Tap into
Volume 1, Number 1
Learning
January /February 2008
A Science Ezine for Kids
Water
Check out our website:
http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
In this Issue: * All about Water * Water Cycle * Gargoyles
*SPIGOT
Ancient
Water System * Water 1and Math * Deserts
* Books
~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
January/February 2008
* Experiments, Puzzles, and More!
Dive in!!
Premier
Welcome to
Issue
Spigot Science Magazine
A Message from the Publishers
Welcome! You are reading the very first issue of SPIGOT
SCIENCE MAGAZINE for kids. We are all about science. And
science is all about YOU and everything around you, such as:
your breathing, eating, sleeping
your world spinning, erupting, freezing, warming
your garden growing and blooming
Get the Most
rockets blasting into space
astronauts bouncing on the moon
from SPIGOT
hurricanes and tornadoes changing our planet
words flying through the air to computers
1.
Read it! There is a lot of
great information in each
article.
2.
Do the activities. Each article
has an activity or link to help
you learn more about the
topic. We learn when we do
cell phones taking pictures
music playing in our ears
Learn about it all in SPIGOT. Our magazine brings you
information, new and old ideas, and fun experiments. SPIGOT asks
science questions for you to ponder.
SPIGOT is a FREE magazine. It’s yours for the downloading at
our web site.
http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
We’d like to hear from you. Email us
([email protected]) and tell us what you think about
SPIGOT. Tell all your friends about us. Let them know that
SPIGOT is where you learn about science and have fun!
Enjoy!
David Cochran and Valeria B. Girandola, Publishers
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things.
3.
Go to the web site to find
more information.
4.
Talk about SPIGOT with
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5.
Tell your friends to
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because we want you to Tap
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January/February 2008
Volume 1, Number 1
January/February 2008
In this Issue
A Message from the Publishers ..... 2
SOCIAL STUDIES Connection
Deserts of the World ................................ 18
Why SPIGOT? .................................... 5
about our name
learn about desertification
A Gift from the Desert ............................. 19
energy from the desert
SCIENCE Connection
Interesting Things about Water ............. 6
What is water anyway?
More Interesting Things about Water ... 7
capillary action and more!
Even More Interesting Things
about Water .................................. 8
Frozen Water............................................ 20
all about glaciers
A Gift from the North Pole ..................... 21
a fortune in oil
Weird and Wonderful Waterspouts ....... 22
gargoyles by Rebecca Creswell
Ancient Water System ............................. 25
the aqueducts of Rome
states of water
Messing Around with Water .................. 9
activities to learn about water
The Hydrologic Cycle .............................. 11
HEALTH Connection
Here’s to Your Health ............................. 26
watering our bodies
Where did all the puddles go?
How Much Water Do You Drink? ......... 27
keeping track of water intake
GEOGRAPHY Connection
Where in the World is Water? ................ 12
1887 world map, water graph
ARTS Connection
Making Music with Water ...................... 28
use drinking glasses to make music
MATH Connection
Water by the Numbers ............................ 13
How heavy is water?
LANGUAGE ARTS Connection
Water, Water, .......................................... 10
TECHNOLOGY Connection
Research projects
Water Pollution ............................ 29
Seven Underwater Wonders ....... 30
a poem by Eileen Peluso
Water Falls, Land Moves ........................ 14
A dramatic reading
Water Puzzles ........................................... 16
BOOKS and LINKS
Websites and Books ................................. 31
book reviews by Dr. Pat Richwine
build your water vocabulary
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
\
3
January/February 2008
Our Mission
Spigot Science Magazine
Important Legal Information
Spigot Science Magazine is owned and operated by
The mission of Spigot Science Magazine
is to help children understand how and why
the world works and to inspire young minds
to be curious and thoughtful stewards of the
world that will be theirs one day.
Daval Publications, LLC
PO Box 103
Wonder about Water
Blawenburg, NJ 08504
As you read this issue of SPIGOT think about these
questions and look for the answers.
David Cochran, EdD, Publisher, and
Chief Learning Officer
1. What is there about water that makes it so
valuable to humans and to every other form of life
on earth?
Valeria B. Girandola, MSEd, Publisher and
Editor-in-Chief
Official Website: http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
2. How much of the world is covered with water?
Email address: [email protected]
3. How much water do we need to drink to survive?
Staff writers:
David Cochran
Valeria B. Girandola
4. What makes a desert?
5. Can cold areas be deserts too?
Photo/Graphic Credits
Cover photo from PDPhoto: http://www.pdphoto.org
6. What can we do about water pollution?
Most pictures in this magazine are from Microsoft
Media Elements and their inclusion complies with the
terms of their permitted use.
7. What is the water cycle and why is it so important
to us?
8. How did people in ancient Rome get water from
the mountains to their towns?
Additional credits are cited on the pages where
pictures appear.
9. Why were waterspouts, called gargoyles, made to
look like monsters?
Publication Schedule
Spigot Science Magazine is published online five
times per year in September, November, January,
March, and May. It is a free magazine.
10. How can we make music with water?
Copying/Using Articles
Articles from this publication may be used in schools
or homeschooling without permission. Articles may
not be distributed for commercial use without the
written permission of Daval Publications, LLC.
Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
4
January/February 2008
About our Name
Why Spigot?
First thing in the morning, we turn on the SPIGOT. We splash water from the SPIGOT onto our face.
Wake up! We take a long drink of cool water from the SPIGOT. Refreshing! We brush our teeth and swish
water from the SPIGOT around in our mouth. Clean and fresh! Water trickles out in a thin stream, or water
gushes out like a flood. It all depends on the turn of the SPIGOT.
We like to think of our brain as a SPIGOT. With a little
imagination we turn on the SPIGOT of our thoughts. We see
pictures flowing in our mind. We tap into our ideas. We
brainstorm. We flood our mind with questions. Words trickle
and flow and pour into our conversation and onto our papers.
SPIGOT brings knowledge to ponder, to use, to question,
and to store in the reservoir of our minds.
