Educational Insights Solar Science Product Instructions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: 2

Activity 1: How Much Heat Do You Get from the Sun in Your Room?  4

Activity 2: The Sun Heats Water. 5

Activity 3: White in the Sun  6

Activity 4: The Spectrum  7

Activity 5: Weather in a Casserole Dish  8

Activity 6: A Scientific Explanation of a Magnifying Glass  10

Activity 7: Converging Light Rays  11

Activity 8: Maximum Temperature  12

Activity 9: Left – Right  13

Activity 10: Convex Mirror  14

Activity 11: Concave Mirror  15

Activity 12: Assembling the Solar Furnace  16

Activity 13: How Does a Solar Furnace Work?  17

Activity 14: Assembling the Test Tube Stand  18

Activity 15: Boiling Water  19

Activity 16: Can You Cook an Egg (the Egg White)?  20

Activity 17: Burning a Feather  21

Activity 18: Melt a Candle  22

Activity 19: A Little Outside Help  23

Activity 20: How Do Solar Cells Work?  24

Activity 21: Assembling the Solar Cell Support  25

Activity 22: Assembling the Motor Support  26

Activity 23: Solar Energy Powers an Electric Motor.  28

Activity 24: Can You Make the Motor Spin Even on a Rainy Day?  29

Activity 25: The Propeller  30

Activity 26: Shaping the Propeller  32

Activity 27: The Moving Patterns  34

Activity 28: Airplane Mobile  36

Activity 29: Make a Carousel (The Function of Distance)  38

Activity 30: Make a Bird Mobile (The Function of Quantity)  40

Activity 31: Combining the Solar Furnace and the Solar Cell  42



2

About Your Solar Science Lab

This kit contains most of the equipment required to perform the

activities described. In addition, you will need some common household

objects such as dishes, glasses, and spoons. Please note that the colors 

of certain objects may differ slightly from the drawings. 

Read the related text before you try to assemble the components

pictured in the drawings. 

Because each activity builds on the previous ones, it is recommended

that you complete the activities in the order they are presented.



Parts included:

• Parabolic reflector • Plastic sticks • Motor support

• Mirror • Propeller • Furnace support

• Test tube holder • Electric motor • Test tube support

• Test tube • Thermometer • Solar cell support

• Magnifying glass • Thread • Cut-out sheet

• Colored filters • Rubber bands discs, birds, airplane

• Plastic rings • Paper fasteners • Solar cell and wires

Adult supervision

is required for 

this activity.

INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANT: Be very careful when

working in bright sunlight. Always

wear sunglasses. Avoid looking directly

at the sun or at a concentrated image

of the sun, as this can damage your

eyes. Activities involving the sun are

indicated with the following icon:

IMPORTANT: Activities with sharp

points or edges should be completed

under the direct supervision of an

adult. These activities are indicated

by the following icon:

Sun Warning!

Some Facts About Solar Energy

The sun is a great source of energy, and because its energy is non-polluting

and inexhaustible, for over two centuries man has been trying to harness it

for technological purposes. In fact, in only one day our planet receives from

the sun about 200,000 times the energy generated by all the earth’s electrical

generating plants combined.

And yet, most of the energy we use today is derived from fossil fuels such 

as oil, gas, or coal—energy sources that will not last forever. The only other

reliable sources of energy we have found to meet our future needs are

hydroelectric, nuclear, and . . . solar power.

We can capture solar energy both directly and indirectly; directly through

fluids heated in solar collectors and by photovoltaic cells that convert

sunlight into electricity; indirectly through energy captured by photosynthesis

which is stored in plant tissues. Plant tissue can be burned to provide heat or

can be converted into alcohol fuels. For example, in the United States during

the 1980s, wood fuel provided more energy than nuclear power. Even today,

many developing countries use wood as their main source of energy.



3

ACTIVITY 1

4

Place the thermometer on 

the window sill.

Record the temperature.

1

Equipment:

• thermometer

• mirror

• card



Note:

The mirror in your kit is protected

with a thin covering.

Peel this off before use.

3

Now hold your mirror so that the

sun’s rays are reflected from the

mirror onto the thermometer tube.

Take a new reading after several

minutes.

What’s the difference?

2

Keep the thermometer on the

window sill.

Place a card against the window

so that it prevents the sun’s rays

from reaching the thermometer.

Once more, record the

temperature reading.

Note:

The temperature should now be

nearly the same as when it was

directly in the sun.

How Much Heat Do

You Get from the

Sun in Your Room?

Sun Warning!

ACTIVITY 2

5

1

2

3

4

5

Equipment:

• 2 glass bowls

• 1 transparent saucer

• thermometer

• water

The Sun Heats Water.

Put the same amount

of cold water into

two glass bowls.

Without moving the bowls, measure

the temperature of the water in both

of them and make a note of it.

Cover one of the bowls

with a transparent saucer

or piece of clear glass.

Wait about an hour and

remove the saucer.

Measure the temperature

in each bowl.

What did you discover?

Place them in the sunlight.

