Disappearing Act

Now you see it, now you don't! When you stir sugar into your lemonade, the sugar seems to disappear magically before your eyes. But, it's not magic—the sugar has dissolved in water! In fact, many different substances, including nutrients essential to life, will dissolve in water. Water transports minerals, wastes and other materials throughout the body. Thousands of chemical processes inside cells also take place in water. The ability to dissolve many substances has earned water the title of "universal solvent," but it doesn't always live up to this description. Not everything will dissolve in water, and some things stop dissolving under certain conditions. Join us to explore what dissolves in water and what does not.

View and download the slide set, a PDF version, or view the streaming video presentation.

How Do Liquids Behave?

My molecules stay tightly packed
Like tiny magnets that attract.
The charges of polarity
Provide my form and clarity.
With surface tension I will stay
convex and domed and round all day.
What Am I?

Water displays a wide variety of interesting behaviors. It gurgles, beads, bubbles, rolls, runs, streams, freezes, condenses, precipitates, and evaporates. Without water, we would not even be here!

View and download the PowerPoint slide set or a PDF version of this activity. View the engaging streaming video presentation that explores many properties of a unique liquid, water.

The Banana: Natural to Processed

Oranges, plums, cranberries, cherries, mangos, apples, strawberries, grapes, peaches, blueberries, and BANANAS! The USDA Food Guide Pyramid recommends eating one to two cups of fruit per day, depending on your age and gender. People consume fruit in its natural (unprocessed) state and in a wide variety of processed forms. A sequence of steps, such as steaming, freezing, boiling, baking or drying, may be involved in creating a processed fruit product. Also, additional ingredients may be added to the fruit to create a processed food. One simple form of processing (creating a chocolate Banana Pop) is sequenced and demonstrated in this fun and tasty activity. Your students will eat it up!

Create a Lasting Water Cycle

Water continuously moves around, over and through the Earth. When water moves from a liquid to a gaseous state, it mixes with the molecules in air and is present as vapor. When it cools, water vapor condenses and collects as droplets in clouds until it becomes too heavy. What happens next? You guessed it, rain or maybe even snow! Of course that's not the end of the story. The world's stores of freshwater are not endless. Water is continually collected, purified, and redistributed by means of the water cycle. Try this engaging activity to help your students begin to understand the importance of the water cycle in their daily lives.