Hands-on Science Activity-Convection Wheel

Materials:

Paper, glue stick, plastic film canister, straight pin, scissors

• Print out the strip pattern and cut along the lines so that you have two long strips of paper. Cut one of the strips in half.

• Using a glue stick to secure the ends of the long strip, make a circular ring.
  

• Using a glue stick, secure the shorter strips in a cross-wise fashion to the ring you have just made.
  

• Place a straight pin through the underside of a film canister lid and place the lid on the canister (be careful not to poke yourself with the pin).
  

• Place the convection wheel on the pin's sharp point. Make certain the wheel is balanced.
  

• Check the wheel's balance by blowing gently on the bottom ring. Check that it can rotate in both the clockwise and counterclockwise rotations.
  

• After the wheel is at rest, cup your right hand approximately 1 cm from wheel (the side of your hand should be resting on the table surface). Have your partner sit across from you and do the same.
  

• Explain what, if anything, happens to the wheel.
  

• Repeat this part of the experiment with you and your partner using your left hands. Again, explain what, if anything, happens to the wheel.
  

• Construct your own theory which describes what causes the wheel to behave as it does when two hands are cupped close to it.
  

• Try to make your theory detailed enough to explain the difference between using right and left hands.
  

• Compare your theory with other members of the class.
  

• Try to decide on a single theory which best explains the behavior of the convection wheel.

Resource Information:

Convection occurs naturally in gases such as air, when there are regions of higher and lower temperature. The phenomenon of convection results in air flow from the hotter to the colder regions.

Body temperature is not constant throughout the body. For example, temperatures taken with oral and anal thermometers are not necessarily equal. Also, we tend to be colder at our extremities, which include toes and fingertips, because it's more difficult to maintain good blood circulation in these regions. Check this by touching your palms to your face, and then by touching your fingertips to the same part of your face.

So what does this have to do with recycling and conservation? Have you ever seen litter spiraling up into the air? It is being carried by convection currents. This is why it is important to cover trash and recycling containers. It is very easy for lightweight litter to be entrained in the air and dispersed. Litter is unsightly, unhealthy, and it threatens the quality of our natural environment.

Litter creates havoc with the environment. Keep your community clean by disposing of trash responsibly.