These lesson plans have been submitted and I believe that they have real value and are worth keeping. They may, however, need some adjustment, beefing up, rewording, ... ... ... . So, use them with this caveat. I will fix 'em and post them in the SCIENCE OUTREACH section as time permits.

Whelmer #21: Balloon Vacuum

Description:

A balloon is mysteriously "sucked" into a flask.

Science process skills:

observation

communication

interpreting data

Complex reasoning strategies:

induction

Standards:

K-4:

Materials can exist in different states--solid, liquid, and gas. Some common materials, such as water, can be changed from one state to another by heating or cooling (Standard B.1.3).

5-8:

Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the direction of an object's motion (Standard B.2.3).

Energy is a property of many substances and is associated with heat (Standard B.3.1).

Heat moves in predictable ways, flowing from warmer objects to cooler ones until both reach the same temperature (Standard B.3.2). 9-12:

Solids, liquids, and gases differ in the distances and angles between molecules or atoms and therefore the energy that binds them together...in gases molecules or atoms move almost independently of each other and are mostly far apart (Standard B.2.5).

Heat consists of random motion and the vibrations of atoms, molecules, and ions. The higher the temperature, the greater the atomic or molecular motion (Standard B.5.3).

Above Standards from the National Science Education Standards.

Content topics:

air pressure

the relationship between heat and the volume of a gas You will need:

250 ml or 500 ml Florence or boiling flask large balloon

water

heat source

hot pad

Instructions:

This activity requires the use of a flask made of borosilicate glass, such as PyrexÆ or KimaxÆ brand. It should be spherically shaped, similar to a Florence flask or round bottom boiling flask. The spherical shape is much stronger and resistant to the pressure stress involved in this activity.

Select a balloon that is large enough to attach to the neck of the flask. Pre-stretch the balloon by pulling it in several directions.

Place 25 to 50 ml of water in the flask. Heat the flask until the water boils. Remove the flask from the heat. Immediately stretch the balloon over the neck of the flask, leaving the body of the balloon on the outside of the flask. Place the flask on a hot pad and observe. As the flask cools, the balloon is drawn into the flask.

Goggles should be worn by all who are in the vicinity of this activity.

Presentation:

This activity provides an outstanding opportunity for students to experience analytical thinking. Give students plenty of time to analyze the phenomenon.

Before you add water to the flask, ask students to describe the contents of the flask (air molecules). Ask them what is on the outside of the flask (air molecules).

As the water is boiling, ask students the same questions. (Water vapor replaces some of the air molecules inside the flask). As you attach the balloon, ask students to predict what will happen. Many may suggest the balloon will inflate. It will, if you attach the balloon before you heated the flask.

As the balloon starts to be drawn into the flask, ask students to explain what is happening. If any suggest that it is being sucked into the flask (most do), ask them to explain exactly what is pulling the balloon into the flask. Ask them to look for clues and to analyze. What is happening to the water vapor as the flask cools? How much air is in the sealed flask? What role does the air on the outside play?

Content:

Air molecules can not pull, only push. It is the air on the outside of the sealed flask that pushes the balloon into the bottle. Nothing pulls it in.

When the water boils, water vapor forces a portion of the air molecules out of the flask. As the flask cools, the vapor condenses back to liquid water, creating a partial vacuum. As the air molecules return to the interior of the flask, they push the balloon.

Assessment:

Type: individual.

Content/Process: air pressure, relationship between heat and volume of gases.

Age/Level: all.

Using a whistling tea kettle and an electric hot plate set up this demonstration. Put a cup of water in the tea kettle and heat it until it whistles. Have students explain what causes the teapot to whistle. Discussions should include the movement of water molecules during the cold and the heated stages, and the pressure of the heated water vapor against the inside of the tea kettle and the whistle on the top of the kettle. Students should focus on the change of water from a liquid to a gas and the expansion of gases when heated.

Notes:

--Adapted by: Abbey Shepherd -- www. eecs.umicn.edu

Why things float (or sink)

Grade Level: 6

Time: Three 50 minute class periods

Area: Physical Science - physics

Strand: Density and measurement of mass and volume. Archimedes principle.

Materials: Potatoes and apples for each group of three students, scales (balance type), dunking bags with zero mass (light mesh), water bottles made from 2 liter soft drink bottles [top cut off) made with an overflow tube and glue gun - capacity about 1.5 liters to overflow tube opening. Also a scale that measures in Newtons, graduated cylinders to catch overflow, paper and pencils to record data, and graph paper.

Background: A student should know that when he gets in the bathtub the water level rises. He should already be aware that some things sink while others float. Through a simple demonstration of putting large and small pieces of the same object in water (an apple for instance), the size of the object (big or little) does not affect buoyancy. In other words, if a whole apple floats, then a piece of the apple will float.

Concept: A solid sunk in a liquid displaces its own volume of that liquid. A solid floating in a liquid displaces its own weight of that liquid. And a solid immersed in a liquid loses exactly as much weight as the weight of the liquid it pushes aside.

Objective: In a table, the student will compare the dry weight of objects with its submerged weight and the weight of water displaced by the object. Using the same method, the student will compare the dry weight of a floating object with its weight in water and the weight of water displaced. On graph paper, the students will plot the findings of all groups in the class for dry weight (mass in grams) on the vertical axis, and volume (water displaced in cm^3) on the horizontal axis. Students will draw a line on the graph that best represents the measurements attained by all groups. Students will determine the slope of the line (rise/run or y/x), and this slope will be the density of the object in grams per cm^3.

Engagement: Say "We all know that when we get in a bathtub full of water the water rises and may even splash out. What is so great about this fact that a genius physicist and mathematician would run naked through the streets yelling `I have found it, I have found it`. What do you think it was that Archimedes found?"

Exploration: The idea is to understand why some things float, some things sink; why an object floating in water weighs zero, and object that sinks weighs less in water than out of water; how to measure the volume of an object by putting it in water; how to chart and graph the data; and how to determine the density of the object by using the graph.

Each group of three (or four) students should have access to the following: one potato, one apple, balance scales, a two liter bottle with overflow tube (filled with water to the overflow level), graduated cylinder to catch the water overflow when the potato or apple are put in the water.

Each group will weigh their potato and record the weight in a table that looks like this:

(Dr Lee - my tables and graphs didn't paste into my mail program, but those are the categories)

Item Dry weight in grams Volume (water displaced) Density (g/cm^3

Each group will then slowly place their potato in the bottle, being careful to catch all of the water overflow. The overflow (amount of water displaced) is equal to the volume of the potato. After all groups have made these measurements the teacher (you/me) will draw a similar table on the board and tabulate the results from each group. Now students should use graph paper to plot the results.

Mass on vertical axis

Graphs should look

something like this

Slope of line =

density of potato

(Also note my graph didn't reproduce - sorry; but there are in my MSWORD document)

Volume on horizontal axis

Collect all group data in a table on the board - three columns labeled weight, volume, and density. Ask each group for their answer to the slope of the line. Explain that the slope is only the approximate density of potatoes, and only of the potatoes brought to class. Some potatoes float, and their density would be less that 1 g/cm^3. This activity will take the entire 50 minute time period - maybe more.

Day 2: Today the teacher will demonstrate that when a potato (sinks) is weighed in water (using the mesh bag and Newton scale) it weighs less than when dry, and the loss of weight is equal to the weight of the water overflow. A table can be prepared:

Dry weight Weight in H2O Difference Weight of H20 displaced

With any luck, the weight of water displaced will be pretty darn close to the amount of weight lost in the difference column. Students will have to weigh the water by first weighing a dry graduated cylinder, and then weighing the cylinder with water overflow, and then subtracting the dry weight from the weight of cylinder with water.

Also on day two repeat the measurements but use an apple (which will float). The teacher may want to ask students to predict if apples float or sink. They might know from experiences in the kitchen (or bobbing for apples).

Again, with the teacher using the Newton scale, weigh the dry apple and then the floating apple. Prepare a chart as above. The floating apple should weigh zero, and the weight of water displaced should be equal to the dry weight of the apple. This is the discovery that made Archimedes run naked in the streets.

Note to substitute teacher: Some wise student is going to ask how to find the volume of an object that is really light (a ping-pong ball for instance). It obviously can't be found by using water, but sand or a similar material can be used. Cover the ball in sand in any small container and fill the container to the top (making it nice and smooth and level). Then empty the sand, remove the ball, replace the sand in the container and carefully measure the amount of sand it takes to refill the container to the top. That amount is equal to the volume of the ball.

Explanation: Day three would be a good day to wrap this up (if both activities have been completed). Question groups about what may happen when various objects are placed in water. What role does density play? How do we measure density (at least two ways)? How accurate a measurement of density does the slope of the line depict?

Evaluation: Observe student tables and graphs for clarity of data and accuracy of line slope. Have students write a description of the activities that answer the questions: How did you determine the volume of your potato and apple. How might you determine the volume of a peanut? When an object sinks to the bottom of the bottle, how much water overflows (the answer is an amount equal to the volume of the object, but the weight of the water is equal to the dry weight minus the weight of the object when submerged)?

Elaboration: Ask students if (when graphing) it makes any difference which item goes on the horizontal and vertical axis. The answer is that the dependant variable goes on the vertical axis so that the slope of the line provides an insight into the relationship between dependant and independent variables. What we were looking for here was a number (slope) that told us how much mass increased for an incremental increase in volume. Thus, density is expressed as mass/volume and not volume/mass. It is important for students to be able to express problems in these mathematical terms so that they will understand relationships between dependant and independent variables and how to graph their findings.

Teacher Talk: This lesson is about why some things float and some things don't. An object floats when it is less dense (a physical property of all objects expressed in g/cm^3) than the liquid it is submerged in. When an object sinks in a liquid, it displaces (causes to overflow) its volume (size) of the liquid. Thus to measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object, we simply submerge it, collect the overflow liquid and determine the liquid's volume. Interestingly, an object that floats weighs zero in the liquid, and the amount of liquid that overflows is equal, not only to the volume of the object, but also to the weight. So, in the case of the apple, the overflow was exactly (or theoretically should be) the exact size and weight of the apple.

I admit I haven't tried this with an object that is only partially submerged (something that is floating with part of the object out of water), but I would venture that the liquid displaced equals the weight and volume of the submerged part. W/ THE EXCELLENT MATERIAL THRUOUT THE LP THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL TO FOLLOW

Adapted by: Bill

Williams from Dr.

Lee's Sci 442 class

Fall, 1999

SCI 442, MTSU

Biwilliams@blomand.net

Williams, Bill

Grade: 2

Time: 35 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Light and color

Background: none

Materials:

Activity card B8, clear plastic jar (16 oz), 3 cups water, mirror, flashlight, white posterboard, assorted crayons, and science notebook

Concept:

White light is a combination of man[SP] colors and, when seperated[SP], produces the colors of the spectrum.

Objectives:

The students will produce and identify the colors of the spectrum. ISNT THIS JUST A DESCRIPTION MAYBE OK FOR K-2

Set:

In the book Bear Shadow, show children the illustration on th[SP] page opposite the lines, "But when Bear stood up to throw his line in the water, his shadow scared the big fish away." Ask the children to name the colors they see on that page. (green, blue, brown, violet, yellow, white) Next, let them identify the colors on the page that are part of the spectrum and the colors that are not part of the spectrum WELL, WILL A G2 SS ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THE SPECTRUM? I THINK NOT. SO HOW WILL U RESTRUCTURE THE SET? . The teacher will then hold up a pencil and a glass of water. Have the children to predict what the pencil will look like when viewed through the glass of water A FISH?? . Then, place the pencil upright in the water. Ask the students how the pencil looks (it looks bent or broken)DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON HOW AND FROM WHAT POSITION U VIEW THE APP . Explain that the pencil looks bent because the light rays bend as they travel through water and air to reach our eyes. Light travels very fast, but it travels at different speeds through different materials OH WOW!. When light moves from one substance to another, it changes speed, and the rays bend at an angle. This bending of light is called refraction. AHA, WHY DOES IT CHANGE SPEED? AND SO WHAT??

Instruction:

Place students into small groups of 3-4. Then distribute materials needed. Step 1: Have children place a mirror at an angle in a jar of water. Tell them to hold the posterboard opposite the mirror, a few inches away form the jar, so that it will catch the light from the mirror. Step 2: Darken the room and have the children to shine their flashlights onto the mirrors to make a bright reflection on the posterboard. IVE TRIED THIS A 100 TIMES AND I CANT GET A DECENT SPECTRUM WITH A FLASHLIGHT YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK IF U HAVE A BEAM SUCH AS SUNLIGHT COMING THRU A NARROW SLIT (HOW POSITIONED) SHOW ME IT WORKS AND I'LL RECONSIDER YER SCORE Encourage the children to move the falshlight around until the light on the posterboard looks colorful. Have the children to identify the colors they see. Turn the lights back on and tell the children to get out their science notebooks and record their data. Ask the students what colors they seen. (Children should say red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet; not all colors may be visible.) Tell the children to name the colors of a rainbow-the arc of colors sometimes seen in the sky during a shower- note that indigo or blue-violet is hard to see. Explain that the rainbow colors together are called the spectrum-the colors that make up white light. Ask the students where the colors came from (they came from the white light. They are seperated when the whiter light is bent). Point out that the jar of water and the mirror acted like a prism. A prism bends light. Since each color of light bends at a slightly different angle, the colors spread out, allowing us to see each one.

Closure:

Ask: how do other groups' colors compare with yours? (They are the same colors in the same order because every spectrum is made up of the same seven colors in the same order.)

Help the children recognize HOW WILL U NO THE SS "RECOGNIZE?" AND EXACTLY WHAT WILL U DO 2 ASSIST THEM GETTING THERE? that the colors were all part of a beam of white light. The water in the jar acted like a prism, splitting the light and producing a spectrum on the paper.

Assessment:

Have children recall the meaning of the words prism and spectrum. Ask: What happens when white light passes through a prism? (It is seperated into the colors of the spectrum.) What is a spectrum? (The colors that make up white light: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.)

Extentions:

Invite children to try to making a spectrum appear other places in the classroom, such as on the wall, the floor and on their hands. Also during writing and during art they could write and illisturate a book dealing with the colors of the spectrum.

Teacher talk:

This project deals with the color of white light and is very much a hands on activity. Also many children think of white light as another color of light instead of a combination of all the colors of the spectrum.

A Spectrum is rainbowlike series of colors, in the order violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, produced by splitting a composite light, such as white light, into its component colors (see Color; Light). Indigo was formerly recognized as a distinct spectral color. The rainbow is a natural spectrum, produced by meteorological phenomena. A similar effect can be produced by passing sunlight through a glass prism. The first correct explanation of the phenomenon was advanced in 1666 by the English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton. When a ray of light passes from one transparent medium, such as air, into another, such as glass or water, it is bent; upon reemerging into the air, it is bent again. This bending is called refraction; the amount of refraction depends on the wavelength of the light. Violet light, for example, is bent more than red light in passing from air to glass or from glass to air. A mixture of red and violet light is thus dispersed into the two colors when it passes through a wedge-shaped glass prism. Different colors of light are similar in consisting of electromagnetic radiations that travel at a speed of approximately 300,000 km per sec (about 186,000 mi per sec). They differ in having varying frequencies and wavelengths, the frequency being equal to the speed of light divided by wavelength. Two rays of light having the same wavelength also have the same frequency and the same color. The wavelength of light is so small that it is conveniently expressed in nanometers, which are equal to one-billionth of a meter, or one-thousandth of a micrometer. The wavelength of violet light varies from about 400 to 450 m5, and of red light from about 620 to 760 m5, or from about 0.000016 to 0.000018 in. for violet, and from 0.000025 to 0.000030 in. for red.