Note:

You will find that there was a rise in temperature in both cases.

The water in each bowl is now warmer than it was before, 

but the water is even warmer in the bowl that was covered.

This is what is known as the greenhouse effect.

Sun Warning!

ACTIVITY 3

6

1

2 3

Equipment:

• 2 glasses

• white paper

• black paper

• thermometer

• water

White in the Sun

Place two glasses 

partially and equally filled 

with cold water in sunlight.

Measure the 

temperature 

of the water 

in each glass.

Wait half an hour and again

measure the temperature 

of the water in each glass.

What’s the difference?

How can this difference 

be explained?

Wrap one glass 

with a sheet of 

white paper and 

the other with 

a sheet of black

paper.

Explanation:

The water in the glass covered with black paper will absorb heat

radiation and will be warmer than the one covered with white paper.

Perhaps it will be easier for you to understand now why people wear

light-colored clothing in summer and why heat absorbers are black.

4

Sun Warning!

ACTIVITY 4

7

Equipment:

• glass

• white paper

• water

The Spectrum

Fill a glass full of water 

and place it on a brightly lit

window sill on a sunny day.

The glass should extend a bit

over the inside edge of the sill.

Now place a large piece 

of white paper on the floor

directly below the glass.

Observe the spectrum

appear!

1

2

Note:

The success of this experiment

depends on certain specific

conditions of the sun.

Try this at various times of the

day in order to catch the sun

at different heights in the sky.

ACTIVITY 5

8

Find a clear casserole dish or

Pyrex

®

dish that can be heated.

3

Remove the cartridge.

Using a pair of scissors, cut off

a few pieces of this cartridge.

2

1

Equipment:

• clear casserole dish or Pyrex

®

dish

• dried up felt-tipped pen

• scissors

• electric hot plate



Weather in a Casserole Dish

Take a dried-up felt-tipped pen.

Open it by breaking it or by

cutting it.

Notice the cartridge inside.

When talking about solar energy, it is

important to remember how the sun

influences the air around us.

The sun heats the air, causing it to rise.

The air descends as it cools, and this is

what is responsible for the weather.

Here is an experiment where you should

be able to see how this happens.

Fill the dish with water.

Place it on top of an unplugged

electric hot plate or an unlighted

burner on your stove.

4

Adult supervision

is required for 

this activity.

9

Use your hot plate or stove burner to carefully warm the water 

in the casserole dish at low heat and see what happens.

The colored bands demonstrate how hot air rises in the atmosphere 

and cool air sinks.

This demonstrates how winds and cyclones are produced.

A similar pattern of 

circulation between 

hot and cold areas 

in the atmosphere 

causes Earth’s wind 

and storms.

Take one segment from the ink cartridge

and place it into the middle of the

casserole dish. It should sink.

If it floats, hold it under the water.

Watch the tiny air bubbles rising 

from the segment as it absorbs water.

After a short time, the cartridge 

will sink.

Wait a few minutes and you will see the 

ink emerge from the cartridge segment.

As yet, the ink does not mix with the water.

It first makes two colored pools below the

water’s surface.

5

6

7

ACTIVITY 6

10

Hold your magnifying lens 

over any letter E in

this manual.

Increase the height of the lens 

over the letter E. The letter grows

and grows until a point 

is reached where the 

image seems to 

become blurred.

Try focusing the light of a table lamp

through the lens onto a sheet of paper.

You will see the focal point. Find the 

exact focal length by measuring the

distance between the lens and its 

focal point.

1

2

3

Equipment:

• magnifying glass

• table lamp

• sheet of paper

Note:

The magnifying glass enclosed 

in your kit is a double convex

converging lens.

A Scientific Explanation of a Magnifying Glass

Explanation:

All parallel light rays striking your

lens on one side will meet at a

single point about 1w" (40 mm)

away from the other side of the

lens. This single point is the focal

point of the lens.

The distance between the lens

and its focal point is the focal

length. The letter E you were

examining became blurry exactly

when you passed the focal length.

ACTIVITY 7

11

1

Equipment:

• magnifying glass

• fluorescent light

• white paper

Converging Light Rays

Reflect the light from a

fluorescent light through

your lens onto a sheet of

white paper.

What do you see?

Explanation:

A converging lens focuses all the

light rays received on its surface to

a considerably smaller area than the

area of the light source.

The clear and reduced image of the

fluorescent light that appears on

the paper helps you visualize this

relationship.

Concentrated energy

As you have already learned, all of the

energy striking a converging lens will

meet at a single point. 

This is true for light rays, as you have

seen in this activity and in the previous

one. It is also true for heat waves, as

you will see in the next activity.

ACTIVITY 8

12

1

2

Equipment:

• magnifying glass

• thermometer

• candle

• water

Maximum Temperature

Take your lens outside 

to bright sunlight.

Place a bit of candle wax at the focal

point of the lens. What happens?

Explanation:

If the candle melted, you can be sure

that it reached the temperature of

129°F (54°C) or more because 129°F

(54°C) is the melting point of the wax.

