Hands-On Physical Science

I have used most of these experiments and demonstrations with elementary school kids--mostly K through 6th grades. A few have been used with college students.

Air Pressure Experiments

Equipment and Materials:

• Aluminum soft-drink can
• hot plate
• pie plate
• tongs

Procedure:
Put about 1/2 inch of water in the pie plate.
Put 30-50 mL water in can. Boil for 1 minute (or until can is filled with steam).
Immediately invert in pie plate filled with water.
Poof

Collapsing Can #2

Equipment and Materials:

• 1 gallon metal can with screw cap
• hot plate
• oven mitts or potholders

Procedure:
Put approximately 100 mL water in can. Boil until can is filled with steam).
Remove from heat. Screw cap on tightly. Let cool.
Crunch!
For a more dramatic effect, run cold water over the can as soon as it is sealed.

Upside Down Water

Procedure:
Fill drinking glass completely with water.
Cover top with piece of heavy paper (an index card works well).
Invert glass and carefully remove hand.
Water stays in glass!
(You can also relate this to a barometer.

Cartesian Diver

"Squiddy" from Edmund Scientific (phone: 609-547-8880) or other science supply store.
Or make your own from a disposable plastic pipette weighted with a brass nut

Bernoulli Principle

Equipment and Materials:

• spool
• piece of paper
• straight pin

Procedure:
Push pin through paper. Put pin in hole of spool.
Blow hard. Paper will stick to spool--even when you hold the spool upside down

Bubbles

Equipment and Materials:

• flashlight
• rubber bands
• plastic bowls with lids
• large shallow trays
• bubble wands
• soapy water: commercial bubble liquid or recipe below

Procedure:
Try blowing bubble with just about anything:

• bubble wands
• your fingers
• rubber bands
• straws--blow into bubble liquid on tray

• Bubble Festival (ISBN: 0-912511-80-X)
• Bubble-ology (ISBN: 0-912511-11-7)

Bubble Recipe

• 1 oz Joy or Dawn dish detergent
  (these are the best detergents for bubbles, others do not work as well)
• 9 oz water
• optional:
  1/4 tsp glycerine or 1/4 tsp sugar

Mix together.
For best results, let the mixture "age" at least overnight.

Chemical Reactions

Reference:
Chemical Reactions GEMS Teacher's Guide (ISBN: 0-912511-13-3)

I have had great success with this unit with both middle school students and college students.
You really need the book to do the experiments.
The experiments involve mixing calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate in the presence of phenol red indicator. Students study what chemicals are responsible for the several changes they observe.

Fire Experiments

Equipment and Materials:

• fire extinguisher
• bucket (filled with water)
• pie plate
• glass jar
• plastic cups
• spoon
• tongs
• matches
• candles
• food coloring
• baking soda
• vinegar
• balloons
• paper towels
• rubbing alcohol

Fire needs:

• fuel
• oxygen
• heat
  

Fuel

Fire burns until runs out of fuel: wood fires, matches, candles

Oxygen

Put a candle on a pie plate and add 1/2 inch of water to pie plate.
Light candle, then put glass jar over candle.
Candle extinguishes when oxygen is consumed.
Water enters jar--use colored water for best view.
Note water vapor condensed on inside of jar.

Make some carbon dioxide by mixing baking soda and vinegar.
"Pour" carbon dioxide from mixing jar over a burning candle.
Carbon dioxide extinguishes the flame, even though it is invisible!

Heat

The "Fireproof" Balloon:
Put some water in a balloon, then blow it up.
Hold the balloon over a flame--the water absorbs heat, and the balloon doesn't burst.
Reference: SPICE (University of Wisconsin)

The Non-Burning Towel:
(You can also use paper currency for a more dramatic effect!)
Soak the paper towel (or currency) in a mixture of 50% rubbing alcohol, 50% water.
Holding the paper with tongs, light it with a match or candle.
After a few seconds, blow out the flame--be sure to extinguish before all the alcohol has been consumed!
Reference: Fun with Chemistry, p. 51ff

Impact Craters

Reference:
Moons of Jupiter GEMS Teacher's Guide (ISBN: 0-912511-84-2)

Equipment and Materials:

• bleached white flour
• powdered chocolate drink mix (e.g. Nestle's Quik)
• dishpans
• rocks

Procedure:
Put about 3 inches of flour in a dishpan and dust with chocolate powder.
Drop small rocks of varying sizes into the flour from varying heights.
Examine the craters.
The GEMS guide gives many more details and suggestions.

