Heating Things Up!

During week 4 of Physical Science, we have been learning about the three types of heat transfer and experiment with different types of insulators. During this experiment, I used aluminum foil, bubble wrap, a cotton dish towel, and a Sparkle paper towel. Using water that was brought to 80 degrees Celsius, I filled my four cups to the same level. I covered each cup with an insulator and used a rubber band to ensure that the insulator was covering the opening of the cup tightly. After thirty minutes, I uncover each cup and used a simple thermometer to measure each cup of water's temperature. In conclusion, I discovered that the foil insulated the water the best. The bubble wrap can in second and then the dish towel. The Sparkle paper towel lost the most heat.
If I had to complete this experiment again I would use more non-traditional materials such as, a wool scrubbing pad, press n seal wrap, a large piece of bandage and possibly a piece of flat glass. I think that using more non-traditional materials would make this experiment more interesting. When think about how I could complete this experiment in my second grade classroom, I am a little stumped. My students do not learn about the different types of heat until they are in third grade. In second grade, students are to know and understand that substances stay hotter longer if they are in smaller containers and that if you would like to cool a substance down, blowing on it or placing it in a larger container would be correct. Instead of determining what materials are better insulators, I would have my students measure the temperature of oatmeal that is in different size containers. I know that our third grade science teachers complete the insulator experiment near Thanksgiving. I understand that my experiment would not achieve the same results, but it would fit my curriculum and standards much better.

Does Mass Matter?

When choosing a guided inquiry experiment to complete, I chose the activity    that I knew the least about. I was very interested in determining if the mass of a pendulum would affect the pendulum’s swing frequency. I have always been fascinated by my grandparent’s old pendulum clock. I took this opportunity to find out more about the process of these amazing tools.             In completing this experiment, I created a pendulum using a swing, spool of threat, steel washers, and a stop watch. Using the string and spool I created a simple pendulum and used the stop watch. I started the pendulum and documented how long it took for the pendulum to come to a complete stop. I then added 22 grams of washers to the top of the pendulum. It was at this point that my personal hypothesis began to collide.
            Before completing the latter part of the experiment, I had hypothesized what I thought would happen. I hade many mixed thoughts about the specifics of this experiment. I knew that adding washers to the spool or pendulum would add more mass to the pendulum, but it would also add to the air resistance that the pendulum was facing. In addition to these thoughts, I also had in mind what Galileo discovered in the late 1500’s and the early 1600’s. Galileo determined that the velocity of a falling object does not depend on it’s weight and any differences in a falling objects is explainable by air resistance (Tilley, Enger, Ross, 2008). With all this information in mind, I hypothesized that the bob’s mass would not affect it’s swing frequency.
            After completing this experiment, I discover that my hypothesis was correct. Adding more mass to the bob does make the bob itself heavier, but it also increased the amount of gravitational pull on the bob. I hypothesis that when the bob is in the upswing, gravity is acting upon the bob in proportion to the bob’s weight.
            To replicate this experiment, I could use the same materials in my classroom. I would have my students place their reading book on the side of their desk and hang the pendulum. We could use the stop watches that we use for our reading fluency to time the pendulums. To enrich this experiment, students could shorten their strings and see how the lenght affects the results. Students could also link this new knowledge to how the swings on their playground work.

Will it Sink or Float??

This week our class has been studying density and matter. The students have also learned about the different properties of matter. For this experiment my second graders were given an unpeeled orange and a container of water. The students worked in groups of four and predicted whether the unpeeled orange would float or sink and explained their choice. The students placed the orange into the container and was able to see that they unpeeled orange floated. Students then peeled their orange and placed it in the container again. The students could then see that the orange sank to the bottom of the container. Many of my students correctly predicted what would happen, but many did not. However, I was very happy to see that even the students that did not predict correctly still linked their predictions to what we learned in class about density. The students were very excited about this lesson and linked their previous information to what they were seeing. Many of the students started predicting if other objects, such as an eraser, pencil, and crayon, would float and then placed them in the water. All of my students did an excellent job!!

Hot Topic

Global warning is a very hot topic. It is talked about at political dinners and dinner tables around the world. Scientist have been discussing this topic for years. In answering question 9, section a, I do not believe that if the polar ice caps melted it would cause water levels to increase to a flood stage. I believe that if this horrible situation occurs, the earth would be forever different in many ways. I do have many concerns and questions about this experiment. If the polar ice caps did melt, how would this effect the ocean life that we know today? If the ice caps are fresh water and melt into salt water how would this change the water's balance. Would the migration of our sea life change? I am sure that the ice caps melting would effect all of us in some way.

Lesson Reflection

Well this is the first blog posting I have every attempted. After writing my first lesson plan, I feel both excited and relieved. I really liked the format of the lesson plan template. I feel that I covered all of the materials in a very organized manner. The five E was very help in organizing my thoughts and objectives. I feel that the five E section breaks the lesson into perfect parts. I really feel that this lesson will flow smoothly and if there is a problem it will easily be solved. I do not plan every lesson for each day like this. My lesson plans are detailed but does not include a five E section. My three fellow teachers and I plan our lessons together at the request of our principal. Teachers meeting weekly and planning together is part of our school's improvement plan. I am planning on teaching this lesson this week and I am excited to blog how it goes. The only section of this lesson that I really struggled with was finding the standards on the websites NSES and NSTA. I hope all goes well this week. I hope even more that I "blogged" correctly.