teacher’s guide for: tornadoes€¦ · rock-it science teacher’s guide tornadoes -- page 3 demo...

Contents:

Quick Reference Sheets:• Intro: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page2• Demo#1:ShootaPencilthroughaCardboardBox . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page3• Demo#2:SmokeTornado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page3• Experiment:Tornado in a Bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page4• EquipmentList:Tornadoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page6• Story,Part1:Evil Mister Fred's Whirlpool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page8• Story,Ending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page10

Video Transcript:• Intro: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page11• Demo#1:ShootaPencilthroughaCardboardBox . . . . . . . . . . . . .page12• Story,Part1:Evil Mister Fred's Whirlpool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page13• Demo#2:SmokeTornado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page15• Experiment:Tornado in a Bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page16• StoryEnding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page19

Teacher’s Guide for:

TornadoesNote: All activities in this document should be performed with adult supervision. Likewise, common sense and care are essential to the conduct of any and all activities, whether described in this document or otherwise. Parents or guardians should supervise children. Rock-it Science assumes no responsibility for any injuries or damages arising from any activities.

Note: All activities in this document should be performed with adult supervision. Likewise, common sense and care are essential to the conduct of any and all activities, whether described in this document or otherwise. Parents or guardians should supervise children. Rock-it Science assumes no responsibility for any injuries or damages arising from any activities.

TornadoesARock-itScienceLessonFilmedNovember,2009

Title Page of Video

NOTE: This is the transcript of a lesson that was videotaped during an actual Rock-it Science class with real students, not actors. The students’ brainstorming comments are included on the video but are not transcribed here because they’re not part of the lesson presentation.

Rock-it Science2110 Walsh Ave, Unit FSanta Clara, CA 95050www.rockitscience.org

(c) 2014 Rock-it Science Educationally Useful Programs. All Rights Reserved

http://www.rockitscience.com/

Rock-it Science Teacher’s Guide Tornadoes --

Intro Quick Recap:

• TheSunshootschargedparticlesattheEarth,andtheparticlesaredeflectedbytheEarth’snorthandsouthmagneticfields .SomecometotheNorthPoleandsometotheSouthPole .

• Someoftheparticlesarepositivechargeandsomearenegativecharge .There’salittlebitofchargeseparation,sothere’sacurrentthatflowsthroughtheEarth,andthatcreatesourmagneticfields .

• Ourmagneticfieldshelpprotectusfromthechargedparticlesbypointingthemateitherthepenguinsorthepolarbears,andthechargedparticlesalsocreatethemagneticfieldthatdeflectsthem .Soitbalances .ItalsocreatestheNorthernandSouthernLights .

• Asthosechargesbuildup,theyhelpcreatethunderstorms .Thechargedparticlesinthecloudscaninteractwiththefairlyweakmagneticfield .

• Ifacloudmeetssomewarm,wetairthat’sgoinginonedirectionandsomecold,dryairthat’sgoinginanotherdirection,theycancreatespinningairwheretheymeet .

• Atfirst,theairspinsslowlysideways,butitcansuddenlybenddownwardsandcreateatornado .• Somepeoplethinkit’sbesttoleaveyourwindowsopenduringatornado,tokeepyourrooffrombeingblownoff .ButMythBusterstestedthisandfoundoutitdoesn’tmakeanydifference .Roofsareblownoffbylargepiecesofflyingdebris,notbythewinditself .

• Tornadoesdon’tdrivepiecesofstrawthroughtrees .Whathappensisthetreesbendoverinthestrongwind,whichcausescracksinthetrunk .Apieceofstrawgetsblownintothecrack,andwhenthetreestraightensup,thecrackclosesaroundthestraw .


Demo #1 Quick Recap: “Shoot a Pencil through a Box”• Putsomeoilintoanairguntolubricatethetube .• Dropasharpenedpencilintothetube,pointupward .• Pointtheairgunatacardboardboxandshootthepenciloutatabout150mph .

• Showthatthepencilmakesaholeinthebox,buttheleaddoesn’tbreak .

• Addalittlemoreoilinthetubesothepencilislubricated,andshootagain .

• Thisshowsthatatornadodoesn’thavealotofpowerwithsmallitems,eventhoughitcandoalotofdamagewithlargethings,likeacar .

Demo #2 Quick Recap: “Smoke Tornado”• [Note: This is an elaborate device built by Mr. Mac.

It’s not required for the lesson, so we don’t include detailed info on it in this Guide.]

• TheSmokeTornadodevicehasclearplasticpanels .Mostofthemaresealedwithtape,buteveryotheronehasthebottomedgesopen .

• There’saleafblowerandflashlightontop .• There’sastagefogmachineonthebottom .• Turnonthesmoke,theflashlight,andthefantoshowhowthestagefogswirlslikeatornado .

