VanCleave's Science Fun

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

Science Project: Halite Crystals

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Halite is a mineral with a cubic geometric shape.  Halite crystals form when water evaporates from a sodium chloride solution. Crystals forming due to evaporation are called evaporites. Thus, halite crystals are evaporites. Discover for Yourself You can grow halite crystals using table salt, which is the common name for sodium chloride. Make a saturated solution […]

Making Möbius Strips

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Each diagram on this page gives instructions for making a special curvy circle that will be used in a magic demonstration. When you have made the three Möbius strips, instructions for using them in a magic of science demonstration can be found  HERE Strip #2Directions for making the magic strips. Notice that for each step […]

Diamonds to Gas

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Smoking Diamonds Did you know that a diamond will burn? At one time it was believed that objects burned because fire could enter them. Very hard things didn’t burn because there was no spaces for the fire to enter. Thus, diamonds were thought to be too hard to burn. Many early “scientists” did not experiment […]

Air Pressure vs. Altitude

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The gravitational attraction between the Earth and its atmosphere is greatest near the Earth’s surface. As a result, the density of air molecules  is greatest near the Earth’s surface and decreases as the distance from Earth’s surface increases. The greater the density of air molecules the greater is their pressure. Air pressure is greatest at […]

Moon-Disk Rotation

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The Moon’s landscape causes shadows which creates a pattern. Some say the shadows form a shape like a person, thus they refer to the shadows as the “Man in the Moon.” Observe the photo of the Moon shown. Do you see any particular shape formed by the shadows? The shadows never looked like a man […]

Carbon

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Carbon: A Natural Element There are 100+ different kinds of elements found naturally on Earth. Carbon is one of them. Carbon is fun to study. Carbon atoms link together forming different kinds of stuff. For example, the diamond shown in the photo is made of carbon atoms. Question: Are the carbon atoms in diamonds just […]

The Importance of Air

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The Earth’s Atmosphere is a mixture of gases called air. The amount of each type of gas in air  is about 78% nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, and 1% of other gases, including carbon dioxide, argon, and water vapor. Nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are part of the life processes of plants and animals. Nitrogen CyclePlants […]

Allelopathy

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Facts: Allelopathy is a chemical process that a plant uses to keep other plants from growing too close to it. Examples of plants that use allelopathy are black walnut trees, sunflowers, wormwoods, sagebrushes, and trees of heaven. Allelopathic plants release chemicals that affect the growth of other plants. Ways that these chemicals are released include: […]

Sound: Clucking Chicken

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A noise-maker that sounds much like a clucking chicken as well as a crowing rooster can be made using the following steps. 1. Using a 16-ounce (480–ml) yellow plastic cup, ask an adult to punch two holes in the bottom of the cup. This can be done with an ice pick or other sharp pointed […]