Leaf Science: Pigments on Parade!"The Dirtmeister"(R) With the beginning of autumn, the leaves of deciduous trees deciduous tree Broad-leaved tree that sheds all its leaves during one season. Deciduous forests are found in three middle-latitude regions with a temperate climate characterized by a winter season and year-round precipitation: eastern North America, western Eurasia, and seem to magically turn an incredible natural palette (1) In computer graphics, a range of colors used for display and printing. See color palette. (2) A collection of on-screen painting tools. (3) A toolbar that contains a set of functions for any kind of application. palette - colour palette of yellow, brown, orange, and red. Your students can discover for themselves how these "hidden colors" materialize ma·te·ri·al·ize v. ma·te·ri·al·ized, ma·te·ri·al·iz·ing, ma·te·ri·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To cause to become real or actual: By building the house, we materialized a dream. in leaves by doing a simple experiment in paper chromatography paper chromatography (PC) Type of chromatography using filter paper or other special paper as the stationary phase. Spots of sample and reference materials are applied, usually as liquids, near one edge (or corner, for two-dimensional PC) of the paper. . Color Activity Every grade-schooler knows about mixing paints together to get new colors. In this experiment, your students will do the opposite, taking pigments apart to see what colors emerge. Encourage your class to predict what colors may be present in different water-based markers and then test their hypotheses. What to Do: * Give students four 1"-wide strips of paper towel each and ask them to select 4 different colors of marker, one for each strip. Next they draw a single line lengthwise length·wise adv. & adj. Of, along, or in reference to the direction of the length; longitudinally. Adj. 1. lengthwise from the top and stop 1" from the bottom. * Ask students to dip the bottom edge of their paper strips into small cups of water. As the water is absorbed by the paper strip, the pigments will begin to flow up the strip, slowly separating into their component colors. * Tie this activity back into the idea of changing leaves by asking students why different trees turn different colors. * Your students can create an autumn art project with leaf shapes cut from paper towels. Ink a large brown dot in the center of each leaf, and use a dropper drop·per n. A device that produces drops, especially a small tube with a suction bulb at one end for drawing in a liquid and releasing it in drops. Also called instillator. dropper 1. to apply water to the paper. The result will be an array of unique and colorful leaves. Steve "The Dirtmeister"[R] Tomecek's most recent book is Teaching Electricity--Yes You Can! (Scholastic). |
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