Terrific Science - Fun Science Resources for Teachers, Parents, Families, and Kids

National Chemistry Week 2008!

October 19–25th, 2008

To celebrate this year’s National Chemistry Week theme, Having a Ball with Chemistry: The Chemistry of Sports, we offer the following free activities for you to download!

If the Shoe Fits—Athletic Shoe Activity for Multiple Grades stop watch
In this activity, students explore shoes to gain an appreciation for the technology involved in shoe construction and to practice gathering and analyzing scientific data. The activity is divided into three parts based on grade level. Part A has two parts: one for younger students and another for older students. Depending on the student level of abilities, you may want to incorporate elements of various parts into a single classroom activity.

DownloadIf the Shoe Fits—Athletic Shoe Activity for Multiple Grades (155KB PDF)

Test Your Reaction Time stop watch
Reaction time is critical in many sports. In baseball, for example, a batter has only a fraction of a second to respond to a pitched ball. Soccer goalies must have excellent reaction time to block a potential score. In this simple activity, you’ll determine your own reaction time and compare it to that of others.

DownloadTest Your Reaction Time(111KB PDF)

Temperature Effects on Ball Bounceability basketball
Ball bounceability is an important element of many sports. Tennis and ping-pong balls must meet certain bounce criteria to be used for regulation play. Golfers want balls with sufficient elasticity to be driven long distances, and a tightly wound baseball jumps off the bat faster and travels farther than a loosely wound, “dead” ball. In this activity, you’ll investigate how ball bounceability varies with temperature.

Download Temperature Effects on Ball Bounceability (196KB PDF)

Hydrophobic Swimsuit swimming
The big buzz at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the Speedo LZR Racer® swimsuit. This new, high-end swimsuit, which was designed with the help of NASA, features a water-repellent polyurethane membrane to reduce drag and improve speed. Materials that repel water are called “hydrophobic” and have many interesting and useful properties. In this activity, you explore the behavior of Magic Sand, a common hydrophobic play material.

Download Hydrophobic Swimsuit (118KB PDF)

Impact and Puncture Testing of Polymers helmet
Many sports require the use of equipment to protect the player from injury due to projectiles and other impacts. Most of this equipment is made of synthetic polymers. In this activity, you’ll perform tests on various plastic samples to determine how resistant they are to impact and puncture.

Download Impact and Puncture Testing of Polymers (155KB PDF)

Surface Tension and High Diving diving
Surface tension makes water act as though it has an invisible skin. Anyone who’s done a belly flop into a pool has had painful experience with this “skin.” Olympic high divers need to enter the water with a knife-like precision, exposing the smallest cross-sectional area of their bodies to the water surface to lessen the blow caused by the water’s surface tension. In this activity, you’ll observe water’s surface tension up close.

Download Surface Tension and High Diving (115KB PDF)

Iron for Breakfast label
Our bodies need iron. An iron deficiency can result in anemia, a fairly common condition for adolescent girls. Iron-deficiency anemia can cause fatigue during sports activities because iron is necessary for the blood to carry oxygen to the muscles. Some foods are fortified with iron and can help prevent anemia. In this activity, you’ll verify the presence of iron in iron-fortified cereal.

Download Iron for Breakfast (120KB PDF)

Chemical Heat Packs muscles
Many types of sports-related pain come from strained muscles. Heat application eases pain by dilating the blood vessels surrounding the painful area. Increased blood flow provides additional oxygen and nutrients to help heal the damaged muscle tissue. In this activity, you’ll measure the amount of heat produced from a commercial reusable heat pack.

Download Chemical Heat Packs (100KB PDF)

Sunscreens and SPF Ratings sunblock
Overexposure to sunlight is a risk common to many sports. UV-containing sunlight
can damage our skin, causing painful sunburn and an increased risk for skin cancer.
Sunscreens contain chemical agents that safely absorb the UV radiation and convert
the energy into heat through a chemical reaction. In this activity, you’ll test the
effectiveness of several sunscreen products.