Let’s notice the science behind the cloudy day or the daisy
growing by the roadside.
Let’s look at the geography and topography of the land as
we walk.
Let’s visit the history right around the corner. Let’s think.
Who invented the red, green and yellow traffic lights?
How does day follow night?
Let’s see each other as companions sailing down the waters of life together. Let’s imagine each of us
joining the big river from our own unique stream, each of us needing one another in some mysterious
way on our journey.
Let’s celebrate how we are alike, and how we are different. Let’s talk about it. Let’s write.
Learning and remembering take a lot of our time. Focusing, practicing, imagining, reading, writing,
drawing, acting, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, playing games, playing a sport—all make us
healthy and well-rounded. We learn how to work with each other and how to value each other. We learn how
to learn. SPIGOT is here to help you turn on your tap. Let’s flow with it.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
5
January/February 2008
Interesting Things about Water
Water is all around us. We drink it. We wash in it. We use it for
recreation. But what is water anyway?
Water is made up of two of the most common elements on earthhydrogen and oxygen. When these elements combine in the right way,
they form water. It takes two atoms of hydrogen mixed with one atom
of oxygen to make a molecule of water. This is what it looks like:
H
O
H
Water Chuckle
A teacher is talking to new
twin students.
Teacher: And what is your
name?
First twin: H
A water molecule—
two atoms of
hydrogen (H) and one
atom of oxygen (O).
Teacher to the second
twin: And what is your
name?
Second twin: H two.
Teacher: Oh! I guess I’ll
call you the water twins!
The chemical symbol for water is H2O. Sometimes water is called dihydrogen monoxide. Di means
two and mono means one. Water is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. You can have some fun with
this. Next time you want a drink of water, ask for a glass of dihydrogen monoxide. Notice the look on
the person’s face!
Like a magnet
Water molecules like each other and they stick together. This property of water is called cohesion.
When water molecules stick together, they form a skin-like film that can hold a pin without sinking. This is
called surface tension. You can see this happen when it rains. Water forms an outer edge of a puddle. Try
spilling just a little water on the kitchen counter and see how the water holds together in a puddle. BUT what
happens if you put your finger in the puddle and break the surface tension?
Experiment!
Fill a glass of water and carefully place a pin on the surface.
Does it sink or float? Which property of water mentioned
above does this show?
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
6
January/February 2008
More Interesting Things about Water
Capillary Action Keeps Water on the Move
Have you ever noticed how water will go from a wet area to a dry
area ever so slowly? If you spill water on the ground, it spreads out
from the wet area to the dry dirt until it is absorbed by the ground.
When you use a paper towel to mop up spilled water on the kitchen
floor, the water moves from the floor to the towel as if it is being pulled
in by something. A sponge works the same way. All these examples
show capillary action, the movement of water upward or outward.
Water is drawn from the ground to the veins in this leaf by
capillary action.
But what causes
this movement?
Just like water
molecules like to
stick together, they
also like to stick to
other things. This
property of water is
called adhesion.
(Tape used for
wrapping things
and holding things
together is called
adhesive tape because it sticks to things.)
When water ―sticks‖ to a tube, it moves upward, just the opposite of
gravity. In a sponge, the water goes through the holes and is pulled
upward by capillary action.
In trees, water is drawn from the ground upward to nourish the
leaves through capillary action.
Water Riddle
In our bodies, we have tiny tubes
called capillaries that move
nutrients and waste between our main What holds water but is
blood vessels—our arteries and veins. filled with holes?
The materials move through the
capillaries by capillary action.
???
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
Get a single branch of celery
that is wilted. If it isn’t wilted,
let it sit and dehydrate a few
days before you try this. As it
dehydrates, it loses water and
gets wilted like a limp noodle.
Put the wilted celery branch
in a glass of water and let it sit
overnight.
The water will be drawn up
into the veins of the celery by
capillary action. The celery will
become stronger and crisper. By
adding water in this way, we
hydrate it.
You could also try putting
some colored food dye in the
water. What do you think will
happen? Why?
Answer: A sponge!
Thanks to capillary action, water
and other fluids move magically from
one place to another.
See Capillary Action
7
January/February 2008
Even More Interesting Things about Water
What Are the States of Water?
If someone asked you what
the three states of water are, how
would you answer them? If you
said Michigan, California, and
New Jersey, a loud buzzer would
go off and tell you to guess again.
Everything that exists is either
liquid, solid, or gas. Water can be
in all these states.
TRY THIS
You can see water in its three
states. Try this with an adult
standing by:
Gas
When water gets really hot, its
molecules move fast. They
become so light that they float up
into the air and become vapor (or
steam). Sometimes we see
water vapor when the water is
evaporating on a hot day.
Liquid
This is the slippery, oozy stuff
that makes our hair wet and tastes
great when we’re thirsty. As long
as the temperature is between
freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit
or 0 degrees Centigrade) and
boiling (220 degrees Fahrenheit
or 100 degrees Centigrade) water
is liquid.
Have you ever seen the steam
rise off a hot road after a summer
rain? This is water in its third
state—gas.
1. Get an ice cube and put it in a
pan. Describe what it looks
like, then use a clock or
watch to see how long it takes
to change to water without
any heat.
2. After the ice cube is melted,
write a description of what
you see.
SAFETY ALERT
Be very careful when
heating water. Never
leave a stove while it is
on.
3. Heat the water and record how
long it takes to turn to steam.
4. Write a paragraph or make a
table to compare and contrast
water as a liquid, solid, and
gas.
Solid
When the temperature gets
really cold, the molecules that
make up water get really slow and
they become solid. An ice cube
is a good example of frozen
water. It makes our drinks cold.
Water is a Solvent
Water as a liquid mixes really well with other substances. For example, if you add water colors to water, the water absorbs the paint and
changes its color. Water is called a solvent because it can mix with
things easily.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
8
January/February 2008
Messing around
with Water
We can learn about something just by playing around with
it. Let’s mess around with water and make some observations
about it.
Activity 1 – What floats and what sinks?
