Whizz Pop Bang Science Magazine for Kids! Issue 107: Water Explorers by Whizz Pop Bang

How water pistols work

ISSN 2399 -2840

THE AWESOME SCIENCE MAGAZINE FOR KIDS!

WATE RY AC TI V IT IE S T O TRY !

Blow a bubble snake!

E X P L O RE R S Interview with

Chris Packham

Create a d nature pon

WHIZZPOPBANG.COM ISSUE 107

EXPERIMENTS PUZZLES AMAZING FACTS SCIENCE NEWS

WELCOME!

We’re having a lovely bubbly time this summer!

WHIZZ POP BANG is made by:

Dive into the refreshing world of wate r inside this summer science special! Wat er is great fun to expe riment with so there ar e loads of activities you can try – craft a magnifier from a wate r droplet, launc h your ve ry own wate rpowe red rock et and build a mode l wate r cycle. Plus, me et biologist R ac he l Carson and solve splash-tastic pu zz les!

Editor-in-Chief: Jenny Inglis Editor: Tammy Osborne Assistant Editor: Tara Pardo Designer: Rachael Fisher Illustrator: Clive Goodyer Staff writer: Joanna Tubbs Contributors: Sarah Bearchell, Anna Claybourne, Joe Inglis and Owen Inglis

EXPERT SCIENCE ADVISERS

As well as our writers, we also have a team of science advisers who help to ensure that our content is accurate, up-to-date and relevant. Our advisers include: palaeontologist Steve Brusatte; molecular microbiologist Matt Hutchings; robotics engineer Abbie Hutty; mechanical engineer Aimee Morgans; GP Dr Cathy Scott; astronomer Mark Thompson; physicist Dr Jess Wade; child psychologist Dr Naira Wilson. To find out more, go to whizzpopbang.com/about

I’ve made a mini nature pond! Where you see this symbol, use a QR code reader on a phone or tablet to visit a relevant web page.

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WHIZZ POP BANG is only available by subscription. If you haven’t subscribed yet, simply go to whizzpopbang.com and sign up for as little as £4.59 per magazine, including UK delivery. Back issues are available to purchase at whizzpopbang.com/shop With the help of Whizz Pop Bang magazine, just imagine what your child might one day discover!

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Welcome to WHIZZ POP BANG – the magazine bursting with enticing articles, mind-boggling facts and hands-on experiments to get your child hooked on science! Whizz Pop Bang is a gender-neutral magazine with plenty of inspirational male and female scientists and content that appeals to all children.

The magazine is ideal for home educators and it’s linked to the National Curriculum too, for use in schools. Whizz Pop Bang will help with literacy development as well. Transform science teaching in your school with our hands-on science and reading resources. Our downloadable lesson packs link fun science experiments and reading with key curriculum topics for years 2-6. Subscribe at whizzpopbang.com/schools

All experiments have been tried and tested by our team. The activities should be done under close adult supervision and are done at your own risk. Launchpad Publishing Ltd cannot accept liability for damage done.

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CONTENTS

Giant dino footprints, self-destructing plastic and spiders spotted on Mars (or are they?).

SUMMER SCIENCE WATER LAB!

Blow a bubble snake, make a water microscope, send a water-powered rocket into orbit and more!

o rst te

com ck.

ANIMAL ANTICS

Find out about some super swimming animals – awesome otters!

14 16

SILLY SCIENCE

Have a splashing time with lots of water park puzzles!

EMMI’S ECO CLUB

Create a nature pond to help wildlife during the summer.

PULLOUT

Cut out and craft a marvellous model of the water cycle.

INTERVIEW WITH A SCIENCE HERO

W ildlife expert Chris Packham believes young people like you should help decide the future of the planet.

HOW STUFF WORKS

Water pistols at the ready! Here’s how these water-firing toys work.

TEN AWESOMELY AMAZING…

…water-powered wonders, from jet boots and musical instruments to hydroelectric dams!

Atom

SENSATIONAL SCIENTISTS © CC

Biologist Rachel Carson’s work helped protect nature from deadly pesticides.

A BY-S

/ 3.0

o Gl er gg

I’d love to see pictures of your experiments! Send them to Y@whizzpopbang.com and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag

Sh ut

AWESOME NEWS AND AMAZING FACTS

Y’S WONDER CLUB

Ask our robot, Y, your burning science questions and share all of your adventures in science with the club.

32 34

QUIZ POP BANG AND COMPETITION

Test your knowledge with our super-duper science quiz and win a memory game!

JOKES AND ANSWERS

Laugh out loud at some awesome jokes and find the answers to all of our quizzes, puzzles and riddles.

SPECTACULAR SCIENCE Marvel at a wondrous waterfall rainbow.

FIND THE SCIENCE EQUIPMENT Hidden on each double page is a piece of science equipment. Tick each one to find the complete kit!

s Awesome New cts and Amazing Fa ‘SELF-DESTRUCTING’ PLASTIC Polyurethane is a plastic that’s used to

make loads of things, from trainers and pencil cases to swimming floats and mattresses. But it’s hard to recycle and takes hundreds of years to biodegrade. Now scientists think they have a solution.

NATURE IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN!

