In Science Class . .. Weeks of 1/16 and 1/23

5th Grade: Last week and this week, we've continued our study of evaporation. Students put the same amount of water in different sized containers (with different surface areas) and measured how much water evaporated over the weekend. We found that the containers with the most surface area (water spread out) had highest evaporation rates, while our tall, thin vials barely lost any water to evaporation. Next up, we'll be looking more closely at the atmosphere and water cycle.
Key questions:

• What did your group find out about evaporation? (Evaporation happens more quickly in areas with higher temperature and in containers with larger surface area)
• What process is the opposite of evaporation? (Evaporation is the process of a liquid changing phase to a gas. Condensation is the process of a gas turning to a liquid. Freezing is liquid to solid while melting is solid to liquid.)

4th Grade: Last week, we examined the mineral property of hardness. Student experimented and found that "harder" minerals can scratch softer ones. We scratched four minerals with our fingernail, an aluminum nail, and a paper clip. The hardest mineral, quartz, could not be scratched by any of the tools, while gypsum, the softest, could be scratched by all three tools. This week, we discussed the Mohs Hardness Scale, which ranks minerals on a scale of 1-10 based on their hardness. Gypsum was a "2" while quartz was a "7." Often times, gemstones like emeralds, rubies, etc are high up on the hardness scale. Diamonds are a "10."

• What minerals were softer? How did you know? (Gypsum and calcite were softest and could be scratched by at least 2 of the tools. Fluorite and quartz were harder and couldn't be easily scratched.)
  
• What mineral was the hardest? (Quartz was hardest and could not be scratched by anything. FYI, it's a "7" on the Mohs hardness scale.)
  
• As we look at the hardness scale, can a "3" scratch a "5" mineral? What about the other way around? (A "3" mineral cannot scratch a "5" mineral because a "5" is harder, but a "5" mineral can make a mark on a "3" mineral.
  

In Science Class . . .. Weeks of 1/3 and 1/9

5th Grade: This week, the students will be focusing more on evaporation and recording data. We will examine our paper towel experiment, and then design an experiment to investigate how different locations in the room affect evaporation. Key questions:

• What happened to the scale with the paper towels? (The paper towel without the lid dried, meaning the water evaporated. The paper towel with the lid did not dry because the water was contained, though there was some condensation on the inside of the cup. The scale tipped toward the side with the lid because it still contained water, whereas the water on the other paper towel had escaped into the atmosphere.)
• Where did your group place the cups with water? What predictions did you make? Which cups will have the highest evaporation rates?

4th Grade: Our new unit is on earth science. Last week, we examined some fake and real rocks and discussing what sort of information geologists collect. Students will be working with the measuring tape and balances to collect data on the circumference, mass and diameter of their rocks.

• What sorts of information do geologists collect when they study rocks? (They look at the size, shape, texture, location, color, luster, etc. They also will weigh and measure the rocks)
• What did your rock look like? What did you notice about your rock? (Most of the fake rocks are gray with green and blue "minerals.")
• What tools did you use to collect information? (We used a measuring tape for circumference and diameter. The unit of measurement being centimeters. For the mass, we used a balance and took the mass in grams.)

This week in science, we acted like geologists and broke apart our fake rocks to see what "minerals" were inside. The students were able to identify several different ingredients, including red and green gravel, shells and some gray material. We then used water to see if we could separate the gray material. Key Questions:

• What is the difference between a rock and a mineral? (Minerals are the ingredients of rocks and are just one type of substance, while rocks are made of many types of minerals.)
• What types of "minerals" did you find in the "mock rock" Ms Jenkins made? (Most groups will find red and green gravel, shells, and gray material that we separated with water)
• What do geologists do? (They study rocks and make observations about the shape, size, texture, color, shininess, mass.)
• How are rocks and minerals used by humans? (We use them in various mixtures for roads, houses, jewelry, etc)

In Science Class . . . Week of 12/12

4th Grade: Quizzes will be going home this week. The material was a struggle for some students, so if your student would like to retake the quiz, I am available before and after school and during lunch on Wednesday and Friday. (Unfortunately, I teach through morning recess so that's not an option). We went over the quiz, and correct answers are written down. If students are still confused, please have them come visit me and we can go over it!

