Celebrate Chemistry...Finding Baseballs Sweet Spot

The Science Mommy has been invited by Dow Chemical to Celebrate Chemistry this summer!

Here's what's happening...The Science Mommy hosted a Chemistry Party and will post the investigations over the next two weeks.  Each week you'll have a chance to win!

Ages: This investigation is best for the Big Kid Scientists

Materials:Bat, 2 meter sticks, baseball, golf ball, tape

There is a bit of prep for this investigation.  Depending on the age of your Kid Scientists, you could have the prep work done ahead, or the Kids could do it themselves.

Procedure:

• Mark off 4 cm sections of the bat as shown in the photo.  The Science Mommy only had a kids bat available at home and the investigation worked well.  We tried it later at a friends baseball practice, with a full sized bat and it worked even better.

• Kid Scientists should hold the bat, straight down, in one hand.  Hold the bat's handle loosely between the thumb and the first finger.
• With the golf ball, tap the bat in each marked off section.  Ask Kid Scientists what they felt when you tapped the bat.  Was there a section in which the vibrations felt stronger, or a section in which they weren't as strong.
• Ask other Kid Scientists in the group what they heard when the bat was tapped.  Was there a section that was louder, or where they could hear more vibrations?  Give each Kid Scientist a chance to hold the bat and feel the vibrations.  This is a great opportunity to talk about how we make observations through feeling and hearing.

•  This step requires a little balance and practice.  Tape the two meter sticks together in an "L" shape to form a ramp.  Place the bat on a box or a stack of books and ask one Kid Scientist to hold it firmly.  Lean the meter stick ramp against the bat and ask another Kid Scientist to hold the ramp.  
• Roll the golf ball down the ramp to the bat so that it bounces off the bat in Section A. Measure the height of the bounce based on the meter stick. Once the kids know what the procedure looks like and feels like, you can talk about conducting a controlled investigation.  The Kid rolling the ball should start the ball in the same position each time.  The ramp should stay at about the same angle to the bat.  Kids could roll the ball three or four times in each section and average the data collected.

• Connar collected the data while Emma rolled the ball down the ramp.  Continue this process for each section of the bat.  Where does the ball bounce the highest?  The spot on the bat where the ball bounces the highest is the Sweet Spot!

What's Happening? The sweet spot we found is called "the node", where vibration waves from the impact of the bat and ball cancel each other out.  At the node, more of the bat's energy goes to the ball because it's not used up in vibrations.  When you hit a ball with the node of a bat, you don't feel any vibration in your hand and the ball goes further because it has more energy behind it.

Watch this video to learn more about: Finding the Sweet Spot

To Enter the Give-A-Way: You must be a follower of The Science Mommy and enter a comment on a Celebrate Chemistry post.  There will be three posts, and you can enter with each post.

Additional entries:  Send the Science Mommy a picture or link to your Science Mommy project and you will receive an additional entry.

Water Bottle Rockets

I was so proud of my Science Kids...they did this one all on their own, even the photography!

{Please read the safety note at the end}

Ages: This is best for the Big Kids.  Once the rocket is assembled, Little Kids can come and watch the launch.

Materials:  Small water or soda bottle, wine cork, inner tube for a bike tire with the stem, glue, drill, bicycle pump

Procedure:

• Notice the book in the materials shot?  It's the Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do and it's where the Science Boys got the idea and directions for this bottle rocket
• Assembling the cork and bike stem requires some adult help...the Science Boys asked their dad! 1) Cut the stem from the bike tire inner tube, leaving about a quarter size amount of rubber around the stem  2) Drill a hole through the length of the cork, just the size of the stem  3) Slide the stem through the cork and use hot glue or other adhesive to attach the rubber to the bottom of the cork

• Head outside with the bottle, water, bicycle pump and cork

• This is how your bottle rocket should set up prior to launch:  Fill the bottle about 1/3 full of water and push the cork into the top, attach the bicycle pump to the stem and create a launch pad using a rock 

• Team work is important here as the bottle can be difficult to balance!

• The rocket is launched by pumping on the tire pump!

• Several variables can be explored with this rocket...How does the amount of water change the distance of the rocket?  How does the angle of the launch pad change the height or direction of the rocket?  How does the size of bottle change the launch of the rocket?

