Science research » Sunlight

Kids Science Projects Can Warm Your Heart

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:07:54 +0000

Everyone talks about the greenhouse effect and how our Earth and its climate are having greenhouse type of effects. What does that mean? You can do a science project that will show this effect and what is happening to our Earth.

Go to your pantry and look for these items. If you do not have them you can go to your local store and get these items:

2 glass containers that need to be the same size and shape A 1 gallon plastic storage bag 4 cups very cold water Ice cubes

Fill each glass container with 2 cups of the cold water. Add ice cubes to each jar. You will want to put the exact same amount of ice cubes in each jar. I would suggest 6 ice cubes in each jar.

Put one of the jars in the plastic bag and seal it shut.

Put both containers in the sun together and let sit for at least an hour.

You are trying to create the greenhouse effect with the container in the plastic bag.

At the end of 1 hour or a little longer remove the jar from the plastic bag and immediately insert a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water.

After you record this temperature measure the degrees in the water that was not covered.

When you placed the jars in the direct sunlight the air inside the bag became very warm. When you have a greenhouse it lets light inside which allows the sun’s energy and also heat. Since the heat filters in but cannot escape because you have made a plastic barrier it stays in the enclosed area and increases the temperature. When you demonstrated the science project above you created your own greenhouse and showed how warm you could get the water. What if you left that for two, three or four hours?

Think about what is happening to the Earth. There are chemicals that are creating a type of plastic bag around the Earth and it causes our air to get warmer because of the energy of the sun creating heat and it being retained in this enclosed area.

Even though you did not heat the water to boiling think about your car in the hot summer. This is what happens when you go in to work and leave your car outside all closed up all day. When you return at 3pm the car is scorching hot. This greenhouse effect has caused your car to be so hot you sometimes cannot even touch the steering wheel.

This science project is a great idea about what we are doing to our planet.

By: Lesa Bolt

Good Science Fair Projects – Plants Reaching For Light (Part Two)

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 07:50:31 +0000

In our previous science fair project we had a look at chlorophyll and how plants use this chlorophyll, sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce glucose (a form of sugar.) What else, that is very important, is produced through photosynthesis? (In the process carbon dioxide is taken from the air, what is released back into the air?) Now we are going to do a good science fair project to demonstrate how plants actually reach for sunlight. We know by now that they cannot survive without light, which we proved in our previous science fair project. Now we are going to do a really fun science fair project. If you want to do a really good science fair project, it might be a good idea to combine these two science fair projects as it gives you a very clear and visual picture of plants growing and needing sunlight.

Today’s science fair project is a good science fair project for someone that is a little handy. We are going to make a maze in a shoe box to demonstrate how the plant searches and reaches for light.

What you will need for this science fair project:

* First you need a shoe box

* You will need a pair of scissors

* Stiff card

* Some sticky tape

* Black paint

* A paint brush

* A pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands

* A runner bean

* A plant pot

* Some good compost

* Water

Now for the fun part: making your maze in your shoe box!

1. To start cut a hole in the one end of the shoe box.

2. Making a maze in your shoe box is very easy, start by cutting eight flaps out of the stiff cards. The flaps must fit securely into your shoe box in the width.

3. Now paint your shoe box and the eight flaps all over with black paint. Do you know why we are doing that? Think about the light reflecting…yes, the black paint is to stop the light entering through the hole from reflecting inside the shoe box!

4. Now you can make a maze by sticking the eight flaps of card inside the shoe box with sticky tape. Cut slots into your flaps at a different place in each flap to form a maze (if you are not sure how to do this, ask for the help of an adult who knows what a maze looks like.)

5. Plant a runner bean in a small plant pot with compost.

6. Water the soil each day to keep it moist but, do not make it too wet. Keep it in a warm place until the bean has a shoot. Remember to keep the soil moist, depending on the temperature; it may not be necessary to water the bean everyday.

7. When your plant has a shoot place it at the bottom of your maze.

8. Close the lid and place the maze in a sunny spot.

9. Remove the lid once a day to see if your plant needs water.

10. Now you can observe what is happening.

11. If you did it right, the plant will grow and find its way through your maze to steadily move towards the light.

12. Eventually your plant will poke through the hole at the top of your shoe box.

13. For display purposes it is a good idea to take a photo of your plant growing zig-zag through your maze and out the hole at the top.

This is a good science fair project for someone interested in gardening. It is also a good science fair project for someone that loves crafts as this can double as a craft because of the maze you have to make. Good science fair projects can never be done too fast, so give yourself enough time.

By: Magrietha Du Plessis

1st Grade Science Project Ideas

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:27:40 +0000

First grade is usually the time when teachers begin to introduce the scientific process to students, preparing them for future years of education in the sciences. With the introduction of the scientific process, students are then told to use this knowledge and compose science fair projects. While science projects for 1st grade do seem early, I have prepared some 1st grade science project ideas.

First every science project begins with a TITLE. Tell your first grader that everything should have a name and therefore the science fair project should have a name as well.

The next requirement for science fair projects in the first grade is a PURPOSE. Why are we doing this experiment? This should be quite an easy requirement to satisfy as first graders are naturally curious about the world. First graders ask many questions and one of these questions could be the purpose.

Then we have the HYPOTHESIS. What do you think will happen when you perform the experiment? Just tell your first grader to guess. It doesn’t matter if he/she is right.

Next, we have MATERIALS and PROCEDURE. This is a list of steps of the experiment and the materials required to perform the exhibit. It should be the easiest section to complete.

Finally we have RESULTS and CONCLUSION. Results document what happened during the experiment. They can include charts, photographs or the remainder of the experiments. The conclusion is a few sentences on what the first grader found out from doing the experiment. Was the hypothesis correct? What really happened when the experiment was performed?

Some simple 1st grade science project ideas:

Young kids love magnets. So why not do an experiment testing different object’s attraction to magnets? How about plants? Kids love growing their own plants. See what effects plant growth. Maybe place one plant inside a cupboard and another plant in the sunlight. Monitor the responses. Make sure the plant inside the cupboard stays alive! Static Electricity: First graders are always amazed by static electricity. It shocks them when they are taking some heavy clothing off in the winter and also makes they hair stand up. Take a balloon and rub it against different materials and see if static electricity is produced. A fun activity is to hold the charged balloon near hair and observe if the hair stands up. Rub the balloon against different materials and see which materials produce static electricity.

Science fair projects for first grade may seem like a big task for such a grade level, but they are actually quite easy and fun to do!

By: Alan Wagner