Blood... white cells, red cells... (Science Experiment included)
Blood... white cells, red cells...
So my son somehow managed to cut himself, and like I have heard more than once:
"This is just a boy thing."
So ok, little boy, you keep engaging my creative side with your little stunds and accidents.
Thank you!!
Today I decided to search for an interesting experiment to do with him, since, as always he has questions and experiments are the best way to answer him. Today's experiment will focus on blood, after last nights little accident.
What does blood consist off?
Our blood is made up of liquid and solids, mainly out of three parts :
- Plasma (55%)
- White blood cells and platelets (<1%)
- Red blood cells (45%)
Liquid Part: Plasma
Plasma is the liquid part of our blood. It is mainly made out of water, salts and protein. Interesting to know is that over half of your blood (55%) is plasma.
https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7cf1dd31df3d360f71879154025f9b37-c
Image Source by qph.ec.quoracdn
Solid Part
Red blood cells
The red blood cells are responsible for delivering the oxygen from our lungs to our tissues and our organs. The red blood cells live about 120 days before new ones are generated.
Image by Polygon Medical
White blood cells
The white blood cells are our infection fighters. This means that they are part of our immune systems and helps to fight infections. Some white blood cells only live for a day, but some can live longer.
Image Source fi.edu
Platelets
The work of platelets is to help our blood clot when we have a cut. Platelets can live about 6 days before new ones are generated.
Image Source by cdn2
Science Experiment: What is blood made of?
Image Source by icanteachmychild.com
You will need the following:
- Large plastic container
- Redwater beads
- Ping-pong balls
- Water
- Red craft foam
Instructions
- Hydrate the water beads by following the instructions of the package. (Take note of the time it takes to hydrate the water beads before you continue with the other instructions.)
- Use the craft foam to cut it into small pieces to create platelets.
- Put the platelets, ping pong balls into the plastic container where the water beads are already.
- Let the children/learners play around.
- Ask them which ones are the platelets, the red blood cells, the white blood cells.
- Let them explore and tell you what they are feeling.
Your post has been selected as the @steemiteducation Post of the Day:)
Join us in our Discord channel here to drop your post in our post promotion page, and make sure to use the #steemiteducation tag in the post itself.
Hi, @tanyaschutte. Interesting article. It will be a great guide for parents or generally any people out there who are trying to make their kids interested in the field of biology. However, I would like to point out a few things to improve your article.
Even though it varies from one people to another, if it were up to me, before writing about the steps of the experiment, I would write more regarding the blood cells. It will be educational and fun.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think most of the images you were using are copyrighted by its original author. SteemSTEM community is quite particular about those, while I agree it is difficult to find images that can suit our needs in very restrictive search criteria, I would avoid using copyrighted picture unless you have obtained permission from its designated author. Please refer here if you're not familiar with what I was talking about.
If you have any problem regarding STEM-related articles, you can join steemSTEM Discord Channel and we will be glad to assist you.
I love this type of article because besides of education they are very funny to the smallest ones they will love to put their hands and play with those globulos banks and red blood cells!