Explanation:

The boiling point of water is

210°F (100°C).

If you succeeded in boiling the

water, then you at least reached

that temperature.

Now try this:

Look up the melting and boiling points of various household items in a chemistry

book or encyclopedia. This will be helpful if you choose other materials to work with.

Expose these items to “concentrated” sunlight and try to determine the highest

temperature you can achieve with your lens.

Since the sun is the source of heat in this activity, the amount of available heat will

vary and so will your results.

The hour of the day, the season of the year, the weather, and the location on Earth,

are a few of the factors which can influence the results.

See if you can boil water in sunlight.

Place a drop of water at the focal

point of the lens. What happens?

Sun Warning!

ACTIVITY 9

13

1

Equipment:

• mirror

Left – Right

Stand in front of a mirror and scratch

your right ear with your right hand.

What do you discover?

The sun’s energy is often focused and

reflected to harness its power.

Explanation:

Mirror images are laterally inverted, they

transpose right with left and left with right.

This is the reason why you appeared to be

scratching your left ear with your left hand

when you looked at yourself in the mirror.

ACTIVITY 10

14

1

2

Equipment:

• mirror

• soup spoon



Convex Mirror

Take the mirror from the kit 

and hold it in your hands.

Bend the mirror outwards.

Look at your reflection in the mirror.

What do you see?

Explanation:

An outward-bulging reflecting 

surface is called a convex mirror.

A convex mirror reduces the size 

of the reflected image.



Now try this:

You can also see this phenomenon 

by examining the outward curving, 

back surface of a shiny soup spoon.

ACTIVITY 11

15

Again, take the mirror

from the kit and hold it

in your hands.

1

Bend the mirror inwards, 

towards you.

Look at your reflection 

in the mirror.

What do you see?

What happened to 

your reflection?

2

Equipment:

• mirror

• soup spoon

Concave Mirror

Explanation:

An inward-bulging reflecting surface

is called a concave mirror.

A concave mirror reduces and inverts

the image of the object if it is not

close to its surface.



Now try this:

You can also see this phenomenon by

examining the inward-bulging, inner

surface of a shiny soup spoon.

ACTIVITY 12

16

Place the cardboard solar furnace support, with the colored

side down, on a flat table.

1

Fold each end of the cardboard towards the middle so that the two 

small round holes are directly above one another.

Insert the paper fastener, from the top down, through the two small holes.

2

This support can hold the parabolic reflector in four different positions.

In the next activity you will learn how to place the parabolic reflector

in the most convenient position.

3

Equipment:

• parabolic reflector

• solar furnace support (cardboard)

• paper fasteners

Assembling the Solar Furnace

ACTIVITY 13

17

Go outside and find a sunny spot for your solar furnace.

Place the parabolic reflector in the position that reflects the greatest

amount of the sun’s rays.

Move the palm of your hand in front of the reflector, about 4" (10 cm)

away from it, searching for the focal point.

Once you find it, keep your hand still for few minutes and you will feel

the concentrated heat.

1

Equipment:

• solar furnace

The purpose of a solar furnace is to concentrate the sun’s rays into a small

area and increase its heat output to a level where it becomes useful to us.

The key to your solar furnace is its spherical parabolic mirror which reflects

parallel light rays to a single point. This single point is its focal point.

How Does a Solar Furnace Work?

Sun Warning!

ACTIVITY 14

18

Place the cardboard test tube

support, with the colored side

down, on a flat table.

1

Fold the shortest end of the

cardboard towards the middle

so that the two small round

holes are directly above one

another.

Insert the paper fastener, from

the top down, through these

two small holes.

2

Insert the ends of the test tube holder into the pair of holes 

on the cardboard, and then move it down, as shown.

Place the test tube into the round space on the test 

tube holder. You have assembled your test tube stand.

3

Equipment:

• test tube

• test tube support (cardboard)

• test tube holder (metal wire piece)

• paper fastener

N

Assembling the Test Tube Stand

Note: 

You can move the

test tube holder in

the support until

you find the best

position for it to

absorb the sun’s

rays from the

parabolic reflector.

ACTIVITY 15

19

Explanation:

You will achieve the best results if you work with the solar furnace when the sun is directly

overhead. This is due to the fact that the sun’s rays are strongest when they strike the

earth at an angle of 90°.

The wind, or even a breeze, will affect this activity; it will cool what you are trying to heat.

On a cloudy day, you will not be able to work with the solar furnace.

Place a drop of

clean water in 

the test tube.

Put the test tube

into its stand.

1

Place the solar furnace 

in direct sunlight.

Choose the best position 

for the parabolic reflector.

2

3

Equipment:

• test tube

• test tube stand

• solar furnace

• water

Boiling Water

Place the test tube stand 

in front of the furnace.

Move the test tube holder up or

down until you are sure that the

water in the test tube is at the 

focal point of the reflector.

How long does it take for the 

water to boil?

Sun Warning!

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Educational Insights Solar Science Product Instructions

Educational Insights Solar Science Product Instructions

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