Density: Penny Boats

How can you make a penny float?

Each student gets a 6" square of aluminum foil, with which he/she designs a boat that can carry a penny payload. 

The goal is carry a larger payload than anyone else.

There are several ways to present this activity:

--Each student gets one square of foil to make their boat and they compete with that original boat.
--Each student gets one square of foil, as well as access to water and pennies to test.  They then get a second square of foil to make their competition boat.
--Each student gets one square of foil, as well as access to water and an alternate payload.  They then get a second square of foil to make their competition boat.
--Each student gets a square of paper to use for design purposes.  They then get a square of foil to make their competition boat.

Depending upon how you choose to present this, you can make it a single day activity or a two day activity.

Graphing: Class Data

A day or two before you want to have the students create the graphs, have the students complete a questionnaire.  Here are the questions I've asked (it provided me with enough data for groups of students in 3 classes):

• In which month were you born?
• How many siblings do you have?
• What's your favorite color?
• Whats your favorite food?
• What's your favorite TV show?
• What's your favorite movie?
• What's your favorite book?
• What's your favorite subject/class?
• What's your favorite sport?
• What's your favorite outdoor winter activity?
• What's your favorite outdoor summer activity?
• What's your favorite season?
• What's your favorite restaurant?
• Who's your favorite musician/band?
• What's your least favorite vegetable?
• What color are your eyes?
• In which state were you born?
• How do you get to school?
• What's your zodiac sign?
• What pets do you have?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?

 

 

Cut the responses apart and put them in groups.

 

Divide students into groups and provide each group with one set of data. 

 

Students sort data and decide on an appropriate way to graph it.

 

Some of the data sets will require more work than others.  Some of it will need to be put into groups before it can be graphed.  For example, you will probably get a large variety of responses for "What is your favorite restaurant?", so the students may need to graph types of restaurants (i.e. Italian, Chinese, fast food, etc.) rather than specific restaurant names.  On the other hand, "What's your favorite season?" is pretty straight forward and easy to graph. 

Graphing: Candy Data

This is a pretty classic activity for students learning to graph (but older students who are reviewing graphing enjoy it too)...

Each student needs a snack-size pack of candy that comes in multiple colors: M&Ms, Skittles, Smarties, etc.

Sort the candy by color, then graph - bar graph, pictograph, pie chart or all of the above.

Measurement: Mix & Match Mass

This activity comes from Science Spot. Visit her site to find a ready-made-worksheet (and spend awhile looking around... you'll find a whole year's worth of great activities).

Provide students with a container of objects - I literally wander around my room gathering a collection of objects. Make sure you have objects that have a small mass (1 g or less) as well as larger/more massive objects (not pictured here), and that the sum of masses of all objects totals at least 400 g.

Students choose items (one or many) from the container that they believe will be closest to the target mass. After making their guess, they find the actual mass of the object(s) they selected.

Density: Sink or Float?

In its most basic form, preschool students can complete this activity, but it can be a worthwhile experience for elementary students and can be made a bit more challenging for middle school students.

Provide students with an assortment of objects (make sure some float and some sink - some good floaters are aluminum foil, ping pong balls, candles, eye droppers).

Students hypothesize which objects will float and which will sink.  Older students can write down their hypothesis, while younger students can simply divide the objects into two piles.

Students then test the objects in a tub of water.

Older students could be challenged to calculate the actual density of each object. 

Graphing & Extrapolating: How Many Licks Does it Take?

Last week, we started to find out How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Roll Pop.  Last time largely focused on data collection, which is a great skill, but doesn't answer the question at hand. 

Since we weren't able to complete enough licks to get our answer, we need to graph the data and then extrapolate to find the answer.  You can do this by hand or using Excel. 

Here are the instructions for creating the graph on Excel*
Open a new excel worksheet

Label column A "Number of Licks"

Label column B "Mass"

Fill in number of licks, continuing by 10s until you reach 200 (yes, go to 200 even if you didn't get anywhere near that many licks done).

Fill in corresponding masses

Highlight the numerical data (don't include the column titles in your highlighting)

Go to Insert, then Chart

Click on XY Scatter, then click Next

Click Next

Enter a chart title (name of lab), the x-axis label (Number of Licks), and the y-axis label (Mass (g))

Click Next

Select the option to place the chart as a new sheet

Click Finish

Click on one of the points on the graph - all the points should be highlighted

Go to Chart, then Add trendline

Click Okay

Click on the legend and delete it

Double click on the numbers on the y-axis.

