Titles by Bobby Mercer

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Titles Found: 10

Junk Drawer Algebra (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 14.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Nov 2019

Algebra as a hands-on subject? With this helpful resource, you can create coordinate graphs with candy, simplify algebraic equations with pennies and nickels, use aluminum foil to multiply polynomials (perfect for the FOIL method), examine exponential decay functions with a bouncy ball, and much more. Junk Drawer Algebra proves that you don’t need high-tech equipment to comprehend math concepts—just what you can find around the house or in your recycling bin.

Each of this book’s 50 creative algebra projects includes a materials list and detailed, step-by-step instructions with illustrations. The projects also include ideas on how to modify the lessons for different age and skill levels, allowing anyone teaching children to use this book to excite students. Educators and parents will find this title a handy guide to teach problem-solving skills and algebraic equations, all while having a lot of fun.

Junk Drawer Biology (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 14.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Jun 2020

Unleash your inner scientist with 50 hands-on biology experiments using everyday household items!

Junk Drawer Biology makes learning fun and accessible for kids of all ages. Science educator Bobby Mercer provides step-by-step, illustrated experiments that explain the building blocks of living matter. Aspiring doctors can build a model of human lungs, budding gardeners will germinate beans, and all ages will enjoy a candy DNA model.

Discover the human body, plants, animals, cells, and genetics.
Modify projects to match skill levels from elementary school to teens.
Think further and come up with more questions to answer.

Educators and parents will find this a handy resource to teach children while having a lot of fun. Perfect for ages 9-12 and anyone interested in hands-on science!

Junk Drawer Chemistry (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 16.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Oct 2015

There’s no need for expensive, high-tech lab equipment to conduct chemistry experiments—you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Turn an old LED flashlight into an Energy Drink Tester using aluminum foil and electrical tape. Mix cornstarch and water to make Non-Newtonian Goo. Use a 9-volt battery and thumbtacks to break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Create edible Sweet Crystals from a saturated sugar solution. Or construct your own Three-Penny Battery from galvanized washers, pennies, vinegar, and scrap cardboard.

Here are more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated—atoms, compounds, solutions, mixtures, reactions, thermodynamics, acids and bases, and more.

Junk Drawer Ecology (3 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 16.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB

Published Dec 2021

Kids of all ages can use recycled and repurposed household items to complete exciting and green ecology experiments

Junk Drawer Ecology is a hands-on guide to saving the planet. Fun, free science activities help kids of all ages learn about the science of our planet’s ecology. The environment is changing every day, and we can help slow that change. Using free or low-cost things children already have around their homes, these activities are perfect to stimulate young brains.

Readers will learn about the importance of the polar regions without leaving their communities, about new ways to cut our dependence on fossil fuels, about all forms of pollution, and how they can make a difference.

Junk Drawer Ecology will give inquisitive kids many hours of fun and help them learn at the same time.

Junk Drawer Engineering (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 16.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published May 2017

There’s no need for expensive, high-tech materials to test your engineering skills—you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Each hands-on project in this book will challenge you to come up with a unique solution to a specific design problem. Construct a Pasta Bridge strong enough to support a heavy load, using only dry linguini and glue. Build a Marble Roller Coaster from recycled cardboard tubes, in which the marble “car” jumps a track to land safely at its final destination. Or design an Egg Catch device to safely capture a free-falling egg. Test yourself or use them for friendly competitions—who can come up with the best solution?

These 25 open-ended design challenges can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a suggested materials list, step-by-step instructions with illustrations for one possible solution, and suggestions on how to adapt each challenge for different ages and skill levels. Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children problem-solving skills and applied physics, all while having a lot of fun.

Junk Drawer Geometry (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 16.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Oct 2018

Unleash your child's inner mathematician with hands-on geometry projects!

For many children, geometry is best understood through hands-on activities. Junk Drawer Geometry provides 50 creative project ideas that make learning fun and engaging. Children will build polygons with pipe cleaners, explore Mobius strips with index cards, and model the Pythagorean Theorem with cheese crackers. Each activity includes a materials list and detailed instructions with illustrations. These projects introduce problem-solving skills and applied geometry in an exciting way.

Educators and parents will find this a handy resource to excite any classroom or home learning environment. Modify lessons for different age groups and make geometry an adventure!

Junk Drawer Physics (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 16.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Jun 2014

Finalist for the 2015 AAAS / Subaru SB&F Excellence in Science Book exemplify outstanding and engaging science writing and illustration for young readers

A children’s instructional book on how to use readily available materials to turn the house into a science lab

Physics teacher Bobby Mercer provides readers with more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies, or less. Turn a plastic cup into a pinhole camera using waxed paper, a rubber band, and a thumbtack. Build a swinging wave machine using a series of washers suspended on strings from a yardstick. Or construct your own planetarium from an empty potato chip canister, construction paper, scissors, and a pin. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated. Junk Drawer Physics also includes sidebars of fascinating physics facts, such as did you know the Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in summer than in winter because its steel structure expands in the heat? Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children about physics topics that include magnetism, electricity, force, motion, light, energy, sound, and more, and have fun at the same time.

The Flying Machine Book (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 16.99

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published May 2012

2012 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award Winner in Technology Category

Calling all future Amelia Earharts and Chuck Yeagers—there’s more than one way to get off the ground! The Flying Machine Book will show you how to construct 35 easy-to-build and fun-to-fly contraptions that can be used indoors or out. Better still, each of these rockets, gliders, boomerangs, launchers, and helicopters can be made for little or no cost using recycled materials. Rubber bands, paper clips, straws, plastic bottles, and index cards can all be transformed into amazing, gravity-defying flyers, from Bottle Rockets to Grape Bazookas, Plastic Zippers to Maple Key Helicopters.

Each project contains a materials list and detailed step-by-step instructions with photos, as well as an explanation of the science behind the flyer. Use this information to modify and improve your designs, or explain to your teacher why throwing a paper airplane is a mini science lesson.

The Racecar Book (4 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

Trade Paper Price 14.95

Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Oct 2013

You may not be old enough to drive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t satisfy your need for speed. Author and physics teacher Bobby Mercer shows how to use mousetraps, rubber bands, chemical reactions, gravity, and air pressure to power fast-moving vehicles. Each of the 25 easy-to-build racecars is constructed for little or no cost using recycled and repurposed materials. Retrofit a toy car with a model plane propeller to make an air-powered Prop Car. Turn a potato chip can, a rubber band, and weights into a Chip-Can Dancer. Or use an effervescent tablet in a small canister as an impressive rocket engine for a Mini Pop Car. Every project in The Racecar Book contains a materials list and detailed step-by-step instructions with photos for easy assembly. Mercer also includes explanations of the science behind each racecar, including concepts such as friction, Newton’s laws of motion, kinetic and potential energy, and more. These projects are perfect for science fairs or design competitions, or just having fun!

The Robot Book (3 Formats) ›

By Bobby Mercer

PDF Price 9.99

PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket

Published Oct 2014

How to use reuse and recycle components and supplies to build a variety of devices

The 20 easy-to-build robots in this project book can be constructed for little or no cost using common household objects and repurposed materials. From learning how to turn a toothbrush, an old cell phone or pager, and scrap wire into a Brush Bot, or how to hack a toy car to hotwire a Not-So-Remote Bot, each hands-on project contains a materials list and detailed step-by-step instructions with photos. Explanations of the science and technology behind each robot—including concepts such as friction, weight and mass, center of gravity, kinetic and potential energy, electric circuitry, DC vs. AC current, and more—are also included.