Grade Level: 4-6

Title:

Time: 45 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Light and Color

Materials:

* 3 flashlights for each group of 3

* red, green, blue and yellow cellophane to make filters * elastic bands

* white paper

* tempera paints (red, green, blue, yellow) * bowls for holding paint

* spoons for mixing paint

* white paper

* brushes

* observation handouts (one per group)

* 2 light projectors

* primary color slides (red, blue and green) plus a yellow one

Concept:

There are two separate ways to create colors. One method is based on colored light; the other is based on colored ink. The process of mixing colored light is referred to as additive color mixing. The process of mixing colored ink is known as subtractive color mixing. The focus of this lesson is to introduce the student to light color mixing and filtering. The colors, red, green and blue are pure. They cannot be broken down into any other color. NOR CAN THEY B MADE BY MIXING ANY OTHER COLORS That is why they are considered primary colors. When red, green and blue light are emitted at the same time with equal intensity; the resulting color is white.

Objectives:

The student will be aware of the true primary colors. The student will investigate several color combinations of light to determine the resultant colors.

The students will identify complements of the primary colors. The student will compare light color combinations with ink color combinations.

The students will make and record observations on color mixing and color filtering.

Engagement:

The teacher will ask the students what the primary colors are. The probable response will be red, blue and yellow. The teacher will tell the class that she/he does not believe this is the true answer. The teacher will proceed to tell the class about an incident that has taken place in the lighting and stage department at TPAC. TPAC recently hired a new lighting and stage crew and since this crew has been hired, several embarrassing color mistakes have taken place during production. For example when the director of the play asked for purple light the crew delivered a magenta light. This didn't seem too bad but when the director asked for green light to accentuate the field scene he received white light and the stage looked as if it were covered in snow. The director is very frustrated at this crew. It appears someone does not know how colors mix. The director has called upon this class of super intelligent scientists to help the lighting and stage crew figure out why they continually create different colors than what the director has called for.

Exploration:

The class will be divided into groups of three. The teacher will instruct one student per group to collect the tempera paint, spoons, brushes and white paper. The students will mix the traditional artistic primary colors to determine the results. The students will record these results on their observation handout. The teacher will ask the class to report their results and he/she will record the data on the board.

One member of the group will collect the remaining materials for the next part of the activity. The groups will hang a piece of large white paper on the wall. The teacher will turn the lights off to make the room as dark as possible. The students will use their flashlights to see what they are doing. They will use flashlights, pieces of colored cellophane, and elastic bands to experiment with light color combinations to determine what the primary colors of light are. While investigating various color combinations, the groups will record their findings on their observation handout. If the groups are able to determine what the complements of the primary colors are they will try filtering the color to see if they can detect the primary colors that made it up. Upon completion of their experiment the groups will report once again what the results of their experiment are. The teacher will record the results and the class will discuss them and create rules for mixing and filtering light.

In their groups the students must develop a strategy of color combinations to be given to the stage and lighting crew at TPAC. They also must present an explanation that supports their findings, in a professional manner, so the lighting and stage crew will have an understanding of what they have done wrong.

Closure:

The teacher will use two color projectors and primary color (red, green and blue) filters to reinforce what the students have just discovered for themselves. The projectors will create a more dramatic change in color than the weak beams of the flashlights. The teacher will also use a yellow slide to show the colors it would create when mixed with the primaries. This is to establish the fact that light color is different than ink color and to reinforce the filtering process.

The teacher will review with the class what the resultant colors of light combinations are.

Evaluation:

The groups will investigate the properties of light color mixing and ink color

mixing.

The groups will complete their observation sheets. The groups will report their findings to the teacher. The groups will develop a strategy for mixing light color and present their

findings based on scientific evidence.

Elaboration:

This lesson could be used as an introduction to further light and color activities such as:

* determining how color on printed material is made

- comics

- TV

- invite a newspaper worker to help explain

* observing the spectra through grating paper and light * learning about rainbows

Teacher Talk:

A primary color is one that cannot be made by adding any other color. It is pure in its own form and cannot be broken into any other two colors. The primary colors are red, green and blue. When the primary colors are combined in equal intensities the resulting color is white. When two primary colors are combined, the resultant color is a complement. Red + Green = Yellow. Blue + Green = Cyan. Blue + Red = Magenta. Each primary color has a complement. When the complement and the primary are combined, the resultant color is white. The complement of: red is cyan, blue is yellow and green is magenta. When mixing light, colors are added.

When filtering light, colors are subtracted. A filter of a primary color removes all colors except the primary color. A filter of a secondary (complementary) color blocks only its associated color. For example a yellow filter removes blue but passes through red and green because yellow is a combination of red and green.

GOOD TT

Nancy MacQuarrie

Fall 1999

SCI 442, MTSU

npm2a@frank.mtsu.edu

pH Levels of Household chemicals

Grade Level: Upper Elementary

Time: 45 minutes

Area: Physical Science-Chemistry

Strand: pH scale (acids and bases)

Materials:

Plastic cups for each solution (20)

Enough of each of the following to make a one cup aqueous solution of each:

1. ammonia, 2. alcohol, 3. lime water, 4. lemon juice, 5. boric acid, 6. drano,

7. hydrochloric acid, 8. soap, 9. washing soda, 10. clear soft drink, 11. milk of

magnesia, 12. vinegar, 13. plain water, 14. windex, 15. sugar, 16. alum, 17. salt water

Distilled water for mixing solutions and making purple cabbage juice indicator

1 dropper for each solution and 1 dropper for each student group 1 styrofoam plate for each student group Lipstick (optional)

Purple cabbage (1 leaf per group is sufficient) Scissors

Sandwich size Ziploc bags

Background: Since this lesson explains the pH scale in simple terms, it isn't necessary to have background knowledge of pH. However, since the discussion of pH involves separation of compounds into their various components, it is necessary to have some understanding of basic chemistry.

Concept: Whether household chemicals are acidic or basic can be determined by testing them for color change induced by an indicator solution made from purple cabbage juice.

Objective: The student will test various solutions with an indicator made from purple cabbage juice. The student will record (in a table) the color of each solution after its subjection to the indicator. The student will determine whether the solutions are acids or bases by comparing their resulting colors with a color guide given by the instructor. These will also be recorded in the table.

Engagement: The teacher will ask one of the students to write a message to the class with your "secret message-writing ink" (ammonia). (If you have doubts about your students' maturity levels, give guidelines for an appropriate message.) Then ask another student to use your decoding solution to make the message readable. This can be done by using a cotton ball saturated with an indicator solution made from a crushed ex-lax tablet and 2 oz. of alcohol. The color change of the ammonia when subjected to the phenalphtalien indicator makes a "reddish" colored message "appear" on the blank page, providing a fun "attention-getter" for the students.

Exploration: The teacher will explain that certain types of chemicals react differently when exposed to particular indicators, as with those used in the secret message. The teacher will then explain that the students will test several household chemicals using an indicator that they make themselves.

Students will work in groups of two (no more than 3). Each group will get one ziploc bag, one pair of scissors, and one purple cabbage leaf.

Students will cut the cabbage leaf into thin strips and place strips into the ziploc bag.

Then add about 1/4 cup of water to the cabbage strips, seal the bag, and gently squeeze

the cabbage strips to make a purple liquid indicator which can be poured ino a cup.

Next, each group will get a styrofoam plate and make as many indentations as there are

solutions to be tested, taking care not to puncture the plate. (If desired, a lipstick

ring can be drawn around each indentation to contain the solutions.) Each of the

indentations should be numbered to keep results straight. Each group may then begin testing the various household solutions by taking 2 or 3

drops of a solution and placing it in one of the indentations. Then the student will

record the number and name of the solution on a table. Next, the student will put one

drop of indicator solution into the solution to be tested. The student will observe the

color of the solution and record this in a third column on the table. This procedure

will be repeated for all of the solutions to be tested. After all groups have completed their testing, the teacher will compile a class table

on the board to ensure that everyone got similar results.

Explanation: The teacher will tell what pH level each color indicates and where each level occurs on the pH scale [bases have a pH of less than 7.0 and will turn red or pink; neutral pH is 7.0 and wil stay purple; acids have a pH of more than 7.0 and will turn blue, yellow or green]. During this explanation, the teacher will show the acid/base division of the pH scale (at 7.0; the pH level of plain water; neutral). The teacher will also state that for the classes purpose we need only distinguish whether the solution is an acid or a base, not exactly where the solution falls on the pH scale. Finally, the teacher will ask students to tell whether each solution is an acid or a base in a fourth column of the table.

Closure: While the underlying science of pH seems complicated, the pH scale is useful to us in a very practical way. Hair and skin products with pH around the neutral range are more gentle. Substances which are extremely acidic or highly basic are harmful to us. When comparing substances which are in a more moderate range, we can determine which are safer and lean to the acidic side by tasting and feeling them. Allow a student to feel an acidic solution such as vinegar or lemon juice. Ask them how it feels. Then have them taste it, asking them to describe the taste. The student should note that the substance feels smooth and tastes sour (both signs that it is an acid). Next have the student feel a basic substance such as ammonia or windex. They may say that it burns their skin and that it feels "soapy". Since asking a student to taste one of these is probably taking a risk, ask them to smell it and tell what they think it might taste like, or whether they would ever want to taste anything smelling like it. These things would taste bitter and have strong smells. Obviously, the things which are basic are not safe but the moderately acidic things are safe (hydrochloric acid on the other hand...).

Evaluation: Did students test the solutions according to instructions? Were the color changes they observed consistent with the pH of the substances? If not, was there some explanation other than student error? Did the students correctly identify acids and bases? Were their tables filled out according to their results?

Elaboration: This lesson is good preparation for more complicated chemistry lessons, especially those concerning pH. This lesson also opens doors for lessons in Biology (i.e., how overly acidic or basic substances are harmful to the human body, etc.).

Teacher Talk: This lesson deals with pH which can be explained in complicated, scientific terms, yet for our purposes, can be explained in layman's terms. First of all, pH can be thought of in terms of probability. This probability involves the hypothetical chance that one would "choose" a positive hydrogen ion from all the particles in a given substance on any given try. The numbers of the pH scale refer to the exponent associated with the probability. For example, something with a pH of 6.0 yields a probability of 1: 1,000,000 (10 to the 6th power) that one would randomly choose an H+. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. The lower the number, the more alkaline (base) the substance is and the higher the number, the more acidic the substance is. Acidic substances have greater amounts of free H+ than do basic substances. The composition of water is such that, when broken down, an H+ and an OH- result. This doesn't happen often, but when it does it contributes to the probability of choosing an H+ (which is about 1: 10,000,000). This is in the middle of the pH scale, and is neither basic, nor acidic, but neutral. Anything with a higher probability of getting an H+ is an acid. Anything with a lower probability of getting an H+ is a base. The indicator made from purple cabbage juice reacts with acids in such a way that the acid turns a red or pink color. Based turn shades of yellow, blue, or green, based on their place on the pH scale.

Adapted by: Mary Belcher, from class notes: SCI 442, Dr. Lee, Fall 1998 and from notes on class web page,

<http://www.mtsu.edu/~pdlee/pH.html> (Nov. 1998).

Fall, 1998

SCI 442, MTSU

mab2c@bellsouth.net

Belcher, Mary

Does Slow and Steady Win the Race?

Grade Level: 3rd and up

Time: 45 minutes (dependent on time needed for discussion)

Area: Physical Science-Physics

Strand: Motion

Materials: A version of the fable "The Tortoise and the Hare", meter stick, stop watches, graph paper, long area such as a hallway or sidewalk.

Concept: Constant speed differs from accelerated speed in its slope on a graph WHICH IS WHICH?. Determining motion variables (time, speed, location, etc.) can be done by graphing what you know about the motion. Predictions can be made using these graphs FUZZY.

Objective: The students will collect specific motion data SUCH AS? using stop watches and meter sticks. The students will then construct a graph using the data. The students will make mathematical predictions OF WHAT?? based on the findings in their graphs.

Engagement: The teacher will read the fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare". The teacher will then use the moral, "slow and steady wins the race", as a springboard to discussion about why the tortoise won (from a physical point of view--not a moral one).

Exploration: Using a meter stick, measure off hallway or sidewalk into equal distance increments. Then station a student with a stop watch at each mark. Instruct the students to stop their individual stop watches as a designated student crosses the mark they are stationing. One student, the "tortoise", will walk from a beginning point, at a steady, moderate pace through to the last mark. (Use 6- 10 increments so the students can see the development of a pattern in the time between individual marks.) The teacher will then construct a table on the board using the time recorded at each station. Then the teacher will instruct the students to construct a graph using the data shown. Next, the teacher will instruct another student to represent the "hare". The teacher will tell the student to wait for her signal and then run from the beginning to the end. The teacher will have a new set of timers stationed at the marks and will have them start their stop watches several seconds before she gives the hare the signal to run. Again, the timers will record the time at which the moving student crosses their mark. Then the teacher will record this data on the board. Now the teacher will have the students graph the "hare's" movement on the same graph as that of the "tortoise" so that the motion of the two can be easily compared. Next the teacher will use the students' graphs to generate questions about the relative motion of the "tortoise" and the "hare". For example, "Based on the times recorded at the last mark, who in fact would have won the race (in this case)?", "At what point in time (using the graph) would the other party have won?", etc.

Explanation: The teacher will discuss with the students how the shape (slope) of the graph relates to "pace" at which the students moved. The teacher will discuss the fact that points of intersection determine the point at which both objects (in this case students) are in the same position at the same time. The teacher can show students how to use the graph to find time when the position is known and position when the time is known.

Evaluation: The teacher will give students an incomplete table of times and positions to complete. The student will use the pattern found in the table to fill in the missing information. The teacher will then ask the student to construct a graph using the data from the table. Then the teacher will ask the students questions about the graph. For example, "At what time will object 'A' pass object 'B'?", "How long will it take object 'A' to go twice as far as the total distance given?", etc.

