Science Expo 2013: Physical Science

Transcription

1 Matter and Its Properties Physical Properties 1. Matter on the Move: Three round trays filled with different amounts of marbles represent how atoms of a substance can move when in a solid, liquid, and gaseous state. When the marbles are more tightly packed together, like atoms in a solid state, they have little room to move. 2. Phase Change Poppers: This activity uses dry ice to demonstrate the process of sublimation. A small amount of dry ice is placed in a container with a lid, and as the solid dry ice converts to gaseous carbon dioxide, the increased pressure causes the lid of the container to pop off. 3. Cloud in a Bottle: Learners create a cloud in a 2-liter bottle using only a small amount of water and an air pump. Air is pumped into the bottle, and then when that pressure is released, the air molecules expand, cool, and condense to form tiny water droplets. 4. Chilly Cans: In this activity, H₂O moves from a gaseous to a liquid to a solid state as frost forms on the outside of a cold metal can. 5. It s a Gas: This activity demonstrates two properties of gases- gases take up space and exert pressure. Two flasks and a beaker are connected with stoppers and tubing, and when baking soda, water, and citric acid are combined in the first flask, carbon dioxide emitted from the reaction exerts enough pressure to move through the tubing into the second flask, which displaces colored water from the second flask into the beaker. 6. Slime Time: In this activity, learners investigate the odd properties of non-newtonian fluids. A mixture of cornstarch and water behaves like both a liquid and a solid. Density 7. Density Table: a. Mystery Box: Beans, ping-pong balls, and metal balls are placed in a box with the metal balls visible at the top and the ping-pong balls at the bottom. When the box is shaken, differences in density cause the ping-pong balls to mysteriously float to the top and the metal balls to sink to the bottom. b. Floating Golf Ball: In this activity, students learn that the density of water can be manipulated by adding salt. When enough salt is added to a cup of water with a golf ball in it, the density of water increases to the point that the golf ball floats. c. Density Blocks: Using two sets of blocks one with blocks of equal volume and different mass, and the other with blocks of equal mass and different volume, students will learn how to calculate density and determine which substances float in water, and which do not. Science Expo Brief Activity Descriptions Page 1

2 8. Stacking Colors: Learners stack six liquids of various densities in test tubes, guessing the order in which they should be stacked (most dense on bottom to least dense on top). 9. Hot and Cold Density: In this activity, students will investigate whether the temperature of water affects its density. Students will place colored hot and cold water in a cup of room-temperature water to see that cold water sinks while hot water floats. Then they will use this experience to suggest how colored hot and cold water should be stacked to prevent mixing. Mixtures 10. All Mixed Up: Learners figure out how to easily separate a mixture of plastic beads, small pebbles, and paper clips. This is done by adding water, fishing out the plastic beads that have floated to the top, pouring the mixture through a strainer, and picking up the paper clips with a magnet. Chemical Reactions 11. Basic Reactions: Students discover that some substances are ph indicators. Turmeric will be used as a ph indicator in this activity, changing from yellow to red when put in contact with an alkaline solution of baking soda and rubbing alcohol, and changing back to yellow when vinegar is added to the solution, making it acidic. 12. Exothermic vs. Endothermic: In this activity, learners explore how chemical reactions can produce changes in temperature. They observe the effects of an exothermic reaction between calcium chloride and water, which produces heat, and an endothermic reaction between urea and water, which consumes heat. Energy Mechanical Energy 13. Extra Bounce: Two balls on their own don t bounce very high, but when bounced together conservation of momentum causes one to bounce really high and the other not at all. 14. Comeback Can: A rubber band with a hex nut is placed inside a can. When the can is rolled, the rubber band tightens and builds potential energy. When it releases the energy as kinetic energy the can rolls back to where it started. Heat 15. Burning Calories: How do we measure the calories in food? This activity demonstrates by burning a carbohydrate- and oil-rich food and comparing how much heat is released. 16. Some Like It Hot: Students experiment with the three methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation. Science Expo Brief Activity Descriptions Page 2

