Monday, November 4th: We had a double whammy today: a good number of kids out and shortened classes. I decided to change gears and have the review next Monday (11/11) and the test on Tuesday (11/12). Wednesday (11/6) will be an introduction to the age of exploration. Now, the kids won't have to worry if they are out for this week or need to study over the days off.
Thursday, October 31st: We answered our final Focus Question: How can we identify the products from the baking soda and calcium chloride reaction? The kids applied the practices and knowledge they learned over the last few weeks to answer the question. They know that calcium carbonate will not react/be soluble in water but will react with vinegar. Today, the precipitate was dry, and we mixed it with the vinegar, and it reacted! Lots of bubbling, which the kids knew was carbon dioxide and signs of a chemical reaction. The last part was the evaporation of the solution which has NaCl crystals forming... squares with an "x".
Next week, we will start reviewing tomorrow, and depending on how that goes... we may have our test on Wednesday. If the review does not go as well as expected... we will take the test the following week. Don't worry about studying. The kids will use their notebooks for the test, and all the questions come from the experiments/investigations. It will be OK.
Next week, we will start reviewing tomorrow, and depending on how that goes... we may have our test on Wednesday. If the review does not go as well as expected... we will take the test the following week. Don't worry about studying. The kids will use their notebooks for the test, and all the questions come from the experiments/investigations. It will be OK.
Wednesday, October 30th: After going over the chemical equation below again with the kids, they said they knew what was in their Cup 1. But how? Because I told them there is salt, water, and calcium carbonate? I asked them to prove it to me. The class discussed ways to determine the substances. They used their new knowledge gained from the lessons over the last couple of weeks and came up with...
* Use a paper filter to separate the precipitate from the liquid. Calcium chloride is not soluble in water, but is with vinegar. If it dissolves... proves that it was calcium chloride.
* Weigh 50mL of the solution. If it weighs more than 50g, it must be a salt solution.
* Pour solution into evaporation dish. If salt crystals form in the shape of a square with an "X"... proves the salt solution.
* Use a paper filter to separate the precipitate from the liquid. Calcium chloride is not soluble in water, but is with vinegar. If it dissolves... proves that it was calcium chloride.
* Weigh 50mL of the solution. If it weighs more than 50g, it must be a salt solution.
* Pour solution into evaporation dish. If salt crystals form in the shape of a square with an "X"... proves the salt solution.
Tuesday, October 29th: The kids mixed two substances with 50mL of water today. The difference this time was what happened... a chemical reaction. The kids recorded what they observed from each of the three mixtures. It could be temperature change, gasses formed, or precipitate settling out. Sometimes, it was all of them in one cup! The kids were left wondering about the precipitate. We saved that cup and will later figure out the new substance! Here is the chemical reaction equation for the cup with the precipitate...
Monday, October 28th: Chemical reactions will be our final area to cover. We had shortened classes today because of our trip to MSU and class pictures, but we got some excellent work done and will be ready to hit the ground running with our lab work tomorrow. I showed the kids a chemical reaction equation. Equations are not something they will need to know at this point in their science careers. Some kids find it interesting, some don't care, and others want to know more and try other equations. Here is the chemical equation for photosynthesis...
Friday, October 25th: The kids have reached saturation with the study of saturations. We learned that soluble substances could be identified by the mass it takes to saturate 50mL of water. They finished the unit by identifying a mystery substance using this method. They were given a solubility table and saturated 50mL of water. Ihe 67g of mystery substance saturates 50mL of water, so of course, it must be citric acid. Next week, we will investigate chemical reactions, which will close out science.
We will have our test the week of 11/4. To be fair, there are only two days of school that week, so it will be Monday or Wednesday. We will review prior to the test, and the kids will use their notebooks for the test. The answers to all the questions should be in their notebooks. Fingers crossed!
We will have our test the week of 11/4. To be fair, there are only two days of school that week, so it will be Monday or Wednesday. We will review prior to the test, and the kids will use their notebooks for the test. The answers to all the questions should be in their notebooks. Fingers crossed!
Thursday, October 24th: We know it takes about 15g of NaCl to saturate 50mL of water. Is that true for all soluble substances? Epsom salt or magnesium sulfate heptahydrate was today's solute. The groups add one scoop of Epsom salt at a time to 50mL. They were not surprised that it dissolved in the water. They were astonished at how much was needed to get the solution saturated. The picture to the right shows the saturated solution. You can see the solute that could not dissolve in the solvent and fell to the bottom. It took more than three times as much solute today. So, the answer is... no, it takes different amount of solutes to saturate 50mL of water.
