SCIENCE FUNDAMENTALS SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKLET

CONTAINS FOR EACH WEEK:

 THE READING LIST
 THE SUPPLY LIST
 THE IN CLASS WORKSHEET
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE OPTIONAL AT HOME ACTIVITY

BEFORE EACH CLASS:

 THE WORKSHEET SHOULD BE PRINTED OUT (BUT NOT

FILLED OUT)
 CUT ANY PIECES OF PAPER THE WORKSHEET INSTRUCTS
THE LEARNER TO CUT OUT AHEAD OF TIME

THE SUPPLY LIST INCLUDES MATERIALS IF THE STUDENT

WISHES TO DO THE DEMONSTRATIONS WITH ME IN CLASS BUT
DOING SO IS OPTIONAL
CLASS 2:

Reading Assignment: Page 10 Studies of Motion – Page 15

Supplies needed:
Cup
Coin
Playing card or 3 x 4 cut piece of thin cardboard or posterboard
that fits over cup
Balloon

Optional Materials for At Home Project:

Straw (bendable preferred)
Tape
Clip/Clothes pin
4 round caps to a bottle (same size; water bottle, Gatorade
bottle, etc.)
Two straight straws and two bamboo skewers that fit in the
straw
Plastic Bottle
Scissors
Tape Measure
Balloon
CLASS 2 WORKSHEET

The Penny in a Cup Experiment

1. What happened when you pulled the card with the penny
on it quickly?

2. Why did this happen?

Newton’s Second Law

Force = mass x acceleration

1. Are force and mass directly proportional or inversely

proportional?

2. Are mass and acceleration directly proportional or

inversely proportional?
The Balloon

1. What happened when you blew up the balloon and then

let it go?

2. Why did this happen?

Mass, gravity, and weight

1. How does your mass change on the moon?

2. How does your weight change on the moon?

BUILD A BALLOON CAR:
USE NEWTON’S THIRD LAW TO POWER A VEHICLE!

MATERIALS:
Wheels (round objects like bottle caps) Balloons
Axles (straws, bamboo wooden skewers) Tape
Body (plastic bottle or piece of cardboard) Scissors
3 Straws Clip
Tape Measure

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Poke holes into the round objects so the axles will fit in. Don’t make your holes too big!
The axle should fit in tightly. Attach one wheel to each axle.
2) Cut two of the straws so that they are slightly larger than the bottle but smaller than the
wooden skewers. You can cut the wooden skewer down a bit if you wish. Place each
skewer into a straw and then attach the other wheel.
3) Tape the straws (axles) to the bottom of the bottle or the piece of cardboard, making
sure they are even.
4) Poke a hole into the bottle to insert the straw if you have a bendable straw or tape the
straw to the top of the bottle if not.
5) Tape the balloon to the straw
6) Blow up the balloon and clip or hold the balloon tight until you are ready to release your
car

DIAGRAM OF BALLOON CAR DESIGN:

TEST YOUR BALLOON CAR! You will want to do this outside or in an open space inside. You’ll
need a tape measure to show how far your car went. You can modify your design if you wish to
get your car to go even farther!
CLASS 3:

Reading Assignment: Pages 16 – 24

Supplies needed:
An ice cube made with blue food coloring – should be dark
A clear, colorless glass with warm water
A cup of hot water with a penny or a copper coin and a plastic
spoon – best if the cup is wide enough to dip the penny on the
spoon into it without tilting it

Optional Materials for At Home Project:

Cardstock
A piece of cardboard
Scissors
Tape
Marble
CLASS 3 WORKSHEET

Work, Power, and Energy

1. How much work is done if a 2 N are used to push a mass

for 4 meters?

2. Which will have the greater power: doing 4J of work in 2

seconds or in 4 seconds?

3. List 3 examples of kinetic energy

1)

2)

3)
 4. List 3 examples of potential energy

1)

2)

3)

Methods of Heat Transfer

1. What are the three methods of heat transfer?

1)

2)

3)

2. Conduction Experiment:
A. Why did the penny get hot while the plastic spoon
didn’t?
 B. Illustrate the movement of the atoms in a metal rod
that is placed in a fire to show conduction.

3. Convection Experiment

A. Describe what happened when you placed the blue ice

cube in the hot water.

B. Why did this occur?

BUILD YOUR OWN ROLLER COASTER:
EXPLORE POTENTIAL AND KINETIC ENERGY WITH YOUR DESIGN!

Roller coasters convert potential energy to kinetic energy. When the roller
coaster is at the top of the hill, it has gravitational potential energy which is then
converted to kinetic energy as the coaster goes down the hill.

Some energy will also be converted to heat due to friction. Because of the First
Law of Thermodynamics, the total amount of kinetic energy and energy lost to
friction can never be greater than the initial amount of potential energy.

Before you start, plan out your design for your coaster. What will happen if you
have a hill or loop that is higher than your starting position? What will happen if
your coaster is too long? Your coaster should have at least one loop.

If your marble doesn’t make it all the way through the track, make changes to
your design (like making the starting hill taller or shortening loops) to see if you
can get the marble to go all the way through.

