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    Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People
    Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People
    Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People
    Ebook238 pages1 hour

    Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People

    By George Barr

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    About this ebook

    This simply written introduction to scientific research and experimentation takes youngsters into an exciting world where they'll not only learn to discover their own answers to specific problems but will be encouraged to develop sound scientific attitudes and techniques as well.
    For this volume, noted science educator George Barr has compiled a carefully selected array of intriguing experiments dealing with chemistry, astronomy, magnetism and electricity, weather, water, the human body, living things, sound and light, and measurement. By performing these experiments, young researchers will discover the answers to such questions as "Why Can't We See Stars in the Daytime?" "How Can a Spider Web be Collected?" "Can Water Containing Ice Get Warm?" "How Can We See Sound Vibrations?" "What Helps Your Memory?" and many others.
    As the author early points out, the work is "not a reading book, but rather a doing book" with a chapter containing suggestions for further experiments. Valuable advice about scientific procedures emphasize the importance of taking readable, organized notes; gathering as much evidence as possible; learning to use "control" groups; and much more. In addition, over 100 illustrations enhance the text, which also contains a selected bibliography of relevant reading material.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateFeb 6, 2013
    ISBN9780486160948
    Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People
    Author

    George Barr

    George Barr is a photographer living in Calgary, Canada. Serious about photography since age 12, working initially with a WWII Zeiss Ikonta in a basement-bathroom "darkroom", he has progressed through medium format, 4x5, and now digital SLR's. He earns his living as a family doctor with a special interest in psychiatry but his primary passion has always been the fine art print. Major milestones include learning to make quality prints from Fred Picker, learning to really "see" photographs from Hubert Hohn of the Edmonton Art Gallery, looking at Edward Weston prints bare, attending workshops, working with galleries, and being published.

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      Book preview

      Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People - George Barr

      Copyright

      Copyright © 1961, 1989 by George Barr.

      All rights reserved.

      Bibliographical Note

      This Dover edition, first published in 1993, is an unabridged republication of the work first published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1961, under the title More Research Ideas for Young Scientists.

      Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

      Barr, George, 1907-

      [More research ideas for young scientists]

      Fascinating science experiments for young people / George Barr ; illustrated by Mildred Waltrip.

      p. cm.

      Originally published: More research ideas for young scientists. New York : McGraw-Hill, 1961.

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Summary: Describes experiments in chemistry, astronomy, biology, meteorology, and other branches of science.

      9780486160948

      1. Science — Experiments — Juvenile literature. 2. Science — Juvenile literature. [1. Science — Experiments. 2. Experiments.] I. Waltrip, Mildred, ill. II. Title.

      Q164.B335 1993

      507.8 — dc20 93-8111

      CIP

      AC

      Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation

      27670802

      www.doverpublications.com

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      Introduction

      Getting Off to a Good Start

      CHEMISTRY

      ASTRONOMY

      MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY

      WEATHER

      WATER

      YOUR BODY

      LIVING THINGS

      SOUND AND LIGHT

      MEASUREMENT

      Here Are Some Good Science Books for More Ideas

      Index

      A CATALOG OF SELECTED DOVER BOOKS IN ALL FIELDS OF INTEREST

      Introduction

      If you are a young scientist who enjoys doing experiments to discover your own answers to interesting problems, this book should keep you busy throughout the year.

      It is the second book in a series which describes exciting research ideas and also guides you in the use of techniques used by professional scientists. It is not a reading book, but rather a doing book. By learning not to take anything for granted, you build good scientific attitudes.

      As you proceed you will realize that no experiment is ever completely finished. Instead, the answers that you will find will only whet your appetite for embarking upon new and inviting explorations.

      Each chapter of this book will give you experience in a different field. Here are some of the problems which you can pursue in a spirit of adventure:

      Can you make a frog hibernate any time you want it to?

      Can you devise an alarm which will ring when it starts to rain?

      How can you produce the most gigantic soap bubbles you ever saw?

      How long can you keep fish and plants alive in a tightly sealed aquarium?

      Will a loud noise blow out a candle flame?

      How can you make your own chemical tester for acids and bases?

      What is the best way to clean copper pennies?

      Why can’t we see stars in the daytime?

      How can you make a very inexpensive working model of the solar system?

      By using materials found in most homes you can make instruments of a precision which will amaze you. From a small clamp, or even a nut and bolt, you can build a micrometer which will measure thousandths of an inch. From a magnetic compass and some wire, you can construct a delicate electric meter and use it to measure electricity you get from a lemon. And from a tin can, a balloon, and a broken pocket mirror you can design a most intriguing scope for studying sound wave patterns.

      The research experiments in the following pages are fascinating to do in your home. But they can also be performed and discussed in school, especially for a science club, science fair, or a science assembly show.

      Every experiment contains introductory background material. Suggestions are also given for finding out more about the subject. This is as it should be, for a true scientist never stops learning and asking WHY.

