This experiment was in our local newspaper today. So GB and I decided to give it a try. He is unbelievably picky about food. So I suspected that he would be one of these super-tasters.
A super-taster may be someone who dislikes strong-tasting foods such as vinegar.
For this experiment you will need:
food color
magnifying glass
cotton swab
mirro
clean piece of paper with a 1/4 inch hole
and an adult helper
First put a drop of color on a swab and rub it on the end of your tongue.
Look at your tongue in the mirror - Do you see small pink dots or bumps on it? Those “taste buds” let you taste different foods.
Hold the hole in the paper over your tongue, then use the magnifier to count the number of bumps in the hole. ***Very hard to do if you have a wiggly kid.
Most people have 15-35 bumps.
Fewer than 15 bumps makes you a “non-taster’ and […]
Original post by Robin
Thursday at the Martinzoo is science day. I didn’t think it was going to be a science day today. We were going to go on a field trip to Hollywood Cemetery. Unfortunately, I committed to the cemetery field trip without GB’s input and he didn’t really have any desire to go. I’m not sure of his reasons, and I don’t want to say that he was *nervous* about being in a cemetery, but that could have been part of it. It’s too bad. I’d like to try it again someday because there are a lot of famous people buried there.
Anyway, we decided to not go and just have a typical school day instead.
We are doing a bit of life science this year, and our current chapter is on plant structure. So after reading the chapter and doing a virtual dissection at the BBC School Science site we went outside find […]
Original post by Robin
You will not think this is a big deal. But, good grief, we struggled!
Our assignment was to scrape some cheek cells from the inside of the mouth. And to prick a finger to get some blood, so we could study the cells. First of all, GB insisted that my cheek should be the one to scrape since I’m older and lose more skin cells than he does. I don’t know if that is *true* but my dh laughingly agrees with GB.
The cheek scraping went off with nary a hitch. And we got a very nice slide out of it when we looked at it under the microscope. The cheek cells were very nicely defined and looked just like the book.
Oh, but the blood………… Yuck!
Ok, I will admit it. We are a family of fainters. Not my dh, I want to clarify, because he’d be highly offended to be lumped in […]
Original post by Robin
Today was our first day of 5th grade. And as expected, it went fabulously!
The beauty of our first day is that we spend it in our pj’s. We think it’s kind of funny to stay in pj’s when our neighbor’s kids are all decked out in new outfits, headed off to the good old public school.
We began our day very academically with a load of Language Arts. We learned about the four major skills that must be learned in Language Arts; reading, listening, speaking and writing. We learned new skills to make reading more effective. And we learned an easy technique for finding the topic of a paragraph or story:
Step 1: Underline the nouns in each sentence that you think are the subject of that sentence.
Step 2: List all the nouns that you underlined
Step 3: Write the noun that you listed most often, that noun will be the topic.
And we […]
Original post by Robin
Today GB and I decided to try the alka-selzer rocket again. But this time we wanted it to be bigger. So we used a water bottle that has the pull top on it. That way, when the gas needs a quick exit from the bottle, it will be able to escape without exploding.
var flashObject = new FlashObject(”http://www.youtube.com/v/EBzNh-mNJIw”,”fm_EBzNh-mNJIw”,”425″,”350″,”6″,”",”",”",”",”");
flashObject.write(”fo_targ_EBzNh-mNJIw114141702″);
We tried a couple more times, and got better results with the angle of the rocket. But we didn’t get good video. So this was the one we decided to use. You get the picture, though.
And no, no dogs were injured in the making of this video. Sometimes that dog is such a ding-a-ling………..LOL!
Original post by Robin
Today was an excellent homeschool day. GB liked it because he didn’t have to write. And I liked it because we learned a lot and got a lot accomplished.
We started with our Tomatosphere project plantings. We got 33 seeds in the ‘A’ packet and 37 seeds in the ‘B’ packet. So we planted all but 4 of the ‘B’ packet and decided to use those 4 seeds to do an experiment that we’ve been pondering.
Last year when we did the Tomatosphere project our only difficulty was keeping a consistent water level for the plantings. They either seemed too dry, or too wet. We’re going to try to do better this year. BUT it made us wonder about how that situation could be improved to the point where we didn’t have to be so diligent.
You know how diapers have that gel stuff inside them to absorb moisture? And you know […]
Original post by Robin
You remember my post about balancing the egg on the equinox, right?
Well, I had no idea that I would start a three-way ‘discussion’.
The conversation went like this:
This was from Christy at Ramsey Central Homeschool:
Okay you two— This is my take on the egg thing…
Number one: Equinox has no bearing on the ‘balance’
Number two: The balance I think, is because the yolk settles in the
bottomwhen they are in the carton. That makes it easier to balance.
