Borderland

From the News You Can Use Department: I’ll explain how to make a large hole in a regular-sized piece of paper.

I mentioned in my last entry that this would make a good bar bet. While I was on the phone for an audio conference last night I amused myself making a diagram with Appleworks Draw and Fireworks, that might help with my explanation. I got this idea from Invitations to Science Inquiry, by Tik Liem.

The question is, can you make a hole in a sheet of paper that a person could step through? You need a sheet of paper and some scissors. (I haven’t tried this with a napkin, but if you could do THAT, you might really have a winner.)

• Fold the paper in half.
• From the folded edge, cut in most of the way to the other side of the paper.
• Make several of these cuts, about an inch apart. For larger (flimsier) holes, make the cuts closer together.
• Turn the paper around and make another series of cuts from the open side of the paper toward the folded edge. These would be between the previously-made cuts.
• Finally, cut through the folds so that you open up the middle of the paper. Don’t mess with the end tabs.

This is supposed to be a demonstration of a physical change in matter. An interesting observation by one of my kids was that no paper was removed. In science lessons these activities can serve as discrepant events – activities that arouse curiosity and stimulate questions that lead to inquiry.

Try it and see what you think. I’ll bet that if you do it once, you’ll do it again to see what happens if…