      Getting Off to a Good Start

      You can easily get reliable results in your experimental work if you try to develop certain work habits. It is fun to do the research. But it is still more satisfying to feel that your conclusions are accurate. You can get this feeling of confidence by developing a good technique for attacking a problem.

      Do you know exactly what you wish to find out? If you cannot pin-point your problem, you will find yourself repeatedly getting off the main track.

      Even before you start your experiment, have you found out as much as you can about your problem? It may save you much time, money, and energy. It will also help you observe things in a more meaningful way. Go to library books, speak to experts and authorities such as curators of museums. By the way, it is good to work with a friend who shares your interests.

      Do you have everything you need? If not, try to use inexpensive substitutes. It is very useful to have a work place at home with some basic tools and supplies. Work neatly, safely, and orderly. Put things back when you are through with them.

      Can you foresee certain difficulties and avoid them? Plan your research. Can you think of better ways of performing parts of the experiment than those which are given here?

      Report accurately what you see and always be on the alert for unexpected happenings. These may lead you to new problems to investigate later. In this way you will experience the thrills of a research scientist. Louis Pasteur stated, Chance favors the prepared mind.

      Learn to take readable notes in an organized manner. Become familiar with the use of tables and graphs. Do not trust your memory — and always label bottles! Also, write reminders to yourself, and tape these to parts of your experiment.

      It is not scientific to base a conclusion upon only one experiment. Gather as much evidence as you can by repeating the experiment many times. If possible, do it in different ways. Think of possible sources of error. Invite your friends’ criticism. Remember that an experiment does not always turn out as expected. Trying to discover why an experiment failed can often be more interesting than doing proven experiments. This is when your ability as a scientist is really tested.

      You have no doubt heard of a CONTROL which is often used in an experiment. It is an important part of your research work which enables you to make very accurate comparisons before and after the experiment.

      Wherever possible, you should have another setup just like the one on which you are working. All the conditions for both must be exactly the same, except for the one thing that you are doing differently to the experimental one. It is like setting up two experiments with just one difference between them.

      This technique, used by scientists all over the world, lets you compare one thing at a time. You do not have to guess why any change occurred. Of course, not all experiments call for the use of controls. But keep on the lookout throughout this book for places where you can add controls — even where the specific suggestions may not have been included. They will improve your procedure.

      For example, suppose you wish to find out whether a certain weed-killing chemical will kill dandelions in a lawn. Pour the weed killer on some dandelions, and in due time the plants die. Is this a good experiment? Of course not, because somebody may ask the obvious question, How do you know that these dandelions died because of the weed killer? Maybe it was the time of year when most dandelions die anyway. Perhaps it was the lack of water that killed them.

      A scientific control should be set up consisting of a nearby group of dandelions of similar size and health. These will not receive the weed killer. Otherwise, all the other conditions should be identical — amount of sunlight, temperature, moisture, type of soil, etc.

      Now, if the treated dandelions should die, but those in your controlled group remain healthy, you can be more positive about your conclusion that it was the weed killer alone that killed them.

      CHEMISTRY

      How can you separate colored solutions?

      Have you ever watched a motion-picture scene of a chemist at work in his laboratory? Everything certainly looks mysterious and complicated. You get the feeling that it takes many years of special training and practice to know this business.

      Sometimes, however, even a highly skilled chemist may use a method which is extremely simple and, at the same time, very effective. Would you like to be a scientific detective and do something that the best chemist could do years ago only after many hours of patient work? By learning a simple technique, you can do the same thing in minutes.

      Suppose you want to find out whether a certain colored solution contains just one colored substance or whether there are several colored materials dissolved in it? Does this sound impossible? Well, you can do it. Just make a dot of the solution on a folded strip of white blotting paper, about 1 inch from the end. (See illustration.) After the dot dries, stand the blotting paper in a covered quart-size jar containing about ½ inch of water. The colored dot should be about ½ inch above the water.

      In a short time the water will creep up the blotter and start dissolving the colored dot. The dissolved colored material in the dot continues to rise until it is redeposited on the paper. You may notice that there is now a separation of colors. For example, a bluish layer may be distinctly visible above a red layer. Perhaps a small mixed area may separate the red and the blue sections. Of course, if the original solution consisted of a single substance in water its color would not change this way.

      This method of identifying and separating colors which are in solution is known as PAPER CHROMATOGRAPHY (krome-uh-TOC-ruh-fee). The word comes from chroma which means color and graphy meaning writing. The colored paper strip is called a CHROMATOGRAM. In a way, it represents the fingerprints of the substance.

      This technique works on the principle that molecules of different substances travel up the blotting paper at different speeds. The greater the attraction between the blotter and the molecules, the more slowly the molecules rise.

      In your experimentation with this fascinating color analyzer you can use only colored substances which are soluble in water, since that is what you have in the jar. Chemists, of course, may use alcohol, benzene, or other dissolving agents. Examples of common water soluble, colored substances you may have at home are: washable ink, red ink, Mercurochrome, laundry bluing, food

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