3 Electricity 17. Sizzling Static Electricity: Students experience hands-on static electricity with the Van de Graaff generator, and a competition to stick a balloon to the wall. 18. Human Battery: Can humans conduct electricity? Students find out by placing their hands on different metals and comparing how much electricity is measured by the micro-ammeter. 19. Currently Working: Students experiment with solutions of fresh and salt water to discover which ones can conduct electricity. 20. Conductor or Insulator?: Using the FOSS kit, students can test which materials conduct electricity and which are insulators. Light 21. Bubble Trouble: How is a rainbow formed? Students get inside a giant bubble to find out. 22. Color Combinations: This activity allows students to create different colors using flashlights of the primary colors. 23. Laser Light Show: Using a dark room and a fog machine, students can see the beams of light from a laser pointer. They also learn about fiber optics and observe a simple optical fiber in a stream of water. 24. Why is the Sky Purple?: Don t you mean, why is the sky blue? Learn how scattering causes us to see the sky as blue and the sunset as red. 25. Flying Mirror: In this optical illusion, students stand over a mirror that makes it seem as if they were flying. 26. Super Spectroscopes: Students observe different sources of light through a spectroscope and build their own simple spectroscope to take home. Sound 27. Musical Coat Hangers: Does sound move the same in different media? Students find out using air, water and ice, and use strings tied to coat hangers to magnify sound waves. 28. Good Vibrations: Sound carries energy, as students find out by touching tuning forks to water and ping pong balls. Salt placed on top of a speaker creates patterns depending on the frequency of the tone played. Forces and Motion Direction and Speed 29. Hovercraft: In this demo we will demonstrate Newton s three laws. The hover craft mimics a frictionless environment so Newton s theories can hold true. Science Expo Brief Activity Descriptions Page 3

4 30. Let s Do the Swivel: Students discover the principle of conserving angular momentum by spinning in an office chair with hand weights. They will feel acceleration and deceleration as they bring the weights near and far away from their body. 31. Bull s Eye!: Students step into the shoes of NASA scientists as they try to land a marble on the bull s eye using the principle of gravity and horizontal movement. 32. Physics Fear Factor: This demo and activity shows how energy converts from potential to kinetic, and it cannot be created nor destroyed. The volunteer will hold a tennis ball close to their nose, let go and see that the ball does not swing back to hit them, but returns to its start point. Magnetism 33. Magnet Mania!: This activity is an exploration of magnets. How magnets work, what materials are magnetic, how you can induce magnetism. To wrap up the activity students will construct their own compass. 34. Eddy Currents: By dropping magnets through copper and plastic tubes students will learn how eddy currents are created and slow down the magnet. Students will also experiment with an eddy current pendulum and see how the current can slow down the pendulum. Gravity 35. How Does This Stack Up? : This investigation allows students to play with blocks and learn about the center of mass of objects. 36. Gravity Keeps You Down: This classic experiment shows how air resistance determines how fast an object falls. Students are given two pieces of identical paper and asked to figure out a way they one will drop faster than the other. They will learn that in a vacuum all objects theoretically fall at the same speed, but in reality objects have different drag or air resistance and thus fall at different rates. Air Pressure 37. Mystery Candle: In this investigation students will witness water being sucked up into a vase because of the expansion and contraction of gas. The candle is lit in a pan of water; the candle is covered with a vase causing the candle to go out. The air then contracts and sucks up water causing the water and floating candle to rise like magic! 38. Balloon in a Bottle: Students will learn that air takes up space by trying to blow up balloons in a plastic bottle. If you pole a hole in the bottle and air escapes it is then possible to blow up the balloon. 39. The Power of Words: This simple, yet impactful, activity shows that air pressure can exert more pressure than one would expect. The students will see how one sheet of newspaper can prevent a ruler from being flung off the corner of a table. 40. Automatic Balloon Inflator: In the activity students will learn that hot air expands and exerts more pressure, while cool air contracts and deflates. We will use balloons attached to liter bottles, in hot and cold water to show the change. Science Expo Brief Activity Descriptions Page 4

5 41. Magic Playing Card: Flip a cup upside down with a playing card on it. The water doesn t pour out because the atmospheric pressure exerted on the playing card keeps the card and water up. Many students may have seen this before, but probably do not know the science behind it. Friction 42. Friction Frenzy: In this activity students will discover many aspects and impacts of friction. 1) To understand friction on a macro scale, students will play tug-of-war on a skateboard and on the floor. 2) Students will slide wooden blocks with different strengths of sand paper 3) Students will rub oiled and non oiled blocks together and observe the difference. This leads into a discussion of how friction can be helpful or hurtful in mechanics. Surface Tension 43. H₂Olympics: Students will compete in many water Olympics activities and learn how the properties of water allow for surface tension, adhesion, cohesion, and capillary action. Students go for the gold as the discovery the properties of water! Science Expo Brief Activity Descriptions Page 5