Well, you say, this is all very fascinating, really, but … what’s that got to do with my poor little fish?
A most excellent question! You see, purple cabbage juice contains a purple pigment called flavin, which acts as a pH indicator. By dipping your paper fish into the cabbage juice, you created pH indicator fish! When mixed with acids, the pH indicator fish turn pink. When mixed with bases, they turn greenish yellow. But if a neutral liquid touches the indicator fish, the color doesn’t change!
Now all you have to do is compare the color of your fish to the pH chart below. Determine which of the water samples were acids, bases, or neutrals. Were your fish swimming in “clean” or polluted water? Gadzooks! It’s up to you to save the day! There’s no time to lose!
*For this exercise, we will assume that anything other than a neutral pH indicates polluted water. In nature, this is not always the case.
For a full color pH scale, visit http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PH_scale.png
BE A REAL-LIFE HERO!
Face it. Fish and other aquatic wildlife depend on us to keep their habitat clean. Why not be a real-life hero and help out your local waterway? Your efforts could save hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives! Here are some resources to get you started:
• www.kidsforsavingearth.org/waterpollution/waterpollution.htm
• www.epa.gov/kids/water.htm
• www.epa.gov/adopt/earthday/index.html
• www.kiddyhouse.com/Themes/Environ/Water.html
• www.oceansidecleanwaterprogram.org/kids.asp
In 1979, thirteen-year-old India Wood saw a bone sticking out of some layers of rock in Colorado. Being an amateur fossil hunter, India carefully excavated the bone. She identified it as the pelvic bone of an Allosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur. Over the next several years, and with some help from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, India excavated the entire Allosaurus skeleton (now on display at the museum). Way to go, India!
In this activity, not only will you create your own cool sedimentary layers, but you’ll also practice digging for dinosaurs, just like India did!
MATERIALS
• 2-quart container with tight lid
• playground sand
• measuring spoons
• food coloring: green, yellow, blue, and red
• small plastic aquarium or similar clear container, approximately 11 by 7 by 8 inches (you can do an Internet search for “Critter Keeper”)
• 8 to 10 small “fossils,” such as shells, chicken bones (make sure they're clean!), or plastic dinosaurs
• small, clean paintbrush
PROCEDURE
1. Fill the 2-quart container about ⅔ full of sand.
2. Add 1½ teaspoons of green food coloring to the sand.
3. Replace the lid on the container and shake the sand for about 1 minute until the sand turns green.
4. Pour half of the green sand into the plastic aquarium. Place some of your fossils here and there on the sand, and then pour in the remaining green sand.
5. Repeat steps 1–4 with each of the yellow, blue, and red food colorings.
6. Record your observations. (Can you see the different stratification layers?)
7. Using the paintbrush, go on a dig. Carefully brush away the sand until you—gasp!—stumble upon a fossil! Continue to brush away the excess sand until the fossil is completely exposed. (If you need to scoop out some sand from your aquarium, go ahead. Just be sure you don’t disturb or remove your amazing fossil.)
8. Draw a site map in your notebook.
Tip: Looking down from above, draw a picture of your fossil exactly where it lies. Label your fossil and indicate what color layer you found it in.
9. Carefully remove the fossil and put it on display in your private museum collection!
DIG THIS!
Are you itching to be the next India Wood? Whether you’re after an Allosaurus or a trilobite, here is some information on clubs, organizations, museums, and summer digs to get you started. Dig it?
CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Paleontological Society:
www.paleosoc.org
Western Interior Paleontological Society:
www.wipsppc.com
Paleontological Societies and Clubs:
www.paleo.cc/kpaleo/paleorgs.htm
Ozark Earth Science Gem,
Mineral & Fossil Club, Arkansas:
www.ozarkearthscience.org
Florida Fossil Hunters:
www.floridafossilhunters.com/Kids.htm
Delaware Valley Paleontological Society,
Pennsylvania:dvps.essentrix.net
SUMMER DIGS AND PROGRAMS
Wyoming Dinosaur Center & Dig Sites:
www.wyodino.org
Dinosaur State Park, Connecticut:
www.dinosaurstatepark.org
Paleo Park, Wyoming:www.paleopark.com
Judith River Dinosaur Institute, Montana:
www.montanadinosaurdigs.com
(minimum age:14)
Museum of Western Colorado:
www.dinodigs.org
PaleoWorld Research Foundation, Montana:
www.paleoworld.org
MUSEUMS
American Museum of Natural History, New York:
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls
Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Colorado:
www.dmns.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/prehistoric-journey
Paleontolgical Education Preserve, Florida:
www.paleopreserve.org
About 170 years ago, no one knew how to transmit voices (or music) over the radio. (Heck, no one even knew that radio waves existed.) It was impossible to communicate quickly with someone who lived thousands of miles away. (Remember—no e-mail, no faxes, no text messaging, no telephones … egads!) Fortunately, a man named Samuel Morse (1791–1872) developed a code, called Morse code, which enabled people to communicate quickly over long distances. This communication system was called the telegraph.
