Science Visitors and the Magnus Effect!

We had some special visitors with us today. They are part of the Royal Society Science Leadership Programme and came to see how we do Science at our school.

They helped us with a tricky experiment trying to get cardboard tubes to fly. You could try this one at home
You need:
A strong table
elastic (about 1cm width) 2/3 the length of the table (un-stretched)
A cardboard tube - try different lengths and weights
Tape (or someone's finger to hold the elastic down)
Some room for flying objects!

What to do:
Attach the elastic to the edge of the table and stretch the elastic out to the other end of the table. Roll it 6-7 turns onto the centre of the tube (The first couple of turns to trap the elastic onto the cardboard)
Wind it as though it were a carpet carpet you were going to roll out, in other words, the elastic needs to leave the cardboard on the underside of the tube.
Now hold the tube at the centre and let go. The roll should take off and curve upwards as it travels across the room

(After lots of experimenting we finally succeeded!)

(When Mr Stuart and I tried this last year!)

Here's an explanation from the Physics Girl

The Great Egg Experiment of 2016!

Red Cabbage Science!

Today in RIMU time we were looking at acids and bases - using red cabbage juice an an indicator.



We tested White vinegar, Bleach, Dish-washing liquid, shaving cream, Salt, sugar and baking soda.

Super Cold Bag

Here's a great experiment we did - one you can try at home!

Super Cold Bag

You Need:

·  Citric Acid

·  Baking Soda

·  Tap Water

·  Zip lock bag (15cm x 10cm)

·  Measuring cup

·  Plastic spoons

·  Teaspoon

What to do:

1.  Put one level teaspoon of citric acid in a zip lock bag.

2.  Put one teaspoon of baking soda in the same zip lock bag. And shake the bag gently to mix the two chemicals.

3.  Fill up the measuring cup with cold tap water (about 30ml).

4.  Carefully seal up the bag without tipping ove r the cup of water inside it. Then tip the cup over 

Not only does the bag blow up, it also becomes super cold! So don’t forget to feel its temperature. (We measured that the bag went from 28*C to 15*C!!)

Why is it so?

Mixing citric acid, baking soda and water together causes a chemical reaction. The new chemical that is made is carbon dioxide gas. This gas fills the bag and causes it to blow up. You’ll also notice the bag drops in temperature as part of the chemical reaction.