Safety Notes:

* The Science Boys were supervised while they were working and they asked lots of questions along the way.  They made all the decisions, and you can tell they handled the photography! but they had help with the tools and hot glue

* The rocket does not travel very far or move very fast however this is a great teachable moment about where you should stand for a launch and how to manage the apparatus carefully

* While this sounds like a hassle to set up, once the cork component is ready to go the rocket is quite easy to launch.  Since this requires only water and a bicycle pump, it really kept the boys busy all afternoon!

The Science Mommy would love to hear about your bottle rockets!

Groundhog Day and Shadows...

It’s Groundhog Day!  

While a groundhog is a fun and quirky way to make a prediction, it’s not terribly scientific.  In fact, the Science Mommy read today that Phil, the groundhog, has about a 39% accuracy rate.  

 Shadows however, can be interesting to observe, make predictions about and explain.

Ages:  This one is for the Big Kid Scientists

Materials: 2 pencils, clay, flashlight, large piece of paper  OR  sunny day, driveway, sidewalk chalk

Set-Up Procedure:

• Find a room that can be made quite dark when the lights are out
• Place the large paper on a table or on the floor
• Roll the clay into a ball, poke one of the pencils into the ball and place it in the center of the paper.

Big Questions:  What determines the direction a shadow falls?  What determines the length of a shadow?  

Investigation Procedure:

• Make the room as dark as possible
• Use your flashlight and the pencil stuck in clay, to cast a shadow.
• Use your other pencil to trace the shadow (this may work better if you have a partner…one to hold the flashlight and the other to trace the shadow)
• Think of a way to record the position of the flashlight.
• Move the flashlight and predict where the shadow will now fall.  Predict how long it will be.
• Move the flashlight around, tracing the shadows and recording the position of the flashlight until you have enough data to write a rule that answers the Big Questions.
• What else did you learn while you were doing this investigation?  How can you share your discoveries?  The Science Mommy would love to hear about what you’ve learned.

2^nd Investigation Procedure:

• On a bright, sunny day draw an X on your driveway with sidewalk chalk.
• While you stand on the X, ask a partner to trace your shadow with sidewalk chalk.
• Label the first shadow with the time of day.
• Repeat this process every 30 minutes throughout the day. After you have a couple of shadow tracings, can you predict the shape/size/direction of the next shadow?
• Think about the shadow tracings and the Big Questions.  Do you have enough data to answer the questions?  What else do you need to know?
• What else did you learn while you were doing this investigation?  How can you share your discoveries? The Science Mommy would love to hear about what you’ve learned.

Groundhog picture from: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/groundhog/

Mazes...

Ages: This is definitely one for the Big Kids.  Once the maze is built however, Little Kid Scientists will have fun running the ball through the maze.

Materials:  12 x 12" board (we used pine, but particle board might work better), finishing nails, rubber bands, bouncy balls.

The cat is optional, ours isn't as much help as she would like to think!

Procedure:

• Using a ruler, create a grid on the surface of the board.  Make sure the spaces between the lines are large enough for a bouncy ball to roll through.  This is a great opportunity for Big Kid scientists to practice measuring...they should be doing this step! 

• At each corner, pound in a nail.  The nails should be secure enough to tug on them with rubber bands, but not so far into the wood that they poke through the back.

It's a lot of nails to get into place.  Connar worked really hard to get his done while I made a maze for Aiden.  Then we discovered why particle board might work better...

The board split in two.  There were too many nails along the grain line of the wood.  Fortunately this happened to me...Connar was working really hard to get all his nails into the board.  Since the wood doesn't need to be pretty, particle board without a grain line, may work better for this project.

• Once the nails are all in place, it's time to build the maze.  This is where the real thinking happens.  Using rubber bands to create walls and boundaries, build a maze.

• The mazes are easy to take apart and build again.  Over and over.

• Connar used the ball while he was creating the maze to check for dead-ends.

I put a maze together for my younger Kid Scientist, Aiden, who solved it very quickly.  I suggested he create a maze for me, one that wasn't as easy as the one I built.  After about 10 minutes he looked at me and said, "Building these is really hard work Mommy!"  This Science Mommy loves it when the thinking is the hard work!

Have fun with your mazes!

 

Investigating Pendulums...

This investigation is a great opportunity for your Kid Scientist to explore variables.

