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THE PHYSICAL EDITION

Drops and Doodles

A spill sends Vince following water into paper, up a towel and across different surfaces. Watch him use a wax crayon and a watery wash to turn what he notices into a new duck picture.

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Explore the science

AbsorptionPages 1–2

Water from Vince's cup reaches his pencil duck drawing and spreads into the paper. Absorbent paper takes water into small spaces among its fibres. The damp patch spreads while the pencil outline remains visible.

Ask together: Where has the paper become wet?

Water moving into paperPages 3–4

A towel corner touches the puddle. Its wet patch grows while some puddle remains. Water can move into an absorbent towel without wiping. The water has changed location, rather than vanished.

Ask together: What changes in the towel and in the puddle?

Capillary actionPages 5–6

Only the tip of the towel strip is in the cup, but wetness rises above the waterline. Water's interactions with the paper fibres and with itself help it move through small spaces. Gravity still limits how far it can rise.

Ask together: Where is the waterline, and how high is the wet patch?

Material comparisonPages 7–8

A shallow puddle remains on intact foil beside a damp patch in absorbent paper. Foil does not absorb water like the chosen paper. Water can spread on its surface without soaking inside.

Ask together: Where can you see water sitting on top?

Changing a paper surfacePages 9–10

Vince makes a dense crayon patch. A drop remains above it while nearby bare paper becomes damp. A thick wax coating reduces how readily water wets the paper beneath it. The uncoated part can still take water in.

Ask together: What is different about the two wet places?

Coated and bare paperPages 11–12

Vince tips the sheet and water runs from the waxy area onto adjoining bare paper. A sufficiently large drop may run downhill on a tilted coating and reach absorbent paper. Tiny drops can remain stuck, so this is not a guaranteed result for every crayon or drop.

Ask together: What happens where the wax ends?

Wax-resist artPages 13–14

Vince draws a waxy yellow duck, then brushes a light blue wash across the picture. Colour reaches exposed paper while the dense wax drawing remains visible. Gaps in wax can leave speckles; the coating, rather than yellow colour, matters.

Ask together: Where has the blue wash reached?

Sources and evidence

  1. Water can soak into uncoated absorbent paper and spread beyond its first contact area; a paper towel can take up a small spill.

    American Chemical Society — Waterproof Wonders

    USGS Water Science School — Capillary Action and Water

    Use absorbent, uncoated paper and an ordinary paper towel. Coated or heavily sized paper may behave differently. The wet patch can darken without added colour; its speed and size depend on the materials and amount of water.

    The exact materials pictured have not been physically tried. No fixed soaking time, capacity or instant drying is promised.

  2. With only the lower tip of a paper-towel strip in water, wetness can travel upward above the water surface through the strip.

    USGS Water Science School — Capillary Action and Water

    Keep only the lower tip submerged and hold the strip still. The rise takes time and varies with the towel; no particular height or time is guaranteed.

    Water moves through small wettable spaces in the towel. Gravity still limits the rise; this does not mean gravity has stopped.

  3. A small puddle remains on intact aluminum foil rather than soaking through as it does in the selected absorbent paper.

    American Chemical Society — Waterproof Wonders

    Use intact foil without holes. Water can spread into a shallow surface puddle; perfectly round beads are not required.

    This comparison concerns the chosen foil and absorbent paper. Materials and surface coatings vary.

  4. A thick wax-crayon coating on part of the same paper reduces wetting there; bare paper nearby can absorb water.

    American Chemical Society — Waterproof Wonders

    University of Florida Harn Museum — Watercolor Resist Painting

    Press a wax crayon firmly to cover a broad patch densely. Sparse marks, cracks, washable crayon products and paper sizing can change the result.

    Water may form beads or a shallow pool on the wax. The coating does not make the entire sheet permanently waterproof.

  5. A sufficiently large surface drop can run downhill on tilted wax-coated paper and soak into a bare-paper region it reaches.

