Flying Upward Materials Required: A flagpole A long or oblong balloon Two small paper clips Adhesive tape Some string A partner Isaac Newton had proposed a law in 1687, which stated that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This law can be very easily explained. If you and your friend are standing at a point and your friend comes forward and pushes you, you will surely move...

Energy in Motion Materials Required: Marbles Two rulers Two books A rug A piece of paper When objects are in motion, they possess a kind of energy in them, which is termed as Kinetic Energy. Since all kinds of energy are transferable, similarly, when a moving object touches another object, then the Kinetic Energy is transferred from the first object to the second. For this experiment, take a rug and place...

Energy in Motion Materials Required: A ping-pong ball Masking tape Empty paper towel roll Measuring tape Rubber bands Board of measurement, 4 inches wide and 1 inch long Two nails A hammer Paper and pencil When a particular substance is stretched, it contains potential energy, which is the energy ready to do work. Once you let it go, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. To determine that a substance...

Center of Gravity Materials Required: A 12-inch ruler Ten coins A pencil with flat sides A table Gravity is the attraction, which objects have for each other. Gravity also keeps the planets orbiting in space around the sun and the earth’s gravity also attracts objects to the ground. Try balancing something on your shoulder and determine at which point the object was resting on your shoulder. Also try and balance a spoon...

Air Friction Materials Required: Two-inch square cloth Some thread Two small metal nuts of the same size Modelling clay Scissors Proximity to a place of height. You skin your knee, when you run and fall due to the force of gravity. If you are at a higher position, then you fall faster. Parachutes can save a pilot’s life, if his plane is in trouble. A parachute uses the mechanism of air...

Lighting Up Materials Required: Light from a fluorescent tube Light from an incandescent bulb Pencil and paper Electric energy is converted into light energy, in the case of both fluorescent tubes and incandescent bulbs.  In the case of the latter, electricity goes in through a small wire called the filament, which then gives us the light we need. In the case of the former, it is filled with gas. The inside...

The Magic Propeller Materials Required: Two pencils A file and a pin A rectangular piece of cardboard Cut notches along the edge of a pencil. Stick a pin through the centre of the cardboard and attach it to the pencil’s eraser, as in the illustration. The hole in the “propeller” must be a bit larger than the pin, in order to cut down on friction. In your left hand, hold the...

Stronger than Gravity Materials Required: A shoe box Some thread A magnet Construction paper Adhesive tape Paper clips Some crayons Gravity keeps us from floating up in the air and gravity exists in all planets and stars which pull things to them. If you keep something very heavy in your hand, you shall realize the force of gravity, as it will keep pulling your hand down towards the ground. However, you...