Flipping Water Prompts Student Reports!

Posted by colleennoyes

Recently, in 6th grade science, we have been studying ocean currents. After talking about how water circulates around the world, we started learning about water densities. Warm water molecules are more spread apart making them less dense and causing them to rise. Cool water is more dense, causing it to sink. After we finished our studying, we grabbed our flasks and gloves and began an experiment. We added warm water to one flask and cold water to the other and added food coloring to separate the two. We placed a piece of cardboard on top of the warm water flask and then, carefully, flipped it onto the cold water flask. We then quickly removed the cardboard and you could see the warm water sitting on top of the cold water! Just like we predicted! We had so much fun doing this experiment. Who knew water could separate from itself?!
Written by 6th grade student:  Sierra
Our class has started a unit on ocean currents! To explore convection in the ocean, we tried an experiment. To start, Ms. Noyes poured hot water into a beaker, and cold water into another. Blue food dye went into the cold water, while yellow went into the hot water. Then, using a piece of cardboard on top of the yellow beaker, we flipped them onto each other, with the warm water on top. Because of convection, the colors didn’t mix and instead stayed the way they were, with yellow on top and blue on bottom. Hot air/water is less dense and lighter than cold air/water, so the hot water(or in this case yellow water!) will always rise.
Written by 6th grade student: Oola

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“Chopped” meets 5th Grade Science!

Posted by colleennoyes

What do rubber bands, popsicle sticks, cotton balls, tape and a bottle cap have to do with cooking?  Well, nothing actually!!  But if there was an engineering competition that was modeled after the popular cooking show Chopped then the Unquowa 5th graders would surely succeed! Students worked in groups, tasked with coming up with a design to make a functional catapult.  Medieval meets Modern!  It was pretty amazing to see the variety of designs these young scientists came up with. It was a fun day in Science!!!!!!!

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Solar Ovens!!

Posted by Joshua Bartosiewicz

 

This past week in science, the 8th grade class learned about Heat, Temperature and Thermal Energy transfer in systems. To help demonstrate our understanding of these concepts, students participated in building their own solar ovens in lab! The lab was a 2 day process; the first day was strictly planning and designing our ovens. Then the second day we got to bring our designs outside and test how well our ovens would perform by attempting to cook s’mores! The ovens were built from the following materials: a pizza box, aluminum foil, black duct tape, plastic wrap, wooden stakes and an aluminum pie pan. The pizza box as a whole, served as the body of the oven. Students cut a flap out of the top of the box which was lined with aluminum foil; this part of the oven was used to reflect the electromagnetic energy from the sun down into the oven. Next, the bottom of the pizza box was also lined with aluminum foil as well as black tape which helped absorb the heat from the energy transformation and transfer (electromagnetic energy transformed into thermal energy). The plastic wrap over the top of the little window of the box was placed there to help insulate the heat and thermal energy that was accumulating from the energy transformation. In addition, the tin pie pans were used to help capture anymore electromagnetic energy that may be shining directly down into the oven, rather than at the flap of the box. Lastly, all of this thermal energy is then transferred into the marshmallow and chocolate on the graham cracker, thus, cooking the s’mores! In the end, all of the students ovens were a great success and we were able to celebrate with a tasty treat at the end!!

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Living vs. Nonliving!

Posted by Joshua Bartosiewicz

In this lab, students were split into groups and were given microscopes along with various materials. Some of these materials included; lettuce, zucchini slices, apple slices, Q-tips, tissue, hair, minerals in addition to a few other objects. Students were asked to analyze the given materials in a couple of different ways. First, observations were made with their unaided eye. Some descriptions included the color of the object, any imperfections (holes, dents, bends), and anything else that stuck out to the students. Next, all of these materials were examined underneath the microscopes using each magnification setting (x4, x10 and x40). Students were again asked to make observations for each object under each different magnification setting. Some of this data included the color of the objects, the presence or absence of cells along with anything else the students found interesting. It was evident that the lettuce leaf was the easiest specimen to see the cells in. By the end of this lab, students were able to categorize the objects as living or nonliving based on whether cells were observed or not.

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Energy and Energy Transformation

Posted by Joshua Bartosiewicz

The first lab of the year for 8th graders was an incredible success! Students spent a week learning about potential and kinetic energy along with other various forms of energy (sound energy, thermal energy, electromagnetic energy, chemical energy, elastic potential energy, and more!) and then applied their knowledge by designing and building a functioning roller coaster. Students were placed into groups and moved outside to the back of the school where their creations began! Once students were happy with their tracks, they were given marbles to test if it would actually work. Along with designing and building these roller coasters, students were asked to answer a few lab questions regarding their designs. For example, the students drew models of their tracks once completed and then labeled their “blueprints”. These labels included information such as the types of energy present, where they are present, as well as why they are currently in effect. Overall, all of the students were able to construct working designs which were a blast to build!

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The Science of Mentos and Coke!

Posted by Carlene Gordon

The science of Mentos and Coke…Why does Coke explode when Mentos Candies are added? Fourth graders hypothesized it was the sugar…or maybe the motion of the candies dropping…or maybe something else. We needed to find out. As we did all year long, we discover in science by using the scientific method. First we researched and discovered it was most likely the rough texture of the candies. We then headed outdoors and added Mentos to Coke and watched the eruptions. We hypothesized that IF it was the rough texture of the candies, then sand would create eruptions as well. As soon as the Mentos supply was depleted, we gathered sand and tried again. The observation? Sand created even higher eruptions than the Mentos. Conclusion, it is the rough texture on the candies or the sand grains which provides a surface for the dissolved carbon dioxide to form carbon dioxide bubbles to form so abundantly that they forcefully overflow the bottle. Great last science class, fourth graders! We hope you keep questioning, researching and investigating over the summer!

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