by: Tami O’Connor
On a field trip with my 5th grade students to a local science museum, we saw one of the science instructors conduct a lesson on sound. It was such a simple idea, with easy-to-find materials, that I brought it home to do with my Girl Scout troop the following week. Since then, I have modified and expanded the lesson so it would fit any elementary or middle school grade lesson plan on sound.
Leave a Comment » | 
Elementary level, energy, experiments, Middle School level, sound | Tagged: amplitude, awesome science experiment, easy-to-find materials, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, sound, sound experiments, vibration | 
Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Mike Rigsby
The normal way to operate a drinking bird is to have him dip his head in water. The water on his felt head evaporates, leaving the head cooler than the bird’s body. The liquid flowing into the upper bulb (head) changes the center of gravity, causing the bird to tip forward. Liquid flows back to the bottom bulb and the bird returns to his upright position. As long as an adequate temperature difference (head cooler than body) remains, the cycle will repeat.
Instead of cooling the head, why not warm the body? If you place an electrical resistor below the bird’s body and pass current through the resistor, the resistor will get warm. The warmth will cause the bird to bob. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | College level, energy, experiments, High School level, Physics | Tagged: electrical circuits, flock clock | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Martin Sagendorf
A great deal of energy falls on the Earth’s surface – roughly 1 kW per square meter. This is about 0.6 Watt per square inch. This doesn’t sound like much energy, but suppose we collect and concentrate 63 square inches of this sunlight? These 63 square inches would collect about 38 Watts of energy. This doesn’t sound like much, but…
Concentrate these 38 Watts into an area of only 1/8 of a square inch? This is exactly what we can do with an inexpensive plastic Fresnel lens. We’ll focus the sunlight into an area 3/8” in diameter – this is the equivalent of 300 Watts per square inch! With this energy level, we can easily ignite a piece of wood, boil some water, and even melt a penny.
Is described in the book, Physics Demonstration Apparatus and in the blog The Sun’s Energy.
Now we’re going to describe how to build a much simpler version that works just as well – one that uses a very inexpensive Fresnel lens and is very easy to construct. Read the rest of this entry »
7 Comments | College level, energy, experiments, High School level, Physics | Tagged: atomic penny vaporizer, awesome experiment, Fresnel lens, melting pennies, physics demonstration apparatus, solar energy | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Tami O’Connor
When two 1-pound, 2-inch diameter, chrome steel spheres are smashed together, enough heat is generated at the point of contact to burn a hole in ordinary paper! This dramatic demonstration has been a favorite of students in every grade for as long as I have been teaching!
There are a few considerations when allowing students (especially younger ones) to conduct this activity on their own… First, the spheres are pretty heavy, so if they were either dropped on a foot or onto a nice tile floor, the result would not be good. Also, be sure that the only thing between the spheres is paper or aluminum foil. Fingers caught between the colliding spheres would not be happy. Finally, all participants should wear safety glasses, as it is not unusual for a small piece of paper to fly off after the spheres collide.
2 Comments | College level, Elementary level, energy, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, Physics | Tagged: awesome science experiment, discrepant event, F=MA, kinetic energy, PBL, phenomenon based learning, shock waves, smashing steel spheres, thermal energy, thermite reactions | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
by: Bennett M. Harris
It never fails. I get the same reaction, whether I present to seasoned physicists, grade level science teachers or even from the most discerning audience I’ve had; a group of fifty – fourth grade students, jaws gape and sounds of oohs, aahs and wows issue forth.
I’ve been in rooms surrounded by hundreds of artificial light sources, from the simplest incandescent bulbs to the most advanced OLED displays, and even so, when a person closes that knife switch and current begins to flow and a simple piece of pencil lead held suspended inside a partially evacuated chamber starts to glow brighter, brighter, and finally white light illuminates the chamber, something happens in the person’s brain. At once they are connected with the wonders that Sir Humphry Davy, Swan, and Edison felt when they experimented with the world’s first electrical light sources. Questions start to form; How does that work? How could we make it last longer? What would happen if we changed the carbon for some other material? All at once, the passive viewer is thinking scientifically, asking questions, and yearning to do more.
2 Comments | College level, energy, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, Physics | Tagged: awesome demonstration, build your own light bulb, electricity, experiments, incandescence, phenomenon based learning, reinventing Edison, science kit, Sir Humphry Davy, STEM, Thomas Edison, Tungsten filament | Permalink
Posted by Tami O'Connor