MATERIALS:
 Paper templates printed on paper or cardstock (preferable). You should print at least
two copies; if you want to build a longer roller coaster, print the third page. Paper will
not be as sturdy as cardstock.
 Piece of cardboard to use as a base
 Scissors
 Tape
 Marble

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Cut the track segment out along the solid line. Do not cut the inner solid lines! Only cut
out the large rectangle.
2) Cut the tabs along the dashed lines.
3) Fold the tabs up to 90 degrees.
4) Bend the track into the shape you want and then tape the tabs to hold it in place.
Sometimes you may be taping several tabs that overlap and sometimes you may be
taping tabs that have large gaps between them. Your coaster should have at least one
loop.
5) Build the support struts. Cut the support strut out along the solid lines. Cut along the
dotted lines until the marking (about 2.5 cm). Fold along the dotted lines to form a
rectangular shape and use tape to hold together. (Two pieces should overlap).
6) Fold the cut tabs outward so they form an X shape. Attach the two supports to
cardboard with tape for the top of the roller coaster. Tape the track segments together
according to your plan.
7) Let the marble go and see what happens! Modify your coaster if the marble didn’t
make it all the way to the end.
8) See what happens to the marble if you make your supports lower in height. Does the
marble go as far as it did before?
SUPPORT STRUT

CUT TO HERE
TRACK SEGMENT
CLASS 4:

Reading Assignment: Pages 25 -34 (Stop at Electricity and

Magnetism)

Supplies needed:
2 different types of coins or two different colored pieces of
paper the size of a coin

Optional Materials for At Home Project:

Card stock (2 sheets)
Scotch Tape
Mini Glue dots
¼ inch copper tape
LEDs
Metal brads
Coin cell battery
Markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils
CLASS 4 WORKSHEET

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

1. How many arrangements are possible for the 2 different

coins if each is in one of the boxes below:

______

How many arrangements are possible for the 2 different

coins if each is in one of the boxes below:

______

2. Which of the two above situations has more entropy and

why?
3. Which has more entropy: a broken glass or an unbroken
glass and why?

4. What happens to the energy of the automobile engine

that is not used to turn the wheels?

5. Which of the quantities in Coulomb’s Law are directly

proportional?

Which of the quantities in Coulomb’s Law are inversely

proportional?
6. Which of the quantities in Ohm’s Law are directly
proportional?

Which of the quantities in Ohm’s Law are inversely

proportional?

7. Draw a simple electric circuit with a switch, a load, and a

power source.
CREATE A lIGHT UP LED CARD:
BUILD A SIMPLE CIRCUIT WITH A SWITCH TO LIGHT A TINY LIGHT BULB!

MATERIALS:
 Card stock (2 sheets per card)
 Scotch tape
 Mini glue dots
 ¼ inch copper tape (available at Amazon)
 LEDs
 Metal Brads
 Coin cell battery
 Markers, crayons, colored pencils, and other items to decorate your car

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Sketch your design in pencil on your card and decide where you want the light to be.
Also determine where you want the battery. It’s best if it’s near the edge of the card
since it has to be pushed to turn the light on.
2) Sketch in the copper tape on either side of the location of the light. One piece will end
at the battery and the other should be about ¾ inch from the first piece of tape.
3) Add the copper wire and the battery to your drawing:

Cut two lengths of copper tape to match your sketch, peel off the backing, and attach to
the card. Use two mini glue dots to attach the battery over the copper tape. The
bottom of the battery must touch the copper tape!
4) Add the LED by bending the legs flat and placing on the copper tape. Place a strip of
copper tape from the battery to the other strip of copper tape. You have now
completed the circuit so see if your LED lights up. If not, turn the LED light around so
that the opposite legs touch the copper as your light may have been backwards.
5) Secure each leg of the LED light to the copper strip by cutting a small piece of copper
tape and sticking the backing side to a piece of scotch tape. Put the small piece of
copper tape + scotch tape over the LED leg and press firmly.
6) A metal brad can be used to create an on/off switch that will complete the circuit in
place of the extra copper strip in the image above. Cut a small piece of card stock and
stick both ends of the brad through it. Bend the legs flat so the brad is essentially one
long piece

Put the head of the brad on the end of the copper tape without the battery. One end of
the brad needs to be able to touch the battery while the other end needs to stick out of
the edge of the card so that it can be turned back and forth:

Once the brad is in the proper position, tape down the card stock, but make sure the
brad still moves freely
7) Take the second piece of card stock and place it over your circuit. This is going to be the
front of your card. Mark where the LED is and poke a hole so that it will fit through.
Take the card off of the circuit to decorate it. Make sure you indicate the on/off
position and where to press the battery. Then place the decorated card over the inner
card and secure with tape except for where the switch is.

THE CARD IS NOW READY TO GIVE TO SOMEONE!

CLASS 5:

Reading Assignment: Pages 34 – 46

Supplies needed:
A glass filled with water
Pen or pencil you don’t mind getting wet
Piece of cardboard
Piece of aluminum foil
Piece of plastic wrap
Flashlight (cell phone light okay)
Piece of white paper
2 coins
Last page of worksheet cut out before class

Optional Materials for At Home Project:

Pizza box
Ruler
Pencil
Black construction paper
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
White school glue
Scissors
Electrical tape
CLASS 5 WORKSHEET
Electricity and Magnetism

1. How are the electric and magnetic fields arranged in an

electromagnetic wave?

2. How is the electromagnetic wave able to “leapfrog”

through space?
Interaction of Electromagnetic Waves With Matter

Using the flashlight, shine the light on the items below. Predict
what will happen and then determine the results. You may use
the sheet of white paper to help determine reflection,
transmission, or absorption.

Material Prediction Result

Aluminum Foil

Plastic Wrap

Cardboard

Using the coins, model absorption at the atomic level:

BEFORE CLASS CUT OUT THE
IMAGE TO THE RIGHT ALONG
THE SOLID BLACK LINES BUT
DO NOT CUT THE OVALS
APART!

DON’T WORRY IF YOU CUT

OFF SOME OF THE ARROWS
MAKE A SOLAR POWERED OVEN:
USE REFLECTION AND ABSORPTION TO HEAT YOUR FOOD!

MATERIALS:
 Pizza box
 Ruler
 Pencil
 Black construction paper
 Aluminum foil
 Plastic wrap
 Wooden stick or pencil
 White school glue
 Scissors
 Electrical tape or shipping tape

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) If necessary, clean out the pizza box.
2) Using the ruler, draw a square on the top of the pizza box that is one inch from the
edge.

