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    Junk Drawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Junk Drawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Junk Drawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Ebook291 pages1 hour

    Junk Drawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing

    By Bobby Mercer

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    About this ebook

    A children’s instructional book on how to use readily available materials to turn the house into a science lab

     

    Physics teacher Bobby Mercer provides readers with more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies, or less. Turn a plastic cup into a pinhole camera using waxed paper, a rubber band, and a thumbtack. Build a swinging wave machine using a series of washers suspended on strings from a yardstick. Or construct your own planetarium from an empty potato chip canister, construction paper, scissors, and a pin. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated. Junk Drawer Physics also includes sidebars of fascinating physics facts, such as did you know the Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in summer than in winter because its steel structure expands in the heat? Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children about physics topics that include magnetism, electricity, force, motion, light, energy, sound, and more, and have fun at the same time.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateJun 1, 2014
    ISBN9781613749234
    Junk Drawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing
    Author

    Bobby Mercer

    An Adams Media author.

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      Book preview

      Junk Drawer Physics - Bobby Mercer

      Zalevskiy.

      Introduction

      We all have a junk drawer containing the odds and ends that we accumulate as we go through life. In the pages of this book, you will find out that all that junk can help teach you science. The fun projects in this book will use inexpensive or no-cost objects. Most of it is stuff you probably already have.

      Hands-on science is entertaining for everybody—fun for kids from 5 to 85. Enjoy yourself, be careful, and you just might learn something.

      1

      Forces and Motion

      Mesmerizing CD Top

      Turn an old CD into a mind-bending tabletop spinner. Spin, stare, and watch the world change.

      Adult supervision required

      From the Junk Drawer:

      Inline-image Old CD

      Inline-image Paper

      Inline-image Markers

      Inline-image Scissors

      Inline-image Superglue or hot glue

      Inline-image 2 flat glass beads

      Step 1: Trace around a CD on a piece of paper. Use a marker to create swirls going out from the center, as shown. Then cut around the outside of the CD line.

      Step 2: You need adult permission or help for this step. Lay a piece of scrap paper on your work surface to catch any glue that drips. Use hot glue or superglue to affix the round piece of paper to the CD. Then glue one glass bead to each side of the hole in the center of the CD, with the flat sides facing the hole. These glass beads are commonly found in craft stores and are used as decorations for flower vases, tabletop water fountains, and candle sets. Let the glue dry completely.

      Step 3: If you color in the swirls, it will make them wider, which will make the illusion better.

      Step 4: Pinch the top glass bead with your fingers and spin it. Practice until you can get it to spin like a top while sitting in place.

      Step 5: Now spin the top and lean directly over it. Stare at the center for about 30 seconds as it spins, then look up at a plain wall. It should make the wall spin a little bit. Keep practicing until you master it.

      Try staring at the top for different amounts of time. Crazy! Do it again and look at other things. Amaze your friends as you warp the world around you. You can make other tops and try different patterns and colors.

      The Science Behind It

      The spiral on the top of the CD trains your eyes to follow the swirl. This effect is called persistence of vision. Your brain holds onto an image for a fraction of a second. Since that image is a spinning spiral, when you look at a wall or something else, it will spiral for a few seconds. It might take a few tries to get good at it. (Even if you don’t always get the swirl effect, you still made a fun top.)

      Grocery List Tug-of-War

      Use a piece of paper to learn about inertia.

      From the Junk Drawer:

      Inline-image Several strips of paper

      Inline-image Scissors

      Inline-image Coins

      Inline-image Tape

      Step 1: For this experiment, you need several strips of paper. A long grocery list notepad will work, or you can take a sheet of letter size paper and cut it into four strips. Paper that is already written on is perfect—you’re recycling.

      In each strip, make two cuts that almost go through the paper, as shown. To do this, fold each strip of paper, but do not crease the center. This will insure the cuts are equal in length.

      Step 2: Pick up a single strip, holding one end in each hand. Your goal is to try to tear both ends off at the same time so that you are left with just the center part. First, pull slowly and watch what happens. Then repeat with another strip and try pulling faster. Can you do it?

      Step 3: Now tape four or five coins to the center section of a cut strip.

      Step 4: Quickly pull on the ends of the strip and watch what happens this time. The trick is to pull fast and hard.

      The Science Behind It

      Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in motion. A heavy object is hard to start moving, but a heavy object is also harder to stop once it is moving. Just think of a semitruck on the interstate and how long it takes to come to a stop.

      When you try this experiment with paper alone, the center piece doesn’t have much inertia—it’s light. When you tug it, one end tears before the other, leaving two pieces together. But when you tape coins to the center section, you give that section extra inertia. This time, when you tug quickly, the center section wants to stay in place more than before (it has more inertia). The ends tear off, leaving you with just the center.

      Jar Spin

      Defy gravity as you take a ball for a spin.

      From the Junk Drawer:

      Inline-image Clear, large-mouth plastic jar (mayonnaise or peanut butter jars work well) with label removed

      Inline-image Small bouncy ball

      Step 1: Place a clear plastic jar mouth-down over a small bouncy ball. (Don’t do this on a nice wooden table.) Ping-pong balls also work well.

      Step 2: Grasp the bottom of the jar. While keeping the jar’s mouth on the table, swirl the jar quickly in small circles, causing the ball to roll in circles as well. Move the jar faster, until you can pick up both the jar and the ball.

      The Science Behind It

      As you swirl the jar in a circle, the ball wants to move in a straight line. Of course, it can’t, because the jar is in the way. The jar supplies a centripetal (center-seeking) force on the ball. The ball pushes back against this centripetal force, which creates friction between the inside of the jar and the ball. When the speed of the ball is great enough, the friction will keep the it glued to the inside wall as you lift the jar.

      Floating Coin

      Magically lift a coin with science.

      From the Junk Drawer:

      Inline-image Crisp dollar bill (or piece of paper)

      Inline-image Coin

      Step 1: Fold a dollar bill in half so it forms a V, as shown. You can also do this with a stiff piece of paper. Place the coin over the V.

      Step 2: Slowly pull apart the two ends of the dollar bill. The coin should stay in place and balance on the paper. Now slowly lift the dollar bill, picking up the coin with it. With practice and a steady hand, you can pick up the coin even when the bill is completely straight. Practice this trick, then amaze your parents, friends, and teachers.

      The Science Behind It

      All objects have a center of mass. If the center of mass is over a support, the object will stay balanced. When you balance on one foot, you have to move your center of mass over that foot. Try it; as you lift one foot up, your body will naturally move your center of mass

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