Fun experiments

Press, 26 May 1981, Page 16

Fun experiments

Try this simple experiment •Which shows, that iron combines with-the.oxygen ih the air to cause combustion or : oxidation. You will be play-' ing With fire in a harmless way as long as you do it in a

safe place—a stainless steel sink or wash tub would be best/: ■' ■•-■.■ ' •’ YOU WILL NEED: A steel; 'wool pad of; the kind:,used-to ■ clean aluminiuifti: saucepans, a wooden meat skewer and a lighted candle. WHAT TO DO: Twist some of the steel wool round th.e meat skewer and hold it in the candle flame. The metal • will burn and throw off a shower of tiny sparks' like fireworks. • . Magic fish

™ Carve a fish shape from a « round raw potato. Do not < : remove the skin. Colour a ; pair of eyes and fins on shiny ■ paper. Cut ’out and fix in : place on the skin of the potato with strong glue. Now make the pond. Half fill a preserving jar with water and add a good cupful < of salt. Stir until the salt is < dissolved. , < Using a jug, carefully fill 1 the jar nearly to the top with ’ fresh water. Pour the water ji

gently on to a spoon held over the jar. Try not to disturb the salt water. ‘‘magic fish” should Tihk th. the level of the salt water and remain suspended there,’ because it will be heavier than the tap water but lighter than the salt water. Boat race - f Yod. will need to use a< yery sharp knife to make splits in the ends of several unused matches. ; Be. careful because the matches are rather tricky to cut Make the splits about Vz cm’ long and' rub sqftened soap or detergent<-intp the openings. Sail the matches in shallow water in a; sink of large pan and you will be surprised to see how quickly they move. The reason is that the soap destroys the. surface tension of the water as ,it dissolves, causing a backward movemeo(Lof the water particles. The is a forward movement in the-iiiafches.

Some words in the English h,aVe interesting. . Stories to tell ’ , means twice,, because’these little .makes were brigiaijliy baked (I'twioau TWr to W:»caßMuy -now with BM&mtnrMß. the'. drete If ■ hwmm y knowledge. s ' ' INSECT mein cut into. If :you look at any insect its ’/body seems to;berjcut.in the t KINDERGARTEN-is from . two German .words meaning ;’“a garden- of childrqn.” - MYSTERY comes - -from a Greek word meaning “to'shut, one’s eyes.”* So it means dark and hidden/’ ./-. OVAL means egg-shaped, from the Latin “ovum,” an egg. : THIMBLE is really thumble, a cover for the thumb. The German word means a “finger-hat.” ; SCHOOL is from the Greek, “schole” meaning leisure. In old times , people