Wednesday, October 23: Is there a limit to the amount of salt that will dissolve in 50 mL of water? That was our question to explore today. The kids used prior labs to assist in getting to about 15g by using filters, digital scales, logic, math, and a whole lot of shaking. Tomorrow we will find out if other salts saturate 50mL of water at the same rate.
Tuesday, October 22nd: We completed the investigation about Liquid Layers. The kids were given four different concentrations of salt solutions. They know that density is based on the mass per unit volume, which means that the greater the concentration, the greater the density. They had to stack the liquids in the correct order, or the column would mix. It took a bit of work and logic, but they got there.
Can you see the different density layers? Blue is the most dense, so it is on the bottom. That is followed by yellow and green. Finally, the least dense is the red sitting on top.
Their Focus Question was "What is the relationship between salt-solution concentration and density?" Their experiment could answer the question of density. They made the connection that concentration must go hand and hand with density. How can we prove this? The kids came up with getting 50 mL of each solution and finding their mass. Bingo! The solution with the greatest mass was the one with the greatest density.
Can you see the different density layers? Blue is the most dense, so it is on the bottom. That is followed by yellow and green. Finally, the least dense is the red sitting on top.
Their Focus Question was "What is the relationship between salt-solution concentration and density?" Their experiment could answer the question of density. They made the connection that concentration must go hand and hand with density. How can we prove this? The kids came up with getting 50 mL of each solution and finding their mass. Bingo! The solution with the greatest mass was the one with the greatest density.
Monday, October 21st: We started class by reviewing last week's lessons since the new labs are based on prior work. Our final lab for concentrations is liquid Layers. The kids learned that density is based on the mass per unit volume. The kids had to explain why the 5g weight sunk in on solution, but floated in the other. For our new work, this means that the greater the concentration, the greater the density. To prove this, tomorrow, the kids will build a density column. The colored solutions will layer based on the density of different solutions.
Friday, October 18th: We finished the week with mystery solutions. The kids had to work out their procedures to find the most and least concentrated of the three solutions. This time, they couldn't taste or smell a difference or see a color difference that would help. They had to get the answer from what they learned over the last week's experiments. They used balances to get their results and then checked their work on the scales. They did it perfectly!
Thursday, October 17th: How can you determine which salt solution is more concentrated? The kids thought about yesterday's lesson, but realized a salt solution has no smell, is clear, and we can not taste it. What to do? After much hands-on work, the kids understood that we could determine the more concentrated salt solution by comparing the mass of equal volume. The heavier one is the more concentrated.
Wednesday, October 16th: Concentration. Not the game, but the ratio of solvent to solute. Your kid can tell you what those two words mean. Ok, we did have Kool-Aid today, but it was for science. The Kool-Aid or solute was used in different ratios to the water or solvent. We created both diluted and concentrated solutions. The solutions helped them understand the concept and it is Kool-Aid, so they enjoyed the experiment. Today was the exception to the rule for tasting in labs. They did not have to drink the Kool-Aid or taste it if they did not want to. If they did, I am sure they would not go wild with sugar, because they had maybe an ounce or two.
Tuesday, October 15th: We were supposed to go to the Iris Gardens to paint pumpkins for the Gardens Aglow this Friday, but there was no nurse for the walk to the park. New policy says we can not leave the grounds without a nurse, and we have a limited number of trips we can take. Very limited. The kids made do and painted in the courtyard. Some parents volunteered to drive the pumpkins back to the park and place them for viewing.
Your kids might have complained about our class on Friday and maybe even... I am the worst teacher ever. They are not wrong. I am not a terrible teacher, but in order for them to understand the concept of a Black Box... I can not show them what is inside. I made a deal that they could ask me for one thing or one question, but it couldn't be to open the box. They asked if I could show them what is inside. That I could do. They saw the possible pieces inside their boxes and returned to their models. They were able to produce a better model with the new information, but I still won't show them the setup inside their boxes.
Your kids might have complained about our class on Friday and maybe even... I am the worst teacher ever. They are not wrong. I am not a terrible teacher, but in order for them to understand the concept of a Black Box... I can not show them what is inside. I made a deal that they could ask me for one thing or one question, but it couldn't be to open the box. They asked if I could show them what is inside. That I could do. They saw the possible pieces inside their boxes and returned to their models. They were able to produce a better model with the new information, but I still won't show them the setup inside their boxes.