1. Fill up a sink or a plastic wash tub about half full.
2. Get some common things that you find around the
house such as a spoon, a plastic container, a pencil, a
pin, or anything else you want to test.
3. Make a guess about whether the item will sink or
float. Write your guess on a chart like this:
Item
My Guess
Did it sink or float?
Bowling ball (just kidding)
Sink
Sink
Spoon
etc.
Activity 2 – How fast does water evaporate?
1. Get two saucers or small bowls and put the same amount of water
in each one.
2. Put one inside a closet and one near a window that gets light.
3. From which bowl will the water evaporate first?
4. Make observations each day until the water has evaporated from
both bowls.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
9
January/February 2008
Activity 3 – How are oil and water different?
1. Fill a glass about half full of water.
2. Write down what you think will happen when you add a tablespoon of cooking oil to
the water.
3. Add the oil to the glass of water.
4. What happened? Write it down.
5. How did the result match your prediction?
6. Get a teaspoon and put it in the glass with the oil and
water.
7. What happens when you take the spoon out of the
glass?
8. Does oil stick to things? Does water?
9. Which is easier to get off the spoon — oil or water?
Water, Water
By Eileen Peluso
Water, water everywhere
And not a drop to drink.
I’ve heard that rhyme since I was two
And it always makes me think
That I’m out at sea in a leaky boat
With only a sieve to hold,
And the sea is salty and the sun is hot.
Then I remember what I’ve been told,
―You must drink eight glasses of water each day,
Or your skin will dry up and you’ll wither away.‖
Now, that rhyme about water makes me think—
I’M THIRSTY!
So, if you don’t mind,
Please get me a drink?
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
10
January/February 2008
The Hydrologic Cycle
Where did all the puddles go?
Just yesterday it rained. There were puddles all over the
place. Today the puddles are gone. What happened? It’s the
hydrologic cycle at work.
The Hydrologic Cycle, also known as the water cycle,
happens all around us all the time. Rain falls. Precipitation.
The sun warms up the ground. The ground warms up the air.
Water on the ground turns into vapor and evaporates into the
air. Evaporation. Cool clouds of tiny water droplets form.
Condensation. The droplets join together and get larger.
Gravity pulls the droplets down again to the earth. Rain falls.
The puddles? That’s evaporation at work. Look up into the
sky. That’s where the puddle water is now. It’s in a cloud
waiting to rain again.
Make your own
water cycle
1. Put two teaspoons of water in
a small plastic baggie.
2. Blow into the baggie filling it
with air.
3. Seal it with tape and then tape
the closed baggie to a window
pane, hanging it by one of the
top corners.
Sun heats the land and
the water evaporates.
Water drops fall to the
ground as precipitation.
4. Throughout the day look at
the bag.
5. As the sun shines on it, what
happens?
6. As the sun moves away from
the window, what happens?
Raining Cats and Dogs
7. Tap on the bag when larger
droplets appear and you will
make rain!
Alicia: It’s raining cats and dogs outside.
Marvin: How do you know?
Can you name the processes
taking place in the baggie?
Alicia: I almost stepped on a poodle!
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
11
January/February 2008
Where in the World Is Water?
This drawing of the Earth appeared in Mitchell’s New Primary Geography in 1887. That’s over 120 years
ago, but the map of the oceans is pretty accurate. Notice how much of the world is water. Notice also that the
five oceans are really one connected ocean.
Land and Water on Earth
1. On the surface of the Earth, is there more water or land?
2. How would you describe this difference to someone?
3. What do you think this means for the people living on Earth?
This view of Earth from
space shows the continent of
Africa. Notice the large
amount of water on the
Earth. Antarctica is at the
bottom of the picture.
Compare this picture to the
map above.
NASA photo
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
12
January/February 2008
Water By The Numbers
Connecting Math and Science
How Heavy is Water?
We use a lot more water than
we think. Check out this table:
Water and other liquids are measured in a unit
called fluid ounces. Fluid means liquid. Fluid
ounces are abbreviated fl.oz. You can see this
abbreviation written on water bottles and soda cans.
HOW WE USE WATER
Measurements can be really confusing since there
are different measurement systems in different parts of
the world. In the US, a fluid ounce is 1/16 of a pint.
Eight fluid ounces equals a cup and two cups equals a
pint. Hmm… let’s do the math on this:
Water Use
Taking a shower
Toilet flushing
8 fl. oz. (1 cup)
x 2
Watering the lawn
16 fl. oz. (2 cups or 1 pint)
There is a saying that ―a pint’s a pound the whole
world around.‖ Do you see how they came up with
this saying? In dry measurements, 16 oz. equal a
pound and in liquid measurement, 16 fl. oz. equal a
pint. While these measurements are not exactly the
same, they are pretty close.
25
5 to 7
10 per minute
Washing hands
2
Washing clothes
25-40
We need to protect and save our water
so we all have enough when we need it.
Keep track of how much water you use
everyday for a few days, then try to use less
by not letting the water run when you brush
your teeth or by taking a shorter shower. Be
a conservationist— Save Water!
Let’s see if we can figure out how much a gallon
weighs by looking at the table below. How many pints
in a quart? How many pints are in a gallon?
8 fl.oz = 1 cup
2 cups = 1 pint (16 fl. oz.)
Investigation
2 pints = 1 quart
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
4 quarts = 1 gallon
If each pint is a pound, how many pounds does
one gallon weigh?
Explain to someone else how you solved this
water weight problem?
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
Gallons
13
Get an empty gallon milk jug.
Fill it with water.
Weigh it on a bathroom scale.
Freeze it for a couple of days
Weigh it again.
Does frozen water weigh the same as water in a
liquid state?
January/February 2008
Water Falls, Land Moves
A Dramatic Reading
By Valeria B.Girandola
This story of water is meant to be a dramatic reading. Assign verses and take turns reading verses separately
then together like a chorus. You might need to practice a bit before you read it to an audience.
The sun burns over the ocean.
It beckons to the waving waters below.