Number three: When I balanced it, I did two hands and gently balanced
thenbounced it off my fingertips…until it balanced. And, I DID NOT USE
SALT JENNIFER!!! LOLOLOL! So, there you go! That is my two cents!
This was Jennifer’s (Toad Haven) response:
Supposedly you can shake it up and break the yolk up so that the yolk can
fall lower in the egg and lower the center of balance which will make […]
Original post by Robin
Some people believe that there is a special kind of “balance” on the equinoxes, a force that can make a raw egg balance on its own end!
Do you think this is true? Is there some sort of cosmic “balance” that makes eggs stand on their own on the equinoxes, but not on other days? Is […]
Original post by Robin
In our nature class today, we learned about rocks, minerals, and erosion. Then we went out on a hike through the park to find some rocks and run an experiment.
We touched on rock education a bit last year, but it’s always good to reinforce, especially when it’s interesting. Right?
So we talked about the three kinds of rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. We also talked about what a rock really is. When you come down to it, rocks are a combination of chemicals and minerals, and oftentimes more than one mineral.
We talked about minerals, too. Minerals are different because their composition consists of a highly structured chemical compound. Whereas, rocks are not so structured. Some common minerals would be quartz and mica. Uncommon minerals could be a diamond, gold, or silver.
Here, the kids are looking at various examples that Miss Christen had available for them to touch.
On to the hike, […]
Original post by Robin
Yeah, I know……. we’re hardly even through with Winter.
My thoughts…. if there isn’t going to be snow on the ground, then I want Spring. I hate to be uselessly cold. Bring on the snow, or bring on the Spring. I just want one good, decent sized snowfall each year. Is that too much to ask for when you live in the central part of Virginia?
Since our snow has been sparse,…. let’s say a dusting….., I’ve been thinking…. Spring. Last year GB and I did a few projects that we really enjoyed. So I think we’ll do them again, and maybe tweak them a tad.
First, we did the Great Backyard Bird Count. We had a really good time. And it helps GB to see all the birds in our yard. Back in ‘03, when Hurricane Isabelle came through here, GB was devastated to see all the trees laying on the ground. […]
Original post by Robin
This experiment from Home Science Tools was really fun, too. And GB like the fact that he has a new toy to play with. I’m sure it won’t last very long. And before you know it, I’ll be chucking it into the trash can. But for now, it’s PURE entertainment!
Science Project: Make a Colorful Bouncy Ball
Polymers are used to make numerous things, including clothing, plastic containers, nonstick cookware, and bulletproof vests. Try this experiment to see how polymers can make a toy.
Materials:
1 tablespoon white glue
1/2 teaspoon borax
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons warm water
2 plastic cups
2 wooden craft sticks
Food coloring
What To Do:
Pour the glue into one of the plastic cups. Add a few drops of food coloring to the glue and mix with one of the craft sticks until it’s the color you want.
In the second cup, combine the water and borax together and mix with […]
Original post by Robin
Isn’t it funny how you hear all about something AFTER you’ve finished studying about it. Kind of like when you think you’ve given your baby a unique name and then you start hearing it everywhere.
After GB and I finished his Chemistry course, we got emails from some Science groups and also saw specials on tv all about polymers. Of course, we HAD finished…… BUT (you knew there’d be a but, right?)….. these experiments looked like too much fun to pass up. Reinforcement baby!
This activity was from an email that I got from Home Science Tools:
Science Project: Make Scented Gel Air Fresheners
Polymers have numerous uses and have made our lives much more comfortable. One way is to help make your home smell fresh.
Materials:
Unflavored gelatin
Water
Fragrance oil
Food coloring
Table salt
Small jars
What To Do:
1. Boil one cup of water and stir in four packages of gelatin until dissolved. Remove from heat and add in one […]
Original post by Robin
GB and I decided that his New Year’s Resolution for this year should be to be a better tooth brusher. He has pretty bad habits in that area that we are determined to kick.
The first thing we did was watch this cute video together: Dr. Rabbit and The Legend of Tooth Kingdom.
Here are some great animations from the ADA site.
We learned about brushing, flossing and rinsing by using this downloadable teacher’s guide from Proctor and Gamble.
There were lots of fun ‘tooth brushing’ games here.
We did this science experiment:
Two apples to represent your child’s precious teeth.
Take a pencil and poke a hole in one apple. This will represent an untreated cavity.
After 24 hours we cut open each apple. The one with the cavity had obviously started to rot.
And the control apple showed no signs of rot, because it had NO cavity.
