Physics experiments | Writingmama

Balloon car

Balloon engine car

or Newton's 3rd law of motion

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or let's get racing!

Materials needed:

any toy car that you have around
straw, string
balloon, scissors
paper, pens, glue

Instructions:

Inflate and stretch the ballon several times to make it easier to inflate later. Insert a straw and type around the mouth.
Draw a flag on the paper and faster on a straw, glue it on the car.
Fasten the ballon straw horizontally on the car. Make sure that the ballon doesn't touch the floor once inflated.
Blow the balloon up and get ready for the race!

Science behind: Newton's 3rd law of motion

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.As the air rushes backward out of the balloon it pushes the car forward in the opposite direction with an equal force

Suggestions:

Use different lengths and diameters of straws to compare acceleration and speed of cars in a race! Short and wide straws create explosive starts!

Inspired by 'The Little Red Racing Car' by Dwight Knowlton

Mini lamp

or closed electrical circuit

Let there be light or basic closed electrical circuit.

Materials needed:

wooden board and 2 shorter pieced for a 'table'
wooden stick (or chopstick cut short) and cupcake baking cup
AA battery
wires (red and black)
5mm led lightbulb (or similar)
switch (optional)
resistor (optional if you decide to make a more complex circuit or power)

Instructions:

Start with the stand. I glued 2 short pieces on to a board to create a 'table' then I glued a wooden stick on the middle to create the stand of the lamp.
Get your circuit ready. Connect your wire to the battery. Red wire from the + side and black wire from the - side.
Wire the red wire to the switch (if used) and then connect the other ends of the wire to the LED (red to +, black to -). And you should have it lit up!
Fasten the LED to the end of the stand and cover with the cupcake cup.

Red wire- positive flow

Black wire- negative flow

Science behind: Closed electrical circuit

The wires in a circuit carry the electric current (electrons and protons). For electrons to do their job in producing light, there must be a complete circuit so they can flow through the light bulb and then back out.

Inspired by 'The Dark' by Lemony Snicket

rice in a bottle

Rice in a bottle

or friction

Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object- in this case grains of rice.

Materials needed:

any bottle
enough rice to fill the chosen bottle
chopsticks

Instructions:

Fill the bottle with rice. Then thrust the chopstick in the bottle and lift. You might need to move it in and out a few times before you succeed.

Suggestions:

Use different bottles- glass, plastic with different neck width

Use different objects- pens, straws etc.

Use different materials- beans, candies etc.

Science behind: Friction

When you fill the bottle with the rice there are air pockets as the rice is not pressed tightly. By introducing another object in, there is pressure and the rice is packed against the walls and due to friction doesn't move around, unlike liquids.

Inspired by 'Elephants Can't Fly' by Charlotte Christie

Pierced balloon

or elasticity tension

The magic trick of non-popping ballon!

Materials needed:

balloon
knitting needle, wooden BBQ stick or any long and think and sharp object
oil

Instructions:

Inflate and deflate the balloon several time to stretch it up and tie it.
Dip the sharp end in the oil and insert in the balloon next to the tied end. Twist it a bit if it gets stuck. Continue straight and pierce the other end where the colour of the balloon is the darkest or least stretched.
Voila!

Science behind:

Balloons are made of rubber/latex, which is made up of long polymer chains that can stretch up to a point and then return to their original formation. Where the inflated balloon is at its widest (colour is lightest) the rubber is under the most tension. Piercing causes the tension in the rubber to pull on the hole making the balloon burst. The darker parts are not as stretched and under less tension. The skewer can pass through the rubber making a hole and pushing the surrounding polymer chains aside. The polymer chains have enough elasticity to stretch around the skewer. The oil helps to seal the hole.

pierced ballon

balloon kebab

Inspired by 'The Hug' by Eoin McLaughlin

Balloon kebab

or elasticity tension

Let there be light or basic closed electrical circuit.

Materials needed:

balloon
knitting needle, BBQ stick or any long and think and sharp object
tape (ideally isolation tape)

Instructions:

Inflate and tie the balloon. Choose a place you want to pierce the ballon- can be anywhere- and put your tape on both the intended insertion and exit points. Then gently insert your needle.
Insert as many needles as your balloon allows.

Science behind:

Balloons are made of rubber/latex, which is made up of long polymer chains that can stretch up to a point and then return to their original formation. Piercing causes the tension in the rubber to pull on the hole making the balloon burst. The tape holds the polymers together and acts as a seal that prevents the air from escaping.

Inspired by 'Pip and Posy The Big Balloon' by Axel Scheffler

2-colour water

Water of two colours

or heat transference

Why do not the colours mix?

Materials needed:

food colouring
2 large glasses
hot and cold water
plastic or paper sheet

Instructions:

Add hot water and colouring to one glass and cold water with colouring to the other.
Put a plastic sheet onto the hot glass and turn upside down. Place above the cold glass and slowly pull out the sheet. The colours will not mix

First demonstrate with both glasses of cold water- colours will mix.
!The hot water should be handled by an adult!

The Science behind:

When you heat up water, the water molecules start moving around faster and faster. They bounce off each other and move farther apart- it has fewer molecules in it and weighs a little bit less than the same volume of cold water. So hot water is less dense and stays on top.

Suggestions:

Try putting hot water at the bottom, what happens?

Inspired by 'Blue Planet: Life in our Oceans and rivers' by Moira Butterfield

candle vacuum

Rising water

or vacuum

Make water enter an upside-down cup!

