Weekly News!!

In this week’s issue of Weekly News, we have: some awesome science experiments, a fascinating story from around the world and a preview to Jack’s Secret Diary – Revealed.

First, here are three fun and educational science experiments. 1) Balloon Hovercraft! This is a really easy and quick experiment but it’s definitely Ted’s favourite! You will need: 1 round balloon, a pop up lid for a drink bottle, glue and an old CD. Remove the pop up top from the bottle and glue it over the hole in the CD. Close the pop up top. Inflate the balloon and stretch it over the pop up top. Finally, place it on a smooth surface, open the pop up top, give it a little push and watch it glide across the table! How this works: Friction is the force that acts between any surfaces that rub together. Molecules in their surfaces bond, meaning they stick together, making it harder for the surfaces to slide past each other. A balloon hovercraft reduces friction by blowing air between the CD and the smooth surface to hold them apart. 2) Full Steam Ahead! This next experiment will involve creativity as well as learning about steam! You will need: a large orange juice carton, paints and a paintbrush, soft metal tubing 3mm wide, a big marker pen, a small candle, double sided tape, water and a jug. Draw a boat shape on the carton and ask an adult to help you cut it out. Next, paint and decorate the boat, let it dry, then punch two holes in the back of the boat, both big enough for the tubing to fit through. Gently bend the tubing twice around a marker pen to create a coil. Bend the rest of the tubing so it’s sits up with space beneath the coil for a small candle. The ends must be able to fit through the holes. Push the ends of the tube into the holes. You could add a deck or chimney to your boat using cardboard, but this is only optional. Use a jug to fill up the tube with water. Hold your fingers over the ends to stop the water leaking out, and place it in water. The end of the tube should be beneath the surface. Stick a small candle under the coil and ask an adult to light it. Your boat should soon start chugging away! How it works: This steamboat works by converting heat energy into motion. The candle heats the water in the metal tube until it turns to steam. Steam takes up more space than water, and as it expands it is forced out of the boat, giving it a push forward. The steam then cools and condenses. The water takes up less space than the steam, lowering the pressure and sucking up cold water from the outside. The candle then heats the water again. This cycle continues and the boat moves forward in a series of pulses. 3) Slime Time! This is Jack’s favourite experiment (and he rarely enjoys learning science) because you can play with the slime in all sorts of ways – it’s not an ordinary slime… You will need: a large bowl, newspaper, a spoon, cornflour, water, some protective gloves and food colouring. Put on your gloves and spread the newspaper all over the surface you are working on. Pour water and cornflour in a bowl in the ratio 1:2. Stir slowly and wait until the mixture becomes a sticky paste. Now, add food colouring and stir thoroughly until the mixture changes colour. Pick the mixture up and see how it behaves. What happens if you squeeze or stretch it? What do you notice about the texture of the slime? Answer in the comments! How this works: The slime is made from polymers – simple molecules (called monomers) arranged in long chains. When the chains are stretched out the liquid flows, however if you apply pressure the chains stick together. This is why your slime behaves differently to other liquids. What did you learn from theses experiments? Answer in the comments!

Moving on, here is a fascinating story from around the world! A well preserved wall painting has been discovered in the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy. Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, which means much of it remains untouched. Archaeologists uncovered the picture of Narcissus, the character from Greek mythology, in a richly decorated house. Narcissus famously fell in love with own image, and can be seen admiring his reflection.

Finally, Jack’s Secret Diary – Revealed. This might be a spoiler alert if you have not yet read this post, so please search up Jack’s Secret before you continue.

Jack recently revealed a section of his special secret diary, so that people would understand all the annoying things he has to do every day (including seeing Ellie and getting told off after playing pranks). However, at the end Jack included a big cliffhanger. He mentioned a big secret that he didn’t want anyone to know about; not even Ted and Ellie. Even though Jack is still fiercely guarding his secret, he might be willing to let a few people know about it. If you manage to solve this riddle that Jack has written, type the answer into the mystery page 663, and you will find out what the big secret really is…

There is a green house. Inside the green house is a white house. Inside the white house there is a red house. Inside the red house there are lots of tiny black houses. What is it?