Elaboration: This lesson obviously utilizes mathematical skills but can be used in a variety of other subject areas. Students can used the skills gained through this lesson in social studies to explore how goods are transported and why they are transported in various ways (i.e., produce may be flown to ritard[SP] spoilage while canned goods may be transported by truck to save costs). Transportation, in general, can also be explored through the concepts learned in this lesson. (i.e., although bus transportation may be slower than travel by car, what are the benefits of mass transit when weighed against the drawbacks of parking, traffic, and fuel issues that face automobile drivers. CONNECTED? )

Teacher Talk: Graphing and tables can be used to make predictions and estimations about the time when a given object will be in a given position. Additionally, we can determine what position the object will occupy when given a particular time. The mathematical slope, or the "rise over run", is found by plotting ordered pairs consisting of a point on the x-axis (position) and a point on the y-axis (time), and finding the best line through those pairs. The slope can then be used to find variables such as position and time, as well as points when (in time) objects are at the same position or where objects are (in relation to one another) at the same time. This exercise is important in teaching children to use critical thinking skills and problem solving to determine an unknown by using what you "do" know. SPECIFICIS

Adapted by: Mary Belcher From: Motion lesson plan by Jennifer Bunkers, SCI 442,

MTSU, Spring 1996 and lesson taught by Dr. Paul Lee,SCI 442, Fall 1998.

Fall, 1998

SCI 442, MTSU

mab2c@bellsouth.net

Belcher, Mary

Large or Small?

Grade Level: 3

Time: 45 minutes

Area: Physical Science-physics

Strand: Forces and measuring forces

Materials: 20-N spring scale;common objects such as stapler, a cup, a toy, etc.;Activity log to chart objects along with its weight

Background (Teacher Talk):

A spring scale measures in a different way than a balance. A spring scale measures 8 weight of an object-how hard gravity is pulling on it. A 0 on the 0 [CONFUSING] measures the mass of an object. A spring scale depends directly on gravity which is the force of objects pulling on other objects. Forces actually come in pairs. Ex. When you push against an object such as the wall, the wall is actually pushing against you with an equal but opposite force. So what would happen if a person could exert a greater force than that of the wall? Of course the wall would move.

Concept(s):

Pushes and pulls are both forces.

A force involves two subjects in which there is an equal but opposite [!!] exertion.

Objective:

The student will observe that pushes and pulls are forces and MEASURE these forces.

Engagement:

The teacher will begin by asking the students a series of questions. How many times a day do you push or pull something? You may start by brushing and flossing your teeth. You push your door open or pulled it closed. What pushes or pulls you? When you jump in the air, what pulls you down? Can you move without pushing or pulling? The teacher will have sorted through various comic strips that shows someone pushing or pulling. Ask them to glue a particular comic strip onto a sheet of paper and write a sentence underneath explaining what is happening. They must use some form of the word push or pull in each sentence.

Exploration:

Safety Tip- Select objects that can be easily hooked onto the spring scale, avoid very heavy ones.

Group students into fours and encourage each to use the spring scale and measure each object.

1. Hook your finger around the bottom of the spring scale and pull gently while another person holds the top of the scale. (A newton is a unit used to measure pushes and pulls) Make the scale read 10N. Does it matter who pulls? Have the 1 record and draw observations.

2. Now hold the bottom of the scale while your partner gently pushes away from the top of the spring scale. Make the scale read 10N. Does it matter how either of the pushes? Record observations.

3. Hook the scale on an object. Place the scale and object on a smooth, flat surface at a steady speed. Record readings in activity log. Then have your partner hold the 0 in place while you 0 push the object away from the scale. Record the readings and repeat with other objects.

After completing the activity ask these questions on the Activity log.

1. What did you feel when the other person pushed or pulled on the spring

scale?

2. Which objects made the scale read the highest when you pulled them? 3. Both pushing and pulling made the spring scale reads 10N. How are

pushing and pulling the same?

4. Why did it take a bigger pull to move some objects?

Explanation:

Because we can measure both pushes and pulls, we know that they are both forces. Notice that when you hooked the spring scale to the object and pulled it along without holding it there was hardly a change in the reading of the spring scale. This is because there was no evident pull or pull of the object in the opposite direction. Also, heavier objects make the scale read highest because they need more of a push or pull to move them.

Evaluation:

To assess results the teacher will take up the activity log and focus particularly on the questions that were asked. To assess performance the teacher will hold up a small object and ask: How many newtons do you think will be needed to pull this object? Record predictions on board and perform measurement to see if predictions are correct. Now ask how many newtons are needed to push the the object. Predictions should be the same.

Elaboration:

For a social studies lesson introduce the book Pyramid by David Macaulay in which he describes how the ancient Egyptians used pushes and pulls to build one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Tell them to find examples in the book of how they used pushing and pulling to accomplish this without the help of machines DON'T MACHINES USE P/P S?.

AM I MISSING THE DEEP CONCEPT?

Adapted by: Dwan Bell from: Pushes and Pulls

Fall 1998 Teacher's Planning Guide

SCI 442 MTSU MacMillan/McGraw Hill, NY

intr01fa.mtsu.edu 1995

Bell, Dwan

Conductors

Grade: 3

Time: 45 minutes

Area: Chemistry

Strand: Heat Conduction

Materials: glass beaker, beads, pan of hot water, metal spoon, wooden spoon, plastic spoon

Background/Teacher Talk: Explaining heat conduction in terms of a relay race may help 3rd grade students to understand it better. When one end of a conductor is heated, its atoms and molecules vibrate faster, causing its neighbor molecules to vibrate faster, and so on. Heat is gradually passed through the conductor from molecule to molecule SOUNDS LIKE CALORIC, 2 ME , and each loses a little energy in each pass down. Metals conduct heat best because their electrons are free to move among the atoms that make up the metal as a whole. When metal is heated, the free electrons move faster and collide with the metal atoms more frequently and with greater force.

Concept: Some materials conduct heat better than others. FACTOID, RATHER THAN A CONCEPT

Objective: Students will measure visually the ability of three different materials to conduct heat.

Engagement: Say " Which do you think will conduct heat the best: metal, wood, or plastic? Why?" THIS IS WHAT U WANT 2 PROBE List their explanations on the board. Which does the class as a whole think in the most likely explanation?

Exploration:

1.Stick a small bead to one end of each test item with a small blob of butter, all at the same distance from the far end. Note: Make all the blobs of butter the same size. 2. Stand the items upright in the beaker and pour in about 3 inches (7.5cm) of hot water.

Explanation: Ask the students what they see. Help them to realize HOW WILL U DO THAT? that heat from the water is conducted upward through the items. When it reaches the butter, the butter melsts and the bead falls off. But since the materials conduct heat at differnt rates, the beads will fall off at different times. The first bead to fall off shows the best conductor.

Closure: Ask the students which was the best conductor. Did this agree with their initial statements?

Evaluation: The students will record their results in table form in their science journal. They should also describe in their own words why metal is a better conductor.

Elaboration: Let the students bring items from home which they think would be good conductors. Try them in class and discuss.

CONSIDER SS DRAWINGS

Adapted by: Jennifer Benson Physics Today and How Science Works by Judith Hann fall 1998

sci442

Grade Level: First

Time: 1 hour

Area: Astronomy

Strand: Constellations

Materials: Potato chip can with lid for each child, Black construction paper, hole punchers, star stickers and any good books containing pictures of various constellations. Students should supply their own glue, scissors and crayons.

Background: None

Concept:

a.) A constellation is a group of stars named for a certain object, person, or animal, or the area of the sky assigned to a particular configuration. b.) Constellations were given names by people long ago to help explain how and why stars came to be in the sky. c.) The most important star is Polaris, Also known as the North Star.

Objectives:

a.) Students will see that constellations are not really connected; only through someone's imagination.WELL, MAYBE? b.) Students will make a Star Viewer and reproduce ten constellations on constuction paper. c.) Students will make their own constellation and write a story about it. d.) Students will locate Polaris on the Little Dippers handle.

Engagement:

At the beginning of the class sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Say something like, "Long ago people looked in the sky and saw stars, but they didn't know why or how the stars were there. So, they decided to make up their own stories to explain why the stars were there. They imagined that the stars formed shapes in the sky. Sometimes the shapes would look like people or animals, but they didn't have to be. These shapes made out of stars are called constellations. Each constellation that was found was given a name and a story was made up about it to explain why it was in the sky. One such constellation is called the Big Dipper." Read aloud to the class the book "The Big Dipper," by Branley Franklin.

After reading and discussing the book, give each child a black sheet of construction paper and fourteen gold stars each. Have the children make a picture of the Big Dipper and Little Dipper and then label them. Then have them draw an arrow from the pointer star, Dubhe, to Polaris. This is ilustrated in the book. Once the child has found Polaris have him to Circle it with a light colored crayon and then label it.

Instruction:

Say something like, "Today we are going to make a Star Viewer to help us remember what the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Polaris and some other constellations we will be talking about, look like.

To each child, give a potato chip can with the metal bottom already removed. Distibute black construction paper to fit around the outside of the potato chip can and star stickers. Use light colored crayons to write, "My Star Viewer" on the construction paper. Let the children decorate any way they wish. Glue the decorated paper around the outside of the potato cip can.

Give each child a clear plastic lid and ten black construction paper circles that you have already prepared by tracing around the lid of the potato cip lid. Now, show each child a constellation. Have them to mark the stars on a black circle. Check to make sure it is correct and then punch out the stars with a hole punch. Once all nine contellations have been made, slip one of the black circles into the chip lid and place on one end of the chip can. (The extra black circle will be for the constellation they will make at home). Aim your Star Viewer at a light and look through it to see your constellation.

Closure:

Talk about the different constellations that you chose. Tell their names and the stories behind them. I used the book Find the Constellations, by H.A. Rey, to research the constellations I chose to discuss.

Extension:

a.) Have children observe the night sky to try and find any constellations that were discussed in class.

b.) Have the children make up their own constellation and draw a picture of it. Then, Make up a story to go with their constellation. Have a grown up write it down to share with the rest of the class.

Teacher Talk:

The Big Dipper is a good book to help children find the Big Dipper and the Big Dipper is a good starting point for stargazing. Once you can find the Big Dipper, it should be easy to find the Little Dipper and Polaris.

The constellations I chose to discuss in my lesson were: the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Polaris, the Great Bear, the Herdsmen, Leo, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda. I prepared a handout with the pictures of each of these constellations and a brief history of each, but unfortunately was unable to include it in my e-mail. I will be glad to provide a copy of it, if requested. I didn't mention these constellation names until the teacher talk section because there are many, many constellations to choose from and I wouldn't want anyone to feel obligated to use only the ones I chose in a lesson. DONT U NEED 2 PUNCH A HOLE IN THE OTHER END OF THE CAN??

Adapted by: Linda Bryant from: class notes, Hands on Minds on Science: Space, The Big Dipper, by Branley Franklin and Find the Constellations, by H.A.Rey.

Fall 1998

Sci 442, MTSU

Bryant, Linda

Grade Level: Second

Time: 1 hour

Area: Astronomy

Strand: Lunar Cycle

Materials:

* one 5-cm to 10-cm styrofoam ball (the moon) * a light source(the sun), such as an overhead projector or lamp with a 400-watt bulb.

* room that can be darkened

For each group of students, provide:

* chart paper

* markers

* rulers

* one 2-cm styrofoam ball

* one 4-cm styrofoam ball

* toothpicks

* large flat sheet of foam core or styrofoam packing material * flashlight

Background: None

Concept: The moon looks different at different times of the month. What we see depends on its location in relation to the sun and Earth. The moon never goes away or changes shape - we just see a different fraction of sunlight being reflected from the moon to the earth. REASONS???

Objectives:

a.) The students will observe the activity described in the engagement section of this lesson and then draw a sketch of the light, shadow on the ball, and the location of their seat relative to the ball.

b.) The students will share their sketches with the rest of the class and point out differences between their sketches and those of their classmates.

c.) Each group will make a diagram and a 3D of an assigned phase of the moon.

d.) Each group will give their theory of why we see their assigned phase of the moon.

Engagement:

Darken the classroom but turn on a single, incandescent light bulb in a corner. Choose someone to hold a ball in the center of the room. Students should then sketch what they see of the shadow on the ball HARDLY!! , Turn the lights on, and compare the sketches. What differences are there? What caused the differences?

View Newton's Apple video about the phases of the moon. ( The video is from season 15, show number 1503 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-588-NEWTON.) After watching the video emphasize and review the direction of Earth's rotation and the moon's revolution.

Instruction:

Break the class up into groups of three or four. Assign a phase of the moon for each group:

A: New E: Full

B: Waxing Crescent F: Waning Gibbous

C: First Quarter G: Third Quarter

D: Waxing Gibbous H: Waning Crescent

Use markers to draw a diagram on a piece of paper that shows the position of the moon, sun, and Earth during your assigned phase of the moon. Be sure to label the diagram to indicate the names of each of the bodies as well as the name of the phase.

Create a 3D model of your diagram. Use toothpicks to attach the styrofoam earth and moon balls to the flat sheet of foam core.

Use a flashlight to provide the sunlight. Darken the room when to test their model. Move the balls as necessary to get the correct phase. Mark and label the positions of the flashlight, moon, and Earth on the foam base when the corrct phase is attained.

Now for the real test: Explain to the class why we see your phase of the moon. Use your diagram and 3D model. Darken the room and role-play the parts of the sun(overhead projector/light bulb), Earth (volunteer from class), and moon (the large styrofoam ball). Do not state what phase you are demonstrating. Ask a volunteer to guess, based on what he or she sees on the moon.

Closure:

Present the following questions for discussion:

1. Why does the moon look different at different times of the month?

2. What do you think it would look like to have several moons revolving around earth? Would it change your calendar? Tides?

3. What views do you think astronauts have of the Earth and moon as they orbit Earth?

4. Would the moon phases change if the moon revolved around Earth in the opposite direction? How?

Extension:

At www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/java/MoonPhase.html there is an animated computer program of the phases of the moon. The students could visit this website.

Another way to extend the lesson would be by having them do lunar observations. Have the students go out every night at sunset, starting on a night when the lunar cycle begins and draw what they see in the half of the sky you can see toward the west. The students need to do this for at least 10 nights. Once their observations are complete, have the students bring in sketches of their observations complete with dates and times.

Most newspapers and many web sites post monthly lunar tables. Have the students bring in a copy of a lunar table to share with the rest of the class. Become familiar with the vocabulary and invite an astronomer to come and explain why the lunar tables are important and why they are published in newspapers,as well as what professions depend on knowing this information? Why?

Teacher Talk:

As I stated earlier in my concept section, the moon looks different at different times of the month. We divide the moon's orbital cycle into several segments, or phases. When the sun and moon are on the same side of the Earth, the sun illuminates the side of the moon that faces away from the Earth. We don't see any reflected sunlight on it's reflected face, so it looks like there is no moon. We call this the new moon phase. When the crescent moon begins to appear, if you look carefully you may see some faint illumination from earthshine DONT ADD CONFUSION HERE . About two weeks later, when the moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth and all are in line, the sun shines past Earth and directly onto the full face of the moon and we see a "full moon."

As the new moon phase ends, the moon waxes, or appears to grow larger, and we see more of the moon's face. The lighted area increases over time from right to left from our perspective on Earth. When the sun-Earth-moon angle is very small, we see only a thin bright curve, called the waxing crescent. Over the next seven days the angle between the sun, Earth, and the moon grows to 90 degrees. We see the sunlight spread to cover the right half of the moon. This is called the first quarter. The visible part of the moon continues to wax through the gibbous phase over the next seven days until we see the full moon.

