Nails for Breakfast

Today we’ll use what we know about metals to identify a special ingredient in our cereal! We’ll also learn how this mineral helps keep us healthy and strong.

 MATERIALS:

  • Corn Flakes or similar cereal containing iron

  • Ziploc bags

  • Plates/bowls

  • Magnets

  • Water

TIME ESTIMATED:

30 minutes

DIRECTIONS: 

  1. Pour a small pile of cereal onto your plate.

  2. Use your fingers to crush the pieces into tiny pieces. Spread out the pile to make a thin layer of crumbs on the plate.

  3. Bring your magnet close to the layer of crumbs without touching any. Do any of the pieces seem to move?

  4. Next, press the magnet down on the crumbs but don't move it around. Lift it up and look underneath to see if anything is clinging to the magnet.

  5. Now, throw away your pile of crumbs and clean off your magnet to move on to the next step.

  6. Pour some water onto your plate and make a few cereal flakes float on the surface.

  7. Bring your magnet close without touching the flakes. Can you get them to move across the water?

  8. Now we’re going to try and find what’s inside the cereal that’s attracted to the magnet. To do this, start by pouring one cup of cereal into an empty Ziploc bag.

  9. Fill the bag halfway with warm water and carefully seal it, being sure to leave an air pocket inside.

  10. Shake the bag for a minute or two to mix the cereal and water. The cereal will begin to dissolve in the water and make a brown, soupy mixture. Let this sit for 20 minutes.

  11. Now put your magnet underneath your bag and slosh it around while keeping the magnet still.

  12. Hold the bag and magnet together and flip them over, again being careful not to move the magnet. Look underneath the magnet and see what it’s caught!

Think Like a Scientist!

  • What types of things are usually attracted to magnets?

  • Are there any vitamins or minerals we eat that could be attracted to magnets?

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

In this experiment, we used a magnet to find a special ingredient in our breakfast cereal— iron! Objects such as paper clips or refrigerator doors are typically attracted to magnets, and all of these things are made of metal. Iron is an example of a metal, and it’s also an important mineral we eat for our health. Our bodies use iron for many different jobs. One of the most important is making the hemoglobin in our blood. Hemoglobin's role is to carry oxygen from our lungs to every part of our body.

Further exploration:

Today you used your observational skills to learn something new about the breakfast cereals you might see everyday. Learning to question things you see everyday and why they work the way they do can lead to many new, interesting discoveries! By asking questions about things around them, scientists can learn a lot about the way the world works!

ANTICIPATED CONCERNS:

This experiment might get messy!

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