Innholdsfortegnelse for Special Edition 5 i MiniMag - Easy Science Special Edition

Welcome to the FIFTH EASYSCIENCE SPECIAL EDITION! Get ready to explore some of the most mind-blowing wonders of science – from the tiniest building blocks of matter to the mysteries of space and time! In this issue, we meet the elements that make up almost everything around us – Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. These four superstar elements are found in the air we breathe, the food we eat and even in our own bodies! Look up into the sky – way beyond the clouds – and you’ll find galactic eyes watching over our planet. Discover how satellites spin in space to help us with weather, navigation, communication and even spying on the stars. Prepare to have your mind twisted with our OPTICAL ILLUSIONS feature. Science shows us that sometimes,…

Let’s have some bubbly fun! Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical used to clean wounds or even surfaces in the home. You can buy it at most pharmacies. Hydrogen peroxide has two hydrogen atoms bonded with two oxygen atoms. The chemical formula is H2 O2 . It’s not a very stable compound and this liquid will break down into water (H2 O) and oxygen (O2 ) over time. Yeast, the micro-organism used to make bread, has an enzyme called catalase that could speed up the breaking down of hydrogen peroxide to something quite spectacular … You will need: A packet of dry yeast Spoons and containers for mixing 3 Tablespoons of warm water A small empty plastic cold drink bottle Liquid dishwashing soap 100 ml hydrogen peroxide (usually sold as a 3% solution at pharmacies)…

Nitrogen is the seventh element on the periodic table. Nitrogen atoms love to team up side by side to form N2 at most conditions on earth. This tasteless, colourless N2 gas is the most abundant gas in the air. In fact, every breath you take is nearly 80% nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important part of all living organisms. Proteins and amino acids have nitrogen as part of their chemical structures. DNA is a kind of protein with nitrogen present in every molecule. DNA, found inside cells, holds theblueprint of organisms that is passed on to the next generation. Without nitrogen, life would not be possible. The nitrogen gas in the air is very stable. For all life forms to access nitrogen, the N2 must first change into different forms. Nitrogen pollution Any…

These receivers are what hikers, navigators and sailors used – now GPS is used by everyone. Latest versions will give you a position accurate to centimetres. For this system to work, the GPS satellites need to know where they are at any instant. To achieve this, their orbits are measured by firing pulses of laser light at them from Earth. The satellites are fitted with reflectors that send the light back in the direction from which it came. By measuring how long the laser pulse takes to get to the satellite and back, we can calculate its distance, knowing the speed of light. Thus we can measure the orbits of satellites very accurately. This technique is called Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR). Apart from positioning system satellites, some other types of satellite…

Our eyes see colour with tiny structures called cones. Cones are found in a part of the eye called the retina. We have three kinds of cones – green, red and blue – with different kinds of chemicals in them that let us see different colours. In this activity, see what happens when one kind of cone gets tired! Draw a ghost on one of the blank sheets of paper in the centre of the page using a coloured crayon. Make sure your outline is bold or fill the image with colour. When your drawing is finished, put your picture side by side next to a blank white sheet of paper. Stare at the picture of the green ghost for about 30 seconds. Now look at the white piece of…

Carbon is such an important element that it divided the entire discipline of chemistry into two fields: the study of compounds with carbon, called organic chemistry and compounds without carbon, called inorganic chemistry. things. The sweetness of lollipops comes from carbon-based rings with some hydrogen and oxygen attached to it called sucrose. Attach four chlorine atoms to carbon and you have carbon tetrachloride, a deadly gas that can paralyse your nervous system. Pure carbon can be as dull as coal or as beautiful as dazzling diamonds. One of the reasons why carbon is found in so many places is carbon’s ability to bond with other elements. The carbon atom has six electrons, two flying around in a layer, or shell, near the centre of the atom, whilst four more whisk…

During the coronavirus pandemic, many people came to appreciate just how important oxygen is. One of the symptoms of COVID-19 is difficulty breathing. Patients are treated with oxygen masks or mechanical ventilators to pump enough oxygen into their lungs and help them recover. For anyone who breathes, oxygen is life. Oxygen – ready to react The oxygen atom is a bit like that kid at your school who is friends with almost everyone. Oxygen is a highly reactive element that forms bonds with nearly all the other elements on the periodic table. Oxygen reacts with itself to form O2 or O3 (ozone), with hydrogen to form water (H2 0) and carbon to form carbon dioxide (CO2) just to name a few. Oxygen reacts with glucose to release CO2 and energy.…

The Earth’s satellite, the Moon, is about four times smaller, and orbits (or travels around another object in a single path) about 384 400 km from the Earth. A whole lot of movement is involved: The Moon spins (or rotates) on its axis The Earth spins on its axis; The Moon revolves (or orbits) around the Earth; The Earth and Moon revolve around the Sun. Since the Moon revolves around its own axis at the same rate at which it orbits the Earth, we always see one side of the Moon, called the near-side. Man-made satellites When we talk about satellites, we normally refer to man-made spacecraft placed in space for a specific reason. They are very useful for communicating information to the Earth. Satellites have different designs, depending on…

