STEM Activities Geared Towards Middle and High School Students

STEM Activities Geared towards Middle and High School Students

Here are some additional activities, STEM experiments, as well as Apps you can download and explore while you are home from school.

Younger students will require parent’s assistance.

Table of Contents

AIR PRESSURE CAN CRUSHER ...... 3 BUILD A STRAW BRIDGE ...... 5 CODING WITHOUT COMPUTERS ...... 9 MAKE YOUR OWN ICE CREAM ...... 10 MAKE YOUR OWN RAINSTICK! ...... 12 PAPER RECYCLING ...... 14 PHONE SPEAKER ACTIVITY ...... 16 THE UNDERWATER CANDLE EXPERIMENT ...... 17 WATERING SYSTEM FOR PLANTS ...... 19 NATURE’S WATER FILTER ...... 21 SIPHON PUMP...... 23 FOUR FORCES OF FLIGHT EXPERIMENT ...... 25 FREE APPS TO DOWNLOAD ...... 27 APPS TO PURCHASE ...... 29

AIR PRESSURE CAN CRUSHER There are many different ways to crush a soda can, but nothing compares to doing the soda can implosion experiment.

Materials: Empty soda can Bowl Water Pan for the stovetop (have an adult help with this)

WARNING! IMPORTANT SAFETY RULES: This experiment requires the use of a burner on a stove to heat some water. Children should not perform this experiment without adult supervision.

Instructions: 1. Start by rinsing out the soda cans to remove any leftover soda.

2. Fill the bowl with cold water (the colder the better).

3. Add 1 generous tablespoon of water to the empty soda can (just enough to cover the bottom of the can).

4. Place the can directly on the burner of the stove while it is in the “OFF” position. (Have an adult turn the burner of the stove on to low. (Soon you’ll hear the bubbling sound of the water boiling and you’ll see the water vapor rising out from the can. Continue heating the can for one more minute.)

5. It’s important to think through this next part before you do it. Here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to use the tongs to lift the can off the burner, turn it upside down, and plunge the mouth of the can down into the bowl of water. Get a good grip on the can near its bottom with the tongs, and hold the tongs so that your hand is in the palm up position. Using one swift motion, lift the can off the burner, turn it upside down, and plunge it into the cold water. Don’t hesitate . . . just do it!

How did this work? What force is great enough to crush the can?

How does this work:

Before heating, the can is filled with water and air. By boiling the water, the water changes states from a liquid to a gas. This gas is called water vapor. The water vapor pushes the air that was originally inside the can out into the atmosphere.

When the can is turned upside down and placed in the water, the mouth of the can forms an airtight seal against the surface of the water in the bowl. In just a split second, all of the water vapor that pushed the air out of the can and filled up the inside of the can turns into only a drop or two of liquid, which takes up much less space. This small amount of condensed water cannot exert much pressure on the inside walls of the can and none of the outside air can get back into the can. The result is the pressure of the air pushing from the outside of the can is great enough to crush it.

The sudden collapsing of an object toward its center is called an implosion. Nature wants things to be in a state of equilibrium or balance. To make the internal pressure of the can balance with the external pressure on the can, the can implodes. Air pressure is powerful!

You probably noticed that the can was filled with water after it imploded. This is a great illustration of how air is pushing all around us. Specifically, the outside air pressure was pushing downward on the surface of the water. Since the air pressure inside the can was less than the pressure outside the can, water from the bowl was pushed up and into the can.

This action is similar to what happens when you drink from a straw. Though we say we are “sucking” liquid up through the straw, we really aren’t. To put it simply, science doesn’t suck . . . it just pushes and pulls. Outside air pressure is pushing down on the surface of the liquid. When you reduce the pressure in your mouth (that sucking action) the outside pressure is greater than the pressure inside your mouth and the soda shoots up through the straw and into your mouth. The same thing is true with the can. The outside air pressure pushing downward on the surface of the water is greater than the force inside the can and the water gets pushed up into the can.

