In Science Class . . . Week of 10/18

Sorry for the delay! It was a super busy week, as I attended the CA Education Conference in Sacramento.

5th Grade: Last week, the 5th graders explored the properties of air pressure using syringes, tubing and clips. By pushing the air back and forth, we determined that air is made of matter and does take up space. The students also did a reading that explained how the pressure and density of air changes with elevation.
Key questions:

• What happened when you put a clip on the end of the tube and why? (The plunger to the syringe couldn't go in far because the air was trapped.
• Why did the plunger of one syringe go out when you pushed the other connecting syringe in? (The air pushed the plunger out when we pushed on the other end.)
• Is air pressure higher or lower on the top of a mountain? Why? (The air pressure is lower because the air molecules are spread out more. This is also why it's harder to breathe at elevation.)

4th Grade: Last week, the 4th graders continued their study of the property of minerals, exploring cleavage, luster and color of the streak. We also introduced the rock cycle and the three types of rock - sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Key questions:

• What are metamorphic rocks (Rocks formed from heat and pressure, ex marble)
• What are igneous rocks? (Rocks from the mantle of the earth, either cooling just below the surface of the earth or coming out of a volcano and cooling on the surface. Examples we've looked at include granite, obsidian.)
• What are sedimentary rocks? (Rocks formed from small bits and pieces of other rocks, like sandstone or limestone. Often formed at the bottom of bodies of water.)
• What role do erosion and weathering play? (The are the processes by which rocks break down into smaller bits, becoming sand or, if compressed, a sedimentary rock.)