When conditions are tough, some bacteria form spores – inactive bacterial cells that can remain dormant (sleeping) for years and then become active and start multiplying. The researchers have incorporated spores of a harmless plastic-eating bacteria into polyurethane plastic, which will remain dormant while the product is being used, then ‘wake up’ and start digesting the plastic when it is put in compost. The best thing we can do to tackle the plastic pollution problem is to use less plastic, but technologies like this could help reduce the amount of plastic building up in landfill.

There are already billions of tons of plastic waste on Earth!

Struggling to focus on your homework? Try taking a break outside! A team of scientists in America is investigating how nature affects our brains. They recorded the brain activity of people before and after going for a 40-minute walk. Half the research participants walked through a tree-filled botanical garden and the other half walked through an urban landscape of car parks and buildings. The results showed that the participants who went on the nature walk had more brain activity in the area of the brain important for memory, decision-making, problem-solving and multi-tasking. This showed that it was the natural environment, and not just the exercise, that had improved their brain function.

Palaeontologists (dinosaur scientists) have

The giant raptor footprint

discovered the fossilised footprints of a new species of dinosaur, a giant relative of the velociraptors made famous in the Jurassic Park movies. While velociraptors were quite small in real life (about the size of a poodle!), this raptor was half the length of a school bus! It had huge ‘killing claws’ for attacking prey, which it held off the ground. These footprints were found in China, but there are fossilised dinosaur footprints all over the UK too. So, whether you live in Dorset, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Wales, Yorkshire or Scotland, there are some near you. And probably lots more waiting to be discovered!

A dinosaur footprint on the Isle of Skye in Scotland

GLOW IN THE DARK

SPIDERS FROM MARS? © ESA/TGO/CaSSIS

Have you ever seen ocean waves glow blue as they break? This ‘sea sparkle’ is one of the most magical sights in nature, and it’s produced by bioluminescent plankton. Bioluminescence is also used by loads of other creatures, from glow worms and fireflies to jellyfish and sharks. Even mushrooms do it! Now scientists studying glowing corals have discovered that this incredible phenomenon evolved over 540 million years ago – much earlier than previously thought, and around the same time eyes evolved. The glow is produced by a chemical reaction that happens inside the animal’s body. Animals evolved this ability for a variety of reasons, including communication, hiding from predators and hunting prey. © lalalfdfa / Wikime

dia Commons

hern Cross University) © Garcia/Joannes-Boyau (Sout

Pictures taken from the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter show what looks like swarms of black spiders crawling around the red planet. But these patterns are actually created when spring sunlight falls on layers of frozen carbon dioxide, turning it into a gas. The gas builds up and then breaks through the ice above it, shooting through cracks and creating spider-shaped patterns beneath the ice.

Isn’t nature amazing!

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GIANT DINO FOOTPRINTS

Waterl a b By Anna Claybourne

Set up your own outdoor science laboratory to explore the science of water!

On your head! Find out how to upturn a glass of water over someone’s head WITHOUT soaking them!

Yo u will need

glass or plastic tumbler or jar A A postcard (or a similar-sized piece of card) that it’s OK to get wet

It could be in a garden, a park, a campsite or a playground.

As well as being great fun, being outside can give your health a real boost. Research has shown that spending time outdoors improves your heart health, your brainpower, your immune system, your mental health – even your eyesight!

Whirling water

Make sure you have plenty of space for this one!

You will need

A paper cup A piece of string about 1.5 m long Pointy scissors or a sharp pencil

What you do What you do

1. Fill your glass to the brim with water. 2. Carefully place the card on top, making sure it’s touching the top of the glass all around. 3. Holding the card in place, turn the glass upside-down. 4. Then let go of the card!

You should find You might expect the card to fall off and water to splash everywhere. But it stays on! The water creates an air-tight seal between the card and the cup. The card is being pushed by atmospheric pressure – the pressure of the air all around us. This holds the card in place, because the pressure outside is higher than the pressure inside the cup.

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1. Ask an adult to help you make two holes just below the rim of the cup using the scissors or pencil. 2. Thread the ends of the string through the holes and tie them on, like this.

3. Half-fill the cup with water. 4. Now, in a big open space with no one close by, hold the string and swing the cup back and forth, then up and around in a loop, like this.

Teddy’s tent Even in summer it can rain! Try designing and building a shelter using waterproof materials to keep a teddy or other toy dry.

You will need

Twigs or small sticks An old plastic bag or other thin plastic packaging Pebbles Scissors

What you do

Design and build a tent-style shelter that will keep your toys dry!

What happens if you pour water onto a table? It turns into a pool table!

You should find The water stayed in the cup! As you swing it, the water moves quickly. It naturally tries to keep moving forward …but the cup and the string hold it back. So, the water presses against the bottom of the cup and doesn’t fall out.

Forked twigs

Straight twig

Plastic material

hope this works! Test it out by sprinkling water on it! Then why not try some other designs?

What’s waterproof? To keep the rain out, your shelter must be made of a waterproof material, like plastic. Other materials, like a tea towel or paper, have tiny holes that let water through – so they’re not waterproof.

Pebbles

Our skin is waterproof. Answer on page 34

whizzpopbang.com 7

Bring on the

! e s b l u b B

Make bubble mixture

You can buy a bi g bottle of bubb le mix from most toy sh ops or supermar kets. But you can also make your own with this easy recipe . Mix 750 ml of w arm water with 1 tablespoon of glycerine in a bu cket or washing-up bo wl, then slowly mix in 375 ml of washi ng-up liquid.

