VanCleave's Science Fun

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

Chemical Reaction

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What is a chemical Reaction? Chemical Reactions occur when one or more chemicals change forming one or more different chemicals. Chemical reactions are represented by a chemical equatioin. For example: Calcium + Sulfur —–> Calcium Sulfide Reactants : The name for the  starting chemicals of a chemical reaction.Products: The name for the resulting chemicals of […]

Exothermic Reactions

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An exothermic reaction is a chemical reaction that releases energy, such as heat, light, and/or sound. This type of reaction occurs when the energy needed to cause the reaction is less than the energy needed to form the reactants.For example, burning is the combination of oxygen with a substance, such as the chemicals in a […]

Ions: Anions vs. Cations

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Ions are atoms or molecules that have a net charge, either positive or negative. There are two kinds of ions: Anions are negatively charged ions because they have negative net charges. This means that there is a greater number of electrons (-) than protons (+). For example, the anion, fluoride (F 1-), has a one […]

The Four Elements:Fire, Air, Earth, Water

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Empedocles’ Four Elements (Roots) Empedocles (490-430 B.C) was a Greek philosopher, scientist and healer who lived in Sicily in the fifth century B.C.  Empedocles introduced the idea that everything was made up of four  basic things that he called “roots.” Plato (428-347 B.C.) may have been the first to refer to Empedocles’ roots as elements. […]

Polymer Activity Using Beads

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A polymer is made of many monomers linked together. monomer: A single unit; a single molecule. The diagram represents a model of a polymer. While actual polymers can be made of thousands of monomers, the model shown has only eleven. The monomers in the diagram are different colors and sizes of beads on a black […]

What is a Polymer?

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This chain of varied colored links is a simple representation of a polymer. Like the chain, a polymer is made of single units that are linked together. If you break the word “polymer” in half you get “poly” and “mer.” poly = many AND mer = a single unit polymer= many single units linked together […]

Accuracy vs. Precision

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The diagram shows green and red arrows stuck into a target. The archers each shot five arrows. Which archer, red or green, demonstrated more accuracy? Think: 1. The objective is to hit the bull’s eye of the target, which is the center black circle. 2. The archer with the best accuracy hits the bull’s eye […]

Snow Globe Activity

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Question: Why does “snow” in snow globes fall slowly? Answer: The “snow” can be plastic glitter or some even use finely ground egg shells. What ever is used for snow, it must be able to fall through the fluid that fills the jar (the globe). Fluid is a term used for a gas or a […]