How Do Tides Affect Marine Animals?

January 18, 2011

Dr. Helen Pashleyby: Dr. Helen Pashley

Objectives:

1.    Students will brainstorm factors that might affect an animal living on the seashore at high and low tides.

2.   Students will identify strategies that shore animals use to survive conditions at low tide.

3.   Students will design an experiment to test whether the strategy adopted by their simulated shore animal would be effective in helping it survive low tide.

Focus Question:

How do marine animals survive low tide?

Background:

The seashore is an inhospitable place for marine animals to live. Seawater has much less temperature variation throughout the year than air.  In other words, during the summer in New York it can be 98˚F but the sea isn’t much warmer than 75˚F. In the depths of winter it can be –10˚F on land, but the water will be 48˚F. Animals that spend all their lives out at sea have a fairly steady environment. Those that are exposed to air at low tide, may face broiling hot temperatures in summer and freezing cold temperatures in winter.  They may be soaked in fresh water when it pours with rain, and pounded by rough waves during a storm. Animals that can survive on the shore have to be tough! Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Biology, Elementary level, experiments, Middle School level | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

Science Corner Investigation: Mirrors

January 13, 2011

Gordon Goreby: Gordon Gore

Mirror Investigation #1

You Need

2 small, flat plastic mirrors, with suitable vertical supports, 1 piece of plain white paper, letter size

What to Do

1. Hold the mirror vertically. Look into the mirror. Touch your right ear. Watch what the good-looking person in the mirror does. Which ear does he or she seem to touch?

2. Write your first name on a piece of paper. Look at your writing in the mirror. What is ‘unusual’ about what you see? Write your name so that it looks ‘right’ in the mirror.

ambulance3. Notice how AMBULANCE is written.  Why is it always written this way on the front of the emergency vehicle? Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Elementary level, experiments, Middle School level | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

No-Pop Bubbles!

December 3, 2010

Ron Perkins, Educational Innovationsby Ron Perkins

At first glance No-Pop Bubbles may seem like any other bubbles.  While the bubble solution is a bit more viscous, one blows No-Pop Bubbles like any other bubble.  The small bubble wand suspends a bubble film which, when air is blown through it, releases small bubbles into the air.

These bubbles, however, are no ordinary bubbles.  No-Pop Bubble solution begins as a regular soap and water bubble solution.  Added to this solution is a small amount of a non-toxic water soluble polymer.  When No-Pop Bubbles are first blown, the bubbles behave like ordinary bubbles.  As the water evaporates from the bubble’s surface, however, an extremely thin plastic ‘bubble skeleton’ remains.  It is this plastic bubble skeleton which has the properties for which No-Pop Bubbles are named. Read the rest of this entry »

6 Comments | Chemistry, density, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, static electricity | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

Bubble Basics

November 12, 2010

by: Michelle Bertke and Melanie Bunda

Bubbles are always a fun and interesting activity for kids of all ages.  However, bubbles are not only fun, they are also an excellent teaching tool for some abstract concepts such as air density, dissolved gasses, and air pressure.  Below is a collection of bubbly activities that highlight each of these topics. Educational Innovations offers a full line of wonderful bubble products!

Gravity Defying Bubbles

Different gasses have different densities.  The air around us is mostly nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2), which are both lighter than carbon dioxide (CO2).  When a heavy gas, such as CO2 is placed in a tank, it will sink to the bottom without mixing.  This can be achieved by placing a few blocks of dry ice in a large fish tank or clear plastic bin covered loosely with a lid and allowing them to sublime.  This will take several minutes. Always use caution when handling dry ice by using proper gloves and safety goggles.

Once full, blow bubbles over the surface of the tank.  When the bubbles reach the interface of the two gasses, they will float.  If you fill the tank with CO2 unnoticed, have the kids speculate as to why they think the bubbles didn’t reach the bottom, and what might be in the tank.

An alternative is to fill a balloon with CO2 by filling it with baking soda (or an alka seltzer tablet) and placing it over the opening of a bottle filled with vinegar (or water).  Lift the balloon so the contents spill into the bottle and react with the liquid, allow the balloon to fill from the reaction, twist and remove.  Use it to blow bubbles.  Compare these bubbles to those blown with regular air (use a fan, not your breath for best results).  Have students compare the two bubbles.  Which one falls faster? Which one floats longer? Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Tami O'Connor

What Is That Stuff? An Instant Snow Polymer Lab

November 3, 2010

Elaine Kotlerby: Elaine Kotler

I created a lab using the Instant Snow Polymer (Sodium Polyacrylate) from Educational Innovations that I use in my 8th grade Physical Science Class as well as Summer School Programs that I teach for grades 4-9.  This lesson incorporates concepts of Conservation of Mass, Properties of Matter, Metric Measurement and Conversion, and Observation Skills.  The lab, as I give it to the students, is listed below.

Each student receives an empty baggie to be used for comparison, a baggie containing 12 grams of Instant Snow Polymer, use of a balance and a graduated cylinder.

I have already explained the Law of Conservation of Mass, and Density (they need to remember that the density of water is 1 g/ml, or look it up) prior to introducing this lab activity.  However, they do not know the terms exothermic, endothermic, hydrophobic or hydrophilic.  My students are allowed to look them up, but unless they make careful observations as they are conducting the experiment, they won’t be able to answer the questions later.

The final question “What is That Stuff?” garners some interesting answers. Some recognize a use for it as snow for ski slopes; others have suggested material for ice packs.  One suggestion was to use the powder to help clean up and absorb spills. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | Chemistry, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor

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