A Demo a Week Makes

Science Class the Peak

“Demonstrations for Elementary and Junior High Teachers”

Vinay Dulip
Foy H. Moody High School
1818 Trojan Drive
Corpus Christi, TX. 78416
Email: vdulip@yahoo.com
vmdulip@ccisd.us

Sabina Maza
Foy H. Moody High School
1818 Trojan Drive
Corpus Christi, TX. 78416
Email: SAMaza@ccisd.us

Students from: Moody HS

Alexis Richmer
JerriAnn Gonzalez
Angela Trevino
Christopher Villegas
Jupiel Rabanzo and Eric Munoz
11-10-10
8:30 am – 9:30 am

"CAST'10- HOUSTON, TEXAS"

Density:
1. SEWER LICE OR DANCING RAISINS:
Materials: Raisins, a can of Sprite or 7-Up, and
a tall glass.
Pour Sprite or 7-Up into the tall glass. Place
8-10 raisins into the glass. Watch after a few seconds
the raisins will begin to go up and down. Notice that
when the raisins are at the bottom, small tiny bubbles
form around them. When enough bubbles have been
formed the raisins will become lighter and rise to the
surface of the soda. Notice that as the raisins come to
the top the bubbles burst and the raisins sink back into
the soda. This process can continue for over an hour.
2. FLOATERS AND SINKERS:
Materials: A 10-15 gallon aquarium, and various
unopened cans of diet and regular sodas.
Fill the aquarium with tap water upto 2/3 of its
capacity. Put the cans of diet Coke and Pepsi into the
aquarium and notice that they float. Next place cans of
regular Coke and Pepsi into the aquarium. They sink.
Diet drinks use sugar substitutes and are lighter than
the regular drinks which use sugar.
3. FLOATING AND SINKING - ICE CUBE:
Fill two clear plastic cups ¾ of the way with
liquid A (water) and Liquid B (rubbing alcohol).
In each drop a cube of ice. Observe.
Ice in water will float and the one in rubbing alcohol
will sink.
4. RED, WHITE, BLUE
Materials: Blue colored Karo syrup, red colored
lamp oil, Cremora and water solution, empty bottle.
Take an empty bottle and carefully add equal
amounts of blue Karo syrup, red lamp oil and white
Cremora solution. They will come to rest in the bottle
in three layers. The densest layer will be at the bottom
and the lightest will be at the top.
5. Ivory soap
Materials: Tub of water, Ivory soap, Styrofoam
dinner plate
Drop the unwrapped soap into the container
of water and watch it float.
Another experiment with Ivory soap: cut the soap in
half, and put one half of the soap on a dinner Styrofoam
plate. Microwave it for about a minute… and observe.
Fire/Heat:
6. Burning Money
Materials: Rubbing alcohol, tongs, plastic cup,
and matches.
Put 100 mL of rubbing alcohol into a plastic cup. Soak
the dollar bill in the alcohol. Hold the dollar bill with
tongs and light it with a match. Watch the dollar bill
give a blue flame but not burn. The flame soon burns
itself out and the dollar bill is left intact and is cool to
the touch. I also do this demo with a paper towel
because it is larger and gives a flame that burns longer.
(Do not wave the paper or the dollar money in air while
burning.)
X7. The Mini Grain Elevator Explosion:
Materials: Lycopodium Powder, or starch, saw
dust, Coffeemate, Beral pipet, short candle
matches, an empty paint can, and goggles.
Punch a hole in the side of a can as close as possible to
the size of the beral pipet stem. Place a short candle
that is lit into the bottom of the can. Close the can
tightly with its lid. Fill the beral pipet over two-thirds
full with lycopodium powder and place it in the side of
the can. Make sure the lycopodium powder is near the
end of the pipet. Tilt the pipet slightly upward and
squeeze. The lid should explode from the can. Be
careful.
8. Burning Water:
Materials: A glass container, lighter fluid,
matches, and warm water.
Place 5 mL of lighter fluid into a glass
container (Erlenmeyer flask) Coat the container with
the fluid. Add warm water or tap water. Light a match
and place it on top of the water. The water will appear
to be burning. This can be observed more effectively
in a darkened room.
Pressure:
9. Implosion of Aluminum Can:
Materials: An empty soda can, a heat source, a
container of cool water, and tongs.
Place 5-10 mL of water into the can and heat it until it
boils for a minute or two. Note the steam coming out
of the can. Using tongs place the open end of this hot
can into the container of cool water. It should implode
immediately.
10. Egg out of a Bottle:
Materials: 1 gallon empty bottle of apple juice,
