Together Autumn 2016 | Page 27

Activity 3 Which is the best biscuit for dunking? Any proper tea drinker will know that dunking a biscuit in your brew is an art form that takes years of practice to master. Too long in and it crumbles. Too short and you don’t get the full soggy pleasure. The method In the Battle of the Biscuits we need to: • Select a good variety of biscuits - from the humble digestive to a custard cream. • Conduct multiple tests using a stopwatch (one on your iPad or phone would do the trick). • Make fresh cups of tea for each biscuit • Submerge biscuits up to 50% into the tea and hold until they reach breaking point. Which biscuit will emerge as the victor in your tests? Activity 4 Teabag or Not teabag that is the question? Around 1908, Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea merchant, began sending samples of tea to his customers in small silken bags. Some assumed that these were supposed to be used in the same way as the metal infusers and by put the sample bag into the pot, rather than emptying out the contents. It was therefore by accident that the tea bag was born! Make a cup of tea in a clear container. Watch to see the shapes and patterns that are made as the tea is added to the water. You could look at the shape of teabags, watching to see which promotes the best, fastest colour-pyramid, round, square or loose leaf. Activity 2 Which is the best washing up liquid for making bubbles? How long does it take for the water to go completely brown? Make up some Bubble liquid - perhaps using a cheap, mid range and expensive liquid or altering the proportions of ingredients in the recipe. Activity 5 Can you make the water clean again? The fool proof bubble recipe To make the perfect bubble, simply mix the following ingredients together. Filtration – is it possible to get the tea back out of the water and make it clean again? How might you do this? • 95% water These activities encourage an inquiring attitude. • 3% washing up liquid They help to develop skills: • 2% glycerine Use your hands, straws, hoops - anything that you can think of that has holes in it to make bubbles. Some tips to help your bubbles last: Bubbles like... Bubbles don't like... • Clean things • Dirty things • Humidity - when there is • Pointy things lots of moisture in the air • Dry things • Wind • Problem solving • Predicting • Data Collection-measuring & recording accurately • Using safe techniques with instruments & materials You will discover that materials can change and have certain properties and connect maths purposefully with other disciplines. 27