| We see changes all around us. The rusting of an iron | | | | microwave-safe dish and place a bar of Ivory soap on |
| object, the ripening of fruit, making of ice cubes, | | | | it. Place the dish in a microwave oven and run the |
| breaking of glass, baking of a cake, the burning of | | | | oven for two to three minutes. Something magical |
| firewood or the souring of milk can teach us a lot | | | | happens! |
| about the types of changes that take place around us. | | | | You will notice that beginning from the point where the |
| I usually include such daily-life examples in homeschool | | | | microwaves converge, the soap begins to foam. The |
| curriculum so that children can learn using everyday | | | | volume of the foam increases within the next minute |
| occurrences and at the same time know why things | | | | or so, and becomes about five times the volume of |
| change. | | | | the soap bar. Don't touch the soap till it cools down. |
| When you make ice out of water in a refrigerator, a | | | | Your eyes saw a change. Now touch the soap and |
| new substance is not formed. The substance is the | | | | find out if it was a physical change or a chemical |
| same: water. The only difference is that it has | | | | change. Has the substance changed? Use it with |
| changed from liquid state to solid state. This change | | | | some water and find out if the properties have |
| can be reversed by melting the ice cubes back into | | | | changed. |
| water. This type of change is called physical change. | | | | When the microwaves heat up the air and water |
| When firewood burns, it turns into ash, a new | | | | contained in the soap, air expands and water turns into |
| substance. Furthermore, it is impossible to change ash | | | | vapor. The soap, which is softened by now, expands |
| back into wood. Therefore it is a chemical change. | | | | while trapping air bubbles inside it. As the soft soap |
| These are all occurrences that your child has | | | | expands it forms foam. This is a quick and safe |
| experienced, and they can bring alive the homeschool | | | | experiment that could add meaning to your |
| curriculum. | | | | homeschool curriculum. |
| When a fruit ripens, there is a change in taste and | | | | Now compare the above experiment to the baking of |
| color, indicating that there has been some chemical | | | | a cake. When you bake a cake, you mix flour, eggs, |
| change. A ripe fruit cannot become raw again, making | | | | essence, sugar and other ingredients into the batter. |
| this an irreversible change. What types of change | | | | The end product is something new: a delicious cake. |
| occurs when glass breaks, when iron rusts or when | | | | Now, you cannot get the sugar or the eggs or the |
| milk sours? | | | | flour back in their original form. This irreversible reaction |
| The following experiment can teach us about change | | | | is called a chemical reaction. |
| and lots more. | | | | Check out the free "Homeschool Parent's Guide to |
| The Microwave Soap Experiment: You will need an | | | | Teaching Science", for more great science |
| Ivory soap for this experiment. Other soaps will not | | | | experiments and activities, click the link below. |
| work as well or may not work at all. Take a | | | | |