Water reaches upward,
Surrendering to the sun’s warmth.
Vapors rise. Water droplets disappear
into thin air like popped bubbles.
Fish and brine are left behind. Evaporation!
High in the cold, blue sky, those droplets squeeze
back from their nowhere.
They freeze into a brilliant white cirrus
of ice crystals. Condensation!
A little lower, droplets bump and chase
around in their atmosphere.
They swirl into smoke and dance with dust particles.
They collide, becoming bigger, heavier. They merge
into clouds.
These dense, gray stratus clouds hang low in the sky.
Or perhaps, they form into massive, bulbous,
cumulous clouds
That stretch and rise like genies over the land
To thunder and storm upon the earth.
Gravity pulls.
The earth below waits.
Rain falls.
Precipitation!
Raindrops strike the ground like a spray of pebbles.
Loose dirt moves a little,
making room for falling rain.
Somewhere, snow is beginning to cover
mountain peaks.
Sleet and hail start to pelt cold city streets.
Meadows and fields fill with rippling puddles.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
Lush jungles bend and sway under torrents
of thunder-driven rain.
Swamps soak up watery gifts.
Oceans welcome back familiar wetness.
Rain continues, drops upon drops,
Merging,
Joining,
Flooding
Over soaking land in a rush of washwater.
Reluctantly, piles and particles of earth
—gravel, sand, clay, and humus—
Struggle and break free,
Eroding into a watery ride.
The surface of the earth is moving, changing forever.
Other waters gather.
Inside a mountain cave, a spring bubbles forth
from the earth,
A haunting from the past.
14
January/February 2008
This ancient rainstorm emerges and flows,
Frothing and hurrying toward sunlight,
Starving for air and brightness.
Off the top of a whitened peak, melting snow
glides and slides
Into overflowing streams.
Waters join together.
Springs turn into rivulets carving tiny channels
in the land.
Loosened, earth’s ride becomes a roller coaster,
Gushing into gullies, rushing into stream valleys.
Streams join tributaries becoming a concerto of water.
A great crescendo is building. The river!
The river winds and bends and tumbles.
It lifts and carries. It crashes and carves.
Boulders and stones play leapfrog.
The river is creating.
The river strains against the earth that embraces it.
Once brown, earth glows in layers
of purple, orange and red.
Canyons and cliffs, ledges and valleys emerge.
The river flows.
It collects itself.
It calms and carries on.
Finally, the river pours into the ocean.
Its mouth empties a myriad of things
Collected along its momentous voyage.
There are old and new stories emerging
As the journey ends and begins once again.
The sun burns over the ocean.
Things To Do
1. Re-read this poem and picture each event. See
the sun rising, the clouds forming, the rain
pouring down, etc. Retell the story in a few
sentences—one sentence for each event.
2. Draw pictures or a chart to show the steps of
the water cycle being carried out in this poem.
3. Record a reading of the poem on a digital voice
recorder or computer. Add graphics from the
Internet or clip art collections to create a
multimedia slide show or podcast. Post it on a
website or share it with someone else.
Top Secret!
Shhh….don’t tell too many people.
On the Spigot Science Magazine web site there is a Teacher’s Guide. This has
some background information to help people who work with kids. If you’re
curious, go see what skills you will be learning. You can even learn the reading
levels of the articles. Subscribe and you’ll find it on the Members page:
http://www.spigotsciencemag.com/subscribe.html
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
15
January/February 2008
Water Crossword Puzzle
Across
Down
2.
5.
8.
9.
10.
11.
16.
18.
20.
1.
2.
3.
4.
to dry out, lose water
when water turns from a vapor to a liquid
a large floating piece of ice
to add water to a body
an ancient Roman waterway
water when it is a gas
when frozen water turns from a solid to a liquid
when a mass of ice breaks away from a glacier
it happens when water temperature is below 32
degrees
another word for rain
lacking water
water turning to vapor or gas
a kind of action that causes water to go upward in
plants and trees
one part of this gas is in every water molecule
water vapor stored in the sky
there are two parts of this gas in every water
molecule
covered with water
the source of light energy for Earth
the state of water when it is frozen
a waterspout that is in the form of a beast
a large body of ice moving slowly under its own
weight
water from the sky
6.
7.
9.
12.
13.
14.
15.
17.
19.
1
2
3
4
5
Hint
6
7
All the words in
this puzzle are in
this issue of
Spigot.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
16
15
17
18
19
See the answers on the
next page.
20
EclipseCrossword.com
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
16
January/February 2008
Drop-It
3. A four-letter word meaning
what fire does.
A Word Game
Each word in this game comes
from Water Falls, Land Moves,
page 14. Take turns guessing
the answers. Then make up
your own. To ―drop it‖ means
to take off the first letter to
make a new word.
Drop it and it means a large
vase.
4. A four-letter word meaning the
opposite of hot.
Drop it and it means the
opposite of young.
5. A five-letter word meaning
something up in the sky.
Drop it and it means the
opposite of soft.
1. A four-letter word meaning
to tumble down.
6. A six-letter word meaning
something you stand on.
Drop it and it joins two
words.
9. A six-letter word describing
a light.
10. A five-letter word meaning
a hard smash.
Drop it and it itches.
Drop it and it is a shape of a
ball.
2. A four-letter word meaning
earth.
Drop it and it means
something you did on a bike.
Drop it and it is the opposite
of wrong.
Example: cash dropped is ash.
Drop it and it means
everything.
8. A five-letter word meaning
to wash away slowly.
Using the same pattern, make
up some words of your own
to Drop-It.
7. A four-letter word meaning
some form of precipitation.
Drop it and it means the
opposite of later.
Water Crossword Puzzle/Drop-It Answers
7. snow, now
3. burn, urn
10.crash, rash
6. ground, round
2. land, and
9. bright, right
5. cloud, loud
1. fall, all
Drop-It Answers 4. cold, old
8. erode, rode
FREEZING—it happens when water temperature is below 32 degrees
20.
CALVING—when a mass of ice breaks away from a glacier
18.
