MATTER:
Be sure to ASK your child what they learned about in Science Lab and in their regular classroom! When children get the chance to become the teacher, it allows for better retention of what they learned in class! Be sure to gently correct any mistakes they make and reinforce what they've learned! You can play the following games with them anytime and anywhere!
While driving, making dinner, or watching tv, stop and ask your child:
"What type of 'matter' is ______ made of?"
-Be sure to ask about different types of matter: solids, liquids, and gases.
-Allow he/she to also ask YOU the same question, making it a bit of a competition!
-Promise to share some ice cream together or play a video game together (whatever would mean
the most to your child) if they get 10 or 20 in a row correct!
Play "I Spy..." but use the state of matter as one of your clues/hints.
Pause a scene on the tv or look at a picture in a book you are reading together and ask your child to name every object in the scene or on the page that is made of solid/liquid/gas matter.
Make some Oobleck! ~ Is it a solid? Is it a liquid? YOU be the judge!
Oobleck is actually what scientists call a "suspension" or a "non-Newtonian fluid" meaning that it can act as different states of matter depending on the amount of force (pressure) that is applied. Be sure to make this in a place that can be easily cleaned up, like in your kitchen or outside... and do NOT pour it down your kitchen drain once you've finished - it can turn to something like cement down in the drain pipe... so just discard it into the trash!
Here's what you'll need:
1 Box of Cornstarch (16oz)
1 Pitcher of Water
Food Coloring (optional... but more fun!)
1 Large Bowl
1 Large Spoon... unless you want to use your hands!
1 Flat Tray, Cookie Sheet, or Cake Pan
1 Small Rubber Ball or Plastic Toy
Instructions:
**If using food coloring, add the color to your water before mixing it with the cornstarch**
1. Pour approximately 1/4 of the box (about 4 oz) of cornstarch into the mixing bowl and move your fingers through it. It feels almost squeaky, right? Now, slowly add about 1/2 cup of water. Stir. Sometimes it is easier (and more fun!) to mix the cornstarch and water with your bare hands!
2. Continue adding cornstarch and water in small amounts until you get a mixture that has the consistency of honey or pancake batter. It may take a little work to get the consistency just right, but you will eventually end up mixing one box of cornstarch with roughly 1 to 2 cups of water. As a general rule of thumb, you're looking for a mixture of roughly 10 parts cornstarch to 1 part water. Notice that the mixture gets thicker (more viscous) as you add the cornstarch.
3. Sink your hand into the bowl of “Oobleck” and notice its unusual consistency. Compare what it feels like to move your hand around slowly and then very quickly. You can’t move your hand around very fast! In fact, the faster you thrash around, the more like a solid the gooey stuff becomes. Sink your entire hand into the goo and try to grab the fluid and pull it up. That’s the sensation of sinking in quicksand!
4. Pour the mixture onto the cookie sheet or cake pan. Notice its unusual consistency when you are pouring it onto the pan. Stir it around with your finger, first slowly and then as fast as you can. Skim your finger across the top of the substance. What do you notice? Try to roll the fluid between your palms to make a ball. What happens the second you flatten your hand out again?
5. While your Oobleck is in the flat pan, take a bouncy ball and see if it will bounce onto and off of the substance! Then set the ball in the Oobleck and see if it will also sink... what were your results?
6. Slap Test! You can even hold your hand flat over the top of the pan and slap the liquid substance as hard as you can. Most people will run for cover as you get ready to slap the liquid, fearing that it will splash everywhere! According to theory, the mixture should stay in the pan. If your cornstarch water mixture inadvertently splatters everywhere, you will know to add more cornstarch. When you are finished, pour the substance into a large zipper-lock plastic bag for later use. The mixture will only last for a day or two, although you can take your experiment one step further by observing what happens when the mixture goes untouched for 24 hours...
IMPORTANT - READ THIS! The cornstarch will not stay mixed with the water indefinitely. Over time, the grains of cornstarch will separate from the water and form a solid clump at the bottom of the plastic storage bag. It is for this reason that you must not pour this mixture down the drain. It will clog the pipes and stop up the drain. Pour the mixture into a zipper-lock bag and observe what happens over the next 24 hours. Then put the baggie in the trash can.
FEELING ADVENTUROUS? Then gather up a few more supplies and continue the experiment by making an Oobleck Monster!
You will need:
Saran Wrap
An old speaker
The Oobleck you made above
Instructions:
1. Place the plastic wrap over the speaker, covering it from any spills or splashes the Oobleck may make.
2. Pour a small amount of the Oobleck onto the plastic wrap over top of the round speaker.
3. Turn on some music or a tone (Apps can be downloaded for free which play different musical tones).
4. Turn up the volume and watch your Oobleck monster start to dance! (If you are using a Tones App, be aware that the Oobleck will not dance on higher pitches. Experiment with your child and see which tones will start to make it move).
