Kids, Try This at Home

Option 2: Microwave a Marshmallow

Materials:

1 marshmallow

Plate

Paper

Microwave oven

Marker (optional)

What to teach your parent/guardian

Teaching objectives:

By the end of your lesson, your parent/guardian should be able to …

Explain temperature change in terms of atomic motion

Use the concept of atomic motion to explain changes in the size of the marshmallow

Write the equation for Charles’ Law

The demonstration

Take a marshmallow and draw a face on it (optional, but funny).

Take a sheet of notebook paper and fold it in half so that it fits on the plate.

Place the marshmallow on the paper and the paper on the plate.

Put plate with marshmallow in microwave and heat for 1 minute.

Remove the plate and marshmallow immediately and it and place it on the counter.

Observe the changes that occur as it cools back down to room temperature.

Activate the following link and print out the worksheet your parent/guardian is going to fill out. Worksheet