Ages:  This investigation is best for Big Kid Scientists

Materials: String or yarn, bob such as a washer or round magnet, stopwatch or other timer, Lab Notes page (this will also help explain the investigation)

Procedure:

• Set up a pendulum system

• There are three manipulated variables you can investigate: the length of the pendulum, the weight of the bob and the angle the bob is released
• The period of the pendulum is the time it takes the bob to go over & back one time
• Practice timing the period and releasing the bob
• Explore these questions:  Does this weight of the bob have an effect on the period?  What is the relationship between the length of the pendulum and the period?  Can you create a pendulum system with a 1 second period?  How?

What did you learn about pendulums?
Where can you find pendulums in the "real world"?

Exploring Magnets...

This is another exploration that will engage Kid Scientists natural sense of curiosity and inquiry.

Ages: This is better for Big Kid Scientists

Materials:  a variety of magnets

Procedure:

• Share the magnets with your Kid Scientist
• Ask her what questions she has about magnets and how she can discover the answers
• You could also suggest some questions such as - What kinds of items are attracted to magnets?  What happens when two magnets are put together?  How many objects can one magnet hold?  Do all the magnets hold the same number of objects? 
• You may download this Observation Guide to help your Kid Scientist hold her thinking and remember her observations. 

What did your Kid Scientist discover about magnets?

What causes the bright colors seen in a sunset?

Models are an important way for Kid Scientists to explore the world around them.  This model demonstrates a sunset.

Ages: This model is best for Big Kid Scientists

Materials: Clear glass, flashlight, eye dropper, water, milk, white paper

Procedure:

• Fill the cup with water
• Fold the white paper in half (like a tent) and place it behind the cup
• Shine the flashlight through the water, onto the paper.  What do you notice?
• Think about the parts of this model.  If the cup of water represents the atmosphere, what does the flashlight represent?  How about the white paper?
• Add 3 to 5 drops of milk to the water.  Shine the flashlight through the liquid, onto the paper.  What do you notice now? What does the milk represent?
• Continue adding drops of milk and observing both the liquid and the reflected light on the paper.

For Science Moms Only...
The atmosphere that wraps around Earth is a blanket of invisible gases.  The atmosphere also has many particles, too small to be seen but big enough to scatter light waves.  Blue and violet light scatter the most; orange and red scatter the least.  At midday the sun is high in the sky so less light is scattered and more blue light reaches your eyes.  When the sun is low in the sky at sunrise or sunset, the rays travel through a thicker layer of atmosphere.  The blue waves are scattered and the longer red wavelengths reach your eyes, giving us red sunsets.  Dust or smoke particles will enhance the red and orange colors.

Can you build a boat that supports the most weight?

This is a fun and easy investigation that will keep Kid Scientists engaged for a long time.

Ages: All ages of Kid Scientist will be able to participate in this one.

Materials:  clay, plastic shoe box, water, weights…we used penniesProcedure:

• Fill the plastic shoe box 3/4 full of water
• Use pieces of clay to build a boat.  This is an important part of the investigation, before Kid Scientists can test how much weight their boat will hold, they will need a boat that floats.

• As Kid Scientists are building their boats, ask them questions about the properties of boats.  Why did you boat sink?  Why did that one float?  What can you change?
• When Kid Scientists have a floating boat, they can add pennies one at a time.  How much weight will your boat hold?

• My Kid Scientists were struggling with the clay boats when Connar said, “What about foil?” So they switched to a new boat building medium.

  

What did you learn about boat design? 

How many pennies did your boat hold? 

What are you still wondering?

Sink and Float

This is a great exploration for Little and Really Little Kid Scientists!

Materials: Plastic tub, sink or other water source, toys and little stuff

Procedure:

• Fill the container or the sink with warm water
• Give your Little Scientist all kinds of stuff
• Depending on the age, ask your Kid Scientist, "Will it sink or float?" before each object is placed in the water.  Making predictions is an important aspect of developing scientific thinking. 
• Kids will be developing an understanding of concepts like density and buoyancy with this activity

This is a great activity to keep busy kids engaged while you're cooking or doing something else that requires part of your attention.  It's also a fun game to play when you out at a river or a lake. 

My Kid Scientist Aiden, has always been fascinated with water.  Many Children's Museums and Science Centers have water play tables for this very reason.  Play with thinking is a very important part of developing scientific reasoning.

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