Constructing Physical Science

Adam Johnston

intro to hot chocolate

For your lab, you'll be investigating what's known as the "hot chocolate effect." You don't need to know anything about this effect and you certainly don't need to try to look it up or read about it. (This usually just makes things worse.) Instead, take a look at my intro and then use this as a star…

hummingbirds in slow motion

I don't have much to say about this except I really enjoy watching hummingbirds. Even in slow motion they're still really fast. I like the way that they turn their wings and use their tails to maneuver, but I'm especially fascinated with how still their heads are while everything else is moving: htt…

getting into the swing of data collection

One of our first tasks has been to collect some data on an object known as a “simple pendulum.” There’s no perfect simple pendulum, but instead this term is used to describe something that swings back and forth with all of its mass stuck to the end that’s swinging. A yo-yo swinging back and forth is…

bees in slow motion

I put a camera at the entrance to a bee hive and took slow motion video of these honeybees. Each time I watch the video I see something different and am fascinated by the way that bees fly and control their path. I also just like their behaviors as well as some interesting play with the light. Oh, a…

balancing acts

If you see me in front of an in-person class and I have a meter-stick, you'll often witness me trying to balance it in various ways. The most impressive and kind of magical way to balance a ruler, stick, baseball bat, etc., is using this trick of sliding your fingers towards one another. They natura…

raisins in soda

For some people in my family, there's no good use for a raisin. I happen to disagree. I love them mixed in with nuts and candies, and I also discovered that they make for a great science investigation. When someone set aside all of their raisins, I decided to take video of what happens when I put th…

ice melting

On hot summer days you might really enjoy a glass with ice, just because you like a cold drink. But have you watched the ice in your glass up close? This glass of ice water shows that the ice floats at the top. You probably see this all the time. I like investigations just watching ice melt. By taki…

sun circles

It was a nice morning, and I thought it would be a good choice for me to sit in my backyard and read a book. But it's easy for me to get distracted, and soon I was really interested in a spot of light that was on my chair: Reading outside, I saw this spot of light on my chair.(For more information a…

waves on a lake

On a camping trip a while ago, we had a site that overlooked a small, calm lake in the Uintas. From a perch we could toss small rocks into the lake and watch the ripples they created. Tossing two rocks at the same time made it so that we could see what happens when the two sets of waves overlap. htt…

light in gelatin

Some science investigations are especially fun to do at home. Playing with light and playing with jello are each great activities for indoors. This investigation prompt puts these two things together. Here's a video that I made at home, with no fancy lab or equipment -- the perfect setting for most …

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