sciences and oceanography

I need to find/come up with 50 as part of the professional development in many school systems but I don't want to start diluting the quality because I actually want to use these. Any suggestions?

The less equipment/supplies they use, the better. Simple everyday supplies are ideal. Things that could be done at schools in neglected areas and third world countries.

I will be going to Shanghai for a few weeks in July and thats where I will come up with/test out many of mine. Thats just to give you the idea that we can't always use computers and laser physics or typical wet-lab chemistry.

The top experiments from this will go into my "go to" folder and could be used the rest of my career.

The wet chemistry needs to be all "kitchen chemistry" to revolutionize teaching without equipment.

5/31/2010 12:57:43 PM

1. 2 litre pepsi
2. Mentos
3. ???
4. Profit

5/31/2010 12:59:27 PM

Put like 3 different kinds of bread in like 3 different bags and see which one molds first

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

[Edited on May 31, 2010 at 1:06 PM. Reason : ]

5/31/2010 1:06:33 PM

What age kids are these experiments to be designed for?

5/31/2010 1:06:45 PM

they have lots of books with these in it at bookstores and libraries. that is how i got my k-5 science fair projects

5/31/2010 1:26:38 PM

^^^no biology.

grades 7-12 but thats not really a factor if everything is hands on. These aren't exactly "labs". They're more hands-on "lessons"

5/31/2010 1:38:14 PM

hard-boiled egg + bottle + match

5/31/2010 2:07:50 PM

You should talk to the teaching center at the Fort Fisher Aquarium for good oceanography experiments.

5/31/2010 4:36:49 PM

my highschool had a pretty cool hydrology class, where we set up this giant elevated fiberglass trench like thing, filled it with sand, mud, moss and some other stuff then raised a 50 gallon water tank above it and watched over the course of like 3 months the effect different pressures of water had on erosion patterns and other shit. I didn't learn anything really but it was one of the coolest experiments & classes i've ever had [literally the entire 90 minutes was watching water drop out of this tank and talking about wateva the fuck].

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

5/31/2010 4:53:19 PM

Do a moment of Inertia experiment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_of_inertia


basically have objects of different shape and weight (giving different moments of Inertia) and roll them down a ramp and time the amount of time it takes for them to go a known distance. You could have a ball, a hollow ball (so all the mass is on the outside of the ball), a donut shape etc etc.
I also remember my science teacher having a donut shape (like a movie projector wheel or something) and then had big magnets that he could move the wieght either closer to the center of the wheel or further on the edge (changing the inertia and rolling speed).


Simple and pretty cool experiment although the moment of Inertia concept is hard to grasp.

this link is a little better than the Wiki link

http://www.helium.com/items/1172853-mass-moment-of-inertia

5/31/2010 4:53:40 PM

1. classic surface tension - glass of water + playing card

2. Inertia - hang a heavy ball from a string, and tie another string to the bottom. To break the top string, pull slowly from the bottom. To break the bottom string, pull quickly. The quick pull is too fast to overcome the inertia of the ball.

3. more surface tension - bowl of water, sprinkle some ground pepper on top. Try to part the pepper with your finger, no success. Put some soap on your finger and magically the pepper moves to the sides! the soap breaks up the surface tension.

4. density - heat up a small amount of colored water in a small container. drop the colored water into a large container of clear cold water (like a jager bomb ). the colored water rises to the surface. try again with a shot glass of cold colored water, and it stays in the jar. Density!

5. density/pressure - heat up an empty plastic bottle with the cap off, just put it in some hot water for a while. put the cap on, and dunk into cold water. the bottle will crush itself. Density/pressure!!

6. earth science - a tray of dirt or sand that's slightly downsloped. rig a cup of water above it with a small hole to drip a stream of water. it shows how the shape of a river changes over time (starts out fast and straight, eventually develops meanders and a delta) this was a favorite of mine as a kid and can look really cool.

I'll try to think of more.

5/31/2010 6:57:52 PM

You could make all the students read your posts on TWW and see what percentage kill themselves.

5/31/2010 8:08:19 PM

is inertia a biology topic now?

5/31/2010 8:11:21 PM

Well this is lucky. I too need an experiment like this for a lecture I'm giving on Friday

5/31/2010 8:12:18 PM

Give em like 5 straws, piece of string, and a piece of 8 1/2 x 11" paper and have an egg drop contest. Usually well made parachutes work, but I don't think I've ever seen an "impact absorber" design work.

