Try This: Hot and Cold
QUESTION
What makes us feel hot and cold?
MATERIALS
3 bowls of water: 1 warm, 1 cold, and 1 at room temperature.
PROCEDURE
Arrange the bowls of water in front of you from left to right as follows: warm, room temperature, cold.
Place your left hand in the bowl of warm water and your right hand in the bowl of cold water for 30 seconds.
Remove your hands from the water and place both into the middle bowl (room temperature).
Science Online
For more fun activities involving your five senses, check out Neuroscience for Kids.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Hot and cold are just a way of comparing what we are used to with what we are feeling. Your left hand was used to warm water, so when you placed it into the bowl with water at room temperature, it felt quite cold.
On the other side, your right hand was used to cold water, so when you placed it into room-temperature water, it felt warm. Both hands were in the same water, but since they were used to different temperatures, one felt cold and the other felt warm.
Fun Facts
Insects use their antennae for up to four of their senses: touch, smell, taste, and hearing.
FOLLOW-UP
Next time you take a bath or a shower, think about how the bathroom air feels when you get out. Ask someone who is dry to tell you how the air feels and see if you can explain why you perceive the air differently.
Another place to try this is at a swimming pool. Try to explain how warm or cold the air and water feel when you are dry and when you are wet. Heat flows naturally from warm objects to cool objects and makes us feel warm or cold as a result.
