This is directly copy and pasted from the Steve Spangler website but I find that I really need to save this - it's a gem! I do paper chromatography with my students and have made beautiful patterns with the Sunday School kids for cards but this really is a good spin on an already cool lab activity!
Sharpie Pen Science A tie dye technique without the mess, using Sharpie Markers!
It's a brand new tie dye technique without the mess... and the results are amazing! This activity combines chemistry and art to create a designer t-shirt that is sure to get lots of attention whenever you wear it.
Materials
Pre-washed white t-shirt
Sharpie® Permanent Markers (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple)
Plastic Cup
Rubber Band
Rubbing Alcohol (70% from the Drug Store)
Dropper Bottle or medicine dropper
Link to see the video for the method: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000032
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Steve Spangler's Demo a Week E-mail
http://www,stevespanglerscience.com
I do not usually tout people's products but I recently visited the Steve Spangler website (http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/) and signed up to receive a weekly e-mail that features a different demo a week! It also shows a product that you can purchase but what can you expect?
This week's demo was the 7 layer density column, a colourful demonstration where you carefully pour different layers of liquids that settle into discrete layers due to their different densities. It is a demo that I already do, but he does it better. There are videos to show you how he does it and a full write up.
You can link to Steve's blog and it's really good for getting ideas! There are a lot of demonstrations shown of him on different TV shows and I have noticed that he doesn't always explain the science fully. One demonstration that I am keenly interested is the self-carving pumpkin (or watermelon). You carve the pumpkin from the inside, cut it to scoop out the content and make a hatch at the back so that you can insert materials to do the demonstration. Whatever reaction he does is explosive enough that it blows the eyes, nose and mouth out of the pumpkin! It is very cool! Now that I have heard about it, it's only a matter of time that I find out how!
I do not usually tout people's products but I recently visited the Steve Spangler website (http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/) and signed up to receive a weekly e-mail that features a different demo a week! It also shows a product that you can purchase but what can you expect?
This week's demo was the 7 layer density column, a colourful demonstration where you carefully pour different layers of liquids that settle into discrete layers due to their different densities. It is a demo that I already do, but he does it better. There are videos to show you how he does it and a full write up.
You can link to Steve's blog and it's really good for getting ideas! There are a lot of demonstrations shown of him on different TV shows and I have noticed that he doesn't always explain the science fully. One demonstration that I am keenly interested is the self-carving pumpkin (or watermelon). You carve the pumpkin from the inside, cut it to scoop out the content and make a hatch at the back so that you can insert materials to do the demonstration. Whatever reaction he does is explosive enough that it blows the eyes, nose and mouth out of the pumpkin! It is very cool! Now that I have heard about it, it's only a matter of time that I find out how!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Density Demo taken up a notch
I was helping out with our summer church camp and it was a science theme. They have a demonstration at the end of each day. The demo today really took my old diet Coke/regular Coke demo up a couple of notches.
First, put in a regular Coke, then a diet Coke. Ask for predictions from the audience each time about what they expect will sink or float and why.
Try:
Pepsi and Diet Pepsi
A lemon and a lime (the lime sinks, the lemon floats)
An peeled orange and an unpeeled orange (the orange floats, the peeled orange sinks)
And for a big finale, two bowling balls - one 7 lb and the other 16 lb (borrowed from a bowling alley). The 7 lb bowling ball floats and the 16 lb one floats!
And it's all about density and how tightly packed together those particles are. High density items (like people packed together on a bus during rush hour) that are more dense than water will sink. Low density items (like people in a bus during a slow time) will float!
First, put in a regular Coke, then a diet Coke. Ask for predictions from the audience each time about what they expect will sink or float and why.
Try:
Pepsi and Diet Pepsi
A lemon and a lime (the lime sinks, the lemon floats)
An peeled orange and an unpeeled orange (the orange floats, the peeled orange sinks)
And for a big finale, two bowling balls - one 7 lb and the other 16 lb (borrowed from a bowling alley). The 7 lb bowling ball floats and the 16 lb one floats!
And it's all about density and how tightly packed together those particles are. High density items (like people packed together on a bus during rush hour) that are more dense than water will sink. Low density items (like people in a bus during a slow time) will float!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Acid Rain Demonstration
Burningof sulphur – acid rain demonstration (Science & Society connection)
Apparatus: gas bottle, BTB indicator, glass plate, deflagrating spoon & sulphur.
Directions:
1. Fill gas bottle with water and add a few drops of BTB (indicator turns yellow in an acid or remains blue in basic or neutral solutions).
Put ½ tsp (amount is not critical) into the spoon and heat over the Bunsen burner flame. Ask a student to turn off the light so that the violet flame can be viewed.
Lower the spoon into the gas bottle, taking care not to touch the sides (see photograph). Cover with the glass plate. The white gas (SO2 and SO3) will billow and fill the air space above the blue liquid. Douse the flame in a waiting container of water (Safety alert – toxic gas produced is, use a fume hood).