Open to put food in

and take it out

3) Use the scissors to carefully poke a hole in the top of the box and cut out three sides
of the square (along the red lines).
4) Fold the top piece you just cut back to create a flap.
5) Line the inside of the flap with aluminum foil. Fold the edges over the back of the
flap and glue them in place.
6) Cover the inside of the box with aluminum foil and glue the foil in place. Do not
cover the inside of the very front as you will need to open that to put the food in and
take it out.
7) Glue a piece of black paper to the bottom of the box. Why black? Remember black
absorbs visible light and converts it to heat.
8) Cover the opening in the box made by the flap with plastic wrap. Attach it to the
edges of the box with the electrical tape or shipping tape, making sure there are no
tears or rips in the plastic and that it completely seals the flap.
9) Use a wooden stick or pencil to prop the flap up. You may want to experiment with
the angle of the flap to see what is best.
10) Place food in the oven, set in the sun and wait! CAUTION, THE OVEN MIGHT GET
HOT SO BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU COME BACK. THE OVEN WILL PROBABLY NOT GET
HOT ENOUGH TO COOK MEAT COMPLETELY.

Instead use your oven to reheat cooked food or to melt things. Smore’s are a good
option!

You may want to place your food on an aluminum pie tin instead of directly on the black
paper. Change the paper and/or the plastic wrap out every so often if necessary.
CLASS 6:

Reading Assignment: Pages 47 – 54 (Stop at Molecules and

Compounds)

Supplies needed:
A cup of pudding + a nut + a spoon OR Playdough/clay + a coin
+ a pencil
Different colored candies (Skittles, M&Ms) or different colored
beads or you can also use different colored dots of paper
6 water balloons filled with air

Optional Materials for At Home Project:

Materials to make a cake and candy to decorate it OR
Wire and cotton balls or Styrofoam balls and paint OR
Anything else you can use to make a model of the atom!
CLASS 6 WORKSHEET
Models of the Atom

1. Summarize and/or illustrate the main features of the

atom for each model:

Thompson Model (1897) Rutherford Model (1908)

Bohr Model (1913) Quantum Mechanical Model

(modern)
THE BOHR MODEL OF HELIUM:

2 PROTONS 2 ELECTRONS 2 NEUTRONS

Atomic Spectrum (Line Spectrum) of Helium:

1. What is the color of the highest energy photon?

2. What is the color of the lowest energy photon?

The Quantum Mechanical Model of the Atom:

Sketch the following:

s orbital p orbital
MAKE A BOHR MODEL OF THE ATOM:
DEMONSTRATE HOW ELECTRONS FIT INTO ENERGY LEVELS!

MATERIALS:
 Something on which to base your atom – you could use cardboard as a base or you
could use a cake and decorate it; you can also use wires for the energy levels and
connect them together.
 Things to represent protons, neutrons, and electrons
 Things to represent energy levels

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Here we will assume you decided to make a cake since you can eat it when you’re done!
You could also decide to make cupcakes and create a different atom for each cupcake.
2) Bake your cake and ice it with frosting.
3) Decide what you will use for the energy levels. This could be a different color of frosting
or it could be thin licorice or anything else you think will work. Be creative!
4) Decide what you will use for protons, neutrons, and electrons. You should decide on a
color scheme. Candies should work well; use one color for protons, another for
neutrons, and a third for electrons.
5) Decide what atom you want to represent. Look on the periodic table. The number on
top of the element is both the number of protons that you want and also the number of
electrons that you want.
6) The number underneath the element will give you an idea of how many neutrons to
add, but you must do a calculation to determine the exact number: round the number
to the nearest whole number and subtract the number of protons. This will be your
number of neutrons.
7) Add the appropriate number of protons and neutrons according to your color scheme to
the center of your cake to represent the nucleus.
8) Add the appropriate number of electrons according to the following scheme:

LEVEL 1: Up to TWO
LEVEL 2: Up to EIGHT
LEVEL 3: Up to EIGHTEEN
LEVEL 4: Up to THIRTY-TWO
LEVEL 5: Up to THIRTY-TWO
LEVEL 6: Up to EIGHTEEN
LEVEL 7: Up to EIGHT

The formula is 2 x n2 where n is the shell level but in reality in the higher levels, the atom does
not fill an entire energy level before moving on to the next one and above is what is observed.
CLASS 7:

Reading Assignment: Pages 54 – 61 (Stop at Chemical Bonds)

Supplies needed:
Candies or beads of at least 3 different colors (at 12 of one
color). You can also use colored dots of paper if you like.

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

4 copies of a laminated periodic table
2 file folders
1 large paper clip
2 erasable markers
2 cloths to erase markers
T-shirt, cap or other clothing item
Iron on Block letters in both capital and lowercase
Iron
Ruler
Pencil
Tape (optional)
CLASS 7 WORKSHEET

The Periodic Table

Pick a Main Group Element : ___________

For that element give:

The atomic number _______

The number of electrons _______

The number of protons _______

The atomic mass _______

The number of neutrons _______

The group number _______

The period number _______

The number of valence electrons _______

Isotopes:

A new element has been discovered on Mars with 3 isotopes.

It’s nothing like any element on earth. You need to calculate
the atomic mass of the element and come up with a name and
an atomic symbol for it.

Take your candies, beads or dots and assign them by color

below:

A ___________ = 7 amu

B ___________ = 8 amu

C ___________ = 9 amu

Give them a collective element name: _________________

Give them a collective element symbol: ________

The numbers are the atomic masses of your isotopes.