Bubble sock snake Yo u will need

n old small plastic A water bottle Scissors An old sock An elastic band Liquid food colourings (optional)

W hat yo u do

1. Ask an adult to cut the bottom off the bottle with the scissors. 2. Pull the sock over the open end and secure it in place with an elastic band. ure. If you 3. Dip the sock end into the bubble mixt want to make rainbow bubbles, dribble food colouring in stripes across the end, like this. 4. Blow through the bottle neck and watch your bubble snake appear!

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What’s a bubble’s favourite food? POPcorn!

Soap sandwich

Giant bubbles

op, of string in a lo cm 0 15 t ou ab Tie ks, like op to two stic then tie the lo needs g. One section Emmi is holdin her cm and the ot to be about 50 to your e string loop in 100 cm. Dip th , then lift it up bubble mixture it out. high and open

Sweep it through the air to make a BIIIIIG bubble!

How do bubbles work?

Why are they round?

The thin ‘skin’ of a bubble is actually a sandwich!

Why do they pop?

It has

water in the middle

With two layers of soap around it The molecules in the water pull towards each other. This causes surface tension, which makes bubbles form the shape with the smallest possible surface area – a sphere.

How many pink bubbles can you count on these two pages? Check your answer on page 34.

But soon the water starts to evaporate and dry out. That makes the skin get thinner, until the bubble pops.

Experiment with your bubble mix and see what else you ca n use to make bu bbles.

Yo u c o ul d tr y

Can you make a square bubble, or will they always be round?

Straws, paper cl ips or a bubble wand made from a pi pe cleaner A spoon with ho les or slots in it or a sieve or co lander A metal or plas

tic coat hanger for big bubbles

A bubble is a thin layer of water trapped between two layers of soap.

Bubble lab ideas

Water wonders You won’t

believe what water can do!

Solar purifier Remove salt from water using the power of the Sun!

Yo u will need

medium-sized bowl A A glass or mug that fits completely inside the bowl Clear plastic (food wrap or clean packaging) A small, clean pebble Salt

W hat yo u do

1. Fill the bowl about a third full of warm tap water and stir in about three tablespoons of salt. 2. Stand the empty cup in the salt water, making sure the salt water doesn’t spill into it. 3. Stretch clear plastic over the bowl and put the pebble in the middle, right above the cup. 4. Carefully stand your purifier in a warm, sunny place and leave it for a few hours.

Water microscope

Harness the magnifying power of water to take a closer look at leaves and flowers.

Yo u will need

paper cup A Pointy scissors Clear plastic (food wrap or packaging) An elastic band or sticky tape

W hat yo u do

1. Ask an adult to help you cut off most of the bottom of the paper cup, leaving a 3-cm ring. 2. Stretch a piece of clear plastic over an open end of the cup and secure it in place with an elastic band or sticky tape. 3. Pour a small amount of water onto the plastic to make a small puddle. 4. Place the magnifier over a leaf or a small flower and look down through the water to see the magnifying effect!

Yo u should find

Surface tension makes the water molecules on the surface pull together, forming a curved blob shape – just like the lens in a magnifying glass or microscope. It bends the light that passes through it, making objects look bigger.

Yo u should find The cup should have some pure water in it – taste it to see if it’s salty! The water in the bowl starts to evaporate in the heat, leaving the salt behind. It then condenses back into liquid drops on the plastic wrap, which roll towards the middle and fall into the cup.

Ooooohhh!

Water-powered rocket This bottle rocket uses water to launch itself into the air!

Yo u will need

Rocket science

2-litre plastic bottle A A cork that fits the bottle tightly A valve from a bicycle inner tube A sharp screwdriver or awl for making holes A bicycle pump A large garden fork with a triangle-shaped handle

Space rockets work in a similar way, by pushing gases out of their thrusters.

W hat yo u do

Rocket pushes gas down

1. Ask an adult to make a hole through the middle of the cork and fit the valve tightly into it, with the open end sticking out. 2. Fill the bottle about a quarter full of water, then fit the cork tightly into the bottle neck with the open valve outwards.

Gas pushes back on rocket, forcing it up

3. In a large outdoor space, stick the garden fork into the ground at a low angle, so the handle is about 30 cm above the ground. 4. Sit the bottle cork-down into the fork handle, ready to launch, and attach the bicycle pump to the valve. 5. With everyone standing well back, pump air into the bottle, making sure the top is not pointing towards anyone.

We have lift-off !

Yo u should find

When pressure builds up inside the bottle, it should push the cork off and make the water shoot out, launching the rocket!

A water rocket can fly higher than a skyscraper! Answer on page 34

Water pushing down out of the rocket pushes the rocket up! whizzpopbang.com 11

Otters

AL ANIM S TIC

Water babies

If you head down to a stream or river this summer you might just spot a strange creature splashing through the water – yes, it’s our vet Joe Inglis tracking down some master swimmers!

Otters are mammals that live mainly in and around water. They are related to weasels, badgers and mink, and can be found in every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Otter-ly amazing Most otters live around freshwater rivers and lakes, but the sea otter and marine otter live in the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. The largest species, the giant otter, lives in the Amazon rainforest and can reach 1.8 m in length, but most otters are about as big as a medium-sized dog.

What do you call a group of otters? The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp or raft.

