Water Alarm Clock - History of STEM practicals - Pressure and Displacement

Note: This would be a great followup practical after completing your Pythagoras Cup.
Practical 5 in the History in STEM practical series.
In this practical we are looking at the humble beginnings of the alarm clock. This version is based on a design believed to be used by Plato, to make sure he got up on time. It teaches a number of concepts, such as siphons, as well as displacement and air pressure. It takes the principle of the cup and applies it in a new way. When the water siphons into the vessel, it displaces the air out, forcing it through a whistle, causing it to sound. You can tweak the practical to have the time it takes for the alarm to go off, to suit whatever purpose you like. This is probably more than a single lesson practical, but might be a good collaborative project. Bring the Arts department in to get some cool decorations for the clock. Get the history team to talk about Plato and the philosophers of ancient Greece and turn this practical into a real cross curriculum event.

More about the History in STEM practical Series
This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development.
In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method.
From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history.
There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available.

Other practicals in the series:

• Similar Triangles - History of STEM practicals - How Far Is That Boat?
• Water Alarm Clock - History of STEM practicals - Pressure and Displacement
• Viking Sunstones - History of STEM practicals - Refraction and Birefringence
• Pythagoras’ Cup - History of STEM practicals - Siphon
• Archimedes’ Eureka - History of STEM practicals - Density
• Measuring the World - History of STEM Practicals - Circumference of Circles