Take 2 of your first color, 1 of your second color, and 12 of your

third color.
Calculate the atomic mass of your element as it would go on
the periodic table:

Total number of “atoms”: ________

Calculate the contributions of the individual masses:

Mass number x number of atoms = __________

A: __________ ___________ = __________

B: __________ ___________ = __________

C: __________ ___________ = __________

Total of the individual masses = ___________

Divide this number by the number of atoms. This is your

atomic mass for the periodic table:

How would you write the symbol for only isotope A?

SPEAK IN ELEMENTS:
LEARN THE PERIODIC TABLE BETTER WITH YOUR OWN GAME OF BATTLESHIP!
THEN CREATE WEARABLE ART USING ONLY THE ATOMIC SYMBOLS!

MATERIALS:
 4 copies of the periodic table printed out. It is best if they are laminated so you can use
them over and over again.
 2 file folders
 1 large paper clip
 2 erasable markers
 Cloth for erasing markings
 T-shirt, cap, or other clothing item
 Iron-on Block Letters in both capital and lowercase
 Iron
 Ruler
 Pencil
 Tape (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BATTLESHIP GAME:

1) Open the file folders so they form an L shape.
2) Place the periodic tables on the inside of the file folder, both the top and the bottom.
3) Clip the file folders and the periodic tables together with the paper clip.
4) You can tape the lower periodic table to the file folder if you wish.
5) Use the lower periodic table to mark off your “ships” by circling rows or columns of 2, 3,
4, or 5 elements.
6) You can call out atomic numbers, atomic symbols, or element names. You can also mark
the left-hand side of the periodic table with letters and use those with the Group
Number for coordinates. To make it more complicated, you can call out the number of
electrons or atomic the atomic mass.
7) When you get a hit, circle it on the upper table. If you miss, put an X on the upper table.
8) You sink a “ship” by calling out all of the spots the other person has circles for that
“ship.”
9) Keep playing until one person has sunk all of the other person’s ships.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR WEARABLE ART:

1) Choose what piece of clothing you would like to use and what you would like to say. You
can only use elements on the periodic table for your message! While you can use only
elements with one letter in their atomic symbol, it’s more fun if you use at least some with
two letters in their atomic symbol. When people see the letters written in both capital and
lowercase, if they know the periodic table, they’ll get it.

Example: Use Ge Ni U S
2) If you are really stuck for ideas, you can search the internet, but be creative!
3) Use the ruler and pencil to plan out where on your clothing item you would like your
letters. You might want to lightly sketch where each letter will go.
4) Iron on your letters and wear!
CLASS 8:

Reading Assignment: Pages 61 - 69

Supplies needed:
Pens or pencils of at least two different colors

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Clear plastic bottle (a 500 mL bottle is a good size)
Vegetable oil
Water
A tray or pie pan
Food coloring
Alka-Selzer or another effervescent tablet
CLASS 8 WORKSHEET
Chemical Bonding

Ionic Bonds: Between a _______________ and a __________________ .

A _______________ and ________________ of electrons.

Magnesium and Chlorine

Magnesium is in Group _________ and has ________ valence electrons.

Magnesium is a _________ (metal/non-metal) so magnesium wants to ________

(give/receive) _______ electrons.

Chlorine is in Group _________ and has ________ valence electrons.

Chlorine is a _________ (metal/non-metal) so chlorine wants to ________

(give/receive) _______ electrons.
Aluminum and Oxygen

Aluminum is in Group _________ and has ________ valence electrons.

Aluminum is a _________ (metal/non-metal) so aluminum wants to ________

(give/receive) _______ electrons.

Oxygen is in Group _________ and has ________ valence electrons.

Oxygen is a _________ (metal/non-metal) so oxygen wants to ________

(give/receive) _______ electrons.
Covalent Bonds: Between 2 ______________________.

A ______________________ of electrons.

H O H
H H C H
H
H N H
H
 C N O F
Number of
Bonds

Number of
Lone Pairs
MAKE YOUR OWN LAVA LAMP:
USE POLAR AND NON-POLAR SUBSTANCES TO CREATE THE EFFECT!

MATERIALS:
 Clear plastic bottle (a 500 mL bottle is a good size)
 Vegetable oil
 Water
 A tray or pie pan
 Food coloring
 Alka-Selzer or another effervescent tablet

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Put the bottle on the pan or tray to catch any spills.
2) Fill the bottle half-way with oil.
3) Add water to an inch from the top of the bottle.
4) Add 10 drops of the food coloring of your choice.
5) Cut the antacid tablet into pieces and drop on into the bottle. As the bubbles slow, keep
adding tablets.
6) When the bubbles have completed dispersed, you can cap your bottle and save it for
later use. MAKE SURE ALL THE BUBBLES HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU CAP YOUR BOTTLE
SO YOU WILL NOT HAVE GAS BUILDING UP INSIDE. THIS WOULD BE DANGEROUS AS
THE BUBBLES WOULD HAVE NO WAY TO ESCAPE.

Polar and non-polar substances:

Polar substances have a separation of charges. This is because one element in a covalent bond
pulls the electrons toward it and those electrons spend more time with than element, creating
a partial negative charge. This means the element that doesn’t have the electrons as much will
have a partial positive charge because the electrons don’t spend enough time around its
nucleus to completely neutralize the positively charged protons.

What do positive and negative charges do? They attract and so they line up so that the positive
end of one molecule is next to the negative end of another molecule. Non-polar substances
have no separation of charges and so they cannot participate in this. Thus polar substances will
mix with other polar substances so they can organize positive charges next to negative charges,
however they will exclude non-polar substances since they have no charges.

Why does the food coloring mix with the water?

Both the water and the food coloring are polar compounds and so will mix together.

Why don’t the water and the oil mix?

