Science or Magic - Experiments with Liquid Nitrogen!
The cost of 1 Cryo Enl Dewar 4.5 LT is $493, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
I teach physical science to 9th grade students at Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, CA. The students I teach are 85% African American, 10% Latino, and 5% White or Asian. An integral part of my job is finding new and unique ways to engage my students in science and push them beyond the understanding they attained in 8th grade.
To assist in my mission, I am requesting a liquid nitrogen Dewar. A Dewar can be thought of as an extremely large and high-tech thermos bottle, and it is the required method to store liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold, nearly 200 degrees below zero Celsius. Due to its extremely cold temperatures, amazing experiments can be performed illustrating many different concepts in physical science! Rather than using salted ice, liquid nitrogen can be used to make ice cream and students would be learning about freezing points and melting points. Liquid nitrogen can be used to make ceramic superconductors and perform an amazing levitation experiment where a magnet actually floats in the air demonstrating properties of electromagnetism! Liquid nitrogen is also just extremely fun and can freeze objects that are otherwise pliable and flexible, such as a rubber ball.
Liquid nitrogen can be obtained from welding supply shops or from the nearby UC Berkeley, but the proper Dewar is required to transport it and store it. Otherwise, it will create safety hazards and boil away within a few hours.
These experiments and demonstrations, as with all hands-on activities that I do in my class, are so vital to the success of my students. This physical science class is not designated as a lab class and thus any hands-on activities that I do are with limited resources, and usually are realized only as a result of grants that are planned and designed by my colleagues or myself. With your funding support, I know that all of my students will be truly amazed and excited with all the fun and varied concepts that I can teach them about physical science and physics through experiments with liquid nitrogen!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. K. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.