4th Grade Science Experiments

Do you dread the day when your child comes home from school and yells: "We have to do a science project!" Where do you start? What is even in a science project? Don't worry, I will walk you through and help you complete one of many 4th grade science experiments.

You first need the materials. Here is a list:

-pH paper
-lemon juice
-two see through glass containers
-magnifying glass
-tape
-pencil
-paper
-hanger
-glass or plastic vial
-nylon stocking or one leg of pantyhose (Don't get alarmed! It's for the experiment!)

Procedure (instructions for 4th grade science experiments):

1. First cut up the coat hanger into one long metal wire. Be careful. Then take the wire and make a circle with an 8 inch diameter.

2. Take the stocking or pantyhose leg and stretch the opening top around the 8 inch wire. Staple it in place.

3. Cut off the end of the stocking or pantyhose (where the toes are). Then take the vial and put it into the new hole that you just made. Make sure the vial opening is in the stocking/pantyhose. Use tape to secure the vial in this position.

4. Now it's time to go outside! Take your new "net" and go to a pond, stream, lake, beach or ocean. Holding the wire part of the "net," drag the net in the water. You are now collecting plankton, tiny microscopic organisms that you will use in your experiment!

5. As you drag the net in the water, plankton should be collecting in the vial. Pour the water in the vial into one of your two glass containers. Use a magnifying glass to look for plankton. Collect more plankton. Make sure you have enough plankton for your two containers. You want to have equal amounts of plankton in each container.

6. Everyday, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to ONE of your containers. At the end of the day, test the pH of each container using your pH paper.

7. Record these pH readings everyday. Also note how much plankton are in each of the containers everyday. Take pictures. Write down your observations.

8. After a week, your experiment is finished! What happened? Compare the plankton and pH readings of both containers.