The end of the month is fast approaching. It could be your last chance to enter the June Exam Quiz. Write quickly and don’t forget to use both sides of the paper. Your prizes are things that may help if you find yourself undergoing the revision process again in the future… USB plug in coffee warmer/keyboard hoover and shoulder massager kit and retro flip date clock for that authentic deadline feeling! Are you ready?  Your time starts now. You may begin.

Also, while we're on the subject of questions about subjects, how do you feel about climate change? Also, how do you feel about possibly winning a funky wind up and solar radio? We're running another lightning survey to gather your thoughts so please, don't hold back.

Last week's Planet Science Newsletter featured a cartoon which may make you laugh, especially if you've ever wondered why you like science.....

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Looking for something to read? If only there was a Flipside magazine knocking around – hang on! What’s this?  Deep in the bowels of Planet Science (ugh!) there’s a pile of April Flipsides still waiting for owners. ‘Will no one ever read us?’ they wail, ‘will our pages be forever unflicked?’

Not if we can help it!  Let’s give five away immediately.

If you want to win one, send us your name, age and address to: wired-up.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘GIVE US A FLIP’ as the subject. The winners will be picked at random at 5pm on Wednesday 4th July 2007.

Good luck!

Global Warming

One of the impacts of global warming is melting of polar ice and glacier ice on mountains. Do this activity and see what happens when ice melts.

You will need:

• Ice cubes
• Glass
• Water
• Blue food colouring

What to do:

1. Take a glass and place it on a flat, dry surface.
2. Put ice cubes in it until one or two stick out above the brim.
3. Fill the glass with coloured water up to the brim so that it can hold no more water. Be careful not to spill the water.
4. What happens? Will the icecubes melt and cause the water to overflow?
5. As the icecubes melt there may be a little condensation on the sides of the glass but the water does not overflow!

What’s going on?

Water expands when it freezes and occupies more space. It shrinks when it melts.  The polar ice cap of the North Pole (Arctic) is all ice and is floating on water. So the melting of the ice would not cause a rise in sea level.  Just like the ice cubes melting in the glass of water did not make the water level higher.

The polar ice cap of the South Pole (continent of Antarctica) is covered by thick chunks of ice (glaciers) that are resting on land. If the ice here melts then it will cause the sea level to rise.

This activity came from KidsrGreen.

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