two hard boiled eggs which have been peeled,
paper towel, tongs and matches.
Put a long piece of paper towel into the
mouth of the bottle. Then hold the towel with tongs.
Light it with matches and push the towel into the
bottle. As the paper continues to burn place one hard
boiled egg with its pointed side down into the bottle
opening. Make sure that the egg is moist so as to make
it slippery. Notice that the egg will bounce up and
down a few times and as the flame is going out, it will
get sucked into the bottle. The trick is not only to get
the egg into the bottle in one piece but also to get it
out of the bottle in one piece. Ask students for
suggestions. Turn the bottle over and take out as much
burnt and unburnt paper towel as you can. Now
position the egg with the pointed side towards the
opening of the bottle, hold the bottle up against your
mouth and blow hard. Then move your mouth out of
the way quickly. The egg will pop out of the bottle.
11. Hooting Tubes:
Materials: A toy known variously as a "whirl-a-
tube," "boggle," or "hummer," is available from Toys-
R-Us for under $2.00 ($ store).
Hold the corrugated tube over your head and twirl it at
different speeds and notice the different frequencies of
sound produced. From time to time cover the mouth of
the tube with your palm while twirling and notice that
no sound will be produced because no air is able to
flow.
12. The Heavy Newspaper:
Materials: One or two full sheets of newspaper,
a stick of pine wood (1/4" x 1" x 2') or an old
wooden ruler or yard stick, and a large smooth
surface.
Place the ruler or stick on a table with a
smooth surface and let it protrude over the edge of the
table about 8-10 cm. Ask students, "What will happen
if I hit the end of the stick?" Strike it and let the
students catch the flying stick. Now cover the table
with newspaper. Smooth the newspaper down well to
remove any air- pockets. Strike the protruding end of
the stick with your right hand like a karate chop. The
stick will break.
X13. BABY BOTTLE AND SOFT DRINK:
Materials: A nursing glass bottle with a nipple and
a can of soda.
Quickly fill a plastic or glass baby nursing bottle to
the top with a cold soft drink. Immediately screw on
the cap with the nipple to avoid the loss of gas
bubbles. Cover the hole by using super glue. Gently
rock the bottle back and forth in an upside down
position. All of the soda should be held in the inflated
nipple.
14. FILM CANISTER ROCKET:
Materials: Empty Fuji Film Canister, Alka-
Seltzer, Water, or dry ice.
Put a small amount of water into the empty
canister. Next place about 1/3 to 1/2 tablet of Alka-
Seltzer into the canister. Close the lid and place the
canister upside on the table surface. Wait a few
seconds and the cap should pop.(You may have to
practice this several times.)
Chemical Reactions:
15. Goldenrod Messages:
Materials: White candle or Scotch Tape
(invisible type), Goldenrod Paper, Windex with
ammonia.
Write a message with the candle on the
goldenrod paper or use the scotch tape to write a
message on the paper. Spray the paper with Windex
with ammonia. The message will remains yellow. The
paper will change to red.
16. Magic Ink:
Materials: Phenolphthalein indicator solution
in alcohol, 1 spray bottle of glass cleaner Windex or
Glass Plus with ammonia, a paint brush and a white
paper towel or poster board.
Using a paint brush write a secret using phenolpthalein
on a white paper towel or poster board. After the
message has completely dried you are ready to reveal
it. Spray the poster-board or paper towel with window
cleaner with ammonia. The message will appear in a
shade of pink. The pink color disappears as the
solution dries. The process can be repeated again.
17. O.J. OR COKE CLOCK:
Materials: A battery operated clock, (this can be
obtained from Target, Wal-Mart, or K-Mart), 2
strips 1/2 cm wide and 12 cm in length of copper and
zinc or magnesium, 2 alligator clips, 2 pieces of wire
and a clear plastic cup to hold the coke or the
orange juice.
Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram above.
Make sure the copper and zinc or magnesium ribbons
do not touch each other. The clock will run for several
hours or even days powered by just coke or O.J. or any
soda.
X18. RAINBOW TUBE:
Materials: Clear straw, vinegar and universal
indicator solution, saturated sodium carbonate
