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Center of Gravity: Balancing Soda Can

By Janice VanCleave

The center of gravity (center of mass) is the point on an object that when supported on that spot, the object will balance.  A line through the center of gravity of an object is always vertical. Note that the leaning soda can in the diagram is balanced where the center of gravity of the can […]

Filed Under: Physics Tagged With: balanced soda can, center of gravity

Are Flies Harmful?

By Janice VanCleave

When a fly lands on your food, it first uses sensory organs on its feet to “smell” the food. Unlike the boy in the diagram, flies do not have teeth to bite a chuck out of food. The boy is able to dip his cookie into the glass of milk to make it softer is […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: digest, fecal spots, proboscis, regurgitate

Pencils Bounced Into Cups

By Janice VanCleave

Pencils Bounced into cups

A pencil can be bounced so that it traces out the path of a projectile resulting in the pencil landing in a glass as shown in the video below. In the video, pencils are bounced by dropping them on their eraser end. Depending on how the pencils are dropped, the trajectory path of some of […]

Filed Under: Force and Motion, Physics Tagged With: pencil projectile, projectiles

Spaghatti’s Structural Load

By Janice VanCleave

Spaghetti is used to carry a soda can.

Using Games to Teach Science Process Skills The photo shows two kids transporting an empty soda can using an uncooked piece of spaghetti as a pole to carry the can. The kids are participating in a game taken from the TV game show, “Minute-to-Win” it. The objective of the game is for two people to […]

Filed Under: Force and Motion, Physics

Janice at the South Pole

By Janice VanCleave

Questions for Janice About Her South Pole Adventure Why Did You Go? When Were You There? Did You Do Experiments? I was invited to go to the South Pole by CARA (Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica). CARA is part of the University of Chicago and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. I think […]

Filed Under: Biology Tagged With: altitude sickness, south pole

Conjoined Twins

By Janice VanCleave

Identical twins form when a zygote (egg/sperm combination) splits into two separate parts. Conjoined Twins are identical twins formed when the zygote splits but does not fully separate. The conjoined twins will be connected at certain points of the body. The model is of Abigail and Brittany, twin girls that function very well with only […]

Filed Under: Biology Tagged With: dicephalus conjoined twins, zygote

How Many Atoms in A Mole?

By Janice VanCleave

A drawing of a mole is shown to clarify that in chemistry a mole is not an animal.

A chemical mole is not an animal.  A chemical mole is a unit of measuring the amount of chemical substances. For the problem shown, use this mole conversion factor: 1 mole = 6.o2 x 10 23 atoms The number 6.o2 x 10 23 is called Avagadro’s Number  Calculate:  4.2 x 10 26 atoms of lithium (Li) are equal to how many […]

Filed Under: Chemistry Tagged With: atom, conversion factor, dimensional analysis, moles

Luminescence

By Janice VanCleave

Luminescence Is Cold Light Cold light is visible light produced by processes other than heating. Light sticks are an example of cold light, which is produced when chemicals are mixed together and the energy released is in the form of visible light. The firefly in the photo gives off light that like the light stick […]

Filed Under: Light, Physics Tagged With: bioluminescence, cold light, luminescence

How Genes are Deactivated

By Janice VanCleave

Epigenones Activate and Deactivate Genes

Every cell in your body has the same DNA. But the genes on the DNA in every body cell is not active. For example, the DNA in the cells in your toe have the same genes as do the cells in your fingers, eyes, hair, etc… The difference is that the DNA in toe cells, […]

Filed Under: Biology, cells Tagged With: epigenones, genes

Thermochromic Ink

By Janice VanCleave

How Does Thermochromic Ink Work? Let’s start with the term thermochromic, which describes the ability of something to change color with changes in the temperature. Thus, when thermochromic ink is used on a material, the part where the ink is will change colors with fluctuations in temperature. So how do thermochromic inks change color? Thermochromic ink […]

Filed Under: Chemistry Tagged With: chromophores, halochromic

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Welcome to Janice’s Science Extravaganza!

The spoon hanging from the string vibrates when struck and these vibrations are transmitted through the string and the sound is amplified by the plastic cups. ABOUT ME: Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50 best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years. MORE.....

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