*
*
*
We started this next experiment four days ago. It’s a […]
Original post by Robin
In our Christmas Unit, I have an activity that went right along with the chemistry that we’ve been learning for the past 4 months.
Yesterday, GB kind of had a mini-meltdown. It doesn’t happen often. And it was probably because his blood sugar was low. But it also could have happened because he hasn’t been stimulated mentally for at least a week. We’ve kind of put educational activities on hold until after Christmas. But you know, I was worried that he actually NEEDED something educational.
So when Dana emailed me this morning to ask me a question about this activity, I realized that we never got to this activity last year. So why not do it today? I have all the items needed, and it won’t take too long. And it may actually help. So we did it. And it was so fun that even Jabem was helping.
North Pole Bureau Of Investigations
Case […]
Original post by Robin
Today we introduced polymers.
A polymer is any molecule that consists of several repeating units.
polymers are long molecules of repeating units
a polymer’s shape determines its properties
polymers can be modified to change those properties
Polymers are everywhere, in nature and man made. Toys, plastic wrap, parts of cars, CD players, video cases, even wood, foods, clothing, and our bodies are made of polymers.
Polymer properties can be modified with chemicals or heat.
Theresa posted an excellent link that really helped explain polymers in detail. Here it is.
In today’s experiment we were observing the change in properties when two polymers were added together.
We used 4 ounces of liquid starch and 4 ounces of blue gel glue.
Since glue is so hard to measure, we took a glass and added 4 ounces of water and then put a mark on the outside of the glass at the 4 ounce spot. Then we added another 4 ounces of water […]
Original post by Robin
Today we learned about “energy” molecules. Energy molecules are those molecules that fuel our bodies, such as carbohydrates and starches.
In our experiment today we were trying to detect starch in our everyday foods by using iodine.
This was our control; a sheet of absorbent paper that had been dipped in liquid starch and allowed to dry. When the iodine was dropped onto the paper it turned a blackish color. This indicated the presence of starch.
These were the food items we were testing; bread, apple, cracker, potato, banana and pasta.
Here, GB is applying the iodine with a dropper. **Warning ~ iodine is poisonous if swallowed, so please watch your little scientists carefully.
The black spot on the cracker is proof that there is starch in the cracker.
…… and starch in the bread…..
……….starch in the potato……….
The banana is unsure of itself. It had spots of darkness, so we suspect it has some starch. […]
Original post by Robin
What if molecules cannot be separated by filtration OR evaporation?
Another technique you can use to separate mixtures is CHROMATOGRAPHY. It is based on the fact that different molecules stick to each other in different ways. In Greek, the word chromatography means to write with color. This technique was so named because it was originally used to separate colored compounds.
In order to show GB chromatography we did a simple activity. It’s called paper chromatography. It will show him that ink is really a mixture of several dye colors. Each of the individual ink colors can be separated from each other using this technique.
To set up the activity, I got an old shoe box. Why do we have so many of these laying around? And why do they ALWAYS fall on my head when I try to get them off the closet shelf? ….But I digress…. We then cut three long strips, […]
Original post by Robin
Thursday = Science Day
Today we learned ( ** note - I say we, because frankly, I learn right along with GB) how to separate mixtures in our Chemistry course.
There are three ways to separate mixtures according to the Real Science 4 Kids text book. First, through FILTRATION. Filtration can be used to separate two or more things of different sizes.
Experiment: Separating water from sugar grains
We used two types of equipment to filter the water. A colander, which provides big holes or “pores” for the water to pour through, and a coffee filter which has tiny holes. Now, you can be like GB and think that a coffee filter has no holes, but when we pulled out our new, spiffy microscope, I was able to show him the holes in the coffee filter.
Looks a little like the moon, doesn’t it? But that’s the filter under the microscope.
Then GB poured sugar into […]
Original post by Robin
The other day, GB and I attended a microscope class with our fellow homeschoolers and their moms.
Mike, from Tobin’s Lab, very kindly came to visit our group. And he brought dozens of microscopes for us to look at, and try, and even buy if we were prepared. I was prepared. I’ve been wanting a good microscope for about a year and a half. I got one off of ebay about a year ago, and it’s a piece of c**p! It’s hard to buy a microscope, sight unseen. And when you go to a store that sells them, they look nice and proper in the boxes, but you don’t know how well they work. So this was a fabulous way to ’shop.’
I ended up with a Stereo Microscope because I knew that GB would be more interested in looking at ‘things’ rather than slides. He wants to see the bugs all […]
Original post by Robin
There are some highly popular videos on Youtube with this same title. And if people think I’m going to stick a baseball in my blender, they should think again…..LOL!
This is an experiment to determine what kind of solutions will blend with each other, and which will not.