solution, hot-glue gun.
Hot glue one end of the clear straw. Carefully fill it
with a mixture of vinegar and universal indicator
solution. Add 2-3 drops of saturated solution of sodium
carbonate which will sink to the bottom slowly due to
its higher density. Add 2-3 drops more of saturated
sodium carbonate solution.
Hold the straw upright to see the colors –
ROY G BIV.
19. SUPERABSORBENT MATERIAL:
Materials: 1 gram of material, a 16 oz Styrofoam
cup (do not use a clear cup), and water.
Put the super absorbent material in a cup
without drawing attention to it. Then take a
pitcher of water and pour about 100-150 mL of
water in this cup. Distract the audience by telling
a joke or something for 30-40 seconds. Then turn
the cup over. No water will fall. Water has
disappeared. You can tell the audience that you
will bring back the water from the same cup by
just adding salt to it. While the cup is sitting on
the table add several spoons of salt and wait for a
minute or two. Turn the cup over into another cup
and the water will begin to flow. This is the
material that is used in Ultra-Pampers.
X20. SILLY PUTTY TYPE OF MATERIAL:
Material: Elmer's glue, a 4 % Borax solution,
water, food coloring, a popsicle stick, a plastic bag
(for storage), and three 5 oz paper cups.
Write on Cup one – glue. In the second cup -
Borax. Use these cups also to measure out the required
amounts. In the third cup add 1/3 cup of glue, a few
drops of the desired food coloring and mix well. Then
add 1/5 cup of borax solution to the third cup and mix
well again. The material produced is like silly putty.
21. POLYURETHANE FOAM:
Materials: 5 oz paper cup, a popsicle stick, a
paper towel, food coloring, Craft Cast A and Craft
Cast B from any hobby shop.
Take 15 mL or 1/5 cup of Craft Cast A and
add 5-7 drops of the desired food coloring to it. Then
mix it. Next add 15 mL or 1/5 cup of Craft Cast B. Stir
this with a Popsicle stick. Place the cup on a paper
towel and wait for 2 minutes. Foam will come out of
the cup. Do not let the students touch it. Let it sit over-
night so that it can be cured. If you get it on yourself
clean it off with nail polish remover.
22. A REACTION IN A BAG:
Materials: Baking soda or powder, acid/base
indicator: red cabbage juice, phenol red, or
universal indictor, citric acid, a zip-lock bag,
2 teaspoons and water.
Place one spoonful of baking soda and one of
citric acid into a zip-lock bag and shake well. Add 3-4
teaspoons of red cabbage juice and seal the bag. Tilt the
bag back-and-forth to wet the entire solid. Observe the
reaction. If the bag gets tight due to pressure, open the
seal release some pressure and reseal the bag. Also note
that the zip-lock bag gets cool.
23. MAKING OXYGEN:
Materials: Fleischmann's yeast, 3% hydrogen
peroxide, a clear plastic cup, matches, and a wooden
splint.
Fill a cup 1/4 full with hydrogen peroxide.
Add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. Make sure that the Popsicle
stick is glowing and ready. Within a few seconds
bubbles will begin to rise in the cup. Bring the glowing
wooden splint into contact with the bubbles. The
wooden splint will re-ignite. The gas produced is
oxygen.
X24. MAKING HYDROGEN:
Materials: Aluminum foil, lye (Sodium
hydroxide) solid, water, baby food jar with lid,
empty juice bottle, matches, plastic cup.
Tear a 15 cm x 15 cm piece of aluminum
sheet into many smaller pieces, crumble these pieces
into small balls. Place several pieces of lye into a baby
food jar, add two mL of water, then add several balls of
aluminum. Hydrogen gas will start production. Capture
it in the juice bottle or another baby food jar. When
enough is collected cap it. Light a match, and place it
into the juice bottle with the collected hydrogen gas.
The popping sound confirms that the gas is hydrogen.
Do not hold the juice bottle/baby food jar in your hand.
25. Ghost Crystals /Spheres (put them in colored
water): Materials: Distilled Water, Soil Moist™
crystals, thread, and a clean glass jar with a lid.
A vial appears to contain only water and a
small string noose hanging down into it. When the
string is lifted out a large shiny crystal is found to be
tied up in the noose. When the string is lowered back
into the water, the crystal again becomes invisible.
26. POLYVINYL ALCOHOL OR GUAR GUM
SLIME:
Materials: Polyvinyl alcohol or Guar Gum
