Science Activities II

SCI210   Spring 2004

Instructor: Dr. Barbara Hoeling

 

 

Fun With Static Electricity

 

Erin Anderson

 

SCI 210

 

May 18, 2004

 

 

Grade Level: Second to Third

 

Time: About thirty to forty-five minutes

 

Materials:

          -Balloons

          -String or yarn

          -Scotch tape

 

Directions:

1.     Have each child blow up a balloon and tie a piece of yarn to it

2.     Each child should rub their balloon in their hair to create a charge

3.     Two students will hold their balloons by the strings and try to get them to touch. Since they both have the same charge, they will repel each other

4.     Have the students see what happens when one of them puts their hand in between the two balloons

5.     Give each student two pieces of scotch tape and have them stick them to their desks or another hard surface

6.     They will quickly pull up the two pieces of tape and try to get them to touch. Since they both have the same charge, they will repel.

7.     Have the students rub one piece of their tape to change the charge and then see how the pieces will come together.

 

Wrap-Up:

          -Let the students talk about what causes static electricity.

-Ask if they have seen examples of static electricity in their everyday   life.

 

 

Fun with Static Electricity

 

 

 

 

 

What happens when you and your partner try to bring the balloons together after they have been rubbed in your hair?

 

 

 

 

 

If you put your hands in between the balloons, does something different happen?

 

 

 

 

What did the tape do after you pulled it off the table and tried to touch the two pieces together?

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you changed the charge of one of the pieces of tape, what was the result?

 

 

 

 

Water Pressure

By Ryan Apolinario

 

Materials Needed:

A cup (Styrofoam is fine, or anything else that you can poke a hole through)

A pencil or anything that you can use to poke a hole in the cup.

A sink.

A Pitcher full of water.

 

Step 1.  In order to show the effects of water pressure, we will take a cup and poke three holes in it.  One just above the bottom of it, and two more spaced out by 3 or 4 cm directly above the first hole.

 

 

Step 2.  Now you can place the cup on the edge of the sink so that the holes are pointing towards the sink.

 

 

Step 3.  Take the pitcher of water and try to fill up the cup with water.  Water will begin to leak out of the holes.  As the water level drops, continue to pour more water into the cup so that the water level stays near the top.  Observe.

 

 

 

 

Questions:  What observations can you make about the water that was coming out of the three holes?

 

Why do you think that the bottom hole shot the water out the furthest and the top hole shot out the water the least distance?

 

 

 

Explanation:  Water pressure increases the lower you go.  Since the water at the bottom of the cup has more pressure than the water at the top or the middle of the cup, then the water will shoot out of the bottom hole stronger than the other two.  We often feel this effect when we are swimming near the bottom of a swimming pool or when we go deeper into the ocean.  Our ears build up pressure and it can be very uncomfortable for the swimmer. 

 

 

 

 

Angelica Arellano

It’s the Law

 

Grade Level: Fifth

Subject: Motion

Time: 20-30 min

Grouping: pairs

 

Objectives

          Implement simple experimental investigations.

 

Materials

¨ 5m of string                           ¨ rubber balloon

          ¨ drinking straw                       ¨ tape

         

 

Activity Procedure

 

1.Have children thread the string through the straw.  Then tell them to hold the ends of the string or tie them to stationary objects.

 

2.Blow up the balloon and pinch the end.

 

3.Tell children that while one holds the balloon, to have a partner tape the balloon to the straw.

 

4.When balloon is taped to the straw, release the balloon.  Observe the balloon.

 

Draw Conclusions

      

Name:  ______________________               Date:__________

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the Law

 

What is the third law of motion?

 

 

 

 

 

What is the action force in your balloon rocket?

 

 

 

 

 

What is the reaction force?

 

 

 

 

 

Do you think the action force and the reaction force are equal?

 

 

 

 

 

In what direction did the air push out?

 

 

 

 

 

How could you make a more powerful balloon rocket?

