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Schools

Image Gallery: Physics Lab Roasts Marshmallows With The Sun

More than mere pyromania, John Herrman's classes are filled with fun labs and great experiences.

Ocean City High School physics classes burned paper and roasted marshmallows Friday -- without the benefit of fire. The students used only a mirror and the sun.

Physics teacher John Herrman showed his class several drawings and documents to explain why the items were burning when mirrors were directed at the sun.

The first part of the lab was to burn paper. The students held the mirror and aimed it at the sun. Second, they would hold paper in front of the mirror and aim the sun's reflection on the paper. The paper then began to smoke and eventually started a flame. Black paper worked best for the project.

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To toast marshmallows, a larger mirror was used and the marshmallows were covered in chocolate milk to toast easier. Usually, food coloring is used instead of chocolate milk. After a few minutes, the marshmallows were aflame.

The class ended with the students enjoying the outcome of their successful experiment: toasted marshmallows.

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