Magic Science Projects That Are Fun & Easy That Can Win Easily

Floating Egg

• This demonstration will show how the concentration of salt in a body of water can affect how objects float. To perform this trick, you will need a container of water, some salt and a spoon, an uncooked egg and one that has been hard-boiled. Immerse the uncooked egg in the water and notice how it floats. Remove it and put in the hard-boiled egg. It should sink to the bottom. Now, begin putting salt into the water, one spoonful at a time. Eventually, the heavier egg will begin to float. This happens because, at a certain point, the egg becomes lighter than the water it displaces.

Acid Versus Base

• An acid is a compound that generates positive hydrogen ions when placed in water. A base, however, is one that absorbs the hydrogen atoms of another source. For this exercise, you will need a liquid filter, a head of cabbage, a blender, several clear glasses and a quart of fresh water. Also, you will need a bottle of vinegar and some laundry detergent.

  Pour some water into the blender, filling it halfway. Add six cabbage leaves and blend them thoroughly. Pour the mixture through the filter, removing the leftover pulp. Fill three of your glasses, midway, with the blend. Pour a spoon full of vinegar into one glass and stir.The resulting red color identifies vinegar as an acid. Put a little laundry detergent into another glass. You will see that the water now turns green, making the detergent a base. Experiment with different substances and classify each one on a written chart.

Quick Change Pennies

• This "trick" demonstrates the chemical reactions that occur when certain elements are brought into contact. For it, you will need 10 or more tarnished pennies, some salt, white vinegar and a flat, see-through dish. Lay the pennies in the container. Put in a quarter-cup of the vinegar and add a teaspoon of salt. The pennies' original luster should return very rapidly. After a few minutes, remove the pennies. Rinse and dry some, while leaving any moisture on the others to evaporate naturally. The ones that "air-dry" should take on a bluish hue. The acidic salt and vinegar solution removes the natural grimy buildup from pennies, known as copper oxide. However, the salty residue that remained on the "un-dried" coins combined with oxygen and the copper to produce the bluish effect, derived from a mineral known as malachite.

Yeast Balloon

• This experiment shows the effect of different gases in the atmosphere. You will need a balloon, a medium-sized bottle and a packet of baking yeast. First, mix the yeast and a small amount of heated water in the container. With it, combine a small spoon of household sugar. Shake the container, making sure to mix all ingredients. Secure the balloon over the open top of the bottle and allow it to sit for several hours. As the yeast cells reproduce, they will expel carbon dioxide, filling the balloon. This experiment shows how life and growth can occur within a seemingly inanimate mass.