• Turnofftheroomlightssoonlytheflashlightisillumi-natingthefog .

• Turnuptheleafblowertohigherspeedstoshowhowfastthetornadoswirls .

• Theonethingthisdevicedoesn’tshowishowarealtornadocanwiggleandwobble(thesnakedance) .


Experiment Quick Recap: “Tornado in a Bottle”• Eachstudentreceivesasetofplasticbottles,oneinvertedontopoftheotherandsealedtogetherTheInstructorshowsstudentsasetofplasticbottles,oneinvertedontopoftheotherandsealedtogetherinthemiddle .Thebottombottleisaboutthree-quartersfullofwaterwithsomeglitterinittomakethewater’smovementsmorevisible .

• TheInstructorinvertsonebottletoshowhowthewaterwillstarttoflowfromthetopbottletothebottomoneifyoushakeitalittle .Studentsarecautionedthatiftheywanttoshakethebottle,don’tholditinthecenter,becausethiswillmakethetopbottlefalloverandbreakoff .Theyneedtoholdthetopoftheupperbottlewhentheyshakeit .Also,theydon’tgettosqueezethebottlesorunscrewthem .

• Therearefourdifferentkindsofbottles,butthestudentsdon’tknowwhatthedifferencesare .It’suptothemtoobservethedifferences .Somebottleswillbeeasytouse,andsomewillbeharder .

• Tellstudentsnottodoanythingwiththebottlesuntileveryonegetstheirs .Thenpassoutthebottles,onesettoeachstudent .Sinceit’shardforstudentstoreachthetopofthebottleswhenthey’reonthetable,weallowstudentstostandorsitonthetableduringthisexperiment .

• AttheInstructor’ssignal,theyinverttheirbottlesandstartshakingandswirlingthemtomakeatornado .

• Afterafewminutes,tellstudentstoswitchbottlesbypassingthemcounter-clockwisetothenextperson .Thentheytrytomakeatornadointheirnewbottleandseeifit’sanyeasierorharderthanthefirstone .

• Afterafewminutes,passthebottlescounter-clockwiseagain .Repeatthisfiveorsixtimes,soeachstudentislikelytogeteachofthefourtypesofbottles .

• Havestudentsinverttheirbottles,getatornadostarted,andthenletitgobyitselftoseewhichonesmakethebesttornados .

• Revealtothestudentsthateachofthebottleshasbeenmarkedonthebottomwithoneoffourcolorsofink .Havestudentsinverttheirbottle,getatornadostarted,thenletitgobyitselfagain .Thistime,seewhichcolorsdrainthefastest .Havethemputuptheirhandwhentheirbottleisempty .TheInstructorcallsoutthecolorofeachoneastheyempty .(Theblackonesemptyfastest,fol-lowedbyblue,thenred,withgreenbeingtheslowest .)

• Callthestudents’attentiontothesizeoftheholeattheintersectionofthetwobottles .Havethemnotewhichcolorshavelargerorsmallerholes .(Blackisthelargest,greenthesmallest .)

• Havestudentsinverttheirbottlesagainandseeiftheycanmake

theirtornadodothesnakedance .(Theymaynoticethatthelargerthehole,theharderitistomakethetornadowiggle,becausethewaterflowsouttoofast .)

• TellstudentthestoryabouthowflushingatoiletintheNorthernHemispheremakesthewaterswirlcounter-clockwise,whileflushingitintheSouthernHemispheremakesitswirlclockwise .Attheequator,itcouldgoeitherway,orjustgostraightdownwithswirlingatall .

• Havestudentstrytomakeatornadothatgoescounter-clockwise .Thentrytomakeonethatgoesclockwise .

• Havethemswitchbottlesandtryitagainwithadifferentbottle .• Letthemgointothebathroomandflushthetoilettoseewhichdirectionthewaterswirls .• Havestudentsturnovertheirbottlescarefullytocreateaslittlemovementinthewateraspos-sible,thenwatchtoseeifitwillstartspinningonitsown .(Noneofthemdo .)

• RevealthatMythBusterstestedabunchofwaterbowlsintheNorthernandSouthernHemi-spheresaswellasattheequator,andtheydiscoveredthatitdoesn’tmakeanydifference .Nomatterwhereyouareonearth,thewatercanswirleitherclockwiseorcounter-clockwiseornotatall .


Experiment Quick Recap, cont.: “Tornado in a Bottle”


Equipment List: “Tornadoes”Items needed for Instructor:

• “SmokeTornado”machine(optional,seenextpage)

• Airgun• Sharpenedpencil• Cardboardbox• Machineoil(afewdrops)

Items needed for Students:

Consumables:

• NoneOther (per student):

• Bottles,clearplastic,2-litersize,joinednecktoneckwithabottleconnector,withawasherbetweenthem .Thewasherhasaholethroughit,andtherearefourdifferentsizesofholesusedforthevarioussetsofbottles .

