Science
Projects
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You will need:
A live horse fly
Sink 1/2 way filled with water
salt and sugar
Plastic, disposable knife
napkin
Get ready for a science project that will blow your mind!
1. Put the fly underwater with the knife or whatever you can put it down with.
2. Make sure his wings are wet, then wait for about 5 more minutes until he's dead.
3. Take him out with the knife and put him on the napkin.
4. Pour about 5 BIG shakes of salt on him, then wait for 3 minutes and 10 seconds.
5. See what happens. If nothing happens by 4 minutes, something went wrong. Pour more salt on him.
If you did it right, something scary might happen. WARNING: YOU MAY SCREAM!
P.S.! The same bug works over and over, and even sugar works!
Create an Electromagnet
You will need:
2 iron bolts
15 feet (4.6 m) if uninsulated (enameled) copper wire, cut into 3 equal lengths
A flashlight battery
Transparent tape
A small compass
Some small metal objects
Prepare for a fine experiment!
1. First, you will have to cut the wire into three 5-foot (150 cm) lengths.
2.Wrap one around the nail about 50 times, leaving 6 inches (15 cm) of loose wire at both ends to connect to the battery.
3.Tape the free ends of wire to opposite sides of the battery.
With electromagnets, the closer the coils of wire, the stronger the magnetic force. Also notice that wrapping the wire in one direction ensures that the electric current flows in one direction. This single-coil design creates a magnetic field that converges at the tips of the nail. We call these points of convergence magnetic poles- north and south.
4. Place the electromagnet's tip against the side of the compass, perpendicular to the natural north-south orientation of the needle. Notice how the compass needle swings 45 degrees-repelled by the electromagnet- until it stops and points west. Positioning the electromagnet against the compass causes the needle to align itself to the magnet's north-south polarity.
5.Place the electromagnet's opposite tip against the compass. The needle is attracted 45 degrees until it stops directly in front of the tip. Again, the compass reflects the north-south polarity if the electromagnet, now reversed.
6. Now remove the compass, and test the electromagnet's strength by holding it against small metal objects. Disconnect one wire from the battery and notice how the magnetic attraction stops.
Here's the second part:
For the double-coil electromagnet,
1. wrap the wire around the nail as before, leaving 6 inches (15 cm) at the ends.
2. Then, wrap the second wire around the nail, but leave about 1 foot (30 cm) of wire free at the ends.
3. Connect the free ends of both coils to the battery's ends, and hold the electromagnet against the compass. The compass swings as before, but with a bit more force. Test the electromagnet's strength by holding it against the small metal objects. The double-coil design creates considerably more magnetic attraction.
4. Disconnect the longer ends of wire from the battery, and reverse them. When you reconnect them, reversing the flow of electricity through the second coil, the compass needle does not move nor does the electromagnet pick up any metal objects. This is because the electric current running in opposite directions through the coils creates magnetic polarities that balance and neutralize each other. In other words, the electromagnet no longer attracts.
Through models like these, Thomas Edison found he could vary the degree of magnetism, change the direction of current flow through coils, and change the amount of functions across a single wire, calling it the duplex system. This was useful in his designs for the telegraph.
Color Mania
You will need:
index cards
colored markers
stopwatch
assistant
Get ready to see how fast your friends can react!
1. First, you will have to write the names of rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple,) on the index cards in different colors than they are. example:
Blue
Purple
Orange
...and so on. Now, after making about 25 cards, make a grid similar to this:
|
Betty |
John |
Uncle Ben |
Mom |
Dad |
|
|
Name of Color |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Actual Color |
|
|
|
|
|
After you do that, write the name of the color for each card near the top and ON THE BACK of each index card, and the actual color to the lower half. I did a diagram of how the card should look here.
|
FRONT> |
| |
<Blue |
|
Blue> |
| |
<BACK |
|
FRONT> |
| |
<red |
Now, the Name of Color for Blue would be blue; the Actual Color would be red. Now, with your assistant, go up to a freind or one of the people that you are quizzing, and ask them to do the name of color. Have your assistant start the stopwatch when you say. First, have them read the Name of Color and when you finish the stack, have your assistant stop the stopwatch and record the data. Now, shuffle up the cards, and have them read the Actual Color. When that's done, record the data and shuffle the cards. Now, move on to the next person, and so on.
You can also record the person's age while you're doing it, too. From this, you can gather information about reaction time between boys, girls, and their ages.