Exploding Watermelon Experiment
Channel: Kids Fun Science
Date: 2021-08-07

Exploding Watermelon Experiment
Made for parents and teachers

Science Kits and more
https://elementarysciencen.wixsite.com/sciencekits

My Filming equipment:
Cell Phone Tripod 54 inch Travel Tripod with Bluetooth Remote - https://amzn.to/34REzbB 
Blue Yeti USB Microphone - https://amzn.to/3ePJwGu 
Green screen & lights - https://amzn.to/2XT9Yc1 
Apple iMac 21.5in 2.7GHz Core i5 8GB memory - https://amzn.to/34ZMIe7
iPhone 8 - https://amzn.to/3byn4zw
iMovie for editing

Here is the one we did about 4 years ago
https://youtu.be/pcEAoe8Orks

Here is where I got my rubber bands 
https://amzn.to/3lI7wkC

Safety: Use Safety glasses and do not look directly over the watermelon as it is going to shoot up like a rocket!

This demonstrated show the difference between potential and kinetic energy by exploding a watermelon with rubber bands.  

You will need a watermelon, 300-400 rubber bands, some Safety glasses and do this outside. Mom's don't think its funny doing this experiment indoors. : )
I used size 64 rubber bands, which stretch easily to 17 inches. 3 1/2 x 1/4 (88.9 mm x 6.4mm)

size 64 Rubber bands
https://amzn.to/3lI7wkC

Put your melon on a table. We use a cardboard box to hold it up right.  You will need two volunteers for the experiment as its little hard to pull the rubber band over the melon by your self.  I would recommend one at a time start slipping rubber bands around it.  You want to make a big belt of rubber bands around the melon’s middle, so just keep stacking them on top of each other.

After a few minutes of applying rubber bands, pause and take a look at your melon.  Is it still the same shape?  You may start to see the top and bottom of the melon bulge out around the rubber bands.  It starts to look like the number 8 in the middle. 

As we stretch the rubber bands out to get them around the melon.  But once they’re in place, they start to contract, squeezing the melon.  All that pressure from the outside is forcing the inside of the watermelon to find some place else to go, so it’s will start to bulge. Looks like the number 8 in the middle.
 
Rubber bands are a great example of potential energy.  Potential energy is energy that is stored up, not being used, just waiting to be unleashed.  

Think about when you stretch a rubber band, then let go and it snaps back.  It’s using up its potential energy.
 
When potential energy is used up, it becomes kinetic energy—energy in motion.  So right now all those rubber bands around the watermelon are stretched out and full of potential energy, ready to snap back.  and guess whats going to happen to the melon in their way?
 
Keep adding rubber bands and eventually the strength of the rubber bands’ potential energy will put enough force on the watermelon to squeeze the top and bottom of the melon apart.  The rubber bands will cut through the melon and contract.  What do you expect the melon to do?
 
Once your melon explodes, the rubber bands will have snapped back and used up their potential energy for now.