As the cycle continues we say the cycle is waning or growing smaller. The amount of lighted area we see decreases, and the darkened area increases from right to left. You can tell whether the moon is waxing or waning by whether the right side of the moon is dark or light. Another fourteen days pass as the moon moves through the waning crescent phase, and seems to finally disappear in the new moon phase. NICE JOB WITH THE MATERIAL. UNFORTUNATELY RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE STYROFOAM MODELS WITH A MOVING SUN DON'T REALLY HELP SS OVERCOME THE IDEA THAT SHADOWS - ESPECIALLY OF THE EARTH- CUSES THE CRESCENT PHASE. AALL THOSE BOOK PIX ARE NOT HELPFUL

Adapted by Linda Bryant from: Class notes,Lunar Observations homework assignment, and Newton's Apple.

Fall 1998

SCI 442, MTSU

Bryant, Linda

Who Can Hold On Longest?

Grade Level: 4th and up

Time: 10 - 20 minutes

Area: Physical Science - Chemistry

Strand: Heat and Temperature

Materials: Strips of metal approximately 3 cm x 20cm to include copper, iron, nickel, stainless steel (use a radiator hose clamp). A lab heat source such as a Bunsen burner, and a glass beaker in which to put the hot metal strips.

Background: Students definately[SP] need to have a sense of what's hot and what's cold THINGS? OR THE IDEA OF HOT AND COLD??.

"Teacher Talk": As the students go through this experiment they will have a "hands-on" idea about the transfer of heat.

Concept: Conduction is a physical property of solids, liquids and gases. Materials with high conductivity will transport heat energy from a hot region to a cooler region rapidly. Conduction involves increased kinetic energy of atoms and/or molecules being passed along the material as a result of collisions between the particles. Generally, good heat conductors are also good electrical conductors.

Objective: Students will complete a series of drawings which illustrate how particles move in cool and hot objects. Students will relate the motion of particles to the transfer of heat energy by conduction.

Engagement: "Have you ever noticed that if you put hot food on a cold plate, after a while, the food gets cooler and the plate gets warmer? Why do you think that happens? What is happening with the plate and the food?"Also, have you ever watched boiling water start boing at the bottom and then slowly rise to the top?" THIS IS CONVECTION Today we are going to do an experiment that deals with heat energy and how it travels."

Exploration: "Today we need some really strong volunteers - I mean those who can stand pain!" Allow for, or select, volunteers. Assign or allow the students to select a metal strip. Say, "Your job is to hold the metal in the flame as long as you can! When the end you are holding is hot drop the strip in the beaker. The last one holding on will be crowned." Tell the students that they should each put the metal strip in the flame at the same time and that they should "share the fire" by not trying to knock anyone' strip down. U MIGHT WANT TO TONE DOWN THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF THE CHALLENGE. OTHERWISE, SOME MAY B TEMPTED 2 HOLD ON 4 2 LONG! I PREFER YOU 2 SELECT THE SS W/O ANY WARNING EXCEPT TO DROP THE STRIP WHEN THE STRIP IS 2 WARM FOR COMFORT. U CAN PLAY UP THE WUSSINESS OF THE 1ST 2 DROP OUT AFTER THE ACT IS OVER.

Light the burner and then tell the student "volunteers" to place their strip in the flame on the count of 3. You will probably find that the copper strip is too hot to hold in a very short time, followed by the iron and nickel strips. The stainless steel strip will never get too hot to hold.

Explanation: When the demonstration is completed start to work on a "picture" of matter inside the strip. Suppose that the students could look into the metal with a microscope so powerful that they could see the individual atoms. First draw a box with some atoms inside. Imagine that the metal is cool. How might the atoms be moving? (in random directions with small speeds). Now imagine a hot metal. Draw a box with atoms inside and ask how these atoms should be moving? (again the directions are random but the speeds are greater than for the cool metal).

Now imagine that the two boxes are put together and the walls are removed between the 2 boxes. What would happen to the atoms? (the faster moving atoms would frequently bump into the slower ones and speed them up). Suppose that there were three boxes all line up but only the one on the left was hot. Will the one on the right get hot? How can you show this?

Evaluation: Relate conduction to why a metal feels colder than a piece of wool, even when the temperature of both is the same. The metal conducts the heat energy away from the fingers and this absence of heat energy makes one "feel" cold.

NICELY DONE - IT SEEMS YOUR EXPLANATION IS ACTUALLY A TT SECTION

Adapted by: Alicia Butt, From: Dr. Paul Lee - Thanks!! Fall, 1998, MTSU, SCI 442

sbutt@edge.net

What Changes the Way Balloons React to Each Other?

Grade Level: 2nd - 6th

Time: 20 - 30 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Static Electricity

Materials: 2 sets of balloons of the same size, two pieces of string 60 cm. long, wool cloth, clear Magic Tape

Background: Students should have a basic understanding of the definition of static electricty and what is involved in static electricity.

"Teacher Talk": The tape to use in the set is the clear Magic Tape. Pull off a strip about 8 cm long and fold the end over as a handle. When the tape is pulled off the table, the breaking chemical bonds almost always give the tape a strong static charge. For the second part of the set, stick one piece onto the table and then stick the second strip to the back of the first. Pull the two off the table together and then seperate the two strips. It may be helpful if you "handle" the strips while they are still stuck together and before you separate them. The strip will invariably be oppositely charged. To show the tape is charged bring it near a few small scraps of paper.

Induction is a process by which a charge can be given to a metal. Neutral doesn't mean that there are no charges - only that the number of positive and negative charges are equal. When the rubbed balloon is brought near metal, the positive charges on the neutral metal are attracted to the near side and the negative charges are repelled to the far side. Since the unlike charges are closer than the similar charges the force of attraction is greater than the force of repulsion. Induction would be the process at work if the unrubbed balloon were one of the metal-coated ones that are usually filled with helium. YOU CAN NOT INDUCE A CHARGE W/O SOME ADDITIONAL ACTION - TOUCHING, SEPARATING THE PARTS, ...

Polarization is a process by which a charge can be effected on the surface of an insulator. A rubbed balloon sticks to a wall by the process of polarization of the molecules in the material of the wall. Many molecules have one end that is slightly more negative. Water is a good example of such a polar molecule. Normally, the molecules all point in random directions so there cannot be any net effect of excess charge on any surface.

When a charged object - a rubbed balloon, for example- is brought near to the surface of a polar material, the forces between the charges on the rubbed balloon and the slightly charged ends of the polar molecules cause the molecules to "twist around" so that the end with a charge opposite to that on the balloon will be repelled and lay fartherest from the balloon. Since the two opposite charges on the balloon and the molecule are closer that the similar charges there is a weak attraction. Nothing has been permanently changed in the material that is near to the charged object so when the balloon is removed, the molecules revert to their original jumbled state, all pointing in random directions, so the polarization effect is not permanent.

Concept: The surface of an object may be charged by polarization or by separation. When a charged object touches a neutral object, electrons are transferred. The charged object loses some of it's charge and the neutral object becomes charged to some degree. COULD YOU CHARGE AAN INSULATOR BY INDUCTION?

Objective: This is a demonstration activity. After the discussion the students should be able to state the relation between the forces and the charges of objects that have been given a statice charge.

Engagement: Say, "I have some tape stuck to the table. I am going to pull the tape up and then bring the two strips near to each other. I want you to observe carefully what happens. I am going to ask you to describe what you see." Then the teacher pulls the tape free from the desk and brings the strip near to each other but not touching.(The tape pieces should repel each other). Allow the students to describe what they have seen.

Tell the students that you have 2 more pieces of tape. Say, These two pieces have been stuck together before I put them on the desk. Watch what happens when I pull them off the desk and then separate them." Pull the two pieces off the desk together and then separate the two strips. Bring them close but not touching(the pieces should move together). Allow the students to describe what they have seen.

Exploration:

1. Inflate the two balloons and tie the ends with string. 2. Hold up the two balloons by their strings so they hang about an inch or two apart. Ask, "How are the balloons affecting each other?"(balloons are neutral and will not react to each other). 3. Ask volunteer students to rub each balloon with a wool cloth. Rubbing the balloon give the balloon a static charge by friction. Since each balloon is rubbed in the same way the charge must be the same for each. Allow the balloons to come close to each other. Describe what happens to the balloons (since the 2 balloons have the same charge they repel each other).

4. On a separate pair of balloons, with 2 more volunteers, rub one balloon with the wool cloth and repeat step 3. Ask, "What happened to the balloons this time?" (the balloons move together because the rubbed balloon has a negative charge and induces a positive charge on the near side of the other balloon. Thus, they attract each other). 5. Allow this last pair of balloons to touch. Ask, "What happened after the 2 balloons touched?" (the balloons move apart. When the two balloons touch, some of the charges on the rubbed balloon are transferred from the negatively charged balloon, giving the other one a negative charge and the balloons repel each other.)

Explanation: Discuss as a class what was observed. The key parts are: 1. When two objects have the same charge they repel. 2. When two objects have opposite charges they attract. 3. When a charged object is brought near an uncharged object, a charge separation is induced on the neutral object and the two attract each other.

Evaluation: Observe whether or not the children need to see the demonstration again. Also, listen to their ideas for their own demonstration as part of the assessment and see whether or not their ideas would work.

Elaboration:

1. Ask the children to explain why rubbing a balloon in your hair makes it stick to a wall.

2. Define induction.

3. Define polarization.

4. Ask the children to bring a demonstration of their own to class that demonstrates repelling and attraction.

TO ADD SOMETHING TO JENNIFER'S WORK, LOOK AT THE DISTANCE EFFECT

Adapted by: From: Jennifer Bunkers, Spring, 1996

Alicia Butt

SCI 442, MTSU, Fall 1998

Grade : 3,4

Time: ½ hour

Area: classroom

Materials:

- 2 brooms

- rope

Background: none

Concept: the use of a pulley decreases the amount of force needed to move an object AT THE EXPENSE OF......?.

Objectives: Students will understand the benefit of using a pulley by utilizing a pulley system to move objects.

Engagement: Have 2 students stand in the front of the class room about 2 feet from each other. Ask students, "what do you think would be the best way to physically make these two students closer together".

Instruction:

- Listen to the student's responses to the question, and if their suggestion is legitimate, then attempt their method of physically moving the two children.

- Then have the two students each hold a broom horizontally at waist height. - Have the students face each other so that the brooms are parallel to each other.

- Now take a rope and tie it to one end of one of the broom sticks. - Wrap it around both of the broom sticks 3 times (as if you are bundling sticks) THIS IS GONNA BE A LOT OF FRICTION.

- Have another student come up and pull on the left over rope. - Have the children observe how the two students are forced to move closer to each other.

Closure:

So could everyone see how much easier it is to move objects with a pulley than it is with out using one.

Teacher Talk:

Pulley systems are used in many situations, and the use of a pulley makes lifting, moving, and pulling a much easier task. Pulleys are used in fishing reels, curtain rods (blinds), elevators, and flag poles. NO, YOUR DEEP UNDERSTANDING, NOT FLUFF ABOUT WHY/HOW WE USE PULLEYS. EG, HERE GOES MECH ADVANTAGES, EFFIENCEY, ETC

Carrie Embry

Lesson plan 5

Revised "Mailbox Intermediate Dec/ Jan 1997"

To Work - Something has to Move

Grade level: 1 - 3

Time: 15 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: work

Materials: paper and writing implements (students willing to play act)

Concepts: When a force causes something to move, work is done. If nothing moves, no work is being done.

Objective: Students will demonstrate in class through play acting when work is done and when it is not done.

Set: Ask the students what they think of when they think of work. Have students record their initial answers. Have students share an example they've written on their paper. SOUNDS USEFUL

Instruction:

Tell the students that in science work is considered done only when force makes something move. Tell the students they are going to act out several situations. After they have witnessed the act, they are to write down whether or not they are to write down whether or not they have seen work done. Call for a volunteer. Have the student push the wall as hard as he/she can. Have the students answer whether or not work is down in this situation. Now ask for a second volunteer. Ask this student to push a chair over to a table. Have students write down whether or not work was done in the second situation. Have the students keep their papers. Call for students to raise their hands if they think the first student did work (Remind the students that work is done only when a force causes something to move). Then ask the students to raise their hand if they think the second student did work. Tell the students that the 2nd situation is an example of work. Tell them the first situation wasn't because no movement from the force occurred. Now have the students look at their first two answers. Have them write down in their own words what they know the scientific definition of work to be.

Assessment:

Take their papers up and assess whether their definitions is congruent with the scientific definition you have given them. In addition, have students in groups of two come up with a demonstration of work. The instructor will go around the room and see the demonstrations.

Closure: "Redefine for the students what work is." Extensions: Have students come up with their own individual examples of forces that might cause work to occur.

Teacher Talk:

Work occurs only when a force makes something move. Prior to this demonstration, students may not know how to determine whether or not work is being done. Hopefully by showing the difference between the two situations above, the scientific definition of work will become more concrete in the students' minds. Although work look as if it's being done, work may not be done if a force is not causing something to move. I FEEL U COULD SAY MORE IN THE WAY OF TT

Adapted by: Courtney Carter Casteel

SCI 442, MTSU, Fall 1998

Source: www.mtsu.edu/~pdlee/public2_html/work2u.html

Water or Kool-Aid?

Grade: Any

Time: 5 minutes

Materials: 4 clear plastic cups each slightly less than º full. In the first cup, drop 5 - 10 drops of phenolphthalein indicator solution. In the second cup, drop 5 of ammonia solution; in the third cup drop 10 drops of vinegar; and in the fourth cup drop 15 drops of ammonia. Make sure solutions are of proper strength. Rehearse before class. IMPORTANT

Set:

"How many of you like to go outside and play in the summertime? Okay, then how many of you have played so hard you thought you'd die of thirst? Okay, how many of you like to drink water when you're really hot? Okay, but how many of you like Kool-Aid?" (Pour cup one into cup 2) The half-filled cup should be reddish purple. "I forgot how many of you like to drink water when you're hot. So let me show you how crystal clear and delicious this looks." (pour cup 2 into cup 3) - clear "I like cherry Kool-Aid. I think I'll pour some Kool-Aid." (Pour cup 3 into cup 4 - now the solution should be good and red) I LIKE THIS STORY.

Teacher Talk:

Phenolphthalein is an indicator prepared from Ex Lax tablets. Crush a plain tablet in an ounce of rubbing alcohol. Strain the liquid into a dispenser. This indicator is pink or red in the presence of a base and vinegar is an acid. In cup 1 the water is neutral so the solution remains clear. In cup 2 is the base so the mixture will turn a reddish color. Notice that twice as much vinegar (Acid) has been added to cup 3. The acid in cup 3 will neutralize the base in cup 2 and enough acid will remain after the base has been neutralized WHAT DO U MEAN BY NEUTRALIZE? that the solution will be clear. This is why you need to test the activity first. The vinegar may not be concentrated enough to neutralize the ammonia. If cup 3 doesn't clear, add drops vinegar, swirling as you add until no color remains. When cup 3 is added to cup 4, the base ammonia in cup 4 will now fully neutralize the vinegar that was a residue of the previous mixture. If the ammonia in cup 4 is not sufficient to make cherry-colored liquid, add drops of ammonia until the desired color is reached.

