Thursday, November 15, 2007

This Week's Experiments

We did a couple of simple demonstrations earlier this week to show the eroding power of water and how it can change landscapes.  First we took a small bar of soap:


and then allowed it to sit under a slowly dripping faucet for a couple of hours:



After some time had passed, it looked like this:



The other demonstration involved stopping up the end of a drinking straw with clay, filling it up with water,

 then stopping up the other end with clay.   

Then we put it in the freezer for a couple of hours:



When water freezes, it expands.  So:





The expanding water/ice forced a "plug" of the clay out of the end of the straw.  When water seeps into cracks in rocks and then freezes, it basically does the same thing - it forces the crack open a little farther.  As the ice melts, it carries away small bit of the broken rock.  The opening is a little bigger, meaning more water can seep in, freeze and thus make the crack even larger.

Now... I have to point out that in that last picture, Landon is not actually studying the plug.  Really he is frowning at me from under his eyebrows because I am making him hold the straw for the picture.  He wanted to TAKE the picture.  So the one above that is the one I let him take.  LOL

I also noticed that my photos of these scientific endeavors have also showcased some housekeeping areas that I would honestly rather that the world did not see.  Bathroom sinks (disclaimer: sinks that the kids are responsible for cleaning); kitchen counter (mercifully far enough in the darkened background that perhaps only I am bothered by it); and the freezer.  I am laughing at the Phlly Steak box.  But it did make a nice level spot to rest our straw on!

6 comments:

patchworkofgrace said...

Great experiments!

Prncsstefy said...

so cool!

LindaI said...

You do the COOLEST experiments. I know you say that they are all from your books but man I cannot wait for that. That is what I want to do with homeschooling. I do not want to rush my kids old but I really cannot wait to get deeper into school. Although for now and our situation I am just getting school in where and when I can. But praise God for homeschool schedules being flexible!

BChsMamaof3 said...

That is a really cool experiment with the straw in the freezer! I'm going to do that this weekend with my kids : ) We just made underwater volcanoes today and posted about it. We had a lot of fun with it to.

Blessings to you and your family,

BChsMamaof3

CrossView said...

Can we just move in with you? LOL!


And the Pocahontas jammies/suit/thingy... we had one just like that!


I so need to get the science book you use!

DanielleW said...

Great demonstrations. I'm going to have to file those away into the back of my mind. We have tons of soap (Dad uses 2/3 of a bar and then breaks out a new one without throwing the other one away. LOL)

Post a Comment

I love comments! It's like visiting over a virtual cup of coffee.