Level 1-4* (Note that an asterisk * indicates that there is a worksheet on this lesson)

Welcome to your first day of school! I wanted to give you one important reminder before you begin. Many of your lessons below have an internet link for you to click on. When you go to the different internet pages for your lessons, please DO NOT click on anything else on that page except what the directions tell you to. DO NOT click on any advertisements or games. DO NOT click on anything that takes you to a different website. Just stay focused on your lesson and then close that window and you should be right back here for the next lesson. Okay?

1. If you didn’t get here through My EP Assignments, I suggest you go there and create an account.
2. Now’s the time to decide if you want to print out the worksheets for this course or purchase the low-cost printables book.
   • buy
   • print
3. Take a small piece of aluminum foil. Rip it in half. Again. And again and again and again until you can’t any more. If you could keep ripping it until it was the smallest piece of aluminum in the world, that would be an atom, an aluminum atom. Everything in the world is made up of atoms. Different types of atoms come together in different combinations called molecules to make up everything you see in the world.
4. Take a look at how small atoms are. Use the slider and move to the right to see smaller and smaller things. Can you find the atom?
5. Atoms are so small that five million hydrogen atoms would fit on the head of a pin. That’s 5,000,000 atoms.
6. *Print out Elements Lapbook (The older students are using this too).  You will work on this throughout the year.  Cut out H piece. You’re going to compile these throughout the year. You can use a poster board, individual pages by family group, or any other way you’d like to organize them. If you organize them in groups, the Hydrogen piece would be in the alkali metals group. Here’s an example of how that can look.
7. This is the end of your work for this course for your first day. You are allowed to move at your own pace (this is homeschooling), but it’s intended you complete one lesson a day.

Level 5-8* (Note that an asterisk * indicates that there is a worksheet on this lesson)

(Materials: small piece of aluminum foil)

Welcome to your first day of school! I wanted to give you one important reminder before you begin. Many of your lessons below have an internet link for you to click on. When you go to the different internet pages for your lessons, please DO NOT click on anything else on that page except what the directions tell you to. DO NOT click on any advertisements or games. DO NOT click on anything that takes you to a different website. Just stay focused on your lesson and then close that window and you should be right back here for the next lesson. Okay?

1. If you didn’t get here through My EP Assignments, I suggest you go there and create an account.
2. Now’s the time to decide if you want to print out the worksheets you’ll be using in this course (now or as they come up in the course) or if you want to buy a workbook of all the printables.
   • buy
   • print
3. Take a small piece of aluminum foil. Rip it in half. Again. And again and again and again until you can’t any more. If you could keep ripping it until it was the smallest piece of aluminum in the world, that would be an atom, an aluminum atom. Everything in the world is made up of atoms, or atoms make up the matter that everything is made of. Different types of atoms come together in different combinations called molecules to make up everything you see in the world.
4. Take a look at how small atoms are. (Move the slider to the right and left. If it’s not working, you can watch this video.)
5. Atoms are so small that five million hydrogen atoms would fit on the head of a pin. That’s 5,000,000 atoms.
6. *Print out Elements Lapbook (The younger students are using this too.)  Cut out H piece. You’re going to compile these throughout the year. You can use a poster board, individual pages by family group, or any other way you’d like to organize them. If you organize them in groups, the Hydrogen piece would be in the alkali metals group. Here’s an example of how that can look.
7. This is the end of your work for this course for your first day. You are allowed to move at your own pace (this is homeschooling), but it’s intended you complete one lesson a day.

Lesson 2

Level 1-4(*) Note that an asterisk in parenthesis (*) indicates an optional page to print.

1. (*)Here is a periodic table to look at or to print out in color with picture examples. (Print it out if you can and put it in your notebook.) This is called the periodic table of elements. Each box is one element. Everything in the world, including you, is made up of these elements. They are listed on this table in order of their weights. Number one is hydrogen. It is a gas. It is the lightest element.
2. Read about hydrogen.
3. Draw a picture or write about hydrogen inside the booklet and add it to your Alkali Metals Group lapbook page.

Level 5-8(*) Note that an asterisk in parenthesis (*) indicates an optional page to print.

1. Watch hydrogen video. (Here’s an alternative link if that isn’t working.)
2. Yesterday, you printed an Elements Lapbook. Today, fill in the Hydrogen booklet. Need an idea of what to put inside about hydrogen? Read this.
3. (*)Look at this example of a periodic table (or a list of all the atoms we know about). (You can print it if you like. It is in color.)

Lesson 3

Level 1-4

1. Solve the mystery of the disappearing city.
2. What do you think happens to a city when the train goes through town? What do you think happens to a city if the train doesn’t take people there?
   • (Answer: When a train came to a city, it brought more people. More people could live there and work there. If the train didn’t go to your area, the city would get smaller and smaller because it wouldn’t be growing. People would leave to go where the work is, where the population  is growing.)
3. Here’s a video on how steam engines work. Tell someone what makes a steam engine work.

Level 5-8

1. Watch the video about how steam engines work.
2. Watch this animation of steam engines.
3. Explain how a steam engine works.

Lesson 4

Level 1-4

1. Draw a diagram of the inside of a steam engine. Color where the water is blue. Color where the steam is red. Include a firebox, boiler and steam box.
   • If you don’t remember, here’s a diagram.
2. You can also read that page with the diagram as a reminder of how a steam engine works.

Level 5-8

1. Watch and read about steam engines.
2. Draw a diagram of how it works and explain it to someone.
   • Here’s help if you need it.
3. Copy this sentence about steam engines and tell what it means in your own words.

Lesson 5

Level 1-4*

1. What makes water turn into steam? Click on states of matter.
   • Click on solid, liquid, and gas to view what it looks like in each state. Imagine those blue balls are water. When water is a solid, it is ice. When it’s a gas, it’s steam. What turns water you can drink into steam?
2. Just about everything you see in this world is a solid, a liquid or a gas.
3. A solid is a desk; a liquid is milk; a gas is helium in balloons that float.
4. *Print out  this worksheet on solids, liquids and gases and fill it in. Make sure you put it in your notebook. (Answers)
5. Tell a parent or an older sibling what you think makes something a solid, a liquid or a gas.

Level 5-8*

1. What makes water turn into steam? Click on states. 
   • Click on solid, liquid, and gas to view what it looks like in each state. Imagine those blue balls are water. When water is a solid, it is ice. When it’s a gas, it’s steam. What turns water you can drink into steam?
2. *Print out this worksheet on water changing and fill in. Make sure you put it in your notebook. (Answers)
3. Just about everything in this world is either a solid, a liquid or a gas. These are called “the states of matter.”
4. You just learned that by changing the temperature of a type of matter you can change its state. For example, by heating the solid ice you change it into a liquid.

1. Alexander Graham Bell realized that the sound carried better if he used a liquid with his thin metal wire. Conduct a sound experiment. Does sound travel better through a solid or a gas (the air)? Do Table Thunder, the second experiment (alternate link).
2. Try it a few times with different tables. If you can get what you need together, you could do any of the other experiments too. In your notebook, describe your experiment and what your conclusion is. Your conclusion is your answer; does sound travel better through a solid or a gas? Think of a way to test whether sound travels better through a liquid or a gas. Try it. What’s your result? Present your conclusions at the dinner table.

Level 5-8*

(Materials: metal hanger, 2 foot-long pieces of thread — if you don’t have a metal hanger, use something metal like a spoon)

1. *Alexander Graham Bell realized that the sound carried better if he used a liquid. Conduct a sound experiment. Does sound travel better through a solid or a gas (the air)? Do Hang In There (alternate link). Try it a few times with different tables. If you can get what you need together, you could do any of the other experiments too. Print out the science experiment page and fill it out with your experiment details. I wrote the experiment question above. Experiment worksheet  Think of a way to test whether sound travels better through a liquid or a gas. Try it. What’s your result? Present your conclusions from today’s experiments at the dinner table.

