Electric Grapefruit

Atoms, ions and electric grapefruit was the lesson of the day for CSI 5th Grade. My son, Kevin, is a doctoral student studying Mass Spectrometry at Texas A&M University. He is in Dr. David H. Russell's research group and is presently researching to improve the Mass Spectrometer in its ability to collect data.
After explaining a bit about ions and watching a movie of the Mass Spectrometer at work, Kevin did a couple of demonstrations to get us all thinking.

Burning a dollar bill:
After asking for a volunteer to donate a dollar bill for the experiment, he soaked the bill in some "mystery solution". Then holding it with tongs, he lit the dollar bill only to see the dollar bill flame but soon go out. The students had to figure out why this happened.



After explanation and good questioning, we talked about physical properties of atoms and molecules and looked at the periodic table of the elements.

The second demo was the can crush:
Kevin puts a small amount of water in an aluminum can and heats it until steam forms. Holding the can with tongs, he quickly turns it over and into a demo tank of cool water. The can crushes from the quick force of air pressure.





We found a website which shows this same event happening on a much larger scale with a railroad tanker. You Tube has a video, too.











Then we got some electrons moving by having the students try to light a small diode bulb with a grapefruit. The students were given alligator clips (3) diode bulb, grapefruit (cut in half), piece of zinc (2) , piece of copper (2), a penny, a nickel and a quarter. They were encouraged to try to light the bulb with the materials given. Lots of trials before we found the way to light the bulb. Journals were used to draw our experiment.





































Thanks Kevin - it was another great day of learning at CSI!

4th Grade Energy Field Trip: Fayette Power Plant

After studying energy and taking a virtual tour of the Xcel Energy Plant, we toured our own Fayette Power Plant.









The folks at the Power Plant always welcome us in to show us a video about the plant.











The temperature was 36º F with a wind chill of 26º! The bus tour was awesome. Mr. Russ, who specializes in environmental work at the plant, led the tour.
A few photos of the tour:

PUMPS THAT TRANSFER WATER FROM THE LAKE
TO THE PLANT











THE PRECIPITATOR HELPS CLEAN THE AIR RELEASED FROM THE STACKS

THE BOILER











THE STACK
















BUS TOUR!
I remember one awesome student question, although there were many, " Who owns the power plant? How do they make their money?" Yes, at 10, very financially minded! Alldyn, was that you?















WHERE THE CRUSHED COAL IS GROUND TO POWDER














COAL
CONVEYOR BELT



COOL FACTS ABOUT OUR FAYETTE POWER PLANT:
The lake was built for the power plant. The water from the lake cools the equipment.
Good bass fishing in the lake.
The water is 68° going to the power plant, and 88° when it is released back into the lake.
The boiler is 400 feet tall.
The coal at Fayette Power plant comes from Powder River Basin in Wyoming.

Here is a math question for you. Can you solve it?
There are 150 - 120 tons of coal in each train car. There are 130 cars per train. Coal costs $1.25 per ton. What is the total cost of the trail load of coal??


Fayette Power Plant burns about 1000 tons an hour! They are open 24 hours, remember!

Electricity!

JAICEE and All About Me:
Jaicee shared a picture of her dog and her collection of cool sunglasses. It was nice hearing about where she got her sunglasses. I think this is a great idea! Mrs. Schoppe and I may start a sunglasses collection, too.








SNAP CIRCUITS, JR were enjoyed today as we learned about circuits and electricity. Some of the scientists wanted these sets for Christmas! Our study of solar energy was postponed by the cloudy, drizzly day but these electrical circuit kids showed us a way to use electrical circuits to make sound and light.


Some of the students tried to design their own circuits.We had some interesting designs.


























I saw these on Amazon.com but they may be available other places.