Reference: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/incredible-can-crusher/

BUILD A STRAW BRIDGE

Materials: 2 tables or chairs Tape measure 200 pennies or metal washers 1 roll of tape Scissors Small paper cup 20 straight (not flexible) drinking straws

The goal is to design a bridge that can span a gap of at least 10 in by using only tape and no more than 20 straws. Your bridge will need to support as many pennies as possible.

Getting Ready: Set up the tables or chairs 10 in apart from each other. This is long enough that a single straw (about 8.5 in) will not span the gap. (If you are using longer straws, enlarge the gap to maintain the challenge.)

Introduction: Bridges are a crucial part of our infrastructure. Not only do they help us get to our destinations, they allow us to cheaply and efficiently transport goods across long distances and many obstacles. Life would be very different without bridges.

Bridges and those that cross them are acted upon by several forces. Gravity is always working to pull a bridge down. The load on a bridge causes additional stress on the materials, resulting in parts of the bridge being squeezed together (compression) while others are pulled apart (tension). Suspension bridges are also susceptible to twisting (torsion) forces caused by wind. Bridges come in a variety of designs, including suspension, cable-stayed, beam, arch, and truss. Truss bridges use a series of triangles for support and are commonly used for railroad bridges because of their incredible strength. You can demonstrate the strength provided by triangles by making a square out of tape and straws. Manipulating the square easily deforms the shape. But add a diagonal straw (or two) across the square and feel the difference.

Instructions: 1. Work on building your truss bridge that spans at least 10in using only your 20 straws and tape. 2. Once your bridge is complete, place a paper cup on the center of the bridge’s span and begin placing your pennies or metal washers in the cup one at a time to measure how much weight it can support.

 Observe how the bridge deforms (or collapses) under stress.  Keep count of how many pennies or washers the bridge was able to support.  Use a tape measure to measure how low the bridge hangs under stress.  Redesign and retest bridges as necessary.

Troubleshooting: If a bridge does not naturally hold a paper cup, create a deck with some thin, light cardboard or material from a cereal box.

Terminology: Compression: A force that squeezes an object from opposite directions, pushing two points towards each other. Smashing a can with your foot puts it under compression. Span: To extend from one side of something to the other side, as a bridge does over a river. Tension: A force produced from stretching or pulling something in opposite directions. A tug-of- war rope is under tension. Truss: A structure made out of triangle shapes and designed to carry heavy loads.

GUIDANCE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN

QUESTIONS TO ASK AFTER THE ACTIVITY How many pennies or how much weight was your bridge able to withstand before breaking? Was this more or less than you expected? What are two things that you, as well as engineers, consider when designing bridges? If you had more time to make another bridge or change your design, would you do anything differently? Why? Can you think of any other structures that use trusses or triangles for support? What was the most challenging part of this activity?

ENGINEERING CONNECTIONS A bridge is a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross over an obstacle such as a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, or body of water, rather than going around it or through it. There are many different types of bridges, including suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges, arch bridges, and truss bridges. In determining what type of bridge to build, engineers must consider how heavy a load the bridge must support and how far it must span. The load is the weight and all of the forces that a bridge must be able to support. There are two types of loads that engineers consider when designing bridges: the dead load and the live load. The dead load is the weight of the bridge itself. Bridges are usually built from concrete and steel and are, therefore, very heavy. They have to hold themselves up before they can hold all of the people and vehicles that will use them! The live load is the weight of all of the other things— people, cars, bicycles, snow, and wind—that will also be added to the bridge. Bridges have A LOT of weight to hold up!

