Science Smarts: A Halloween apple experiment to enjoy
By Patty Rooks on October 1, 2021.
It has been an absolutely beautiful week here in southeastern Alberta. The weather has been holding out, that is for sure. I know many of us are busy cleaning our yards up and taking in the last of our gardens and fruit from the trees. Despite the heat and dry conditions this summer, I must say the apple harvest is far surpassing my expectations. There is an abundance, so here is a little Halloween experiment for you to use up some of those apples. Let’s get started! *Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials apples lemon juice vegetable peeler apple corer salt measuring tape measuring spoons measuring cups plate shallow bowl science notebook pencil knife raisins, yarn, uncooked spaghetti strands (optional) Procedure 1. Take the apple and measure the circumference. 2. Take note of this measurement in your science notebook. 3. Have an adult help you remove the core of the apple with the apple corer. It can get a bit tricky. 4. Also have an adult help you peel the apple with the peeler. 5. Place the apple aside on the plate for now. 6. Measure 125 mL (one half cup) of lemon juice. 7. Measure 10 mL (two teaspoons) of salt. 8. Add the salt to the lemon juice and stir it well. 9. Pour the mixture into the bowl. 10. Roll the apple around in the mixture for a minute or so until it is totally covered. 11. Place the apple on the plate in a warm location. 12. If you wish, you can “decorate” your apple. I like to use raisins for eyes, make a slit and use the spaghetti pieces for teeth, and yarn for hair of course. It just makes it much more realistic looking as the apple shrivels up! 13. Make observations on what is happening to the apple over the next few days and record this in your science notebook. 14. Measure the circumference of the apple every day for a week. What do you notice? What is going on? You should have noticed that your apple was shrinking each and every day! This is because an apple contains more than 80% water. The salt mixture helped draw out all of the moisture from the apple. With less water in the apple, it became much smaller; shrinking up into what appears to be a tiny somewhat witches looking head. Hang your apples in the trees near your front door, or down the path to your house for all of the trick or treaters to see on Halloween evening. 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. Office: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca 38-37
