The Case of the Mossy Lake Monster (7 page)
2
. Find a lab coat. Lab coats protect your clothes and skin from chemicals. (Plus, they’re spiffy.) Large, white, button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up work well. If you can’t find one around your house (ask first!), they’re available at secondhand clothing stores. Write your name on it using a permanent marker.
3
. Keep a sharp lookout for equipment. For example, start collecting different sizes of bottles and jars (both plastic and glass), different sizes of corks and rubber stoppers, cotton balls and cotton swabs, wire, tubing, balloons, duct tape, a magnifying glass, string … anything you might need for an experiment. (Make sure you ask before taking.)
4
. All good scientists label everything they’re working on. Keep a roll of masking tape and a marker on hand for labeling.
Congratulations! You are now an official amateur scientist genius!
Good Science Tip
Read through the instructions and set out all needed materials before beginning the experiment. Use only clean equipment. Record each step of the experiment’s procedure in your lab notebook.
I
n the story “A Matter of Life or Death,” Drake and Nell used the
scientific method
. Based on their observations of Zappy, they developed a
hypothesis
. A hypothesis is a scientist’s best guess as to what is happening. Like all good scientists, Nell jotted the hypothesis in her lab notebook. It might have looked like this:
Based on our observations, we believe Zappy is gaining extra electrons from the angora blanket, then transferring the electrons to the aluminum pie plate through his nose.
After a scientist develops a hypothesis, the hypothesis must be proven. The scientist must conduct experiments, following a
procedure
—step-by-step instructions. While sometimes a scientist follows a set procedure, other times a scientist creates new steps, going beyond what has been done before. In your experiments, you will follow a set procedure. So sharpen those pencils and get ready to go!
A
s a good scientist, you will doubtless want to know the truth about Zappy. (Oh, the truth is quite awful, but you probably want to know just the same. After all, scientists are a curious sort.) You wonder: just how badly did Zappy suffer?
The following activity will help you understand the power of static electricity. (No wonder Caitlin cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and
cried
and
cried
and cried cried cried!)
Beware. It’s a terribly sad activity.
MATERIALS
• aluminum pie plate (small ones work best)
• blown-up balloon
• your hair
• box of tissues
PROCEDURE
1
. Set pie plate on a table. (Think food dish.)
2
. Rub the balloon in your hair until your hair stands on end. (This works best on cool, dry days with clean, grease-free hair. Hey—all you grunge-heads out there … take a hint!)
3
. Your balloon is now charged with extra electrons in the form of static electricity. (Think Zappy. Think pink, tender schnozzola.)
4
. Bring the balloon close to the pie plate—two inches … one inch … (Sudden exchange of electrons! ZAP!)
5
. Poor, poor Zappy! Dab your eyes with a tissue and blow your nose.
6
. If you can stand the sadness, go into a dark room, wait one minute for your eyes to adjust, and try the experiment again. You can actually see the sparks.
Good Science Tip
All good scientists observe carefully. They record what they see and everything that happens in their experiment, whether or not they believe it’s important. Sometimes what they think isn’t important turns out to be the key to the puzzle! Here’s an activity you can do to sharpen your observation skills: Examine an ordinary leaf with a magnifying glass and write down ten things you observe about the leaf. (Example: tiny hairs, different colors, a soft texture.) You will be surprised at how many things you can observe when you try!
If you’re a penguin, oil spills spell
disaster
. And if you happen to be a penguin who can spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R, you’re very smart indeed. For this experiment, pluck a couple of your penguin feathers and get ready to see the effect that oil has on them.
MATERIALS
• two small bowls
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• two downy-soft feathers
*
*
Note:
Craft stores carry feathers. Don’t use feathers that you find outside—they may carry germs that cause disease.
PROCEDURE
1
. Pour water into one bowl. Pour oil into the second bowl.
2
. Dip one of the feathers into the water. Take it out and blow on it gently until it dries.
3
. Dip the second feather into the oil. Take it out and blow on it for about the same length of time as before.
4
. Now answer this question: Which would you (a penguin) rather swim in—oil or water?
How Can I Help?
While there’s not much you can do to prevent an oil tanker from running aground, you can still help. The surprising fact is, most of the oil in our oceans comes from motor oil that is dumped down the storm drain. If your parents change their own car oil, ask them to try to recycle the oil through your local recycling center or auto repair shop.