Science experiment

You know, teaching the kids at home always leads to some very interesting observations and questions. Take, for instance, a recent conversation I had with Little Miss.

1. Define the question.
"Mommy, is lead magnetic?"

2. Make observations/conduct preliminary research.
"What do you think? What makes you think lead is magnetic?" Is lead a metal?

At this point, she showed me her math page and clearly demonstrated how, once she wrote on it, it became "stuck" to her binder. Based on her observation, she completed the next step in the scientific method.

3. Form a hypothesis.
"Lead is definitely magnetic."

4. Make a prediction.
Each time she would peel her page from the face of the binder, she would "re-magnetize" the page by writing on it. She predicted that the page would "stick" to her binder as long as there was writing (lead) on the paper.

5. Perform experiment and collect data.
So we decided to get a new, clean sheet of paper to compare with the first sheet. She put the new sheet on her binder and held it up. The paper slid a bit, stopped and then peeled off. Then she put her math page back on and held up the binder. Same thing...it slid, then fell off.

She looked at me, devastated that her math page no longer stuck to her binder. I reached over, rubbed it around a bit and then told her to pick it back up. She lifted her binder, and was amazed to see the math page securely adhered to the binder once again. Then she peeled it off and replaced it with the clean sheet and looked to me for help. I rubbed the lead free sheet on the face of the binder and left her to ponder the curious effect this small act had.

6. Analyze data.
"Mommy, how come they both stick to my binder?"

At this point, she began to think that maybe the lead had nothing to do with the paper sticking to the binder. She finally realized that her binder wasn't made of metal, but rather of plastic. And that it didn't matter if the paper had writing (lead...really graphite, but hey, who really cares when you're 8 years old??) or was a fresh sheet. Now we were starting to get somewhere.

7. Interpret data and draw conclusions.
After rubbing the paper against the plastic a few more times and listening to the sounds of the page peeling off the plastic, I suggested that perhaps it wasn't magnetism we were dealing with. I asked her if there was anything else she could think of that might make those noises and create the appearance of the paper and binder being magnetic. She thought for a bit, while peeling the paper up, laying it down, peeling it up, laying it down....

I could see her brain working. Turning "the facts" over and over. Mulling the data and trying to find something else that could explain the attraction between the binder and the paper. She finally came up with static electricity.

So maybe this wasn't the most exciting thing you've read today, but this is my life. This is what I do, day in and day out. I love watching the cogs turning. I love asking the questions and watching the pieces fall into place. I love to see the eager excitement as we dig through layers of questions.

I love my job. I really do.