It’s time to get to work with five fun and fascinating fast facts about energy, an interview with Lee Constable, a presenter and author of books about sustainability, and an energy transformation activity for you to try yourself at home.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

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Episode content:

00:24 Introduction and fast facts

05:37 Interview with Lee Constable

13:14 Energy transformation activity

Lee Constable: https://leeconstable.com

Energy transformation activity

You will need: an object you can drop, such as a ball or a rolled-up pair of socks, and a rubber band.

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. This is called the ‘Law of Conservation of Energy’. However, energy can change into different forms. How many energy transformations can you observe in about a minute?

1. Rub your hands together as fast as you can. You are turning moving energy into heat energy, with help from the force of friction.
2. Hold the ball or socks high above the floor. What you are holding now has gravitational potential energy, otherwise known as stored energy, let go and the gravitational potential energy turns into moving energy as the object falls to the floor, because of the force of gravity.
3. Feel the rubber band and notice if it feels cold or hot. Use both hands to stretch out the rubber band over and over again for a few seconds and then feel if the rubber band has heated up. If it has, some of the moving energy has turned into heat energy.
4. Stretch out the rubber band again so it has lots of stored elastic energy and then aim the rubber band away from you and anyone who is with you. Let go, so the rubber band flings through the air, turning the elastic energy into moving energy.

Look around you and see what other energy transformations you can see, for example, turning on a light.

It’s time for a heart-to-heart with five fun and fascinating fast facts about blood, an interview with Dr Patrick Capon, a science communicator who knows a lot about blood, and a heart pumping activity for you to try yourself at home.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

Support the podcast to keep it ad-free! https://buymeacoffee.com/creativescience

Join the email list: https://www.creativescience.com.au/contact/

Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au

Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia

Instagram: @creative_science_australia

Episode content:

00:19 Introduction and fast facts

04:51 Interview with Dr Patrick Capon

12:34 Heart rate activity

Australian Redcross Lifeblood: https://www.lifeblood.com.au

Heart rate activity

You will need something that can measure 30 seconds, for example a clock with a second hand, a stopwatch, or the timer on a smartphone.

1. Feel the pulse in your wrist by holding two fingers gently on the inside of your wrist. If you can’t feel the pulse, change the position of your fingers and rest them gently until you feel the pulse.

The pulse beats in time with your heart pumping blood around your body, so it can be used to measure your heart rate.

1. Set the timer to measure 30 seconds and count the number of beats you feel in 30 seconds. If you double this number, that number is your heart rate in ‘beats per minute’. For example, if you count 40 beats in 30 seconds, your heart rate is 80 beats per minute.
2. Do some energetic exercise, like star jumps or running around, for about one minute.
3. Find your pulse again, set the timer for 30 seconds, and count the number of beats you feel in 30 seconds. Double this number and you will probably have a higher heart rate this time.

When you exercise, your muscles use more oxygen. A faster heart rate means the blood moves faster around your body and more oxygen can be delivered to your muscles.

Let’s go with the flow with five fun and fascinating fast facts about water, an interview with Kelly Osterberg, an educator who knows a lot about water catchments, and a watery activity for you to try yourself at home.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

Support the podcast to keep it ad-free! https://buymeacoffee.com/creativescience

Join the email list: https://www.creativescience.com.au/contact/

Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au

Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia

Instagram: @creative_science_australia

Episode content:

00:20 Introduction and fast facts

04:45 Interview with Kelly Osterberg

11:08 Water from leaves activity

WaterNSW https://www.waternsw.com.au

WaterNSW Education https://www.waternsw.com.au/education

WaterNSW on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@WaterNSWvideos

Water from leaves activity

You will need: a large clear plastic bag, some string, and a healthy tree with lots of leaves that is in a sunny place.

1. Choose a leafy branch hanging down low and bending towards the ground.
2. Place the plastic bag over the branch so there are lots of leaves inside the bag.
3. Gather the edges of the bag and hold the edges firmly around the branch. Tie some string around the bag to hold it in place on the branch. Try to position the bag so water will collect in the bottom of the bag without leaking out.
4. Leave the bag in place for several hours or overnight. After a few hours, you should start to see water collecting in the bottom of the bag.

What’s happening?

The water vapour made by the leaves condenses on the inside of the plastic bag to form liquid water which then flows down and collects at the bottom of the bag. This method for collecting the ‘transpiration’ water from plants is a bush survival skill people can use if they are stranded in the bush with no fresh water to drink, however, you should not drink the water you collected in this activity because it might not be very clean. Maybe you can pour the water back around the bottom of the tree so the roots can soak it up for more transpiration.