TIP 10: TRY IT OUT AND EXPERIMENT AT HOME

Experimenting with your family is both fun and educational. You’ll create shared memories and learn exciting tricks. Or how about grilling without a fire or cooling drinks in the sunshine? Are you ready for your first experiment?

Create a miniature ecosystem

In this experiment, you will explore the water cycle. The plants release water that rises up into the jar. When the water vapor touches the glass, it cools down again and runs down the sides. The plants reabsorb it through their roots. The oxygen and carbon dioxide circulate inside the jar and change between their different forms.

Through the process of photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen. The decomposing organisms in the soil do exactly the opposite. The cycle inside the jar works just like our planet—only in miniature!

You need:

• A glass jar or a small aquarium with a lid.
• Small stones or clay balls.
• Sand and soil.  
• Moderately sized plants that will fit in the jar, such as ivy or succulents. Feel free to choose a variety of plants, preferably ones that aren't flowering.

Step 1.          

Place a layer of small stones or clay pellets at the bottom and cover with sand.

Step 2.          

Fill the pot with soil until it is half full.

Step 3.          

Plant the plants in the soil and water them a little. You don't need to use much water, since the plants and the soil already contain water.

Step 4.          

Put the lid on and make sure it's tight.

Step 5.          

Place the jar in a well-lit spot, but not in direct sunlight.

You have now created a miniature closed-loop system. Do not open the jar during the experiment, or you will break the closed loop. A mini-closed-loop system can work for several years! Observe what happens to the water in the jar.

Grilling Without a Fire

You'll need:

• Sun
• Aluminum foil
• Glue
• A bowl 
• A spoon
• A large cork 
• A short skewer 
• Sausage 
• Hot Dog Bun
• Mustard 
• Ketchup

Here's how to do it:

Line the inside of the bowl with foil. Smooth out the foil with a spoon as evenly as possible. Remove a piece of foil from the center of the bottom of the bowl, and glue the cork in place there. Thread a sausage onto the skewer, and secure the skewer to the cork. NOTE: The sausage must be inside the bowl. Point the bowl toward the sun—the sausage will be grilled in no time.

Refrigerator effect

You need:

• A PET bottle filled with room-temperature water or soda.
• A wet daily newspaper.

Here's how to do it: Wrap the wet newspaper around the bottle. Place the bottle with the newspaper in the sun. When the newspaper is dry, remove it and pour a glass of water.

Voilà — it's colder!

If you enjoyed doing experiments and investigations, you can download simple lab activities and experiments at www.nmboken.se/extra