THE EXCITING WORLD OF SCIENCE Do you like getting your hands dirty Do you ask a lot of questions Are you curious Then science is for you Science is all about understanding the strange mysterious and complicated things that happen in the world around us Scientists search for truth To do this they ask a lot of questions then conduct experiments to find the answers The spectacular hands-on experiments in this book will help you learn about nature and how things work and they’ll also make you say Wow Science Through Time Our world is constantly changing As advanced cultures developed discoveries in math and science were made in Greece India Egypt China and other civilizations A new age of science started more than 700 years ago during the Renaissance in Europe People wanted to understand the world around them They started using experiments to help them understand In present times science is all around us Science engineering and math come together to create new technology for How to Use This Book home school and work Try to imagine a world without video games or smartphones It was science that brought them to our lives not very long ago The experiments in this book are meant to inspire you to get into science and keep learning You can follow the steps provided or use your imagination to change the experiments with different ideas and materials 4
geT inTo iT Some people think science is serious and boring Nothing could be further from the truth Scientists need wild imaginations to ask new questions and look at old problems in a new way Being able to laugh at things is also part of studying science In fact that’s why we have Silly Putty It failed as a new type of rubber but the scientists working on the project in 1943 had so much fun playing with it that a new toy was born Today you can learn science from books videos classroom lessons and even funny cartoons One of the best ways to learn though is to do your own experiments and see for yourself how science works iT could Be you Some discoveries come from years of research but others are happy accidents Thomas Adams was seeking a substitute for rubber in 1870 He tried chicle the sap from a South American tree but it failed Seeing that local people chewed the stuff Adams tried it liked it and turned it into a popular chewing gum In 1928 Alexander Fleming made one of the greatest accidental discoveries when he found penicillin growing on moldy lab dishes Accidental or not many great discoveries are waiting to be made by new generations of scientists and that could include you SafeTy inSTrucTionS Science experiments are fun activities that help you learn new things However safety is the number-one consideration Make sure to follow these rules to stay safe while doing science experiments 1 Do not touch chemicals without permission 2 Make sure a parent or adult is in the room 3 Don’t eat drink or fool around 4 Read the labels on materials carefully 5 Wear safety goggles if you are mixing harsh materials 6 Let objects cool down before touching them 7 Wash your hands before and after To protect your eyes from spills and fumes wear your safety goggles 5
LET’S TALK ABOUT COLORS Ready to make water walk to form colorful arches This experiment is a fun way to see how colors mix and learn how liquids move by capillary action which is the way plants get water from their roots to their tops Colors are divided into three main groups and you can make new colors by mixing them in certain ways as explained on page 7 Follow the steps below to see how paper towels which are made from plants can help create a walking water rainbow WALKING WATER RAINBOW You Will Need 7 empty glasses jug of water blue red and yellow food coloring stir stick or spoon 6 paper towels scissors Time Preparation 10 min Results 1 3 hours We are going to use seven glasses and three primary colors for this experiment The capillary action will mix the primary colors and create secondary colors green orange and violet You can make your own experiment using fewer glasses and different combinations of colors Using only two colors and three glasses will get you spectacular results as well 1 Place 7 clear glasses on a table in a row Add water to every other glass Make the outside glasses almost full the two middle glasses half full Leave the other 3 glasses empty 2 Add 20 drops of red food coloring to the outside glasses Add 10 drops of yellow food coloring to the third glass from your right Then add 10 drops of blue food coloring to the third glass from your left Stir well 6 Tip If the water seems to move very slowly try a thinner paper towel The less the paper towels absorb the better 3 Tear off a sheet of paper towel fold it several times lengthwise to form a strip about 1 5 inches 4 cm wide Then fold the strip in half You will need 6 strips Measure the height of the glasses and cut the strips so they fit the height of the glasses
Working WiTh colorS A color wheel is a tool that artists use to help understand colors It shows what colors look like mixed together and helps to give an idea of how different colors are related It also shows which colors look good together and which ones don’t There are three types of colors on a color wheel primary colors secondary colors and tertiary colors Primary colors are blue red and yellow These colors can’t be made by mixing other colors together Secondary colors are green orange and violet or purple These colors can be made by mixing two primary colors together For example red and blue together make violet Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color that is beside it on the color wheel s P S P T P P T T T T S S T P P Primary colors S Secondary colors T Tertiary colors Yellow and blue are two neighboring primary colors Mixing them together will create the green secondary color Why It Works In this experiment capillary action happens because there are attractive forces between the water and the cellulose fibers in the paper towels The water climbs up into tiny gaps between the fibers defying gravity like a ninja climbing walls 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4 Place the strips into glasses as shown to connect each pair of neighboring glasses with one strip Tip Arrange 6 glasses in a circle to make your own color wheel Than watch the show LIVE 5 Let it sit for about 2 hours then look at the results The water walked over from the water-filled glasses into the empty ones making the level of water the same in all 7 glasses The colors walked too creating new colors Primary red and yellow colors from glasses 1 and 3 mixed in glass 2 creating a secondary orange color Primary yellow and blue colors from glasses 3 and 5 mixed in glass 4 creating a secondary green color And primary blue and red colors from glasses 5 and 7 mixed in glass 6 creating a secondary violet color 7