An otter’s den is known as a stop or sofa. Answer on page 34

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Fishy feasts All otters are carnivores (meat eaters). They usually catch fish, but will also hunt other animals such as frogs, crayfish, small mammals and even birds. Otters that hunt in the sea are also experts at opening shellfish, such as clams. They float on their backs with a stone on their tummy and bash the shellfish against it to crack open the shell!

Super swimmers Otters are excellent swimmers, with powerful legs, webbed feet and strong tails. They can hold their breath for up to eight minutes as they hunt their prey. Their fur is made up of two layers, so it traps air close to the skin to keep them warm and help them float.

Why did the duck cross the river? To get to the otter side!

Otter attack Otters are usually shy and keen to avoid human contact, but they have been known to attack people who threaten their dens, or when they are affected by rabies (a virus that can make animals aggressive).

Find the word OTTERS in the grid. It might be written forwards, backwards, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Check your answer on page 34.

O T T E S R

Under threat

O T T O E R T R E T T O S O R T T O O T T O O S whizzpopbang.com 13

Otters can live for up to 16 years in the wild. Despite laws against hunting otters for their fur, many species are under threat from habitat loss, pollution and conflicts with fishermen, who see them as a threat to their catch.

S R S E R T

g n i h s a l Sp time! Dive right in to solve these water park puzzles!

At the double!

Gakk and Y were snapped having fun on the log flume. Can you spot eight differences between the pictures? Circle any differences you find.

Find the answers on page 34!

Pool party

There are inflatable rings stacked up by the pool. Which of the pictures shows the stack of rings from above?

1 2

Answer

4 3

Slippy slides! Which of the slides ends at the arch?

Answer

Zooming down a water slide is loads of fun! You might have noticed that you slide down it faster than a normal slide at the playground. As you slide down a slope, friction between you and the surface slows you down. Friction is the rubbing force between two objects when at least one of them is moving. A water slide has a steady stream of water flowing down it, which lubricates the slide to reduce friction and make you slide faster.

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b... clu O C E

Emmi’s

You don’t have to dig a huge hole – why not try an above ground pond?

MAKE A WILDLIFE POND Yo u will need

Plants fo r small ponds

Miniature waterlily Lesser spearwor t Starwor t Hornwor t Frogbit Water forget-me-not Corkscrew rush

container to use as a A pond – see box – or dig a hole in the ground and line it with pond liner Rainwater collected from buckets or a water butt or tap water that has been left out in a bucket for 24 hours Large stones and bricks Small stones or gravel

Logs Forked stick Plants suitable for small ponds

Decide where to make your pond. It should be on a flat surface in a spot that gets some sunshine and some shade. Ideally, you should avoid placing it directly below trees, so it doesn’t fill up with leaves. You could dig a hole to partly or fully sink your pond into the ground, or place it on the surface.

4 Add a layer of small stones and gravel to the rest of the base of the container.

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Pond containers

Ideally, your container should be at least 40 cm wide and at least 40 cm deep, but even a dish of water can help wildlife.

You could try

A plastic storage tub A large plant pot or dish A metal trough A bucket A trug

If it has holes or cracks, ask an adult to fill them with bathroom sealant and leave them to dry, or line with pond liner.

Pile bricks and large stones at one end of the container to create shallow areas that smaller animals can access.

Build steps made of bricks, large stones and logs leading up to the rim of the pond so that small animals can climb in.

Continued on page 21 ➜

WATER PULL OUT pages 17-20 and get making! CYCLE MODEL Yo u will need

The water that comes out of your taps has been moving around the planet for billions of years. We call this the water cycle. Make your own model of the water cycle, complete with sea, rivers and rain!

Scissors Paint and a paintbrush Glue Sticky tack (optional) A cardboard box – a cereal box is ideal

TEMPLATES 7-10

TEMPLATE 2

We’d love to see your water cycle models! Send a photo to Y@whizzpopbang.com and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag

Riddles

Check your answers on page 34.

1. What is full of holes but can still hold water?

2. Sometimes I’m a gentle breeze, Sometimes I’m a strong gust. On water I blow sailing ships, And in the desert I blow dust. What am I?

3. Give me food and I will live; give me water and I will die. What am I? whizzpopbang.com 17

What yo u do

1. Cut the top, front and left side off the cardboard box. Paint the inside of the box to look like sky; it could be blue or grey and stormy! 2. Cut out the templates. 3. Take template 1 and fold all the tabs like this:

Yo u should find

You’ve made a model of the water cycle. The Sun heats up water in seas and rivers and some of it evaporates (changes from a liquid to a gas). As it rises into the sky and gets cooler, it condenses back into tiny water droplets, forming clouds. Winds blow the clouds over the land. As they get colder, the water droplets join together and fall as rain or snow (this is called precipitation). Water on the ground flows into streams and rivers and the rivers flow back into the sea.

4. Fold along the dashed lines and stick tabs A, B and C to the back of the template, like this:

5. Add glue to the rest of the green tabs and stick template 1 into the cardboard box. 6. Roll template 2 into a cone shape and glue the tab to the inside. Place it on the top level of the model. 7. Fold templates 3-6 like this and stick one to each of the cloud and Sun templates as shown.

8. Fold over the tabs on templates 7, 8 and 9. Stick all of the templates into your model with glue or sticky tack.

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What did one water droplet say to the other? Two’s company, three’s a cloud!

