Make Your Own Thermometer!
Try doing the science project idea on your own! Though you may need a grown-up's help to read the mercury thermometer.
You will need the following materials:
1 250 ml plastic water bottle
31.25 ml water
31.25 ml ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol
2 clear plastic straws
1 piece of cork
1 mercury thermometer
1 coloring pen
Instructions:
Take the water bottle, make sure it is clean and dry on the inside.
Put in the water and alcohol into the bottle. It should fill to about ΒΌ of the bottle.
Take one of the straws and stick it into the bottle. Make sure the straw is in the water, but not all the way to the bottom.
With the cork, seal the bottle, but leave a hole in the cork for the straw to pass through. This means, the only opening in the bottle is through the straw. You may ruin the first straw in this process, so use the other one for the final product.
Now put the bottle on a table at room temperature. Check your thermometer for temperature. Where is the water level of the water in the straw? Mark this level on the bottle with the temperature reading you got from the thermometer. (ex. 20 degrees Celsius)
Go to the kitchen, as it is usually warmer in there. Check your thermometer for the temperature again, and check the level of the water in the bottle. Mark accordingly.
Keep doing this till you can mark five temperature readings. Put the bottle and thermometer under a lamp or in the sun for a hotter temperature reading, and put them in the cellar of surround them both with ice for a cooler reading.
Concept Explanation:
This is a good science project idea when learning the basics of temperature. You will notice that when the temperature is hotter, the liquid will rise up the straw, and when the temperature is cooler, it will go down the straw. While this thermometer is really basic, and is only giving temperature approximations, it's a good start to understanding temperature. Just remember that after a while the liquid in the bottle can evaporate, and you may have to replace the liquid. You can also choose to color the liquid in order to be able to see the temperature level better. Blue or red are good food coloring colors that can easily do this for you.