The water is polar, but the oil is non-polar and so they will not mix because water would like to
mix only with other polar substances. Since water is denser, it sinks to the bottom.
How are the bubbles created?
The antacid tablet undergoes a chemical reaction with the water to produce carbon dioxide.
The carbon dioxide bubbles cling to water droplets and this combination is less dense than the
oil (and the water) so the bubbles move upward until they pop, and the carbon dioxide escapes
into the atmosphere. The dense water then sinks to the bottom again.

CLASS 9:
Reading Assignment: Pages 70 – 72

Supplies Needed:
Cup with a small amount (1 tablespoon) of baking soda
Cup with a small amount (1 tablespoon) of vinegar
Cup with water (about half a cup)
A salt packet from a fast food restaurant or about 1 teaspoon of
salt wrapped in a piece of paper
Different colored candies (Skittles or M&Ms) or different
colored beads or different colored dots of paper

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Empty plastic bottle
Dry yeast
Warm water
Liquid dish soap
Food coloring
3% hydrogen peroxide
Measuring cups and measuring spoons
Safety glasses
Large tub or tray to catch the foam

CLASS 9 WORKSHEET
Chemical reactions

1. What happened when you added the baking soda and

vinegar together?

Was this a chemical change or a physical change?

2. What happened when you added the salt to the water?

Was this a chemical change or a physical change?

Balancing chemical equations:

REACTANTS PRODUCTS

Ba + O2 BaO

Li + AlCl3 LiCl + Al

CH4 + O2 H2O + CO2

How does the Law of Conservation of Mass lead to the
balancing of chemical equations?

Endothermic and Exothermic reactions:

Endo = in Exo = out Thermic = heat

Define endothermic:

Define exothermic:

Examples of endothermic processes:

Examples of exothermic processes:

States of Matter:

Describe the particles in each of the states of matter and

illustrate them below:

SOLID

LIQUID

GAS

What determines whether a substance is a solid, liquid, or gas

at room temperature?
MAKE ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE:
CREATE YOUR OWN SMALL CHEMISTRY MAGIC SHOW WITH THIS CHEMICAL
REACTION!

MATERIALS:
 Empty plastic bottle
 Dry yeast
 Warm water
 Liquid dish soap
 Food coloring
 3 % hydrogen peroxide
 Measuring cups and measuring spoons
 Safety glasses
 Large tub or tray to catch the foam

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Put on your safety glasses. Hydrogen peroxide can irritate your eyes and you never
know what might happen.
2) Put the bottle in the tray or tub or do this experiment outside so it will be easy to clean
up afterward.
3) Pour half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into the bottle. Wash the measuring cup well
when you are done with it.
4) Add a large squirt of the dish soap to the bottle and swirl gently to mix.
5) Add a few drops of food coloring. If you want one color of “toothpaste” then add the
drops directly to the hydrogen peroxide mixture and swirl gently to mix. If you would
rather to have stripes like some toothpastes do, they add the drops along the rim of the
bottle’s mouth and then let them drip down the inside of the bottle, but do not mix.
6) In a measuring cup, mix together 1 tablespoon of yeast and 3 tablespoons of warm
water. Stir for about 30 seconds. Make sure the water is not too hot or it will kill the
yeast!
7) Pour the mixture into the bottle and watch your reaction go!

What is the reaction that is occurring?

Yeast is catalyzing the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. The oxygen
bubbles are escaping the bottle while forming a foam with the dish detergent.

A catalyst, like yeast in this experiment, is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction (here
the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide) but does not itself change during the reaction. At the
end of the reaction there is just as much yeast as there was at the beginning of the reaction.
CLASS 10:

Reading Assignment: Pages 73 - 85

Supplies Needed:
Gum drops of at least 5 different colors with at least 4 of one
Color and 10 of another color or you can use pieces of clay
instead of the gumdrops
Toothpicks
Scissors
Circles from worksheet cut out and placed in an envelope for
use

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Large plastic container
Clear plastic wrap
Masking tape
Small glass
Water
Small rock
Dirt
CLASS 10 WORKSHEET

Hydrocarbons:

What elements make up the hydrocarbons?

Model CH4 and C4H10 with gumdrops and toothpicks and

draw your structures below:

Label your isomers as straight-chained or branched.

Write in the boxes below what is the defining feature of each of
the following functional groups:

ALCOHOL: CARBOXYLIC ACID: ESTER:

Write the esters formed by the combination of the alcohols and

esters. Use the circles to help you.
CUT OUT THE CIRCLES ALONG THE DOTTED LINES:

DISTILL YOUR OWN WATER:

THIS KNOWLEDGE COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE IF YOU HAD NO FRESH WATER TO
DRINK IN AN EMERGENCY!

MATERIALS:
 Large plastic container
 Clear plastic wrap
 Masking tape
 Small glass
 Water
 Small rock
 Dirt

INSTRUCTIONS:
7) Fill the plastic container with one inch of water. Mix in some dirt if you would like so
that you can see a difference with your distilled water.
8) Place the empty glass standing up in the water.
9) Cover the plastic container tightly with plastic wrap and seal it with tape.
10) Place the small rock on top of the plastic wrap directly over the glass but not touching it
to weigh it down so the water will run downward into the jar.
11) Place the bowl in a sunny place for several hours.
12) Check to see if pure water has collected in your glass.

Although this is a very simple still, the principle is still the same as for those used in petroleum
refining.

CLASS 11:
Reading Assignment: Pages 86 – 94 (Stop before Proteins)

Supplies needed:
50 Q-tips/cotton swabs
Rubber band
2 pipe cleaners
2 drinking straws
Scissors
Plastic bag
Piece of candy or other small object (marble, bead)

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Gelatin (light colors work best)
Candy – gummy worms, M&M’s, Skittles, gumdrops, pieces of
licorice, and jelly beans work well.

