A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Math and Science Corner

Use four isosceles right triangles as shown, and place all of them together along their edges with no sides overlapping. How many different shapes can you find? Hint: You may want to start with just 3 triangles. Then add on the fourth triangle to each of the shapes you have already made. Be careful not to count any shape twice!

Extra for Experts: How many shapes do you think you could make with five triangles?

You will need:

A cool dry day, 2 round balloons inflated and tied, 2 20-inch pieces of string, 1 wool or acrylic sock, 1 mirror, 1 friend

1. Tie a string to each balloon.
2. Rub a balloon on your head for about 15 seconds (be sure to rub around the whole balloon). What happens to your hair?
3. Rub the balloon on your hair again and have a friend do the same with the other balloon.
4. Each of you hold the string to one balloon, letting the balloons hang freely, but without letting them touch anything.
5. Slowly move the two balloons toward each other, but don’t let them touch.
6. Place your hand between the two hanging balloons. What happens?
7. Place a sock over one hand and rub one balloon with the sock. Then let the balloon hang free. Bring your sock-covered hand near the balloon. What happens?

Place seven chips in a row. Two players take turns, removing one or two chips each turn. The person to remove the last chip is the winner. In an alternate version of the game the winner is the player who doesn’t take the last chip. Does each player have an equal chance of winning? Does it make a difference who plays first? How would the game change if you used eight or nine chips?

You will need:

4 same-size stalks of fresh celery with leaves, 4 cups or glasses, red and blue food coloring, a measuring cup, 4 paper towels, a vegetable peeler, a ruler, old newspaper.

1. Lay the 4 pieces of celery in a row on a cutting board or counter so that the place where the stalks and the leaves meet matches up.
2. Cut all 4 stalks of celery 4 inches (about 10 centimeters) below where the stalks and leaves meet.
3. Put one stalk in each of 4 separate cups of purple water (use 10 drops of red and 10 drops of blue food color for each half cup of water).
4. Label 4 paper towels in the following way: "2 hours," "4 hours," "6 hours," and "8 hours." (You may need newspapers under the towels).
5. Every 2 hours from the time you put the celery into the cups, remove the appropriate stalk and put it onto the correct towel. (Notice how long it takes for the color of the leaves to start to change.)
6. Each time you remove a stalk from the water, carefully peel the rounded part with a vegetable peeler to see how far up the stalk the purple water has traveled. What do you observe? Notice how fast the water climbs the celery. Does this change as time goes by? In what way?

You will need:

1 die to roll, 10 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, 6 quarters

1. For young players (5- and 6-year-olds), use pennies and nickels. Older children can use all coins.
2. The object of the game is to be the first player to earn a set amount ( 20 cents is a good amount to start with).
3. The first player rolls the die and gets the number of pennies shown on the die.
4. Players take turns rolling the die to collect additional coins.
5. As each player accumulates 5 pennies or more, the 5 pennies are traded for a nickel.
6. The first player to reach the set amount wins.

You will need:

1 container of pepper, dish detergent, toothpicks, a glass of water

1. Sprinkle pepper on the top of a glass of water.
2. Dip a toothpick in the center of the pepper. What happens?
3. Put a drop of dish detergent on a toothpick and dip it in the center of the pepper. What happens?

Why does the pepper "run away?" The pepper moves quickly to the sides of the glass because the soap breaks the surface tension. Surface tension occurs when the hydrogen in water molecules bond or stick to one another as well as to the water below. At the surface, this holds the substance together and makes it behave as though it is coated by an invisible film.

You will need:

1 small plastic 35mm film can, 1 empty 16 ounce plastic soda bottle, 1 round balloon, measuring cups, 4 seltzer tablets, water, measuring spoons

1. Pour a tablespoon of water into the film can.
2. Drop 1/2 of a seltzer tablet into the water.
3. Break up two seltzer tablets and place them into the soda bottle.
4. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the bottle and quickly put the opening of the balloon over the top of the bottle. Swish the contents of the bottle around several times and observe what happens to the balloon.
5. Pour the water and seltzer in the film can down the drain.
6. Pour another tablespoon of water into the film can and drop in another 1/2 tablet.
7. Snap the lid on tight, and stand back! Observe what happens. What happened when you dropped the tablet in the water? What did you hear and see? Why?

You will need:

2 aluminum pie pans half-filled with water, a medicine dropper full of used motor oil, cotton balls, nylon, string, paper towels, liquid detergent, feathers

1. Place five drops of used motor oil in the "ocean" (aluminum pie pan). What happens? Ask students to predict the effect of wind and wave action on oil and water. They can simulate the ocean's behavior by blowing on and moving the water in the pie pan. What happens?
2. Place another 5 drops of oil spill in a second pan of water, add 5 drops of liquid detergent (dispersant), observe, and record what happens. Ask your child where he/she thinks the oil would go in the real ocean?
3. Dip a feather in the oil. How do you think oily feathers might affect birds' behavior? Children can try the procedure using fresh water and then salt water.

In the chart below, the difference between any two cells that are next to each other in the same row is the same, and the difference between any two cells that are next to each other in the same column is the same.

Can you decide what numbers should go in each cell that does not contain a number?

In this pattern, replace the ?s with numbers, and then try to find the numbers to replace the *s without filling in the blank boxes.

You will need:

2 pieces of the same size paper, plastic wrap or plastic bag,string, paper clip, tape, scissors

This activity allows children to see how things move through space.

1. Crumple one piece of paper and keep the other straight. Hold them both up at arm's length and drop them. What happens? What seems to keep the flat sheet from falling quickly?
2. Cut the plastic wrap or bag into a 12" x 12" square. Attach a 12" length of string to each corner with clear tape. Gather all the strings together at the bottom. Hang a small paper clip there as a weight. Open the chute and let it fall from a high place. How does its flight compare to the flat and crumpled paper? Use scissors to cut 2 small slits into the center of the chute. Let it go again. Experiment with different-sized chutes, holes, and weights.

You will need:

Buttons, screws, washers, bottle caps, old keys, sea shells, rocks, or anything else you can count

1. Find a container to hold the treasures.
2. Sort and classify the treasures. For example, do you have all the same size screws or keys? How are they alike? How are they different?
3. Use these treasures to tell addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division stories. For example, if we share 17 buttons among three friends, how many will we each get? Will there be some left over? Or if we have 3 shirts that need 6 buttons each, do we have enough buttons?
4. Organize the treasures by one characteristic and lay them end-to-end. Compare and contrast the different amounts of that type of treasure. For example, there are 3 short screws, 7 long screws, and 11 medium screws. There are 4 more medium screws than long ones. This may also provide an opportunity to talk about fractions: 7/21 or 1/3 of the screws are long.

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