Free Homeschooling – Microwave Science

Thousands of parents across the country are challenged to look for free homeschooling science projects that are not only fun, but that are also educational. This is one of my favorite free homeschooling projects because it helps parents to show their children that using the microwave improperly can be dangerous, which helps to also demonstrate how microwaves actually work.

As long as you have all of the safety precautions in place, this science experiment is perfectly safe. To get started, all you need is:
    •    A microwave
    •    A new glass
    •    Water
    •    A spoon
    •    Hot chocolate mix
    •    Rubber gloves
    •    Oven mitt

Ready to get started learning how microwaves can be dangerous? Then follow these simple steps:
    •    Fill the new glass cup with water. It is best if the cup is clear so that you can see the water inside of the glass. Remember: the glass cup should be new and should not have any markings on it. This experiment often takes several tries with different glasses because even the smallest mark on a glass can mess it up.
    •    Place the glass in the microwave. You do not need to cover the liquid in the glass in order for this experiment to work. Simply place the glass in the center of the microwave.
    •    Heat the liquid for five minutes.
    •    Place the rubber gloves on your hands. Using the oven mitt, remove the glass from the microwave very carefully, being careful not to spill the water. This is the part of the experiment that can be dangerous if you are not careful. Notice how the water does not appear to be boiling.
    •    Still wearing the mitt and the rubber gloves, pour a spoonful of hot chocolate mix into the glass of water. Keep your face away from the glass while you pour the mix. Observe what happens next. This free homeschooling experiment does require safety!

Parents: keep in mind that you should supervise you children during this experiment. For lots of free homeschool science experiments, Supercharged Science is a great website.

    •    Record Your Observations

If this experiment went according to plan, you probably noticed that as soon as you added the hot chocolate to the water, the water began to boil. What you may have observed is a process that is called nucleation. Basically, the water in the glass boiled, but because condensation formed on the top of the liquid, the water was not bubbling when you removed it from the microwave.

If the glass that you had used had any dust or cracks in it, those cracks would have broken the layer of condensation, which would have allowed the liquid to bubble over. However, because the glass was new and clean, the layer of condensation was only broken when you actually broke it by pouring the hot chocolate mix into the glass.

This science experiment is a great way to demonstrate how microwaves should be treated carefully – and how liquid may be boiling just beneath the surface – even if we can’t always see it!