CLASS 11 WORKSHEET
The Cell Membrane

Make a model of the cell membrane:

Take your cotton swabs and bundle them together with the rubber band. Each Q-
tip resembles two phospholipids tail to tail.

Cut the drinking straw in half and place each part of the straw somewhere in your
“cell membrane”. These will represent channel proteins.

Cut a pipe cleaner into several pieces so that each piece is about half the size of
the Q-tip non-cotton portion. These will represent cholesterol.

Take a second pipe cleaner and if necessary, cut it so that it is twice the size of a
Q-tip. Stick it into the bundle of Q-tips so that one end sticks out of the top. Bend
this part of the pipe cleaner into a very specific shape, for example a circle or half
spherical shape. This will represent a receptor protein.

Identify which piece of your model represents the cellular components below:

Phospholipids: _____________________________

Cholesterol: _____________________________

Channel Protein: _____________________________

Receptor Protein: _____________________________

Move the bundle around between your hands. Are the individual Q-tips locked in
place?

Can each component move around without being pulled out?

See if you can get a “channel protein” to move from one side of the bundle to the
other without being pulled out.

What part of the Q-tip represents the polar portion of the phospholipid?

What part of the Q-tip represents the non-polar portion of the phospholipid?

Sketch below the shape that you created for your receptor molecule:
Now sketch a molecule that could bind to your receptor molecule:

How does the receptor molecule get things in and out of the cell without breaking
the cell membrane apart? We’ll model this with the plastic bag and the piece of
candy or small object.

Describe how the small object got inside the “cell.”

What is an organelle?

Write down the function of each of the following organelles:

Nucleus

Mitochondrion

Ribosome

Lysosome

Chloroplast

Golgi apparatus

Cell wall
Photosynthesis and Respiration:

Indicate the reactants and products in each of the processes. Don’t forget to
include energy as a reactant or product!

Reactants Products

Photosynthesis

Respiration

How are photosynthesis and respiration related to each other?

Why does the cell convert glucose to ATP?

MAKE A 3-D MODEL OF A CELL:
MODEL A CELL AND THEN EAT YOUR RESULTS!

MATERIALS:
 Gelatin – light colors work best because then you can easily see through your model
 Candy to represent the organelles. Good ones to use include gummy worms, M&Ms,
Skittles, gumdrops, pieces of licorice, jelly beans, and anything else that you think might
work as an organelle. You could use a jawbreaker or another spherical candy for the
nucleus.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Map out what candy will represent what organelle and create a rough sketch of your
cell model below. This will help you decide where you could put each organelle.
2) Make the gelatin using slightly less water than usual so that you will have a slightly more
solid-like gelatin. This will help your “organelles” stay in place.
3) Let the gelatin cool a bit and pour it into a plastic sandwich bag that has been placed
into a container. The container will help hold the bag open while you pour. Make sure
the gelatin isn’t too hot when you pour it, because then it will partially melt the plastic
bag!
4) Close the bag and put it into the refrigerator to start to set.
5) When the gelatin is almost ready, add your cell parts and then close the bag and return
it to the refrigerator to finish setting.

DESIGN OF CELL MODEL:

CLASS 12:
Reading Assignment: Pages 94 -100

Supplies needed:
7-8 paper clips
Playdough or clay
Marbles, small balls, rocks, dice, and/or other small objects –
there should be several options of different shapes and
sizes
4-5 Pipe cleaners

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Gelatin
Fresh pineapple
Kiwi
Strawberry
Orange

CLASS 12 WORKSHEET
Monomers and Polymers

3. Look at the string of paper clips.

What represents the monomer?

What represents the polymer?

4. What 6 elements comprise the organic compounds in our

bodies?

5. What are the monomers of proteins? How many different

monomers are there in proteins?

6. Using the shapes below draw your own primary structure.

 How many different types of monomers are there in your
primary structure?

7. Using pipe cleaners, create a small protein with alpha helix

and beta sheet motifs. Draw a rough sketch of your
protein below.
8. Now make the protein above a dimer with additional pipe
cleaners.

9. Using clay create a protein with an active site for a

substrate. Use one of your objects, a marble or a dice, etc.
as your substrate. Draw your protein, active site, and
substrate below.
Now see if you can create a drug for your active site. You
can use another piece of clay to do this if you would like or
perhaps one of your small objects will work.

Sketch your protein, active site and drug below.

Is your drug inhibitory or stimulatory?

Alpha Helix Beta Sheet

CUT ALONG THE BOLD LINES - FOR THE BETA SHEET CUT OUT THE RECTANGLE
AND FOR THE ALPHA HELIX CUT OUT THE CIRCLE AND THEN CUT ALONG THE
SPIRAL
EXPERIMENT WITH ENZYMES:
TAKE A LOOK AT FRUIT ENZYMES IN ACTION!

MATERIALS:
 Gelatin
 Fresh pineapple
 Kiwi
 Strawberry
 orange

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Make the gelatin according to the package directions.
2) Add the fruit to different small bowls, one for each type of fruit.
3) Add the gelatin to bowls. You should have one bowl with no fruit for a control.
4) Refrigerate for a few hours to set.
5) Remove the bowls from the refrigerator and record your observations below.

OBSERVATIONS:

Contents Observations

Gelatin

Gelatin + fresh pineapple

Gelatin + kiwi

Gelatin + strawberry

Gelatin + orange
Propose an explanation for your results:

Why should you use a control?

Explore further:

If you wish, try microwaving or otherwise heating the fresh pineapple. What happens to the
gelatin then?

Try other fruits such as papaya, mango, guava or figs and see what occurs.

Record your observations for further experiments below.

What’s going on?