Prep Work:

• Constructtornadobottles:Goonlineandsearchfor“vortexbottleconnectors .”Thebottlesscrewintothem .Weaddwasherswithopeningsinthefollowingsizes:1/4”,3/8”,7/16”,and1/2” .Tomakethelargersizeholes,youmayneedtoenlargetheholeintheplasticconnec-tor,usingadrillorahotmetalrod .Onebottleineachpairisfilledabout3/4fullwithwater,withsomeglitteraddedtoit .


Equipment List, cont.: “Smoke Tornado Maker”Optional Item, for the very adventurous:

• Werealizeveryfewteacherswillactuallybuildthisdevice,sowe’lljustgiveyouafewshotsofithere,forthosewhoareinterested .There’salsoashortvideoclip(noaudio)onthewebpageforthislesson .Ifyou’rehandywithtoolsandwouldlikemoreinfosoyoucanbuildit,pleaseaskyourquestionsinourSupportForum .

Tornado machine on rolling cart.

Rubber tire with hose from fog machine.

Left: Opening for leaf blower. Right: Opening for flashlight.

(White tubes are just reflections.)

Flashlight and leaf blower.Battery charger.

Tubing and connector.

Fog machine sitting on a bucket, with hose.

Controllers.

Story Recap: “Evil Mister Fred's Whirlpool”


Part 1:

• EvilMisterFredwantedhisminionstolearnhowtobelikeNavySealssotheycouldbuildhimacastleunderwaterintheNorthSea .

• Heputgogglesandswimfinsontheminions,thentiedabigrockontheirheadsotheycouldsink .

• TheminionsbuiltthecastleandEvilMisterFredstoodontop,usingastrawtosuckairoutofthecastle .

• Whentheairstartedtorunout,EvilMisterFredtoldtheminionstobringmore .• Onthesideofthecastlewasakindofshedwithanoverhangingroof .Theminonsweresup-posedtoswimunderitanddumpoutbubblesofairsoitwouldbecaughtbytheshedandfillupthecastle .

• Theminionsswamtothesurface,tookabigbreathofair,swamdowntotheshed,andburpedunderthewater,sothecastlegotfilledupwiththeirburps .

• EvilMisterFreddidn’tlikethesmelloftheburps,sohegavetheminonsplasticbagsandtoldthemtogotothesurface,fillthemwithair,scrunchtheopeningclosed,andswimdownandre-leasetheairintothecastle .Sotherewereaboutfiftyminionsgoingbackandforthtothesurfacewiththeirplasticbags .

Story Recap (cont.): “Evil Mister Fred's Whirlpool”


• Thisgottheattentionofsomeoceancreatures,includingaswordfish,anelectriceel,ahammer-headshark,andachainsawkillershark .

• Uponthesurface,JackandJillwerepassingbyonaraftandsawtheplasticbagsappearinganddisappearing .Theygotcloserandaskedtheminionswhattheyweredoing,buttheminionswouldn’ttellthem .

• Jilllookedunderthewaterandsawthecastle,EvilMisterFred,andthefishhangingaround .• EvilMisterFredwantedtogetridofJackandJill,soheorderedagiantblenderfromtheAcmeStoreofEverythingandusedittomakeawhirlpoolneartheirraft .

• JackandJill’sraftwasbeingdrawnintothewhirlpool,andtheystartedgoingaroundincircles .

Story Recap (cont.): “Evil Mister Fred's Whirlpool”


Ending:

• Jillcantalktoanimals,soshestuckherheadunderthewaterandyelled“Help”tothefish .• ThehammerheadsharkswamupandsmashedtheraftsoJackandJillwerethrownclearofthewhirlpool .

• ThenEvilMisterFredaskedtheswordfishtogoandchopupJackandJill .Inreturn,hewouldsharpentheswordfish’ssword .TheswordfishagreedandheadedtowardJackandJill .

• Jackyelledtotheelectriceelforhelp .Theeelstartedswimmingandalsocalledtothechainsawshark,sonowthreefishwereswimmingtowardJackandJill .

• Theelectriceelgottherefirstandzappedtheswordfish,erasinghismemorycells .Hismemorychangedsothathenowthinkshe’ssupposedtokillEvilMisterFred .Hestartsswimmingtowardthecastle .

• EvilMisterFredgoesdownthroughhistrapdoorintothecastletohide .Theeelfollowshim,butcan’tfindhim .Theswordfishishackingattheoutsideofthecastlebutcan’tbreakthrough .Thethechainsawfishstartschoppingatthecastleandcutsthetopoff .

