VanCleave's Science Fun

Your Guide to Science Projects, Fun Experiments, and Science Research

Salt Flats

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Salt flats are usually flat, as their name implies. One salt flat that doesn’t adhere to this description is “The Devil’s Golf Course” in Death Valley National Park.  This salt flat  was once a lake. As the water evaporated, the minerals that were dissolved in the lake water were left behind. Since the surface remains […]

Vertebraes

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Vertebrates are animals that have a back bone. These animals include humans, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, and chickens. The backbone is also called the spine and is made of bones called vertebrae. You can bend forward, left and right, and some of you can bend backwards (doing a back bend). This is because your backbone […]

Types of Salt

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Sodium Chloride is a compound made of two elements, sodium and chlorine. The common name for sodium chloride is  Table Salt. There are different varieties of table salt. Some differ in additives, while others differ in how they are processed, which affects their texture. Table Salt (iodized) Most table salt in the United States is […]

Using the Scientific Method

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Question: What is the scientific method? Generally the Scientific Method is defined as a list of steps used in solving a science problem. These steps are shown in order in the diagram. I would define the scientific method as any process for solving a science related problem. But, since the Scientific Method is stressed, use […]

How to Prepare a Chicken Skeleton

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Real or plastic, skeletons are expensive. Even a chicken skeleton can cost several hundred dollars. YIKES!! The chicken skeleton in the photo is not an easy project. Actually, I found cleaned chicken bones that kids can safely handle more useful and certainly easier to obtain than the full assembled  skeleton. Boiling is one method of […]

Barycenter of Bodies of Unequal Mass

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The Animation represents two celestial bodies of unequal masses orbiting around a common barycenter. The barycenter is the center of mass of the two bodies. If the bodies had a connecting rod between them, the center of mass would be where the bodies could be balanced. Animation The animation represents two celestial bodies of different […]