SCIENCE CONNECTIONS For a bridge to remain standing, it must be able to apply a force that is equal to everything on it, but that acts in the opposite direction. Imagine you and your friend are pushing against each other with the exact same amount of force. Neither of you move, right? Well, the same is true with bridges. If equal forces act in opposite directions, the bridge won’t move and everything will work just as it should. However, if the forces acting on the bridge are greater than what the bridge applies in return, the structure can no longer support the bridge and it could break. This can happen when the load on a bridge is too large or for other environmental reasons. In 1940, the Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge in Washington State collapsed. The wind blowing past it caused it to bounce up and down more and more until finally the cables couldn’t hold the bridge up anymore.

GUIDANCE FOR OLDER YOUTH AND ADULTS

QUESTIONS TO ASK AFTER THE ACTIVITY What type of bridge did you model your bridge after, and why? What modifications did you make to your design, and why? What design solutions did you use to combat the forces acting on the bridge? Did your bridge buckle or snap? Did the failure occur all at once or did it bend and deform before breaking? Which parts of your bridge are under compression versus those under tension?

ENGINEERING CONNECTIONS The type of bridge that an engineer designs to span a particular obstacle depends on the overall length between the bridge supports and on the loads that the bridge must withstand. Suspension bridges support the roadway or deck using vertical cables that are connected to even larger supporting cables that are draped between two tall towers. These towers are responsible for supporting the majority of the deck’s weight, through tension in the vertical and horizontal cables. These forces are carried by the towers to the giant concrete bases on which the bridge sits and, ultimately, to the earth. Because the cables can carry high tension forces, longer main spans are achievable than with any other type of bridge. Examples of suspension bridges include the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan spans over 1¼ miles between the two main towers. By always working to increase the distance a bridge can span, engineers can pass over large waterways and still allow for huge ships to pass underneath without fear of hitting the bridge.

SCIENCE CONNECTIONS The ability of one bridge to span a greater distance than another bridge or to support a greater load is a result of that bridge’s ability to deal with forces of tension and compression. Tension is a force that is created when two forces are pulling on an object in opposite directions, like the rope in tug-of-war. Compression is the opposite of tension and occurs when two forces are pushing the ends of an object toward each other, like when you crush a can by stomping on it. Forces of compression and tension act on every bridge, so it is important that the bridge is designed to withstand these forces. Engineers always consider the ability of certain building materials to resist compression and tension when constructing bridges. For example, concrete is incredibly strong under compression, which makes it a good choice for the concrete bases on which the towers sit. But you will never see concrete used in the parts of a bridge that will be pulled on. For these, steel is a far better choice because of its strength under tension.

Reference: http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/activities/activity-detail/activities/straw-bridges-1/

CODING WITHOUT COMPUTERS

Program a human robot to build a pyramid of cups in as few steps as possible.

Materials:

10 Disposable cups Blank paper Pencil or Pen

Instructions: Using a predefined “robot programming vocabulary” (see below), students will write a program a student “robot” will follow to build cup pyramids as efficiently as possible without verbal conversation. Students learn how computer engineers use the connection between symbols and actions, as well as the valuable skill of debugging code. See examples of this activity in action by searching for “cup stacking coding” on YouTube. Note: Coding and programming essentially have the same meaning. Both refer to the activity of providing any digital platform (like a PC, robot, or browser) a set of instructions on the tasks it needs to perform.

1. Use the programming symbol key below and draw the 6-cup pyramid on a piece of paper (see diagram).

2. Write code that gives specific step-by-step instructions using only the 6 arrow symbols. Their goal is to design a program that the human “robot” will use to build the 6-cup pyramid built in as few steps as possible.

3. Have someone in your family go through the steps of what you have programmed.

Reference: www.DiscoverE.org 9

MAKE YOUR OWN ICE CREAM

How do you make ice cream without a freezer or an ice cream maker?

Making homemade ice cream is a great way to understand the process of lowering the melting point of ice via the addition of salt, as well as the effect of continuously mixing ingredients to expose them to the coldest temperatures.