MELTING—when frozen water turns from a solid to a liquid
16.
VAPOR—water when it is a gas
11.
AQUEDUCT—an ancient Roman waterway
10.
HYDRATE—to add water to a body
9.
ICEBERG—a large floating piece of ice
8.
CONDENSATION—when water turns from a vapor to a liquid
5.
DEHYDRATE—to dry out and lose water
2.
RAIN—water from the sky
19.
GLACIER—a large body of ice moving slowly under its own weight
17.
GARGOYLE—a waterspout that is in the form of a beast
15.
SOLID—the state of water when it is frozen
14.
SUN—the source of light energy for Earth
13.
WET—covered with water
12.
HYDROGEN—two parts of this gas are in every water molecule
9.
CLOUD—water vapor stored in the sky
7.
OXYGEN—one part of this gas is in every water molecule
6.
CAPILLARY— a kind of action that causes water to go upward in plants
and trees
4.
EVAPORATION— water turning to vapor or gas
3.
DRY—lacking water
2.
PRECIPITATION—another word for rain
1.
DOWN
ACROSS
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
17
January/February 2008
Deserts of the World
It’s not the sand or the heat
Every land mass on our planet has a desert or
two. Some are cold like the Polar Region deserts of
Antarctica and the Arctic. Some are hot like the
subtropical deserts Mojave and Sonoran in
southwestern United States. Some are cool like the
Atacama Desert that spreads along the coastal edges
of Chile. But, it’s really not the heat or cold or
sand that makes a desert. It’s lack of moisture
and rainfall. In fact, the Arctic Desert and the
Desert of Antarctica are the driest deserts of all
because the moisture is locked up in ice.
Desertification
Slowly, so slowly the deserts are creeping,
expanding. Grasslands on the edges of deserts
become patchy stretches where erosion has cleared
the land. Wind and water are taking away nutrientrich topsoil. Plants no longer grow on the land.
Water no longer soaks into the ground.
Desertification is taking place. This slow,
natural process has been going on for centuries. Five
thousand years ago the Sahara of Africa was covered
with grasses and shrubs. Today this desert, the
largest in the world at almost 3,500,000 square miles,
is still expanding, as are others around the world.
With large populations in Africa depending upon the
land for farming and livestock, this can be
devastating.
What to do?
Is this part of the natural process happening over
a long period of time? Is it permanent? Should we,
could we, try to stop or reverse desertification?
These are questions scientists are thinking about.
Some measures are already being tried around the
world. Sand dunes are being protected with large
rocks and some ―snow fences.‖ Areas are being
covered with straw and then planted with shrubs and
trees. In China, a new Green Wall, even longer than
the Great Wall, is being planted with trees to protect
the sandy lands.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
Scientists are also looking at how deserts in Africa
are used. Do people who live there rotate their crops ?
Are the water resources used carefully? Is wood used
for cooking and heating replaced? As answers to these
questions are found, wise use of the best of earth
science information will eventually give us ways to live
in accordance with the processes of nature.
What’s the difference between a
desert and a dessert?
One S is really dry. Two S’s are good to
eat after dinner. Spelling makes a big
difference, so check carefully what you write.
18
January/February 2008
A Gift From the Desert
Desert Energy
Enough sunlight shines on the Sonoran
Desert in Arizona and California to provide
electricity for all of America. Just one more
thing is needed—enough mirrors! Europe
also could get all of the electricity it needs
from sun and mirrors in the Sahara Desert in
Morocco.
What do mirrors have to do with it? David
Mills, a professor at the University of Sydney
in Australia, has experimented with a field of
almost flat mirrors. They reflect and focus
rays from the sun back up onto tubes fixed
above the mirrors. Water inside the tubes
becomes hot and turns into steam. Steam spins
the blades of a turbine. The turbine drives a
generator producing electricity.
When steam inside the tubes cools down, it
turns back into water. This same water returns
to be heated by the sun—another kind of water
cycle. The renewable energy and low cost of
this process hold great promise as a carbonfree source of power.
The bright
desert sun hits
mirrors that
reflect onto
water pipes to
make steam.
Steam turns the turbines to
make electricity.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
19
Electricity travels
by wires to homes
in the Southwest.
January/February 2008
Frozen Water
Only the shortwave length of blue
is transmitted and scattered. The
older glacier is blue! The ice at
the base of some Canadian
glaciers is 100,000 years old.
bubbles inside. Blue icebergs are
older and very dense. Greenishblack icebergs are old and may
have calved from the bottom of a
glacier.
A Real Glacier!
Are They Melting?
Big old glaciers are so heavy
that the bottom becomes
deformed. The glacier cracks. It
moves. Now it’s a true glacier. It
is formed from snow, and it
moves by its own weight.
Today, tourists travel as far as
200 miles above the Arctic Circle
to see glaciers calving into
icebergs. Many of them are
looking for places where longterm warming is beginning to
show. In Illulissat, Greenland,
tourists can find magnificent
views of icebergs. Some people
speculate that this is where the
iceberg came from that sank the
Titanic in 1912. It started here as
a snowflake about 100,000 years
ago; grew into a glacier, and then
calved into a mega berg that
waited for its historic meeting
with the Titanic.
Icebergs
A Glacier Begins
Up at the North Pole, down at
the South Pole a snowflake falls.
It falls on a cold spot and waits.
Other snowflakes gather. They
pile up and freeze together. More
snow, more freezing—all through
the winter. Summer comes. Only
a small amount of melting
happens. Winter comes. More
snow, more freezing. A glacier
is beginning. Each year more
snow falls, less melting takes
place. The glacier grows. After
hundreds of years the large snow
mass is heavy, dense. It is
compacted into an ice mass.
As the glacier moves and
extends into water, the front end
thins. This is called the termini of
glaciers, and big chunks of ice
break off and fall into the sea.
The process is called calving.
Icebergs are the calves of
glaciers. White icebergs are
young and have lots of air
These are
pictures of the
Muir Glacier in
Glacier Bay
National Park.
