Physics & Bio

The boys are completing Physics Quest 2009 and one of their experiments was to determine if adding Splenda to water changes the index of refraction. Basically, they added dry water gel crystals to water where they quickly absorb hundreds of times their weight in water. The crystals are invisible in water but if Splenda is added, or if they are exposed to oxygen...they begin to appear. They learned about the index of refraction and how to use this property to determine how many Splenda packets I secretly added to each cup of water.

This is a "lung" Owen and Julia made in Biology class. There is clear celo across the bottom representing the diaphragm ( the muscle that makes the lung work). When you pull and push on the yellow handle, the "lung" inflates and deflates just like inhalation and exhalation.

Deflated

Inflated

This is "Heart Guy"...poor guy is having his "blood" manually pumped by a four year old...from one part of his heart ( orange balloon) through the body ( see the little red guy in the middle?) to the other part of the heart ( pink balloon).

This is really teaching the basics of how our heart pumps blood throughout the body and then the blood returns to the heart.

This was a big hit! Julia assembled it herself and Owen loved playing with it when she was done.