Click on Scale

Change Minimum to 0

Double click on the background of the graph

Set area to none

Print the graph

Draw a horizontal line at the value you had for the stick and wrapper

At the point where the line you drew hits the line on the graph, draw a vertical line to the x-axis.

Estimate the value for where the line hits the axis - that is the number of licks it would take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop



*I wrote these instructions using an older version of Excel, which is still what I have access to. If you use a newer version and find that some of the terminology needs to be changed, please let me know.  Also, please let me know if something is unclear or you just aren't sure about something and I'll do my best to help.

Measurement: How Many Licks Does it Take?

Remember the old Tootsie Roll Pop commercial...



This lab addresses that very important question, How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? 

There are quite a few scientific skills that go with this lab...
...scientific method
...measuring mass
...collecting data
...graphing data
...extrapolating based on data gathered

For today, we'll focus on the first three things listed.  We'll come back to the graphing and extrapolating next week.

Before we begin, there are a few assumptions being made in this lab

1. The center of the pop is the stick.
2. The pop is made of a uniform material.

Question:
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?

Hypothesis:
If I lick the pop _____ times, then I will reach the center.

Procedure:

1. Measure the mass of the pop and wrapper.  Record.
2. Lick the pop 10 times.
3. Measure the mass of the pop and wrapper.  Record.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 five more times (or as many as class time allows). 
5. Finish the pop.
6. Measure the mass of the stick and wrapper.  Record.

Graph the data.
You can have the students graph the data by hand and then draw in a best fit line to determine how many licks it would take.  Or you could have the students use Excel to graph the data. 

Teacher Notes:
**Make sure you define a lick before you start.  They can't be "dainty" or they'll never gather enough data and their graph will be unusable.  Define a lick as putting the pop in their mouth, twirl it around once and removing it. 


Tune back in next Monday for step-by-step instructions for creating graph (including the best fit line/trend line) in Excel. 

I know, you aren't sure you can wait a whole week for such exciting information.  Try to contain yourself.  And, while you're waiting, go find yourself a Tootsie Roll pop and start licking... :)

Exploring Water with a Pipette

Small children, kindergarten and 1st grade students (and even some preschoolers) can be taught to use a pipette.  This activity is a great way to have those young students learn about water, use a pipette and have some fun.  Older students will enjoy the activity as well (rooms full of teachers will enjoy it too). 

Provide each student with the following set-up:

A paper towel with a piece of wax paper on top of the towel.  A small cup of water and a pipette next to the wax paper. 

Begin by showing students the pipette, naming the bulb and stem. 

Walk students through the process of using a pipette:

--Squeeze the bulb

--Place the stem in the water

--Release the bulb

--Remove the stem from the water

--Squeeze the bulb a small amount to release a drop of water. 

Guide the students through the following exercises:

--Make a single drop on the wax paper.

--Use the pipette to pick up the drop of water.

--Move the drop of water around the piece of wax paper.

--Make 2 or 3 drops of water on the wax paper and push the drops together.

--Split the drop of water into smaller drops.

--Make a picture using drops of water (a face, for example).

Without even trying, the students will learn a lot about the nature of water by observing the shape of the drops, watching the drops come together, and struggling to separate the drop into smaller drops. 

With older students, you'll discuss adhesion, cohesion and surface tension, maybe even mentioning Hydrogen bonds. 

With younger students you'll discuss what you saw happening and the general idea that the water likes to stick to itself. 

If your students are on a roll with this activity, here are a few extentions you can use:

1. Have the students make drops of oil and/or rubbing alcohol on the wax paper.  Guide them through the same exercises and above and see if these liquids behave in the same manner as water.
2. Have students make their drops of water on other materials: paper towels, aluminum foil, plastic wrap.  How does the water behave on each of the surfaces? 

******

Activity from Linda Burroughs, The College of New Jersey, presented at the 2010 New Jersey Science Teachers Association Convention



Gummy Bear Lab

This is one of my all-time favorites!

I use this lab at the beginning of the school year, when we're reviewing measurement.  However, it is equallly apprpopriate for the study of osmosis.  (As fate would have it, I first did this lab with my 7th graders who go on to study life science, including osmosis.  When we got to osmosis, they made the connection back to our measurement study.  It was great, and I've never considered doing it any other way, or with any of my other classes).

The procedure is simple enough....