Try going on YouTube, Google, or Bing and search for video demonstrations just by typing in "Oobleck Experiment" or "Cornstarch and Water Experiment."
While driving, making dinner, or watching tv, stop and ask your child:
"What type of 'matter' is ______ made of?"
-Be sure to ask about different types of matter: solids, liquids, and gases.
-Allow he/she to also ask YOU the same question, making it a bit of a competition!
-Promise to share some ice cream together or play a video game together (whatever would mean
the most to your child) if they get 10 or 20 in a row correct!
Play "I Spy..." but use the state of matter as one of your clues/hints.
Pause a scene on the tv or look at a picture in a book you are reading together and ask your child to name every object in the scene or on the page that is made of solid/liquid/gas matter.
Make some Oobleck! ~ Is it a solid? Is it a liquid? YOU be the judge!
Oobleck is actually what scientists call a "suspension" or a "non-Newtonian fluid" meaning that it can act as different states of matter depending on the amount of force (pressure) that is applied. Be sure to make this in a place that can be easily cleaned up, like in your kitchen or outside... and do NOT pour it down your kitchen drain once you've finished - it can turn to something like cement down in the drain pipe... so just discard it into the trash!
Here's what you'll need:
1 Box of Cornstarch (16oz)
1 Pitcher of Water
Food Coloring (optional... but more fun!)
1 Large Bowl
1 Large Spoon... unless you want to use your hands!
1 Flat Tray, Cookie Sheet, or Cake Pan
1 Small Rubber Ball or Plastic Toy
Instructions:
**If using food coloring, add the color to your water before mixing it with the cornstarch**
1. Pour approximately 1/4 of the box (about 4 oz) of cornstarch into the mixing bowl and move your fingers through it. It feels almost squeaky, right? Now, slowly add about 1/2 cup of water. Stir. Sometimes it is easier (and more fun!) to mix the cornstarch and water with your bare hands!
2. Continue adding cornstarch and water in small amounts until you get a mixture that has the consistency of honey or pancake batter. It may take a little work to get the consistency just right, but you will eventually end up mixing one box of cornstarch with roughly 1 to 2 cups of water. As a general rule of thumb, you're looking for a mixture of roughly 10 parts cornstarch to 1 part water. Notice that the mixture gets thicker (more viscous) as you add the cornstarch.
3. Sink your hand into the bowl of “Oobleck” and notice its unusual consistency. Compare what it feels like to move your hand around slowly and then very quickly. You can’t move your hand around very fast! In fact, the faster you thrash around, the more like a solid the gooey stuff becomes. Sink your entire hand into the goo and try to grab the fluid and pull it up. That’s the sensation of sinking in quicksand!
4. Pour the mixture onto the cookie sheet or cake pan. Notice its unusual consistency when you are pouring it onto the pan. Stir it around with your finger, first slowly and then as fast as you can. Skim your finger across the top of the substance. What do you notice? Try to roll the fluid between your palms to make a ball. What happens the second you flatten your hand out again?
5. While your Oobleck is in the flat pan, take a bouncy ball and see if it will bounce onto and off of the substance! Then set the ball in the Oobleck and see if it will also sink... what were your results?
6. Slap Test! You can even hold your hand flat over the top of the pan and slap the liquid substance as hard as you can. Most people will run for cover as you get ready to slap the liquid, fearing that it will splash everywhere! According to theory, the mixture should stay in the pan. If your cornstarch water mixture inadvertently splatters everywhere, you will know to add more cornstarch. When you are finished, pour the substance into a large zipper-lock plastic bag for later use. The mixture will only last for a day or two, although you can take your experiment one step further by observing what happens when the mixture goes untouched for 24 hours...
IMPORTANT - READ THIS! The cornstarch will not stay mixed with the water indefinitely. Over time, the grains of cornstarch will separate from the water and form a solid clump at the bottom of the plastic storage bag. It is for this reason that you must not pour this mixture down the drain. It will clog the pipes and stop up the drain. Pour the mixture into a zipper-lock bag and observe what happens over the next 24 hours. Then put the baggie in the trash can.
FEELING ADVENTUROUS? Then gather up a few more supplies and continue the experiment by making an Oobleck Monster!
You will need:
Saran Wrap
An old speaker
The Oobleck you made above
Instructions:
1. Place the plastic wrap over the speaker, covering it from any spills or splashes the Oobleck may make.
2. Pour a small amount of the Oobleck onto the plastic wrap over top of the round speaker.
3. Turn on some music or a tone (Apps can be downloaded for free which play different musical tones).
4. Turn up the volume and watch your Oobleck monster start to dance! (If you are using a Tones App, be aware that the Oobleck will not dance on higher pitches. Experiment with your child and see which tones will start to make it move).
Try going on YouTube, Google, or Bing and search for video demonstrations just by typing in "Oobleck Experiment" or "Cornstarch and Water Experiment."
Effects of Temperature:
Water Molecules on the Move!
