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Teacher Resource Guides on Science Topics

If you are working with students on science topics at any grade level or age, you will find this section invaluable. We will not only provide you with tons of printable worksheets, but you will also find great hands-on activities and lesson plans.


Quick Science Demonstrations for Teachers

Here's Newton's third law of motion:

Any action has an equal reaction but in the opposite direction.

Does that make sense? Perhaps.

Now imagine you throw a ball at a wall. What would happen? The ball will bounce back at you with an equal velocity that you threw it at. But the thing to note here is that it returned to you.

Hence, throwing a ball is an action; the ball returning with the exact speed you threw the ball with is the equal reaction, and the fact that it came back to you is the reaction's opposite direction.

That's the difference between theory and demonstration: demonstration will always make more sense, especially in Science, where observations are the basis of experiments.

What Are Science Demonstrations?

They are the experiments you can do before your class to reinforce a particular concept or theory.

Taking the example above: Newton's third law in words is a theory or concept. If you throw a ball and observe the result, that's a demonstration.

Numerous easy science demonstrations can help students relate what they've studied to the real world.

Easy Science Experiments with Explanation

Here are a couple of science experiments with explanation that you can perform in class with readily available material.

Flipped Drawing Experiment

Challenge your students to draw something, and you will flip their drawing without affecting the actual artwork. Fill out a transparent glass of water while the students are busy. Once they're done, gather the students around your desk. Put each artwork on your desk standing. Then put the glass of water in front of each drawing and let students enjoy seeing their drawings being flipped within seconds.

This experiment is based on the refraction of light. Light changes its speed each time it changes a medium. When students are looking at their drawings, the medium of light is air. Once the glass filled with water comes in between their line of vision and their drawing, the medium of light is glass and water. Hence the change in speed of light through different mediums causes distortion. Students might not always see their drawings flipped. The drawing might be warped in different shapes depending on which angle they're viewing their drawing through the glass.

Walking Water Experiment

Tell your students that you'll make the water walk today.

Set up 7 glasses on your desk and fill glasses 1, 3, 5, and 7 with water a little more than half.

Grab 4 distinct food colors and add them to the water-filled glasses in the following manner:

- Red food coloring (5-10 drops) in glasses 1 and 7
- Yellow food coloring (15 drops) in glass 3
- Blue food coloring (5-10 drops) in glass 5

Now grab some paper towels, and fold them to give them a rectangular shape. Place one end of the paper towel in one glass and the other in the next glass.

Now gradually, the colored water will start moving toward empty glasses, tainting the towels in the process.

The water is transferred due to forces of cohesion (force between water molecules) and adhesion (force between water molecules and paper towels). The porous surface of the paper towels allowed the water to transfer to the empty glass.

Floating Stick Man Experiment

Ask your students to draw a stick figure on a smooth plastic plate with a dry erase marker. Then pour water onto the surface, and your stick figure will start to float magically.

Magic? That's Science. Dry erase markers have a weak adhesive as compared to permanent markers. This adhesive becomes weaker when water's buoyancy force starts to act. Hence, the stick figure detaches itself from the surface and starts to float.

At Home

Here is one of the quick science experiments with explanation that students can try at home.

Salt On Ice

Ask your students to grab a few pieces of ice, put them in a bowl of some tap water, sprinkle a bit of salt on them, then put a small section of rope. What would happen? The rope will stick to the ice where they sprinkled the salt. Why?

When salt is sprinkled on the ice, the ice starts to melt as the freezing point is lowered. But the water around the ice starts freezing again, causing the string to be trapped.

The experiment also clarifies why salt is sprinkled to clear icy roads in winter.

Why Are Science Demonstrations Important?

Children are curious beings by nature. This curiosity is what keeps their interest evolving. If a child loses their curiosity, they might also lose their creativity and sense of perspective that distinguishes them from adults.

Therefore, science demonstrations are essential for lessons taught in classrooms. Here are some other reasons to integrate easy science demonstrations into your teaching:

Relatability between theory and real-life: Students must see the practicality of their learning concepts. Teaching a physics principle without showing where it was derived from might confuse students. And if students have a gap between the practical and theoretical approaches of science, they might lose interest in the subject.

Preparation to become future scientists: Students of any age and grade love hands-on activities. By learning a concept practically, students will channel their curiosity towards coming up with their experiments and solving some other mysteries of the world.

Remembering the concept for ages: Not all students are kinesthetic learners, but easy science demonstrations cater to all types of learners (visual, audio). Therefore, students will remember what they were a part of, whether as observers or participants, compared to the words they're forced to learn.

Conclusion

Children are born with curiosity and an urge to explore everything they come across. Use their eagerness to learn as a way to teach them more.

Bring a new science experiment whenever you're starting a new chapter. While the chapter is still in progress, give students some ideas to try science demonstrations at home. Once you're through the chapter, ask students to develop their experiments to demonstrate in front of the class.

Your student will be learning and applying the knowledge both at once. Experiments are not a part of Science; Science is based on experiments. Let your students explore and learn the concepts in a way that will stay with them for ages.

Let them be their own teachers. And your role? Facilitator. Keep facilitating!