Materials: (Yields 3 to 4 servings)

1 Quart-sized zip top plastic bag 1 Gallon-sized zip top plastic bag Ice cubes Salt ½ cup half & half ½ cup whipping cream 3 ½ T sugar ¼ t vanilla (optional) Rubber spatula Mixing spoons Plastic spoons Small cups Towels or paper towels

Instructions: 1. Measure the ingredients. 2. Put half & half, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in the Quart-sized plastic bag. 3. Zip it and put it in the bigger bag. 4. Pack ice in the big bag (make sure to cover all areas of the smaller bag). 5. Pour at least ¼ cup salt evenly over ice. 6. Seal the bag. (Ice by itself isn’t cold enough to freeze ice cream, but adding the salt makes the ice become a much lower temperature.) 7. Shake the bag (Use a towel around it because it gets very cold on your hands.)

8. You must continually shake the bag for about 15 minutes 9. After 15 minutes, if you don’t have ice cream yet, you must pour out the melted ice cubes and repeat step 5 – 7 again. 10. Once you have Ice Cream, remove the quart-size bag, rinse it off, serve in cup and enjoy!

Questions to Answer:

What is happening to the liquid in the small bag when you shake it? How can you tell?

How might adding chocolate or candy affect the ice cream making process?

If you let the ice cream melt, would it be the same as when you first mixed the ingredients together?

Engineering & Science Connections: Engineers invented refrigeration using the principles of heat transfer and phase changes (liquid to gas and gas to liquid). Before people had refrigerators, starting about 100 years ago, they had to store food in iceboxes. They also had to make ice cream by hand, as the students just did. When a liquid changes to a gas, it absorbs heat. This process done repeatedly can remove heat from a system. An example of this is air conditioners using Freon gas to create cold temperatures. Using the principle of heat transfer, engineers are able to cool all kinds of things. For example, they invented machines to make ice in skating rinks and artificial snow for skiing.

Reference: www.DiscoverE.org

MAKE YOUR OWN RAINSTICK!

In many cultures, summoning rain often included the use of musical instruments. One well- known example is a rainstick, an instrument that mimics the sound of rain. They are traditionally made from dead cactus tubes with cactus spines hammered to the inside and filled with tiny pebbles.

The origin of the rainstick is not fully known, but many people think that it probably came from a group of indigenous people known as the Diaguita from the deserts of northern Chile.

Here you get to build a slightly less traditional rainstick of your own! This one is made from a cardboard tube and aluminum foil.

What you need: • A long cardboard tube (paper towel or wrapping paper tube). About a two inch diameter is best. • Aluminum foil • Small dried lentils, unpopped popcorn, dry rice, or tiny pasta. • Tape • Scissors • Crayons or markers

What you do:

1. Trace around the end of your tube onto a piece of brown paper (or construction paper).

2. Draw a circle that is two times bigger than your first circle (around that first circle) and then draw four or so spokes between the two circles.

3. Cut along the spokes

4. Tape the spokes onto one end of your tube.

5. Cut a few pieces of aluminum foil that are about one and half times the length of your tube and about 6 inches wide.

6. Crunch the aluminum foil pieces into long, thin, snake-like shapes. Then twist each one into a spring shape.

7. Put the aluminum foil springs into your tube.

8. Pour some dry beans, dry rice, or unpopped popcorn into your tube. The tube should only be about 1/10 full. You can experiment to see how different amounts and different types of seeds and beans change the sound.

9. Make another cap from brown paper (the same as the first three steps) and cap your tube.

10. Optional: Decorate the tube by covering it with brown paper or construction paper, and then making designs with crayons or markers (or cut-out paper or stickers).

Reference: NASA’s Climate Kids website: http://climatekids.nasa.gov/rainstick

PAPER RECYCLING Transform used paper into fresh paper you can write on. Materials: Used paper (try different types and colors) Blender Warm water Measuring cup 11" x 14" framed window screen Newspaper

Instructions: 1. Take the used paper and rip it up into little pieces until you have about 2 cups.

2. Place the pieces in the blender.

3. Add 1 cup of warm water, let soak for at least 10 minutes, and then blend until smooth. (Note: soaking for an hour may produce a better result.)

