Mystery Science

With (seemingly) the rest of country buried in snow recently, I didn't want my class to feel left out. So for our "Mystery Science Experiment" this week, we created snow! 

First, students had to examine the white powder. We discussed the rules of scientific observation, like no tasting or inhaling any substances. Students then hypothesized what the powder might be and what might happen if we mixed it with water. 

Then we actually did add water to the powder and right before their very eyes, snow erupted from the bowl! 

This was a great science investigation to review observation, states of matter, chemical reactions and experience inquiry based learning. 

Ice, Ice Baby!

This week we continued learning about states of matter and took a solid, watched it turn into a liquid (partially) and then turn back into a solid.

We tried to lift an ice cube using string. Students had little success. Then, we sprinkled salt on the string and waited about three minutes and tried again. 

Salt lowers the freezing point of water to below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. When we added salt to the ice cube, the salt lowered the melting point of the ice. The salt is in a thin layer, so it melts a thin layer on top of the ice cube. The water from the melty ice cube re-freezes itself around the string, almost as if the string were a part of the ice cube all along. Click below to watch this experiment in action!

Oobleck!

 We have been studying the states of matter in Science class, so this week we made Oobleck! We started this lesson by reading Bartholemew and the Oobleck by Dr. Suess.

Next, each small group added half a cup of cornstarch to half a cup of water. We also added a couple of drops of green food coloring so our Oobleck looked like real Oobleck! Once it was mixed, we quickly discovered that if we poked firmly on the Oobleck, it felt hard and solid. If we let it sit in our hands or touched it gently, it felt watery like a liquid. 

Is Oobleck a solid or a liquid? It is actually a Non-Newtonian Fluid, meaning the behavior of this fluid changes under stress. If you apply force the atoms in the fluid rearrange so it behaves like a solid. If you remove that force, or stress and it will return to its earlier state. Watch the video clip below to watch our Oobleck Investigation in action! 

States of Matter

Is This A Solid Or a Liquid?
We have been learning about the states of matter in Science class! We had lots of messy fun mixing a Borax solution with white glue to create Goofy Putty!

It's Slimy and Gooey!
Some key vocabulary so far in this unit has been solid, liquid, gas, solution, mixture, compound and molecule. 

What messy, hands on, investigation will we do next to learn more about the states of matter? Check back to this blog soon to find out!