Winter Science and Light

This week in Salamander class I have 2 classes of them on Friday and 2 more on Saturday, so I definitely am going to have to do some fun experiments.

On Friday, I will review the Final Exam they took a few days ago, then we will make Magical Crystal Snowflakes, using some Borax.

On Saturday, our crystal snowflakes will be finished growing and ready to take home. In this weekend class(making up for an extra day off in February) I will introduce Chapter 12, Lesson 3 on "Light" and then do a fun activity using Nativity characters and shadow puppets. We will have a Christmas shadow puppet theater that is science, Christmas and fun.

Goal of the class:

• I can identify what light is made of.
• I can identify the properties of light.

Vocabulary: (Quiz yourself here.) Watch a Bill Nye Video  or play a Sid the Science Kid game.

• light 光線
• reflect 反射
• shadow 陰影
• to block 堵住
• to pass through 通過
• to separate 分(散)
• filter 濾光鏡
• to let through 使通過

Comprehension Check:

 1.    Did you know that _____ energy helps you see things?

2.   Some lights comes from ____ and flashlights.

3.   Most light on Earth comes from the _____.

4.   Light _____ off of objects and goes into our eyes to help us see.

5.   The dark area made when something is blocking light is called a ______.

6. Some _____ objects can block light and make shadows.

Nativity shadow puppets, a lesson in Light

Post Class:

The Blue crystals formed better than the green ones. I think having a lighter colored pipe cleaner would look better. Her are some photos of the kids with their crystal snowflakes:

Post by Kathy Benavides.

Post by Kathy Benavides.

Post by Kathy Benavides.

Newton's First Law of Motion

Salamander's science text book talks about motion, position, friction, but nothing about Newton. So I thought I could introduce Newton and his three laws of Motion and just focus on the first  Law of Inertia, by doing a fun "Turkey Egg Experiment.

I show them a short video on Intertia.

What is Physics? The science of how and why things ________.

Newton was a _____________ who lived from _____ to _______.

He discovered ______ laws of motion.

The first law is called the Law of _______.

The first law of motion says: 'Things want to keep on doing what they are already doing'. If things are at ______, they want to stay at rest, if things are ________ they want to stay moving.

 Or

All the things in this world are lazy, they want to remain in the state where they are unless some outside _____ is applied upon them. This laziness is called inertia.

                                        Or

Things want to stay what they are already doing. They don’t want to move. This is called _________.

WORD BOX:

Inertia     1642    scientist      1727     move      three    force   rest      moving          Inertia

Turkey Egg Drop Experiment

Get the egg into the water.

Materials:

Egg, cardboard tube, water, drinking cups, tray, pie pans

Experiment:

1.    Fill the cups with ¾ full with __________.

2.   Center a _______  ________ on top of the  cup.

3.   Place the cardboard __________ on the pie plate, positioning it directly ________ the water.

4.    Now ________ the edge of the pie pan horizontally. Don’t swing up or down!

Thinking:

What did you think of the experiment? How does this show motion?

Answer: The egg it wants to do what its doing - not move. You made enough force to the pie pan to cause it to zip out from under the cardboard tube (there’s not much friction against the drinking glass). The edge of the pie pan hooked the bottom of the tube, which then flew off with the pan. You knocked the support out from under the egg. For a small nanosecond the egg didn’t move because it was already not moving. But the force of gravity took over and pulled the egg straight down toward the center of the Earth.

Also, according to Mr. Newton’s First Law, once the egg was moving, it didn’t want to stop. The gravity-pushed egg caused the water to splash out. Did someone get wet?

Science and Halloween

Beware the Mad Scientists!

In Salamander Science class on Friday the 31^st, I thought we might do some fun experiments to celebrate their good exam scores.

I will demonstrate a Carve a Jack-O-Lantern demonstration (Physical Change) and make green slime. If we have more time we can make dancing ghosts.

1.                                                                                                            Green Slime

• Elmer's glue (most kinds of white craft glue will work)
• 2 disposable cups
• Food coloring (you pick the color)
• Water
• Borax Powder (available at most large grocery stores near the laundry detergent)
• A plastic spoon (for stirring)
• A tablespoon (for measuring)

1. Fill one small cup with water and add a spoonful of the Borax powder and stir it up. Then set it aside.
2. Fill the other small cup with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the glue.
3. Add three tablespoons (20 ml) of water to the glue and stir.
4. Add a few drops of the food coloring and stir it up until mixed.
5. Now the fun part...Add one tablespoons of the Borax solution you made earlier and stir well. Watch the slime form!
6. After the slime forms let it sit for about 30 seconds and then pull it off the spoon and play with it!

Tip: Keep your slime in a tightly closed plastic bag when you are not playing with it, and keep it away from carpet and your little sister's hair.

Now for the SCIENCE part.... This POLYMER is unique because it has qualities of both a solid and a liquid. It can take the shape of its containers like a liquid does, yet you can hold it in your hand and pick it up like a solid. As you might know, solid molecules are tight together, liquid molecules spread out and break apart (drops) POLYMER molecules CHAIN themselves together (they can stretch and bend like chains) and that makes them special. Jell-O, rubber bands, plastic soda bottles, sneaker soles, even gum are all forms of polymers. The polymer you made should be kept in a sealed plastic bag when you aren't playing with it. Also, be sure to keep it away from young kids or pets who might think it's food. Have fun!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. How can you make the polymer stretch the farthest?
2. Does the amount of Borax added change the slime?
3. What method of storage will make the polymer last the longest?
4. What brand of glue makes the stretchiest polymer?
5. Does the amount of water added to the glue affect the gooeyness of the slime?

2.    Static Powered Dancing Ghost

Resources:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/halloweenchemistry/a/halloweensci.htm

http://www.sciencebob.com/blog/?p=360