Download Sunscreens and SPF Ratings (208KB PDF)

Electrolyte Content of Sports Drinks
Sports drinks contain large amounts of electrolytes (ions), such as sodium (Na+) and
potassium (K+), in order to replenish the electrolytes that the body loses through
sweat during exercise. This activity provides you with an indirect way to measure the
amounts of electrolytes in a water beverage.

Download Electrolyte Contents of Sports Drinks (208KB PDF)

Endurance and Lung Capacity lungs
Lung capacity, or the amount of air your lungs can hold, is an important factor in your body’s endurance. In many sports, endurance is the key to success. This activity is one method of measuring lung capacity.

Download Edurance and Lung Capacity (178KB PDF)

The Bounce of Playgrounds and Gym Floors
How does the surface of a gym, tennis court, or playground affect the bounceability
of a ball? This activity allows you to investigate how balls bounce on different surface
materials.

Download The Bounce of Playgrounds and Gym Floors (190KB PDF)

Calories in Snack Foods
Athletes need a lot of energy to compete in sporting events. This energy comes from
the foods they eat. Foods high in fat are also high in energy. The measure of energy
in food is the calorie. Many snack foods are particularly high in calories because of
high fat content. In this activity, students discover how much energy is present in
cheese snacks.

Download Calories in Snack Foods (118KB PDF)

Effects of Chlorine on Germs
To be safe for swimmers, swimming pools must be disinfected. Chlorine is a typical disinfectant used in pools. In this activity, you’ll observe the effects of chlorine on yeast growth, which simulates the bacterial activity that can occur in pools.

Download Effects of Chlorine on Germs (134KB PDF)

Polyurethane Foam
Polyurethane is a synthetic polymer found in many types of athletic clothing and sports equipment. As an impact-resistant foam, it is used to line the inside of athletic helmets and to make the outer sole of many types of footwear, including athletic shoes. Polyurethane also makes up the inflatable bladder of professional footballs and the strings and grips of pro tennis rackets. In this activity, you’ll investigate the properties of polyurethane foam.

Download Polyurethane Foam (99KB PDF)

Playing with the METS
Ever wonder how many calories you burn while playing your favorite sport? Health scientists have devised a method that allows you to estimate how much energy it takes to do a wide variety of activities. In this activity, you’ll learn how to use Metabolic Equivalents, or METs.

Download Playing with the METS (96KB PDF)

Bubble Blowup
Lung capacity is the amount of air your lungs can hold. Good lung capacity is helpful in competitive sports. In this activity, you can have fun blowing bubbles while getting an idea of what your lung capacity is.

Download Bubble Blowup (99KB PDF)

Effects of Wax on Sliding
Why do skiers put wax on their skis? In this activity, you’ll explore how wax reduces friction between ice and wood.

Download Effects of Wax on Sliding (178KB PDF)

Science of Athletic Shoes
Human feet take quite a pounding. A typical athlete can generate up to 700 pounds
of pressure on a foot in a single stride or bound. Many athletic shoes are designed
to minimize the stress that sports put on the feet. In this activity, you’ll examine foot
types and the types of wear patterns that occur on shoes.

Download Science of Athletic Shoes (245KB PDF)

Let’s Break a Sweat
You’ve probably noticed how athletes, such as gymnasts and weight-lifters, chalk
their hands before engaging in their sport. The chalk improves an athlete’s grip by
absorbing sweat. In this activity, you’ll use a moisture-absorbing cellophane fish
to detect sweating in the palms of the hands. You’ll compare the fish’s behavior
in various settings to confirm that moisture is the key factor for the toy fish’s
movement. You’ll also design an experiment to determine whether an increase in
physical activity increases sweat production in the palms of the hands.

Download Let’s Break a Sweat (217KB PDF)

National Chemistry Week is a community-based program of the American Chemical Society (ACS). National Chemistry Week’s mission is to reach the public, particularly elementary and secondary school children, with positive messages about chemistry. Through print efforts and local events, more than 8 million people are reached each year through National Chemistry Week.

Learn more about the American Chemical Society.