Purpose
Students research famous historical experiments—both their design and their impact on society. They then recreate the experiments in the classroom using procedures similar to those described by the original scientists. In their research as well as in their experiments, students discover the important role the scientific method has played in the advancement of our scientific understanding.

Time Required
About 3 class periods

Advance Preparation
Students will need science textbooks and other library books for their research. Access to the Internet will also yield valuable information as many of the scientists listed have societies with web pages devoted exclusively to their work.

Students will work in pairs to recreate one historical experiment of their choice.

Groups who choose the Archimedes experiment will need the following materials:

bucket
can
rock (or other solid object)
spring scale
string
water

Groups who choose the Galileo experiment will need the following materials:

2 balls of equal size but different weight (such as a baseball and a tennis ball)

Groups who choose the Newton experiment will need the following materials:

2 prisms

Groups who choose the von Guericke experiment will need the following materials:

2 toilet plungers (or suction darts)

Groups who choose the Oersted experiment will need the following materials:

6-volt battery
hookup wire
paper clips
steel nail
magnetic compass

Safety Information
Students conducting Galileo’s falling balls experiment should be encouraged to keep safety in mind when choosing a drop location. You may wish to select this site for them rather than allowing them to choose it on their own.

The plungers in the von Guericke experiment can be quite difficult to separate. Tell students they need not pull hard enough to separate the cups (as this could result in injury); it is enough that they note the difficulty of the task.

Teaching Strategies
The accumulation of scientific knowledge that helps us understand the natural world depends on the careful execution of experiments. To this end, scientists have developed what is known as the scientific method—a rigorous set of principles and procedures that guide scientific research worldwide.

While individual experiments vary widely, all scientists are required to follow certain guidelines: They must make objective observations of objects or events, ask questions, identify their assumptions, conduct controlled experiments, make careful measurements, formulate explanations, and compare their explanations with the ideas held by the scientific community. Results of experiments that do not follow these guidelines cannot be incorporated into the pool of existing scientific knowledge. By studying the procedural elements of famous historical experiments, students gain a first-hand understanding of the importance of the scientific method. (You may want to review with students the elements of the scientific method before having them begin this activity as it will be an important part of their research.)

The experiments listed on the student pages are among the most formative in the history of scientific discovery as they defined a previously unexplained natural law. Results from each of the experiments also served as a basis for centuries of further learning.

Students should be able to adapt the experiments they research to accommodate the simple materials you provide them. For example, a rock lowered into a full cup of water placed in an empty bucket will yield a quantity of water whose weight can be compared to the decreased weight of the rock in water. Rubber toilet plungers or suction darts can be pressed together to show the effects of air pressure just as von Guericke’s bronze hemispheres were used to demonstrate. A wire coil attached to a battery and wrapped around an iron nail will become an electromagnet and cause a deflection in a compass needle. The nail will even be able to pick up paper clips just as a permanent magnet can. Classroom versions of these famous experiments can be found in most science activity books.

Student Pages
Famous Experiments
You’ve probably heard about the old guy who hopped in the bathtub and discovered why the King’s crown wasn’t made of pure gold. What?? It’s true. His name was Archimedes and he was conducting scientific experiments in 250 B.C.! What he discovered had a great impact on trade at that time because he found a way to tell if objects were really made out of the precious metals people claimed they were. Imagine being the scientist who discovers something for the first time ever! In this activity, you will research a important experiment done by an historic scientist. You’ll discover a lot—and you won’t even have to get in the bathtub!

Problem
How did those old scientists conduct their famous experiments?

Instructions
1.  Study the list of famous scientists and their historical experiments below. (Note: Unfortunately, years ago, not very many women were allowed to go to school and study science and so most of the first discoveries were made by men. Later, women were trained in science and today they make as many contributions to the pool of scientific knowledge as male scientists do!)

• Archimedes: displacement of water and buoyant force
• Galileo Galilei: speed of heavy and light balls as they fall
• Sir Isaac Newton: prisms and the colors of sunlight
• Otto von Guericke: air pressure and vacuums (not Hoovers)
• Hans Christian Oersted: creating magnets with electricity

2.  Choose a partner to work with for this activity. Between the two of you, select one scientist/experiment that you want to know more about. Or maybe you know about another scientist who did a cool experiment that you want to research instead of those listed. Record the name of the scientist/experiment you will research in the space below.

 

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3.  Use library books and the Internet (if possible) to research the scientist/experiment you chose. Use the information you find to answer the following questions:

• What was commonly known about the subject the scientist was studying at the time he conducted the experiment? Was that knowledge based on sound scientific experiments or on religious or other beliefs?
• What was the scientist trying to find out?
• What was the scientist’s hypothesis? What variables did he identify and how did he control them? (If you cannot find this information, provide it yourself based on what you know about the experiment.)
• How was the experiment carried out? Set the scene.
• What did the scientist discover?
• How did the discovery impact society at the time?
• How did the discovery pave the way for further learning in that field?

4.  Ask your teacher for the materials you will need to recreate the experiment you just researched. Based on what you learned, use the materials to conduct the experiment as the scientist did it years ago.

Draw and describe your experiment:

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• What variables did you control?
• What did you discover?