Spudmarine
WHAT WILL YOU MAKE?
A potato, a dowel rod, and some chemistry make this fun self-diving toy.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
You will learn to carefully measure and make holes in your potato diver. You will also learn to use chemistry to create motion.
STEPS
STEP 1
Cut the potato
Start by cutting your potato into a piece approximately 2 1/2 inches long by 3/4 of an inch tall and 3/4 of an inch wide.
STEP 2
Punch holes
Use the brass tube to punch out 3 holes in your potato. Start with the center hole and then cut the other two evenly spaced from it.
STEP 3
Cut the dowel
Cut about 2 inches of the dowel rod off and then place the cut piece into the center hole of the potato. You don't want to push this the whole way through, only about halfway into the potato.
STEP 4
Check the buoyancy
Place your new nautical creation into a large jar of water and see how it sinks. We want it to sink very slowly.
If it goes down too fast, shave away more of your potato.
If it goes down too slow, trim away some of your dowel rod.
STEP 5
Prepare to dive
Carefully open the center hole a little with your knife — you just want to slightly angle the edge.
Pack the center hole with baking powder and then place it back into the jar.
STEP 6
Watch your spudmarine dive
As the baking powder reacts with the water, it will create bubbles of CO2 gas (the same thing you breathe out). These bubbles will cause the spudmarine to float back to the surface until the dowel rod makes it tip and spill out the bubbles. It will then sink again and go back and forth until the baking soda is depleted.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Try a wooden submarine by finding the proper ballast with screws. Can you find a way to make a larger spudmarine out of a whole potato?
Materials:
- 1 Potato
- 1 1/4-inch wooden dowel rod
- Baking powder
- 1 1/4-inch brass tube
- Kitchen knife
- Large jar of water
Please Note
Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience. Power tools, electricity, and other resources used for these projects are dangerous, unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety gear and adult supervision. Some illustrative photos do not depict safety precautions or equipment, in order to show the project steps more clearly. Use of the instructions and suggestions found in Maker Camp is at your own risk. Make Community, LLC, disclaims all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense.
Maker Camp Project Standards
Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.Structure and Properties of Matter
- Grades K-2
- 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
- 2-PS1-2. Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
- 2-PS1-3. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object.
- 2-PS1-4. Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
- Grades 3-5
- 5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
- 5-PS1-2. Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.
- 5-PS1-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
- 5-PS1-4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
- Middle School
- MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
- MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
- MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
- High School
- HS-PS1-1. Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
- HS-PS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
- HS-PS1-8. Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
- HS-PS2-6. Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
Chemical Reactions
- Middle School
- MS-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
- MS-PS1-5. Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
- MS-PS1-6. Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
- High School
- HS-PS1-2. Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
- HS-PS1-4. Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
- HS-PS1-5. Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.
- HS-PS1-6. Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium.
- HS-PS1-7. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
CCSS (Common Core State Standards)
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA).English Language Arts Standards » Science & Technical Subjects
- Middle School
-
-
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text.
-
- High School
-
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.5 Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11-12 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.5 Analyze how the text structures information or ideas into categories or hierarchies, demonstrating understanding of the information or ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
NGSS K-2 Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
- K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
- K-2-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.
NGSS 3-5.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
- 3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
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