 

 

SCI 210     Spring 04

Dr. Hoeling

SURFACE TENSION

Name: Dany Boroudian     

Subject: Physics

Grade: 3-4

 

Objective:

          This lab is intended to teach students about surface tension.  It will allow students to visibly see how surface tension works with various objects.

 

Materials:

·        8 oz clear plastic cup

·        Cinnamon

·        Liquid dish detergent

·        White typing paper

·        Paper clip

·        Paper towel

 

Procedure:

          1.  Place materials on table

2.     Allow a member or two from each table to come up and collect the supplies.

3.     Demonstrate to students the first activity and then work with them on the second activity.

4.     (ACTIVITY #1) Fill the cup as full as possible without letting the water overflow.

5.     Sprinkle a thin layer of cinnamon on the surface of the water.

6.     Place a drop of dish detergent on the cinnamon.

7.     Watch the pattern that forms when the detergent “breaks” the water’s surface tension.

8.     Next, place the piece of paper carefully flat on the water’s surface and pick up the design made of cinnamon.

9.     Lay the paper flat with the cinnamon side up and allow your cinnamon design to dry. 

10.  Wash out the cup and go on to ACTIVITY #2.

11.   (ACTIVITY #2) Fill the cup as full as possible without letting the water overflow.

12.  Place a paper towel across the top of the cup.

13.  Place a paper clip on top of the paper towel.

14.  Next, slowly slip off the paper carefully so as not to disturb the paper clip.

15.  The surface tension, if not broken, will allow the paper clip to float on top of the water.

 

Conclusion:

          The surface tension of water deals with the layer of water molecules on the water’s surface, which acts as a strong and yet flexible “film-like” substance.  Molecules on the surface of the water form a tight arrangement because the water molecules are being pulled down and not pulled up because there are less water molecules in the air.  Furthermore, adding detergent breaks the surface tension thereby interfering with the tight arrangement causing the object to either sink or disperse.

 

 

Dany Boroudian

SCI 210 Spring 04

 

Worksheet

 

  1. What are the materials needed for this experiment?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Draw a picture of how your cinnamon picture looks after you added the detergent and allowed it to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Why does the cinnamon disperse after you add the detergent?

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Why does the paper clip float on top of the water?

 

 

Erica Bravo

5-29-04

SCI 210

Dr. Hoeling

 

                                    Solving Dissolving and Surface Tension with Water

 

            This activity will help students learn some of the special qualities that water possesses.  They will understand why water forms a thin layer on its surface that allows many insects to glide and stride along its surface.  They will understand that hot water differs from cold water in more than one way.

 

Materials:      Sugar cubes, sugar, measuring spoons, water (cold and hot), plastic spoons, clear water cups, pennies

 

Time Duration:           15-25 minutes

 

Objective:       Students will understand that a very important quality of water is its ability to dissolve many substances.  They will understand that different things affect how well water will dissolve a certain amount of a substance, like the temperature of water, the amount of water used, and the amount of a substance, and how fast water the water is moving.  This activity will enable students to observe these aspects of dissolving.

 

Procedure:

-Start by giving brief lecture on water and its many qualities.

-Pass out materials to each group

-Have students place a ¼ cup of cold water and ¼ cup of hot water into two separate cups

-Students will place a sugar cube in center of each cup

-Students will observe the cubes very closely

-Which cube dissolved the fastest? Why?

-Rinse out both cups of water and place ¼ cup of hot water into three different cups

-Place 1 teaspoon of sugar into each cup

-Knowing that stirring water helps make a substance dissolve faster, have partner stir one cup slowly, while you stir the other cup faster

-Which cup dissolved the fastest?  Why did this happen?

-Which would be faster to stir, one teaspoon of sugar in water or three teaspoons of sugar in warm water?

-After seeing water and its ability to dissolve substances, we will know see how water also has surface tension

-Students will get a penny and using a straw as a dropper, they will see how many drops of water they can place on penny before its surface tension breaks

-As a class, we will see how many was the most drops placed on the penny

-End of Activity.

