Science Methods

  Today we explored more in depth the concept of what objects sink and float. We were able to apply what we learned in the lecture about the concept that anything that weighs more than 1 gram will sink, and anything that weighs less than 1 gram will float. We started this activity by making a prediction about what blocks would sink and what blocks would float, and then we proved or disproved our data by weighing the blocks. We also made a flip book talking about why ice melts faster on metal than wood, we came to the conclusion that metal is a conductor of energy compared to wood which is an isolator.  

This week we drew models to discuss the density of different objects, and how we know if one object is more dense than another. In our model, we compared spread out atoms to close together or more compact atoms, and we explained that when atoms are more spread out it causes things to be lighter in turn atoms close together are more dense. The bottom half of our drawing shows on a scale that water is less dense than a wood block based on the atoms being close together or spread out. I think having students draw a model is a great method for students to make predictions, it allows them an opportunity to be creative while also presenting their thought process. I will definitely be using the model method in my future classroom.  This week we replicated the M&Ms experiment from last week, but instead of just watching the M&Ms in the water we made predictions and educated guesses. My group specifically tested the effect of M&MS bleeding in hot vs cold water, and we discovered...

 This week we did different experiments with different objects like clay, crayons, marbles, etc. My favorite experiment we did was the sink or float experiment. I found it interesting that certain things sunk when they were whole and floated when they were split in half an example being the crayon. I would for sure do this experiment in my future classroom because it leads to students performing further investigations about why certain things sink or float. A question I have is "What is the best way to explain to a student why an object sinks or why an object floats?"   

  This week we did a bunch of different activities, For one of the activities pictured above we placed M&Ms in water and watched as the colors bled throughout the water. I thought this lesson was really fun and interesting I never thought an M&M would look so moldy and weird once the colors faded. I would definitely do this activity with my elementary students to work on the skill of observation because I found this activity to be super helpful for me to work on my observation skills. My remaining question is how can I tie this activity into a science-based lesson that goes deeper than just an observation skill?