Doing scientific research at home can seem like a daunting task, but it is not! Following our tips in this article will help you create your own experiments and tests.
You do not need special equipment or resources to perform science at home. In fact, many of the things needed to start experimenting are already part of everyday life.
Everyone has access to sources of natural light, food, water, paper, and average people have lots of books that contain information about nature. The internet is also a source of endless knowledge.
With all these tools, there’s no reason you can’t conduct an experiment, test out a hypothesis, or find answers to questions about plants and animals.
There are several benefits of doing scientific research at home. Not only does it save money, it helps preserve the environment by reducing the amount of expensive testing done in laboratories.
This article will go over some easy ways to begin conducting scientific experiments at home.
Establish your lab environment
Now that you have everything you need, what do you go and do with it? You have to establish an internal laboratory space where you can work!
You will probably want to keep your lab warm and dry so look for a place with good ventilation and adequate light. An easy way to make sure this is done is by using an old computer or phone charger as a lamp!
Most importantly, you should only use chemicals and substances in your home laboratory under careful supervision. Because of the risk involved, doing some experiments yourself may be too much unless you know how to handle them safely.
That being said, there are many ways to explore science through experimentation at home! Here we will discuss several fun projects that can be easily carried out.
Prepare your lab space
Before you get started, make sure you have enough room for your chemicals and equipment! If necessary, start with organizing or clearing out current labs so that you can build up from there.
There are many ways to organize and prepare your work area depending on what types of experiments you will be doing. For example, if you plan to do simple chemical reactions, you can use index cards or pieces of paper as coverings for test tubes and other vessels.
For more advanced projects, you can invest in better testing equipment or additional materials. This way, you’re not having to buy expensive supplies right off the bat!
General tips: remember that safety is one of the most important things when working with chemicals and experimental apparatus. Use appropriate precautions and risk factors will drop.
Be careful not to overdo it though; even small mistakes may cause serious health issues or damage to your device.
Prepare your samples
The second main component of any experiment is preparing your sample. You will need to make sure that you have enough of the test material for the appropriate amount of time!
For example, if experimenting with plants, you would need to make sure you have enough water for them to drink. If doing an analysis of soil, then making sure you have representative amounts of each element in the soil is important.
In both cases, too little water or not representing the correct amount of plant matter means the results cannot be trusted fully. Even pure substances such as acids can be hard to find so do not underestimate the importance of having enough acid to conduct the right experiments!
General tips: remember that chemical reactions move forward over time- they develop exponentially! This means that it takes longer for very small quantities of reagent to react than it does for larger volumes.
This is why it is important to prepare adequate amounts of whatever components you are using in your experiment.
Perform your experiments
Doing scientific research doesn’t just happen, you have to actively participate in it. This can be tricky when you are a busy person, but there are ways to make it possible for you. You can do some of your own experimental work or you can hire someone else to do it for you!
There are many different types of experiments that you can conduct yourself. Some require very little equipment, while others may ask you to invest more money in supplies or time in setting up the experiment. No matter what type of experiment you choose to do, however, we must warn you – preparation is key!
Making sure you are well prepared will help prevent you from acting accidentally during the process, which could cost you valuable materials or waste important reagents.
Keep records
Doing scientific research can be expensive, which is another reason why most people cannot do it unless they are trained in science or have a strong passion for science. Fortunately, you can get some of the best insights into the human body by doing your own experiments!
There are many ways to track how well your home remedies work. You can use simple notes to make a more formal record of what has worked and what has failed, or you can choose the less-structured method where you keep an eye out for symptoms and note down what works for them.
Either way, try to include as much information as possible so that you can compare results later. Make sure to include dates, times, ingredients, and whether the experiment was a success or a failure.
Some things to note: don’t forget to stop experimenting when something doesn’t seem to working! Sometimes a placebo effect happens, where you believe that your treatment will help, even if it does not.
Be familiar with toxic chemicals
Many products contain small amounts of chemical compounds that can have harmful effects on humans when enough is consumed for long periods of time.
These include substances such as formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, alcohols (such as ethanol or propylene glycol), sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) and triclosan.
Many of these are found in cosmetic products and personal care items, including shampoo, moisturizers, makeup, nail polish and toothpaste.
Use safety equipment
Doing science in your home is great, but you must be careful not to forget something very important! What if there was no water? Or what if there were too much water?
There are two main reasons why people get results that do not work when trying to perform experiments at home. The first one is that they use wrong tools or wrong materials to conduct their experiment. For example, using the wrong type of test tube could completely change the end result!
The second reason has to do with how well someone prepared their experiment before conducting it. Some things may have evaporated off, broken down, or decomposed so they can’t be used anymore. Having enough time to prepare is an essential part of doing scientific research at home.
Safety gear such as latex gloves, plastic ware like bowls and cups, and lab coats can help keep yourself professional looking while also protecting you from possible health issues.
Know the signs of toxicity
A common cause of water retention is exposure to or ingestion of additives in food or beverages, such as sodium or sugar content in foods, medication leftover from treatments, or natural supplements like vitamin D.
Sodium and glucose can enter your body through your digestive system so if you are aware of their potential effects, you can watch them for something may be too high.
If you notice your urine changing color, becoming darker with age, or being lighter due to disease or drug use, make changes to reduce water intake and limit added sugars and salt.
Research shows that people who drink more than 2L of plain water per day have normal blood pressure. Unfortunately, most adults only average 1-1.5 litres (0.25-0.