NAME__________________

DATE____________

 

                             SOLVING DISSOLVING ACTIVITY

 

1.                  Which cube dissolved the fastest?  Why do you think this happened?

 

 

 

 

 

2.                Which sugar dissolved the fastest, the one being stirred fastest, slowest, or not stirred at all?  Why do you think this happened?

 

 

 

 

 

3.                Predict which will dissolve faster:  3 teaspoons of sugar, or 1 teaspoon of sugar.

 

 

 

4.                Should the water in question 3 be warmer or colder to dissolve faster?  Should you stir slowly or quickly?

 

 

 

5.                Make a race with your partner to see which one dissolves faster.

 

 

 

 

Mark Brockett

SCI 210L

Hoeling

                                                Buoyancy

Grade Level: 3

Purpose: To be made aware of the principles of buoyancy and how we see or experience it in our every day lives.

Supplies: Medium plastic containers or plastic cups, golf balls, empty Easter egg shells, clay, and skittles.

Conclusion: Students have had interactive activities that help them gain a better understanding of what buoyancy is.  Also Archimedes Principle can be mentioned and be introduced due to “displacement of water vs. an objects buoyant force”.  Students learned that weight and mass affect an objects ability to sink or float by creating a clay boat.

Activities:

1) Students will fill their plastic cups about 2/3 full of water.

2) Students will take a golf ball and decide if the golf ball will sink or float in the water.

3) Students will carefully drop the golf ball into the water.  What happened?

4) Students will now take an empty Easter egg shell and decide if it will sink or float.

5) What happened when it was put into the water?

6) Next students will start to fill the Easter egg one by one with skittles.  How many skittles will it take to sink the Easter egg?

7) Students will then take some clay and shape it into a golf ball and place in into the water.  What will happen to the clay?

8) Students will then take some more clay and make in into a boat shape this time.  What will happen to the clay this time when put into the water?

Why was the clay able to float this time in the water?

Bonus Activity) for fun students can try and sink the clay boat by repeating the same thing they did with the plastic Easter egg shell.

 

 

Name: __________________

Date: ___________________

 

                                                Buoyancy

What you need:

            1) Medium plastic containers or plastic cups

            2) Golf balls

            3) Empty plastic Easter egg shells

            4) Clay

            5) Skittles or some type of small hard candy

Activities:

            1) Fill the plastic container or plastic cup 2/3 full of water

            2) Then take the three objects (golf ball, egg shell, and clay) and decide what will happen when they place the object in the water.

Question 1: What objects do you think will float and what objects do you think will sink?

 

 

 

            3) Now first drop the golf ball into the water and view what happens.

            4) Next take the Easter egg shell and place it into the water.

            5) What should happen is the Easter egg shell floats, therefore next take the skittle candies and begin one by one to fill the egg shell with them.

Question 2: How many skittles will it take to sink the Easter egg shell?

 

 

            6) Next take the clay and roll it into a golf ball shape and place it into the water.

            7) Next try making the clay into a boat shape and drop it into the water.

Question 3: Why did the clay float in the water when you changed the shape of it?

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Buoyancy
Objectives:
 
This lesson is aimed at the intermediate grade levels (4-6).  The students will be able to write and verbally explain why a particular object/item will sink or float.  They will also be able to illustrate and/or demonstrate this process. This assignment will either introduce graphing or enhance a student’s graphing skills, as well as their critical thinking skills. 
 
Materials Needed:
 
1 Large Clear Container - filled with water
2 Balloons of the same color (one filled with water and one filled with      air but close to the same size)
1 Regular Coke
1 Diet Coke
2 Empty 16oz clear water bottles.(one filled with a much heavier substance than the other.  Ex: Flour and Salt; air and water; Salt and sugar)
Fruit:  two of each of the following: pear, apple, orange, nectarine, banana,lime, potato, plum, tomato, lemon, etc.
Enough copies of a graphing chart of which fruit will float and which will sink
1 Roll of aluminum foil
100 pennies
1 empty but clear dish washing detergent bottle with cap
2 glass droplets
 
Strategy:
 
I have a container of water and two balloons of the same color.  (One is filled with water and the other with air.  DO NOT INFORM THE STUDENTS OF THE BALLOONS CONTENT).  At this time, I will show the students the two balloons and ask them as I place each one in the water what do they think will happen?  (Placing the two balloons in the container, I now wait and listen to the student’s observation).  POSSIBLE ANSWERS:  One sunk because of its weight, one balloon 
was bigger than the other, one is filled with water and one with air.
  
