For experiment 9.1, you can substitute lye, which is sodium hydroxide. You will also need lye for experiments 2.1, 10.3, and 13.1. You can find lye by performing a simple internet search for caustic soda, lye, or sodium hydroxide. You can also try this link: [What Is Caustic Soda and Where Can You Get It?][1] [1...
**Dried** lima beans work the best. If you cannot get lima beans, try any other dry bean. We chose lima beans because the plants grow quickly. Beans sold for food may be subjected to treatments such as heating that kill the seeds. Unless you need a large volume of seeds, in which case dried beans are acceptable, it’s...
Certainly, the lab equipment is not what you will find in a classroom, but most homeschooling parents do not have the thousands of dollars it would take to obtain the proper glassware and chemicals. Even then, it would be illegal, as you cannot order the proper chemicals without an OSHA-approved storage facility and th...
The sponge slide listed in the Materials section for Experiment 13.1 is labeled Grantia Spicules in the prepared slide set that accompanies the Biology 3rd edition course. ...
Some students have trouble with this experiment. Some never get the temperature to stay constant at boiling, while others can’t get the temperature to stay level while the ice is melting. The most common problem is that students heat the beaker too quickly. If heat is supplied faster than your stirring can distribute i...
You will probably not see the blue with the naked eye. The iodine is turning blue in response to the starch in the cells. As long as the cells and nuclei are visible under the microscope, you are fine. ...
The most important thing to determine is WHAT you measured the temperature OF. If you measured the temperature of the bag, then the temperature will be higher for the carbon dioxide bag. That’s because the carbon dioxide is trapping the heat, and thus, it heats up. Therefore, your thermometer was probably in thermal co...
The prepared slides used in Biology 3rd Edition are the same ones used in the 2nd edition. There is just one extra slide that will not be used in the 3rd edition. ...
Perhaps in some countries, it is hard to find meat tenderizer. However, any large supermarket should carry some. If you cannot find any, you might try a kiwi fruit. It has the same chemical (papain) that meat tenderizers use. Ideally, the fruit should be a tad under ripe. Peel the fruit and just add the whole peeled fr...
Dishwashing liquid formulations have changed over time, making it difficult to find one which contains sodium stearate. This experiment can still be completed with the assumption that the dish soap contains a theoretical sodium stearate concentration. It will work regardless, with the difference that in the end, the mo...