4. Hold the screen over the sink or over newspaper and distribute the blended paper evenly over the screen. Press out any excess water.

5. After it has dried overnight, use it to write on the next day.

Questions to Answer: How long do you think it will take for this paper to dry out so we can use it?

Will the paper turn out just like regular writing paper? What makes you think so?

Does this method of making paper impact the environment in any way?

Does this method of making paper use any natural resources?

Engineering & Science Connections: Recycling is the process of using old products as raw materials to manufacture new products. Recycling can reduce the use of natural resources (including energy for manufacturing) and the waste that goes into landfills. It is a key strategy for sustainability.

Engineers must be careful to take into account all processes when determining the most sustainable approach to a product. In this paper activity, for example, water was used to create the new paper from the old. An engineer would have to consider whether the benefit of reusing the paper outweighs the extra costs of resources to recycle it. This principle is the basic concept of what is called Life Cycle Analysis, which determines all costs over the course of manufacturing, usage, and end of life of a product.

You might be surprised by all of the things other than paper that can be made from recycled materials. For example, playground surfaces are often made from car tires, fleece jackets are often made from plastic soda bottles, car parts may be made from tin cans, and some bricks are made with pieces of glass jars.

Paper can go through the recycling process 5–7 times before it must be permanently discarded. The process of paper recycling causes the natural wood fibers to become shorter and weaker. Aluminum, on the other hand, can be recycled indefinitely.

Reference: www.DiscoverE.org

PHONE SPEAKER ACTIVITY

Materials:  Smartphone or music playing device

 Empty Paper Towel tube, or Toilet Paper Tube

 Box cutter

 Marker

 2 plastic or paper cups

 Hot glue gun or masking tape

Instructions: (Have an adult help with this activity) 1. First, stand the phone on the middle of the tube and carefully trace the width and depth of your phone using a marker.

2. With the help of an adult, use the box cutter to carefully cut out the rectangle slot you drew on the tube.

3. Trace the end of the tub onto the side of each cup (towards the bottom of the cups). Carefully cut out each circle with the box cutter and the help of an adult

4. Slide a cup onto each end of the tube with the top of each cup facing you.

5. Adjust the position of the tube so that the phone slot is directly on top but angled slightly to the back. Use hot glue gun or masking tape to secure the cups to the tube.

6. Insert your phone and start playing your music How it works:

Music is sound waves. Usually when the sound comes from yoru phone speaker, the waves move out in all directions away from the phone. When you place the phone inside a tube, the sound waves vibrate along the tube into the cups. The soundwaves then move toward you from the cups, making the sound amplified. If you walk behind the cups it won’t be as loud behind the cups. Added Experiment:

Try using different length tubes or switching from paper cups to plastic cups to find the best- amplified sound.

THE UNDERWATER CANDLE EXPERIMENT Let’s fire up a candle and watch it continue to burn under water. Questions to think about:  Is it possible for a candle to keep burning under water?

 Can you think of any way that a candle can keep burning under water?

 What will the presence of water do to the burning candle?

Materials:  candle with a tapered top Note: Make sure the candle is about the same height as the bowl you’re using.  bowl

 water

 match

Instructions: (Have an adult help with this activity) 7. First, secure the candle into the bowl. (You do this by lighting the candle and allowing the candle to drip into the bowl. Make sure that enough wax drips into the bowl to make the candle stick.)

8. Once there is enough melted candle wax on the bowl, stick the candle on to it.

9. Leave it to dry for about 5 minutes. Test it after 5 minutes, and make sure the candle is stuck tightly to the bowl.

10. Next, pour water into the bowl until just the top of the candle. You don’t want the candle to be fully submerged in water at this point.

11. After that, light the candle.

12. Now slowly watch as the candle burns. It will continue to burn even when the wick is below water level.

13. Finally, observe what’s happening as the candle continues to burn.

How it works:

It’s easy to see that as the candle continues to burn, a part of the wax surrounding the wick does not melt leaving a wall of protection around the wick.

