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Theory Results – The sky is blue

Our conclusion from our STEM at Home theory is that the sky is blue, but only if you are on earth.

This was tough to run as an experiment because it’s not like we could experiment with the sky, so we watched a lot of videos.

We found that the sky appears to be blue because of light waves. We can see the blue light wave when it hits the earth’s atmosphere (which is filled with water). Generally, only the blue light wave can be seen, thus the sky appears blue.

It is the same for the ocean. The ocean’s water is actually transparent. From a distance it appears blue because of how the sun’s light waves are being reflected in by the water.

Here’s more information here is a good video I found and included in last week’s introduction to the sky is blue theory, and there is a cool experiment you can do in here:

BTW – If you are in outer space and looking at the earth there is no sky!

 

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Theory – the sky is blue

Thanks to Mike Coley for the theory idea!

This fortnight on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at Home the theory we are talking about and wanting to prove/disprove regards the sky being blue. Is the sky actually blue? Maybe it just looks blue…

When I spoke to Millie, her hypothesis was that the yes, the Sky is blue:

This one is pretty hard to test because it’s not like you can take some sky and test it, but we had a look on YouTube for some videos on it. We were able to find a few that explained why the sky appears blue, and that you can use water to test the findings. Here is a video of what I mean, in this one they suggest an experiment at the end that we may try out and post in our findings next week:

We have an explanation on how to perform an experiment here if you’re  not sure where to start.

I’m going to use the hashtag #TheorySky and #STEMatHome for this experiment, so feel free to use it on any related posts in Facebook or Instagram.

Happy experimenting! Remember to like us on Facebook, we’re also on my Instagram page and if you would like to share your findings you can join us at our private Facebook Group STEMatHome

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Theory Results – Eggs float in salt water

Here are our results for the #TheoryEgg experiment.

In our first attempt the egg sunk to the bottom of both the tap water and salt water:

We decided to add some more salt (quite a lot actually) to our salty water and here is what happened:

Here is an explanation about what happens to the water when salt is added, it explains that the water’s density changes when salt is added to it (explaining density to Millie was a bit tricky so this video helped a lot):

How did you go? Share with us in our private Facebook Group, or comment below. We’d love to know how you went. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook to keep up with all things Stem At Home

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Theory – Eggs float in salt water

This theory was given to us by the awesome Raewyn Rowney ( Si’s mum). Raewyn has been a teacher for almost 40 years and is the most resourceful person I know, so we are very lucky to have her help us out with our experimenting ideas.

The theory we are trying to figure out is that eggs float in salt water. Here is my explanation of the theory that eggs float in salt water, and Millie’s hypothesis:

So she thinks they will float. Here are a few hints to help you with your own science experiment:

To ensure our experiment had controls we –

  1. used the same sized glasses to make sure the experiment was consistent, and so it couldn’t be argued that it was the glass that made the egg do whatever it was going to do
  2. put the egg in a glass of normal tap water, as well as a glass of salt water
  3. used the same egg in both normal water and salt water
  4. did the experiment several times with different eggs to make sure it wasn’t just one egg that did whatever it was going to do

We have an explanation on how to perform an experiment here, hope it helps.

I’m going to use the hashtag #TheoryEgg for this experiment, so feel free to use it on any related posts in Facebook or Instagram.

Happy experimenting! Remember to like us on Facebook, we’re also here on my Instagram page and it you would like to share your findings you can join us at our private Facebook Group STEMatHome

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Theory – Buggy Bunny is a Hare

A big thanks to Mrs Mac for another theory!

Here is how I introduced the theory to Amelia:

If you’re not sure how to run an experiment, refer to how to perform an experiment

  • As we already have a rabbit, I had to introduce Millie to the idea of a hare, so that is why I read a book with a hare in it  (“Guess how much I love you”)
  • We also looked at a video explaining hare’s and rabbit’s and their differences. Here is the video:

  • Here is what Millie learnt from that video:

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=0appp7xVRn0

But where to from here? Is Bugs a hare or not?

HAPPY EXPERIMENTING!

Would be great if everyone shared their hypothesis’ (i.e. what they think the answer is) in this video’s comments feed in Facebook

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2017-06-26 theory results – we are taller in the morning than we are at night

The theory was that we are taller in the morning than at night, and Millie agreed.

Her hypothesis was that “we are taller in the morning than we are at night”.

We measured ourselves every morning and every night for a week.

We used doorway to record our measurements, which is dead straight and there’s no chance of it moving and ruining the accuracy of our recordings.

This is an example of us “eliminating our variables” to make sure our findings were sound:

  • If only Millie did the experiment, she may be the only person who shrinks during the day IN THE WHOLE WORLD. By measuring me as well, we could show it wasn’t just a Millie thing. The more people you measure, the better
  • Who’s to say you only shrink one day a week? By doing it over a week we could show that it happens often (if not every day). The longer you measure for, the better

So what were our findings? Here you go:

You could extend on this by finding out why this happens, here’s a simple video to help:

So, what were your findings? Would like to thank Mrs Mac for giving us this theory, she is a legend. Let us know, share your results in our private Facebook Group, or comment below.

Remember to like us on Facebook to keep up with all things STEM at Home