STEM Project

Safe in the Sun

Safe in the Sun

Why is Sun

Screen Important

?

STEM

Pro

ject

Safe in the Sun

The sun produces lots of different types of rays, some you can see and some you can't

It is some of those you can't see that do the damage

STEM

Pro

ject

Sun Screen

A bottle of sun cream does not contain just one substance.

It is a mixture of lots of ingredients, each doing an important job.

One of the main ingredients has the job of stopping too much harmful ultraviolet from reaching the skin.

But, there's problem!

Safe in the Sun

Activity 7 – Lumps

or Powder?

STEM

Pro

ject

Grant is one of our scientists

In our factory we make an ingredient that is used in sun protection cream.

When this ingredient is made it’s in the form of big white lumps, but we cannot use these lumps in our recipe.

STEM

Pro

ject

Lumps or Powder?

When this main ingredient arrives from the factory where it is made it comes as large lumps.

To make the sun cream, however, this needs to be a powder, like this photograph shows

Why do you think it needs to be a powder?

STEM

Pro

ject

Lumps or Powder

The powder in sun screen is expensive, so we’ll use different types of sugar in oil

You need to predict & test which type would be best for a sun screen

How will we make our experiment a fair test?

Who will do what in your groups?

STEM

Pro

ject

Roles & Responsibilities Administrator keeps a written and pictorial

record for the group Resource Manager collects, sets up and

returns all equipment used by the group Communications Officer collects the group’s

ideas and reports back to the rest of the class. Health and Safety Manager takes

responsibility for the safety of the group, making sure everyone is working sensibly with the equipment

Personnel Manager takes responsibility for resolving disputes within the group and ensuring the team works together

STEM

Pro

ject

You will need

4 plastic cups of different types of sugar Cubes Caster Granulated Icing

4 plastic measuring cups with red lids 4 plastic spoons 1 timer

Safe in the Sun

Activity 8 – Grinding

Solids

STEM

Pro

ject

Grinding Solids

As we know, the sun screen active ingredient arrives in lumps and needs to be ground into a powder

Can you find the best material to grind up sugar lumps into powder?

How can we make it a fair test?

STEM

Pro

ject

You will need

Marbles Ball bearings Smarties / beans 3 pots with lids 3 sugar cubes Weighing scales (shared between the class)

Safe in the Sun

Activity 9 – Testing

Sunscreens

Testing Sunscreens

STEM

Pro

ject

You will need

UV beads Small samples of sunscreen A, B and C Tray 3 Plastic cups Teaspoon Pipette

Product Protection