Experiments « Spotty Banana Homeschool

Posts filed under 'Experiments'

The Microscope Book

We recently discovered a great microscope companion book, perfect for the beginning science buff. This book has many fun and easy activities, but the best thing about the book is its explanation of how and why. Additionally, it offers really useful practical tips on improvising when you don’t have all of the tools. For example, it provides nifty instructions on making your own microtome (for creating thin sections of samples). Another thoughtful detail is an explanation of how to estimate the size of your sample when you don’t have a stage micrometer. Anyway, there are plenty of fun activities with real-world applications stashed inside! This is an older book, so you can get it quite inexpensively from Amazon.com. However, we gladly borrowed it from our local public library.

Add comment Sunday, November 15, 2009

Get Ready for Wolfram|Alpha Homework Day Oct.21

Wolfram|Alpha, the online worldwide computation engine is hosting Homework Day on October 21, 2009. There promises to be a lesson plan showcase for all levels (K-12 and beyond), a chance to interact with the Wolfram|Alpha experts, and an amazing line up of thought leaders. The event kicks off online at noon and doesn’t end until 2:00 am, so be sure to check homeworkday.wolframalpha.com sometime on Oct. 21!

Add comment Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Electromagnet Experiment

We recently created a printable worksheet based on an experiment we set up to investigate electromagnets. Its a very simple set-up and can be created with common materials that shouldn’t be too difficult to find in your local hardware store. The worksheet contains an explanation of the basic physics, a materials list, a diagram, explanation of the procedure and a reference list.

Download the worksheet

2 comments Friday, February 8, 2008

UPDATE: Alka-Seltzer Rocket Experiment

We recently completed our Alka-Seltzer Rocket Experiment and had great fun designing, building and launching our rockets. We learned a great deal about Newton’s Third Law and reinforced our knowledge of the Scientific Method. In addition, we were able to use some art and engineering design principles.

The

We created a worksheet that students can use to:

Review Newton’s Third Law and the Scientific Method
Record launch data
Write-up experiment

Get the Worksheet

We also created a page dedicated to creating and launching Alka-Seltzer rockets so that your students can build them, too. If you like, you can watch our short video on our Alka-Seltzer rocket launches.

View the Step-by-Step Guide to building a Rocket