Level 1-4

(Materials: two cans and string and a nail and hammer to poke the hole — can use disposable cups and a thumbtack if you don’t have cans, and you might want to have a paper clip on hand)

1. Make a play telephone.

Level 5-8

1. Read about how a telephone works. (Have you installed Ad Block Pro yet?)
2. Describe how a basic telephone works.

Lesson 8

Level 1-4

1. Cut out your O element booklet. Oxygen is part of what we breathe. We need oxygen for our bodies to work. It is another element in our world and is number 8 on the periodic table, because one atom of oxygen has 8 protons in it. We’ll learn later about protons. Write or draw inside your oxygen card. Add it to your Oxygen Group lapbook page.
2. Not everything in the world is hydrogen or oxygen or carbon or whatever else is on the periodic table. Those are the elements that other things are made from. When different atoms come together to make something new, they are called molecules. Probably the most famous molecule is H2O. Have you ever heard of it? It means two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom getting together. When they do, they make water! All water you see is made up of H2O molecules. Here’s a picture of a water molecule.
3. Draw a water molecule and label the three parts each either H or O. Label your picture and keep it in your notebook.
4. Look at other molecules. Choose “Real Molecules.” Then you can choose different ones from the menu. You can also reload and choose “Model” and build fake molecules just for fun, if you like.
5. Make a water molecule to put out the fire. You can continue playing after that if you like.

Level 5-8

1. Watch video on oxygen.
2. Cut out your O element booklet. Oxygen is part of what we breathe. We need oxygen for our bodies to work. It is another element in our world and is number 8 on the periodic table, because one atom of oxygen has 8 protons in it. We’ll learn later about protons. Write or draw inside your oxygen card.
3. Not everything in the world is hydrogen or oxygen or carbon or whatever else is on the periodic table. Those are the elements that other things are made from. When different atoms come together to make something new, they are called molecules. Probably the most famous molecule is H2O. Have you ever heard of it? It means two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom getting together. When they do, they make water! All water you see is made up of H2O molecules. Here’s a picture of a water molecule.
4. Make a water molecule to put out the fire. You can continue playing after that if you like.

Level 1-4

1. Remember molecules? A water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, making H2O. When molecules heat up, they get really excited and move around a lot! That’s a gas. When molecules cool down enough, they barely move at all; that’s a solid.
2. Read about  solids, liquids and gases. Then try the game that’s right after the reading.
3. Read about freezing and melting and then do the activity that’s right after the reading.
4. Read about evaporation and condensation and then do the activity below the reading.
5. Read about the water cycle and do the activity below the reading.

Level 5-8

(Materials: grape, microwave–there’s a video of the experiment if you can’t do it)

1. Remember molecules? A water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, making H2O. When molecules heat up, they get really excited and move around a lot! That’s a gas. When molecules cool down enough, they barely move at all; that’s a solid.
2. Do this activity with states of matter. (Turn off your ad blocker.)
   1. • You will need a laptop, chromebook, or desktop computer for EP. Not all links will work on mobile devices. If you are using a mobile device, this activity will send you to their paid app. You may be able to set your browser to Desktop Mode to try to bypass that. Directions here. 
3. Try this online quiz.
4. If you have a grape and a microwave, then you can create plasma. Plasma is another state of matter. It’s what you get when you excite molecules even more than in a gaseous state.
   1. Make sure you have parent permission AND supervision before you do this!
   2. Also, make sure you follow the directions carefully.
   3. Slice a grape in half longways but leave a little skin so you can open it like a book. Open it and place it in the microwave, either directly on the glass turntable OR on a microwave-safe plate.  (Do NOT use a paper plate or paper towel!)
   4. Turn the microwave on and be ready to turn it off. In 10-15 seconds you should see plasma shooting off the grape! Turn off your microwave after those 10-15 seconds. Don’t let the grape cook longer.
   5. Note to parents: Ensure students follow all directions closely while being supervised by an adult. There is a video below if you want to see it done, though I suggest a shorter time in the microwave!
5. If you don’t have a microwave, you can watch a video of the experiment.

Level 1-4

(Materials: bar of Ivory soap, microwave–there’s a video of the experiment to watch if you can’t do it)

1. We’ve been learning about atoms, which make up the elements everything in our world is made up of. When atoms are combined, it is called a molecule. When molecules heat up, they get excited and move around a lot. This is what happens when water turns into water vapor (or steam). When molecules cool down, they slow down to mostly stopped. This is what happens when water turns into ice. Ice, water and steam are all H2O. They are all made of water molecules. It is the same matter. They are just each in a different state of matter.
2. Watch the molecules get excited. Heat them up.
3. Write in your notebook each of the words in bold. As best you can, write about what each means.
4. As a reward for writing those tough definitions, place an opened bar of Ivory soap in the microwave on a microwavable plate. Turn the microwave on for one minute. Watch what happens. You are exciting the water molecules that are inside the soap causing them to move around! If you don’t have a microwave, you can watch the video to see what happens. (Ivory soap is special because it floats when other bars of soap sink. That’s because it has a lot of air inside of it.)

Level 5-8*

1. *Fill in the definitions of the terms on this worksheet.
2. As a reward for your hard work writing great definitions, here’s a video of what fun chemistry can be.

Lesson 11  

Level 1-4

1. Another way to move molecules, other than to excite them by heating them up, is to cause them to vibrate. When there is a sound, it moves the molecules in the air, causing them to vibrate. They start crashing into other molecules and make them vibrate too, and those crash into the molecules next to them so that they start vibrating, and that’s how sound travels from one place to another.
2. Make a sound wave. Tie a strong string to a doorknob and walk back until the string is straight; or take the plug of your vacuum cleaner in your hand and stretch out the cord. Move your arm up and down and send waves down the string or cord. That’s how sound travels — in waves.
3. Draw sound waves in your notebook.

Level 5-8

(Materials: Two tongue depressors (big popsicle sticks), wide-ish rubber band long enough to fit around tongue depressors the long way, two small rubber bands, one index card (or some card stock))

1. Read about this experiment and try it if you have what you need. Make sure to read about the science behind it.
2. Write in your notebook what you learned from the experiment. Please put the date at the top of the page.

Lesson 12  

Level 1-4

1. Explore sound in your house. What makes sound? What is being vibrated to make the sound? Remember that sound can travel through a gas, a liquid or a solid. When you listened to the bang on the table, it was the molecules in the table vibrating. Make a list of your answers to the two questions as you explore your house.

Level 5-8

(Materials: balloon)

1. Play with different instruments to make different sounds. What is being vibrated to make each sound? What makes a higher sound and a lower sound, on the same instrument?
2. Read this experiment.

Lesson 13

Level 1-4

1. Today, create sound. Create sound that vibrates through a solid (bang something). Create sound that vibrates through a liquid (fill a glass with water and tap the glass). Create sound that vibrates through the air (blow over the top of a bottle, swing something fast through the air, or you could cheat and just talk!).
2. Try filling glasses up with water to different heights. Which gives a higher sound? The one with the least amount of water, because the molecules can vibrate back and forth through it faster. If you have a bottle that you can blow over the opening to make a sound, fill the bottle with different amounts of water. It will produce a higher sound if you have more water (because there is less air), and the molecules can vibrate back and forth through the smaller amount of air faster, making the sound higher.
3. Record in your notebook the different ways you vibrated molecules to create sound. Please write the date on the page.
4. Watch vibrations caused by sound. Skip to 1 minute. This is a mixture of cornstarch and water on a cookie sheet sitting on top of a speaker.

Level 5-8

1. Watch this video of sound experiments, and then figure out some of your own special effects sounds. What sounds can you make with things around your house?