Discuss with the class about societal and environmental implications of factories burning sulphur and the products that will come out of the smokestacks, like sulphur dioxide and trioxide. During this time, these two gases will dissolve into the water to form sulphurous and sulphuric acid, changing the pH from neutral to acid.
Cover the top of the bottle completely with the glass plate and shake once. The blue coloured solution will dramatically change to yellow. This indicates that the solution is now an acid. Explain how this demonstration shows how we get acid rain and the effects of air pollution on our lakes.
Extension: In Southern Ontario, there is a buffering effect of limestone (CaO) that will react with water to form calcium hyroxide (CaO + H2O--> Ca(OH)2). Since metal hydroxides are bases, this counteracts the effect of the acid rain. Therefore, Southern Ontario is not as affected by acid rain as it could be.
Apparatus: gas bottle, BTB indicator, glass plate, deflagrating spoon & sulphur.
Directions:
1. Fill gas bottle with water and add a few drops of BTB (indicator turns yellow in an acid or remains blue in basic or neutral solutions).
Put ½ tsp (amount is not critical) into the spoon and heat over the Bunsen burner flame. Ask a student to turn off the light so that the violet flame can be viewed.
Lower the spoon into the gas bottle, taking care not to touch the sides (see photograph). Cover with the glass plate. The white gas (SO2 and SO3) will billow and fill the air space above the blue liquid. Douse the flame in a waiting container of water (Safety alert – toxic gas produced is, use a fume hood).
Discuss with the class about societal and environmental implications of factories burning sulphur and the products that will come out of the smokestacks, like sulphur dioxide and trioxide. During this time, these two gases will dissolve into the water to form sulphurous and sulphuric acid, changing the pH from neutral to acid.
Cover the top of the bottle completely with the glass plate and shake once. The blue coloured solution will dramatically change to yellow. This indicates that the solution is now an acid. Explain how this demonstration shows how we get acid rain and the effects of air pollution on our lakes.
Extension: In Southern Ontario, there is a buffering effect of limestone (CaO) that will react with water to form calcium hyroxide (CaO + H2O--> Ca(OH)2). Since metal hydroxides are bases, this counteracts the effect of the acid rain. Therefore, Southern Ontario is not as affected by acid rain as it could be.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Silver flakes make for a cool demo
This is an oldie but a goodie. This is a demonstration that I never get tired of.
Single Displacement Reactions
Demonstration: Reaction of copper with silver nitrate.
Apparatus: coil of copper wire, large test tube, silver nitrate solution (concentration is not crucial).
Directions:
1. Place copper wire into test tube of silver nitrate. Allow students to review the activity series and predict the products of the following reaction:
Cu + AgNO3 --> Ag + Cu(NO3)2
2. Observe the reaction (see photograph). Large, beautiful flakes of silver come out of solution and the clear, colourless silver nitrate is replaced by a blue solution of copper nitrate. This colour change is evidence that the copper has gone into the solution.
Demonstration: Reaction of copper with silver nitrate.
Apparatus: coil of copper wire, large test tube, silver nitrate solution (concentration is not crucial).
Directions:
1. Place copper wire into test tube of silver nitrate. Allow students to review the activity series and predict the products of the following reaction:
Cu + AgNO3 --> Ag + Cu(NO3)2
2. Observe the reaction (see photograph). Large, beautiful flakes of silver come out of solution and the clear, colourless silver nitrate is replaced by a blue solution of copper nitrate. This colour change is evidence that the copper has gone into the solution.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sex and Evolution - The Mating Game
PBS has excellent resources to support an important topic that will move down to the grade 11 Biology level in the fall of 2009: Evolution.
Here is the address: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/teachstuds/svideos.html
There are a whole series of videos which can be purchased or you can show a variety of 10 min video clips from a range of topics including:
Why is Evolution Controversial Anyways? How does Evolution Really Work? and Did Humans Evolve?
I like the range of topics because it goes beyond outlining what Evolution is about to why it is important and controversial.
As well, there are some fun parts like the sex and evolution dating game. There is a host, a contestant and 3 bachelors behind the curtains. There are questions that you can ask the contestants such as: what would be the perfect gift? The bachelors are different species of animals so what they think of as the perfect mate will be very different.
Here is the address: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/teachstuds/svideos.html
There are a whole series of videos which can be purchased or you can show a variety of 10 min video clips from a range of topics including:
Why is Evolution Controversial Anyways? How does Evolution Really Work? and Did Humans Evolve?
I like the range of topics because it goes beyond outlining what Evolution is about to why it is important and controversial.
As well, there are some fun parts like the sex and evolution dating game. There is a host, a contestant and 3 bachelors behind the curtains. There are questions that you can ask the contestants such as: what would be the perfect gift? The bachelors are different species of animals so what they think of as the perfect mate will be very different.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Chem4kids Website - Wow!
Wow! I came across an excellent website for kids called http://www.chem4kids.com/. It should not be called chem4 kids since there is a biology, astronomy and earth science sections, too!
I don't what the target audience is, but it's a great overview of things for high school students. It has colour pictures to add interest. Done by Rader Studios, they have done justice to the topic, doing a great overview and making sure to have real life examples
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