Praxis: Science surrounds us
By Patty Rooks on September 14, 2019.
praxis@praxismh@PraxisMedHat Did you know that September 16-22 is Science Literacy Week in Canada? This is a coast-to-coast celebration of science. I know that some of you are asking “why celebrate science”? Well, science surrounds us. You may not love it as much as I do, but we all need to appreciate and embrace it as it is right there, each and every day in our lives. Did you use a cellphone today? Did you wake up breathing? How was the food you had for lunch grown? What about all of the plants and animals that surround us? These are all things that involve science in one way or another. I am pleased that we are partnering with the Medicine Hat Public Library this coming week to share our love of science with preschoolers! Here is a sneak peek of what we may do… Let’s get started! *Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials – empty soda bottle – water – pipette – glass Procedure 1. Fill the soda bottle almost to the top with water. Room temperature will be just fine. 2. Fill the glass full of water. 3. Suck in a few drops of water into your pipette. 4. Test the pipette out. Once you have a few drip of water in it, try and get it to float in the glass of water. The bulb (or top) of the pipette should just be floating above the water line. 5. Adjust the amount of water in your pipette to get it to float. If it sinks, squeeze a few drops out. If it is not floating high enough in the glass, remove it and suck in a few more drops of water. Be patient as you do this, it could take a bit of time to get it just right! 6. Once the pipette is floating in the glass, CAREFULLY remove it, and place it in the soda bottle. 7. Place the lid on the soda bottle and tighten it WELL. 8. Squeeze the bottle. 9. Observe what happens. 10. Let go of the bottle. 11. Observe what happens. What is going on? This experiment can be attributed to one of my favourite Greek philosophers Archimedes! Rumour has it, he discovered the scientific principle of buoyancy while taking a bath. Simply put, he noticed that the upward force that water exerts on an object, is equal to the weight of the volume of water the object displaces. This principle applies to the experiment you just did because as you squeeze the bottle, you are increasing the pressure in the bottle. This high pressure forces more water into the pipette which causes the pipette to displace less water; decreasing buoyancy and causing the pipette (diver) to sink. When you let go of the bottle, the pressure decreases and the air inside the pipette expands once again. The buoyancy increases and the pipette (diver) rises back to the surface of the water. When I volunteer to go to schools and talk to students about buoyancy, I relate it to scuba diving. If you ever want to learn how to dive, you need a good understanding of buoyancy and how it all works. After all, you need to be able to both sink and float in the water! Do not forget about our Preschool Science session in celebration of Science Literacy Week this year. We will be at the Medicine Hat Public Library on Wednesday in the morning for some exciting hands on science for those young learners!! You MUST preregister, so please contact the library ASAP as spots are filling up fast! Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant 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. You can find us at: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca. 28-27