Lesson 14

Level 1-4*

1. Roll up as large a piece of paper as you can find into a cone shape. Leave a little opening at the end. Talk normally into the air and then through your cone. What’s the difference? Listen to someone talking normally, and then with the small opening of the cone to your ear. What’s the difference? Your cone is spreading out and collecting sound waves.
2. *Fill in your science experiment worksheet. Question: Can sound waves be amplified (made louder)?

Level 5-8

1. Read about the speed of sound and traveling faster than the speed of sound.
2. Watch a video showing breaking the sound barrier.

Lesson 15

Level 1-4

1. Read about the phonograph. (It’s just the top of the page.) Here’s a picture of an original.
2. Draw a phonograph. What is being vibrated?
3. If you have a record player at your house, observe it in action.
4. Watch the Edison Phonograph  video. While records are flat, Edison’s played from grooves in a spinning cylinder. It starts playing at :45.

Level 5-8

1. Read about the phonograph. (Just read the top of the page.)
2. If you have a record player at home, observe it in use. You can also watch the video. While records are flat, Edison’s played from grooves in a spinning cylinder.
3. Draw a diagram of how a phonograph works.

Lesson 16

Level 1-4

1. Let’s learn a little more about light and the light bulb. The light in the bulb basically is a fine wire, called a filament, that gives off light because it is heated up and gets hot. It’s actually atoms that are giving off light. Remember how they get excited when they heat up? The electricity travels into the bulb, heats up the atoms in the filament, causes them to jump around, which gives off the light. To make the bulb shine as it does, it is filled with a gas to help it. One gas used is called argon. Now adays, we use mostly LED light bulbs. They do not contain any gas. (You can learn more about that if your family is interested.)
2. Watch the video below on how a light bulb is made in a factory today.
3. Then cut out argon booklet. Draw or write inside it and add it to your Noble Gases lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. The light in a bulb basically is a fine wire, called a filament, that gives off light because it is heated up and gets hot. It’s actually atoms that are giving off light. Remember how they get excited when they heat up? The electricity travels into the bulb, heats up the atoms in the filament, causes them to jump around, which gives off the light.
2. Watch video on argon. Argon was a gas used in some older light bulbs. Thomas Edison learned that leaving air in the bulb would cause the filament (the thin carbon wire inside) to burn up. He used a vacuum to take out the air. Then we learned we could remove the air and put in gasses. (If you want to learn about the new LED light bulbs that don’t use gas and what light bulbs do use gas, here’s an article.)
3. Read about the group of noble gases.
4. Cut out and fill in your argon piece.

Lesson 17

Level 1-4*

1. Read about light.
2. We see because light reflects off an object and hits our eye. A mirror reflects that light and changes its direction. Figure out where the light is traveling. Do this activity about light. (Hint: You can see yourself in a mirror if you are looking right at it.)
3. *Draw on this worksheet to show how light travels to an object and then reflects to our eyes. (Answers)

Level 5-8

1. We see because light travels from the light source to an object, reflects off that object, and hits our eye.
2. Watch this video about how light travels.
3. Click on the simple activity at the bottom of the page and fill in the blanks.
4. Here’s another demonstration of how light travels.

Level 1-4*

(Materials: hand-held mirror or anything reflective)

1. You’ve learned that light travels in a straight line. You’ve also learned that you can change the direction that light travels by reflecting it.
2. Take a hand-held mirror (or something else reflective–watches and rings might work) and find a light to reflect. Make a light dance around the ceiling by reflecting it off your mirror.
3. Get a glass of water. Use a clear glass if you can so you can see inside well. Place a pencil or straw inside the cup. Does it look like the pencil is bent? The light bends when it hits the surface of the water. It doesn’t stop the light like a wall does, but it bends it enough to send a bent reflection back to our eyes.
4. *Write up an experiment worksheet. Question: Can light bend?

Level 5-8*

(Materials: coin, bowl)

1. Watch this video about how light bends and slows. Want more?
2. Then try this experiment on bending light.
3. *Write up an experiment worksheet. Question: Can light bend?

Level 1-4

(Materials: metal spoon)

1. Get a metal spoon. Look at yourself in it. Turn it over. What do you observe? Remember, what you see is the light reflecting off of something. Because the top of the spoon is curved down, the light bounces off and heads down, so we see our forehead at the bottom. The light that hits the bottom part is bounced up by the curve, so we see our chins at the top. On the other side we see ourselves stretched out. Why? In what direction does the light bounce?
2. Draw a picture of light hitting a spoon from both sides. Where does the light bounce to?

Level 5-8

1. Read this page about reflection and refraction. What’s the difference? (Answer: With reflection, the light is bouncing back towards you. With refraction, the light changes directions, but keeps moving forward.)
2. Place a glass of water on the end of a white sheet of paper near a sunny window. Let the light shine through the water. What do you see on the paper?
3. Light is made up of colors. The light waves of different colors travel at different speeds and so bend in different ways going through the water. The water demonstrates light refraction, a change in direction due to a change in speed. The water slows the light waves and causes them to bend.
4. Play with this color mixer.  Select “RGB Bulbs” option.  Use the sliders to adjust the amount of light from each color bulb.  Make sure you observe mixing all three at their highest levels. You can see how light is white, but it is really made up of many colors.

Level 1-4

1. Because of what we know about how our eyes see light and how our brains receive those signals, people have developed many optical illusions. We think we see what we don’t actually see. Want to see?
2. Here is one. The pictures on the right and the left are the same. The blocks A and B are the same color.
3. Here is another.
4. Want more?

Level 5-8

1. Read about the structure of a light bulb.
2. The “electrical foot contact” is what conducts, or carries, the electricity into the bulb.
3. Play this game to experiment with different circuits. Make a circuit. It has to connect in a circle.
4. Write circuit, conduct and filament in your notebook and write definitions for the words.

EXTRA — if you want to and are able to… How to make a periscope.

Atoms and Molecules

Lesson 21 

Level 1-4*

1. *Print out this worksheet on atoms.
2. Watch the video on atoms and molecules. Stop at 3 minutes, when it starts talking about states of matter.
3. Fill in the blanks on the worksheet. (Answers)
4. Draw a hydrogen atom. It’s the simplest one. It is number 1 on the periodic table so it has one proton and one electron. It doesn’t have any neutrons. Draw a circle for the nucleus and a + sign inside of it for your proton. Draw a circle around that for your electron to travel on. Draw a – sign for your electron on that circle.

Level 5-8*

1. *Watch this video and take notes of any new vocabulary. When you hear a new word, jot it down on the top of this worksheet. After the video is done, fill in more about each word you wrote down. Also write in your notes the explanation as to why atoms join together. Watch it again if you can’t remember!
2. Fill in the bottom of your worksheet. Keep it in your notebook. (Answers)

Lesson 22    

Level 1-4

(Materials: salt, sugar, magnifying glass, 3 cups of sugar, jar)

1. Let’s go back and learn some more about molecules. Go back in your notebook and read what molecules are if you are unsure. Molecules have different shapes. Take some salt and sugar and look at them with a magnifying glass. Do you see their shapes? If you don’t have a magnifying glass, here are some pictures. Salt  Sugar
2. With adult permission and help, heat one cup of water on the stove and add three cups of sugar. Add a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. You are making a saturated solution — so full it can’t take in any more sugar. When it is all dissolved, pour it into a clean jar. Tie a string to the middle of a pencil. Tie a paper clip to the other end. Make sure the string is short enough so that the paper clip doesn’t touch the bottom of the jar. (You don’t want it to touch the sides either.) Lay the pencil across the top of the jar so that the paper clip and string hang in the liquid. Let it sit a few days and watch the sugar crystals grow. The sugar crystals are just sugar molecules attaching together.
3. Write up your experiment. You can use this experiment worksheet to help you. Your question is, “What do sugar crystals look like?”
4. Look at this picture of enormous crystals.