This experiment is great for testing if hot water molecules really move faster than cold ones. Pour some water, drop in some food coloring, and compare results.
Here's what you'll need:
A clear glass filled with hot water
A clear glass filled with cold water
Food coloring
An eye dropper
Instructions:
1. Fill the glasses with the same amount of water, one cold and one hot.
2. Put one drop of food coloring into both glasses as quickly as possible.
3. Watch what happens to the food coloring.
What's happening?
If you watch closely you will notice that the food coloring spreads faster throughout the hot water than in the cold. The molecules in the hot water move at a faster rate, spreading the food coloring
faster than the cold water molecules which mover slower. Therefore, heat speeds it up!
Physical Changes:
Melting Chocolate
Enjoy this simple chocolate-melting experiment for kids. You've no doubt experienced chocolate melting on a hot day, now you can do some experiments to recreate these conditions as well as a few
others before comparing results and making conclusions.
At what temperature does chocolate go from a solid to a liquid? Is it different for white and dark chocolate? Let's try it and find out!
What you'll need:
Small chocolate pieces of the same size (chocolate bar squares or chocolate chips are a good idea)
Paper plate
Pen and paper to record your results
Instructions:
1. Put one piece of chocolate on a paper plate and put it outside in the shade.
2. Record how long it takes for the chocolate to melt, or if it wasn't hot enough to melt then record how soft it was after 10 minutes.
3. Repeat the process with a piece of chocolate on a plate that you put outside in the sun. Record your results in the same way.
Extensions:
Try the same experiment out with white chocolate and dark chocolate also.
Find more interesting locations to test how long it takes for the chocolate pieces to melt. You could try your school bag, hot water, or even your own mouth... yummy!
Compare your results- in what conditions did the chocolate melt? You might also like to record the temperatures of the locations you used using a thermometer so you can think about at what temperature chocolate melts.
What's happening?
At a certain temperature your chocolate pieces undergo a physical change, from a solid to a liquid (or somewhere in between). On a hot day, sunlight is usually enough to melt chocolate, something you might have unfortunately already experienced. You can also reverse the process by putting the melted chocolate into a fridge or freezer where it will go from a liquid back to a solid. The chocolate probably melted quite fast if you tried putting a piece in your mouth, what does this tell you about the temperature of your body? For further testing and experiments you could compare white chocolate and dark chocolate, do they melt at the same temperature? How about putting a sheet of aluminum foil between a paper plate and a piece of chocolate in the sun, what happens then?
This experiment is great for testing if hot water molecules really move faster than cold ones. Pour some water, drop in some food coloring, and compare results.
Here's what you'll need:
A clear glass filled with hot water
A clear glass filled with cold water
Food coloring
An eye dropper
Instructions:
1. Fill the glasses with the same amount of water, one cold and one hot.
2. Put one drop of food coloring into both glasses as quickly as possible.
3. Watch what happens to the food coloring.
What's happening?
If you watch closely you will notice that the food coloring spreads faster throughout the hot water than in the cold. The molecules in the hot water move at a faster rate, spreading the food coloring
faster than the cold water molecules which mover slower. Therefore, heat speeds it up!
Physical Changes:
Melting Chocolate
Enjoy this simple chocolate-melting experiment for kids. You've no doubt experienced chocolate melting on a hot day, now you can do some experiments to recreate these conditions as well as a few
others before comparing results and making conclusions.
At what temperature does chocolate go from a solid to a liquid? Is it different for white and dark chocolate? Let's try it and find out!
What you'll need:
Small chocolate pieces of the same size (chocolate bar squares or chocolate chips are a good idea)
Paper plate
Pen and paper to record your results
Instructions:
1. Put one piece of chocolate on a paper plate and put it outside in the shade.
2. Record how long it takes for the chocolate to melt, or if it wasn't hot enough to melt then record how soft it was after 10 minutes.
3. Repeat the process with a piece of chocolate on a plate that you put outside in the sun. Record your results in the same way.
Extensions:
Try the same experiment out with white chocolate and dark chocolate also.
Find more interesting locations to test how long it takes for the chocolate pieces to melt. You could try your school bag, hot water, or even your own mouth... yummy!
Compare your results- in what conditions did the chocolate melt? You might also like to record the temperatures of the locations you used using a thermometer so you can think about at what temperature chocolate melts.
What's happening?
At a certain temperature your chocolate pieces undergo a physical change, from a solid to a liquid (or somewhere in between). On a hot day, sunlight is usually enough to melt chocolate, something you might have unfortunately already experienced. You can also reverse the process by putting the melted chocolate into a fridge or freezer where it will go from a liquid back to a solid. The chocolate probably melted quite fast if you tried putting a piece in your mouth, what does this tell you about the temperature of your body? For further testing and experiments you could compare white chocolate and dark chocolate, do they melt at the same temperature? How about putting a sheet of aluminum foil between a paper plate and a piece of chocolate in the sun, what happens then?