powder, borax, food coloring, paper cups, a
popsicle stick, zip-lock bags, and a 16 oz soda
bottle.
Fill the 16 oz bottle with water and add 2-3
teaspoons of Borax powder. Put the cap on and shake
well. (All of the borax will not dissolve). You now
have a saturated borax solution. Take a zip-lock bag
and place 1/5 cup of a 4 % polyvinyl alcohol solution
into it. Then place 3-5 drops of the desired food
coloring into it and mix well. Add about 1 or 2 more
capfuls (16 oz bottle cap) of borax.
Mix well and you have a slime material.
Keep it stored in the zip lock bag. Alternate method
of making the slime is to use Guar Gum powder. Take
a zip lock bag and add 1/2 cup of water, 3-5 drops of
the desired food coloring, and mix well. Next add 1/8
teaspoonful of Guar Gum powder, and mix well. To
this mixture add
1 or 2 capfuls of a saturated borax solution. The
mixture should gel in a minute or two.
27. INVISIBLE GLUE:
Materials: Rubber cement, newspaper, baby-
powder, and pair of scissors. (Wine bottle and string
demo)
Apply a thin coating of rubber cement on newspaper.
Sprinkle baby powder to cover the entire surface. Pour
excess powder from the newspaper into the trash can.
Cut the news paper in thin long strips. Take a strip and
fold it over as if to cut into two pieces. Cut with
scissors, open the paper and it will not be in two
pieces.
28. DRY ICE:
Materials: A wide mouth flower vase, dry ice,
food coloring, a metal spoon, a balloon, a candle,
catches and Joy detergent. USE CORRECT
GLOVES OR TONGS TO HANDLE DRY ICE. DO
NOT USE BARE HANDS.
a) Light a candle and fill 1/3 of a vase with
warm water and place a few small chunks of dry ice
into it. It will bubble and a dense white cloud of gas
will be produced. Tilt the vase until you can pour the
gas onto the candle and watch the flame go out. Be
careful not to pour the water out. Some fire
extinguishers are indeed made of carbon dioxide.
 b) Fill 1/2 of a vase with warm water and
add a few drops of food coloring and a few drops of
Joy soap. Put a few small chunks of dry ice into the
vase. It will bubble and eventually the bubbles will
overflow the vase. Be prepared to clean-up.
c) Place a piece of dry-ice on the table top
and watch it change from a solid directly into a gas.
No mess is left behind. Place a spoon or another metal
object on the surface where the dry ice is and it will
make a sound. Move the object back and forth and
listen.
d) Goblin Gulp Punch: Serves 18 - 1 cup
servings
1 envelop Kool-Aid Cherry Flavor unsweetened
1 envelope Kool-Aid Grape Flavor unsweetened
1 envelop Kool-Aid Tropical Punch unsweetened
2 3/4 cups sugar
4 1/2 quarts water
Carbonated with dry ice.
e) Floating bubbles: Get a large container.
Place a few small pieces of dry ice into it and let it sit
for a few minutes. Then blow bubbles onto it
carefully. Voila, you have floating bubbles.
f) Leaky faucet: See the demo and take notes
and draw a diagram.
X29. EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON
LIGHTSTICKS:
Material: 2 light sticks, 2 containers: one with
hot water and the other with ice.
Place containers with hot water and ice on
the table. Twist two light sticks. Immediately place
one stick in the hot water and the other in ice water.
Notice the difference in the light intensities. The one
in hot water is much brighter than the one in the ice
water.
Physics:
30. BERNOULLI'S PRINCIPLE:
Material: A Hair dryer and 2 ping pong balls.
Plug the hair dryer into the outlet. Turn it on
high. Place one ping pong ball carefully on top of the
air flow. Watch it balance. Next try to balance the
second ball on top of the first. This can be used to
explain the lift of an airplane.
31. BALANCING A PIECE OF PLYWOOD ON THE
TIP OF INDEX FINGER:
Materials: A piece of plywood and a belt.
Challenge the student to balance the plywood
object on the tip of index finger. No other fingers can
be used to hold it down. Let several students try. If they
all fail then take your belt and place it in the grove in
the plywood such that it will just balance. You have just
shifted the center of gravity of the wood.
32. TORNADO IN A BOTTLE:
Materials: Two empty soda bottles (16 oz, 20 oz ,
1L or 2 L) and a special bottle connector.
Fill one bottle with water. Attach the special
bottle connector, and on top connect the second bottle.
Make sure the bottle with water is on top. Swirl the top