Level 5-8

(Materials: Epsom salt 1/2 cup — if you don’t have it, you can use a small piece of cardboard and table salt and do this experiment. You can buy Epsom salt at a drug store or in the medicine section of a grocery store. It’s cheap. You can save the rest for a later experiment.)

1. In a small, deep container (small jam jar would work well) pour 1/2 cup of the hottest water that comes from your faucet. Stir in 1/2 cup of Epsom salt. Stir for one minute (there should be some Epsom salt crystals at the bottom still) and then place in the refrigerator. In three hours you should have crystals. (In case you can’t grow them, here’s a picture of Epsom salt crystals. You can click on it to see it bigger.) 
2. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, MgSO4 That means that each molecule of magnesium sulfate is made up of one atom of magnesium, one atom of sulfur and 4 atoms of oxygen. The crystals are lots and lots of molecules joining together.
3. Draw a picture of what a magnesium atom might look like. It is number 12 on the periodic table so it has 12 protons and electrons. Draw a nucleus with 12 + signs in it for the protons. Now draw a ring around it with two electrons (-) on it. That’s all the first level can hold. Now draw a second ring around that. The second level can hold 8 electrons, remember? Draw eight electrons on the second ring. That’s 10 electrons. Now draw a third ring around the atom. How many electrons should you draw on this one? It needs 12 and you’ve only drawn 10 so far. This last level, or its valence shell, needs 2 more drawn in, but it wants 18! That’s why it will bond with the other atoms.
4. Look at this picture of enormous crystals.
5. Have Epsom salt left over? Try this!  (You can save some for later as well, a tablespoon should do.)

Lesson 23

Level 1-4

1. The next element on the periodic table you will work on is helium. Helium is a gas. You may have heard of helium balloons. Those balloons that float away if you let go of them are filled with helium. They float because they are lighter than air. Remember the lighter the element, the earlier it is on the chart. Helium is number 2. So if helium floats, do you think hydrogen balloons float too? Of course! Hydrogen is lighter than helium. That’s why it is number 1 on the chart. So helium is number 2 on our periodic table. That means it has 2 protons in its nucleus, center. That means it also has 2 electrons flying around it.
2. Cut out helium piece. Write or draw inside about helium. You could also draw a helium atom inside. Add it to your Noble Gases lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Read about helium. Page 1  Page 2
2. Watch the video on helium. Helium is number 2 on the periodic table because it has 2 protons.
3. Check out this site on helium.
4. Cut out the helium piece. Write inside about helium. Draw a helium atom inside as well.
5. Helium belongs to the group of noble gases. Every element in a group has the same number of electrons in its valence shell, except for helium, which only has 2. How many electrons do they each have in their valence shell? Use neon to figure it out. How many are in it’s outer shell? First shell 2, second shell 8, right? Now check it with argon, number 18. Does it work? Remember argon? It’s what is put in regular light bulbs.

Lesson 24

Level 1-4

1. Draw a picture of your sugar crystals. You can use the back of your experiment worksheet. (You can eat them if you have permission.)

Level 5-8*

1. *Fill in this chart for helium. We know that the atomic number is 2. We also know that the atomic number is also the number of protons. Fill in that information on your chart. Periodic table charts tell us that its atomic mass is 4.002602. Fill that number in. Its mass number is 4. Now protons are the positive charge in the nucleus. There has to be an even negative charge to balance it out. That means there the same number of electrons (the negative) as protons (the positive). Fill in the number of electrons on your chart. Now to find the neutrons take the mass number and subtract the number of protons to see what’s left over. So in this case 4-2=2. There are 2 neutrons in a helium atom. Fill in the number of neutrons on your chart. (Answers)

Level 1-4

(Materials: as many pennies as you can find–20 would be great — or any coin you have the most of, or something like checkers would work too)

1. Take your coin collection (all the same coin) and lay them flat on a table and push them together so that they are all the way touching.
2. Look for patterns. Do you see how they line up? Do you see how they surround each other in the same shape, even though you put them together randomly?
3. Draw a picture of your coins all together. This is similar to your crystals. The molecules formed a pattern when they grew together as crystals because of the structure of each molecule. (Put today’s date on your picture.)

Level 5-8*

1. *Print out and complete this worksheet. (Answers)
2. Do you remember seeing this in the video from Lesson 21?

Level 1-4

(Materials: cup of water, coins — or something small you can drop a lot of in water)

1. We’ve looked a little at how molecules bond together. Let’s do an experiment to watch it in action.
2. Fill a cup with water to the very top. Guess how many coins you’ll be able to drop in before it spills. Start dropping in coins (or something else). How many did you get in? What is holding the water in place is called surface tension. What’s happening is that the water molecules on top are attracted to the water molecules under them and cling to them.
3. Watch this video on surface tension.
4. Write “surface tension” in your notebook and explain what it is.

Level 5-8*

1. *Print and complete this worksheet. (Answers)
2. Watch this video on surface tension.

Level 1-4

(Materials: “O” or ball-shaped cereal, milk, bowl, water, oil, dish detergent)

1. Want to watch molecules attract again? Get a bowl of milk. Sprinkle in a handful of O-shaped cereal or ball-shaped cereal. Do they race towards each other and touch each other? This is a big picture of how molecules attract each other.
2. Now let’s watch molecules repel or run away from each other. Pour a spoonful of water into a bowl. Add food coloring if you like. Add drops of oil to the water. What happens? The water seems to run away. What is happening is that the water molecules are attracted to the water molecules and the oil molecules are attracted to the oil molecules, so they stay separate. Add some dish detergent. What happens? The water and oil molecules are both attracted to the dish detergent molecules. That’s how grease gets off your dishes and into the water.
3. Draw a picture of molecules attracting.

Level 5-8(*)

(Materials: paper clip or pin, wax paper or other water proof surface — some book covers, rain coat…, tablespoon or just a spoon)

1. Drop water onto a waterproof surface. What shape does it sit in? Water cohesion, or how water molecules are attracted to each other, is why the water beads up. Do you think it’s also why rain falls in drops? (picture of how water beads up)
2. Fill a tablespoon with water. Fill the tablespoon so that the water seems to mound up over the top of the spoon. Why doesn’t the water spill over? Cohesion. The molecules on top are attracted to those underneath and hold onto each other. This creates surface tension.
3. Fill a cup with water. Place a paper clip or pin on top of the water. It’s heavier than water, but it floats. Why? The cohesion builds up a strong surface tension. It holds the water in place and the paper clip on top.
4. Read about water cohesion.
5. (*) Print out this water cohesion notebooking page or just use your notebook, and write why a too full cup of water doesn’t spill. Make sure you start with an introduction sentence that says what you are going to write about. (Example: Did you ever wonder why you can fill a cup to the brim and it doesn’t spill?) Use all the words/phrases listed.

Lesson 28

Level 1-4

1. Read about carbon. It’s another element that makes up our world.
2. Cut out your carbon piece and write or draw about carbon. Add it to your Carbon Group lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Watch this video on carbon.
2. Read about carbon.
3. Cut out your carbon piece and write about carbon inside.

Level 1-4

(Materials Level 1-4: container–empty 20 oz. plastic bottle will work, 3% hydrogen peroxide, packet active yeast, liquid dish washing detergent, warm water, food coloring-optional)

1. We’ve talked about water molecules being attracted and repelled and getting exciting by heat and turning into steam, etc. But it’s not just water molecules that get excited or attract other molecules, etc.
2. Let’s do an experiment that shows how the molecules are changing.
3. What happens? Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. It changes to H2O and O, water and oxygen. The yeast makes the change happen more quickly. The dishwashing detergent mixes with it, creating the foam.  (If you notice it says O2 and want to know why, highlight the answer: O, oxygen, never is alone as a single atom. Never. It will always pair up with something. So oxygen really only exists as O2 because it will always pair up. It will find always another O!)
4. You just witnessed a chemical reaction, or a change in a chemical.
5. Explain the chemical reaction in this experiment.
6. Here’s the video of the experiment if you can’t do it.

