More Awesome Science! (videos and resources)

Time for some more awesome science -

With some student friendly, ready to use teaching materials to match!

Time Lapse Erosion

Two amazing looks at erosion - aided by time lapse! Above,

Collaroy-Narrabeen Beach (Sydney, Australia) in June 2007. During 3 days,

almost 300 000 cubic meters of sand was removed from the beach.

Below, the erosion of a soccer ball over time.

Both work well with one of my freebie resources:

FREE Rock Cycle Simulation Lab 

 

The Egg in the Bottle

Whoa! The fire consumes the oxygen - around 21% of the air inside the bottle.

This leaves relatively low pressure inside the bottle (as compared to

the relatively high pressure outside the bottle). This higher pressure outside

air pushes the egg in!

This demo is a great match with

my Air Pressure Lab Pack or Percent Oxygen Lab!

The Ultimate Zoom-In Shot

 One of my (and student) favorites! 
A simulated zoom from the outskirts of the universe to the inside of an atom!
This is great for looking at relative sizes, and can easily be paired with my  
Cells vs. Atoms Worksheet.




The Blubber Glove

I have a friend who participated in a pain study at the National Institutes of Health.

She had to keep her hand in ice water as long as she could stand it - too bad

she didn't have blubber! Blubber is an incredible insulator, allowing very little heat to

transfer from the hand to the water!

This demo makes for some great lessons when paired with my Conduction Lab, 

Heat Notes Pages, Heat Transfer Practice Worksheet,and FREE Heat MiniQuiz.

Or get them all (and more) with the Heat Transfer Teacher Pack!

Correct Horse Battery Staple (awesome science websites)

My brother showed this one to me. Awesome.

It's from

 xkcd.com 

A very cool (and addictive) math/science web-comic.

I especially like the What If section, self described as "Answering Your Hypothetical Questions With Physics, Every Tuesday." 
Disclaimer: I've browsed the site, but can't vouch for 100% kid-friendliness.

Planet-Science.com

Cool and amazing videos, experiments, and a special section for parents and teachers!

HowStuffWorks.com

Ok, so you may have heard of this one, but I had to include it.

It's too awesome not to.Wonder how anything (real or imagined) works?

You can probably find out here.

 

Popular Science Image Galleries 

Some of the most amazing pictures on the web. 

For a longer chain of cool images, check out their Year's Most Amazing Scientific Images.

Gross! (and Awesome) Lab

One of the messiest, grossest, and BEST labs that I have - Oobleck!

With very simple materials, students can create this strangely behaving non-Newtonian fluid. It acts like a liquid when handled slowly, but solidifies when handled quickly! (I usually use it in my middle school classroom to teach about atomic/molecular motion in solids and liquids).

A day or two day ago, I uploaded the lab to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
(See it here - there's a free downloadable preview).

Due to some curriculum and grade level changes, I haven't had the opportunity to do this lab with my classes in a couple of years, but looking it over reminded me what a great learning experience it is - I've had kids come back to me years later and still remember it.

Below are some videos (not of me or my class) showing Oobleck's strange behavior. 
Think you know how it works? The first three comments on this post get the lab and key for free! (Please leave your email address in the comment, or email it to me separately if you'd prefer).

Oobleck on a Speaker

Mythbusters Making (and Trying to Walk Across) Oobleck

 

There's also a recipe that involves glue and Borax.

 I haven't used it, but I know others who have:

Cool Science Tricks

Today, I wanted to share some of the cool science that my class has been doing. 
(Although these particular videos aren't from my classroom, they showcase the science).
Enjoy!



Egg in Vinegar
When the egg is dissolved in vinegar, the shell dissolves, but leaves the inner membrane in tact. Besides being cool in general, it's a great example of diffusion - Certain fluids (and small solids) can pass through the membrane.

"Blowing Out" a Candle
When baking soda and vinegar are mixed, they create and invisible gas - carbon dioxide gas (the same stuff you breathe out). This gas is denser than air, and can be poured just like water. 

Decomposition of Water
Electric current breaks water into hydrogen and oxygen gas! The salt is to help the mixture conduct electricity. (A lab similar to this is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store). 

 

Please share any cool or interesting science from your class!