Notice how
much the glacier
has changed
since 1941.
What do you
think is causing
this change?
The Colors of Glaciers
The heavy frozen snow is no
longer white. The tiny air
bubbles captured inside the snow
of a young glacier are becoming
squeezed. The trapped air is
forced out. Snow no longer
reflects whiteness. The
compacted, dense snow absorbs
all the colors of the spectrum.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
Photo credit
Robert Rohde
http://
www.globalwar
mingart.com/
wiki/
20
January/February 2008
A Gift From The North Pole
Under the warming waters of
the North Pole and the melting
icebergs of the Arctic lies a
fortune in oil. It seems that the
climate change is bringing to
life a long-believed legend.
The fabled Northwest Passages
and the riches that awaited the
European explorers of long ago just might be true.
In 1531, Jacques Cartier was sent by the king of
France to find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific
Ocean. He was seeking gold and other precious
metals. Cartier sailed in vain up the eastern coast of
the North American Continent. In the next century,
the English explorer Captain James Cook looked for
the mythical waterway linking Europe and Asia across
the top of North America. He sailed up the western
coast of North America and into the Bering Strait. Ice!
He was stopped by hard, cold, impenetrable ice.
Today, some of the Arctic areas are ice-free in the
summer. Scientists are using giant air guns to map the
ocean floor. The guns are pulled behind a research
ship. When fired, the guns make a large bang that
penetrates the lands under the ocean. Seismologists
can then measure how sound travels. This locates
pockets of fossil fuel, oil that is trapped under the
rocks. The legendary riches that the explorers
searched for might just be a pot of gold at the end of
the Northwest Passage rainbow--400 billion barrels of
oil. This could be a larger find than almost anywhere
else on earth.
Something to Discuss
1. Tapping into this huge pool of oil in the
Arctic could provide a lot more oil for the
world to use. Is this a good or bad thing?
List some pros and cons of finding new oil.
2. Taking oil from the Arctic could affect the
environment. What do you think we
should do to protect the Arctic from oil
spills and other problems that oil drilling
might cause.
In 1903, Roald Amundsen of Norway sailed with
his crew of six through the waterway at the top of the
world. It took three years of exploring and navigating
his way through ice-filled waters in his fishing boat
Gjoa. On August 6, 1905, the crew saw a ship heading
straight for them. Amundsen knew they were through
the passage!
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
3. Would you vote for or against further oil
development in the Arctic? Why?
21
January/February 2008
Weird and Wonderful
Waterspouts
By Rebecca Creswell
The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.
-Anonymous
Do you remember this poem about the stubborn
Gargoyle at Westminster Abbey
Dallas. Jones
little arachnid that kept climbing up the waterspout
even though the rain washed him back down over and Gutters collect rain as it runs down the sides of the
roof. The water from the rain gutters then travels to a
over again? Did you ever wonder about that
waterspout at the corner of the roof. The waterspout
waterspout? What was its purpose? Was it for
has an opening that allows the water to flow down to
decoration or was it just a climbing challenge for
the ground. The gutters and the waterspout work
determined little spiders?
together to take water away from the building. This
A waterspout is a pipe that allows water to drain
prevents water from leaking into the building and
from the gutters on houses and other buildings.
damaging the roof or walls.
Today’s waterspouts are rather plain looking.
However, if the itsy bitsy spider had been around
about 800 years ago during the Middle Ages, he might
have decided not to climb back up the waterspouts on
some buildings in Europe! Those waterspouts were
stone carvings of scary creatures called gargoyles.
They sat on the highest corners of a building, their
long necks stretched far out from the edge of the
rooftops. The rain water fell down the building’s roof
and passed through the gargoyles’ necks. The water
then spilled out of the gargoyles’ open mouths down
to the ground below.
Gargoyles in the Middle Ages were most
frequently seen on Christian churches called
cathedrals. One of the most famous of these was the
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
22
January/February 2008
the water from the roof to the ground, were invented.
Gargoyles were no longer needed as waterspouts. Still,
many builders kept using gargoyles on their
buildings, either as decoration or as ―protection.‖
Today, we can find gargoyles on many buildings
in cities in the United States. Princeton University in
Princeton, New Jersey, the University of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, all have buildings that are
Notice the trough on top of this gargoyle to hold the water before
―guarded‖ by gargoyles. The National Cathedral in
it leaves the creature’s mouth.
Washington, D.C., has 112 gargoyles! Some of them
are working waterspout gargoyles and many of them
Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. We do not are modern ―decorative‖ gargoyles. These include
know why the stone carvers made the gargoyles so
animal gargoyles like a rattlesnake and a French
strange and scary looking, but there are some possible poodle, fantasy gargoyles like a dragon and a
explanations.
unicorn, and ―fun‖ gargoyles like a computer and
Most of the people who lived during the Middle
Darth Vader!
Ages did not go to school. They were very
So, the next time it’s raining and you find yourself
superstitious and were afraid of things they did not
thinking about that itsy bitsy spider being washed
understand, such as earthquakes, thunder, and
down the waterspout, remember all those weird and
lightning. Many of the people were pagans, which
wonderful waterspout creations of the past and try
meant they worshipped nature and believed in more
looking up. You might be surprised by what is looking
than one god. Placing gargoyles that looked like a
back down at you!
dragon or a scary beast as the waterspout on the
cathedral may have been a carryover from earlier
pagan beliefs. The gargoyles may also have made the
people inside the cathedral feel safe and protected
from demons and evil spirits!
Later in the Middle Ages the gargoyles became
less frightening, but the way they were made stayed
the same. A sculptor created the gargoyle using a clay
model. Then a stone carver would carve a copy of the
model using tools such as a mallet, a chisel, files, and
a measuring device called a caliper. The mouth, eyes,
and ears of the gargoyle were made much larger so
they could be seen from the ground below. The
finished gargoyle would then be pulled by many
workers to its home at the top of the cathedral.
In the 1500’s lead drainpipes, long pipes that took
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
23
January/February 2008
This gargoyle is on the British Naval Museum.
