ANNOTATED LIST OF ACTIVITIES

Avalanche
http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Avalanche.pdf

A mixture of salt and sand is placed in a CD case. When the case is tilted or inverted, the mixture dramatically sorts into a layered pattern. The sorting process involves the angle of repose and the Brazil Nut Effect. This type of sorting can be found in geology, and it is extremely important in industrial processes where mixtures of powders are involved.

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Catapult
http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Catapult.pdf

A small catapult, made from simple materials, e.g., wooden tongue depressors/craft sticks, a plastic spoon, a rubber band, a clothespin, etc.

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Fan Cart

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Fan_Cart.pdf

If a sailboat is stranded because there is no wind, is it possible to set up a fan on deck and blow wind into the sail to make the boat move? This is a classic physics problem which you can explore here by using simple materials to build a low-friction cart with a removable motor and a removable sail. This is an elegant way to demonstrate Newton's Laws in action.

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Magnetic Free Fall

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Magnetic_Free_Fall.pdf

A very simple demonstration in which gravitational and magnetic forces act on two falling objects to produce an unexpected result that elegantly illustrates Newton's Second Law.

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Piezo Remote

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Piezo_Remote.pdf

A piezoelectric igniter, like those used as barbecue lighters, is used here to remotely start current flowing in a simple circuit containing a small electric fan. The explanation for how this happens is not obvious.

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Ambiguous Cube

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Ambiguous_Cube.pdf

Some objects or figures can be seen or interpreted in more than one way. They provide visual input that your brain can interpret in more than one way, and are quite logically described as ambiguous. In this activityyou will construct a three-dimensional cube that can be startlingly ambiguous. Strange things happen when your brain gets confused.

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Skippy

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Skippy.pdf

A small inexpensive dc motor with an off-center mass mounted on its shaft is used to create a vibrating object that bounces around on a table top. By adjusting variables such as the lengths of the legs, the motion can be changed, and even controlled to some extent.

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Electroplating

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Electroplating.pdf

Electroplating is a process in which electric current is used to plate a metal onto an object ,e.g., chrome-plated trim or wheels on a car, chrome-plated bathroom fixtures, gold-plated or silver-plated jewelry. This activity explores two examples of electroplating. In Part 1, zinc from a galvanized nail (an iron nail which has been coated with zinc by dipping it in molten zinc) will be plated onto a copper penny, making it look "silver." In Part 2, copper from a penny will be plated onto a nickel.

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Over the Hill

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Over_the_Hill.pdf

A large marble is rolled along a track made from a commonly available and inexpensive metal shelf bracket. The track is gently bent so that there is a flat portion, then a small hill, and finally a steep uphill portion. The object is to roll the ball so that it goes over the first hill, but does not come back over it -- it should remain in the dip between the two hills. The process involves nice illustrations of the interplay of kinetic energy, potential energy and friction.This is a table-top version of an old carnival game which uses a bowling ball on a steel track.

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Shake Table

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Shake_Table.pdf

An eccentric mass mounted on the shaft of a small dc motor vibrates a platform resting on marbles as bearings, simulating the shaking of an earthquake. Structures can be simulated with wooden blocks, pasta, or a variety of other simple materials. Adjusting the speed of the motor allows you to find the resonant frequency which will topple a particular structure. Other earth-science-related activities, such as liquefaction or seismography, can also be investigated.

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Paper Tape Motion Timer

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Paper_Tape_Motion_Timer.pdf

A recording timer made from simple materials (e.g., small dc motor, sharpie pen, craft sticks, adding machine paper tape, etc.) produces a record of motion for things like toy cars, falling objects, etc. The resulting record, in the form of marks on the paper tape, can be used to tell the story of the motion, create graphical representations of the motion, and obtain information about displacement, velocity and acceleration.

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Springs and Stomachs

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Springs_and_Stomachs.pdf

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Five-Layer Density Column

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Five-Layer_Density_Column.pdf

Five commonly available liquids and some food coloring are used to create strikingly colorful layered density column.

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Cylindrical Wing

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Cylindrical_Wing.pdf

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Light Box

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Light_Box.pdf

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Penguins and Other Toys

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Penguins_and_Other_Toys.pdf

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Stretch the Chain and See the Light

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Stretch_the_Chain_and_See_the_Light.pdf

A chain made from paper clips is placed in series with a battery and flashlight bulb. When the chain is stretched, the light bulb glows brighter. The explanation lies in decreased electrical resistance due to better contact between the paper clips as the chain is stretched.

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Pendulum Snake

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Pendulum_Snake.pdf

Several large steel hex-nuts are suspended on strings of successively increasing length to form a series of pendulums with successively increasing periods. When all pendulums are released simultaneously with the same amplitude, they gradually form an undulating snake-like pattern, and then undergo further changes which are fascinating from both a visual and mathematical perspective.

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Marshmallow Puff Tube

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Marshmallow_Puff_Tube.pdf

A regular size marshmallow is blown through a tube made from a manila file folder. The result is spectacular, and the process provides a great illustration of Newton's 2nd Law, F=ma.

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Sweetly Balanced Equations

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Sweetly_Balanced_Equations.pdf

Pieces of candy will be used to represent atoms in chemical equations. Different colors will represent different atoms. Candy used in cludes colored m&m's, red and black Red Vine Pieces, silver-wrapped Hershey Kisses, and mini-marshmallows. Balancing an equation requires that both sides of the equation contain the same number of each kind of atom/m&m.

