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your election victory,” Drake said later, handing Alexandra his business card. “Call us. Anytime.”
    “Oh, thank you,” she gushed. “You were awesome. Who’d have thought it? Haley. Of all people. Naturally, she was jealous of me.” Alexandra tossed her hair and smiled quite dazzlingly. “Most people are.”
    “All in the line of duty,” said Drake, his heart pitter-pattering.
    Nell rolled her eyes. “I think I’m going to be sick.” And indeed, she looked rather ill.
    Later at the lab, Drake wrote in his notebook, sighing just a little as he did so.
    Evil plot crushed forever.
Order restored.
Alexandrathe Winner.
Received one autographed
8 × 10 glossy photo.
        Paid in full.

A s an amateur scientist, it is handy to have your own work space or laboratory. This can be as simple as a table in the laundry room or a desk in your bedroom. By following these simple steps, you can equip your lab with some essential tools, just like Drake and Nell’s!
    1 . You will need a lab notebook. A spiral notebook works fine. Record everything in your notebook: your hypothesis, your procedure, your observations, your results—even your flubs!
    A good lab notebook contains
    1) experiment title
    2) method (what you plan to do)
    3) hypothesis (what you think will happen)
    4) procedure (what you did)
    5) observations (what you saw)
    6) results (what actually happened)

    2 . Find a lab coat. Lab coats protect your clothes and skin from chemicals. (Plus, they’re spiffy.) Large, white, button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up work well. If you can’t find one around your house (ask first!), they’re available at secondhand clothing stores. Write your name on it using a permanent marker.
    3 . Keep a sharp lookout for equipment. For example, start collecting different sizes of bottles and jars (both plastic and glass), different sizes of corks and rubber stoppers, cotton balls and cotton swabs, wire, tubing, balloons, duct tape, a magnifying glass, string … anything you might need for an experiment. (Make sure you ask before taking.)

    4 . All good scientists label everything they’re working on. Keep a roll of masking tape and a marker on hand for labeling.

    Congratulations! You are now an official amateur scientist genius!
    Good Science Tip
    Read through the instructions and set out all needed materials before beginning the experiment. Use only clean equipment. Record each step of the experiment’s procedure in your lab notebook.

I n the story “A Matter of Life or Death,” Drake and Nell used the scientific method . Based on their observations of Zappy, they developed a hypothesis . A hypothesis is a scientist’s best guess as to what is happening. Like all good scientists, Nell jotted the hypothesis in her lab notebook. It might have looked like this:
    Based on our observations, we believe Zappy is gaining extra electrons from the angora blanket, then transferring the electrons to the aluminum pie plate through his nose.
    After a scientist develops a hypothesis, the hypothesis must be proven. The scientist must conduct experiments, following a procedure —step-by-step instructions. While sometimes a scientist follows a set procedure, other times a scientist creates new steps, going beyond what has been done before. In your experiments, you will follow a set procedure. So sharpen those pencils and get ready to go!

A s a good scientist, you will doubtless want to know the truth about Zappy. (Oh, the truth is quite awful, but you probably want to know just the same. After all, scientists are a curious sort.) You wonder: just how badly did Zappy suffer?
    The following activity will help you understand the power of static electricity. (No wonder Caitlin cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried cried cried!)
    Beware. It’s a terribly sad activity.
    MATERIALS
    • aluminum pie plate (small ones work best)
    • blown-up balloon
    • your hair
    • box of