Our cast: Household ammonia, distilled white vinegar, rubbing alcohol 70%, vegetable oil, water, melted butter, food color, and dish soap.
We put 1/4 cup of each product into a jar or bowl, and then added one drop of food color. Then we mixed with the chop stick.
Of the products we tested, water blended with everything except the melted butter and the oil. The results were the same when we mixed the ammonia, vinegar, and alcohol with the butter and oil. The butter and oil did mix with each other, because ‘like mixes with like’, so their characteristics were close enough to being the same. And […]
Original post by Robin
Today we did a acid-base titration experiment for Science. That means that we slowly added a base chemical (ammonia) to an acid chemical (vinegar) in small increments: we used teaspoons. This process was to determine how many teaspoons it took to take the acid to base.
Equal amounts of acids and bases can be added to each other to neutralize them if they are of a similar concentration. If you don’t know the concentration of your ingredients, this is one way to find out. We used 1/4 cup of vinegar, so if the concentrations were the same, it would have taken a 1/4 cup of ammonia to neutralize the vinegar.
You can do an online virtual acid-base titration experiment at this site.
*
Here are the supplies for this experiment: Household ammonia, distilled vinegar, red cabbage indicator (made from boiled water and red cabbage), a one teaspoon dropper, and several small bowls.
First […]
Original post by Robin
Interesting tidbit:
The guy who invented the pH scale was trying to figure out how acid his beer was. In order to make beer or wine you have to use yeast. Yeast uses enzymes. And enzymes only work if the pH is right. He discovered that acids and alkali make the colors in plants change.
This is a pH scale. The “p” stands for potenz, which means the potential to be, and the H stands for Hydrogen. So you must write pH with a lower case p and a capital H.
We can duplicate his process by cutting up a red cabbage, boiling it in distilled water to eek out the deep blueish, purple color, then dropping the juice onto cut up pieces of coffee filter. This will create our own litmus paper. We can then dip the dried papers into various liquids to determine whether they are acid or base.
Here […]
Original post by Robin
Science day! GB’s favorite!
Today he learned about chemical reactions. Our lab consisted of the mixing of various kitchen supplies and graphing the types of reactions.
This was our set-up, although it soon got a bit messy. GB enjoyed some of the more dramatic reactions (which I got on video, since I knew they’d be dramatic). And was quite disgusted by the precipitate that formed in the lemon juice and milk, and the lemon juice and egg white, and the vinegar and milk. He was convinced it looked like vomit….. Do I disagree?…. Nope, it did! Yuck!
Here are the videos of his favorite reactions. I loved his reactions.
var flashObject = new FlashObject(”http://youtube.com/v/yPTYVnmIAKw”,”fm_yPTYVnmIAKw”,”425″,”350″,”6″,”",”",”",”",”");
flashObject.write(”fo_targ_yPTYVnmIAKw1979726731″);
var flashObject = new FlashObject(”http://youtube.com/v/LXM-XWTVObI”,”fm_LXM-XWTVObI”,”425″,”350″,”6″,”",”",”",”",”");
flashObject.write(”fo_targ_LXM-XWTVObI1821450230″);
Next week we’ll be learning about acids and bases…. Should be fun!
Original post by Robin
Query ~ Can you make a hole in an index card that’s large enough to fit a body through?
Yes.
GB did not believe me, SOOOOooo, I made a wee wager…. One extra big hug for me if I can prove it. He’s at that stage where hugs and kisses are very hard to come by…. too girly, if you know what I mean. If I can’t prove it, then I will play any board game he chooses. Win, win, right?
It’s called topology, and this experiment has been around for a long time. Back in the late 1800’s people would sit around talking and doing parlor tricks, which were often science experiments. They used to do this experiment with playing cards.
Here’s how I did it.
Exhibit A ~ Ordinary index card and boring old scissors
Fold the index card in half
Cut the first slice about an 1/8 of an inch from the edge […]
Original post by Robin
We’ve been having record reaching heat here in the central Virginia area. Yesterday, when GB and I left the bowling alley the thermometer read 105 degrees. With the heat index, it was supposed to feel like 115 degrees.
Today is not much better. The thermometer only reads 102.7, but it’s so humid and miserable. GB and I thought it felt as hot as an oven outside.
Ding! Ding! I feel an experiment coming on!
Have you ever heard the saying that ”it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk”?
Well we decided to find out if you could, indeed, fry an egg out in this miserable heat.
I’m much too practical to just crack an egg on my driveway. So I brought out my cast iron skillet.
I preheated the skillet from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Then we cracked the egg into the skillet and left it for 15 minutes…… nothing happened.
This time we […]
Original post by Robin
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