.

Hearing Threshold
Different people have varying strengths, in many senses. Some people can hear 'like a rabbit', or
can taste exceptionally well, or have 'eagle eyes'. Frequently when one of these is particularly
good or bad, one or more of the other senses will compensate for it. As we go through this
hearing activity, compare your results to the taste activity and see how true this seems for you.

Are there any sites that are really good for this?
We could try guessing pitches and comparing tone/volume.

Programming with Dragon Drop

7
Concentration/
Type
1 (10%) 2 (1) 3 (.1) 4 (.01)
A
B
C
D
Egg Drop
Egg drops are a pretty standard challenge. Basically, you see the highest you can drop an egg
from with it not cracking. That might not seem very exciting or to have very many purposes, but
the concept is important in many applications. Rockets, cars, roller coasters, bridges, and many
other things are put under a lot of stress and need to be able to maintain structural integrity and
security. An egg drop covers a similar idea.

Materials
*You aren't required to use all of these materials, but these are the ones available to you.
Tape
Scrap paper
Paper towel
Grocery bags
Yarn
Scissors
Towels / rags
Sponges
Duct tape
Paper plates
Cotton balls
Recycled stuff (berry boxes, paper towel roll, egg carton, etc.)
What else will we provide? What limits will we instate?

Procedure
This one is up to you! Talk to your group about a design and why you think it would work well.
Pick the best one, and try to make it work. At the end of given time (1 hour?) we'll start testing
them.

Conclusion
1. What height did your egg drop reach?


2. Now that you've seen it in action and seen a few other examples, do you think you could
improve yours?


3. Is there one type of material that seems to do a better job of protecting the egg than other
materials? Which one is best? Which is worst?





8
Slinkies
Slinkies are pretty cool toys. Most people have tried getting them to bounce down stairs at some
point, but they don't always make it. Different angles will affect how we'll a slinky will bounce
down. Angles are important for a lot of things- highways can be slightly angled to counteract a
vehicles inertia, another use for angles, and sometimes they just look pretty cool, like in the

Materials
Sturdy cardboard (and books or something to set it on so the angle remains constant)
Slinky
Protractor
Stop watch
Tape

Procedure
1. Using the protractor, set the cardboard on a 15 degree angle.
2. Set the slinky on it so that each end is on the board.
3. Time how long it takes for the slinky to go all the way down the board. Fill in the box
with this info.
4. Repeat the above steps at angles of 30, 45, and 60 degrees.












9
Time Form (Did it roll, flop, or go end over
end down?)
15
30
45
60
Balloon Cars
Power sources are cause of a lot of debates right now. There are nuclear, solar, and hydroelectric
powers, and so many more! Cars alone have 3 common sources of fuel: gasoline, diesel, and
solar. Mini race cars can be powered by a few things too, such as mouse traps or balloons.

Materials
Cardboard (wood could be used, but cardboard might/should work for main part of
car)
Wooden skewers (for axle)
Tape
Straws (to allow axle to turn)
Balloon

Procedure
1. Cut out a rectangle of cardboard to serve as the main body of the car.
2. Cut 2 pieces of straw that are as thick as your car. Cut 2 pieces of skewer to each be an
inch longer than the straw pieces, then put the skewer in the straw. This will serve as the
axle.
3. Cut out 4 circles approximately as big as a quarter. Stick these onto the ends of the
skewers.
4. Attack the wheels and axles to the bottom of the car.
5. Now take a straw and put approximately one inch of it inside the balloon. Tape it shut
very tightly- the tighter, the better!
6. Attach the balloon to the back of your car with the straw facing behind it. Blow the
balloon up and release!

Conclusion
1. Would different sized wheels have affected you car differently? What about a different
length straw?


2. Why did the car move?


According to Newton's 3rd law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So the
air is moving in one direction, and the opposite reaction is that the car moves.







10
Psychology
Peripheral Vision
Do you ever think you see something in the corner of your eye? Maybe the invisible monsters
live there, becuase no matter what you think, it's not possible to really see with peripheral vision,
beyond color and maybe size.




Optical Illusions






Pavlov's Law
Pavlov's law provides an explanation to the psychology behind many responses, actions, and
reactions made by all creatures. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian Scientist in the late 1800s and early
1900 hundreds. In his early twenties, he started taking math and sciences classes at the
University of Saint Petersburg. This led to him devoting his life to the sciences and winning the
1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology. Pavlov is most famous for his experiments on conditioned
reflex. If a dog sees food and salivates, that is an unconditioned reflex. However, Pavlov noticed
that if a buzzer sounded when giving a dog food, the dog would start to salivate when it heard the
buzzer, whether or not food was presented. This piece of behaviorism is now known as Pavlov's
Law.
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