• EvilMisterFredfloatsoutinabigbubble,andthehammerheadsharkdevourshim .


Transcript: Intro There’sSun .There’sEarth .Earthhasmagneticfieldsaroundit .NorthandSouthmagneticfields .AndtheSunshootsstuffatus .TheSuniskindofapracticaljoker .Itlikestoshootuswithbulletsthatarereallyfast .Theytravelataboutone-tenththespeedoflight,andtheyhitus .Theytrytohitusanyway .Andtheycomeshootingin,andsomeofthemgetdeflectedbythemagneticfieldandcometotheNorthPole .AndsomeofthemgetdeflectedandgototheSouthPole .Thesearecalledchargedparticles,becausesomeofthemareeitherpositivechargeornegativecharge .

There’salittlebitofchargeseparation,sothatthere’sacur-rentthatflowsthroughtheEarth,andthatcreatesourmagneticfields .Soourmagneticfieldshelpprotectusfromthechargedparticlesbypointingthematpenguinsorpolarbears .Andthechargedparticlesalsocreatethemagneticfieldthatdeflectsthem,soeverythingbalancesoutperfectly .Italsocreatedsomethingcalledtheauroraborealis,NorthernLights,orau-roraaustralis,downatthebottom,thoselightsinthesky .

Asthosechargesbuildupontheearth,theyhelpcreatethunderstorms,angryclouds,lightningboltscomedownhereandthere,likethat .

Andthechargedparticlesinthecloudscanalsointeractwiththefairlyweakmagneticfield .Ifyouhaveacloudandithappenstomeetsomewindgoingthiswaythat’swarmandwet,andifithap-penstomeetsomegoingthatwaythat’scoldanddry,sometimes,rightwheretheymeet,theycancreatespinningair .

Atfirst,theairspinssideways,likethis,kindofareallyslowsidewaystornado .Butundercertaincircumstances,thesidewaysspinningtornadocanallofasuddenstartbendingdownwardsandcreatewhatwecallatornado .Tornadosarealwaysassociatedwithbigstormsandlight-ning,andflyinghousesandcowsandwitchesonbicycles .

Now,theyhadanepisodeonMythBusterswheretheywantedtofindout:Isitbettertoleaveyourwindowsopeninatornado,orclosed?Andsomepeoplesaid,“Well,it’sbettertoleavethemopen,becausewhenthetornadocomesover,itcre-

Sun and Earth with magnetic fields.

Sun shoots charged particles.

Particles deflected to N and S Poles.

Earth’s magnetic current and auroras.

Thunderstorm.

Winds create Tornado.

Wecanshowyouasimpleexample .Ijustputanairgunhere,andIputsomeoilinitsoit’sslipperyinside .We’lljustputapencilinthere,andwe’regoingtopointitatthiscardboardbox .Andwejustpointitrightatthebox,andit’sgoingtocomeoutthereatabout,oh,ahundredandfiftymilesanhour .Solet’sseewhatitdoes .[Shoots pencil at the box.]

Itleavesalittlebitofahole .[Shows pencil tip on other side.]Itdidn’tevenbreaktheleadatahundredandfiftymilesanhour .Sothewinditselfdoesn’thavethatmuchpowerwithlittlethings,butifyougeta

wholecarflyingatthepieceofcardboard,that’llhurt .Ifyoulubricateitalittlebit,justthetube[squirts some lubricant into the airgun tube],itlubricatesthepen-cil,too .Anditcancomeoutalittlebitslipperier .[Shoots pencil at box again.]Itleavesanoilsplotch .Andstill,itjustbarelyflattenedouttheendofthelead .


atessuctionandcansucktheroofrightoffyourhouse .”Soofcoursetheydidthat .Anditturnsoutthatitdidn’thelptohaveyourwindowsopen .Sameasbeingclosed .Atornadodidn’treallysucktheroofsoffthehouses .Whatitdidwas,thetornadocontainsallkindsofdebris--flyingcars,cows,people,witchesonbicycles,andthedebrishitsyourhouse--bam!--breaksthewindows,knocksdownthewalls,andblowsyourhouseaway .Soit’sallthejunkthat’sintherethatmesseseverythingup .

Ofcourse,somebodysaid,“Hey,atornadocameby,pickedupsomestraw,like,youknow,apieceofwheatorgrass,anddroveitintoatelephonepoleorthroughapalmtreeorsomethinglikethat .Andwindsarethreehundredmilesanhourupinatornado .