We also will be continuing our explorations of wind energy and turbine design! See the previous post for more details. It's been a huge hit with the students, and many of them are working very well in pairs to design interesting and efficient turbine blades!

5th Grade: The students are finishing up their planet advertising campaigns. We've been imagining that there is now a booming space tourism industry and they were in charge of creating a brochure or poster to attract tourists to their planet. This has helped students understand how planets in our solar system are unique and similar, and has helped them envision what it would be like to have humans visit and stay on their planet. Many of the planets create challenges for life, including very hot or very cold temperatures, differences in or lack of atmosphere, radically different surface compositions and gravitational pull.

• What planet did you study?
• How is this planet similar to or different from Earth?
• What sort of "attractions" did you create for your tourists?
  

In Science Class . . . Week of 12/5

4th Grade: The fourth graders this week have been wrapping up our unit on magnetism and electricity. The students took (or will take) an open notebook assessment on circuits, magnetism, and electromagnets. For the fun stuff, we are spending the rest of our science time before break designing wind turbines and testing them for electrical output! As part of a teacher education program at Chabot Space and Science Center, I acquired supplies for building wind turbines. The students will be testing different sizes and shapes of blades, and using a multimeter to measure how much electricity is generated when the blades are tested using a fan. So far, it's been great!

• How does motion generate electricity? (The motion can move a magnet in an electromagnet to generate electricity.)
• What blade shape on your wind turbine worked the best?
  
• Why is wind energy a renewable energy source? (Unlike fossil fuels, wind energy does not get depleted. It is also beneficial because it doesn't release pollution.)

5th Grade: We continue our work on understanding the solar system. We are creating advertising campaigns for each planet, envisioning that tourists may actually be able to visit other planets. Students are making posters and brochures that explain why each planet is unique.

In Science Class . . . Week of 11/28

5th Grade: This week, we started investigations in the solar system. Students worked with cards with each of the components of our solar system on them, including comets, planets, satellites, asteroids and the sun. On the back of each of these cards is important information about the object's mass, diameter, composition, distance from sun and temperatures. We worked on organizing them in order from the sun, and next week will work on other sorting skills. Key questions to ask:

• What is the order of the planets? (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.)
• What is the difference between the inner and outer planets? (Inner planets are rocky and solid, while outer planets are made of gas.)
• What is the largest planet? (Jupiter) The smallest? (Mercury)
• What planets have very high surface temperatures? (Those closest to the sun, though Venus is hotter than Mercury because it has an atmosphere that helps it retain heat.)
• Why don't the earth and other objects fly off into outer space? (Because of the sun's gravitational pull)
• Why do the moon and man-made satellites continue to orbit around the earth? (Because of gravitational pull of the earth.)

4th Grade: This week, we will review series and parallel circuits and began some exploration of electromagnets. Later in the week, we'll look at how the number of winds of the wire of an electromagnet affects it's strength. We'll also discuss the uses of electromagnets in engineering many of the gadgets we use every day!

• What are the differences between parallel and series circuits? (Parallel circuits allow for multiple pathways of electricity, which results in more electricity going towards the bulb or motor. Series circuits require that multiple bulbs/motors share a pathway, which means the bulbs are dimmer or the motors go slower. For reference, the bulbs in your house are on a parallel circuit - they can be bright at the same time, and if one goes out, they don't all go out! By comparison, those old Christmas lights are on a series circuit where if one bulb goes out, none of them work. )
• What is an electromagnet? (One can induce magnetism in an iron object by wrapping a wire around it and hooking it up to a electricity source. We used a iron needle-like thing hooked to a battery to pick up washers.)
• What is the advantage of an electromagnet? What are they used for in every day life? (Electromagnets can be turned on and off, unlike permanent magnets. They are used in everything from doorbells to junk yards to many electronics.)
  

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!