25 lbs flour will serve four crater pods in Rubbermaid dishpans.
Not too messy!

Light Sticks (Chemiluminescence)

Reference:
"Lightsticks", Chemical Demonstrations, Vol. 1, pp. 146-152.
"The Effects of Temperature on Lightsticks", J. Chem. Ed., 76 (1), 40A-B, (Jan. 1999).
"Lightstick Kinetics", Charles E. Roser and Catherine L. McCluskey, J. Chem. Ed., 76, pp. 1514-1515, (Nov. 1999).

Equipment and Materials:

• Cyalume Sticks
• Phosphorescent materials (glow in the dark toys, T-shirts, posters)
• strong scissors
• paper towels
• clear plastic cups (disposable!)
• latex exam gloves (optional, but nice!)
• ice water thermos with light sticks inside
• hot water thermos with light sticks inside
• need a darkened room for best effect

Chemiluminscence--Light sticks

Same light as firefiles--"cold light".

Start one light stick.

Start a light stick that has been stored in hot water--very intense light, but only glows for a short time.

Start a light stick that has been stored in ice water--weaker glow, but will last for a long time if kept cold.

Thermal shock will cause light sticks to leak: makes a mess!

"Dissect" a light stick. (Carefully! Contains glass.)
Pour liquids into separate cups.
Note that oily liquid fluoresces
Mix liquids together and get chemical light.

Same light as firefiles--"cold light".

Fluorescence

Oily liquid from light stick fluoresces: glows when light shines on it.

Phosphorescence

Glow-in-the-dark materials (see equipment list) glow when "charged" by a light source. They continue to glow for a few minutes after light source is turned off.

Recyclable Plastics

References:
"Identifying Polymers by Density and a Flame Test", Fun With Chemistry, Vol. 2, pp. 107-112.
"Identifying Polymers", ChemMatters, Oct. 1994, Classroom Guide.
"PET Recycling", Christine Plummer, ChemMatters, Oct. 1994, pp. 7-9.

When recycling plastics, only plastics of the same type can be recycled together.

Different plastics have different properties. These properties can be used to separate plastics before recycling.

Equipment and Materials:

• Small samples (1 sq cm) of each plastic: #1-6
  Note the #6, polystyrene, must not be the "foam" type, but the type used in drinking glasses.
• Isopropyl rubbing alcohol (not ethyl alcohol or ethanol)
• Light corn syrup (Karo)
• Water
• Small plastic cups
• Candle & matches for flame test

Prepare the following stock solutions of known density:

Procedure

Fill in the table below:

Test each plastic sample in each of the four solutions. Note whether the sample sinks or floats.

Note what each plastic does when it burns. What color is the smoke? What color is the flame?

Slime Recipes

References:
"Corn Starch Putty", Fun With Chemistry, Vol. 1, pp. 39-42.
"Gluep", Fun With Chemistry, Vol. 2, pp. 81-88.
Oobleck: What do Scientists Do? GEMS Teacher's Guide (ISBN: 0-912511-64-8)

Notes:

• Slimes can be stored for about a month, if refrigerated.
• Slimes can be colored with food coloring, although this will stain clothes and surfaces.

Corn Starch Putty ("Oobleck")

Mix 1 cup of corn starch with 1/4 cup water.
Add more water if necessary to make a thick paste.

Elmer's Glue Slime ("Gluep")

Mix equal quantities of Elmer's Glue and water. (For example, empty a 4 oz bottle of glue, then fill the bottle once with water and add this to the glue.)
Prepare a borax solution with 1 tsp of borax in 1 cup of water.
Add 1 tsp of borax solution to the glue mixture.
Stir until mixture starts to thicken. Then knead with hands until slime forms.
You may need to add more borax solution to get the whole mixture to gel.

Sparklers

For safety reasons, this experiment is best done with older students (i.e. college students).

Reference:
"Making Sparklers", A. Keeney, C. Walter, and R.D. Cornelius, J. Chem. Ed., 72 (7), 652-3. (July 1995 issue.)

You really need the full reference to do this experiment. It involves mixing iron, magnesium, and aluminum powders along with potassium chlorate and barium nitrate in a corn starch paste. The mixture is coated on iron wire and baked until thoroughly dry.

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