Chemistry Fun with Dr. Dave Cordes

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What a joy it is to be back together after our week apart! Over the break Mr. Mark was hard at work in our outdoor classroom. He cleaned up the meadow area and added a bamboo barrier to remind us not to trample on the growing plants. He also added a barrel filled with mud and clay for our potion-making endeavors, and completely drained and cleaned the pond so that it’s inviting for local wildlife. We are crossing our fingers that eventually frogs will decide to make their home here. Tony, the artist and engineer in charge of designing our new play structure, also made progress on the structure over break. We can’t wait for it be finished soon! This week we continued our exploration of chemistry. We did more science demonstrations to see what would happen when various solids- baking soda, alka seltzer tablets, and yeast mixed with different liquids such as vinegar and water. We discovered that chemical reactions can create gas molecules. In addition, students learned about the scientific method and worked individually or in pairs to design their own “dancing raisin” experiment. Students started with a question, gathered information, formed hypotheses, tested their hypotheses (being careful to only change ONE variable at a time), recorded data, and drew conclusions. Each group changed a different variable, such as types of sodas used, number of raisins used, jars with lids vs. no lids, amount of liquid used, size of jars, etc. We came up with some surprising results. The highlight of our week was a visit from associate chemistry professor Dr. David Cordes, who visited our classroom with a variety of science equipment. He showed us several examples of different types of solids, liquids, and gasses. We even got to see liquid metal and a solid form of carbon dioxide! Mr. Dave did multiple demonstrations that had us roaring with laughter and exclaiming in awe! It’s been immensely rewarding to witness the pure joy these students take in learning about science and to hear the depth of their scientific discussions. I never cease to be amazed by their questions, observations, and connections! A huge thank you to Dave for taking time out of his busy schedule to share his knowledge with us. In writer’s workshop students constructed persuasive pieces to convince others whether Nutella is a solid, liquid, or combination of both. Students will be sharing their writing pieces tomorrow afternoon. This week we also got to enjoy macarons from Paris (thank you, Wren!), worked on our class art project for the auction, helped the Whales write welcome letters to refugees, and received a fun Flat Stanley update from Montana. This morning we visited the Sea Lion classroom to check out the bridges they built during their recent bridge unit.

States of Matter

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This week we continued our exploration of the states of matter. We did a variety of science demonstrations to determine the characteristics of different states of matter. Students created posters to describe and teach about the different states of matter. Throughout our explorations students came up with some great follow-up questions. One of these questions was about whether Nutella was a solid or liquid. Through our observations it seemed that Nutella originally held its shape (like a solid), but eventually became a bit more flexible and seemed to expand its surface footprint a bit (like a liquid). Students did a great job sharing their viewpoints, even when they disagreed. One student argued that Nutella was a non-Newtonian fluid. We will be returning to this debate after spring break. Students will be constructing a written piece that describes their viewpoint and uses their scientific knowledge about the different states of matter to make their case. This seems quite timely as many adults have been having the same debate about peanut butter following a recent TSA post about peanut butter being classified as a liquid. You can see the New York Times article here. This week we did a science demonstration where we put a deflated balloon on each of three plastic bottles filled with diet Pepsi. The first bottle had just diet Pepsi, the second bottle also had mentos, and the third had salt mixed with the diet Pepsi. In each instance the carbonation in the soda rose to the surface and gas molecules filled the balloon. Students were able to clearly see that gas takes up space (and therefore is matter). Adding Mentos and salt to the soda caused the balloon to inflate quicker and larger. On Friday we did another demonstration that involved adding raisins to a jar of 7UP. Students were excited to see that the raisins were "dancing". Through careful observation we discovered that at first the raisins sank, but then the carbonation bubbles attached to the raisins, causing them to become buoyant and move to the surface. At the surface, the gas bubbles were released into the air, causing the raisins to sink back to the bottom. This happened over and over until there were no longer enough carbonation bubbles to make the raisins buoyant . Throughout these demonstrations students made predictions and used scientific vocabulary to explain what was happening. It's been inspiring to see all the scientific connections students are making and to hear the insightful, deep questions they are asking. After break we will be exploring how matter can change states, what things are not considered matter, and how to create some simple chemical reactions. We ended our week together with a trip to the library and reading to our preschool buddies.

Science Centers and Leprechauns

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The excitement was palpable in our classroom this week! On Monday students designed blueprints for their leprechaun structures. Some students opted to create traps while others decided to create homes or playgrounds. Students planned out the lists of supplies they would need to create their structures. During project time each morning our engineers have been hard at work turning their two dimensional blueprints into three dimensional structures. On Thursday students added finishing touches to their structures and completed a writing prompt about their design ideas before St. Patrick's Day on Friday. On Friday morning when we arrived at school students were surprised to find a giant mess in our classroom! It seems that some mischievous leprechauns visited and left behind a trail of mischief in their wake. We didn’t catch any leprechauns, but we found some golden chocolate coins left in our leprechaun structures! During content time this week we read books, watched videos and explored hands-on science centers. Our students splashed, examined, squished, and weighed a variety of types of matter.  At the water table students examined bubbles and tested materials to determine whether they would sink or float. At an ice center students used magnifying glasses to examine large blocks of ice. They were testing their ideas to see what would cause the ice to melt fastest. At the computer station students examined rocks under a microscope and used a balance scale to calculate their weight. They made predictions and tested their ideas about which rocks would sink, which would float, and discussed why. Students had some robust discussions as they debated whether oobleck was a solid or a liquid. Our explorations with gak encouraged many students to revise their previous ideas that solids can not be squishy or soft. In our outside classroom we were delighted to discover that the water pump has been turned on for spring. Engineers were overjoyed to be back to create sand and water pathways.