Adapted by:

Courtney Carter Casteel

SCI 442, MTSU, Fall 1998

www.mtsu.edu/~pdlee/public2_html

Grade Level: 5-6

Time: 30-40 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Astronomy/constellations

Materials: paper, pencil, materials about constellations, and (25) project SPICA Activity Sheet

Concept: The appearance of groups of stars in the sky can be interpreted as figures that resemble people, animals, or objects.

Objectives: Students will outline a constellation on the project SPICA Activity Sheet. Then they will create or interpret a story connected with the pattern.

Engagement: (background) The past several lessons have gotten the children familiar with constellations through books, magazines, films, charts, and nightly observations. We will review several of their favorite myths from the past several days about constellations.

Exploration:

1. The children will be able to come up to the book tables and review pictures and myths of their favorite constellations. Remind them while reviewing these books they are to think of stories they could write about their own constellation.

2. They are to get the Project SPICA Activity Sheet and discover their own constellation.

3. The students are to create a story about their own constellation.

Explanation: Students will share their stories and pictures with me and other classmates.

Evaluation: Ask the students as they are sharing their constellations: 1. Are any constellations on the SPICA sheets like other constellations they had seen before?

2. Did you hear any other myths about previous constellations that remind you of your classmates stories?

Elaboration: In the next class the students would attempt to make their own constellation 3-dimentsional. Then the following lessons in the unit would go into galaxies.

Teacher Talk: Constellations are groups of stars seen from the Earth and identified by a name. The way the constellation is determined is left in the hands AND MINDS of the observer. This lesson lets the children understand that they can make up their own constellation and myth to go along with this object. NOW THIS IS WHAT THE TT SECTION IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR A LP SUCH AS THIS ONE! MIGHT BE DIFFICULT W/O SHEET

From: class notes

internet lesson plans ("Search the Sky" and "Stories in the Sky")

Adapted by: Kerri Catron

SCI 442, MTSU

KMC21@compuserve.com

Catron, Kerri

Title: OH, THE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH A GLOBE!

Grade Level: 4th - 5th

Time: 30 - 45 minutes

Area: Astronomy

Strand: Sun/Earth

Materials: Globe of the Earth, with a base; spirit level (or a small can lid, marked with an "X", filled with water); discarded toilet tissue roll, masking tape, string, a flat world map

Background: Learners will need to know how to determine the direction of North. (For the measure of the Earth activity in the Elaboration section, learners will need to know that when a shadow is at its shortest, /called the subploar point or Noman's shadow/?? , the position of the sun indicates noon for that location.

Concept: The Earth's relationship to the sun determines time. Day and night occur because of the Earth's position in relation to the Sun. Day occurs when the Earth faces the sun, and night occurs when the Earth faces away from the Sun. When the shadow is shortest, this indicates noon for that location. This knowledge allows one to determine the time for other locations by their distance from the subpolar point.

Objective: The learner will be able to state time for a specific location using a globe and the sun. The learner will be able to state the condition of the Earth in relation to the sun for day/night to occur. (For the measure of the Earth activity in Elaboration section, the learner will be able to determine and state within accuracy range the radius of the earth, using a map, globe, and string.)

Engagement: Ask learners, Is it possible to tell time without a watch or a clock? How do you think that this can be done? Allow time for discussion. DO YOU FEEL THIS KIND OF UNFOCUSED DISCUSSION IS PRODUCTIVE?? SURE CAN CONSUME A LOT OF TIMEAsk, How do you think a globe might help us tell time? What if we add the sun? Again, allow time for open discussion. Well, science is amazing! We can tell the approximate time for any place in the world using a globe, the sun, and a few other materials! Let's grab our globe, head outdoors and find out how!

Exploration: On a sunny day, take class outdoors, ensuring that learners leave all watches in the classroom. Place the globe of the Earth on a level spot, such as a sidewalk or parking lot. The globe should sit on a base, preferably one that will not cast a shadow on the globe. (A cup will work very nicely.) Guide learners to situate the globe so that its axis points North. Guide learners to observe the shaded and unshaded areas of the globe. Ask, In what area is it day/night and why do you think so? Are there any areas that never seem to be shaded? What about areas that never seem to be out of the shadow? Allow time for discussion of these questions and answers. Ask further questions if needed, to determine if learners recognize that the shaded areas are experiencing night while the lit areas are experiencing day.

Next, ask a volunteer to locate the school location on the globe. (The state location will be adequate.) Place a small piece of masking tape with a dot on this location. Move the globe in a counterclockwise direction while learners observe the dotted location. Ask learners to raise a hand when the dot begins to experience sunrise/sunset. Explain to learners that this is the rotational pattern of the Earth. NEAT POINT!! Allow time for discussion of the observations. Ask learners why they think days are longer in the spring and shorter in the winter. Encourage learners to form their answer from what they have already observed from the movement of the globe. WELL, NOW, THIS MIGHT WORK OUT WITH A BIT OF FURTHER EXPLANATION

Now place the spirit level (or lid of water) on this spot and adjust the globe until level. Take the toilet tissue roll and place it on the globe. Position the roll until it no longer casts a shadow. Instruct a volunteer to place a small piece of tape here, marked with an "X". Explain that this spot, where a shadow is its shortest is the subpolar point, the location of noon. Draw attention to the longitudinal gores on the globe and explain that each gore equals one hour. Remind students to count the gores in the same counterclockwise direction. Ask learners to determine the time for their location by counting the gores, beginning at the subpolar point and ending at their location. (Learners may need to be reminded that the time at the subpolar point is 12 noon). Give opportunity for all learners to state the time. (Accuracy for this can be checked with the teacher's wristwatch. Guide students in the same procedure for three or four different locations. After returning indoors, allow time for learners to discuss how this activity might be helpful in daily living. Have a volunteer write these brainstorming ideas on the board. Guide discussion, but allow learners to "keep" or throw out suggestions, as they deem fit. Be sure to ask for a reason for each suggestion or idea. This will allow teacher to follow the learners' path of thinking.

Explanation/Teacher Talk: The Earth is a spherical shaped planet. As it rotates on its axis, as well as around the sun, parts of the Earth "face" the sun while the other part is shaded from the sun. This creates day and night. As the Earth rotates around the sun, its position is nearer or farther from the sun. This helps us understand the varying length of days during the spring versus the winter. (A complete rotation takes approximately 365 days). As the Earth is nearest to the sun, during the spring, the days become longer. (At least this is true for our location in TN!). As the Earth rotates farther from the sun, winter, the days become shorter.

Evaluation: Student learning can be determined through discussion within the activity.

Elaboration: Learners can also determine the Earth's radius using the tape with the dot and the "X" location from this activity. Carefully transfer the "X" spot to the proper location on the flat world map. Cut a length of string that is exactly the length from X to your school location. Use the map legend to determine the total distance represented by the string. Cut another string that is the exact size of the globe, measured from one pole to the other. Lay the longer string on the floor or table and use the shorter string to determine the total length represented by the longer string. Learners can now use the formula, C=2[pi]R to determine the approximate radius of the Earth.

NICE JOB WITH A DIFFICULT SUBJ. I'M GOOING TO REWORK THIS ONE AND GIVE YOU CREDIT

Adapted by: Julie Deffenbaugh from class notes from Dr. Paul Lee. Fall 1998

SCI 442, MTSU

bdeffenbaugh@mindspring.com

Deffenbaugh, Julie

Title: SUNDIALS

Grade Level: 4th

Time: Three 30 minute sessions, 1 session weekly

Area: Astronomy

Strand: Sun

Materials: One box of toothpicks, 75 sheets of white paper (8 ¸ x 11), colored pencils, thumbtacks, rulers, 25 pieces of corrugated cardboard (8 ¸ x 11, or slightly larger), 25 observation logs (can be as simple as several sheets of lined paper stapled together with a cover or can use small wirebound notebooks), 25 gallon size plastic bags to store sundials when not in use, 25 metal clips.

Background: Learners should know how to use a metric ruler. WHY?

Concept: The Earth's location in relationship to the sun causes the lengths and directions of shadows to change according to the time of day and the week of the year. These directions enable an observer to make a reliable estimation of time of day for his/her location.

Objective: The learner will make systematic and controlled observations of the sun and record these in table form in an observation log.

Engagement: Did you know that ancient Romans used shadows to determine the time of day? Today we have more sophisticated methods of determining time, like our watches, etc. However, telling the time of day began with shadows and observers of the changes in a shadow over the course of a day. Today we will make our own sundials and learn how the Romans did it.

Exploration: Prior to class time the teacher will locate an outdoor location which receives sun the full day and has lines that run North/South or East/West. This activity should be planned for a day when five well-spaced observations will be possible and convenient. These observations will be made for three consecutive weeks at approximately the same time. Further, for maximum effectiveness, this activity should be conducted close to the autumnal equinox (Sept. 23) or the vernal equinox (March 21). Ideally, daylight savings times should be avoided.

Teacher will instruct learners to attach the white sheet to the cardboard form with a metal clip. The learner will then use metric ruler to locate the center of the bottom edge of the form. From this point the learner will measure 3 cm up and stick a toothpick in the cardboard form in a straight up and down fashion. Learners will then measure the length of the toothpick. This length is to be recorded in the learner's observation log. Next, the class will go outdoors to the previously teacher selected site. The teacher will go over the procedure to ensure learner comprehension. Teacher will instruct the learners to line up their sundials with the selected line on the site. Learners will observe their sundial and mark with a dot the top of the toothpick's shadow on their sundial. Next to this dot the learner will write the time and date. (This will be repeated 5 times in one day and once a day for two weeks). The teacher will ask learners, What do you think is important to remember each time we make an observation. Guide learners to the importance of lining their sundials up correctly each observation, toothpick sticking out of paper the same amount each time, sundial lying flat and not tilted, etc. After the fifth daily observation, the teacher will instruct learners to remove the toothpick and connect the dots at the end of the shadows with the hole where the toothpick was sticking. Learners will then measure each shadow length and record the measurements in table form in their observation logs. The teacher will then ask, What happened to the length of the shadow throughout the day? At what time was the length of the shadow the shortest? What do we know about the location of the sun when the shadow is its shortest? Allow time for discussion. Teacher will then remind learners that next week and the week after they will make more shadow measurements at one of the same times as today. The observation logs will be used to construct another table listing the dates of the measurements and the lengths of the shadows.

After the third week of measurements, the teacher will ask students, What happened to the length of the shadow from week to week? In which week was the shadow shortest? What does the length of the shadow tell us about where the sun was in the sky? How do you think that shadows like this might be used to tell time? How could this information be helpful to us? Allow time for discussion.

Explanation/Teacher Talk: As the Earth rotates, the direction of the sun on the Earth changes, causing the directions of the shadows to change. If the observer records the direction of the shadows for each hour on a piece of paper, seeing where the shadows fall allows the sundial to "tell the time" of day with approximate accuracy. The learner may think that simply measuring the length of the shadow will work. Since this length varies depending on the time of day and week, simply measuring the length will not work.MOSTLY THE LENGTH CHANGES AS A SRESULT OF THE SEASONAL EFFECT. It is the direction of the shadow, not its length, which enables us to determine time on the sundial.

Evaluation: Teacher will assess learner comprehension through discussion throughout the experiment and through assessment/review of learner observation logs.

Elaboration: This lesson could integrate with the math curriculum by having learners measure and compare the angles of their measurements. One adaptation for this plan could be one large class sundial. After the activity, the sundial could be left up for future use in determining time while on the playground.

LOOK UP A REFERENCE IN AN ASTRONOMY TEXT TO DESCRIBE WHY THERE IS A SEASONAL EFFECT BOTH ON LENGTH AND DIRECTION

Adapted by: Julie Deffenbaugh from Dr. Lee's planisphere assignment and Project Primary, (Physics section, Dr. Barbara Anderek lesson plans), found at http://www.owu.edu/~mgg·physic/c_sundials.html. Fall 1998

SCI 442, MTSU

bdeffenbaugh@mindspring.com

Deffenbaugh, Julie

Exploration of Conduction.

Grade Level: 5

Time: 2 hours

Area: Physical Science/Physics

Strand: Heat Energy

Materials:

fur

paper (plate or napkins, etc.)

foam (Styrofoam cup, plate, insulation, etc.) wood

aluminum (foil or pan)

a thermometer

strip of copper

strip of tin

strip of aluminum

strip of stainless steel (note: any metal substitutions are fine, so long as at least one

shows a big contrast)

propane torch

long strip of copper

1-3 wax birthday candles

4-5 match sticks

Concept: a) Touching an object is not an accurate way of assessing its temperature. b)

High rate of conductivity makes an object feel cool to the touch. c) Low conductivity

makes an object feel warm to the touch. d) Conductivity and heat have to do with the

speeding up of molecules bumping into their neighbors, not traveling from one end to the

other.

Objectives: a) The student will measure the temperatures of various materials. b) The

student will form a theory about conduction by drawing a picture the process. c) The

student will argue in favor of his/her model until some compromise can be reached

among all drawings.THIS IS REALLY THE SPIRIT OF SHARED INQUIRY

Engagement [Set]: Set out the fur, paper, foam, wood, and aluminum foil. Choose one

student to use their foot to assess the relative temperatures of the various materials. Have

another student measure each materialstudent record the foot findings, ranking the materials from warmest to coolest. Now have this student record the thermometer findings next to the corresponding material.

Notice that the real temperatures are all very similar to the room temperature. Have

students discuss why they think this is the case.

Exploration [Instruction]: Choose four students to hold the four small strips of metal.

Carefully ignite the propane torch and have the students place the ends of their strips into

the flame. Wait and observe. You might want to have a beaker or other storage container

handy, so you will have a good place to put the heated strips. The students will notice

that each student puts his/her strip down in an order. The stainless steel strip will resist

the heat much longer than the others, so you may prefer not to wait until all of the strips

are down. Ask the students to think about this activity and the preceding activity. What

connections can they draw? What explanations can they offer? Once some discussion

has transpired and the idea of conduction has at least been mentioned, have each group

produce a pictorial model of conduction.

Evaluation [Assessment]: Set all the pictures up at the front. Have each group explain,

and then defend, their model. Allow other students to pose questions and objections. For

further assessment, make all the students are involved with the observation and

discussion. Mention to idea that the foot is not a great way to accurately measure the

temperature of a material. Ask the students to explain why this statement is true.

Elaboration [Extension]: For further illustration of conduction, fix match sticks onto the

long copper strip by way of dripping candle wax. Each match stick should be equidistant

from the next. Hold the copper strip in the flame of the propane torch. Note when each

stick falls off. Discuss why this is true and how this concurs with previous

experimentation.

Teacher Talk: When an object such as a copper strip is heated, the molecules that make

up the strip begin to move at a faster rate, bumping into their neighboring molecules.