bottle such that a circular flow starts from the top bottle
to the bottom one. You will observe a tornado. Flip the
bottle over and repeat and enjoy the tornado.
33. CARTESIAN DIVER:
Materials: Empty 2 L soda bottle with cap and a
medicine dropper. Soda bottle must be plastic
Fill the soda bottle with water. Fill the
medicine dropper with just enough water so that it can
float (try this in a cup or a glass first). Place it into the
soda bottle. Close the bottle and squeeze the sides and
make the diver (dropper) go down. Release the sides
and let the diver come up.
34. A MAGICAL COIN:
Materials: A wire coat hanger, and a penny (or
any other coin).
Pull the longest arm of the hanger out into a
long narrow shape. Let the hanger hang on your index
finger and place the penny on the end of the wire
carefully. This requires lots of practice. Start to swing
the hanger back and forth first. Then do full loops
counter-clockwise. When you want to stop slow the
swing and try to catch the penny.
35. TONIC WATER:
Tonic water, black light and a clear glass
container.
Place some tonic water in a clear container,
shine the black light on it and the tonic water should
glow.
X36. CHEMILUMINESCENCE:
Materials: Luminol, Lye, water, a Popsicle stick
and household bleach.
Take 150 mL or a cupful of water, add a few
grains of lye and stir with a Popsicle stick. Add a pinch
of luminol to the above mixture and stir again. Pour this
into empty 16 oz soda pop bottle. To this mixture add
bleach until the reaction stops. A bright blue glow is
given off which lasts for a few seconds. Cover the
bottle with its cap and dispose of it in the trash. It is
safe to do this.
37. BUBBLES:
Materials: Joy dishwashing liquid, distilled
water, clear Karo syrup, a small plastic pool, hula
hoop, and a plastic or wood object to be placed into
the pool as a stand. Bubble solution: 1/2 part
syrup, 1 part Joy soap, 8 1/2 parts of distilled
water.
Place the solution into the plastic pool, and
place the object to stand on in the center. Get a
volunteer to stand on the object. Swirl the hula-hoop
in the solution and lift it quickly up around the person
standing in the pool. With practice you can enclose a
6' 2" person in the bubble for a second or two. You
can use different shaped objects to make bubbles.
Practice. Let your imagination run wild.
38. BALLOONS AND BAMBOO SKEWERS: Bibliography:
Materials: Balloons of various sizes, (but not 1. Becker, Robert.
larger than 9" long) and a bamboo skewer. Summer, 1993.
Fill the balloon with air and tie a knot. Take 2. Hauge, George and Others.
a bamboo stick and select the correct spot and slowly 3. Katz, David. Chemistry in the Toy Store,
push in the stick. Once it gets into the balloon Chemed, 1989 and 13th th ICCE, San Juan,
continue moving until you can get it to come out the Puerto Rico.
other side. 4. Kelter Paul, Kelter’s Favorite
Demonstrat989.
39. PENCIL POKING: 5. Liem, Tik L. Invitation to Science Inquiry,
Materials: 2 or 3 pencils, a zip lock bag, water Ginn Press, 1987.
and a partner. 6. Sae, Andy. Chemical Magic in Grocery
Fill a zip lock bag 3/4 full of water and seal Store, ACS Regional Meeting, 1990.
it. Have several sharpened pencils. Let partner hold
the bag filled with water and the other person poke the Museum Products
pencils from one side through to the other. Be sure to Science & Fun. Imagine That!
poke through the water. 84 Route 27 Mystic, CT 06355
Toll Free: 1-800-395-5400
40. Turkey Bester shooter Monday-Friday 9A.M. To 5 P.M.
Materials: Rubber bulb, coleman lamp striker, Fax Orders: 860-572-9589
alocohol, and ping-pong ball www.museumproducts.net

41. Windbag – Have a student blow air from one and Educational Innovations. Inc
count how many breaths it takes to fill it up. Then show 362 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851 USA
how you can use science to fill it up in one or two Phone: 203-229-0730 Fax: 203-229-0740
breaths. Toll Free: 888-912-7474
Website: www.teachersource.com
42. Airzooka and Visualizer e-mail: info@teachersource.com

43. Glowing Blood

Materials: 20 mL detergent, tonic water, and 1 Flint Scientific, INC
spoon of petroleum jelly and black light. P.O. Box 2 19 Batavia, IL 60510
Start with 2 spoons of tonic water in a ziplock 800/452-1261, Fax 866-452-1436
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