Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Elephant Toothpaste experiment I did with my students. A few readers who read that post were curious about how to conduct the experiment and what happens in it. Hence, this follow-up post on the Chemistry behind the experiment. Incidentally, my lesson plan for…
View More Elephant Toothpaste – The Chemistry
Expectation Elephant Toothpaste – does it sound absurd? On the contrary, it is quite a popular Science experiment. I have conducted it many times, watched it even more times, and enjoyed every single experience. However, it has been some years since I did this experiment. Last week in my 9th…
View More Elephant Toothpaste – Fun with Science
Kitchen is a Science lab My husband is very fond of experimenting, especially conducting experiments in the kitchen. A few days ago, while I was away from home, he got the idea to set home-made ‘curd’ (yogurt, ಮೊಸರು, दही). When I returned home in the evening, I saw a vessel…
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Out of thin air Have you ever wondered what we are all made of? Many years ago, I attended a seminar in my office. The speaker was a visiting delegate from the USA. His expertise was in K12 education. He had carried a thick wooden log with him to use…
View More What are the things around us made of?
When we think about applications of Science in everyday life, Chemistry in cooking emerges as a natural extension. Cooking is one of the exhaustive applications of Chemistry in our everyday lives. When I was in college, Physical Chemistry was a hard nut to crack for me, especially Thermodynamics. I struggled…
View More 2 Concepts of Chemistry in Cooking
Science concepts I often come across students and parents who complain about the Science and Maths concepts learned in school. They think that learning such concepts is a waste of time and these concepts do not have real-life applications. These comments are usually peppered with doses of righteous indignation. A…
View More 3 Science concepts that help you in traffic
Festival of Lights Deepavali is the festival of lights. It is also the time of the year when children and families gather to burst firecrackers. The year 2020 has seen subdued celebrations all over India, with minimal firecrackers. I stopped indulging in firecrackers many years ago. My fascination has taken…
View More The Science of Firecrackers
“I never use the concepts I learned in school” I hear this statement often. In conversations with students, parents, friends, colleagues, public, even in memes. Generally, this statement is accompanied by a critique of the education system. How our education system is teaching us ‘useless concepts’ while it should be…
View More Clarity of Concepts in School
The ubiquitous ‘e’ Most of us in the English-speaking world know that ‘e’ is the most used letter of the English language. If you do not believe me, try writing a sentence without the letter ‘e’ in it. You will succeed, but the difficulty you will face will prove my…
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Lock-down as a trigger The lock-down and quarantined existence over the last few months has given us opportunities to re-evaluate our habits and life choices. I have been continuously reflecting and introspecting. I have re-evaluated many things – my daily routine, my work schedule, my eating habits, my socialising activities,…
View More It is time to think ‘alternative’