Find a printable version of the pullout here: bit.ly/3Upcsfi

TEMPLATES 3-6

TEMPLATE 1

TEMPLATES 3-6

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Add plants – some pond plants add oxygen to the water while others create shade and hiding places for pondlife. Add a forked stick to make a perch for dragonflies.

ter – rainwater Fill the pond with wa ts in tap water is best as the nutrien to grow. can encourage algae Childre n and pe ts mus t be sup ervised around ponds at all times. Even s hallow water can be dange rous.

I’d love to see your wildlife pond! Take a photo and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag and email it to Y@whizzpopbang.com

ECO

ideas...

Look after your pond:

Make sure it doesn’t dry out in

summer – top it up with rainwater Add a tennis ball to help stop it from

freezing solid in winter

Clear leaves from the surface Remove parts of each plant if

they cover more than two thirds of the water’s surface.

Continued from page 16

We can all help to save the planet. Lots of small actions can make a BIG difference! If you can’t make a pond, add a dish of rainwater to your doorstep or balcony. Even small amounts of water can be helpful to wildlife. All sorts of animals can use it to drink, bathe and keep cool. Insects can lay eggs in the water, providing food for bats, birds and amphibians. One small dish can become an amazing ecosystem!

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➜

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

In my job I get to... get up close to nature Chris Packham is a wildlife expert and TV presenter. You can find out more about Chris at chrispackham.co.uk

“

I was interested in anything that crept, crawled or slithered before I could even speak.

Chris Packham CBE, Zoologist

”

In my back garden, slugs, snails, ladybirds, tadpoles and spiders caught my eye. I was drawn to the simple exquisite bea uty and enormous diversity of these crea tures. As I grew up, I built habitats, dug pon ds and made rockeries, trying to get lizards and slow worms into the garden. I’ve got a curious mind. My biology teacher at school encour aged me not just to look at things, but to count and measure them: he sculpted me into a scientis t! I went on to study biology and zoology at univ ersity.

“

Red foxes have adapted well to living in towns and cities

I call some UK wildlife ‘superhero animals’, including the red fox.

”

They have adapted so well to urban life since cities started to grow in the UK in the 1930s. They can eat almost anything, including rotten food! Their guts can han dle bacteria that would harm us and other creatures. Red foxes are the world’s most successful mesopredators (medium-sized pre dators). © dezy / Shutterstock.com

Chris has always loved animals and nature

Interview with a SCIENCE HERO

“

The food you eat is your most direct connection to nature.

”

Even if you don’t see a tree, a butterfly or a bird, you are eating food that has been produced by Earth’s ecosystem. It could have been grown in the ground or harvested from the sea. If you are lucky enough to be able to choose what you eat, you can eat in a way that is healthy for the planet. Meat and dairy products have a big impact on climate breakdown and biodiversity. I’m not telling you to give up meat. I’m asking you to think about eating less meat because that would make a significant difference.

Chris filming with an underwate

r camera

“

If you spend time outdoors, you learn to love it.

”

It can help your physical health, as you air. Just might walk, run or cycle in the fresh ans hum e being in these places can mak love feel calm and reduce anxiety. If you you will nature, there is a greater chance that planet our and – it do something to protect ple peo ng certainly needs protecting. You es and I have clear, genuine thoughts and voic d to make believe that they should be entruste planet. the of re decisions about the futu

“

The feral pigeon is another very successful species.

”

Chris’s book, Superhero Animals, is on sale now.

Little Experts is an unmissable non-fiction serie s that inspire a new gene will empower and ration of experts. Get up close to nature with Chri s Packham CBE and encounter the amazing anim al superheroes that will help us save the world – from ants and bats to shark s, wasps and dogs . Also available

ang

£9.99

D BY

farshore.co.uk

ILLUSTRATE

Anders Fr

CAN $12.99

The pigeons that we see in towns and cities are related to rock doves, which nest on sea cliffs. Skyscrapers an d tower blocks are like sea cliffs, an d that’s why the pigeons have taken to them. They are not reliant on certain typ es of food, which means that they can breed in any month of the year. When they eat, they convert the ir food into something called crop milk, which they regurgitate to their young. So if they’ve got young in the nest in December, they can eat bit s of pizza, pita bread, fruit or whatever is lying around, then convert that into perfe ctly sustainable food for their youngster.

programmes Chris has presented many TV s, Earth rie about nature, including the se

whizzpopbang.com 23

HOW STUFF

WORKS 1

Water Pistols When the weather gets hot, there’s nothing better than a good old water fight to cool you down – and for a proper water fight, you need a water pistol. Here’s how these super-soaking weapons work...

Water pistols have a plastic body, usually made in two halves that are held together with tiny screws.

Inside the body is the

water reservoir, which

is where the water is stored ready to be fired.

A small hole covered with a rubber plug is used to fill the pistol from the tap.

Once it’s full of water, there is a trigger that is used to fire the pistol.

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6 5

When the trigger is pressed, it pushes a pump shaft into the pump mechanism inside the pistol.

The water inside the pump is forced out through a one-way valve and along a narrow pipe running inside the barrel of the pistol. The valve is made from a tiny ball trapped in a plastic cage which only allows water to escape in one direction.

Not all water pistols work in this way – some are just very simple pistons that suck up water and squirt it out again in one massive spray, and others use a reservoir of air that is compressed by the user pumping it up to fire bursts of water out at high speed.