Well,whatreallyhappenedis,ifyouhaveatreeinatornado,woulditlooklikethat[straight tree]orwoulditlooklikethat[bent over tree]?[Students respond.]Andwhenthetreeisbent,cracksform .Andsometimestheygolongwayslikeinapalmtree,andsometimestheygosidewayslikeothertrees .Soifyou’reapieceofstrawandyou’rejustblowingaroundinthewind,dum-de-dum-de-dum-de-dum,andyouhappentolandinthecrackinatree,andthenthewindstops--whew!--treegoesbackup,crackcloses,there’sthestrawrightthroughthemiddleofthetree .Andpeoplewouldsay,“Whoa,thatwindwassostrongitdrovethestrawrightthroughthetree!”No .

Palm tree bends in the wind and straw blows into the crack.

Put pencil into air gun. Shoot cardboard. Other side.

Demo #1: “Shoot a Pencil through Cardboard”


Story: “Evil Mister Fred's Whirlpool”Now,weneedacrazystory .Onceuponatime,EvilMisterFredthoughthisminionsneededsometraining .TheyneededtolearnhowtobeSeals .Notthekindofsealsthateatfish,butthekindofSealsthatareNavyguysthatgooutandsneakuplikecommandosandputexplosivesun-derwater,anddostufflikethat .Theyweldthingsunderwater,andtheyhavetobereallytough .SoEvilMisterFredsaid,“Minions,gotajobforyou .We’regoingtogooutintotheNorthSea,whereit’sreallycold,andyou’regoingtobuildacastleforme .”Theminionssaid,“Oh,boy,let’sgobuildacastle!”Andhesaid,“Underthewater,ontheoceanfloor .”Andtheminionssaid,“What??”AndEvilMisterFredsaid,“Yep,we’regoingtotoughenyouup .”

SotheywenttotheNorthSea .Andhere’sthebottomoftheoceandownhere .Firstheputgogglesonhisminionssotheycouldseeunderwater .Andheputswimfinsonthem .Andthenhetiedabigrocktotheirheadwithducttape .Now,theminionscouldsinkthisway;otherwisethey’dfloat .Andthey’dgetacoupleofrocksandthey’dgodownandthey’dstartbuild-inghiscastle .AndprettysoonEvilMisterFredhadafull-fledgedcastleunderwater .Hisminionswerelearninghowtoholdtheirbreathforforty-fiveminutes .AndEvilMisterFred,hegetstostandonhiscastleunderthewater .We’llgivehimastraworsomethingtosuckairoutofthecastle,withbubbles,likethat .

Sohe’sunderwater,they’rebuildingthewholething,andEvilMisterFreddiscoveredthathe’srunningoutofair .Hesays,“Minions!Bringmesomeair .”Sotheminionssaid,“Okay .”EvilMisterFredputkindofashedonthesideofhiscastle,likethis,andtheminionsweresup-posedtoswimunderitanddumptheairoutsothebubbleswouldbecaughtbytheshed,andthere’dbeaholeleadingtotheinsidetofillhiscastlewithair,andthenhecouldbreatheagainwhenhe’sonthetop .

Theminionssaid,“Allright!”Theyswamtothesurface,tookabigbreathofair,wentdown,and

thenburpedunderthewater--braaap!Andalltheairwentintothecastle .WellEvilMisterFreddidn’tknowthattheywereburpingunderwater .Andthenprettysoonhestartedbreathing,andhesaid,“Ohhhh!Pizzabreath!Aw,that’shorrible!Whatareyouguysdoing?”Andtheminionssaid,“What?Notus .We’rebeinggood .”AndEvilMisterFredsaid,“Okay .Igotabetteridea .”Andhetoldtheminionstoswimtothetop,andhegaveeachofthemaplasticbag .Andtheyhad

Minion with rock and fins.

Breathing through a straw.

Plastic bag.

towavetheplasticbagintheairuntilitwasfullofair,andthentheyhadtoscrunchuptheend,swimdown,andreleasetheairfromtheplasticbag .Nomoreburpinginthecastle .AndEvilMisterFrednowhadfreshair .

Sotherewereaboutfiftyminionsthatwouldgoupanddown,andupanddownwiththeirbags,fillingupthecastle .Now,thisgotsomeattention .Therewasaswordfishthatcamebyandsawthisandwonderedwhatwasgoingon .There’stheswordfish .Hethoughtthiswasverystrangebehavior,buthedidn’tdoanything .Andthentherewasahammerheadshark .Andthentherewasanelectriceel .Andakillershark .Couldbeachainsaw .There,killersharkchainsaw .Allthesecreatureswerehangingaroundwatchingwhatwasgoingon .Theyweren’ttheonlyones .Uponthesurfaceitlookedkindofstrange .Plasticbagswouldappearfromnowhere,flythroughtheair,getthemfullofair,anddisappear .