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Cake by Conduction

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Cake_by_Conduction.pdf

Cook a cake by passing electric current directly though the cake batter!

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Toilet Model

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Toilet_Model.pdf

PVC pipe, plastic water bottles and vinyl tubing tubing are used to make a simple working toilet model. The model shows the role of a siphon in the flushing of a toilet.

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Free-Fall Bottles & Tubes

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Free-Fall_Bottles_&_Tubes.pdf

Water-filled plastic bottles with holes in them spurt water under normal conditions, but don't leak while in free-fall. A ping-pong ball in a water-filled plastic tube floats upward under normal conditions, but remains motionless when the tube is dropped or thrown.

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Laser Lissajous: Binder Clip Version

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Laser_Lissajous.pdf

Use a laser pointer and two small rotating mirrors to create a variety of fascinating patterns, which can be easily and dramatically projected on a wall or screen. These patterns are related to the path followed by a rider on a dual-axis (scrambler) ride at an amusement park, and to Lissajous figures. Binder Clip Version refers to the materials used for construction of the base.

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Laser Lissajous: PVC Version

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Laser_Lissajous_PVC.pdf

Use a laser pointer and two small rotating mirrors to create a variety of fascinating patterns, which can be easily and dramatically projected on a wall or screen. These patterns are related to the path followed by a rider on a dual-axis (scrambler) ride at an amusement park, and to Lissajous figures. PVC Version refers to the materials used for construction of the base.

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Laser Lissajous Pattern Formation

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Laser_Lissajous_Pattern_Formation.pdf

Detailed explanation of one example of pattern formation for the Laser Lissajous device, based on the analogy with a dual-axis (scrambler) amusement park ride.

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Escapement

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Escapement.pdf

Build a simple mechanism that regulates the "escape" of energy released by a falling weight by portioning it into discrete amounts. Escapements are found in mechanical clocks, such as those driven by a pendulum or a spring.

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Rubber Band newton Scale

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Rubber_Band_newton_Scale.pdf

Make a simple spring-like scale made using a rubber band instead of a spring, and calibrate the scale in newtons (N). Gain understanding of and familiarity with the newton as a unit of force, and use the scale to weigh common objects.

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Wilberforce Pendulum

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Wilberforce_Pendulum.pdf

The Wilberforce Pendulum is a coupled pendulum in which energy is transferred between two modes of vibration, longitudinal ("bounce') and torsional ("twist"), on a spring. When properly tuned (the right mass, and the right distribution of this mass), the pendulum will transition from all bounce with no twist, to all twist with no bounce, and back again. It will continue this behavior with ever-decreasing amplitude until it finally stops. It's an unusual example of energy transformation, and is fascinating to watch.

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Pulleys

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Pulleys.pdf

Inexpensive pulley assemblies are made from pulley wheels used for sliding screen door replacement, or from clothesline spreaders. These are used to investigate pulley behavior and become familiar with the language and concepts of simple machines as applied to pulleys (e.g., effort, resistance, mechanical advantage, work, efficiency, etc.).

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Plot the Dot: A Graphical Approach to Density

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Plot_the_Dot_(Graphical_Density).pdf

Several individuals or groups determine mass and volume for each of four samples: glass marbles, steel washers or nuts, pieces of pine wood, and pieces of PVC pipe. All samples of any particular material are different. All data points are plotted on a large class graph of mass vs. volume. It can then be seen that data points for a particular material form a straight line, the slope of which gives the density of the material.

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CD Spinner

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/CD_Spinner.pdf

A marble, a soda bottle cap and a hot glue gun transform a CD disk into a spinning top. When printed patterns are placed on the spinning disk, fascinating effects are observed.

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CD Air Puck

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/CD_Air_Puck.pdf

A CD disk is transformed into a “frictionless” (very low friction) air puck that will glide for tens of seconds on a smooth surface.

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Ballistic Pendulum

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Ballistic_Pendulum.pdf

A dart from a plastic toy dart gun is fired into the open end of a cut-off plastic water bottle which has been stuffed with a plastic bag and suspended as a pendulum. Knowing the mass of the dart, the mass of the water bottle-bag combination, and the vertical rise of the water-bottle bag combination with the dart in it, simple energy and momentum considerations are used to find the muzzle velocity of the dart.

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Sliding Gray Step

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Sliding_Gray_Step.pdf

How can you make one shade of gray look like two? This snack allows you to perform this sleight of hand very easily. You will be startled by how different the same color looks when its background changes.

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Newton's Laws Demonstrations

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Newton's_Laws_Demonstrations.pdf

A collection of desmonstrations illustrating Newton's Laws of Motion.

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Air Pressure and Dent Pullers

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Air_Pressure_and_Dent_Pullers.pdf

In a classic physics demonstration in Germany in the 1650's, two metal hemispheres were placed together, forming a sphere, and the air was then evacuated from the sphere. The hemispheres were held together only by the force resulting from the air pressure exerted on their outside surface. This force was so large that two teams of horses could not pull them apart. Having two students attempt to pull apart a pair of inexpensive suction cup dent pullers available from an auto supply store will give a similar demonstration of the amazing effect of air pressure.

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Micrometer Caliper

http://www.exo.net/~donr/activities/Micrometer_Caliper.pdf

This simple, inexpensive home-made micrometer caliper uses a machine screw with a known number of threads per inch to allow you to measure very small things like the thickness of a sheet of paper or the diameter of a human hair -- things that would not normally be directly measurable with rulers or other commonly available measuring tools. Its capability is somewhat amazing considering its cost and ease of construction.