Did you know? Have you ever noticed that the moon looks really big when it is down near the horizon and much smaller when it is high in the sky? This is an optical illusion too. The buildings and the trees that are down on the horizon give a background for the moon that makes it look big because they are very small by comparison. But when the moon is high in the sky, the background is the whole sky so the moon looks very small. You can prove to yourself that this is just an illusion. Cut out a little round piece of paper so that when you hold it at arm’s length, it just covers the moon when it is low on the horizon. You will need to…

Firstly, you would need a hollow rock for a geode to form, but how do you get a hollow rock? Most commonly, hollow rocks are created when a bubble of carbon dioxide and water vapour forms inside a lava flow. When the lava solidifies (hardens) and cools down, you are left with a hollow rock because the gas has dissolved. Although these rocks look solid, they are porous – this means that they have tiny holes which you cannot see with your naked eye. Creating crystals Rainwater or mineral rich groundwater slowly seeps into the rock through the tiny holes and fills the cavity inside (a cavity is another word for an empty space). Because the water is rich in minerals, these minerals are deposited on the inside of the…

How well can you tell time? Draw the hands on the clocks below. 09:40 05:15 01:30 10 years is known as a decade. 100 years is known as a century and 1 000 years is known as a millennium. Do you know how time is measured and what every unit is called? Here is a quick test to check your knowledge! FILL IN THE BLANKS 1. months = one year. 2. 365 days = one. 3. 24 months = years. 4. 60 seconds = one. 5. days = one week. 6. 180 minutes = hours. 7. 28 days = weeks. Sundials: The first clocks Before watches or clocks, people used sundials to tell the time of day by the shadow cast by the Sun. The length and position of the…

Say hello to the most common element in the entire universe. Hydrogen is the first and lightest element on the periodic table. Each hydrogen atom has only one proton and one electron. There is a tiny bit of hydrogen gas in the atmosphere but most of the hydrogen on Earth is found as water. When two hydrogen atoms hook up with oxygen, the result is H2 O, aka water. Six out of every ten of the atoms in your body are hydrogen. That means you are about 60% hydrogen. Many of the things around you also contain hydrogen, from the margarine you spread on your bread (hydrogenated vegetable oil) to the ethanol (C2 H5 OH) in your hand sanitiser. The structure of the H2 0 molecule gives water unique properties that enable life on…

You will need: A plate or shallow dish Jug with water A paper or polystyrene cup A toothpick A piece of steel wool A large glass jar A marker pen that writes on glass What to do: Experiment 1 Pour water into your plate or shallow dish. 2 Use the toothpick to prick several small holes all over the paper cup. 3 Turn the cup upside down. Place a ball of clean steel wool on the top of the overturned cup. Place the cup with the steel wool, upside down on the plate. 4 Cover the cup with the steel wool with the glass jar. 5 Mark the water level on the jar with your marker pen. 6 Wait a few days, adding water to the plate when necessary. Take…

The brightest objects in the Universe Many people make use of quasars every day, often without knowing what they are. These people include pilots, surveyors, hikers, geologists, soldiers and sailors. What are quasars? Faint, peculiar stars that showed up in their pictures had astronomers really puzzled back in 1963. Maarten Schmidt at the Mount Palomar Observatory in California, USA then realised that these star-like (“quasi” stellar) objects, were not stars at all, but unusual galaxies lying at very great distances. A star-like galaxy with a feint streak coming out of it. This is a jet of very hot gas being blasted out from around a massive black hole in the heart of the galaxy. Image: Kitt Peak National Observatory A galaxy is a giant collection of gas, dust and millions…

How your eyes create 3D vision Some really surprising illusions happen because we have two eyes that each sees things a little differently. How does this work? Because your eyes are separated by the distance between them, each eye looks at things from a slightly different angle. Your left and right eye each sees a separate image of an object and your brain combines them into one. Your brain also analyses the angle formed by the two views of the object to determine how far away the object is. The larger the angle, the nearer the object; the smaller the angle, the further the object. Make a wonder spinner and other optical illusions! Use your cup to draw a circle on a cardboard sheet, and use a ruler to make…

STEP 1 With a drawing pin, poke a hole in the top and bottom of your egg. To make things a little easier, try and make the holes slightly bigger. Put your mouth over the one hole and blow out the inside of the egg into the bowl. STEP 2 You might want to get an adult to help you with this part. Using your scissors, cut the egg in half – from the one hole all the way around to the second and back to the first. Clean out your eggand leave it overnight to dry properly. STEP 3 When your eggs are completely dry, get the glue and alum powder ready. Put a blob of glue inside the egg and spread it evenly around the inside with your…

MiniMag The Magazine for Kids The most trusted educational magazine for kids MiniMag offers children of all races and cultural backgrounds a platform to express themselves. We strive to stimulate, entertain, educate and most of all to instil a love for reading. Active participation, entertainment and creativity are a priority. MiniMag promises to always hold children’s best interests at heart.The editorial value and visual appeal aim to instil a love for reading. Entertaining features on current issues Reviews on movies, books and music Current information on science, nature and environmental issues Activities to stimulate active participation Project pages and articles that supplement school curriculums Subscribe today! visit: https://www.minimag.online Join the fun!…