Well,JackandJillhappenedtobecomingbyonaraft,andtheysawthis .Andtheysaid,“We’vegottogocheckthatout .”Sotheypaddledovertowheretheplasticbagsweregoingandsaid,“Hey,minions,whatareyoudoing?”Andtheminionssaid,“Nothing!Busy!Goaway,don’tbotherus!”Anddownthey’dgo .

SoJillstuckherheadunderthewaterandlooked,andshesawEvilMis-terFred’scastledowntherewithEviMisterFredblowingbubbles,andallthefishhangingaround,andtheminionsgoingupanddownandup

anddown .Andshesaid,“EvilMisterFred,areyoubeinggood?”Andhesaid,“Heavens,no!”AndJackandJillsaid,“Huh!”AndEvilMisterFredsaid,“Oh,thosebusybodies .They’realwaystryingtomessupmyfun .I’llgetridofthem .”

SohecalledtheAcmeStoreofEverythingandheorderedablender .Thisisthekindofblenderthatyoucanstickitinaglassofmilkshakewithicecreamandpicklesandstuff .It’sgotanOnandOffswitch,andit’sgotapropelleronit .Whenyouputitinthedrink,yougo“Rrrrrrrrr,”anditgrindsitallup .SoEvilMisterFredhooksthisuptohiscastleandheturnsiton .Andwhenhedid,itcreatedawhirlpool,likethat .Andatthebottomofthewhirlpool,you’dlookinthere,andthere’ssteelbladesflashingaround .Anythingthatgetscaughtintheregetsallgroundup .

JackandJillwereontheirraft,andtheywerebeingdrawnintothewhirlpool .Andtheywerestartingtogoaroundincircles .IfyouwereJackandJill,whatwouldyoudo?


Making a whirlpool with a blender.

Raft caught in the whirlpool.


Demo #2: “Smoke Tornado”[Note: This is an elaborate device built by Mr. Mac. It’s not required for the lesson, so we don’t include detailed info on it in this Guide.]

Thisisathing .It’sgotarubbertireatthebottom,kindofastrangeplaceforarubbertiretobe .It’sgotplasticpanels .Mostofthemaresealedupwithtape,butthebottomhasedgesthatareopenoneveryotherone .It’sgotaleafbloweronthetop .It’sgotsmokecomingoutofit .Andit’sgotaflashlightupthere .Andwecanturnonthings,like[turns on leaf blower] wecanmakethefango .Wecanmakesmoke[turns on stage fog].Andwecanturnthelightonandoff .Sowe’llturnonthefan,andwe’llgiveitsomelight,andwe’llgiveitsomefog . [A smoke “tornado” forms in the chamber.]

WoulditbeworseorbetterifIusehigherspeed?[Increases speed of leaf blower gradually until it’s very high, while the smoke spins faster and faster. Then Instructor turns off the roomlightssoonlytheflashlightisilluminatingthetornado,and gradually slows down the leaf blower until it stops.]

Sonow,that’sdoingsomeofthethingsthatatornadodoes,butit’snotdoingonething

thattornadosdo .It’snotdoingthesnakedance .Youknowhowtorna-doeswiggleandwobble?SolaterI’mgoingtoaddsomehighvoltagetoitandseeifwecan--nottoday,butlater,likeamonthortwo .Be-causeit’sgoingtotakefiveortenthousandvoltstomakeitdothesnakedance .

With room lights turned off.

Imagination and Brainstorming Time[Students make suggestions](THEREARENOWRONGANSWERS!Whatevertheysay,youshouldreply:“That’sagoodidea,”“Theymightdothat,”etc .Afterbrainstorming,proceedwiththeexperi-ments,thenfinishthestory .)

We’llleavethis“TobeContinued . . .”


Experiment: “Tornado in a Bottle”[Indicates two bottles, one inverted on top of the other.] There’swaterthere [lower bottle],andthere’snowaterthere[upper bottle].Iwantthewatertogofromthere[lower]tothere[upper]. [Student: Flip it!]Flipit,okay . [Flips bottles over to reverse their positions.]SoIflipitoveranditstartstosnow[referring to glitter in the water] .Now,there’swa-terthere[upper]andthere’snowaterthere[lower],andIwantthewatertogofromtheretothere .Butyoudon’tgettosqueezethebottles .

Andifyoudecidetoswirlitorshakeit,don’tholditfromthemiddle,becausewhenyoudo,thisbottle[upper]goes[indicates bottle falling over]andbreaksoff .Soifyouwanttoswirlitorshakeit,putyourhandonthetopandswirlitandshakeit .[Placeshandfirmlyontopofbottle,and some bubbles rise from the lower to the upper bottle.]What’sitdo-ing?Kindofslow .Now,there’sfourdifferentkindsofbottles .Pleasedonotunscrewthemfromthemselves .Youhavetofigureoutwhichonesaredifferentfromtheothers .Eachpersonisgoingtogetone,andyoudon’tgettoswirlit,orshakeit,orpokeit,orsqueezeit,untileverybodyhasone .[Passes out bottles.]

