Praxis: Magic paper towel

By Medicine Hat News on November 3, 2018.

I can hardly believe that it’s that time of the year already: Science fair time! Trust me, I can see those looks of fear in some of your eyes, but it doesn’t have to be like that. A science fair is a great learning opportunity for students to do something they like, to pick a project they are interested in learning about. It’s an opportunity for all students to showcase their passion and I hope teachers and parents alike can embrace this opportunity for the students and start a bit early so there is enough time to do a great project! If you are still a bit apprehensive about science fair, please do give me a call and we can get some support in to your classroom to assist. This week, we will have a quick peek at an experiment I love to do with some of my science fair students to get them thinking about the wonders of science at the beginning of class. Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

– paper towel

– clear glass

– large bowl (preferably clear) or empty aquarium works well

– water

– few towels

Procedure

1. Fill the bowl about half full of water and place on a flat work surface. You want want to have a few towels around to clean up any spills.

2. Crumple up one sheet of paper towel and push it into the bottom of the glass. You want it tight enough so that when you flip the glass over it will not fall out.

3. Flip the glass over and quickly sink it deep into the bowl of water. Lift up.

4. What do you see?

Explanation

It may take a time or two to practice this, but you should have been able to lift the paper towel in the glass out of the water and when you feel the towel, it will still be dry! How is this possible you may ask? Well, this is because of the air that is also in the glass. When the glass is lowered into the water the air is trapped inside and has nowhere to go. Because of this, the air pushes the water out of the way as the glass is lowered allowing the paper towel to remain dry. WOW!

Patty Rooks is senior scientific consultant at PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community.” Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook.

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