This wall allows the candle to continue to burn even though the flame is already lower than the water.

After a while, the water gets in through the top of the candle and turns the flame off.

So how did the wax wall form? Why doesn’t it normally do this when you are burning the candle out of the water?

The answer is because of the water.

The very thing that could stop the fire is the very same one that is allowing it to burn in this underwater candle experiment.

The cool water surrounding the candle is absorbing the heat from the flame. This allows the wax to stay solid instead of melting or dripping on to the side like it normally does. That is how the candle keeps burning.

Reference: https://www.gallykids.com/burning-candle-experiment-for-kids

WATERING SYSTEM FOR PLANTS

Materials: 2-pint plastic container with lid (like for ice cream or yogurt) 1 potted plant, 6" to 8" in diameter Scissors Pen with a point Cotton string Newspaper Water Paper and pencils

Instructions:

1. Poke a hole through the middle of the container lid with the pen, so that the string can go through easily.

2. Fill the plastic container with water and soak about 18" of string in it.

3. Carefully take the plant out of its pot and set aside.

4. Take the string out of the water. Coil the wet string in loops on the bottom of the empty plant pot. Run one end of the string through a hole in the middle of the pot’s bottom so that it hangs down at least 8".

5. Thread the hanging string through the hole you made on the plastic lid’s top, being sure the string does not lie on top of the lid. Fit the lid back on the container. The string will eventually drop to the bottom.

6. Place your plant back in the pot, which should be resting on the lid. If the soil around the plant is dry, water it from the top once, just enough to dampen it.

7. Over the next week, observe your plant, taking notes on the following questions:  Does the soil stay moist?  Does the plant stay healthy?  Is there enough water in the reservoir to last the entire week?

Engineering & Science Connections:

Adhesion refers to the attraction of molecules to other kinds of molecules—for example, water molecules are attracted to the molecules that make up cotton string.

Cohesion refers to the strong attraction of molecules to others of their same kind—for example, water molecules are strongly attracted to each other. They want to stay together and will sometimes even fight gravity to do it! Water is highly cohesive and clumps together into drops. For example, after you wax your car, you can see water droplets run off of it.

Water has both cohesive and adhesive properties. In the natural world, cohesion and adhesion are the forces that allow water to be transported to a plant’s leaves and stem, and allow water striders and other insects to walk on water. Civil and environmental engineers must understand these forces when researching the amount of groundwater in soil, which impacts the stability of buildings and roads.

The principles of adhesion and cohesion, as well as gravity and pressure, are used to ensure moisture does not get into the outside finishes of a building. Building materials are designed by engineers to ensure water does not adhere through cracks to the inside of walls where it can do damage or create mold. How can you keep a potted plant watered for a whole week with nobody around to do it?

Reference: www.DiscoverE.org

NATURE’S WATER FILTER

Can a stick of celery “clean” a glass of polluted water?

Materials: 8 celery stalks Red or blue food coloring Water Paring knife 2 glass jars or tall glasses Paper towels for cleanup

Instructions: This experiment illustrates the power of plants to absorb dissolved chemicals from water.

Caution: For safety, be sure to inform participants not to taste or eat any of the materials during this activity

Day 1: 1. Fill two glass jars or beakers with water.

2. Add food coloring to the water until it turns a deep color. Explain that this water has now been polluted.

3. Trim ends of the celery stalks so that they are freshly cut.

What do you think will happen to the celery if we leave it in the jars for a whole day?

What will happen to the water?

What will happen to the food coloring?

DAY 2: 1. Divide the class into eight teams.

2. Let the students see the celery in the jars, and then give each team one stalk of celery.

3. Cut the celery so that each team member has a piece to examine; give students time to observe his or her piece.

Why didn’t the celery absorb the entire food coloring?