The water squirts out through the nozzle at the end of the barrel and flies through the air – hopefully hitting its target!

Riley shot at the target three times and got a different score with each shot. In total, he scored 35 points. What were his three individual scores? Check your answer on page 34.

When the trigger is released, the pump shaft moves out and water is pulled into the pump from the reservoir through a second one-way valve, loading the pistol so it is ready to fire again.

g.. in z a m A ly e m o s e w A 0 1

E R E W O P R E WAT Check out some incredible tec

hnologies that are making wa

ves!

Water wheels have been

harnessing the energy of moving water for around 6,000 years! Water flowing down rivers pushes against the paddles to turn the wheel and drive machinery.

2 3

Hydroelectric dams use the power of flowing water to spin turbines, which generate electricity. Three Gorges Dam in China, the world’s largest power plant, uses this technology.

This water-

powered train

Listen to a hydraulophone here:

bit.ly/3VwPq7a

The hydraulophone makes music using the vibrations in water as it shoots out of a series of holes. When these holes are blocked by a player, different notes are produced.

26 whizzpopbang.com

has two cars, each with a large water tank, that are connected by a cable and pulley. When water is released from the lower car, it becomes lighter than the higher car and moves uphill as gravity pulls the heavier car downhill.

The Falkirk Wheel is the world’s only rotating boat lift. Each of its two arms holds a huge tub of water large enough for four canal boats. As the wheel turns, the boats on one arm are lifted up, while those on the other go down, using only a tiny amount of energy.

! S R E D N O R ED W

When a boat enters a canal lock, the gates at each end close and the chamber is filled with water until it is the same height as the canal in front of it. The boat floats upwards with the rising water, allowing it to travel uphill.

This

hydroflight board is attached to boots that have jet nozzles on their bases. When water is forced into the nozzles, the board and its rider can fly up to 22 metres into the air!

Just a few drops can fuel

a water battery! They work like standard batteries but can be ‘recharged’ by adding more water. They produce less power than other batteries, but are ideal for low-energy devices like calculators and clocks.

9 Archimedes screws (named after their ancient Greek inventor) are used in hydroelectric plants. The movement of flowing water from a river causes the screw to turn, generating power. © 1. CC BY-SA 2.0 / Great Torrington: Orford Mill waterwheel by Martin Bodman, 2. CC BY-SA 2.0 / Le Grand Portage, 3. Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway, 4. CC BY-SA 3.0 / Glogger, 6. CC BY-SA 2.0 / Solipsist~commonswiki, 7. CC BY-SA 2.0 / Oliverwinger, 8. www.smartgreenshop.co.uk, 9. Nigel Housden / Shutterstock.com, 10. CC BY-SA 3.0 / DocteurCosmos

Many machines, including excavators, bin lorries and rollercoasters, use hydraulics to lift, push and pull. Pressurised fluids are forced against pistons, which make the machinery move.

Sensational Scientists

By Tammy Osborne

This courageous biologist stood up to the chemical industry to protect nature. More than anything else, Rachel loved the outdoors. She grew up on a small farm and loved taking long walks in the woods around her home. At school, Rachel discovered her other passion, writing. At the age of 10, she wrote a story which was published in a children’s magazine.

After university, Rachel got a job as an aquatic biologist. The more she studied nature, the more she wanted to tell people about it. She decided to write books about the ocean and the lives of the animals that live there. After her second book became a bestseller, Rachel decided to devote all her time to writing.

Rachel Carson

RA CH EL CA RS ON WA S BORN IN PE NN SY LVAN IA , US A, IN 1907.

Rachel loved spending time with her niece’s young son, Roger, and sharing the wonders of nature with him. They would go on adventures together in the woods or by the sea. Studying the natural world made Rachel realise how much damage humans can do to it.

During the Second World War, scientists had started experimenting with a new chemical called DDT, which was amazingly effective at killing insect pests like mosquitos and lice. It was the most powerful pesticide anyone had ever found, and lots of farmers started using it to stop insects from eating their crops. Everyone thought DDT was great, but Rachel wasn’t so sure. Insects might be small, but they are an important part of the food chain. By killing so many insects, DDT must surely disrupt the delicate balance of nature, she thought.

Man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.

Rachel’s concerns grew when her friend reported that many birds had died near his home. He blamed the pesticide, which had poisoned the insects they ate and was passed up the food chain, eventually killing the birds.

Rachel wanted to out tell the world ab the problem, so , she wrote a book which she called Silent Spring.

The chemical companies that ides made the pestic but y, gr were very an e the book becam l na io an internat bestseller. When l the public read al el ch the evidence Ra ey th , had collected campaigned for . DDT to be banned

Sadly, Rachel died just two years after the publication of Silent Spring, but her work continues to inspire people today. After her death, campaigners continued to fight for the right to a clean environment. DDT was finally banned in the US in 1972 and in the UK in 1986.

whizzpopbang.com 29

Email me at Y@whizzpopbang.com

der Club!

Welcome to Y’s Won to share your This page is for you with our robot, adventures in science p Bang readers! Y, and other Whizz Po ce question Everyone whose scien is page gets answered on th ng wins a Whizz Pop Ba Science Joke Book, ome available in our awes at online science shop

whizzpopbang.com/shop

F oR

CURIoUS K I DS Raffi, aged 7, with his snow globe from Issue 102.

d 9, Jesse, age and 7, d e Quinn, ag , really 5 d e g Louie, a aking the enjoyed m rs (from e hand warm Club in o c Emmi’s E t of old ou Issue 102) d socks. n a rs e trous

Dear Y, If water gets its colour from the sky, where does the sky get its colour from?

