Test out things if you like with 'lab-in-the-kitchen' exercises
a. melting of ice: rising sea level?
You need two glass jars or jugs.
Put a small piece of rock in jar A.
Pour water in the jar until the rock is almost covered.
Mark the level of water with a waterproof pen.
Then put a piece of ice on the rock, and let the ice melt.
Put a piece of ice - the same size as the other one - in the water of jar B.
See to that the ice floats in the water.
Mark the water level with your waterproof marker pen.
When the ice has melted in both jars, check up if the water level has risen. Explain the results.
Will sea level rise if the ice on the North Pole melts? Why, why not?
Will sea level rise if the glaciers on Greenland melts? Why, why not?
- b. Air expands when heated.
Take a glass bottle and put a balloon on top.
See figure.
Heat the air in the bottle by warming the bottle with a candle, or hot water.
Explain what happens.
Is there any difference in density between cold and warm air?
(What weighs more, one cubic meter of warm air or one cubic meter of cold air?)
Does water expand when heated?
Can you make a similar activity using water instead of air?
(How about a cork with a hole in it and a sipping straw?)
