Tag: How To

Homemade Lava Lamp

Homemade Lava LampLava Lamp is an electric lamp which contains the brightly colored substance. This bright substance rise and falls while changing their shape. Lava lamps give a good background decoration and grasp the attention of people. So, here you will learn how to a make lava lamp. This lava lamp won’t require electricity to operate. All the materials you will find easily in your kitchen.

Things You Will Need

  • A clear empty plastic bottle
  • Vegetable oil
  • Food coloring
  • Water
  • Alka-Seltzer tablet (tablet that fizz)

How to Make

  1. Fill the bottle about a quarter with water.
  2. Fill the remaining space of the bottle with vegetable oil, and keep it aside for 5 minutes. When oil and water become separated from each other, then proceed to next step.
  3. Add few drops of food coloring of your choice in the bottle. It will take some time to break-through the oil and the water.
  4. Break the seltzer tablet into four pieces and drop one piece in the bottle. Watch it sinking to the bottom.

When seltzer tablet will touch the water your lava lamp will start to work. When bubbles stop to form add another piece of seltzer tablet to water.

ENJOY!

How it works

When oil and water are mixed, they form two layer. The oil settles at the top, and water at the bottom. Because, oil is less dense than water, so it floats on water. When you drop the seltzer tablet to bottle it goes to water layer and starts to form bubbles by a chemical reaction. These bubbles go up taking some colored water with them. At the top of the bottle, air escapes and leaves the water behind, which falls back down. Doing so it creates a nice effect of a lava lamp that you enjoy.

Try It

  1. Try to make seven lava lamps with rainbow colors and start them at the same
home-made-flubber

home-made-flubberHave you watched Flubber movie 1997? If yes, then you know that in this movie Robin William makes a green rubber-like substance named “Flubber”. In this experiment, we will make flubber (It won’t talk! SORRY!) But you can play with it. You will also understand the science behind it.

Precaution: Always wear safety goggles and hand gloves when dealing with chemicals. Also, take the permission from your parents for the experiment, or involve them.

Things You Will Need

  • Warm Water
  • 1 cups of Elmer White Glue
  • 2 tablespoons of Borax
  • Green Food Coloring
  • Airtight bag

How to Make

  1. Pour ¾ cup of warm water and 1 cup of white glue in a bowl.
  2. Add 2 to 3 drops of food coloring in the bowl and stir the mixture with a spoon
  3. Pour ½ cup of warm water in another bowl, and add 2 tablespoons of borax in it. Stir the solution to completely mix the borax with
  4. Pour all the solution of borax in the first bowl, and stir the mixture well with a spoon.
  5. Pour all content of bowl in an airtight Close the bag tightly and make sure no liquid is leaking from the bag.
  6. Knead the mixture in the bag with your hands from outside for 5 to 10 minutes.

Your flubber is ready!

You can remove it from the bag and play with it. If your flubber is sticky then let it dry a little bit, then it will be okay.

How it Works

The flubber you made is a Polymer. You made it by mixing borax and glue together. Borax acts as a connector (crosslinking agent) for the glue molecules. When glue molecules are joined together and formed a large molecule chain you got a gel-like substance.

Try it

  1. Try to make a rainbow flubber. You can make it by preparing seven different flubber, but kneading all the seven flubbers together when they are still sticky.
inflating balloon

inflating balloonInflating the balloon with vinegar and baking soda is a classic experiment. Perform this experiments with your friends, and explain to them what is happening? You won’t need to buy anything, all the materials you will find in your kitchen easily.

In this experiment, you will learn how the gas (carbon dioxide) produced from chemical reaction inflates the balloon.

Precaution: Always wear safety goggles and hand gloves when dealing with chemicals. Also, take the permission from your parents for the experiment, or involve them.

