One of my goals with these science videos is to provide support to the homeschool community. After years of writing the Experiment of the Week, and presenting science shows for homeschool groups, I have been impressed with how strongly homeschool families are involved with hands-on science. I have also seen the need for a science curriculum that fulfills their educational needs. Starting with these videos, I hope to offer the homeschool community some of the science education support that they need, as well as a fun way to get students involved with scientific discovery.
I also try to use activities that involve common items. Most homeschoolers don't have access to test tubes, flasks, chemicals, microscopes and other scientific equipment. In the future, I hope to be able to guide them to inexpensive sources for science equipment to enrich their science curriculum.
This time, we will use the science of topology in a challenge that will frustrate your friends, until you show them the science behind it.
To try it, you will need:
- a quarter
- a dime
- a pen or marker
- scissors
- paper
If you don't have U.S. coins, try this with a large coin and a small one. Cut a square of paper about 3 inches by 3 inches. Place the dime (small coin) in the center of the square and trace a circle around it. Use the scissors to carefully cut out the circle, so that you have a hole in the paper that is the same size as the dime.
Now, for the trick. I want you to put the quarter (large coin) through the hole, without tearing the paper. Simple, right? Wasn't that a fun trick?.........
Oh, is there a problem? Can't get the quarter through the hole? This is where the trick (and the science) come in. If you leave the hole as it is, you cannot get the quarter through it without tearing the paper. To succeed, we need to use the science of topology, which is the study of surfaces. We need to change the shape of the hole a bit. To do that, fold the paper in half, across the center of the hold. Crease the paper along the fold.
Hold the paper, with the fold and hole at the bottom. Place the quarter inside the folded paper, so it rests in the hole. It still won't go through, but we are not finished yet. Grasp the bottom corners of the paper between your fingers and thumbs. Bend the corners upwards and away from the hole. This will cause the paper to flex, and the hole will stretch around the quarter, letting it fall through.
If you had a marble that was larger than the hole, this would not work. The coin is wider than the hole in one direction, but much narrower than the hole in the other. We have not made the hole bigger, we have just changed its shape a bit, making it wider in one direction and narrower in the other, just as the coin is.
Have a wonder-filled week.