5/31/2010 8:25:18 PM

^ I'm digging this one though I must admit I never had a chance to do this as a kid

How far do you drop the eggs from? Just hold them up arm's length and drop them on the pavement?

5/31/2010 8:30:15 PM

Naww. When we did it in like 9th grade we dropped them from one floor over a rail to the floor below. I would guesstimate that it was from about a height of 12'

5/31/2010 9:07:45 PM

Sweet I'm definitely doing it. I can give them a bunch of my garbage as experiment supplies. Kill two birds with one stone

5/31/2010 9:10:37 PM

Quote :

"is inertia a biology topic now?"

ummm ... she said "no biology." not sure what you mean by this

5/31/2010 9:54:37 PM

Quote :

"heat up an empty plastic bottle with the cap off, just put it in some hot water for a while. put the cap on, and dunk into cold water. the bottle will crush itself. Density/pressure!!"

Haha I remember my chem teacher doing this in 11th grade, it was awesome.


Also, standard baking soda + vinegar volcano?

6/1/2010 10:05:53 AM

Four steel nails of the same type(not coated or painted)

Put
one in water
one in salt water
one in water coated with petroleum jelly
one in salt water coated with petroleum jelly

Ask the kids to predict which will have the most rust after X number of days.

6/1/2010 10:19:31 AM

theres tons of lesson plans available about simple machines. here's a site with tons of suggestions. http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/simmach.html

6/1/2010 11:47:29 AM

If you're teaching in a room with windows, block out all the windows with plywood or poster board (the less light that shines through the better) and cut a small hole in the middle of one of them. Have all the kids face the wall opposite from the hole and wait a moment and soon they'll start seeing an upside down image of everything happening outside. Instant pinhole camera! You may have to play with the size of the hole a bit to get a good picture but it's really neat when it works.

Two apples suspended on strings equal distance from each other + 1 shop vac on reverse == Bernoulli in action. Can also be done with balloons http://magic-but-real-experiments.blogspot.com/2009/06/bernoulli-principle-with-balloons.html

wire draped over block of ice + weights tied to the ends of the wire, suspend the block on two boards so that the wire can pass through the block of ice makes for a good demo of Le Chatelier's principle. A good picture of a setup is here http://draco.uni.opole.pl/moja_fizyka/numer22/ang.html

6/1/2010 12:31:07 PM

Bayer started a program called Making Science Make Sense, challenging it's employees to go out into the community classrooms and do simple/fun experiments with the kids that show them how awesome science is!

Here's a few of their experiments if you'd like to use any of them:
http://www.bayerus.com/MSMS/MSMS_Education_Resources_Activities/ResourcesSTP/ScienceFun/ExperimentGuide/ExperimentGuide.aspx

6/2/2010 10:18:46 AM

mix corn starch and water and let kids play w/ the resulting non-newtonian fluid. it's very neat, and as simple as you can get.

6/2/2010 10:37:32 AM

i wish i had more of this stuff in my primary education. i dont feel like i did any learning of this type

6/2/2010 8:06:28 PM

Make clouds! That one's always my fave.

6/3/2010 1:15:43 AM

Thanks guys. I will be using a few of nerdchicks.

6/3/2010 12:33:11 PM

You can show how objects like clothes appear different colors under different types of light (metamorism) with a shadow box and dividers, putting different bulbs on each side.

6/4/2010 8:52:28 AM

Baking soda + 2 liter bottle + Vinegar = Profit

OR

Bleach + Ammonia

6/4/2010 9:12:10 AM

A Winogradsky Column

6/5/2010 10:04:36 AM

all you need is a lighter and some coffee creamer

http://www.madphysics.com/exp/non_dairy_creamer_free_radical.htm

6/5/2010 12:05:05 PM

cornstarch + water = weird putty stuff that is firm when played with but liquid when not played with.

spray starch (non aeresol) + glue = silly putty

styrofoam + nail polish remover = another gooey substance to play with.

another is just using different samples of water, like lake, ocean, tap etc, and food coloring and add together slowly so not to mix to show different densities.

[Edited on June 5, 2010 at 12:22 PM. Reason : more?]

6/5/2010 12:19:42 PM

what are easy-hands experiments?

Quote :

"Bleach + Ammonia "

haha

[Edited on June 5, 2010 at 1:04 PM. Reason : lkj]

6/5/2010 1:03:22 PM