You Will Need

  • An empty plastic bottle
  • A Half-Cup of Vinegar
  • A Balloon
  • 2 to 3 Spoons of Baking Soda
  • Water

Procedure

  1. Pour the half cup of vinegar and one-fourth cup of water in the plastic bottle.
  2. Inflate and deflate the balloon with your mouth 2 times to make it lose.
  3. Pour 2 spoonful of baking soda into the balloon using a funnel (If you don’t have a funnel, you can make one from paper and scotch tape).
  4. Stretch open the mouth of the balloon, and carefully put it over the neck of the plastic bottle. Let the end of the balloon dangle to prevent the baking soda from falling into the bottle.
    Balloon with baking soda

Your inflating balloon is ready!

When you want to inflate the balloon just hold the mouth of balloon tightly on the neck of the bottle. Then, let the baking soda in the balloon to fall in the bottle.

Now, observe the inflating balloon and chemical reaction.

What is Happening?

When the baking soda is added to vinegar, an acid-base reaction takes place. In this reaction, carbon dioxide gas is produced which develops pressure inside the bottle and starts to inflate the balloon. The balloon is being inflated with carbon dioxide gas, so it won’t float in the air. Because carbon dioxide is heavier gas than air.

Try It

If you want to slow down the reaction, so that balloon inflates slowly. Just, add water to the bottle to dilute the vinegar.

invisible-writing

invisible-writingDo you want to write some secret messages that no one can see without you? Learn how to make invisible ink from household materials, and start writing your secret messages and symbols. This is a very interesting science experiment, you will get a lot of fun.

Precaution: Always wear safety goggles and hand gloves when dealing with chemicals. Also, take the permission from your parents for the experiment, or involve them.

Method 1 – Using Lemon juice

two lemons

Things You Will Need

  • Lemon
  • Cotton swap
  • Light bulb

How to Make

  1. Cut a lemon into two pieces and squeeze their juice into a cup.
  2. Add few drops of water to the lemon juice, and mix it well.
  3. Dip a cotton swab into the mixture of water and juice. Then, start writing your secret message on a white paper.
  4. Allow your message to dry completely.

When the paper dries, the message will disappear. When it is time to show your message just heat the paper with a light bulb by holding it over the bulb.

Method 2- Using Grape Juice and Baking Soda

Things You Will Need

  • Baking Soda
  • Cotton swap or fountain pen
  • Grape Juice

How to Make

  1. Put 2 spoonfuls of baking soda into the cup.
  2. Pour some warm water into the cup. Then, stir well.
  3. Dip a cotton swab (or use a fountain pen) into the solution and start writing a message on a white paper.
  4. When you finish your writing, place the paper aside and let it dry until there is no sign of your message (you can dry it in sunlight).

When you want your message to be visible, then dip any drawing brush into Grape juice and start painting it on your message.

simple-electromagnet

simple-electromagnetAn Electromagnet is the kind of magnet, which uses electric current to create a magnetic field. It can attract and magnetize ferromagnetic materials like Iron, Nickel, and Cobalt. It is easy to make a simple electromagnet at your home from household materials.

Things You Will Need

  • Thin Plastic insulated wire
  • 5 volt AA Battery
  • Iron Nail

How to Make

  1. Wrap 20 turns of insulated wire on an iron nail tightly
  2. Trim about an inch of plastic coating from both ends of the wire.
  3. Connect one end of the wire with the positive terminal of the battery, and other with negative terminal. Use the electric wire tape if necessary.
  4. Get some paper clips and bring your electromagnet near them. You will see the paper clips will be attracted towards your electromagnet.

Disconnect wires from the battery, if wire or battery gets hot.

How it Works

When you connect the wires to the battery, an electric current flows in the wires. This electric current produces the magnetic field around the wire. The iron nail acts as a magnetic core. Magnetic cores are used to enhance the magnetic field.

Try It

  • Try to use two 1.5 volts AA batteries, and connect them in series. Then, connect the wires to this battery and observe the effects. Find out, does it affects the strength of the electromagnet
  • Use thicker wire instead of thin wire, and wrap around the iron nail. Then, observe the strength of an electromagnet
  • Use thick iron nail or bolt. Then, observe does it affect the strength of an electromagnet.

Try above methods, and note down your result. In the end, you will find which method is affecting the strength of electromagnet most.