Matter

On Monday, we learned about sinking and floating. The students were put into groups. Each group got a large bowl of water and various objects. They had to predict what objects would sink and what objects would float. After, they were given tin foil. First, they crumpled a piece into a tight ball, and predicted if it would sink or float. Then, they laid another piece flat and predicted if it would sink or float. It turned out that the ball floated, and the flat piece sank. Then, they made a "boat" out of a piece of tinfoil. Each group got a handful of pennies and they had to guess how many pennies they could put into their boat before it sank. Throughout these experiments we learned that the weight of a solid object does NOT tell us if it floats. The amount of "empty space" in a object is what matters. Solid objects with more empty space or air in them float,  and solid objects with less air space sink. 

On Tuesday, we learned about objects dissolving. First, the students were put into groups. Each group was given plastic cups filled with water and various objects (salt, rice, sugar cubes, oil and sand). They had to predict what would happen to each object when it was added to the water. Will these solids dissolve or not? Then, they were given a cup of hot water and a cup, a cup of cold water and sugar cubes. They had to predict whether temperature would make any difference in the speed in which the sugar dissolved. They found out that the sugar dissolved faster in the hot water. 

Then, the students had some fun with Magic Sand! (Learn about magic sand here!) When Magic Sand is poured into water, it holds its shape and can even be molded into structures under water. But when you take the Magic Sand out of the water...it appears dry again! 

On Thursday, we learned about solids that absorb liquids. The students were given different types of solids (cloth, wax paper, construction paper, plastic). They used eye-droppers to see what objects would absorb water! We learned that some things absorb and hold a lot of water. We also learned that sometimes you can get the water back if you squeeze the cloth or sponge.