This is not to say that molecules from one end of a strip migrate to the other end, rather

the increased movement leads to a chain reaction of movement, so long as the heat energy

is present. The molecules move like the wave at a football stadium. No one moves from

his/her seat, but movement is increased and transferred throughout the stadium. Materials

that have a high conductivity (such as aluminum foil) tend to feel cool to the touch. This

is because the heat from a human body is being transferred to the highly conductive

material. The body, therefore, registers a loss of heat. The opposite is true for materials

with low conductivity. These materials resist the transfer of heat, registering no heat loss.

Adapted by: Philip duBarry

from: Dr. LeeFall 1998 SCI-442, MTSU

m_c_00a3@mtsu.edu

duBarry, Philip

Exploration of Air Pressure.

Grade Level: 5

Time: 2 hours

Area: Physical Science/Physics

Strand: States of Matter

Materials:

sealed flask

vacuum pump

marshmallow

scale

cup of water

Alka-Seltzer (several tablets)

plastic bottle with top

Concept: a) Air has mass and volume. b) The force of [ OF? OF?? FORSOOTH!!] air accounts for much of what is

considered to be sucking.

Objectives: a) The student will make predictions concerning the effect of a vacuum. DETAILS?? b)

The student will test these predictions. c) The student will measure a difference in

containers that hold varying amounts of the same gas.

Background: Some knowledge of force may be necessary.

Engagement [Set]: Put the marshmallow in the flask and seal it shut, attaching the

vacuum pump. Hold this apparatus up and ask the students to predict the effect of

removing the air. Will the marshmallow change shape? Will it get smaller, larger, or

stay the same? After the predictions have been made, discuss some of the reasoning

behind the predictions. Finally, remove the air from the flask and observe (the

marshmallow should get larger). Have students modify their rationale to account for this

phenomenon.

Exploration [Instruction]: Set the cup of water and the Alka-Seltzer tablets (2-3) on the

scale and have a student measure the mass. Place the tablets into the water (being careful

not to splash any water out). Once the fizzing is over, have the student measure the cupmass again. Ask each group to draw a picture representing the fact that the cup loss some

mass. Discuss each drawing. Suggest that you should do the experiment again, but with

a closed container. Note the results. Open the top and measure the container again. Are

these findings consistent with the drawings?

Evaluation [Assessment]: Make sure each student is participating in the group

discussions. Ask some application questions such as: How does a straw suck up milk

from a glass? Try to dispel the idea that it is your sucking power that forces the liquid up

the straw. Draw a picture of this, if desired.

Elaboration [Extension]: Get a large container (preferably transparent) and fill half of it

with water. Now float a birthday candle on a plate, etc. and light it. Place a clear,

floating container over the candle and plate so that it floats. When the candle goes out the

smaller container should have some water drawn up into it. Have the students discuss

this.

Teacher Talk: Contrary to popular opinion, sucking on a straw creates a vacuum (a place

devoid of air pressure). This allows the air pressure pushing against the liquid in the

glass to force the liquid up into the straw and then your mouth. Without an equal amount

of air force inside the straw, the liquid easily flows into the space. In the case of the

marshmallow, there exists two areas of air. One is the air inside the flask but outside the

marshmallow. The other is the air pockets inside the marshmallow. When the outside air

is removed, it no longer pushes against the outside of the marshmallow. Since the inside

air has been pushing constantly from the beginning and now has much less resistance, the

outside walls of the marshmallow are pushed out. The marshmallow expands. When

Alka-Selter is put in water, it reacts to form a gas. The reaction costs some water;

however, so that when the gas is allowed to escape, the cup of water masses less. If, on

the other hand, one starts the reaction in a sealed container, no gas is allowed to escape.

The mass stays the same. The air pressure will be much greater inside this container

because more gas has been forced into the same volume. When the cap is opened, the

bottle hisses.

Adapted by: Philip duBarry from: Dr. LeeFall 1998 SCI-442, MTSU

m_c_00a3@mtsu.edu

duBarry, Philip

The Automatic Balloon Blower-Upper - Lesson Plan #8

Grade: 4

Time: 30 - 45 minutes

Area: Chemistry

Strands: Chemical reactions, gases

Materials:

6 empty 2-liter bottles (cut the label off the bottles) bag of balloons

2 boxes of baking soda

large bottle of vinegar

5 small funnels

5 tablespoons

empty cups (25)

Background: None

Concepts: A. It is possible to blow up a balloon without using air, a helium tank, or water.GENERALLY USEFUL IDEA?? I THINK NOT!

B. When certain substances are mixed together the same chemical reaction will occur.

C. When mixed together, vinegar and baking soda make carbon dioxide.

Objectives: A. The students will work in small groups of 4 or 5 EFFECTIVELY KEEP GROUPS BELOW 4 -depending on the number of students. B. The students will mix the baking soda and vinegar together and place inside a balloon with the aid of a funnel. C. The students will place the balloon onto a 2-liter bottle. D. The students will visually observe AND DO WHAT W/ THE RESULTS? the results.

Engagement: The teacher will pop a balloon and then attempt to blow up another balloon by using her „hot air.‰

Instruction:

1. The teacher will put the children into groups of 4 or 5. 2. The teacher will pass out a 2-liter bottle, balloon, funnel, tablespoon, cup of vinegar, and cup of baking powder to each group. 3. The teacher will instruct the students to place the funnel over the balloon (teacher will demonstrate if necessary). 4. The teacher will instruct the students to place 3 heaping tablespoons of the baking soda into the balloon using the funnel. Carefully, take the funnel from the balloon and place the funnel over the empty 2-liter bottle. 5. Next, pour the cup full of vinegar into the empty 2-liter bottle. 6. Remove the funnel and carefully (be sure not to let the baking soda go into the bottle just yet) place the balloon over the 2-liter bottle. (Teacher will help if necessary).

7. Next, shake the baking soda from the balloon into the bottle. 8. Finally, observe the reaction.

Closure: Inform the students that this experiment can be done again later. All the materials will be placed in the Science center. (This way the students can observe that the same reaction will occur every time the experiment is done). Ask the students why they think the balloon blew up.

Accept their answers and then if needed tell them that a chemical reaction occurred when the baking soda and vinegar mixed together causing the balloon to be filled with a gas. The gas is what filled the balloon and made it expand or get bigger.

SOMETHING MORE NEEDS 2 B ADDED TO GIVE THIS SUBSTANCE

Teacher Talk: The reason this experiment worked is because when the baking soda and vinegar were mixed together they caused a chemical reaction to occur. The chemical reaction produced a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas is released from the bubbles as they pop and they get trapped inside the balloon and cause the balloon to expand. THINK ABOUT AN EXPLANATION IN TERMS OF THE SMALL PARTICLE MODEL HERE. YOU HAVE ENUF

Adapted By:

Cathy Gesell from Dr. Lee‚s class experiments and from the book More Mudpies to Magnets by E. Sherwood, R. Williams, and R. Rockwell

Fall 1998

SCI. 442, MTSU

Lesson Plan #8 - The Automatic Balloon Blower-Upper cgesell@cafes.net

Lesson Plan 8

Pulleys

Grade: 4 - 6

Time: 45 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Simple Machines

Materials: 1 or 2 pulley systems, several force scales, 1/2 kg mass weights, meter sticks

Background: none

Concept: Simple machines make a job easier to complete with a smaller force. They do not actually make work.

Objectives: The students will use both a spring scale and meter stick to measure input and output force [and input and output distance]. The learner will calculate the efficiency of the simple machine.

Engagement: The teacher will say; "does anyone know why we use machines? [WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE SS ANSWER TO BE?] Can you give an example of one? Today, we are going to look at some simple machines and we will measure the force and distance used on them in class."

Instruction: Using the two pulley systems, set-up and measure the input and output, distance and force. To measure the input distance you measure the amount the string is pulled down the meter stick. To measure the output distance, you measure how far the mass moves up the meter stick. The output force is the amount of the weight and the input force is the amount of force required to move the mass. After all the data is recorded, the students will calculate the amount of work required. The efficiency of the simple machine can be determined by calculating the actual mechanical advantage (output force/input force) and the ideal mechanical advantage (input distance/output distance). AND THEN??

Explanation: The teacher will talk about efficiency of simple machines. The students will write in their journals, what they think makes one machine more efficient than another. How does the output work compare to the input force? Read their responses to see if the students grasped the concept.

Extension: The students will do other experiments using simple machines such as a lever, wedge or an incline plane.

Teacher Talk: An important point to get across to the students is that simple machines do not make work. They do make a job easier to complete with a smaller amount of force. In a pulley system, keeping the load mass attached allows for the tension to stay. It is also important to keep them strung for the system to work correctly. Inform the students of the basic formulas before beginning this activity: Work = Force x Distance, AMA (Actual Mechanical Advantage) = Output Force / Input Force, IMI (Ideal Mechanical Advantage) = Input Distance/Output Distance. The AMA and IMI determines the efficiency of the machine. Do you get as much work out of a machine as you put into it? If you do, the machine is

considered efficient. EFF = Wout / Win

Adapted by: Mary Guimbellot from class notes Fall 1998

SCI 442, MTSU

Surface Areas and Reaction Rates

Grade level: 5

Time: 45 minutes

Area: Chemistry

Strand: Reaction Rates

Materials:

3 clear plastic cups

2 Alka-Seltzer tablets

water

Background:

Students need to know the definition of surface area

Concept:

Particle size and surface area affects the rate of reactions

Objective:

Students will observe how particle size affects the reaction rates Students will graph the results obtained from the demonstration

Engagement:

Ask students for ideas as to how an Alka-Seltzer will disolve the most quickly.

Exploration:

Pour 1/2 cup of water into each plastic cup. Break the 2 Alka Seltzer tablets into 4 equal halves. Take one half and crush it into a fine powder. Take another half and break it into smaller pieces. Do not break the third half at all. The fourth will not be used. Place all three halves into cups of water at the same time. Measure how long it takes for each half to dissolve and record the data.

Explanation:

Remind students that each cup has the same amount of water and Alka-Seltzer, and that the tablets were all placed into the water at the same time. Explain that the smaller pieces of Alka-Seltzer have more surface area in contact with the water, so the smaller pieces will dissolve faster.

Closure:

Make sure all students have recorded data properly.

Evaluation:

Have students make a graph of the data obtained in the demonstration. WHAT IS ONE THE AXES?? TIME VS PARTICLE SIZE? OR WILL THIS BE A BAR CHART

Teacher Talk:

Each half tablet of Alka-Seltzer reacts and dissolves THIS IS A REACTION AND NOT SOLUTIONinto the water at a different rate. The smaller pieces of Alka-Seltzer will dissolve more quickly than the larger ones because they have more surface area in contact with the water.

Elaboration:

This can be one of many activities illustrating the many variables affecting reaction rates. Other topics might include the rate of reactions in comparison with temperature, stirring, etc.

Adapted by: Wendy Harrison

Fall, 1998

SCI 442 MTSU

wah2a@frank.mtsu.edu

from: Kitchen Chemistry, by Drs. John Bath and Sally Mayberry

Harrison, Wendy

To Be or Not To Be Charged

Grade Level: 6

Area: Physical Science/Static Electricity

Materials: 2-5 oz clear plastic cups

2 nickels

comb

piece of wool

paper (1 cm long)

similar piece of lightweight aluminum foil staple

bar magnets

Concept: Static electricity and magnets are not the same phenomenon.

Objective: Students will observe that different effects are produced by magnets and static charges.

Set/Demonstration: "I have placed the two nickels on top of the table. I am going to place the scrap of paper on one of the nickels. On the other nickel, I am going to place the staple. Cover each of the nickels with one of the clear plastic cups. Now, I challenge any of you to come, and move any of the objects without moving the cup." Discuss the various attempts.

Hold the comb near the cup with the paper. "Did anyone see anything happen?" (Nothing happened.) Rub the comb with the wool, and hold it near the same cup. "Did everyone see what happened?" (The paper will immediately jump off the coin towards the comb.) Hold the comb near to the cup containing the staple. (Nothing happens.) Even after re-rubbing the comb (if asked to do so), the staple will not move.

After placing the paper back on the nickel, and covering it up with the cup, hold the magnet up to the cup with the paper in it. "What happened?" (Nothing) Hold the magnet up to the cup with the staple in it. "What happened this time?" (The staple leaps towards the magnet.)

By now, the students may believe that metal is attracted to magnets, and paper is attracted to a comb rubbed with a wool cloth. Place the foil on one of the coins, and cover it with the cup. Hold the magnet up to the cup with the foil. "Did anyone notice anything happen?" (Nothing happened.) Rub the comb with the wool, and hold it near the cup with the foil. (The foil jumps towards the comb.) "What happened with this experiment?"

Closure: Discuss the experiments as a class.

Teacher Talk: Magnets do not have charges of any kind. Neither does it produce any effects of static electricity. By rubbing the comb with wool, a static charge is produced on each (comb and wool). Electrons, which are the only mobile particles, move from one to the other. This process is called "charging by friction". The paper has no net charges, but there are some negative charges that are a little mobile. The negative charges are repelled from the comb, which is negative by friction, leaving the near side of the paper slightly positive. The positive charges, which are closer together than the negative charges, are attracted to the comb. The net result is a small force of attraction. Exactly the same thing occurs with the aluminum foil.

These above mentioned forces are very small, and the mass of the staple is too great to be affected by the small force. The magnet has nothing to do with charges.

There is an effect when the magnet is brought near the staple. A staple is steel, which is a magnetic material. Because it is iron, it contains magnetic domains. If the south pole of the magnet is brought near the staple, the domains are aligned so that their north pole is nearest the bar magnet, and the south pole is more distant. The weak attraction between the south pole of the bar magnet and the north poles of the domains is larger than the repulsion between the south pole of the bar magnet and the south poles of the domains. The staple feels a slight attractive force toward the bar magnet.

Aluminum is not magnetic, which means it has no domains. It is unaffected by the magnet.

Adapted by: Allison Horner From Science in Your World

SCI 442, MTSU, Fall 1998 MacMillan/McGraw-Hill

Lesson Plan #6

Grade: 2

Time: 30 minutes

Area: Physical Science/Astronomy

Strand: Sun and Earth

Materials: globe, flashlight, butcher paper, crayons

Background: none

Concepts: The earth's rotation causing day and night.

Objectives: The Students will watch a demonstration of the globe turning while a flashlight is shined upon it. The students will identify when a specific area is lit by the flashlight and when it is not. The students identify drawn representations of when it is dawn, noon, dusk, and night. The students will discuss the location of the sun and earth and how the rotation of the earth affects night and day.

Engagement: Look outside the window or step outside the door and let the students point out the position of the sun. Ask them if the sun stays in the same place all day. If the students say no, give them a flashlight and the globe and have them show you how the sun seems to move.