Level 5-8(*)

1. We’ve talked about water molecules bonding and being attracted and getting exciting by heat and turning into steam, etc. But all molecules do these things.
2. If you have younger siblings, they’re doing this experiment today too. Put vinegar in a small bottle, like a drinking water bottle. Fill it up halfway or at least get a significant amount in there. If you just have a small balloon, you’ll need less. Put two tablespoons of baking soda into the balloon. A funnel would be an easy way to do that. Without spilling any baking soda into the bottle, stretch the balloon opening over the bottle opening and let the balloon hang down to one side. Ready? Take hold of the top of the balloon and hold it up so that all of the baking soda falls into the bottle.
3. What happens? The molecules in the baking soda (NaHCO3) and the molecules in the vinegar (CH3COOH) react together. They atoms bond in different ways. Look at those molecules. They are more complicated than H2O, but it is the same idea. The atoms, the hydrogen, the oxygen, etc. find new ways to bond, or come together, once added with different types of molecules.
4. Look at the baking soda molecule. The Na (sodium) gets separated. An H (hydrogen) from the vinegar joins with the H in the baking soda and steals an O (oxygen). That makes H2O, right? That leaves CO2.
5. CO2 is carbon dioxide. That’s the gas that is filling your balloon and is also what’s making the fizzing and bubbling.
6. This is called a chemical reaction, or simply a change in a chemical.
7. Chemical reactions can be described by chemical equations. We’re not going to be working with these. I just want you to take a look at one for this experiment.
8. (*)Explain the chemical reaction in this experiment. You can use this notebooking page if you’d like.
9. Here’s a mega-sized version of that experiment if you’d like to see it.

Lesson 30

Level 1-4(*)

(Materials Level 1-4: seltzer water or just regular water, bleach, food coloring)

1. Let’s look at another chemical reaction. Fill a glass halfway with seltzer water. (If you don’t have what our family calls “bubble water,” then just use regular water. The reaction just takes a bit longer. Add a drop of food coloring. Pour in bleach and watch the color disappear.
2. The color disappears because the oxygen molecules in the bleach and the oxygen molecules in the water bond together.
3. If you can’t do it yourself, watch the video.
4. Watch this video of a neat chemical reaction. This is sulfuric acid being poured into sugar. The acid reacts with the sugar and takes all the H2O out of the sugar. That leaves only carbon! (Someone suggested this more modern video. It has a better image, but it also has ads.)
5. (*)Write chemical reaction and a simple definition. Here is a notebooking page you could use.

Level 5-8

(Materials Level 5-8: seltzer water or just regular water, bleach, food coloring)

1. Let’s look at another chemical reaction. Fill a glass halfway with seltzer water. (If you don’t have what our family calls “bubble water,” then just use regular water. The reaction just takes a bit longer. Add a drop of food coloring. Pour in bleach and watch the color disappear.
2. The color disappears because the oxygen molecules in the bleach and the oxygen molecules in the water bond together.
3. If you can’t do the experiment, here’s a video.
4. Write a definition of chemical reaction.
5. Watch this video of a neat chemical reaction. This is sulfuric acid being poured into sugar. Sugar is C12H22O11. Do you see that H22 and O11 could make 11 water molecules (H2O)? The acid reacts with the sugar causing the atoms to bond in a new way and the hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water (you’ll see it as smoke in the video). That leaves only carbon! You’ll notice the black carbon in the video! (Someone suggested this more modern video of the reaction. It has a better image, but it also has ads.)

Aerodynamics 

Lesson 31

Level 1-4

1. Read this page on flight and look at the images.
2. What are two types of flight?
3. How are airplanes similar and different from flying animals?

Level 5-8

1. Read this page on flight and look at the images.
2. Explain the different kinds of flight.
3. How are airplanes similar and different from flying animals?
4. Watch this video of the world record paper airplane throw. It starts falling but then goes up again. What’s happening? How is it flying?

Lesson 32

Level 1-4(*)

1. Read about the principles of flight.
2. (*)Write on this page and answer, “What is aeronautics?” (answer: You can word this any way, but aeronautics is the science surrounding flight.)

Level 5-8(*)

1. Read about the principles of flight.
2. Take notes!
3. (*)Here’s a notebooking page if you want it.

Level 1-4*

(Materials: piece of string, just like 12 inches, and a straw, you can make substitutions for these)

1. Read this page on forces in flight.
2. *Make a paper airplane. Put a little hole in the middle of it. Pull the string through the hole so that half is up and half is down. Tape it in place. Lay the straw along the middle of it. If it doesn’t stick out both ends, cut it in half and tape each half so that each sticks out one end. Cut out these labels, flight forces, and tape them onto the string and straw. Here’s a completed plane.
3. Here’s a picture as to where the forces go. We are going to learn about each of these forces in flight.
4. Hang your plane somewhere if you can.

Level 5-8

1. Read this page on forces in flight.
2. Draw a diagram of the four forces which control an airplane. We’ll learn about each of these forces separately. This is an overview. (Okay, if you want, you can make a paper airplane like the elementary school kids are doing.)

Level 1-4

(Materials Level 1-4: coin, bag of coins)

1. The first force in flight we are going to look at is gravity. Now you are thinking, that’s not even on my airplane I made! It is; you called it weight. Gravity is what gives us weight. It is actually gravity pulling down on our mass that makes the scale go down, showing how much we weigh.
2. Your mass is how much matter you are made of. Gravity pulls on all mass with the same force. Gravity is always pulling everything at the same speed.
3. Hold a small coin in the air. Let go. It fell, right? Well, actually, gravity pulled it down to the earth.
4. Now do the same with the bag of coins. Same thing?
5. Now, your bag of coins should feel heavier than the one coin. Which will fall faster?
6. Drop both at the same time.
7. Did they hit the ground at the same time? Why? Because gravity is always pulling everything at the same speed.
8. Now test a bunch of other things. Do you have a golf ball or tennis ball in the house? Try dropping other things together.
9. Now, air can get in the way sometimes. Air pressure will push up on objects that are more spread out than others. Here is this experiment done on the moon where there is no air to get in the way. Watch the video. (Now go tell someone all about it. Someone sent me this second example of the experiment.)

Level 5-8

(Materials: Two coins, ruler)

1. Watch this video.
2. Describe what happened.
3. Did you expect something dropped and something shot out to land at the same time?
4. Do you want to try it?
5. Place a coin on the edge of a table. Place your ruler half on / half off the table. Put a finger in the middle of it to hold it to the table. Place the other coin (same type of coin) on the edge of the part of the ruler that is hanging off the table. (Works best where you can hear the coins hitting the floor.)
6. You are going to quickly hit the very end of the ruler that is hanging off the table. When you do that, you will be knocking it out from under the one coin so that it drops and you will be striking the other coin so that it flies off. Try it several times. (Here’s an example video).

Lesson 35

Level 1-4*

1. On Lesson 34 we learned that gravity makes all masses speed up at the same rate.
2. Gravity doesn’t pull at everything in the same way though. The more mass, the more gravity pulls on it, which is why we all weigh different amounts (even if we all fall at the same speed).
3. Also, every object has a gravitational force. You have a gravitational force attracting everything to yourself! It’s such a tiny, itty-bitty force that it doesn’t really affect anything. The earth, since it’s so big, has a big gravitational force, which is what makes your ball fall down when you throw it and keeps you from floating away.
4. Astronauts can float in space because they get too far away from the Earth’s gravitational force. The don’t float right off the Moon because it, like everything, has a gravitational force. The Moon pulls things towards itself too. It’s big enough that its gravitational force keeps the astronauts from floating away. BUT, the Moon is a lot smaller than Earth so that its gravitational force isn’t as strong as Earth’s. Watch this astronaut jump around, showing that there is less gravity on the Moon.
5. For the next one skip to :45 and watch him jump two times. Does it seem like it’s in slow motion? He’s falling slowly because there is less gravity on the Moon, less gravitational pull.
6. You are going to fill in a worksheet that shows how much you would weigh on each planet. Each planet is a different size, so it pulls down on your mass with a different amount of gravitational pull. Write your weight on earth in the box and use a calculator to multiply.
7. *Print out this worksheet and use a calculator to fill it in.
8. Explain to someone why you would weigh less on Venus.

