In Science Class . . . . Week of 11/14

4th Grade: This week, the 4th graders will be studying series and parallel circuits. They'll find that, in a series circuit, the light bulbs are dimmer because the two bulbs have to share one pathway of electricity. In a parallel circuit, the two lights are brighter because they each have their own pathway of electricity to the d-cell (battery). For example, in the older strings of Christmas lights, the bulbs are often on a series circuit. When one light bulb goes out, the whole string of lights does not work because the one pathway of electricity is not complete. By comparison, lights in your house are on a parallel circuit - there are many pathways of electricity that allow the lights to operate independently of each other.

• How are parallel and series circuits similar and different? (Both are circuits that can carry electricity. A parallel circuit allows for multiple paths of electricity, while a series circuit just has one)

After Thanksgiving break, the 4th graders will be studying electromagnets. I hope to wrap up this unit on magnetism and electricity by mid Dec.

5th Grade: This week, the students will be taking a quiz on mixtures, solutions, chemical reactions, periodic table, etc on Friday. Today (Wed) we will complete a study guide that has all the required information. This will go home and students can study at home. The quiz will also be open-notebook so students can use their notebook as a resource, too.

After Thanksgiving break, we will be starting our 5th Grade Earth Science unit that includes the water cycle, solar system and weather.

In Science Class . . . Week of 11/7

4th Grade: The 4th graders continued their exploration of electricity by finding out what materials conduct (carry) electricity and which do not. The students used a circuit board with a motor hooked up to a d-cell and put various objects between the wires. We also walked around the classroom to see which materials in the room would complete the circuit and turn the motor on.

• Which materials conduct electricity? (All metals - copper, brass, steel, iron, aluminum)
• How is this different from what materials are magnetic? (Only iron and steel objects can become magnets)
• What materials did not carry electricity? (Cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, fabric)

5th Grade: We had an exciting week! On Monday, students investigated properties of materials. We found that, unlike plastic or wood, metals can conduct (or carry) heat and electricity. We used the materials to complete a circuit and found that all metals will allow the motor to go on. We also put strips of material in a container with shallow hot water. The tops of the strips had butter on them. We watched as the copper and aluminum strips had butter that melted FAST! Steel and brass were slower. Heat was not conducted with the plastic and wood strips.

On Wednesday, we had visiting graduate students from the Cal chemistry department teach a lesson about chemical reactions and glow in the dark science! Students watched as they mixed two chemicals together to produce gas and light in a reaction similar to that which happens in a glow stick. Next, students mixed water, Elmer's glue and Borax to make a putty material. The material also had a little glow-in-the-dark paint which made it fun! Families, this stuff is not toxic, but please don't let your kids eat it! It will last for quite a while. If it starts to dry out, just add a little water. For optimum glow, re-charge the putty by exposing it to light.

• What properties make metals different than other types of elements on the periodic table? (Metals conduct heat and electricity much better than other elements. They also are mostly solid at room temperature and won't break when hammered into thin sheets. These properties make them extremely useful for building things)
• In the two experiments with the grad students, how did you know a chemical reaction occurred? (In the first one, gas and light were produced. In the second reaction in our zip bags, the material turned from a liquid to a solid with the addition of the liquid Borax solution. This unexpected phase change is often indicative of a chemical reaction.)

PLEASE: If you have any old food or household packages or bags (that aren't gross) that have the ingredients listed on them, send them in with your student for class on Wednesday, 11/16. Anything would be great - chip bags, cereal boxes, bread bags, toothpaste boxes, soda cans, etc. We'll be looking for elements on the package. Cereals are especially fun since there are often minerals added for nutritional value like iron, zinc etc. Thanks!

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/31

Happy Halloween! Here's what we've been up to in class:

4th Grade: The students this week continued their exploration of magnetism and electricity using some mini-investigations. Stations included

• Hand crank generator that produced power for light bulbs (one energy efficient and one regular)
• A energy ball (called a UFO ball) that lights up and makes noise when you make a complete circuit with your body and it's metal pieces
• A basic electromagnet that can pick up small washers
• A magnetic generator that produces electricity by sliding a magnet through a tube wrapped with wire
• Review of poles using doughnut magnets
• A basic circuit with d-cell and light bulb
  

It's been really fun! Ms. Sinai's class also investigated conductors and insulators by putting objects into a circuit hooked to a motor. If the object could carry the electricity, then the motor ran. If not, the object was an insulator and the motor would not go on. Conductors included all metal objects - nails, paper clips, chair leg, washers, etc. The rest of the 4th grades will do this next week!

5th Grade: Students this week completed their presentations on a group of the periodic table. Next week, we'll look closely at the properties of metals and do some other fun chemical reactions!

Bay Area Science Festival Starting Soon!

Hi, everyone,

For the first time, there will be area-wide science festival that has a number of free programs for families and adults from Oct 29-November 5. This is a coordinated effort between a ton of organizations! I'm really excited about it, and I hope to see of you out there as well. Here's the link to the website:

http://www.bayareascience.org/

Go Science Education!
Ms. Jenkins

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/24

5th grade: This week, we are continuing our research and preparation of a project on the periodic table of elements. Students are researching a particular group and preparing a poster or PowerPoint to share information.

• What group are you studying?
• What are the key properties of the group?
• What are some examples of elements from this group?

4th Grade: This week, the 4th graders will learning that electricity can be converted into motion as well as light. We'll be putting together simple circuits with a switch, d-cell and motor. We also will be doing centers later in the week. One of these is a hand crank generator which powers two lights - one energy efficient and one traditional light bulb. Students will see that it takes a lot more energy to light a traditional bulb! We also will be looking at the way that electric currents can create magnetism (as in electromagnets).

• How did you hook up the motor? What are other examples of where electricity is converted into motion?
• What did you find out when you wrapped a coil around an iron rivet and hooked the wires to a d-cell?
• What are electromagnets used for outside of science class?
  

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/17

5th Grade: This week in science, we've been discussing the periodic table. The students have now started a research project. Each table group has been assigned one group of elements (ie. noble gasses, metals) and is working on researching key properties, examples, uses, and fun facts. We are using computers and books for our research. Students will either be presenting to the class using a poster or a PowerPoint presentation.

• What group of elements is your table researching?
• What have you found out so far?

4th Grade: The fourth graders are continuing their exploration of electricity. We made a simple circuit with a battery, bulb and wires early in the week, and then we will be moving onto a more complex circuit with a switch.

• What can electricity be converted into? (Light, motion, heat)
• When there is a break or opening in a circuit, what happens to the light? Why? (It won't go on because electricity travels in a circle.)

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/10

5th Grade: Ok, things got held up a bit and we just started looking at the changes on a particle level in a chemical reaction. So, see last week for questions! We also spent time discussing examples and non-examples of chemical reactions, so you can ask your student about that!

4th Grade: This week, students were introduced to the concept of electricity. We wrote about our own experiences with electricity - gadgets that need it, where it comes from, how it feels to be shocked, etc. We looked at a battery as a source of electricity and attempted to get a light bulb to light up. (No worries if your student didn't get it to work as we'll work on it lots next week!)
Key questions:

• Where does electricity come from?
• What things need electricity to function?
• Why do you get shocked when you go down the slide?
• How did you try to get your light bulb hooked to the battery in a simple circuit?