Gelatin is made from proteins and at room temperature they stick together. Each chain sticks
to several others and they form a complex three-dimensional structure, rather like branches
can form a tangle of brush. When gelatin is heated, the connections between the protein
chains break. Water molecules can also stick to the protein chains by forming hydrogen bonds.
At high temperatures these hydrogen bonds won’t hold, but as the gelatin cools, they form and
the protein chains also connect to each other again. Since most of the water is sticking to the
protein chains, there is no longer any liquid water.

Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests protein. That means it chops the protein chain into
smaller pieces and these smaller pieces can’t hold the water molecules or bind to each other
very well. Thus the liquid water returns.

When the pineapple is heated, this enzyme is denatured. That means it falls apart and back
into its primary structure, just a long string of amino acids. It can’t work this way and so the
gelatin remains a semi-solid.

You should be able to tell from your results which other fruits contain this enzyme that digests
proteins and which don’t.

Why should you use a control?

How do you know if you did something wrong? A control is a good way to see what should
happen if you don’t add anything. You then have a basis upon which to judge your
modifications.
CLASS 13:

Reading Assignment: Pages 100 – 108

Supplies needed:
Modeling clay or playdough in two different colors
The shapes from last page of the worksheet cut out and in an
envelope for use
The rectangle from the worksheet cut out

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Binder clip
Markers and/or colored pencils
Paper to print the templates
Scissors
CLASS 13 WORKSHEET

DNA

Arrange your DNA shapes any way that you would like BUT
purple and yellow must touch (except for the ends) and the
puzzle pieces must match (and touch) – curved to curved and
point to point.

Write down some things that you notice about your DNA
structure:
Why did Chargaff observe what he did?

Draw a rough sketch of a nucleotide. Use shapes or colors to

distinguish between the base, the sugar, and the phosphate.
How do mitosis and meiosis differ?
Use your clay to create two chromosomes of different colors
but roughly the same size. Now have your chromosomes “cross
over.” Draw the result below.
CUT OUT THE RECTANGLE ALONG THE SOLID LINE
CUT OUT THE SHAPES BELOW.

C C

T T

G G

A
CREATE A MITOSIS FLIPBOOK:
A
MITOSIS ISN’T A STATIC PROCESS, SO WHY NOT ANIMATE IT!
MATERIALS:
 Binder clip
 Markers and/or colored pencils
 Paper to print the templates
 Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Print out three copies of Page ONE and one copy each of Page TWO and Page THREE.
2) Illustrate the various stages of mitosis.
3) Cut out the rectangles and put them together in order.
4) Attach the booklet with the binder clip.
5) Flip through it! If it’s not a smooth process, add or subtract images as necessary.
6) Feel free to illustrate a cover for your book using the blank rectangle below.

ONE
TWO
THREE
CLASS 14:

Reading Assignment: Pages 109 – 115

Supplies needed:
Shapes pre-cut according to directions on worksheet and
placed in an envelope for use during class

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

White school glue, 100 mL
Borax (100g) sold in grocery stores or dollar stores
10 disposable cups 4-8 ounces
10 popsicle sticks
Paper and pen/pencil
Water
Kitchen scale
Measuring tape
CLASS 14 WORKSHEET
The Genetic Code

Se
co
U C A G
nd
Le U
UUU Phe UCU Ser UAU Tyr UGU Cys
tte C
U UUC Phe UCC Ser UAC Tyr UGC Cys
r
UUA Leu UCA Ser UAA Stop UGA Stop A
UUG Leu UCG Ser UAG Stop UGG Trp G

U
CUU Leu CCU Pro CAU His CGU Arg
CUC Leu CCC Pro CAC His CGC Arg C
C
Fir CUA Leu CCA Pro CAA Gln CGA Arg A Thi
st CUG Leu CCG Pro CAG Gln CGG Arg G rd
Le Le
tte AUU Ile ACU Thr AAU Asn U tte
AGU Ser
r AUC Ile ACC Thr AAC Asn AGC Ser C r
A
AUA Ile ACA Thr AAA Lys AGA Arg A
AUG Met ACG Thr AAG Lys AGG Arg G

GUU Val GCU Ala GAU Asp GGU Gly U

GUC Val GCC Ala GAC Asp GGC Gly C
G
GUA Val GCA Ala GAA Glu GGA Gly A
GUG Val GCG Ala GAG Glu GGG Gly G
 A T T U A A

DNA RNA

DNA RNA

CUT OUT THE SHAPES ALONG THE DOTTED LINES

DNA RNA
MET

MET
M

DNA RNA

DNA RNA

T A C A U G

DNA RNA
Write below the sequence of the protein that you made:

Write below the sequence of the RNA that led to that protein and underline each
triplet codon.

Now change one amino acid in the protein that you made:

Write below the sequence of the RNA that would lead to this protein and
underline each triplet codon. Now circle the mutation.

How many bases had to change for this mutation? Look at the genetic code. Are
there different numbers of bases that could change (for example, in some cases
one and in some cases two) to lead to this mutation?
Look at the three-dimensional paper protein that you made. If this protein is in
the cytoplasm, what type of amino acids should be on the outside? (think
polar/hydrophilic versus non-polar/hydrophobic)

What type of amino acids should be on the inside of the protein?

Now take the dot. This represents a mutation. It should be on the outside. Now
fold it down so that it’s in the center of the protein. What happens to the shape
of the protein?
 CUT OUT THE RECTANGLE ALONG
THE SOLID LINE

Alpha helix Beta sheet Alpha helix

HOW HIGH CAN YOUR SLIME BOUNCE?

SEE WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE BOUCINESS OF SLIME!

Staple Staple Staple

Now that you know how the polymers of proteins, DNA, and RNA are made, let’s
take a look at another polymer: slime!