Level 5-8*(*)

1. *Print out this page, read it and fill in the chart.
2. Here’s a video of an astronaut falling “in slow motion.”  He falls more slowly in space because the Moon is smaller than Earth, so it has less of a gravitational pull. His mass is the same, but his weight (gravity pulling on his mass) is different. He is pulled to the Moon with less force than on Earth since the force, the speed at which gravity pulls, is less. Makes it seem to us like it is slow motion.
3. Explain to someone why you would weigh less on Venus.
4. (*)Explain in writing how mass, weight and gravity are connected.  Mass / Weight Notebooking Page.

(Materials: straw, cup of water)

1. We learned about gravity which pulls airplanes down. Now we’re going to learn about the opposite, lift. It’s what lifts airplanes up.
2. How does air keep up an airplane? Watch the video for the first three minutes.
3. Take a strip of paper. Hold it up to your lips. Blow over it. Blow under it. When does it go up or down? Why?
4. When you throw a frisbee, what is holding it up in the air?
5. Does air pressure really hold things up? Stick a straw into water and hold your finger over the open end. Take the straw out of the water. Is the air holding the water into the straw? Yes! That’s air pressure at work and it’s very strong.

Level 5-8

1. Read this lesson on lift.
2. You can try some of the suggested activities. Can air really hold things up? Do the experiment below.
3. Experiment: fill a glass 2/3 full of water and cover with an index card (or cardboard or stiff paper). Hold the card in place securely and flip the cup over. Remove your hand. The 14.7 pounds per square inch of air pressure will hold the water in it’s place.
4. Take a look at this lift explanation. Watch the video for the first three minutes.
5. What does air speed have to do with air pressure? What does that have to do with creating lift? (answer: Faster air has lower pressure. Angled wings create faster moving air above the wings, creating higher pressure under the wings. Higher pressure pushes up towards the lower pressure area above the wing.)

Level 1-4

(Materials optional: balloon, 2 liter bottle — empty)

1. Watch the video below on air pressure.
2. Try this experiment: stretch a balloon over the opening of an empty 2 liter bottle. Place the bottle in a pan or bowl of super hot water. The air inside the bottle will heat and expand, creating more air pressure. It will press on the rubber of the balloon and expand it a little. Place the bottle in a pan or bowl of ice water and the balloon will deflate. The air in the bottle will cool down and the air pressure will lower and stop pressing on the balloon.

Level 5-8*

(Materials optional: balloon, 2 liter bottle — empty; also ziplock bag-or other plastic bag you can seal super well)

1. Try this experiment. Blow a ziplock bag. Seal it almost all the way. Give it another big puff and seal it closed. Put it in the freezer. Check on it in 10-15 minutes. Did it deflate some? Why? Air expands when it is hot, increasing the pressure it’s putting on the bag. Air pressure is lower when the air is cooler.
2. *Fill out an experiment worksheet.
3. Watch the video below on air pressure. (You can try it if you like.) Can you answer the questions?

Lesson 38  

Level 1-4*

1. We’ve learned that lift is caused by creating high air pressure under the wings of the plane. The air lifts the plane up.
2. A helicopter works in a similar way. The airplane drives forward, pushing the air over and under the wings, creating the change in pressure so it can lift off. A helicopter twirls its blades to move the air over them. They are also creating higher air pressure under its blades which causes the lift.
3. *Make a motor rotor. Use the template to make the paper blades. Drop it and watch it in action. Make observations? Why doesn’t it just drop?
4. Tell how lift is created with your motor rotor.

Level 5-8

(Materials: Two paint stirrers and two rubber bands, may be able to use popsicle sticks or even paper folded over and over on itself to make a stiff “stick”)

1. Make a boomerang. 
   
2. Tell how lift is created with your boomerang.
3. Here is a YouTube video with directions for an origami boomerang. Get permission before going to YouTube.

Level 1-4

(Materials:  balloon, straw, fishing line or strong thread or something similar)

1. Take a straw and hold it in the air. Let go of it. It falls, right? What needs to happen to make it fly (at least a little bit)? It needs thrust, a push in the right direction. 🙂
2. Do this experiment and read through the steps, questions, and answers. Do the extra experiments if you like.
3. Here’s a video of the experiment.

Level 5-8

(Materials: paper towel tube, flexible straw, paper cup, aluminum foil)

1. Today you will learn about thrust, the push that moves the plane forward.
2. Read through part 1. You don’t have to try the experiments, but you can.
3. Build an engine (part 2 of the booklet).

Lesson 40 

Level 1-4

1. Review the flight forces: lift, thrust, weight, drag.
2. Describe to someone each force and what it does.

Level 5-8

1. Do the activity on flight forces.
2. The forces need to be in balance. One combination will get the top speed. Another combination will get the top altitude. Accomplish one of them today.

Level 1-4

(Materials: Styrofoam tray, paper clips — buy the econo pack of meat for a bigger foam tray  — you need to trace and cut something about 10 inches long)

1. Do you remember the four forces of flight? What are they?
2. Build a glider.  Read and follow the directions. Answer the questions. Experiment. Find the proper weight and balance.

Level 5-8

(Materials: scissors, a sharp hobby knife, a dull knife, rubber cement, card stock)

1. Review flight forces.
2. Build a glider.  Read and follow the directions. Answer the questions. Experiment!

Lesson 42

Level 1-4

1. Review flight forces.
2. Can you answer the first four questions?

Level 5-8

1. Move the plane around.
2. See if you can fly at all. Gain speed and then use the arrow keys (down!) to get into the air and then steer. What forces are at work? Why does pushing on the down arrow make the plane go up, and the opposite? (Think about where the air is pushing.)

Lesson 43

Level 1-4

1. See if you can fly at all. Gain speed and then use the arrow keys (down!) to get into the air and then steer.
2. What forces are at work? Why does pushing on the down arrow make the plane go up, and the opposite? (Think about where the air is pushing.)

Level 5-8

1. Finish the activity on flight forces.
2. The forces need to be in balance. One combination will get the top speed. Another combination will get the top altitude. Complete the second task.

Lesson 44

Level 1-4

1. Try this activity on flight forces.
2. The forces need to be in balance. One combination will get the top speed. Another combination will get the top altitude.

Level 5-8

1. Answer the questions the best you can.

Lesson 45

Level 1-4

1. Watch the short Amelia Earhart movie.
2. Read about sodium.
3. Cut out your sodium piece and add it to your Alkali Metals Group lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Watch the short video on Amelia Earhart.
2. Read about sodium. Use this link as well.
3. Cut out your sodium piece and add it with your others.
4. If you want, you can watch the sodium video.

Level 1-4*

1. We’ve looked at chemical reactions, when there is a change in the chemical.
2. Today we’re going to see what reacts with baking soda. Gather some supplies: ketchup, tomato juice, honey, water, lemon juice, mustard, pickle juice, orange juice, whatever else you want to try that you have in the house.
3. Count up how many things you have. Get a cup for each one.
4. Put some baking soda into each cup.
5. Put some ketchup (or whatever) into the first cup and place the ketchup bottle behind the cup so you know what you put in that cup.
6. Observe the reaction.
7. *Record the reaction on your sheet, acid testing sheet.
8. (You may want to ask your mom if she can help you make the red cabbage indicator today to be ready for tomorrow. See tomorrow’s lesson.)