Photo credit: www.pdphoto.org
Go on a Gargoyle Hunt!
Rosenwald Hall, 1101 E. 58th St., Chicago, IL (as well
as other buildings on campus)
Gargoyles can be in many places around the world
New York, New York – The Cathedral of St. John the
on churches, museums, office buildings, and even
Divine on Amsterdam Ave., many buildings on W.
private homes.
110th St, and the Chrysler Building at the corner of
Some of the cities in the United States that have
42nd St. and Lexington Ave., home to stainless steel
buildings with gargoyles are listed below. If you travel gargoyles!
to any of these places, have fun looking for the
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – The Fisher Fine Arts
gargoyles who are looking at you from their perches in
Library at the University of Pennsylvania, 220 South
the sky!
St. and the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia,
Happy gargoyle hunting!
201 South 21st St.
Learn more about
Asheville, North Carolina – The Biltmore Estate, 1
Approach Rd. Asheville, NC.
Gargoyles
Baltimore, Maryland – The Bank of America Building
(formerly the Baltimore Trust Building), 10 Light St.,
Baltimore, MD.
There are some great gargoyle websites on the
Internet. Find them at our site.
Boston, Massachusetts – Trinity Church in Copley
Square, 206 Clarendon St., Boston, MA.
http://www.spigotsciencemag.com/links.html
Chicago, Illinois – The University of Chicago,
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
24
January/February 2008
An Ancient Water System
People need water to live. We need a fresh supply of water for
drinking, bathing, and cooking. Builders of ancient Rome solved this
problem by using gravity. They built a system of aqueducts that
brought fresh spring water from high in the mountains down into the
city for the one million people that lived there. Eleven aqueducts were
built between 312 BC to AD 226. Some are still bringing water to the
city today.
The system has five main parts. Covered trenches start the water
from the springs. Tunnels take it through mountains. Then, in sealed
pipes, water flows down a mountainside and is pushed up the other side
of the valley and out at the same level it enters. To keep the downward
flow constant, ducts are built above ground on walls. At some places
where the flow must be kept higher than five feet, bridges are built with
a series of arches.
These arcades are one of the grandest monuments of the Roman
Empire. They are graceful, majestic structures, part of an engineering
marvel that visitors to Rome today can enjoy. The Fountain of Trevi
with its splashing, cold, mountain water is a major site for tourists. It is
said if you throw a coin into the fountain, you will return to Rome
someday. Few people realize that the water in that fountain comes from
the mountains through the ancient Roman aqueducts.
Waterspout
There are no gargoyles on this
type of waterspout. This spout is
like a tornado in the water.
Strong winds over water swirl
the water upward, just the opposite of the waterspout that the
itsy, bitsy spider climbed up.
Investigate
How does water get to your house? It probably doesn’t come from an
aqueduct. It might come from a well in your yard or from a reservoir
miles away from your city. Ask some questions and do some research
to find the source of your water.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
25
January/February 2008
Here’s to Your Health
How much water do we
need each day?
Some nutritionists, people
who help us know which foods
and drinks we need, tell us to
drink eight 8- ounce glasses a
day. That’s 64 fluid ounces or
one-half gallon.
Others say we need to drink
one ounce of water for half the
number of pounds we weigh
So if you weigh 100 pounds,
you should drink at least 50 fluid
ounces or over six 8 ounce
glasses of water per day.
A much easier way to make
sure you are getting enough water
is to drink a glass of water with
each meal in addition to whatever
else you drink, AND drink a glass
between meals. Getting enough
water helps us prevent
dehydration.
Thirsty?
Do you know that if you are
thirsty, you are already dehydrating? Drink water often!
Watering our Bodies
About how much of your body is water? 1/4? 1/2? 3/4?
If you guessed 3/4, you are correct! Our bodies are mostly made of
water! Just like the water cycle that affects our weather, we have a
water system in our bodies that must work right for us to survive.
We get the
water into our
system by
drinking it and
eating things
like vegetables
and fruit that
are also mostly
made of water.
The water in
our body is
used to make
blood that nourishes our cells. Our kidneys help to filter out the
minerals that our body no longer needs. We eliminate them from our
bodies in the form of urine. We also eliminate ―used‖ water when we
sweat.
If we don’t have enough water, we become dehydrated and we
have less energy to do things. Next time you are feeling tired after
playing, try drinking a glass of water.
It will perk you right up! Why? Because adding water to your body
replaces the water that is missing in your cells. It’s like giving a car
that’s out of fuel a new tank of gas. When our body has the water in
needs, it becomes hydrated and it works much better.
Do you know…
Soda or pop is NOT a good replacement for water because it
has lots of sugar and calories in it. Plain old fashioned water
is much better for your body.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
26
January/February 2008
How Much Water Do You Drink?
Fill in the table below to keep track of how much water you drink each day for one week. Based on the
table decide whether or not you are drinking enough water. Try drinking a little bit more the following week
until you get up to the amount that is right for you.
Directions: For each day, check off the box for each glass of water you drink. A glass should be 8 fl.oz. or
1 cup. If you drink more than five drinks, check all the extra drinks in the Drink 5 box.
Check the
box for each
Drink 1 Drink 2 Drink 3
glass of
water you
drink.
Drink 4
Drink 5
Total
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
AMAZING FACT
So you think you need a lot of water every day?
Check this out…
Growing enough food for one adult for one day takes
1700 gallons of water. That’s enough water to fill over
40 bathtubs!
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
27
January/February 2008
Making Music with Water
Do you know that people have been making musical sounds using water for centuries? There
are water organs, water drums, and even water gongs. Using different amounts of water in
special instruments, you can make all sounds from the highest to the lowest pitches.
You can make music with drinking glasses, too! Try this:
Line up 8 water glasses.
Put a little water in the first one.
Put a little more in the second one.
Keep putting a little more in each glass.
The last glass should be filled almost to the top.
Tap on the side of each glass with a spoon. Ding!
Do you hear a different musical sound from each glass?