Then, I will continue with the two pop cans.  I will show the class, two 12oz pops, one being diet and the other regular.  I will ask them, what do they think will happen as I place both cans into the container of water?  (At this time I'm listening to the student’s responses.)  Then I place the two cans of pop into the container of water, and one floats and the other doesn't.  I ask why?  (Listen to their responses.)  Then, explain why what happened, happened.  Diet coke contains nutra-sweet and regular coke contains corn syrup.  Corn syrup is more dense than the nutra-sweet that is in the diet coke; therefore, the diet coke 
was able to float more than the regular coke.  Cheap pop may float, not enough corn syrup. 
 
Next, I will hold up two 16oz clear water bottles filled with a white content (one with baking soda and the other salt.)  Once again, I will ask the students what they think will happen when I place them in the container of water?  
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: one will sink, the other will float.  They both will sink or float.  Well, after placing both bottles in the water, the students received a surprise.  They both sunk!  Why?  I listen to the observations and let them discuss what they think happened.  (That is why under the materials I listed several contents.  Water and air would have been a good example because one would have floated and the other would not have.  However, I wanted the kids to see something different.)
 
Moving right a long, I introduce the class to the different kinds of fruit I have available.  I ask that they all come up with their chart and pencil to make a prediction on what fruit will sink and what fruit will float.  Then, have them try each fruit in the water and see what happens.  This way the children will have a visual graph of what floats and what sinks.  (The teacher must do the experiment himself/herself to find out these results.  Smile!  Have fun.)  Afterwards, the students are free to enjoy a piece of fruit.  Now, the floor is open for discussion as to what floated and what didn't and why. 
 
All the students will come back up and make a boat or a floating object, one out of foil and one out of Play-Doh.  Then, they will place their floating device in the container of water to make sure it floats.  If it floats, they will see how many pennies it can hold before sinking.  They will write down their results and sit down and as a group they can talk about their finding.
 
Finally, I will demonstrate buoyancy using the clear dish detergent bottle and the two glass droplets.  Filling the bottle with water and filling one droplet with water and the other half filled with water.  Then dropping both droplets in the bottle, closing it tight.  One droplet will sink to the bottom, while the other will float to the top.  Place your hands just below the neck and squeeze with you thumb and observe what happens.  Then repeat the process using your three fingers. 
        
Performance Assessment:
 
I would expect each student to participate in all exercises.  They should all have an idea about why something happened.  I would expect that all the students should have a clear understanding of buoyancy, considering the various experiences.  Assessing the students should not be stressful.  They should be able to identify this concept when they come across it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worksheet

 

1)      What floats?

 

 

 

2)      What sinks?

 

 

 

3)      What is buoyancy?

 

 

 

4)      What causes an object to be buoyant?

 

 

 

5)  Would an object have the same buoyancy in water as it would in a more dense liquid like oil?

 

 

Lorena Cervantes

5-25-04

SCI 210

Lab Experiment #2

 

 

An Uplifting Experience

 

Pressure Experiment:

To demonstrate the force of a partial vacuum.

 

Materials:

Small latex balloon

Drinking glass

Water

 

Procedure:

  1. Fill the glass halfway with water.
  2. Place the balloon in the glass and blow it up.
  3. Lift the glass by the neck of the expanded balloon.

