Science is for Kids

This video shows an experiment to compare the reactivity of three different metals in single replacement reactions with HCl and water.  The ranking of how reactive metals are in single replacement reactions is called the activity series. I hope this was helpful!

This video shows footage of a rock being tested for emission of radiation. Three different materials are tested to determine their effectiveness in shielding radiation. The three materials are; paper, a wooden block and sheets of lead.

To understand the evidence that the universe is getting larger, we need to understand the Doppler effect.  This is the reason why a siren from a police car or fire truck has a higher pitch as it is approaching and a lower pitch when it is traveling away from us. The two images below are really useful in trying to better understand the Doppler effect. The first image has a stationary red dot which is giving off waves, which is shown by the concentric blue circles.  The wavelengths of the waves being given off are represented by the distance between the concentric blue circles.  The waves would appear the same to four observers each located at the corners of the square area.  The second image shows waves being produced by a moving object.  In this case, the waves would appear to be different to observers on the right or left side of the square area.  Observers on the left side would observe waves that are stretched out because the object giving off the waves is moving away from

This video shows two plates being measured for emission of radiation. The orange Fiesta plate was made using a glaze which contains uranium oxide. Fiesta dinnerware was produced by the Homer Laughlin China Company of West Virginia. Prior to World War II the glazes used natural uranium.  This practice stopped during the war when the US government seized the company's stock of uranium for the Manhattan Project.  In the late 1950's the Atomic Energy Commission relaxed restrictions on uranium and production practices switched to using depleted uranium to produce the red-orange glaze. The US Environmental Protection Agency recommends that dinnerware produced with uranium glaze should not be used for food, drink or food storage.

This video discusses the six levels of organization in ecology: species, populations, communities, ecosystem, biome and biosphere. I was focusing on Minnesota ecology when I recorded this video I hope this was helpful!

HS-PS4-5. Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.* [Clarification Statement: Examples could include solar cells capturing light and converting it to electricity; medical imaging; and communications technology.] HS-PS4-5. Evidence Statements This performance expectation has students communicating technical information about two devices using varying formats (textual,  graphical, oral and mathematical are listed in NGSS evidence statements.  I'm having my students research two devices (one that relies on the photoelectric effect, a second that depends on wave properties) and then create a screencast video using text, images and narration to teach their classmates about the device they selected. Devices that depend on the Photoelectric Effect: Photovoltaic cells (solar panels) Photocopiers Charge coupled devi

This video summarizes an experiment performed to experimentally determine the formula ulnits of magnesium chloride. In the lab the mass of a small sample of magnesium ribbon is measured. The metal is then placed into a beaker and concentrated HCl is added. When the reaction is complete the beaker is heated to drive off water and any unreacted HCl. Safety Note: This should be done in a fume hood to avoid breathing in any HCl fumes! After all the liquid has been removed from the beaker a precipitate of magnesium chloride is left behind. The mass of this compound is measured and compared to the original amount of magnesium to determine the added mass of chlorine. The data collected allows students to calculate the formula units of the magnesium chloride salt. The reaction is summarized by the following chemical equation. 2Mg  +  HCl  → MgCl 2 + H 2 The compound forms with a 1:2 ratio of magnesium to chlorine. This is because magnesium has two valence electrons w

This video summarizes an experiment performed to experimentally determine the empirical formula of magnesium oxide. In the lab the mass of a small sample of magnesium ribbon is measured. The metal is then heated in a crucible using a Bunsen burner to speed up the process of oxidation. The reaction forms the product magnesium oxide. The mass of this compound is measured and compared to the original amount of magnesium to determine the added mass of oxygen. The data collected allows students to calculate the empirical formula of the magnesium oxide compound. The reaction is summarized by the following chemical equation. 2Mg  +  O 2  →  2MgO The compound forms with a 1:1 ratio of magnesium to oxygen. This is because magnesium has two valence electrons which are donated to the oxygen atoms. The oxygen atoms can add two electrons to complete their valence shell. I hope this was helpful.

HS-PS1-2:   Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties. HS-PS1-2 Evidence Statements Video example of a chemical reaction. The video shows the combustion of magnesium metal.   2Mg  +  O 2  →  2MgO When magnesium and oxygen react they form an ionic compound. This is due to the fact that magnesium is a metallic element and oxygen is nonmetallic.