MORSE CODE
A .– S …
B –… T –
C –.–. U ..–
D –.. V …–
E . W .– –
F ..–. X –..–
G – –. Y –.– –
H .… Z – –..
I .. 1 .– – – –
J .– – – 2 ..– – –
K –.– 3 …– –
L .–.. 4 ….–
M – – 5 …..
N –. 6 – ….
O – – – 7 – – …
P .– –. 8 – – –..
Q – –.– 9 – – – –.
R .–. 0 – – – – –
Morse code doesn’t require the human voice or even a piece of paper. Instead, it uses a pattern of short and long beeps called dots and dashes. Each letter is assigned its own pattern of dots and dashes. For instance, the letter K is composed of a dash, a dot, and a dash. It is written as follows: –.–, and it sounds like “beeeep, beep, beeeep.” A trained listener would know that he or she was hearing the letter K.
When Nell sent Drake a secret message, she wrote it in Morse code. You, too, can write messages in Morse code. Use / to indicate the end of a letter, // for the end of a word, and /// for the end of a sentence. Practice your detective skills by decoding the following:
If you have access to the Internet, you can actually hear what Morse code sounds like. Go to http://morsecode.scphillips.com/translator.html, and type a message in the “input text” box. Click “Play Sound,” and then click “Submit.” Pretty nifty, eh? Another Web site that allows you to hear Morse code is http://www.battleshipnc.com/kids/games/morse/translator.php.
You can also practice your skills using the online Morse code machine at www.boyslife.org/games/online-games/575/morse-code-machine.
(Answer: "Hams are cool”)
SHH … DETECTIVES AT WORK!
In a tight spot? Need to signal your detective partner, but your archenemy is liste
ning in? No worries! Using Morse code, you and your friends can silently signal one another with flashlights. Simply cover and uncover the light in a series of long and short exposures. You’ll outsmart any Frisco out there who might be spying!
HAM IT UP!
Ham radio (also known as amateur radio) began as a hobby in the early 1900s. Anyone who had the right equipment could transmit and receive radio communications. The catch? Ham radio operators (known as hams) could communicate only using Morse code. They filled the airwaves with Morse code chatter!
Nowadays, though, hams not only get to twirl knobs and press buttons, but they get to talk to people all over the world, and say stuff like, “CQ CQ CQ, this is KA7, blah blah blah, over!” (“CQ CQ CQ” is a very cool way of saying, “Hello! Can anyone hear me?”) It’s the perfect hobby for amateur science detective geniuses! There is no minimum age requirement to be a ham. Just pass the test, and you’re good to go. (And since almost all hams know Morse code, you can even practice your spy skills!) Interested? Here are some websites to get you started:
• www.hello-radio.org
• www.belmont.k12.ma.us/class_pages/laroche/ham_radio/acquainted/index.htm
• www.arrl.org
• www.k3nhc.org
• www.south.mccsc.edu/~nrapp/ham/index.htm
DID YOU KNOW?
When disaster strikes, often cell phones, landlines, and computers won’t operate. Communication becomes difficult, if not impossible. Enter ham radios. Come hurricane or ice storm, hams can communicate even when other lines of communication are broken. Over the decades, hams have saved countless lives during emergencies, calling for help when no one else could, sometimes even using Morse code! Hams were put to the test again when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. These ham heroes communicated with the Red Cross and other emergency organizations, helping to coordinate rescue efforts. Way to go, hams! (See www.ares.org for more.)
Case of the Terrible T. Rex Page 5