Now,ifyou’relessthantwentyfeettall,you’reprobablybetteroffstandingonthetable .[Students climb onto the table.]Okay,nowmakethewatergofromonetotheother .Trytomakeatornadoinside,too .[Students shake and swirl their bottles.]Someofthemshouldbeeasy .Someofthemshouldbehard .[After a few minutes]Now,let’sseeyouhandyourtornadomakertothepersonclockwisefromyou .[Students pass on their bottles.]Everyoneshouldhaveanewonenow .Andseeifitworksanydifferentthantheoneyouhad .

[Students continue swirling and shak-ing their bottles. After a few minutes, the Instructor has them switch again, and repeats this until each student has used at least four bottles.]Trytomakeitsothetornadowillstartandgobyitselfwithoutyoualwaysshakingit .

Haveyounoticedwhatmakessomebottlesluckyandsomeunlucky?[Students offer suggestions.] Haveyounoticedthatsomeevilpersonputsomeinkonthebottles?Everybottleshouldhavesomeinkonitsomewhere .


Now,letthoserunallthewaytothebottomifyoucan .Oncethey’reempty,leavethememptyatthetop .[Students let the bottles run down.]Here’sagreenonethatstillhasliquidinit .Thisone’saredone,stillhasliquidinit .Now,thistimewhenIsaygo,you’regoingtoturnthemover,getthemgoing,andoncetheystartdoingthewhirlpool,don’tshakeitanymore .Andwe’llseewhichcolorsgofastest .Okay,ready,set,go .Getthewhirlpoolstarted,don’tshakethemanymore .

[Students invert their bottles, get the whirlpool started, and leave them alone.]Andputyourhandupwhenyoursisfinished,whenthetopisempty .There’sablackoneempty,anotherblackoneempty,anotherblackoneempty,ablackoneempty .Whatelseisemptyhere?Ablueone,ablueoneempty,aredoneempty,blackoneempty,redoneempty[continues to call out the colors as the bottles empty].Here’sagreenonethatstillhassomethinginit,here’sanothergreenonethatstill

hassomethinginit .Okay,sothegreenieslooklikethey’retheslowest,theblackieslooklikethey’rethefastest,andthebluiesandthereddiesarekindofdividedbetweenthose .

Now,lookcarefullyattheintersectionbetweenthetwobottles .Stareinside .Thereshouldbeaholeinthere .Dotheblackieshaveabigholeoralittlehole?[Students: Big.]Dothebluieshaveamediumholeornotamediumhole?[Students: Medium.]Dothereddieshaveholethat’sbigorsmall?[Students: Small.]Whatsizeholedothegreenieshave? [Student: Eeny-teeny.]Teeny-weeny .Sonowyouknowthedifferencebetweenallthebottles .Switch .[Students switch bottles again.]Thistime,trytomakethewhirlpooldoasnakedance .Canyougetagoodsnakedancewiththeblackies?[Student: No.]No,toofast .

Okay,everybodystopforasecond .Oneoftheguysinanotherclassisasailor .Heusedtosailthesevenseas .Hewentuptothearctic,hewentdowntotheantarctic,hewenttotheIndianOcean,hewentovertotheGulfofMexico .Whenhewasupinthenorthernhemisphereoftheplanet,thenorthernpartwhereNorthAmericais,heflushedthetoiletlikeeverybodydoes,andwatchedthewater .Anditwouldswirlcounter-clockwise .Whenhewasinthesouthernhemisphere,byAustralia,heflushedthetoiletandthewaterwouldgoclockwise .Andwhenhewasrightovertheequator,hecouldn’ttellwhichwayitwasgoingtogo,oritwouldjustgostraightdownwithoutmakingawhirlpoolatall .

Now,whenyoushakeyours,trytomakeawhirlpoolthatgoescounter-clockwise .Ifyoulookataclock,thesecondhandisgoingclockwisethatway .Trytomakeonethatgoestheoppositewayofaclock .[Students swirl their bottles.]Whenyougettiredofwatchingitgocounter-clockwise,eitherturnitaroundorturnitover,andtrytomakeitgoclockwise .[Students swirl the bottles again.] Switch,andtrythesamethingwiththenextbottleyouget .Diditworkbothways?Trytomakeitgobothdirectionswiththisbottle .Dooneway,thenstopanddoittheotherway .Whenyougetboredwiththis,gointhebathroomandflushthetoiletandseewhichwayitspins .