Materials needed:

glass and plate
water (colouring optional)
candle and lighter

Instructions:

Add water and colouring on a plate almost to the brim.
Place a candle or candlelight in the centre of the plate and light.
Place a glass above the candle and watch the water rise.

The science behind:

The flame inside the glass uses oxygen to burn, it heats and expands the air. the air outside the jar has a higher pressure than inside and the "vacuum" that needs to be filled (there is carbon dioxide and others) so the higher force of pressure outside pushes the water into the jar from the plate! When all the oxygen is used, the flame goes out. The air starts to cool and reduces the amount of air inside the jar. Now there is an empty space from no oxygen and the shrinking of the air which is the "vacuum".

Inspired by 'The Tide by Clare Helen Walsh

Suggestions:

Try using different candles and place 1 or 2 candles at the same time. How will the amount of water change?

instant ice-cream

Suggestion:

Place one bag in the freezer for the equal amount of time, will it also freeze?

Instant ice-cream

or supercooling

Ran out of ice-cream? Hot outside? No problem!

Materials needed:

ice
salt
1 small zip bag, 1 big zip bag
fruit juice/smoothie/milk

Instructions:

Put your juice in the small bag and close it.
Put the small bag in the bigger bag.
Fill it with ice and add a generous amount of salt and shake for a few minutes and eat immediately.

The science behind:

Supercooling occurs because the formation of ice crystals requires a nucleator, that is, a surface around which water molecules can align to form ice. When nucleators are not present, water can go below 0°C without freezing. Adding salt results in lowering the temperature and the low temperature is transferred to juice which can freeze since salt is not present.

Inspired by 'The Freezing Snowman' by B. Hagen

travelling colours

Suggestion:

Experiment beyond primary colours and createa rainbow.

Travelling colours

or capillary action

How can water jump from one cup to another?

Materials needed:

cups
tissue
water and colouring (water colours work too)

Instructions:

Fill every other cup with water. Put different primary colours to the water.
Take the tissue and connect two cups with each tissue (one empty to one full cup). Wait for at least 30 min and observe!

The science behind:

The adhesive forces between the water and the paper towel (capillary action) are stronger than the cohesive forces inside the water. As a result, the water travels up and across the paper towel out of one glass and into another, defying gravity.

I

M

...because the simplest of words become stories for a lifetime...

Balloon engine car

or Newton's 3rd law of motion

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or let's get racing!

Materials needed:

any toy car that you have around

straw, string

balloon, scissors

paper, pens, glue

​

Instructions:

Inflate and stretch the ballon several times to make it easier to inflate later. Insert a straw and type around the mouth.

Draw a flag on the paper and faster on a straw, glue it on the car.

Fasten the ballon straw horizontally on the car. Make sure that the ballon doesn't touch the floor once inflated.

Blow the balloon up and get ready for the race!

Science behind: Newton's 3rd law of motion

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.As the air rushes backward out of the balloon it pushes the car forward in the opposite direction with an equal force

Suggestions:

Use different lengths and diameters of straws to compare acceleration and speed of cars in a race! Short and wide straws create explosive starts!

Mini lamp

or closed electrical circuit

Let there be light or basic closed electrical circuit.

Materials needed:

wooden board and 2 shorter pieced for a 'table'

wooden stick (or chopstick cut short) and cupcake baking cup

AA battery

wires (red and black)

5mm led lightbulb (or similar)

switch (optional)

resistor (optional if you decide to make a more complex circuit or power)

​

Instructions:

Start with the stand. I glued 2 short pieces on to a board to create a 'table' then I glued a wooden stick on the middle to create the stand of the lamp.

Get your circuit ready. Connect your wire to the battery. Red wire from the + side and black wire from the - side.

Wire the red wire to the switch (if used) and then connect the other ends of the wire to the LED (red to +, black to -). And you should have it lit up!

Fasten the LED to the end of the stand and cover with the cupcake cup.

Red wire- positive flow

Black wire- negative flow

Science behind: Closed electrical circuit

The wires in a circuit carry the electric current (electrons and protons). For electrons to do their job in producing light, there must be a complete circuit so they can flow through the light bulb and then back out.

Rice in a bottle

or friction

Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object- in this case grains of rice.

Materials needed:

any bottle

enough rice to fill the chosen bottle

chopsticks

​

Instructions:

Fill the bottle with rice. Then thrust the chopstick in the bottle and lift. You might need to move it in and out a few times before you succeed.

Suggestions:

Use different bottles- glass, plastic with different neck width

Use different objects- pens, straws etc.

Use different materials- beans, candies etc.

Science behind: Friction

When you fill the bottle with the rice there are air pockets as the rice is not pressed tightly. By introducing another object in, there is pressure and the rice is packed against the walls and due to friction doesn't move around, unlike liquids.

Pierced balloon

or elasticity tension

The magic trick of non-popping ballon!

Materials needed:

balloon

knitting needle, wooden BBQ stick or any long and think and sharp object

oil

Instructions:

Inflate and deflate the balloon several time to stretch it up and tie it.

Dip the sharp end in the oil and insert in the balloon next to the tied end. Twist it a bit if it gets stuck. Continue straight and pierce the other end where the colour of the balloon is the darkest or least stretched.

Voila!

Science behind:

Balloon kebab

or elasticity tension

Let there be light or basic closed electrical circuit.

Materials needed:

balloon

knitting needle, BBQ stick or any long and think and sharp object

tape (ideally isolation tape)

​

Instructions:

Inflate and tie the balloon. Choose a place you want to pierce the ballon- can be anywhere- and put your tape on both the intended insertion and exit points. Then gently insert your needle.