Being stuck at home for Lockdown 3 wasn’t going to stop our Year 12 Science Reps sharing the science love!

Our new Science Reps – Isobel, Hannah, Natasha, Alisha, Edie, Ale, Annika, Rameen, Jasmine and Imogen – are keeping the spirit of science experiments alive with a mini series of fun, safe science you can do at home. Every Monday for the next five weeks they will be releasing a short instruction video on how to complete an experiment and will be encouraging the rest of the school to give it a go, using equipment and materials that are readily (or easily) available at home. 

Do keep watching out for our new videos and please share your own attempts with us via email or our social media on Twitter or Instagram.

First up is Chemistry Rep, Hannah with her ‘Lemon Fizz Experiment!’

Watch how Hannah goes for the wow factor with her experiment, demonstrating why she thinks chemistry is “clearly the best subject!” in this short film edited by her fellow Chemistry Rep, Isobel. You’ll also learn about neutralisation reaction – mixing acids and alkalis – to give a pH around a 7.

You’ll need:

Bicarbonate of soda

Lemon juice (from a bottle or squeezed from a lemon)

Tub (to protect your surroundings!)

Next up:  Alisha (Chemistry) and Natasha (Physics) with their experiment about different densities in liquids!

Which is the most dense? Which is the least dense? Can you predict which liquid you think is the most dense and which you think is the least dense.

Was your prediction right? If so, the liquid you thought was densest should be at the bottom of the jar. The next dense will float on top of that, and the least dense will float at the very top.

Now you know how the densities of the three liquids compare to each other. If you want to find out the approximate density of each, you can calculate it using this formula: Density = Mass/Volume.

On Earth we measure mass (how much of a substance there is) by calculating weight (how heavy it is). Weigh each liquid in grams (make sure you subtract the weight of the beaker!) and then divide that number by the volume (number of millilitres) of the liquid.

The answer is density in grams per millilitre.

You’ll need:

Two small clear glasses

Liquid soap (or washing up liquid)

Oil

Rubbing alcohol

Old plastic card (eg loyalty card)

Water

Experiment 3: Make a Baking Soda Volcano by Physics Rep Alejandra!

Watch Alejandra create her own explosive indoor volcano as she mixes vinegar (acid) with bicarbonate of soda (alkaline) so when they mix together they neutralise, giving off lots of bubbles as the carbon dioxide is released! 

You’ll need:

Washing up liquid

Vinegar

Red food colouring

Water

Bottle

Red tissue paper – optional – but it makes it look nice!

A tray is a good ideas if you are doing this indoors as the food colouring stains and it can get messy! 

Experiment 4: Making Ice Cream in a Bag by Rameen and Annika!

Watch Annika attempt to make ice cream using milk, caster sugar and ice. Then learn the science behind it from Rameen as she explains the importance of freezing points and how you can lower them.

You’ll need:

A plastic bag which you can seal

350 ml milk (half and half works best) – or you could use fruit to make a slushie instead!

1 tablespoon of caster sugar

A quarter of a teaspoon of vanilla extract

A second plastic bag which you can seal up

A third plastic bag 

1 kilo of ice

6 tablespoons of rock salt 

The big question – does Annika really manage to make ice cream? Give it a try yourself and see if you can do it! 

Experiment 5: Extracting DNA from a banana!

Watch Jasmine and Imogen extract DNA from a banana using salt and dishwashing soap. Salt helps the DNA strands stick together which make it large enough to be seen by the naked eye without needing a microscope. The dish soap splits the membranes which hold the cell together so the soap cuts through the fat and oils which are in the lipids of the cell membrane, which breaks the nuclei apart releasing the DNA. 

You’ll need:

Plastic sandwich (ideally ziploc) bag

Banana

Small container or mug

Half cup of hot water with a teaspoon of salt dissolved in it

Half teaspoon of washing up liquid 

Disinfectant 

Spoon

Cup

Funnel (or bottom of a cut off bottle)

Cold rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol)

Coffee filter paper /kitchen paper (optional)