Solar Cooker

 Today we learned about solar energy.  The sun gives off heat and light, which is absorbed by the soil, plants, and animals on Earth.  The sun's energy can be used to power and heat things.  We created a solar cooker out of a box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, black construction paper, and tape.  Then we made S'mores and cooked them by using the sun's energy!

Here are the materials we used and the steps we followed to make our solar cooker.

Materials:

Cardboard box

Aluminum foil

Plastic bags or plastic wrap

Skewer

Black construction paper

Marshmallows

Chocolate bar

Graham crackers

Procedure:

1. Cut a window in the top of the box

2. Cover the window with plastic, line the inside of the box with aluminum foil. 

3. Glue the black piece of construction paper to the inside bottom of the box. 

4. Place the S'mores in the box, directly beneath the window.

5. Place a thermometer inside the box, and one outside the box. 

6. Prop the flap with a skewer and place the box in direct sunlight.

7. After a few hours, return to the solar cooker and remove the cooked S'mores.  Eat!

8.Check the temperature inside the box, and outside the box.  

Results:

The solar cooker cooked our marshmallows and melted the chocolate.  The S'mores were delicious!  The temperature in the solar cooker was more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit.  The temperature outside of the solar cooker was only 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is soil made of?

Plants grow from seeds.  They need soil, water, sunlight, and room to grow.  Today we made our own soil, so that we can find out what kind of soil grows the healthiest plants.

Question:  What kind of soil grows the healthiest plants?

Hypotheses:  Zoe and Zane both think that Soil 2 will grow the healthiest plants.  They predict that Soil 3 will grow the least healthy plants.

Materials:

Three plastic bins
clay (we got some from the backyard)
silt (we visited a local river to collect silt from the banks)
sand
organic material or humus (dead leaves, grass, plants)

Soil 1

Components	How Much?
Clay	1 cup
Humus	1/2 cup
Silt	1/2 cup
Sand	1/4 cup

Soil 2

Components	How Much?
Clay	1/2 cup
Humus	1 cup
Silt	1 cup
Sand	1/2 cup

Soil 3

Components	How Much?
Clay	2 cups
Humus	1/2 cup
Silt	1 cup
Sand	1 cup

Pictures of our soil:

Results:

We planted 4 beans in Soil 1, 4 more beans in Soil 2, and 4 more beans in Soil 3.  Check out our post about planting the beans to find out which soil type grew the healthiest beans.

Colors of the Arctic

Question:  Will water temperatures be different if bags of water are covered in different colors of construction paper?

Hypothesis:

Zane predicts that red paper will cause the water to have the highest temperature.  He predicts that black will make the water the lowest temperature.

Zoe predicts that the white paper will cause the water to have the highest temperature.  Zoe predicts that black will make the water the lowest temperature.

Procedure:

1. Fill four bags with two cups of water each.

2. Cover each bag of water in a different color of paper (black, green, red, and white)

3. Wait 2 hours and check the temperature of each bag of water.

4. Write down the temperatures.

 Results:

We measured the temperature of the bags of water.  The water in the bag covered in white paper was 105 degrees Fahrenheit.  The water in the green bag and the black bag was 112 degrees Fahrenheit.  The water in the red bag was 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Conclusion:
Our predictions were not supported by the results of this experiment.  The water in the white bag had the lowest temperature after sitting in the sun for 2 hours.  The water in the green bag and the black bag had the highest temperature after sitting in the sun for 2 hours.

Discussion:
The white paper may have reflected some of the sunlight instead of absorbing all the heat, the way the black and green and red papers did. Is the Arctic region cold because the white ice reflects sunlight and heat instead of absorbing it?

Blubber Glove Experiment

In the Arctic Ocean, blue whales swim in very cold water.  They don't get cold because of their blubber, or fat.

Question: How long can we keep our hands in a bucket of ice water if we wear a blubber glove?

Hypothesis:

Zane predicts that he can keep his hand in ice water for 3 seconds without the blubber glove.  He predicts he can keep his hand in the ice water forever with the blubber glove.

Zoe predicts that she can keep her hand in the ice water for 10 seconds without the blubber glove.  She predicts that she can keep her hand in the ice water for 100 seconds with the blubber glove.

Procedure:

1.Fill a bucket with cold water and ice.
2.Fill a plastic bag with shortening (blubber).
3.Place one hand in the ice water and set a timer.  Take the hand out of the ice water when it gets too cold.
4.Place one hand in the plastic bag filled with shortening.  Set a timer and remove the hand when it gets too cold.

Results:

Zane kept his hand in the ice water for 6 seconds.  Zoe kept her hand in the ice water for 14 seconds.  With the blubber glove, Zane kept his hand in the ice water for 2 minutes and his hand did not get cold.  Zoe kept her hand in the ice water for 2 minutes and 25 seconds and her hand did not get cold.

Conclusion:

The blubber glove kept our hands warm even in the ice cold water.

First Post-Arctic Region

This is an arctic fox.  He lives in the Arctic region.  He can survive in temperatures as low as -58 degrees Fahrenheit.  Arctic foxes eat rodents, fish, and birds.  His white fur camouflages him so that other animals can't see him in the snow.  When the weather warms up and the snow melts, his fur changes to brown or gray.