Level 5-8

1. Read about chemical reactions.
2. Write another definition of chemical reaction in your binder with your previous one.
3. (You may want to ask your mom if she can help you make the red cabbage indicator today to be ready for tomorrow. See tomorrow’s lesson.)

Lesson 47 

Level 1-4*

(Materials: red/purple cabbage, disposable cups)

1. Help a parent make red cabbage juice indicator.
2. Try the experiment. Get your disposable cups. Put a small amount of several different types of liquids in there. Hydrogen peroxide, window cleaner, water, vinegar, try some drinks from the fridge, egg white, whatever else you want to try (with permission). Always be SUPER CAREFUL when using cleaners. They can use powerful and harmful chemicals. Wear goggles and rubber gloves if you have them.
3. Put a little indicator into each cup.
4. *Record the results. pH test sheet
5. If you can’t do this at home, here’s a video of setting up the experiment and you can get some more results from the video on this page.

Level 5-8

(Materials: red/purple cabbage, coffee filters)

1. Read about acids and bases.
2. Take the quiz.
3. Make pH testing strips.

Level 1-4*

1. Watch the movie on acids and bases.
2. *Fill in this worksheet, acids and bases. (Answers)

Level 5-8*

1. Use your paper to test a series of liquids in your home: cleaners, drinks from the fridge, egg whites, sauces, whatever else you can think of (with permission). Use goggles and rubber gloves if you have them.
2. Pour the different liquids into disposable cups. Place the liquid behind the cup or label it so you know what you are testing! (You could test things like sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda, just put a teaspoon in the cup with some water to dissolve it.)
3. Dip the test paper into each one.
4. *Observe the color change and record the result. pH test sheet
5. If you can’t do this at home, here’s a video of a similar experiment.

Lesson 49

Level 1-4

1. Play with pH. Test the different types of liquids by putting it in the tank and then moving the green target over the liquid in the tank.
2. Read about neon. You see neon in many lit up signs.
3. Cut out your neon piece. Draw or write inside and add it to your Noble Gases lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Play with pH. Test the different types of liquids by putting it in the tank and then moving the green target over the liquid in the tank.
2. Which is the most acidic and which is the most basic?
3. Read about neon; read here too.
4. Cut out your neon piece and fill it in and add with your others.

Lesson 50

Level 1-4

1. Play with pH. Test the different types of liquids by putting it in the tank and then moving the green target over the liquid in the tank.
2. Which is the most acidic and which is the most basic?

Level 5-8*

1. Watch the movie on acids and bases.
2. *Fill in this worksheet, Acids and Bases. (Answers)

Level 1-4

(Materials: chicken bone, vinegar–enough to cover bone, maybe jar with lid to keep in the smell)

1. Watch this video on fireworks.
2. Explain to someone how a firework works.
3. Read this and do the experiment (needs to sit for three days).

Level 5-8

1. You are going to keep reading about chemical reactions. I know this isn’t easy stuff. Take your time and get what you can from it.
2. Take the quiz.
3. Watch this video on fireworks.
4. Do concentration, temperature, and pressure contribute to the reaction? How?

Lesson 52

Level 1-4

(Materials: Diet Coke or other carbonated drink, salt)

1. Pour a cup of soda. Place the cup on a tray or in a bathtub or sink. Add a lot of salt (1/4 at least), but you could try it with differing amounts. Observe.
2. Read and watch the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment.
3. These both work the same way. The salt and Mentos attract the CO2 (Carbon Dioxide–what makes the bubbles in a fizzy drink) and pulls it all out of the soda at once instead of little by little like it usually comes out.

Level 5-8

(Materials: liquid glue (you can halve the recipe), laundry detergent (liquid is used in the recipes, but you can use powdered))

1. Here’s another page on chemical reactions.
2. Take the quiz.
3. Let’s combine reactants to make a new product!
4. Do this experiment and make slime. There are two different recipes. Here is one of our science fair entries. It has more recipes if you’d like to try. It uses shaving cream and baking soda.
5. If you can’t do it, here’s a video to watch.
6. The experiment in this link was done with borax, which is a type of laundry detergent. Listen to the explanation.

Level 1-4

(Materials: piece of liver, piece of potato, hydrogen peroxide — small amount, liquid dish soap)

1. Do the Battle of liver and potato experiment.
2. Explain to someone what is making the bubbles. (The oxygen being released is mixing with the soap. Have you ever made more bubbles in a bath tub by mixing in air? — in other words, by moving the water around really fast?)
3. Chicken liver recipes
4. Take your chicken bone out of the vinegar and try and put it in a shape. Leave it out to dry and absorb the carbon dioxide from the air you breathe out.

Level 5-8

(Materials: clean plastic 16 oz. soda bottle (best but not only size), one packet dry yeast, liquid dish washing soap, 1/2 c. hydrogen peroxide — can get it at a pharmacy, tray or do it somewhere it can overflow onto)

1. Here’s another page on chemical reactions.
2. Find someone else and act out being their catalyst and inhibitor.
3. Do this experiment. The yeast is the catalyst.
4. If you can’t do it, watch this video.

Lesson 54

Level 1-4*

1. Watch these cool chemical reactions.
   • Some of the videos are missing.
     • Sodium, Water, Chlorine Gas
     • Magnesium and Dry Ice
     • Potassium Chlorate and Candy Reaction
     • Meissner Effect
     • Sodium Acetate Super Saturation
     • Super Absorbent Polymer
     • Floating on Sulfur Hexafluoride
     • Superfluid Helium
     • Thermite and Liquid Nitrogen
     • Briggs-Rauscher Reaction
2. *Check on your chicken bone. Fill in this worksheet, Knotted Bones.
3. What was removed from the chicken bone?
4. Now do you see why your mom wants you to drink milk?  🙂

Level 5-8*

1. *See how much of this chemical reactions worksheet you can fill in as you watch the video. Stop the video when it gets to the quiz. (Answers)
2. Watch the top ten chemical reactions.
   • Some of the videos are missing.

Lesson 55

Level 1-4

1. Magnesium is a metal and is found in the earth’s crust and in seawater. It is used in building airplanes.
2. Read about magnesium.
3. Cut out your magnesium piece and fill it in and add it to your Alkali Earth Metals lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Watch the video on magnesium.
2. Read about magnesium: here and here.
3. Cut out your magnesium piece and fill it in and add it to your collection.

Properties of Liquids

Lesson 56

Level 1-4

1. We’re going to go back and look at the different states of matter. Specifically we’re going to look first at solids.
2. Read about solids.
3. Tell someone what makes something a solid.

Level 5-8

1. We’re going to go back and look at the different states of matter. Specifically, we’re going to look first at solids.
2. Read about solids.
3. Try the quiz.

Level 1-4

(Materials: fizzy drink in a bottle)

1. Learn about solids, liquids, and gases and how the molecules (or particles) behave in each.
2. Then look at this page. You already watched a video. Skip that part and look at the rest of the page. Try the activity where you sort the objects to see if you got it.

Speaking

1. A soda or pop bottle has a solid, liquid, and gas. Describe to someone the three states of matter in a bottle. What happens when you tip the bottle? What type of matter is affected? What happens when you open the bottle? What type of matter is affected? Take a bottle in front of an audience and answer these questions with a demonstration.

