Did you know that your breath was pink in colour? Even better, did you know your homemade pickle can generate electricity? These were some of the experiments displayed by high school students at the Science in Action exhibition that concluded on Sunday.
Conducted twice a year, the Science in Action exhibition that kicked off on November 30 saw 56 higher primary and high school students display 26 science experiments covering physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering and so on.
Brinditha Ravi and Harshitha R, class VII students from Poorna Prajna Education Centre, Indiranagar, showed that our breath is truly pink in colour. Their experiment involved blowing air into a bluish-purple coloured juice. After about 30 seconds of blowing air, the juice turns lavender in colour, and then pink.
“When carbon-dioxide dissolves in water, carbolic acid is formed that changes the colour of the juice. Therefore, our breath is pink in colour,” Harshitha said.
Another interesting experiment involved a demonstration of how salt-laced pickle can generate electricity.
“Salt is good conductor of electricity. Therefore, when the salty pickle touches the electrodes in a circuit-connected bowl, electricity is generated,” explained a student.
In another model, Shashank B and M S Nagarakshith from Carmel School, Padmanabhanagar demonstrated the use of light dependent resister (LDR) to automatically power streetlights. Class IX students Andrew and Shivani from St Francis School, Koramangala had their own experiment to demonstrate how air exerts surface pressure on water.
Parents who visited the exhibition with their children on Sunday were seen becoming science students themselves.
“Although the experiments look simple, there is a lot of science behind. I am sure my son has learned a lot,” said a parent.
According to Lakshmi B R, junior scientific officer at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium (JNP) where the exhibition was held, as many as 108 projects were received from schools.
The exhibition is conducted twice a year - the first where JNP gives out topics and the second, like this one, where students come up with projects on their own.