Each student gets a gummy bear*.  The gummy bear gets measured thoroughly: length, width, height and mass.  Volume and subsequently density can be determined.

The gummy bear then spends a night in a cup of water.

When the students return the next day, the bears get measured once more (after students get over the shock of seeing their newly enlarged gummy bear).

Conclusions are drawn.

In my experience, this lab leads to all kinds of questions for further experimentation... What if I place my gummy bear in Coke/tea/milk/etc?  What if I leave my gummy bear in the water for 2 days?  What if I allow my newly enlarged gummy bear to sit out for a day?  What if I use a gummy worm instead of a gummy bear?  If you have the time and resources, it's a great opportunity for students to design their own experimental process and carry it out. 


*I tried to use a gummy worm one time, when I had some at home.  It didn't work, it completely fell apart.  Fortunately, it was just me playing around at home.  For that reason, always do a test run on the gummy bears you plan to use with your students.  You really want a gummy product that's going to hold up, at least for the initial experiment.

States of Matter Dance

Get your students out of their desks and moving, acting like molecules in the different states.

Solid: students are clustered together, minimal movement

Liquid: students move a bit away from each other, but still close enough to reach out and maintain contact, slow walking and arm movements

Gas: students break away from each other and try to spread out as far as they can, walking and moving their arms at a rapid pace

*Try playing a game of Simon Says using these movements
*Try to find music to match each state of matter
*Have students write a story about what it's like to be a molecule that spends time in each state

Step Through an Index Card

Here's a challenge to throw at your students: Hand them each an index card and a pair of scissors and tell them to find a way to step through their card (their whole body needs to pass through the card).  [You could use a piece of paper instead of the index card, it's just not quite a dramatic.]

Here's how it's done...
(Well, one way it can be done.  I wouldn't be surprised if your students came up with another). 

Fold the card in half, length-wise.

Make cuts, as shown below.

Unfold the card and cut along the fold.  BUT, do not cut the two end sections!!

Gently pull the card apart and you'll have a loop you can step/pass through.

Oobleck

Begin your class by reading Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss.

Then have your students make their own Oobleck:
--Mix 3 spoonfuls of cornstarch with 2 spoonfuls of water. 

Next comes play time...
Students stick their hands in the Oobleck to see what it feels like and how it behaves.  They should try some of these other tests as well, recording their results after each one:
--Poke it quickly
--Poke it slowly
--Stir it fast
--Stir it slowly
--Pour it
--Roll it into a ball
--Set objects on it

Now students need to decide if the Oobleck is a solid or a liquid.  Make them defend their decision in a written statement.  Perhaps you'll even get a debate going between students. 

You've actually created a suspension that acts as both a solid and a liquid.

**Do NOT try to get rid of your Oobleck by putting it down the drain - just put it in the trash.  Or better yet, allow the water the evaporate and put the dried cornstarch in a plastic bag for your next batch of Oobleck.

Yay and Yuck Poster

This is a way to introduce your students to a new chapter/unit, or the whole textbook/curriculum at the beginning of the year.

Provide students with a sheet of paper, which they will divide into two columns - one is the Yay column and the other is the Yuck column.

The students then look through the chapter/unit/book.  They will sketch pictures of things they're excited about (Yay) and things they're dreading (Yuck) on their paper. 

It's a nice way to give the students an overview of the upcoming material as well as get some insight as to how they feel about what's coming.

******
Idea from the 2007 Maitland Simmons Life Science Institute.

Safety: Contact Lenses

As you've read through various lists of safety rules, you've no doubt encountered rules about wearing contacts in the laboratory, perhaps that rule is even on the safety contract you provide to your students.  Do they know why it's there?  Do you know why it's there?

Here's a simple demonstration to show your students.  It's very similar to the Capillary Action in Action demonstration used when studying water and adhesion.

On an overhead transparency, draw a picture of an eye (draw it big, so it takes up the whole sheet).  Then out of a second transparency, cut out a circle that's about the same size as the iris - that's your contact lens.

On demonstration day, place your giant eye on the overhead projector.  Then place the contract over the eye.  Place a few drops of colored water (or pure food coloring, though it goes further if you dilute it) at the edge of the contact and watch what happens.

The water is pulled under the transparency, through capillary action and adhesion.

This very same thing happens if a person wearing contacts gets something splashed in their eye - the substance will get "pulled" under the contact, potentially causing greater harm and more pain. 

So remember, wear those goggles!