Instruction: Explain to the students that the sun does not move, but it looks like it moves because we are moving instead of the sun. Because the earth rotates, the sun seems to move across the sky during the day. It appears low in the [TOWARD THE ] east at sunrise, seems to travel in an arc to its highest point at midday, and sets in the [TOWARD THE] west at nightfall. In the continental United States, the sun never reaches a point directly overhead. Now we will see what is happening when we (earth) moves[SP] instead of the sun. One student can simulate the rotating earth and the other can hold the sun, not moving, in the same place. Now lets watch the United States on the globe as it rotates. Can everyone see when the sun/flashlight is shining on it? When does it shine on it? Right, when it is facing the sun. If it is day when it is facing the sun, then what is it on the opposite side of the globe that is not facing the sun? Right, the side not facing the sun is nighttime. Now, in pairs we have pictures of times of day and night, and positions of suns. You and your partner, together, are going to pick a picture and put the appropriate placement of the sun with the picture. For example, if it were really bright outside, the brightest for the whole day, where would the sun's position be? Right, at the highest of the day.

Closure: At the end of the day have students step outside or to the window and find the sun. Ask them if it is in the same place as it was earlier. Then ask them if this means that the sun is moving? The answer should be no. Ask them why the sun looks like it is moving. Refer to the globe exercise.

Teacher Talk: The sun looks like it moves in an arc throughout the day, however the sun does not move at all, instead it is the earth rotating on the axis in a 24 hour interval that gives us the night/day effect and the 24 hour day. The sun seems to rise in the east and set in the west and is at the highest place at midday. Because of the tilt of the earth on its axis, the sun will never be directly overhead to us in the continental United States.

Extension: talk about what causes seasons. Make a clock for the different positions of the sun.

A SUNDIAL MIGHT NOT BE A BAD IDEA

Adapted by: Nicheala Hudson

Fall 1998

Sci442 MTSU

Nhud13@aol.com

From: ScottForesman Science. Discover the Wonder. Harper Collins. Glennview: 1996.

Heat Transfer

Grade: 4

Time: 30 - 45 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Heat transfer

Materials: 75-watt light bulb hooked to current, 2 thermometers, aluminum foil, copper

strip, matches, candle wax, propane torch

Background: None

Concepts: 1. Conduction is the transfer of heat by molecular collision. (p.119)

2. Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of a substance or mass

mass from one position to another. (p. 120)

Objectives: .1. The students will be able to define conduction and convection. BUT WILL THEY DO IT?

2. The students will make pictorial representations of conduction and

convection.

Engagement:

Say: "Today, boys and girls, we are going to explore some ideas about heat ENERGY and how it travels."

Exploration and Instruction:

1. Have a student hold a copper strip with a row of matches attached with melted wax in a vertical MAYBE U MEAN HORIZONTAL? position. Tell the students that you will hold a lighted torch so that the student can hold one end of the copper strip in the flame. Hold the flame under the strip and have them record what happens.

2. Take a spiral cut from aluminum foil and tell them you will hold it over the flame. Hold the spiral over the flame and have them record what they see.

3. Ask the students what they think happened in the copper strip. Have them draw pictures of what they think happened and share their ideas. 4. After their discussion, explain to them: "The heat caused the particles of copper to speed up and bump into each other, causing energy to go from one to the other. It was sort of like a chain reaction going from one end to the other. That's why the matches fell off (hopefully) in order as the heat moved from one end to the other." 5. Draw a sketch on the board of the particles in the copper strip. Say: "The particles pretty much stayed in place though. They did not change positions. It would be kind of like lining you all up in a line and having you rock back and forth from one foot to the other bumping each other, but still staying in your spot." (Let them do that activity.) 6. Say: " This method of heat transfer or movement is called conduction." Display the copper strip and the matches with a card labeled "conduction." 7. Ask what they think happened with the foil spiral. Have them draw pictures of what they think happened. Let them share their ideas. 8. After their discussion, explain to them: "In this case, the torch did not touch the foil, did it? But the foil moved. What happened was that the heat from the torch caused the air molecules to actually move upward (actually changed places) NO - CONVECTION IS A DENSITY DIFFERENCE AND BUOYANCY EFFECT more rapidly and the moving air moved the foil. (Draw picture.) This type of heat transfer or movement is called convection."

9. Display the foil spiral with a card labeled "convection."

Closure:

Say: "So today we have learned two ways that heat can travel - conduction and convection."

Assessment:

Have the students write their own definitions of conduction and convection and draw a sketch of each.

Extensions:

Explore which materials are good conductors and which are not; thus learning about insulators.

Teacher Talk:

Two of the ways that heat can travel are conduction and convection. In conduction, heat travels when energy from a heat source causes particles of a substance to speed up and bump into each other. The particles don't actually change positions, but energy is transferred from one particle to another. That is why the matches dropped off in order. The heat traveled down the copper strip. Convection is when energy from a heat source speeds up the particles of a substance and they actually move from one position to another. The moving air particles are what moved the foil spiral.

Adapted by: Resources:

Mary Ann Ihrie Dr. Paul Lee and:

MTSU Class - SCI 442 An Introduction to Physical Science

Fall 1998 Shipman, Wilson, Todd

Houghton Miflin

(1997)

mai@coscc.cc.tn.us

What is the difference between a mixture and a solution?

Grade: 1-2

Time: 1 Hour

Area: Physical Science/Chemistry

Strand: Matter

Material: For each group: 2 Glass jars, water, bits of paper, paper clips, toothpicks, marbles, tacks, powder milk, sugar, powder chocolate, chex mix, jug of kool-aid, pictures of mixtures and solutions

Background: None

Concepts: a) Materials retain their individual identities in a mixture. b) Materials do not retain their individual identities in a solution.

Objective: a) The students will make mixtures and solutions. b) Students will categorize whether things are mixtures or solutions.

Engagement: We are having a party today. Our party has a theme: Mixtures and solutions. What is a mixtures? (Wait for students to answer) What is a solution? (Wait again.) NOW WHERE ARE THE SS TO GET AN IDEA FOR THIS QUESTION, ESPECIALLY IN G1-2? LOOK AT THE CHAPTER IN WYNNE HARLEN RE: PRODUCTIVE QUESTIONS

Instruction: Divide the class into groups of four. Give each group a set of the materials required.

Have each group put water in one of the glasses. Then in the water add bits of paper, paper clips, toothpicks, marbles, and tacks. Stir the contents. Ask, what do you see? (They will list all the things.) Are they together or separated? (Hopefully someone will say they are all mixed up.) Yes, they are mixed up but can we tell what is mixed together. (Yes, they may name everything again.) Great! What is a mixture? (Things put together but you can still tell what they are.) Yes, a mixture is two or more things mixed together but you can still tell what is there. Now place that glass to the side.

Have the students put water in the other glass. Tell them to add the sugar and stir. Can you see the sugar? (No) Is this a mixture? (No) Now add the powder milk and stir. Do we have a mixture? Remember our definition. (No) What do we have? (Give students time to answer.) OK, add the chocolate. What do we have now? (Chocolate milk.) Yes, it is but it is all mixed up but not a mixture. This is called a solution. I THOUGHT MILK WAS A COLLOIDAL SUSPENSION? WOULD YOU CHECK OUT MS HOLDENS ACTIVITIES WHICH BEAR ON THIS POINT? Can someone give me a definition for a solution? (Give students a chance to think and answer. The teacher may have to build on their answer if possible if not ask more questions.) Did the things we add keep their form or become a part of the liquid? (Became a part of the liquid.) Yes, we can not tell what each ingredient is that we added. Therefore, it is a solution. A solution is when we combine things, especially a liquid anD the things all become as one DIFFERENT??.

Closure: So, a mixture is when you can (tell what the ingredients are) and a solution is when you can (not tell what the ingredients are) in the glass. (Write on the board solution and mixture. While you are doing this have one from each group cleaning up the materials.) Show the students pictures of things that are mixtures and solutions. The student will tell you which word to put the picture under. Now for the party! Show a jug of kool-aid. (Solution) Then show a bag of party mix or a bag of treats mixed up. (Mixture) Yes, very good. Give each child a cup of kool-aid and some of the party mix or treat mixture and let them party. PARTY HEARTY!! or is it PARTY ON, DUDE!

Extention: This could be adapted for older children as an introduction into chemistry. This lesson would not have to be as drawn out for older children because of their previous knowledge.

Teacher Talk: This lesson would be one used to start out an introduction to a chemistry section. It would be used mainly to teach some of the terms that they will be seeing later.

In deciding if this would be a good lesson to use, I asked some grown ups what was the difference between a mixture and a solution. They could not tell me specifically. So, I decided to do a lesson plan on the difference.

A mixture is two or more substances put together but they do not lose their identity, while a solution is two or more substances put together that does lose their identities. These terms are not used everyday but we are around them everyday. Just as in the lesson plan when we make kool-aid or mix candies together in a bowl, we are using solutions and mixtures. Many never think about it but maybe if we brought the simple, everyday things of science out in the open. Just maybe we could encourage a child to be a scientist by teaching the simple lessons. Showing children science around them, they may take note of many things and start investigating their surroundings.

Adapted by: From:

Sandra Kelley Science Activities for

elementary children

Fall 1998 Leslie W. Nelson, George

C. Lorbeer

SCI 442, MTSU Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers

sdk@coscc.cc.tn.us 1976

Kelley, Sandra

Experimenting With Newton's Third Law

Grade Level: 7-8

Time: 50 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Force and Motion

Materials: (per group of 5) bicycle pump and connector, needle adapter, plastic soft-drink bottle, epoxy glue, a cork with a pre-drilled hole.

Background: None

Concept: Newton's Third Law

Objectives:

1. The student will build water rockets in order to better understand Newton's Third Law.

2. The student will discuss their experiment. 3. The students will write an explanation of Newton's third Law related to walking and swimming.

Engagement: Have 2 children about the same size bring roller skates. On a smooth floor the two should stand facing one another with their hands together. One pushes the other gently away, staying as upright as possible. Both should roll back equally.

Exploration: "We are going to begin talking about forces and motion today. Way back in 1665, Isaac Newton devised 3 laws about the way things move and these laws still hold true today. Newton's Third Law is that for every action, there is an equal reaction that is opposite in direction. We are going to build water rockets today and explore this Third Law more closely. "

Each group of 5 will then be instructed to: 1. Take their pre-drilled cork and put their needle inflater into the hole, pushing in the needle from the wide end. 2. Fill their soda bottle 1/4 full with water and cap it with the cork making sure the needle is on the outside of the bottle. 3. Take the class outside at this point for safety precautions. 4. Connect the pump to the needle.

5. One student should pump the bottle, keeping their distance from the bottle. (Some type of base to set the bottle on would help to hold the bottle while pumping and help the rocket fly straight). 6. Pump until the pressure builds up inside and the rocket blasts off.

Explanation: Lead a class discussion as to how this experiment relates back to Newton and his Third Law. If this is related to Newton's Law, what are our 2 forces that are working? I only saw one student in each group doing any work, and that was pumping the air. Gather up ideas and put on chalkboard. (Once class has come to understand the reactions at work, relate to a rocket being blasted off into space and the burning fuel).

Evaluation and Closure: There are forces at work around us all the time that are not so dramatic as this. Within your groups, draw a picture of what you think is happening, according to Newton's Third Law, when you walk and when you swim. What are the 2 equal but opposite forces?

Elaboration: Students should naturally be curious about Newton's First and Second Laws, so other lessons may be devoted to exploring these.

Teacher Talk: Newton's Third Law states that forces always occur in pairs, with the 2 forces = in size and opposite in direction, and the 2 forces being exerted on different objects. So, when we walk, our feet are not doing all the work. The ground is actually pushing up with exactly the sme force as our feet are pushing down. If the ground did push any less hard, your foot would sink into the ground. Whenever anything moves, there is this balance of forces pushing in opposite directions. When a car moves, the wheels push back on the road with the sme force as the road pushes forward. This is Newton's Third Law.

AND WHERE ARE THE FORCES IN A ROCKET? THIS IS THE PROBLEM OF APPLYING THE FORM OF NEWTONS LAW III TO A ROCKET AS THE LAW IS UAUALLY STATED

Adapted by: Kellye Kennedy

Fall, 1998

SCI 422, MTSU

Kmk2b@mtsu.edu

from: Dr. Lee's lecture notes and

Hann, Judith. How Science Works. London: Reader's Digest, 1994.

Grade Level: 5th grade

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Force

Time: 30 minutes

Background: Students need to be familiar with the types of forces that can be exerted (i.e. weight, support, and elastic).

Materials: 2 bathroom scales, a piece of wood, 2 skateboards, and 3-4 Newton scales U WILL NEED LARGE CAPACITY SPRING SCALES

Concept: When a force is exerted on an object, the object exerts an equivalent force WHAT DO U MEAN BY EQUIVALENT? =?? in the opposite direction (the size and motion of the object are irrelevant).

Objectives:

1. Students will try to determine the size of the forces when two scales are pushed together.

2. Students will measure and document what the actual forces are when two scales are pushed together.

3. Students will predict the forces that occur when two people on skateboards pull against each other while holding scales to measure the forces. PREDICTS W/O REASONS

4. Students will measure and document the force exerted when two people on skateboards pull against each other.

Set: I will walk slowly to one of the walls in the room and push against it. Then I will turn to the class and ask them what forces were being exerted when I pushed against the wall (me pushing against the wall, the wall supporting, or forces were the same). CONFUSING?? I will take a vote and write the results on the board. Explain to students that we will be conducting several experiments to find out which answer is correct.

Instruction:

1. I will choose two volunteers for the first part of the experiment. I will need a big student and one that is smaller. The two students will sit face-to-face. The volunteers will each be given a bathroom scale. The scales will be placed parallel in front of the students with a board placed in between them (to prevent students from pinching their fingers). 2. Ask the class to predict who will exert the most force (the larger or smaller student).

3. The two volunteers will place their hands on the scale (where their feet usually go) and push as hard as they can. During this part of the experiment have half the class behind the big student, and half the class behind the smaller one to observe the measured force being applied for each student. Ask students to share their results. I will write the data on the board. We will compare the measured forces that were exerted. 4. Ask for two new volunteers. Give each student a skateboard and ask him or her to stand on it (with support of another student). Give each student on the skateboards a Newton scale and then connect them. 5. Ask the class to predict what they think will happen and what types of force will be exerted on each. The volunteers need to pull toward themselves and measure the force before they start moving. Ask the class if their predictions were correct.

NOTE: Be generous here. It is unlikely that the two scale readings will be EXACTLY the same. Unless the readings are have a factor difference of two, tell them the readings are basically the same. Alert students that the readings need to be close but I am not looking or grading for accuracy. Otherwise follow the rule: if the values are ABOUT the same, the values ARE the same.)

Closure: Ask students what will happen when two objects exert a force on each other. Use the two class experiments as examples for this. Inform students that this is actually known as Newton's Third Law.

Assessment: I will watch the students to assure they are supporting students on the boards. I will make sure students understand the concept of force if their predictions were wrong. Also reinforce the idea that close means equal in this activity.

Extensions:

Conduct an activity that involves dropping a golf ball (from shoulder length to the ground). Ask students what forces were involved when the ball fell to the floor. Then drop a golf ball and a softball at the same time and discuss why the two different objects fall at the same time.

