Science
Club
Making Soap
Soap is very fun to make! You have to
be carefull to put on gloves and goggles. The main ingredient is a
liquid called lye,
which has a ph of 13, a base. I know you are thinking,"What in
the world does that mean!" but if you want to figure out, you
will have to go to Science Club every Monday morning!
Melting Chocolate... on a Lightbulb?
You have probably heard of melting chocolate, but on a lightbulb?!? How is this educational? You time how long it takes to melt, first on a standard lightbulb, then on a compact fluorescent. Whichever takes less time to melt the chocolate, takes the most energy, and produces most heat. The reward for learning it, is eating the chocolate.
You do Math Too!
It is called science club, but you also do math? Why not?!?
This is how math fits in with science. For example, the science part
is, you are making soap, (this is one of the things you do in science
club) and the math part is, you have to find the profit you made if
you sell the soap at different prices! You have to divide, multiply,
or whatever you have to do to figure it out.
Facts about pH
- pH stands for potential of hydrogen
- lye soap is level 13 pH, it can kill you if you drink it!
- olive oil is 4 pH
- 7 pH is neutral, anything over 7 is a base, anything lower is an acid
- water is drinkable because it is 7 pH
- it is possible to lower the pH of lye by 5!
- anything 6 or 8 pH is still probably okay
CFL VS STANDARD
(Why Standard Wins)
A standard light bulb uses more energy. Since a compact fluorescent light (CFL) also uses a little bit of mercury (Mercury is the same stuff that is in thermometers) it does not need as much electrical energy. Why do people use standard more? About a year after people started using CFL, they figured out that they are dangerous! When the light bulb breaks, it spills all the mercury and pollutes the air. Mercury is poisonus!
The Math You Do
Division, multiplication, addition, subtraction. You do all that in science club. That is probably one reason why it is educational. That is also a reason why Science club is for 3rd,4rth,and 5th graders. Most kindergarteners can not do division! Energy club is taught by Ramp-Up students, so they usually do the math as a class. After a while, you will probably get the hang of the it. In other words, you will improve not only in your science skills, but also in your math skills!