[Instructor lines up four sets of bottles, one of each color.]Okay,thesearearrangedaccordingtothesizeofthehole .Greenisthesmallest,blackisthebiggest,red’smedium,blue’salittlebigger .Nowwe’llwaitforourgreenguytobedone[green bottle still has water in the upper section].Andyou’llseeprettymuchthesameamountofwater .Canyouthinkofsomewaythatwecouldtell,whatkindoftestcouldwedotoseeifthesewanttospinonewaymorethantheother?[Students offer suggestions.]

Well,let’sjustturnthemoverandseeiftheystartspinningontheirown .Soyou’dhavetoturnitcarefullysothatyoudon’taccidentallystartitgoing .Andseeifitwillspinwithoutusdoinganythingtoit .[Instructor carefully inverts each of the bottles.] So,theblackonedidn’tspinonitsown .Theblueoneisbubbling,theredandthegreendon’thaveenoughoomphtomakethemgo .There’sturbulenceinthere,youcankindofseetheglittermovearound,butthere’ssomuchsurfacetension,itcan’tstart .Now,MythBustersdidthis .Theygotagreatbigbowl,perfectlysphericalbunchofbowls,andtheywentplacesandtheyletthewa-terrunout .Andtheydiscoveredthatitwaspurelyrandom .Northernhemisphere,theycouldgoclock-wise,theycouldgocounter-clockwise .Southernhemisphere,theycouldgoclockwise,ortheycouldgocounterclockwise .Ontheequatoritself,theycouldgoeitherway .Sotherereallywasn’tanypreferenceaccordingtotheearth’sgravitationalfield,magneticfield,electricalfield,orbirdsflyingaroundinyourheads .


End of Story * DO NOT * present this part of the lesson until after the experiments!

SoJackandJillareontheirraft .Andtheirraftistrappedinthewhirlpool .Andthey’rescreaming,“Ahhhhhhhh!”AndJillsticksherheadunderthewaterandscreams,“Help!”Shecantalktofish .Downthereisahammerheadshark,aswordfish,electriceel,andakillershark,achainsawshark .Andthehammerheadsharkcametotherescue .Heswamasfastashecould,swamupthere,sawJackandJillgoingroundandroundincircles,andhesmashedtheirboattobits .Allthelogswentflyingeverywhere,andJackandJill,whowereonthesail,

floatedupintotheairandwerecarriedawayfromthewhirlpool .

AndEvilMisterFredsaid,“Aw,wellthat’snotanygood .Idon’tlikethat .”AndthentheswordfishswamovertoEvilMisterFredandsaid,“What’sup,EvilMisterFred?”AndEvilMisterFredsaid,“Ineedsomehelp .Seethosetwopeopleuptheredrowningintheocean?Canyougochopthemupforme?”Theswordfishsaid,“Well,what’sinitforme?”AndEvilMisterFredsaid,“Well,I’llsharpenyourswordforyou .”Andtheswordfishsaid,“Cool!”Sohe’swimmingovertochopupJackandJill .

AndJackandJillsawtheswordfishcomingwithagleaminhiseye .Andtheysaid,“Uh-oh .Helookslikeshe’sinfortrouble .”AndJackyelledtotheelectriceel,“Electriceel,weneedhelprightaway!”Andtheelectriceelstartedswimmingaftertheswordfish .Andtheeelcalledtothechainsawfish,“Chainsawfish,weneedhelp!”Andthechainsawfishisnowfollowingtheelectriceel .Sothere’saparadeoffishgoingtowardsJackandJill,twotorescuethemandonetochopthemup .

Well,whichoneshouldgettherefirst?[Students: The eel.]Theelectriceelgetstherefirstandzapstheswordfish--bzznnggg!--whicheraseshismemorycellsandchangeshismemoriescompletely .Andnowhethinkshe’ssupposedtokillEvilMisterFred .AndsotheswordfishturnsaroundandisheadingtowardEvilMisterFred .EvilMisterFredsays,“No,no!”andgoesdownthetrapdoorintohiscastle .Who’sfollowingtheelectriceel?[Students respond.]Thechainsawfish,andIwonderifthehammerguy’sanywherenear?Firsttheelectriceelgoesin,andhecan’tfindEvilMisterFred .Theswordfishishackingatthecastlebutcan’tbreakthrough .Thenthechainsawfishcomesalongandstartschoppingawayatthecastle--bshhhhhhhh!--andcutsthetopoff .Andthetopfallsoff,EvilMisterFredfloatsoutinabigbubble,andnowoneofthemisgoingtodevourEvilMisterFred .[Students shout their prefer-ence.]ThehammerheadiselectedtodevourEvilMisterFred .Andtheyalllivedhappilyeverafter,exceptEvilMisterFred .

End of Lesson

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