 

Results:

            The friction of the balloon against the glass is sufficient to prevent the balloon from easily pulling out.  When this friction is great enough, the balloon will not pull out easily because air cannot get into the bottom of the glass.  As you pull on the balloon, the air pressure in the glass is lowered, allowing you to lift the glass with the balloon still attached.  The balloon sealed off the glass so air could not get in.  In order to remove the balloon, the space it occupies must be replaced by air, but since air cannot get in, the balloon cannot get out.

 

 

Lorena Cervantes

SCI 210

Lab Experiment

 

An Uplifting Experience Worksheet

 

1. What do you think will happen when you blow up the balloon inside the cup?

Write your predictions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Will the balloon come out of the cup when you lift up the cup by pulling on the          

      balloon?  Why or why not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. What is acting on the balloon that will not allow it to come out of the cup?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. What do you need to do to get the balloon out of the cup?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lorena Cervantes

SCI 210

Experiment 2

 

 

Get a grip on it

 

Pressure Experiment:

            Demonstrate vacuum formation.

 

Materials:

Clear, plastic, drinking glass

Plastic sandwich bag

Several rubber bands

 

Procedure:

  1. Place your hand inside the bag.
  2. Push the bag down into the glass, leaving the top to fold over the rim of the glass.
  3. Use the rubber bands to very tightly secure the bag top around the rim.
  4. Reach into the glass and pull the bottom of the bag out the glass.

 

 

Results:

            The bag is difficult to pull up because a partial vacuum was formed underneath it.  When you sealed the bag to the jar, you trapped a certain volume of air inside the jar.  In order to remove the bag, the space it occupies must be replaced by air, but since air cannot get in, the vacuum prevents the bag from getting out.

 

 

 

 

 

Cindy Cho

Sci 210 L

 

Take A Whirl With A Wonderwhirler!!!

 

 

   

 

1.  What is the difference seen when the paper clip is     added to the bottom of the Wonderwhirler?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

 

           

2.  Does the Wonderwhirler always spin in the same       direction?

            __________________________________________

            __________________________________________

            __________________________________________

           

           

3.  How can you make the Wonderwhirler spin in the       opposite direction?

            __________________________________________

            __________________________________________

            __________________________________________

 

                       

4.  Why does the Wonderwhirler spin the way it does?

            __________________________________________

            __________________________________________

            __________________________________________

 

 

 

 

5.  How can you make the Wonderwhirler spin faster?  Once you find a way, why does it spin faster?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

            This experiment will help students understand the concepts of aerodynamics.  The science project relates to the effect that air has on any moving object.  I believe that this type of experiment can be age appropriate for those in 3rd grade and up.  This experiment helps students to understand and grasp the fact of how different positions of an object can determine with direction it will move.  It also helps them realize that there are many modifications which can be made in order to improve the object.

            The materials needed for this experiment are scissors, paper clips, and a copy of the wonderwhirler on the above page.  Students are to be directed to cut out the rectangle and then cut along the dotted lines.  Then, they fold the two wings in opposite direction of each other and put the paper clip on the bottom of the wonderwhirler.  The paper clip will make the contraption whirl faster.  In order for the Wonderwhirler to spin in a different direction, students will have to figure out that the wings need to be folded in the opposite direction than from what they started with.  One way to make the wonderwhirler spin faster is to cut the wings shorter. 

 

 

Julie Corral

SCI 210L

Experiment #2

 

Straw Flute

 

Purpose: 

            To determine if the length of a flute affects the pitch of a sound that it produces

 

Materials:

            Drinking straw

            Ruler

            Scissors

            Marking pen

 

Procedure:

1.      Make a ½ in. cut on each side of the straw’s end, forming the reed of the flute.  (should look like a triangle)

2.      Place the reed in your mouth

3.      Push on the reed with your lips and blow.  If no sound produces, change the pressure of your lips.

4.      cut the end of the straw off  by ½ in and observe the change in pitch

 

Results:

            The pitch of the straw gets higher as the straw gets shorter

 

Why:

The sound produced is because of the vibration in the straw and the air inside of it.  The longer the straw, the lower the sound.

 

Julie Corral

May 17, 2004

Sci 210L

 

Straw Flute