Amber Embrock Science Methods 1

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Blog week 14

What is melting? Melting is a phase change between a solid to a liquid that happens when applying heat. Why does the ice melt faster on metal than wood? The reason why an ice cube melts after on metal than it does on wood is because metal is a conductor while wood is an insulator. This matters because of energy. Energy provides heat which causes an object to melt. Why do cold drinks get water droplets on the outside? When a cold can is brought out of the fridge the hot air outside hits the can. This causes a temperature change to happen on the can making it "sweat." The can begins to condensate from hot air hitting the cold can. Just like clouds, when water vapor hits pockets of air, they begin to form. Why does the plunger stick to the table? The plunger acts like a vacuum to the table, it suctions down to the table by collapsing down onto the table. It releases all the particles out of the plunger when it is pressed down. The best part of the class: We met a ne...

Blog week 13

This week in lab we looked at the questions: How can a particle model of matter help explain why colors spread out? To address this question we set up a particle model using M&M's. We had 4 groups that included a control group. Our group variables that were only different were the control group (cold water), hot water, salt water, and sugar water. Besides the water substance, everything was the same. We observed the M&M's for 1 minute, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes. Salt water Hot water Sugar water Control group From our experiment and observations from the particle model, we learned what caused these colors to separate at different times. The reason the Hot water and the control group moved faster was that particles spread faster in hotter water since the heat warms up the molecules. When molecules are warmed up, it provides energy to the molecules which makes these move faster compared to the other water substances. Remaining questions: * If the ...

Week 12 blog

This week in lab we focused on the properties of matter. We were asked the question: what is the definition of property. In order for us to find a definition, we needed to experiment and use our senses to observe. The experiments we did: Will it sink or float? Will it have the same volume? Will it have the same mass? Will it conduct electricity? Will it be attracted to a magnet? These were some of our findings: We decided that the reason that these items sunk instead of floated was because the objects that sunk had more density than the other objects. The reason for our findings on the same mass was that none of these were the same mass. Since these objects were full-sized compared to a size that was half, it is obvious that they would be different masses (weights). When an object is split in half, the mass changes, but the properties in it do not. Our final definition for properties was: PROPERTIES: Characteristics of substances that can be measured...

Blog week 11

This week in lab, we did multiple experiments. We started with the basics of chemistry talking about the definition of matter. The definition I describe of matter to be is anything that has weight and takes up space. It can be made of different states like a solid, liquid, or gas. Matter is also made up of small particles called atoms. Our experiments: M&M melt Findings: Red/orange dissolved first The colors did not combine Dye dissolves and then the chocolate is revealed Findgs: Stuck on smooth/flat surfaces Suction--> acted like a vaccum Rougher surfaces has less suction I loved all the experiments we worked on and thought it was so fun! It would be so fun for students to be able to do these activities in the classroom to learn bout chemistry. These experiments helped show me that I remember a lot more than I thought. Question: Why did the Coca cola sink? Why did the M&M's not mix together?

Blog week 10

This week in lab we made a story about evolution. My group members and I made a story called "The Little Rhino that Grew." In this story, we described how a rhino grew during evolution from having no horns back thousands of years ago compared to now, which have horns. Evolution can be a hard topic to explain to younger children so putting this complex idea into a children's story may be beneficial for students to be able to understand better. Parts of our book: I found this activity very fun and engaging. We were able to pick what type of evolution we wanted to describe in our story. We were given the option of animals, plants, or humans. Groups were allowed to design their book with colors, and images, and create their own unique story. I can see myself using a technique like this in my future classroom. This activity is creative for students to make fun stories about science while learning about the subject at the same time. Creating stories about a certain concept ca...