Inference Folders

One of the skills students need to develop as they learn to think like scientists is inferring. 

This is a simple activity to assemble, and is a good way to reuse old manilla folders and calendars.

Place a calendar picture inside a manilla folder; attach it with a piece of two of tape or a quick swipe of a glue stick.  Then, cut several small windows into the folder at various locations (cut on three sides, so you're left with a flap that can be opened and closed).  Number the windows in the order you'd like the students to open them.  Seal the edges of the folder with tape or glue. 

When students get a folder, they open the first window and observe what's inside.  Based on what they see, they need to infer what's inside.  They will then open the second window and add that information to what they previously gathered and refine their inference.  They will continue in the same manner until they've opened all the windows. 

At this point, your students will want to open the folder.  But, most of the time, scientists can't just "open the folder" - if they could, they wouldn't need to infer.  Scientists have to work with the information they have.  The best they can do is find ways to gather more information. 

Survey of the Science Textbook

This is the book for which the survey below was written.

Here’s one way to introduce your students to their new textbook and familiarize them with some of its features.

It’s also something that students can work on while you’re doing some of the other beginning of the year paperwork.

This is obviously something that would need to be personalized to your textbook, but I’ve provided my version to give you some ideas of where you can take the activity.

1. The TITLE of your textbook is _____

2. The text is written by (choose one)
a. one AUTHOR
b. more than one AUTHOR

3. Look at the TITLE PAGE of the text
a. What is the COPYRIGHT DATE of the book? ______
b. What does that mean to you as a student studying science?

4. Does your text have a TABLE OF CONTENTS?

5. Does your text have a GLOSSARY?

6. Does your text have an INDEX?

Using the TABLE OF CONTENTS, write the name of these chapters:

7. Chapter 1: _____
8. Chapter 3: _____
9. Chapter 7: _____
10. Chapter 8: _____
11. Chapter 9: _____
12. Chapter 11: _____
13. Chapter 13: _____
14. Chapter 15: _____
15. Chapter 16: _____

Fill in the following chart. Put “yes” in the GLOSSARY column if the word is found in the glossary. Put “yes” in the INDEX column if the word is found in the index.

GLOSSARY INDEX
16. Anemometer
17. Batholiths
18. Hypothesis
19. Meter
20. Metric
21. Petrifacation
22. Scientific Method
23. Seismology
24. Troposphere

25. Notice that each chapter has two yellow pages. The headings of the yellow pages are:
a. _____
b. _____

26. What color is the APPENDIX in your textbook? _____
After looking through the APPENDIX, name at least one thing you might use it for. __________

27. Find the LAB BOOK in the back of your textbook. What color are those pages? _______
Take some time to look through the LAB BOOK. Name at least one experiment found in the lab book that you would really like to try this year.

Density: Float an Egg

What happen if you put an egg into a container of water? 

It sinks.

How can you make it float? 

You need to make the egg less dense or the water more dense.

I don't know how to readily change the density of an egg, but I do know how you can make the water more dense: SALT. 

Start adding salt a tablespoon at a time.  It takes a bunch of salt, so don't give up.  Eventually, there will be enough salt dissolved in the water and the egg will float. 

*****
A Note:
Don't be all fancy and use kosher salt.  Regular old salt works better - the smaller size makes it dissolve easier. Go ahead, ask me how I know (and then look at the picture above to find the answer).

Measurement: Volume Practice

Do your students need some practice measuring volume?  Here are some simple ideas to get them up and actively measuring and calculating.

Idea 1:

Raid your children's block shelf.  All different shapes of solids with a length, width, and height that can be measured.  If you don't have children with blocks, see if you can borrow some or check yard sales or thrift stores.  Your blocks don't have to come from one set - variety is good!

Label each block with a letter (use masking tape if you don't want to mark on the block itself).  Calculate the volume of each and create a key.

Idea 2:

Collect empty boxes of a variety of shapes and sizes.  Label each box with a letter.  Calculate the volume of each and create a key.





Idea 3:

Raid your recycling and gather a variety of bottles and jars.  Have your students find the volume of water each jar holds.  (Remove the labels for the jars and bottles, or at least remove the portion that states the volume, if applicable.  Don't worry, stubborn labels will come off with enough student use). 

Again, label each jar with a letter.  Determine the volume of each and create a key.


Save your blocks, boxes and jars and next year you'll be ready to go, with the key and everything.  Just pull it out and have your students get to work!