mathematics-

In this easy elementary science project we are going to experiment with yeast. I wonder if you know what yeast is? Well, it is a type of fungus that lives on the skins of many fruits. A spoonful of yeast contains millions of little single-celled organisms (it is very simple organisms.) These organisms work like tiny factories to by taking sugar and making alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. This is the process that turns the mixture of grain and water into beer and the bubbles it produces are used to make bread light and fluffy. We are going to have a look at the conditions that are necessary for the yeast to grow.

This is one of our easy elementary science projects where adult supervision is vital as we are going to use hot water. Ask an adult to help you with the boiling of the water.

The purpose of this science project is to find the ideal conditions for yeast to grow in.

What you need for this experiment:

• A kettle
• A measuring jug
• Water
• 4 Small glass jars
• Dried yeast
• 2 Heatproof bowls
• A teaspoon
• Dried yeast granules
• Clear film
• 3 Elastic bands
• 4 Colored stickers, green, red, blue and yellow
• Sugar
• Ice cubes
• Scissors
• Pen

How to do this easy elementary science project:

1. Fill the kettle about half full with water.


2. Boil the water to kill any organisms that might interfere with the working of the yeast.


3. Now place the stickers on your glass jars.


4. For safety's sake also mark the stickers a (green), b (red), c (blue0 and d (yellow).


5. With a teaspoon, place a level teaspoon of yeast into each jar.


6. Now you place the same amount of sugar in each jar.


7. Place the jar with the yellow dot (d) away in a warm place.


8. In the remaining jars, pour about 2/3 cup of the cooled, boiled water in each of the remaining bottles.


9. Cut a piece of clear film for each of the remaining 3 jars that is about twice the width of the jars.


10. Stretch one piece over the neck of each of the remaining jars and secure it with a elastic band.


11. Place the jar with the green dot (a) in a warm place.


12. Pace the jar with the blue dot (c) in one of the bowls and put some cold water and ice in this jar too keep it cold. If the ice starts to melt, add more ice to keep the water cold all the time.


13. Now you place the jar with the red dot (b) in the other jar and pour some very hot water in the bowl. Ask and adult to help you with this. The water must be very hot but, not boiling as that may cause the jar to break. If the water start to cool down, add extra hot water to keep it hot all the time.


14. Check on your jars regularly for the next 2 hours, keeping the conditions for each jar as it started.


15. Make meticulous notes of everything that happens.


16. Can you explain why it happens?


17. How do you think this knowledge can be used in baking bread?

If you did this easy elementary science project correctly, the following will happen:

1. The yeast in the jar that was kept in the hot water (red, b) lies in a cloudy layer at the bottom of the jar as the yeast was killed by the hot water.
2. In the jar that was kept in the cold water (blue, c) there is only a little froth at the top of the jar as the cold slowed down the yeast. (I wonder if you can think how this information can be of some use to a baker.)
3. In the jar that was kept in a warm place (green, a) the yeast has fed on the sugar and water and the resulting carbon dioxide should be pushing up the clear film already.
4. The yeast in the last jar (yellow, d) shows no sign of any activity as the dry yeast is hibernating and will only become active in the presence of water, sugar and warmth. (Not too hot, because we have already established that overheating will cause the yeast to die.)

This easy elementary project is proofs that even doing the simplest experiments can teach us all something of value. How do you think what we learned today can be of practical use to us? In fact it has been used for years in the process of baking bread, making wine and making beer.

Get Magriet's food craft for kids at My Fun Kids Crafts Blog to see the working of yeast as used to bake bread rolls. For more easy elementary science projects you can visit Elementary Science Fair Projects and for even more science projects you can visit Magriet's site Easy Science Fair Projects.

posted by fdwvsmr55035  # 9:14 PM 0 comments

The brain acts like a muscle. The more we use it, the "smarter" and "more creative" we are. There are many methods to increase one's creativity. Creativity is contagious for those not "born with it". Hang around creative people, and you will find yourself thinking in a whole new manner. Hang around people who, pardon the expression, "dumbed down by formal education" and you too, will find yourself behaving in a similar fashion.

The fact is, we are all born with infinite creativity. The ancient Greeks knew this and had a word called "educare" which means "to draw out". It is the basis from where we formed the word education. In *real* education, the true teacher or mentor is keenly aware that the knowledge is already there, in fact, the student may very well have more knowledge than the teacher, he/she (that is the student) simply has not learned how to manifest that knowledge into productivity, work, or whatever goals are in the student's mind to achieve. Most "teachers" push in the knowledge. That is not education. It is better known as ego.
Sad but true.

Since the 1980's the education system has become wary of brilliant students as well; mainly because teachers have such a workload and schools are lacking many resources....enter Ritalin. The genius is suddenly a zombie and can do reading, writing, and mathematics, when in reality, his/her brain may already
be formulating a cure for cancer.

That is not as far-out as it seems. Einstein was terribly restless and bored and had he been alive today he would have been a prime candidate for Ritalin. In fact, we know he would be at the top of the list. What does that say about how our education system feels about creativity and genius. It admires it, it touts it, it brags about it, and then dumbs it down so as not to disrupt the class or the teacher's job (to help the masses). Yes, there are gifted programs but often they even fall into the same trap, some of the kids are simply too gifted for the instructor.

Most schools are not even aware of EQ and base everything on IQ. A person can have a very
high EQ (Emotional Quotient) and a not so high IQ (Intelligence Quotient). In 1985, Dr. Dan
Goleman, a Harvard professor wrote a best-seller titled "Emotional Intelligence". In his younger
years he was thought to be autistic, or at least labeled so. He went on to earn a PHD in psychology and teaches at an ivy league school.

I have a high IQ; no, probably not genius level but above the average. My education was in the Mississippi public school system and the only thing I can remember in school was looking out the window, sleeping, and tapping my feet on the floor.

Today, I work in e-commerce and in the arts. I have returned to college and am at a private
prestigious school in my third year. I was told thirty years ago I simply was not academic material
and should consider a trade.

I will write more on creativity and how to practice it (yes, it can be learned because it is already there. What I'm talking about is learning to work "outside the box" and forgetting what others think about us; as what others think about us is none of our business.

Rick London is a freelance writer, cartoonist, and e-entrepreneur. He launched Londons Times Cartoons in 1997 which evolved into the largest (8500 cartoons) and most visited (3+ million per year) offbeat cartoon website. He owns ten award-winning Internet gift & collectible stores, one of them being Rick London Special Edition Gifts

posted by fdwvsmr55035  # 9:13 AM 0 comments