Kind regards, Darcie, aged 9

Sunlight is a mixture of colours. As it passes through the air in our atmosphere, the blue part of sunlight gets scattered around, so we see a blue sky. It looks paler when moisture droplets are present. Although water can reflect the sky, the colour of a lake or ocean depends on its depth, what’s underneath and what’s in it. Pure water reflects and scatters blue light, with deeper water looking darker. Pale sand on the seabed reflects extra light to look more turquoise. Plankton (tiny plants and animals) make it look green, yellow, red or brown, and soil particles turn it brown and murky.

Margot R aged 8, craft ose, e warmers fo d hand r her and her little bro th Dougie, ag er ed 4.

enamel badges Y’s Wonder Club Badges Collectable for you to earn! Help local wildlife to earn your Wildlife Watcher badge.

Investigate scientific questions to earn your Super Scientist badge.

Help save the planet to earn your Eco Hero badge.

Loads of you had fun making the perpetual calendar from the Time Quest pullout (Issue 103)…

Dear Y, How do batteries work and why do they leak?

Haydon, aged 8

Thanks, from Jess, aged 8

A battery has two electrodes (a negative anode at one end and a positive cathode at the other end) made from different metals. The gap between them is filled with a chemical electrolyte, usually an acid or alkali. When you put a battery into a circuit, the electrolyte reacts with the anode to make electrons. These flow round the circuit to power the device, and back to the cathode. Chemical energy is changed to electrical energy. If batteries are unused for a long time, hydrogen gas builds up inside to cause a gentle leak of electrolyte. Ask an adult to place any leaky batteries in an old plastic bag and take them to a recycling centre.

Lucy, aged 8

Stan

Ben, aged 8, made a e model of th m e st sy r la so n, with an alie y b d e inspir Issue 98.

Maggie, aged 6

Dear Y, What is Earth’s atmosphere made of, and is it possible for humans to make a miniature version of it?

From Khadeejah , Bess, aged 8 p a le e made th e m a g g fro the featured in e Time Qu st edition.

Teddy made tadpoles too!

Our atmosphere is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen with tiny amounts of other gases, all held in place by Earth’s gravity. We live in the troposphere, a 12 km layer of dense gas, squashed by the atmosphere sitting above it. The troposphere contains about 80% of the total atmosphere, including 99% of its water. The stratosphere (12-50 km) includes the ozone layer, which protects us from the Sun’s ultraviolet light. Most meteors burn up in the mesosphere (50-80 km). Auroras form in the thermosphere (80-700 km) and exosphere (700-10,000 km) where Earth’s gravity is so weak that gases can escape into space. Sadly we can’t make a mini version in the lab yet. It’s too complicated! Send your experiments, ideas, photos, reviews and questions to Y@whizzpopbang.com or Y, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Don’t forget to include your name, age and address. We can’t return any post, sorry.

Get problem solving to earn your Epic Engineer badge.

Write a report or a review to earn your Science Reporter badge.

To find out how to earn your badges, go to whizzpopbang.com/wonder-club. Schools can get involved too! Find out how here: bit.ly/39xNQ Q qV

whizzpopbang.com 31

Test your mum/ dad/local duck to

see what they know !

3 5 7

How much can you remember from this issue? Test your knowledge with our super-duper quiz. Just tick the answers you think are correct, mark them using the answers on page 34 and then add up your score. If you need some help, check out the hints at the bottom of the page.

What is the skin of a bubble made of?

een

a) A layer of water betw two layers of soap

b) A layer of soap betwee two layers of water

c) One layer of water an one layer of soap

What is a hydraulophone? a) A mobile telephone invented in

Ancient Greece b) Water-powered jet boots

c) A musical instrument

What was Rachel Carson’s book about DDT called? a) Quiet Winter b) Silent Spring c) Noisy November

What is the force called that slows you down on a slide? a) Lubrication riction b) F iggle action c) G

When you fire a water pistol, the water shoots out of the…

Every time I pour water out of this bottle, it just pours back. It must be spring water!

a) t arget lug b) p c) nozzle

Which of these is true? a) Water falling from clouds is called precipitation

b) T he water cycle started 3 million years ago

c) As water rises into the

sky, it turns into bubbles

A small blob of water forms a curved shape because of...

I scored...

a) dissolved salts b) s urface tension c) t he Sun’s heat

Need a hint? Find the answers by reading these pages… 1) Page 9 2) Page 25 3) Page 26 4) Page 18 5) Page 29 6) Page 12 7) Page 15 8) Page 10

1-3: Dipping a toe! 4-6: Having a paddle! 7-8: Making a splash!

! !

Paint us a picture!

We’ve got six fun memory games to give away! To be in with a chance of winning one, paint a scene, get hands-on with some finger-painting or make abstract art with splatters… it’s up to you! Send in a photo of your creation and you could be a winner.

Pick A Flower or Match A Track memory game* from Laurence King

Match 25 flowers with their uses and meanings – simply collect the most correct pairs to win! From marigolds in Mexican Day of the Dead displays to Japan’s cherry blossom season and the first flower germinated in space.