If the water with food coloring represents polluted water, how does the celery represent what plants can do to make water cleaner?

Engineering & Science Connections:

Natural wetlands include areas like marshes and swamps. But engineers also design constructed wetlands to treat wastewater from domestic, agricultural, industrial, and mining processes. These wetlands use processes similar to celery absorption to take harmful chemicals out of water.

Constructed wetlands have many benefits. They are sustainable, because they don’t need machines or added energy to do their work. They also create wildlife habitat and can assist in controlling flooding.

Constructed wetlands are an example of how engineers learn from nature, using nature’s designs to inspire their own designs. Other examples of engineering designs inspired by nature include:

 airplanes (informed by birds)

 Velcro (informed by plant burrs)

 submarines (informed by fish)

 wind turbines (informed by trees)

Reference: www.DiscoverE.org

SIPHON PUMP

Can you make water flow up a tube against gravity?

Materials: 2 large bowls or containers (avoid using glass) 1 plastic tubing (approx. 2.5’ to 3’) Table Chair

Instructions: 1. Fill a large bowl with water and place it on the edge of a desk or table. Set the second bowl on a chair next to the desk or table.

2. Put one end of the tubing in the bowl of water. Raise and lower the other end over the second bowl, creating an arch in the tubing, with the second bowl lower than the first. Nothing will happen; there is nothing in the tubing and nothing to make fluid flow.

3. Keep the first end of the tubing submerged. Gently suck on the other end until water fills the tube. Cap the end with your thumb and quickly bring it down over the second bowl. Uncap the end. Water will flow into the second bowl.

What happens if you raise and lower the second end of the tube? Did the water flow faster or slower the lower the second end got from the water level in the first bowl?

4. If the second end of tubing is raised above the water level in the first bowl, the water will run back down the tubing into the first bowl and flow will cease. You will have to reapply suction to get the flow started again.

Questions to consider:

What happens if the bowls are at the same level?

How steep an incline can you make the water travel up, as long as flow is initiated and the second end of tubing is lower than the water level of the source?

What might be some practical uses for siphons?

Engineering & Science Connections: Engineers use pumps to deliver a liquid or gas, known as fluids, at a required rate. A pump changes the elevation, velocity, and/or pressure of a fluid.

Pumps deliver a required amount of fluid, measured as a volume, in a given time, measured in seconds, minutes, or hours. The volume flow rate is a measure of how much fluid is delivered in a specific time.

A siphon is a tube or pipe that uses gravity to have liquid flow from a higher level at one end to a lower level at the other end. But only the height of each siphon end point matters—between the end points, liquids or gases will flow uphill for part of the distance without added force. There are many practical uses for siphons, some of which include: pulling water from ditches and channels when irrigating fields, removing water from flooded homes, and even cleaning fish aquariums. One of the most common everyday uses of a siphon is the flush toilet—just using gravity, the waste travels upwards through an s-curve before traveling down into the drainage system.

A siphon can be used to remove impurities from a liquid, because the liquid can be moved without transferring impurities that have settled to the bottom or floated to the top of its container. Sometimes municipalities use siphoning as one step in treating their wastewater.

Reference: www.DiscoverE.org

FOUR FORCES OF FLIGHT EXPERIMENT

There are four primary forces that will always be acting on an airplane to help it fly.

Materials: Sheet of paper Paper clips

Instructions: 1. Fold the sheet of paper in half lengthwise and crease it.

2. Fold down the corner of one side so the edge is even with the folded side of your original crease. Flip the paper over and repeat to form a point.

3. Fold down the angled edge on one side so it is even with your original fold. Flip and repeat for the other side. You should now have a more narrow point.

4. Make a fourth fold that brings your new top edge even with the bottom of your original fold. Flip and repeat on the other side.

5. Push up the wings so they are perpendicular to the body of the airplane. Now throw your plane.

6. Make sure to use paperclips for weight distribution on your airplane to help it fly straight.

Now let us add control surfaces to your plane: 7. Once you have your plane flying relatively straight, gently tear the back edge of each wing to create elevators. ½ to ¾ of an inch should be enough.