Level 5-8*

1. Today you’re going to read about gases.
2. Take the quiz.
3. *This experiment shows gas being produced and taking up space. Read and do the experiment and write it up. experiment worksheet

Lesson 58

Level 1-4

1. Now we are going to be looking at liquid. You have learned how liquid moves and fills containers and can’t really be compressed (or pushed down) much.
2. We’re going to look at some specific things about liquid. The first is viscosity. (Click on the little speaker next to the word to hear it pronounced.)
3. Viscosity is the measure of how a liquid flows. Actually, it measures how much it resists flowing. Liquids move, right? You put them in a container and they spread out and fill it. If you poured water in a bowl, it would spread out quickly and fill the space. Water has low viscosity. Honey you got from the fridge and poured into a bowl has a high viscosity. It resists flowing. It moves slowly.
4. Watch this video. Which end jar has the lowest viscosity, the one on the right or left? (answer: left)
   
5. Design an experiment to test the viscosity of at least five different liquids. Based on your observations, rate them from the lowest to highest viscosity. Here’s an experiment sheet to record on: experiment worksheet

Level 5-8

1. Today you are going to read about liquids.
2. Take the quiz.
3. Viscosity is the measure of how a liquid flows. Actually, it measures how much it resists flowing. Liquids move, right? You put them in a container and they spread out and fill it. If you poured water in a bowl, it would spread out quickly and fill the space. Water has low viscosity. Honey you got from the fridge and poured into a bowl has a high viscosity. It resists flowing. It moves slowly.
4. Watch this video. Which end jar has the lowest viscosity, the one on the right or left? (answer: left)

Lesson 59  

Level 1-4

(Materials: 1 c. cornstarch, 1/2 c. water)

1. Do you remember yesterday’s big word?  Viscosity.
2. A liquid’s viscosity can change. If you heat up honey, it would get less viscous and flow more quickly.
3. Today you are going to change the viscosity of a liquid with force.
   • Combine 1 cup of cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water, slowly adding the water until it stirs like a stiff liquid but feels like a solid when tapped.
   • When you push on it, does its viscosity get lower or higher? Does it flow more easily or not?
   • You can see it in the first minute of this video.

Level 5-8 (*)

(Level 5-8: various liquids, to test their viscosity)

1. Yesterday you were introduced to viscosity.
2. (*) Design an experiment similar to these to test the viscosity of different liquids. (My kids used a cookie sheet with no paper.) Record your experiment in your notebook or print this worksheet
   • experiment worksheet
3. Do you think temperature would affect the viscosity of a liquid? (Hint: consider honey cold and hot) Test your hypothesis, test a liquid at two different temperatures to see if its viscosity changes.

Lesson 60

Level 1-4

1. Read about aluminum.
2. Look at aluminum.
3. Find aluminum in your home. Ideas: aluminum foil, drinking cans, pots and pans, knitting needles, crochet hooks, light fixtures, hamster cages, camera tripod and the metal bands around your coffee pot
4. Cut out and draw/write inside your aluminum piece. Add it to your Boron Group lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Watch the video on aluminum.
2. Cut out and write inside your aluminum piece.
3. Add it with your others. It is in the Boron Group, Group 13.

Level 1-4

(Materials: slice of bread, water, cooking oil, dish detergent, jar or tall clear glass, three glasses)

1. Take a slice of bread (no crust). Squash it. Your slice of bread became denser when you squashed it. Density is the measure of how much something weighs for the space it takes up. Your bread didn’t change its weight, but it changed how much space it took up. It became denser. The bread was less dense to begin with.
2. A rock is denser than water. It is heavier for the space it takes up than water is. So a rock sinks in water.
3. We can compare the density of liquids by seeing if one sinks into the other.
4. Experiment:

• Set up three glasses.
• Combine the three liquids two at a time. Make sure you know which liquid you put in first and second. Put the first liquid in. Then slowly put in the second.
• Does the second sink through the first or sit on top?
• If it sits on top, it is less dense. If it sinks, it is more dense.
• Make a list of your liquids from the most dense to the least dense.
• Now pour them all into the jar slowly, one at a time, the most dense first, the least dense last.
• You can test another liquid and try and make a taller tower of liquids.
• Get a tall glass or jar that you can see through, or a skinny glass flower vase would work well too. Put the most dense on the bottom, then the next, and so on. If there is more than one clear liquid, color one with food coloring.
• Here’s a video of an experiment like this.

Level 5-8*

(Materials: salt, 3 clear glasses, food coloring)

1. Take a slice of bread (no crust). Squash it. Your slice of bread became denser when you squashed it. Density is the measure of how much something weighs for the space it takes up. Your bread didn’t change its weight, but it changed how much space it took up. It became denser. The bread was less dense to begin with.
2. A rock is denser than water. It is heavier for the space it takes up than water is. So a rock sinks in water.
3. We can compare the density of liquids by seeing if one sinks into the other.
4. The official formula for density is mass divided by volume. One gram of water takes up one milliliter. One divided by one is one. Water’s density is one.
5. Gather three glasses you can see through. Fill one with hot water, one with cold water and one with salt water. Put a few drops of food coloring into each glass. Make observations. Which is the densest? Which is the least dense? How are density and viscosity related? Explain.
6. Video if you need it.
7. *Do the first page of this density worksheet. You can use a calculator. Density = Mass (grams) / Volume  That means that Volume = Mass / Density  and also that   Mass = Density * Volume. (Answers)

Lesson 62   

Level 1-4*

(Materials: bowl of water, 10 things you can drop in that bowl of water)

1. Play with this buoyancy explorer. Buoyancy is the ability something has to float. If something is buoyant, it can float. If you want to hear this word read to you, click on this and then the little speaker icon next to the word. 
2. Something is buoyant, or can float, if it is less dense than water.
3. *Try out things from your home. Fill a bowl with water and drop things in. Check off on your list if they are buoyant or not.

Level 5-8

(Materials: plastic bottle, eye dropper or pen cap and oil-based clay — maybe you could use a piece of crayon instead of clay?)

1. Do the experiment.
2. Read what is going on.
3. You may be thinking, don’t people sink? Water’s density is 1. Salt water’s density is 1.025. The average human body’s density is 1.01. Can you see why people can float and sink?
4. The experiment page talked about a “buoyancy compensator.” Buoyancy is just a word that means the ability to float.

Lesson 63  

Level 1-4

(Materials Level 1-4: cups, food coloring–optional, paper towels)

1. Capillary action is water being drawn along a solid. It happens because the molecules of the liquid are attracted to the molecules of the solid, and that pulls the liquid along.
2. Read and do this experiment to see it in action.

Level 5-8

(Materials: cups, food coloring–optional, paper towels; you can use books or something else instead of the blocks in the picture–just don’t spill!)

1. Capillary action is the movement of a liquid along the surface of a solid caused by the attraction of molecules of the liquid to the molecules of the solid. (from thefreedictionary.com)
2. Read this and do the experiment to see it in action. Start at step 3.  (The links on the page to “click to see their results” do NOT work.  You can just look at the pictures on the page to see how they did the experiment.)

Lesson 64

Level 1-4*

1. Draw pictures to define the terms we’ve learned – Properties of Water.

Level 5-8*

1. Define each of the terms – Properties of Water

Lesson 65

Level 1-4

1. Read about silicon. The circuits in your computer are made from silicon.
2. Look at silicon.
3. Cut out your silicon piece and draw/write inside of it and add it to your Carbon Group lapbook page.

Level 5-8

1. Watch the video on silicon.
2. Cut out your silicon piece and write about silicon inside. Add it to your others. Silicon is in the carbon family.

Science Fair

Lesson 66

Level 1-4

1. Choose a question to answer.
2. Design an experiment to answer the question. You can use an existing experiment, but think of a way to expand it and try it with new things or in a new way.
3. You need to finish by Lesson 70. You have five days to work on it.
4. Take a look at other kids’ experiments.
5. Here are some experiment ideas based on what we’ve just been learning.

Level 5-8

1. Choose a question to answer.
2. Design an experiment to answer the question. You can use an existing experiment, but think of a way to expand it and try it with new things or in a new way.
3. You have five days to work on this.
4. Take a look at other kids’ experiments.
5. Here are some experiment ideas based on what we’ve just been learning.

Simple Machines

Congratulations, You’re done!

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