    American Chemical Society — Waterproof Wonders

    The picture illustrates runoff from a coated surface onto adjoining absorbent paper, extending the coated-surface demonstration described by ACS. The exact crayon, paper, drop and tilt combination has not been physically tried.

    Tiny drops can stay pinned in place. A larger drop may run when the sheet is tilted, but no particular angle or speed is guaranteed. Water can soak into bare paper when it reaches it.

  6. Applying watery watercolor after a firm wax-crayon drawing can colour exposed paper while leaving the crayon drawing visible.

    University of Florida Harn Museum — Watercolor Resist Painting

    Crayola — A Paper Relief for the Coral Reef

    American Chemical Society — Waterproof Wonders

    Use non-toxic wax crayons, firm coverage and a light watery wash on suitable sturdy paper. Thin pigment can briefly cover wax before beading, and gaps in crayon can leave speckles.

    The picture shows a representative result. The wax coating matters, rather than the yellow colour; results vary with materials.

Water and Wind

Water and Wind, pages 1–2: Wind moves the pinwheel.

Spread 1 / 12

Wind tickles my cheek. Round goes my pinwheel.

Explore the science

Wind & forcesPages 1–2

Wind moves the pinwheel. Wind is moving air. Vince feels it on his cheek and sees it push the pinwheel's angled blades.

Ask together: What tells you that the air is moving?

Currents & eddiesPages 3–4

Water passes the rock. A leaf circles behind it. Most water passes the rock; some circles back in an eddy. Laminar flow is orderly; turbulence is irregular, mixing motion. A swirl alone cannot distinguish them.

Ask together: How does the leaf move compared with the water passing the rock?

Waves & energyPages 5–6

Waves spread from the stream. The duck bobs. The falling stream makes waves that carry energy outward and make the toys bob. The stream's current also carries toys along. Bobbing and drifting are different motions.

Ask together: What moves up and down? What moves along the pond?

BuoyancyPages 7–8

A duck floats. A pebble sinks. Water pushes upward on both objects. This buoyancy balances the duck's weight, but not the pebble's. The pebble's splash makes the rings on the next spread.

Ask together: Where is each object compared with the surface?

When waves meetPages 9–10

Two wave patterns approach one another. When gentle waves overlap, their heights add, briefly raising or lowering the surface. This interference does not erase the waves; they continue through one another.

Ask together: What might happen where the two patterns meet?

Surface tensionPages 11–12

Tiny dents appear beneath the strider’s legs. Surface tension helps support the strider where its water-repellent legs dent the water. The duck floats mainly by displacing water.

Ask together: What do you notice where its legs meet the water?

Suction & pressurePages 13–14

The duck bubbles, fills and squirts. Squeeze underwater: air bubbles out. Release with the opening submerged: the elastic duck springs back, lowering pressure inside. The surrounding water pressure pushes water in. Squeeze above water: water exits through that same opening.

Ask together: What changes when Vince squeezes and then lets go?

Lift & gravityPages 15–16

A paper plane glides forward and down. The throw starts the plane moving. Airflow around its wings produces lift and turns air downward. Gravity pulls down; drag resists motion. In still air, the plane glides forward and gradually descends.

Ask together: Where might the plane go next?

ViscosityPages 17–18

Milk runs. Honey stretches into a thread. Honey's greater viscosity means greater resistance to flow. It makes a slow thread while milk runs readily. Temperature and pouring method also matter; this snack is an observation, not a controlled test.

Ask together: How do the milk and honey move differently?

Draining & swirlingPages 19–20

Foam curves inward toward the drain. Gravity drives water through the drain. Existing turning motion can become a curved inward flow, traced by foam. Here water travels to the outlet, unlike waves crossing the pond. Not every drain swirls.

Ask together: Can you follow the foam toward the drain?

Scientific observationPages 21–22

Vince sketches what he noticed. Vince records something he noticed. Drawings, marks or words let him return to an observation. He does not need all the answers.

Ask together: Which earlier picture matches one of his drawings?

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