An interesting challenge in science is measuring things that can't be measured directly. Direct measurements are pretty straight forward.  If you want to know the mass of a pencil, you simply use a balance to measure the pencil's mass.  Sometime there are things that we want to measure which can't be measured directly.  Luckily we can use indirect measurements.  This is when we measure one thing to determine a different measurement. This video shows an experiment using a spectrophotometer to measure the amount of light which is absorbed by a solution of iron (III) chloride.  The data can be used to create a standard curve which will be used to calculate the concentration of the solution of iron(III) chloride.  The concentration of the iron (III) chloride can't be measured directly by the spectrophotometer, but it can be determined as an indirect measurement by analyzing the absorption data. I hope this was helpful!

This is a classic biology experiment. The first step uses vinegar to remove the calcium carbonate shell of a chicken egg.  The eggs are then placed into different solutions.  I used distilled water and syrup when I made this video. Depending on the concentration of solute (sugar) water will enter or leave the eggs. I hope this is helpful!

Answer: Enzymes are protein molecules which serve as catalysts for chemical reactions. A catalyst is a substance which will decrease the activation energy for a reaction. So why is this important? Enzymes will make reactions occur much more easily, quickly and more efficiently than they ever would without the enzyme. Here is a video of an enzyme demonstration I like to share with my students. The video shows how an enzyme present in our saliva (spit) can aid in the process of digestion by acting on starches present in the foods we eat. I hope this was helpful!

A thermal decomposition reaction occurs when heat is applied to a compound causing it to decompose (break down) into multiple different chemical substances. An example is when baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is heated 2 N a H C O 3 ( s ) → C O 2 ( g ) + H 2 O ( g ) + N a 2 C O 3 ( s ) Here is a video discussion of this reaction... I hope this was helpful!

The stock naming system uses roman numerals to indicate the oxidation state of metal ions in ionic compounds.  It is used because many metals have more than one possible oxidation state (charge).  One example of this is tin.  The two most common oxidation states of tin are 2+ and 4+; a Roman numeral is used in the name of the compound to tell us which oxidation state is present in a given compound of tin. In the past it was also common to see names of compounds using their Latin names.  Some examples include ferrum for iron and aurum for gold.  In the Latin naming system, different suffixes are used to indicate the oxidation state of the metal ion. I hope this is helpful!

This video shows a sample of cesium-137 being tested for emission of radiation.  Nuclei of cesium-137 isotopes are unstable and will undergo a process of radioactive decay to form more stable isotopes.  Cesium-137 is formed during fission reactions of uranium-235 in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. The equation that describes the radioactive decay of cesium is shown below.  The conversion of a neutron (from the cesium nucleus) to a proton causes the atomic number to increase from 55 to 56.  This leads to the formation of barium-137.  It's important to notice that the mass number stays the same in examples of beta decay. 137 Cs → 137 Ba + 0 e 55 56 -1

This video shows a chromatography experiment used to separate the different color pigments that are found in a black wet erase marker. This is an experiment that could easily be done at home.  Paper towel could be used instead of the chromatography paper I used to make this video.  You just need to use paper that is absorbent. It would also be fun to try this experiment using different types of markers or pens.  You could also try different liquids, rubbing alcohol would be an interesting choice. NGSS Connection: HS-LS1-1 3.Reasoning a. Students use reasoning to connect evidence, along with the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future, to construct the explanation. Students describe* the following chain of reasoning in their explanation iii. Proper function of many proteins is necessary for the proper functioning of the cells. I have used this lab in connection with

This video discusses how osmosis can change the appearance of red onion cells by adding or removing water from the cells. I hope this was helpful!

This video provides examples of how you can calculate the pH of a strong acid or strong base if you are given just the concentration (molarity) of the solution. I hope this is helpful!

HS-PS1-2:   Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties. This video covers important trends of the periodic table.  Topics include; reactivity, ionization energy, successive ionization energy, atomic radius, ionic radius, electron affinity, and electronegativity.

Have you ever opened a soda and had it do this? This can happen if you open a can or bottle of soda that is warm or has been shaken.  If you didn't watch the video it shows me opening three different bottles of carbonated water.  One was chilled so that it was ice cold, another was at room temperature and another had been sitting in water that was near boiling. Gases become less soluble in liquids as the temperature of the liquid goes up.  There are a number of reasons why this happens but I think we can imagine the gas molecules (carbon dioxide) moving faster and faster as the liquid they are dissolved in (water) gets warmer and warmer.  The faster the gas particles move, the more likely they are to escape the liquid into the surrounding air. So why is this important? A great example would be thermal pollution.  This can occur if factories take water from a body of water which is used to cool machinery and is later returned to the body of water it was taken from.  The w