Friday, October 12th: This was the most frustrating day the students ever had a Bradford. Why? We learned about Black Boxes, which are explanations of objects, events, or systems that cannot be observed directly. This lesson is to help the kids understand that there are phenomena that can be explained but not observed, like the atom, the core of the Earth, the Big Bang… So why was it so frustrating? The kids got a literal/figurative black box with something inside it. They had to determine what it looked like and create a conceptual model. They worked very hard and did a pretty good job, but they could not open the boxes and we will not. For some reason, this drives kids crazy. We will finish that lesson next Tuesday and continue to work on models to help explain matter.
Thursday, October 11th: The water evaporated from the salt water solution, leaving the kids with just the salt. However, it didn't look like the salt they initially added. The crystal structures created were pretty fascinating...
Separating a dry mix was today's lesson. The kids used everything they had done over the last week or so and had to devise a way to completely separate a cup of salt, powder (diatomaceous earth), and gravel. Each group started by agreeing on a procedure and recording that in their notebook. I checked to see if they had a procedure, not if it would work. Failure is okay in our labs. Quitting is not. The kids couldn't get a new cup of salt, powder, and gravel. They had to figure out how to make it work with what they had... and they did! A couple of groups were successful on their first attempt, however, most needed to figure out what was not working and make corrections. In the end, all the groups could separate the three substances.
Separating a dry mix was today's lesson. The kids used everything they had done over the last week or so and had to devise a way to completely separate a cup of salt, powder (diatomaceous earth), and gravel. Each group started by agreeing on a procedure and recording that in their notebook. I checked to see if they had a procedure, not if it would work. Failure is okay in our labs. Quitting is not. The kids couldn't get a new cup of salt, powder, and gravel. They had to figure out how to make it work with what they had... and they did! A couple of groups were successful on their first attempt, however, most needed to figure out what was not working and make corrections. In the end, all the groups could separate the three substances.
Wednesday, October 10th: How do you separate a salt solution? I told the kids that salt disappears when you mix salt and water, which must be true because I can't see salt in solution. The kids told me I was wrong, but I would not believe them unless they could scientifically prove their theory... the salt is still there, just dissolved in the water. Each group came up with procedures to prove that the salt was still in the solution by finding the mass of the water and salt and then comparing that to the mass of the saltwater solution. Boom! The weights were equal. The solutions are evaporating as we speak, and I hope for much progress tonight. I am working on the students using the correct terminology (solute, solvent, solution, mixture, dissolve...). Tomorrow, we will discuss how the lesson demonstrates the idea of the conservation of matter.
Tuesday, October 6th: The kids finished their first investigation of matter by making and separating mixtures. They had to make observations of their substances, which were Kosher salt, diatomaceous earth, and gravel. The different materials were mixed with water, and the kids had to separate them back out. It was interesting to see their thought processes on what would not work and why and what would work and why. The tricky part was separating the salt that had dissolved (not disappeared) in the water.
Monday, October 7th: We had beautiful weather for the MSU Field Day. The college students in the physical education program set up 9 stations for the kids to perform some type of activity. It is a win-win because the college students get firsthand experience while being observed by their teachers, and the Bradford students just plain love trying all the different stations.
Field Day is great for getting the kids out and moving around, but class time pays the price. We had to cut all the classes shorter, but we still got at least an hour of instruction time. Today, we transitioned from social studies to science. We started by going over The Land and Early People test on Wednesday. The kids did great, and the average grade was 88%. The kids taped their tests into their notebooks and were allowed to take them home to show you. They just need to make their way back before we start social studies again in a few weeks. The kids were introduced to our science topic, Matter, and set up their notebooks. We will begin using hands-on experiments to help us understand this topic tomorrow.
Field Day is great for getting the kids out and moving around, but class time pays the price. We had to cut all the classes shorter, but we still got at least an hour of instruction time. Today, we transitioned from social studies to science. We started by going over The Land and Early People test on Wednesday. The kids did great, and the average grade was 88%. The kids taped their tests into their notebooks and were allowed to take them home to show you. They just need to make their way back before we start social studies again in a few weeks. The kids were introduced to our science topic, Matter, and set up their notebooks. We will begin using hands-on experiments to help us understand this topic tomorrow.