The Case of the Terrible T. Rex (7 page)

Contents

Your Own Lab

Science by the Book:
The Scientific Method

Werewolf Case at Midnight:
Hot Air

Those Poor Little Fish:
pH and Water Pollution

Digging for Dinosaurs:
Paleontology and Startification

Hamming It Up with Morse Code:
Morse Code and Ham Radio

O
ne day while hiking, you stumble across a suspiciously dirty stream. Your mission? Record your observations and collect some water samples for analysis. You reach for your specimen jars, only to realize you don’t have any! Nor do you have a lab notebook! Or a lab, for that matter! Horrors! Next time, be prepared. Here’s how:

1.   Set up a card table and chair in your basement, your attic, or your bedroom—wherever there’s room. Hang up a sign that reads
LABORATORY
.

2.   Stock your lab with odds and ends—clean jars with lids, tape, string, fishing line, batteries, wire, funnels, clean paintbrushes—anything you think might come in handy.

3.   Of course, every top-notch scientist must wear a lab coat. A white button-down shirt is perfect (ask first!). Using a permanent marker, write your name on the shirt.

4.   Lastly, where would you be without a lab notebook to scribble in? Spiral or bound notebooks work great. Sharpen your pencil, write your name in your notebook, and
voila
! You can now investigate that stream!

A good lab notebook contains:

1)
   Experiment title

2)
   Method (what you plan to do)

3)
   Hypothesis (what you think will happen)

4)
   Procedure (what you did)

5)
   Observations (what you saw)

6)
   Results (what actually happened)

Good Science Tip:

Whenever you collect a water sample from your local stream, river, or lake, label the sample container with the location, date, and time. Then, in your notebook, record any observations. For example, what color is the water? Are there any odors? Is the bank muddy, rocky, or sandy? Are there plants? Are there any pipes nearby? Cover and store your sample in the refrigerator and test within twenty-four hours.

W
hile there’s no single book that gives all of the answers to every science mystery (except for Drake’s book, of course!), scientists are still on the same page when it comes to the scientific method.

Step one:
scientists observe. They examine, they prod, they peer, and they poke. They write it all down in their lab notebooks.

Step two:
based on their observations, scientists develop a hypothesis, which, if you recall, is a scientist’s best guess as to what is really happening or what will happen. Remember Drake and Nell and the floating tent? Likely Nell’s hypothesis sounded something like this: “Based on our observations, I believe the tent floated off because it was pitched over a fumarole. I believe the fumarole filled the tent with hot air, making it behave like a hot air balloon.”

Step three:
scientists test their hypothesis. (After all, what if the hypothesis is wrong? What if there really
are
werewolves? Gadzooks!) In testing their hypothesis, scientists follow a procedure. In the following experiments and activities, you will also follow a procedure. It is important to read through the instructions and set out all the needed materials
before
beginning the experiment. So sharpen your pencils, open your lab notebooks, and let’s get started.

Did You Know?

Want to know more about paleontology? How about fumaroles, water pollution, or ham radios? While the Internet provides many handy and excellent resources, use caution. There is a lot of
mis
-information on the Internet, too. Why? Because anyone can post anything on the Internet, and no one is required to be correct. So, when you’re looking for answers (and not just
any
answers, but the
right
answers), go to your local library. There you will find books written by
experts
. Having trouble finding just the right book? No problem. Just ask a reference librarian; they’re there to help. After all, they’re experts, too!

I
magine it. You’re a top-notch scientist, assigned to a baffling werewolf case at midnight on Waxberry Hill. Just as the howling begins and your scalp crawls with terror, the tent expands and floats off into the night. Are werewolves to blame, or is there a more obvious solution? As a top-notch scientist, it’s your job to find out.…

MATERIALS

•   thin plastic dry-cleaner bag (this is the tent)

    
Note
: The thinner and larger the bag, the better. Try evening gown–size dry-cleaner bags—they are about five-and-a-half feet long.

•   4 large paper clips

•   lightweight fishing line (this is the leash, to keep your tent from flying away!)

•   hair dryer