Now make a whole scale: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. To tune the glasses, just take a little water out or put a
little more water in. When they sound just right, try playing Twinkle, Twinkle little Star.
Try playing some other songs that you know.
Who knows, when you get really good at playing your water glasses, you might end up playing a water
glass concerto like the man from Budapest, Hungary below.
Be sure to subscribe to
Spigot Science Magazine.
When you do, we’ll send you an
email to tell you when our next
issue is ready for you.
Subscribe at:
Hear a water glass concert and an interview with a
Russian man who plays the theme from Harry Potter.
Look for similar concerts on the same site.
http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik4rl5b3THE
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
28
January/February 2008
Water Pollution - What Can We Do?
You can help solve
A Really
Big Problem!
We hear about pollution all the time: oil spills, sewer plant
problems, poisons killing fish, drinking water needing to be boiled. Our
precious water keeps getting polluted. We need all the clean water we
can get to survive. What can we do to end this problem?
Big Problems
Small Steps
Imagine that you are on a committee to find ways to provide clean
water for people all over the world. What a big challenge! Here is a
way to help figure out some answers:.
1. Write down what the problem is and why you think it is
happening.
2. Make a list of questions you have about the problem.
3. Pick the most important question to investigate.
4. Use books, the Internet, interviews or other sources to try to find
the answer to your question.
5. Decide what you think is one solution to the problem.
6. Using your favorite computer program or other methods, make a
presentation about how you can solve at least part of the
problem.
Big problems seem to have
impossible solutions. If we break
the problem down into small
parts, we can often do our part to
solve the big problem.
Solving problems is much
easier if we have a STRATEGY,
a plan of attack for the problem.
In the water pollution
problem the strategy is to:
find the problem,
ask questions,
do research, and
choose a solution.
Having a STRATEGY
What can we do to prevent things like this from happening?
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
29
really works!
January/February 2008
The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World
A Mini Research Project
The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World are
places of special beauty and value all around the
globe.
Palau is the world’s youngest and smallest
nation. It is an island that lies 500 miles east of
the Philippines.
The Belize Barrier Reef is in Central America
between Guatemala and Mexico.
The Galapagos Islands are in the Pacific
Ocean 600 miles west of Ecuador.
The Northern Red Sea is in Eritrea, a country
in Northern East Africa.
Lake Baikal is the largest, deepest and oldest
fresh water lake on Earth. It is known as the ―Blue Eye of Siberia‖ in Russia.
The Great Barrier Reef consists of more than 2,800 coral reefs off the northeastern coast of Australia.
The Deep Sea Vents are underwater volcanoes found in some of the deepest places in the ocean. They
are far beyond what a submarine or diver can reach. The first one ever seen by a human was discovered in
1977. It is on the East Pacific Rise near the Pacific Ocean’s Galapagos Islands.
Information about all these wonders can be found at the following website: http://www.wonderclub.com/
WorldWonders/UnderWaterWonders.html. This site is also found at the SPIGOT website: http://
www.spigotsciencemag.com/links.html.
If you are working alone, pick one site, read more about it, and decide what makes it special. Use your
favorite way of presenting information (writing, drawing, singing, dancing, video, etc.) and share the main
features of your underwater wonder with others.
If you are working in a classroom, work with a group and share the
research responsibilities. Use your favorite way of presenting information
(writing, drawing, singing, dancing, video, etc.) and share the main
features of your underwater wonder with others.
Some triggers to get you thinking:
1.What is so special about your underwater wonder?
2.Where is it? Use a map online to find it.
UNDERWATER, in
oceans, lakes, rivers,
streams and ponds!
3.What are its most interesting features?
4.What does it look like?
5.Why would you want to visit this underwater wonder?
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
Guess where 95%
(that’s 95 out of 100) of
all species (types of
plants and animals)
live?
30
National Geographic
January/February 2008
Good Books about WaterBy Dr. Patricia Richwine
SPIGOT is an Amazon Affiliate. You can order the featured books below and others directly from Amazon through the SPIGOT website:
http://www.spigotsciencemag.com/books.html
A Drop of Water by
Gordon Morrison, 2006,
Houghton Mifflin (NY).
A Drop of Water: A Book
of Science and Wonder by
Walter Wick, 1997,
Scholastic (NY).
Do you like to play ―I
Spy‖? In this book about
the water cycle, you can
search for over 40 plants
and animals.
You'll love Walter Wick's
stop-action photography.
It lets you see a single
drop of water better than if
you were looking through
You’ll follow a single drop of water down a
stream and through the countryside. You’ll learn
about caring for the environment, too. If you can’t
find all the plants and animals, there’s a great,
illustrated glossary in the back of the book to help
you. See how many plants and animals you know.
a magnifying glass. You can also see actual
snowflakes and even molecules in motion. And,
if you like to do your own experiments, this book
is for you. It’s full of simple experiments that can
be done with supplies you’ll find in your own
kitchen. Get ready to start your own scientific
investigation of water.
Internet Links for Water Activities
Go to the Internet to find many more activities about water. You will find good links here and
on our website, http://www.spigotsciencemag.com/links.html
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/index.html
This site by the US Geological Survey offers a lot of information about water and its properties. Called Water
Science for Schools, it is a great site for basic information.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html
A table on this site shows where water is on the earth and how much of it there is.
http://www.blurtit.com
Search for water on this site and you will find many activities and questions and answers.
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
31
January/February 2008
Our next issue
Trees
March/April 2008
2008 Spigot Themes
In our next issue, Trees:
March/April
Trees
Anatomy of a
Tree
May/June
The Earth in the Universe
Measuring trees
September /October
Simple Machines
Arbor Day
November/December Patterns and Relationships
Leaves changing colors
A Miracle Tree
Interview with a tree expert
Get a FREE copy of Spigot whenever it’s published….AND, we’ll
even send you a reminder to download it.
All you need to do is SUBSCRIBE at www.spigotsciencemag.com
SPIGOT ~ http://www.spigotsciencemag.com
32
January/February 2008