VanCleave's Science Fun

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

Heat Transfer: Conduction

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Conduction (or heat conduction) is the transfer of thermal energy between neighboring molecules in a substance due to differences in temperature. Thermal energy is always transferred from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. The transfer of thermal energy continues until  each region has the same temperature. Heat Conduction takes place […]

Forces that Break a Wishbone

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The action/reaction pair of forces described in Newton’s Third Law of Motion ALWAYS act on different objects. One way to identify an action/reaction pair of forces is to describe them. If each description is the reverse of the other, then they are an action/reaction pair of forces. For Example: In the diagram, there are two […]

How Doing Work Transfers Energy

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The wagon in the photo is not moving, thus it has no kinetic energy (energy of moving things). If you pull the wagon across the room, you cause the wagon to move a certain distance. In other words, you do WORK on the wagon. Work = Force x distance When you pull (apply a force) […]

How Temperature Affects Heat Energy Transfer

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When heat energy is transferred from one substance to another, the heat energy moves from the hotter substance to the colder substance. Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold a substance is. The higher the temperature of an object, the hotter is the object. A thermometer is an instrument that measure how hot […]

Turkey Wishbone Breaking Tradition

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Thanksgiving is a US holiday originating from the Pilgrims’ giving thanks to God for supplying the resources they needed to survive the long winter in the new world. Among other customs, the pilgrims brought the tradition of the breaking of the wishbone. The basic rules for this event have not changed. Two people, each holding […]

Musical Bottles

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Using bottles to make music is fun for kids of all ages. The best presentation I’ve heard were seniors who played “Lean on Me” and along with the music from the  various bottles, one student added  a drum beat by tapping on the lab table. It really was awesome–too long ago for me to have […]

Floating Ball

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Science has a magical appeal for children. While they are entertained by science demonstrations, nothing is as captivating as something they can do themselves. The best TEACHING TIP I have for club directors is to support and encourage children’s inborn gift of curiosity One way is to explore the fun of science TOGETHER. Instead of […]

Using Inertia to Measure Mass

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What is Newton’s First Law of Motion?   Newton’s first law of motion is about inertia. While this might sound technical, it’s not. Inertia is a characteristic of an object’s state of motion. Well, this doesn’t sound very easy, so let me try again. Actually, I am writing this so that a special technical reviewer, […]