In Science Class . . . Week of 3/21

Fun Event: This Thursday, Berkeley Public Education Foundation will host a free Lawrence Hall of Science Night. It will be from 6-8:30 pm on Thursday, March 24. For more info, go to http://www.bpef-online.org

5th Grade: This week, we implementented our plans for separating a dry mixture of gravel, power and salt. Most groups realized that to separate the powder and salt, they needed to add water so the salt would dissolve and thus pass through a coffee filter (unlike the powder). Because it dissolves in water, salt and water together are an example of solution.

On Wednesday, students saturated two solutions - one of kosher salt and water, and one of Epsom salt and water. To saturate it means to dissolve as much salt in the water as possible. Students found that 50 ml of water could hold about 10-15 grams of salt, while the same amount of water could hold 40+ grams of Epsom salt. The idea behind this is that solubility is a property that distinguishes different chemicals.

On Friday, we'll be identifying a mystery substance based on it's solubility! In the week before spring break, we'll be looking at chemical reactions.


4th Grade: This week, the students performed an experiment to measure how magnetism decreases based on the distance between magnets. We also used a hanging magnet to detect the magnetic field of the earth! (All N poles of the magnets faced north, because our "North Pole" is actually a south magnetic pole and opposite poles attract!)

In Science Class . . . Week of 3/14

Thanks for a great Family Science Night! So wonderful to see so many students and families there. Thanks for your support of science education!

5th Grade: The students have started a new unit entitled "Mixtures and Solutions." We've practiced and discussed different ways of separating mixtures (which are two or more things mixed together). This week, we are investigating solutions, which is a type of mixture where the solid dissolves. We made a salt water solution, then separated it by evaporation.
Key Questions:

• What is a mixture? What are some examples?
• What is a solution? What are some examples? How do you separate solutions?

4th Grade: The students have also started a new unit on magnetism and electricity. This week, we spent a lot of time investigating which objects will stick to a magnet (objects made of iron). We also will be investigating the property of poles and the concepts of "attract" and "repel."

Key Questions:

• What objects stuck to your magnet? Which did not?
• What happens when you bring two magnets together? What if you flip one the other way?