MATERIALS:
 White school glue, 100 mL
 Borax (100g) sold in grocery stores or dollar stores
 10 disposable cups 4-8 ounces
 10 popsicle sticks
 Paper and pen/pencil
 Water
 Scale that can meaure to 1 g or 0.1 g
 Measuring tape

Glue contains a polymer called polyvinyl acetate. Poly means many and in this case it’s many
vinyl acetates which are the monomers that make up this polymer. When you mix Borax in
with the glue, the Borax causes these polymers to cross-link very similar to the way that the
polymers in the cell wall cross-link:

These cross-links (shown in gold above) create the slime texture. Now it’s time to determine
how to create the bounciest slime you can! First create a batch of slime using the formula
below. From there you will modify your slime to see how you can change the bounciness of it.

INSTRUCTIONS:
13) Place a paper cup on the kitchen scale. Add borax to it so that there will be 10g total of
Borax in the cup. Don’t forget to account for the mass of the cup!
14) Use the same technique to put 10g of glue into a second cup.
15) Take a third cup and use the same technique to put 10 g of water into the cup. Pour the
water into the cup with Borax.
16) Refill the cup with 10g of water and pour the water into the cup with glue.
17) Use the popsicle sticks to mix the contents of each cup and then pour the contents of
one cup into the other cup. Continue stirring.
18) This is your standard slime, your starting point.

The first thing you need to do is test your standard slime. How high can it bounce? Test your
slime using a measuring tape. You may want to have someone help you hold the tape. Bounce
your slime ball three times and record the height of each bounce on the sheet below. Then
calculate the average height of the bounce.
From here you want to modify your slime to see if you can:

1) Determine which of your ingredients (borax or glue) is the bounce factor, that is the
ingredient that is responsible for the “bouciness” of slime.

2) Produce a slime ball that will bounce higher than your first slime ball and in fact will
bounce as high as any slime ball will bounce.

The trick here is to always create a 20 g slime ball. In this way you are always making an
accurate comparison to your first slime ball. This means that your Borax and glue combination
should always add up to 20g total.

Go ahead and try different formulations of borax and glue to see if you can optimize the
bounciness of your slime!

SLIME INVESTIGATION WORKSHEET:

 FORMULA OF HEIGHT OF HEIGHT OF HEIGHT OF AVERAGE
SLIME BOUNCE 1 BOUNCE 2 BOUNCE 3 BOUNCE
HEIGHT

10 g of glue +
10 g of Borax

Which formula was the most successful as determined by bounce height?

What is the bounce factor in your formula?

CLASS 15:

Reading Assignment: Pages 116 – 125

Supplies needed:
Two pipe cleaners of two different colors
Candies or beads or dots of paper of at least two different
colors

Optional Materials for at Home Project:

Two small clear cups or glasses
Salt
Water
Measuring spoons and measuring cups
Dishwashing soap – enough for several drops
Small spoon
70 % isopropanol
Cup of plain water (optional)
A dark colored sheet of paper or a notebook with a dark
colored cover (optional)

CLASS 15 WORKSHEET

DNA Manipulations:
1. Take one pipe cleaner and wrap it into a circle, twisting
the ends together. This represents your plasmid.

2. Now cut your pipe cleaner in one spot.

The protein that cuts DNA is:

3. Take a smaller piece of pipe cleaner of another color

and put it in the gap in your above pipe cleaner. Twist
the pipe cleaners together so you again have one entire
circle.

The protein that acts as DNA glue is:

4. Sketch your “plasmid” plus insert below:

5. The antibiotic resistance gene on the plasmid makes a
protein. What does this protein do?

6. Take some of your colored candies. Record below the

color and number of candies for each.
 With plasmid __________________

Without plasmid __________________

Place bacteria on the plates below:

- antibiotic + antibiotic

Number of bacteria Number of bacteria

placed on plate: placed on plate:

Number of bacteria Number of bacteria

that survived: that survived:

Crime Scene Suspect Suspect Suspect Suspect

DNA 1 2 3 4

Number of
Base Pairs

30
29
Look at the above image:
 1. Which suspect commit the crime? How do you know?

2. Which suspect has the shortest piece of DNA?

Which suspect has the fewest number of repeats?

EXTRACT YOUR OWN DNA:

SEE THE MATERIAL THAT MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE!

MATERIALS:
  A small clear cup or glass with 2 tablespoons of salt water (made from 1 teaspoon of salt
dissolved in ¾ cup of drinking water; stir to dissolve the salt)
 Dishwashing soap – enough for several drops
 Small spoon
 Another small cup with ½ cup of 70% isopropanol. Chill in the freezer for at least 20
minutes
 A cup of plain water (optional)
 A dark colored sheet of paper or a notebook with a dark colored cover (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:
19) Rinse your mouth with the salt water solution. Don’t swallow! Swish the rinse around
in your mouth for approximately one minute. Try to gently scrape your teeth against
the sides of your cheek.
20) Spit back into the cup.
21) Optional: swish the cup of plain water in your mouth to remove the salt taste!
22) Add a drop or two of dish soap into the cup containing your saltwater rinse.
23) Gently stir the soap into the water without making bubbles.
24) Pour in ice cold rubbing alcohol. Pour gently down the side so it makes an undisturbed
layer on the top. Do not mix the two layers together.
25) Optional: put the cup on top of the dark colored paper or notebook so that you can see
the DNA better.

You should see small white stringy clumps floating around in the cup – that’s your DNA!

What does the salt do?

The salt neutralizes the DNA. It provides some positive charges for the DNA’s negative charges
which makes it easier for the DNA to precipitate which means that it is no longer dissolved and
you can see it.

What does the detergent do?

The detergent breaks open the cell membrane and the nuclear membrane so that the DNA can
come out.

What does the isopropanol do?

The isopropanol also helps the DNA to precipitate.