Tag Archives: experiment

Eeew! Sweaty Eggplants

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Cut EggplantsHere’s an excellent experiment to teach the children how water flows in and out of tiny plant cells and have a delicious side dish of olive oil roasted eggplant with lemon.

Since an eggplant is a plant, water can flow in or out of its tiny cells. When you sprinkle salt onto the eggplant slice, there is more salt in the surroundings than inside the plant, so water leave the cells. This makes the eggplant appear to “sweat.” This process is used in cooking to take the bitterness out of the eggplant. Continue reading →

Time to Take It to the Net (Force)

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Tug-A-WarFrom last week’s discussion, you now understand (I hope) that it is very rare, especially on Earth, to have an object that is experiencing force from only one direction.

Remember our friend Billy from last week? He was the bicycle rider who was putting up a good fight against:

  • The force of air friction pushing against him.
  • He also has to fight against the friction between the gears and the wheels.
  • He has gravity pulling down on him.
  • His muscles are pushing and pulling inside him and so on and so on.

Here’s an activity will make this all this net force stuff clearer (I promise!): Continue reading →

Science Jim Presents: A Soleful Experience

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A Soleful Experiment by Science Jim MuellerWe’ve done a couple of gravity experiments, but we haven’t talked about another ever present force (think of it as gravity’s little sister) — friction.

Friction is the resistance that one object encounters when it is rubbing against another object. Friction is what makes things slow down. You use friction when you are riding your bicycle and want to stop.

Without friction things would just keep moving unless they hit something else. Without friction, you would not be able to walk. Your feet would have nothing to push against, and they would just slide backward all the time as if you were doing the moon walk.

Friction is a very complicated interaction between pressure and the type of materials that are touching one another. Here’s an  activity to help you get the hang of what friction is all about: Continue reading →

Let’s Make a Rock Bridge!

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The AlpsBing, Bong and the flockers aren’t the only ones who have discovered just how handy ramps can be. If you look around you, you’re sure to discover many natural slopes and ramps, many of them made of stone!

Today, you’re going to make your own rock bridge, or should I say “book bridge”?  This little experiment will help you understand how natural bridges are able to stand without any supports holding it up.

here’s what you need