Match the animal tracks with the creatures that made them, including a coyote, a peacock and an echidna. There are 25 different tracks to be matched – beat your opponent by making the most matches. *Games will be assigned to winners at random.

WINNERS

Issue 105 competition winners Thank you to everyone who sent in entries to our Vikings competition. These are the seven differences between the two brooches. These five lucky winners each receive a copy of The Riddle of the Viking Treasure by Dr Mandy Hartley from insightandperspective.co.uk: Mia Naisbit, 7 Oskar Rafinski, 8 Fred Tunstall, 6

Send your entry to win@whizzpopbang.com with ‘Water competition’ as the subject of your email. Alternatively, post a picture of it to Water competition, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please don’t forget to include your name, age and address. Deadline: July 8th 2024. UK residents only. Full terms and conditions available at whizzpopbang.com. Sorry we are unable to return any post.

Barnabas Borsos, 10 Nora Syfi Wavell-Jones, 9

whizzpopbang.com 33

What did the g irl she saw three say when hole ground filled wit s in the h water? Well, well, well!

JOKES

Why do adults ut hate bubbles b ? kids love them Pop culture!

How do clouds tie their shoes? With a rainbow !

Why do male dogs float in water? Because they’re good buoys!

What dog loves to take bubble baths? A shampoodle!

Page 7 – True/Untrue

Page 12 – True/Untrue

TRUE: That’s why you don’t fill up with water like a sponge when you go swimming!

UNTRUE! The correct names for an otter’s den are a holt or couch. Page 13 – Otters puzzle

Page 9 – Bubbles puzzle There are 14 pink bubbles in the scene. Bring on the

Bubbles!

Make bubble mixture

You can buy a big bottle of bubble mix from most toy shops or supermarkets. But you can also make your own with this easy recipe. Mix 750 ml of warm water with 1 tablespoon of glycerine in a bucket or washing-up bowl, then slowly mix in 375 ml of washing-up liquid.

What’s a bubble’s favourite food? POPcorn!

a loop, cm of string in Tie about 150 like to two sticks, then tie the loop One section needs Emmi is holding. cm and the other to be about 50 your string loop into 100 cm. Dip the then lift it up bubble mixture, it out. high and open

Sweep it through the air to make a BIIIIIG bubble!

Bubble sock snake

How do bubbles work?

Why are they round?

The thin ‘skin’ of a bubble is actually a sandwich!

T R E T T O

Why do they pop?

water

With two layers of soap around it

How many pink bubbles can you count on these two pages? Check your answer on page 34.

An old small plastic water bottle Scissors An old sock An elastic band Liquid food colourings (optional)

But soon the water starts to evaporate and dry out. That makes the skin get thinner, until the bubble pops.

What you do

1. Ask an adult to cut the bottom off the bottle with the scissors. 2. Pull the sock over the open end and secure it in place with an elastic band. If you 3. Dip the sock end into the bubble mixture. want to make rainbow bubbles, dribble food colouring in stripes across the end, like this.

t with your bubble mix and see what else you can use to make bubbles.

You could try

Can you make a square bubble, or will they always be round?

Straws, paper clips or a bubble wand made from a pipe cleaner A spoon with holes or slots in it or a sieve or colander A metal or plastic coat hanger for big bubbles

A bubble is a thin layer of water trapped between two layers of soap.

At the double!

Page 15 – Slippery slides Slide 3 ends at the arch.

Find the answers on page 34!

Page 14 – At the double

Page 17 – Riddles 1) A sponge! 2) Wind. 3) Fire.

4. Blow through the bottle neck and watch your bubble snake appear!

Bubble lab ideas Experimen

Which of the slides ends at the arch?

Gakk and Y were snapped having fun on the log flume. Can you spot eight differences between the pictures? Circle any differences you find.

water puzzles! O T park T O O S

in the middle

Slippy slides!

Answer Inflatable stack 1 matches exactly.

S toDive Osolve Rright T inT O these

It has

The molecules in the water pull towards each other. This causes surface tension, which makes bubbles form the shape with the smallest possible surface area – a sphere.

You will need

Splashing Page 14 – Pool time! party

S R S E R T O T T O E R

Soap sandwich

Giant bubbles

O T T E S R

Answers

Page 25 – Target puzzle

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Riley’s three individual scores were 5, 10 and 20.

Page 11 – True/Untrue TRUE: The highest water rocket launch on record reached 830 m – much higher than most skyscrapers.

Page 32 – Quiz 1) a 2) c 3) c 4) a 5) b 6) c 7) b 8) b Pool party

There are inflatable rings stacked up by the pool. Which of the pictures shows the stack of rings

1 2

Rainbow falls! When sunlight shines on falling rain, you might be lucky enough to see a rainbow. Although sunlight looks white, it is made up of many different colours. As the light travels through droplets of water, it is refracted (bent) and the colours get separated. In this photo, the spray from the waterfall is acting like rain, creating a rainbow of beautiful colours!

R A L U C A T C E SP

e c n e i c s

You can only see a rainbow when the sunlight is coming from behind you and the rain or water droplets are in front of you. Try standing with the Sun behind you and spraying a fine mist of water from a garden hose or spray bottle up in the air. Can you create a rainbow of your own? © Peter OToole / Shutterstock.com

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