Y5-6 Science with Dr Duke (Jul 2022)
Many will be familiar with Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2, where c is the speed of light. Well, with a few basic items found in most kitchens it is possible to measure the speed of light and this is exactly what Year 5 and 6 did!
The pupils were introduced to kitchen science experiments in July to determine the speed of light. Using a microwave oven and many bars of chocolate, the speed of light was measured. Having removed the circulating parts of the microwave, a chocolate bar was placed in the oven which was then switched on at low power for 10 seconds. The children then measured the gap between the melted parts which represented the wavelength of the microwaves.
The children then used their measurements and an equation provided and worked together to calculate a value for the speed of light. Wow! The best part of all this was that we got to eat the chocolate after the experiment!! SCIENCE IS FUN - Well done Y5&6!
