Mrs. DuBose’s Class: AdVeNtUrEs iN ScIeNcE

This Weeks At Home Experiment: 9/2-9/5

How Many Drops Can Fit On Different Coins

Well Scientists,

We applied scientific method to figure out drops on a penny.  Now you can have fun with this activity at home.  The question this time is What happens if you use different coins”.  Does more water fit on bigger coins or smaller coins.  In your experiment,  you will use a different coin, like a nickel, a dime, or a quarter? Use what you know about a penny to predict how many drops will fit on a different coin. You can also add compare soapy water to regular water and see what happens? Choose one thing to change (that’s the variable) and make a prediction. Then test it and send your results to ZOOM. Your results could end up online..HAVE FUN EXPERIMENTING

SAFETY ALERT: ALWAYS REMEMBER even the simplest activities with the most basic of materials can be harmful or dangerous, so parental supervision and guidance is critical at all times

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SEISMIC SLINKY

A Slinky makes a handy model of earthquake waves. See for yourself which waves may send you rocking and rolling, and which ones may bounce you out of your chair.

What do I need?

Assembly
Stretch the Slinky 6 feet (2 meters) or more between your partner and yourself. Or, tie one end of the Slinky to a chair or other solid object 6 feet away.

What do I do?
1. Pull the Slinky toward you a bit and then push it away. Notice that a wave travels along the Slinky from you to your partner.

The vibrating parts of the Slinky move back and forth in the same direction as the wave is traveling. This type of wave is called a longitudinal wave, or a compression wave, and it’s a model for seismic primary waves, or P waves. They’re known as primary waves because they’re the fastest of the earthquake waves, arriving first at distant points.

2. Shake one end of the Slinky up and down. Notice that a different type of wave travels along the Slinky.

This time, sections of the Slinky move up and down, perpendicular to the direction in which the wave is traveling. This type of wave is called a transverse wave. It provides a model for S waves, the secondary seismic waves that travel through solid rock. (S waves can’t travel through liquid or gas.)

                     FILM CANISTER VOLCANO

• A film canister (the white kind works the best!!)
• Red and yellow food coloring (optional)
• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Liquid dish washing soap  

MENTOS & SODA: It’s  A Blast!!

Words cannot begin to describe the awesome eruption that is created from mixing Mentos candy and soda. Eruptions of up to 18 feet are possible if this technique is done correctly. 

Materials

•  2 liter bottles of Coke (diet or regular) 
• Mentos candy MINTS
• Computer or Notebook paper

1. Go outside to the middle of a field or a huge lawn.
2. Bring a roll or box of Mentos (candy mints) and a 2-liter bottle of soda. Either diet or regular soda will work for this experiment, but diet soda erupts higher (soda can go up to 75ft)and is less sticky when you’re cleaning it up.
3. Open the bottle of soda carefully. Position the bottle on the ground so that it will not tip over.
4. Unwrap the whole roll of Mentos . The goal is to drop all of the Mentos into the bottle of soda at the SAME TIME(which is trickier than it sounds so you can put in one if you like).
   1. The best method for doing this is to roll a piece of paper into a tube (like a cardboard toilet paper roll) just big enough to hold the loose Mentos. Put a card under the roll and on top of the bottle top, so you can just pull off the card and the candies will all drop in at once.
5. Drop all of the Mentos into the bottle at the same time and then move out of the way as fast as you can. STAND BACK!!
6. Watch the soda eruption. It’s just like fireworks on the 4th of July. Your parents and siblings will cheer in a chorus of ooohs and ahhhs. Someone yells out, “Do it again” and you do.
7. Come back and share your comments and send me your digital pictures to ebonidubose@fcschools.net

CHECK OUT THESE COOL MENTOS VIDEOS