8. Bend your elevators up slightly and how it affects your flight of your plane.

9. Then bend the elevators down and do another test flight.

TIP:

Now try moving your rudder. When you made your elevators, it should have also left you with a ½ to ¾ inch portion of the plane that can be folded left or right. 10. Try folding the rudder slightly left and run a test flight, then fold it slightly right and run another flight.

Questions to consider: What were the differences that happened to your flight when you added control surfaces to your plane?

Do the paper airplanes fly better when the control surfaces are added?

FREE APPS TO DOWNLOAD

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Anatomy 4D (Free) https://downloads.tomsguide.com/Anatomy-4D,0301-56547.html https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ar-anatomy-4d/id1315392436

Carbon Capture (Free) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/carbon-capture-flow-country/id1170940921 https://apkpure.com/es/carbon-capture-flow- country/co.uk.peelinteractive.rspb.carboncapture

OZOBOT (Free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evollve.ozobot&hl=en_US https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ozobot-bit/id910831867

Periodic Table (Free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.rsc.periodictable https://apps.apple.com/us/app/periodic-table/id1019468967

Engaging Congress (Free) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/engaging-congress/id1309161238 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iu.engagingcongress&hl=en _US

Metaverse – AR Browser (Free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gometa.metaverse&hl=en_ US 27 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/metaverse-experience-browser/id1159155137 Lightbot : Code Hour (Free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lightbot.lightbothoc&hl=en_ US https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lightbot-code-hour/id873943739

WindTunnel (Free) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wind-tunnel-free/id381971296 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.algorizk.windtunnellite&hl= en_US

Otsimo (Free) https://otsimo.com/en/

Airport Madness 3D (Free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mpdigital.airportmadness3d &hl=en_US https://apps.apple.com/us/app/airport-madness-3d/id1122211599

Air Control Lite (Free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.logisoft.aircontrol&hl=en_US https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app-control-lite/id413574128

Sector 33 App Air Traffic Control (Free) https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/Sector33/iOS/index.html

X-Plane flight simulator (Free) https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:AMhZZivNbFEwmLl8LslUrhLXYf6l9hAva0Y8r- Be4hnriBW6jcQ25PhMcrI5NUYPDcK0ljfFfII-P7gR0Xyx3eE- sfqTAYox09NRstXKMQB4WxHW_17tFG1BeNHKgYuYmenUYZh3w4l8rFLgQpeOzj3_16HD SFXR488YDhCtlcBdwTPkeeClA1LD8red7mCOuBLKDoqsliqEweZnlYOu_1pVJ- IJoz_1nmJFaOcqOilZn9ykZBqAZ0fRO6KQqAvVXN89SufBPLCATCxE1Kb_1QCnW0N0jywHy i8jFgfewoJQzPWr7ODQYqXwzZIP514-OFJ6qDOZN05tRTZLLOvDYCJLSKszkpCfKjW04uQ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/x-plane-flight-simulator/id566661426

APPS TO PURCHASE (Please ask your parents and get their permission before downloading)

Frog Dissection ($3.99) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.navtek.DissectionLab&hl=en _US http://frogvirtualdissection.com/

World of Goo – Any age ($4.99) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/world-of-goo/id401301276 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twodboy.worldofgoofull&hl =en_US

3D space flight simulation ($4.99) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brixtondynamics.spacesimulator&h l=en_US https://apps.apple.com/us/app/space-simulator/id516849108

Planetarium 2 Zen Odyssey ($2.49) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.G.Jewel.PlanetariumZenOdy ssey&hl=en_US https://apps.apple.com/hu/app/planetarium-2-zen-odyssey/id1315401952

Solar Explorer ($2.99) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/solar-explorer-new-dawn/id1457559035 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.DwarfCavern.SolarExplorer &hl=en_US