The Collapsing Can!

      The collapsing can.  Doesn't sound so interesting at first...But, when I observed this experiment, I easily saw how interesting and COOL it was!
      In order to do the experiment, we needed an empty aluminum soft-drink can (coke in our class), a 2- or 3-quart saucepan, a hot plate (for us), and a pair of kitchen tongs.  With only these four items, we were able to observe Charle's and Boyle's laws!  Here's how it went:

      We began by filling a large bowl with cold water and putting 15 milliliters of water into the coke can.  We then proceeded to heat the coke can on the hot plate that was provided.  At first, the coke can filled with water exuded steam, which told us that it was extremely hot and that the water inside was evaporating and condensing.  The water became steam and some stuck to the sides of the coke can as water droplets near the top.  The water in the bowl was ice cold.  When the water in the coke can was hot enough, we took the tongs and inverted the coke can into the water in the bowl.  The reaction was amazing! The coke can immediately was crushed and collapsed!
      This process applied both Charle's Law and Boyle's Law.  Charle's law states that the volume of a gas increases as the temperature increases.  Boyle's Law states that the volume of a gas decreases when the pressure increases.  These two extremely important laws were shown when the temperature around the can decreased as it was plunged into the chilling water (a decreased temperature) and likewise, its volume decreased.  They were also shown by the air pressure increasing as the liquid inside the can found its way out into the open water in the bowl and causing the volume to decrease since the air pressure was strong enough to crush it after the water was gone.  
      As you can see, this experiment proved to be much more than we all might have thought it was.  It allowed us to learn all about the powers of air pressure and how it affects everything around it.  In addition, I know now more about the two laws stated above.  Overall, this lab was a great way to learn about air pressure!


My first picture was from here.  

~Starflower794!

Popping Popcorn Pop-isciously!-Heat Transfer!

      Well, the "heat transfer" up there makes it seem a little boring but popping popcorn certainly isn't!  There are a few different ways to pop popcorn, two of them being radiation and convection.  In class, we were able to observe and perform both types.  
      At first, we tried radiation.  In order to do this, we just put kernels in a microwave and pushed the "popcorn" button.  After a couple of seconds, we heard, "POP, POP, POP, POP, POP, POP!"  The popcorn was popping!  We could tell that this was a form of radiation. Radiation is the transfer of heat energy through empty space.  The kernels had been surrounded by empty space and the waves coming  from the microwave transfered heat and caused them to heat up from within.  Trapped moisture from inside the kernels quickly heat up to more than 100 degrees Celsius, boiling point, and turn into steam.  This steam causes the kernel to burst open to show the delicious fluff!  This is radiation!

      Next stop, convection!  To demonstrate convection, we put kernels into a popcorn popper.  Convection is the transfer of heat energy in a fluid (gas or liquid).  First, the popcorn popper shifted the popcorn all around it.  Next, it transfered heat so that the liquid inside of the kernels heated up, turned into a gas, steam, and burst into popcorn!  This is how we demonstrated convection.
      This lab taught us all about how popcorn is made and, more importantly, the differences and likenesses between radiation and convection.  Personally, this has been an extremely insightful lab that has allowed me to learn a lot about types of heat transfer.  These types of labs are always the best!


I used this website for more information.  My first picture came from here.  The second can be found here.


~Starflower794!

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

      In my opinion, greenhouse gases are crucial to earth's survival.  However, at the same time, "there really can be too much of a good thing."  According to the article I read, approximately thirty percent of sunlight is deflected by the outer atmosphere and refracted back out to space.  The remainder of this sunlight reaches the earth's surface and is reflected back up as infrared radiation, or slow-moving energy.  The heat caused by infrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide, which slows its escape from our atmosphere.  Even though greenhouse gases make up about one percent of the atmosphere, they make a ginormous difference on our planet.  They regulate our climate by trapping heat in our atmosphere so that it is warm enough for us to live here.  Without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature of Earth would be about 30 degrees Celsius colder than what it is now.  Obviously, this is far too cold to sustain the ecosystem and our lives.  So, as you can see, greenhouse gases are extremely beneficial to Earth.  However, on the downside, humans have been releasing too much of these gases.  This has and will cause drastic changes to the planet.  With more greenhouse gases come an increased temperature, which in turn leads to different climates that might not necessarily be what we need at all.  All in all, although greenhouse gases can be trouble, they make it possible for life on Earth.


My article was from here.  The picture I used can be found here.


~Starflower794!

Temperature Game!

      In this game, I was able to learn a lot about temperature and what happens at certain temperatures.  The object of this game was to match all the different items or subjects (such as "body temperature" or "Saturn") to the correct temperature.  You could complete this game using Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Kelvin.  At first, I chose Celsius.  During this game, I learned that Antartica was approximately 20 degrees colder than Mars!  I was extremely surprised since I thought that it would be the opposite.  When I looked at the Fahrenheit section, I was amazed that Death Valley was 134 degrees!  It's no surprise it's called Death Valley.  I already knew that boiling point was 100 degrees Celsius and freezing point was zero but I didn't know that boiling point in Fahrenheit was 212 degrees.  The coldest was superfluid helium at -271 degrees Celsius or -455.76 degrees Fahrenheit.  That certainly is cold!  However, the most intriguing part of this game was learning about Kelvin.  We all know about Fahrenheit, which is used mostly only in America, and Celsius, used by almost everyone everyone else in the world, but for me, Kelvin is something new.  I had no idea it even existed before now!  The Kelvin scale is an "international standard for scientific measurement of temperature" and has zero set at absolute zero.  Absolute zero is the theoretical absolute coldest temperature there can be.  To get this, the molecules and atoms of the subject must not be moving at all.  It's not realistically possible to achieve this.  However, scientists have come very close using lasers.  As you can see, this game, although a game, gave me a handful of interesting, new information to learn about and was extremely enjoyable.  

The game I played can be found here.  The picture I used is here.

~ Starflower794!