Teacher talk:

Students will gain a better understanding of what force is by doing this hands-on activity. By using scales to measure the forces of EXERTED BY . RATHER THAN FORCE OF . WHICH CONNOTES OWNERSHIP the two volunteers, students actually see the concept of force. The children are also able to see how forces work. For instance, students were exposed to the idea that forces cause motion. Students also witnessed that even if there is not motion between two objects, force is still present. This was evident in the bathroom scale experiment.

Adapted by: Tina Kirchoff Adapted from: Julie

Joslin

Fall 1998 Spring 1996, MTSU

Sci 442

e-Mail address: tsk2a@frank.mtsu.edu

LP #4

How do Toys Move?

Grade Level: 1st

Time: 30 min.

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Motion/Force

Materials: Toys that move (ex. rolling, jumping flying, etc.) and pictures of toys that

move.

Background: None

Concept: A force (push or pull) interacts with an object and causes the object to move.

Moving air and water, magnetic attraction, and gravity are among the forces that affect

the motion of an object. Energy released from a coiled spring or battery can also begin a chain of events that sets an object in motion IS IT THE ENERGY OR FORCES THAT CHANGES THE STATE OF MOTION??.

Objectives: List childrenís ideas and questions about how toys move and develop class plans for investigating how toys move. Demonstrate how people can use their bodies to push and pull objects to make them moveFUZZY. Classify push and pull wordsÃ.

Engagement: Draw childrenís attention to the toys in the pictures you have provided

them. Encourage them to share experiences related to the toys shown. Ask if they have ever wondered about how a toy is made or what makes it work.NONPRODUCTIVE Allow time for children to offer their wonderings about the toys in the pictures freely.

Instruction: Write on the board and ask out loud; ìWhat makes toys move?î Invite

children to share their ideas about what makes each toy move based on their experiences with similar toys. Record their ideas on the board. Use the following questions to elicit further speculation and background knowledge: What do you think these toys are made of? How might one of these toys move or work LIKELY TO BE REVEALING AND INTERESTING. MAYBE THIS SHOULD BE THE ENGAGEMENT

differently if it were made of something else? Which of these toys might have moving parts inside of them? What might some of those parts be, and what do you think they do? What do you do to play with each of these toys? Have each child take a toy and one at a time the child will display how that toy moves.

The children will then go back and write down YER GONNA ASK G1ERS TO WRITE OUT THIS MUCH?? how each toy moved. Have key words

displayed for the students on the board such as push, pull, forward, backward, up, down,

circles, hops......

Closure: Have the students look back at their early ideas, written on the board. As they

progress through the lesson to see how their thinking may have changed. Go over and

compare any earlier drawings or writings that the children make and talk about the

difference.

Extension: Children share with others what they have learned about toys and how they

move. They brainstorm ways they can take what they have learned about toys and put it to use outside the classroom. Have them pick out 4 toys at home and describe how they move.

Teacher Talk: To understand the concept of force, picture a wagon. It isnít expected to

move, at least not on its own. Muscular effort produces forces that can cause the wagon to move. Simply stated, a force is a push or a pull. In fact, all forces-even gravity and air pressure-are pushes or pulls. Forces start, stop, or change the motion of objects. Forces cause an object to move more rapidly or to slow down.

I think toys are a great way to teach force and motion. Toys clearly demonstrate these

principles. Push the toy (force); it moves (motion). Since children are fascinated by

toys, they are self-motivating and naturally engaging. Toys can spark childrenís natural

curiosity and help them see science in their everyday experiences. Toys are a major

source of play and joy for children. I would like to use them to introduce children to

simple and compound machines also ST FORWARD SM ARE MORE ACCESSIBLE. A TOY IS COMPLEX . A toy unit encourages children to explore objects they are familiar with In order to discover what makes them-and other things-move. Examining toys can teach children to look everywhere in the world around them for science.

TT SECT IS NOT THE PLACE FOR EVANGALISM

I REALLY WANT TO C MORE IN THE WAY OF YOUR KNOWING

Adapted by:

Amy Leisen Science Anytime

Fall 1998 Primary Program

SCI 442 MTSU Unit A-D

baxterman@msn.com Grade 1

LEISEN, AMY Harcourt, Brace

Time: 30 Minutes\

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Light

Materials: paper, crayons, can with pre-punched hole

Background: Students will know that some things give us light and others do not. They

will know that the things tjat give us light are called light sources. They will also know that something that is blocking light can make a shadow.

Concept: In order to see objects, light must be present.

Objective: The learner will tell why he/she can't see the picture when the can is

lowered to the picture.

Set: I will hold up a colorful picture for the class to see. I will then make the room

totally dark, I will then comment that it is hard to see the picture when the lights are out.

Instruction: Students will draw a picture using many colors. They will then hold a can

(with a pre-punched hole in the end) over their picture. They will look through the hole at their picture. They will continue to look through the hole as they lower the can down to their picture. They will see if they can still see their picture. Next, they will fill out the handout (attached) to see what they discovered.

Closure: Students will share their observations with the class.

Assessment: I will know that the student has mastered the concept through the objective when he/she can tell why their picture wasn't seen when the can was lowered (you have to have light to have sight)

Extnsion: I will encourage the students to go home and do the wxperiment with their parents.

Adapted by Rebecca Wrinn

Sci 442, MTSU FAll 1996

intr0217@frank.mtsu.edu

What did you discover?

To find out, complete the sentences with the words from the word bank

I_____ the can above my picture. I looked through the_____and saw my picture. I lowered the can until______ touched my picture. No light could get my______. I ______see my picture.

Word bank:

hole picture it couldn't held

Light

Grade: 3-4

Time: 30-45 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Light

Materials: Fish tank, water, stand, metal tube, glass rod that will not bend, straw, rock, laser, children will need science journals and pencils.

Background: Students should know that light travels in straight lines in all directions.

Concept: Light travels in straight lines until it ebters into a different medium.

Objectives: The learner will predict and explain how they think the tube should be aimed at the rock when dealing with the glass rod and with laser beam. The learner will write the results of the experiments and draw a picture of what they observed in their science journals.

Set: Have tje fish aquarium filled with water about 2/3 the way up and a rock in the bottom of the tank. Also have the stand and metal tube together and ready to be placed. Ask the students to get out their sciennce journals and a pencil. Ask the students where they think you should aim to hit the rock-should you aim above, below or directly at the rock? Allow time for each student to write their response and reason in their journal. also allow for each student to say what they wrote and why.

Grade Level: 3rd grade

Time: 30 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Light

MAterials: activity card and record sheet, flashlight, clear drinking glass, copy paper, water in a clear cup, tissue paper, wax paper, plastic wrap, foil, cardboard, small piece of wood, darkened area

Background: Know what a prediction is and how to record. Know that some things give us light and others do not. Things that do give us light are called light sources.

Concepts: Without light, we cannot see

Light readily passes through other materials

Light is blocked by still other materials.

Objectives: The learner will predict how much lilght will pass through each object (almost all of the light, only some of the light, or none of the light).

The learner will record each prediction and actual hapening.

The learner will tell how much light passed through each material.

Set: I will hold up a book in front of my face. I will then ask the students to tell whether or not they can see my face. I will then tell them that we are going to do an activity with different materials and a light.

Instruction: Students will be given an activity sheet that explains the procedure and lists all materials. They will also be given a sheet to record on. Students will turn on the flashlight and shine it on each object. ( Most of the light will lpass through the glass, the plastic wrap, and the cup of water. Some of rhe light will pass through the copy paper, tissue paper, and wax paper. None of the light will pass through the foil, cardboard, and wood.)

Closure: The students will share their observations with the class.

Assessment: I will know that the learner has mastered the concept through the objectives when he/she can tell me how much light passes through each object.

Extension: I will encourage students to try this activity at home using other materials.

Adapted by Rebecca Wrinn

SCI 442, MTSU Fall 1996

intr0217@frank.mtsu.edu.

Water Drop Lenses

Grade: 7-8

Area: Physical Science-LEnses

Strand: Concave and Convex Lenses

Materials: washers (rubber)

petroleum jelly

clear plastic cup (relatively flat botteom with no printing in center)

dropper

water-----

Background: Students and teacher will have discussed what it means for light to refract from a lins whar a concave and convex lens is.

Concept: Concave lenses make things appear smaller. Convex lenses make things appear larger than actual.

Objective: Students will construct concave and convex water lenses and determine how each refracts light.

Set: Tell students that they are going to make a concave and convex lens.

Instruction:

1. Students will copy the table below.

lens appearance of print

concave

convex

2. Divide students into goups of two or three.

3. Have students turn the plastic cup upside down, spread a very thin layer of petroleum jelly on the bottom of the cup, place the washer in the center of the layer of petroleum jelly.

4. To make a concave lens have students use the dropper to add 2 or 3 drops of water to the center of the washer and then spread it around inside the washer.

5. Have students make predictions stating how the concave lens will affedt the size of print.

6. Have students carefully move the cup over a page of print to observe the print both through the bottom of the cup and through the concave water lens. Students will record observations in the data table.

7. Instruct students to add more water to the center of the washer with their dropper. Water should be added until it heaps higher than the height of the washer and forms a convex lens.

8. m Have students make predictions on how the convex lens will affect the sixe of print.

9. Instruct students to observe the print again through the bottom of the cup and through the convex water drop lens. Have them record observations in the table.

Closure/Assessment

The students will be asked the following questions:

1. Describe the appearence of concave and convex lenses.

2. Which lens made the print look smaller than actual size? Which lens made the print look larger?

3. Which type of lens is used for a magnifying glass?

4. What type of lens would be used for a nearsighted person? (Remind students how a nearsighted person can see)

5. What type of lens is used for a farsighted person? (Remind students how a far sighted person deed)

6. How does your hypothesis compare with what ypu observed

7. How do concave and convex lenses refract light?

Extension:

Adapted by Mitzi Long

Sci 442 MTSU Fall 1996

Grade Level: Sixth

Time: 20-30 minutes; groups of 2 or 4

Area: Physical Science

Strand : Motion

Materials: 2 long metal or wood, grooved ramps of equal length, with a metal sdtop at one end

steel ball and aluminum ball of same diameter but different mass

2 books or blocks of wood

ruler

Background: I would tell the students the weight of each ball anad the slope of the ramp.

Concept: The mass of a ball does not affedt the length of time it takes the ball to roll down the ramp.

Objective: The students will determine whether the mass of a ball affects the length of time it takes to roll down the ramp by preparing a table.

Set: The students will predict if the balls will take the same amount of time, or which one will be faster.

Instruction:

1. Set up two ramps side by side. Raise one end of each of the ramps slightly. Support the raised end with a book or block of wood. The angle of the ramps must be the same-about 5 degrees from the horizontal.

2. Determine whether the steel ball or aluminum ball has more mass.

3. Make a table like the one shown. Predict which ball will take the least time to roll down tone of the ramps. Record your prediction.

4. Place one ball at the top of each ramp. Hold the balls with a ruler.

5. Release tje balls at the same time by quickly rising the ruler. Listen for the sound of the metal balls striking the stop. Record your results.

6. Complete at least three trials.

7. Reverse the balls used on each of the ramps.

8. Complete at least three mor times.

Closure/Assessment: We will have a discussion about the results. I will ask them some questions like:

1. Which ball has more mass? The steel ball

2. Does on ball consistently reach the end of the ramp before the other one? Both balls should reach the end of the ramp at the same time. Actual answers may vary. Under ideal conditions, objects of different mass are given the same acceleration by the earth's gravitational pull.

3. What sources of error might make the results of these tests uncertain? Some sources of error might be: failure to release the balls at exactly the same time, a differene in the smoothness of the balls, and/or a difference in the angles between the ramps and the horizontal surface.

4. How does the massof a ball affect the length of time it takes to roll down a ramp? It does not affect it.

Adapted by: Amy Bradford

Sci 442 Fall 1996

Constellations

Grade Level: 4

Time: 2 hours

Area: Physical Science/Astronomy

Strand: Constellations

Materials: (25 students)

25 pieces of graph paper

25 pencils

5 pieces of 9"x 11 5/8" black paper

Lite-Brite

Lite-Brite colored pegs

fluorescent colored string

research material for the constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Draco (Note: A Lite-Brite is a plastic box with a small candelabra base 25 watt bulb inside the box. The front of the box is a black plastic pegboard. The black paper fits in the front of the pegboard. Pegs are place through the paper into the pegboard. When the Lite-Brite is plugged in, the Lite-Brite pegs glow.)

Background: This lesson can follow the Project SPICA Activity Sheet of drawing and creating a myth of the students own constellation. Students must know how to graph.

Concept: The appearance of groups of stars in the sky can be interpreted as figures that resemble people, animals, or objects.

Objectives: The students will graph the constellations assigned to the group the students are in. The students will present to the class the name, shape, and myth of their assigned constellation.

Engagement: The teacher will show students the constellation and present the myth the teacher did on his/her Project SPICA Activity Sheet.

Exploration: The teacher will use his/her own constellation to show students how to transfer the star pattern from the graph paper to the 9" x 11 5/8" black paper. The teacher will show the students how to put the black paper in the Lite-Brite, insert the pegs to make the star pattern, and wrap the fluorescent colored string around the pegs to connect the points. DOES A LITE BRITE HAVE SPACE FOR A GRAPH THIS SIZE? The students will draw a line down the left side of their graph paper and number the lines 1-37. The students will draw a line across the bottom of the graph paper and label the lines A-Z. The students will graph the constellation assigned to each group of five students. The constellations and coordinates of each are: Ursa Major: (M, 37); (Q, 34); (R, 34); (U, 33); (W, 35); (Z, 32); (X, 30) Ursa Minor: (R, 17); (0, 18): (N, 20); (M, 22); (K, 22); (L, 25); (N, 25) Draco: (B, 33); (C, 30); (E,32); (D, 34); (B, 24); (C, 22); (F, 24); (G, 22); (G, 28); (G, 30); (I, 31); (N, 30); (R, 27); (U, 27) Cepheus: (G, 6); (E, 10); (I, 12); (J, 8); (O, 11) Cassiopeia: (L,1); (K, 4); (O, 4); (S, 5); (R, 2) The students will research the material available. Then each group will put their assigned star pattern on the Lite-Brite, turn some of the lights off, and present the myth attached to their constellation to the class. For the students who cannot see what pattern the constellation makes, fluorescent string will be wrapped around the pegs on the Lite-Brite to show the outline of the constellation.

Explanation: The teacher will ask students what a constellation is, what were some of the figures the constellations presented made, and the myth behind the constellations. The students will graph the other four constellations.

Evaluation: The teacher will assess the star patterns on the Lite-Brite and the presentations made.

Elaboration: Ask students to name any other constellations they might know. If no one knows of any, assign a constellation to the different groups. Then let each group watch their assigned star on a time lapse on the Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Planetarium.

Teacher Talk: Constellations seem to form groups that resemble different objects or people. Stars in a constellations are not necessarily close together. One star can be farther from the Earth than another star in the same group. Coordinate systems are used to record the location of constellations. When using a coordinate system, the rotation and revolution of the Earth must be taken into account. Another method of locating stars is using the azimuth system. The azimuth locates the star or constellation from the north line and the altitude locates it from the horizon plane. A follow-up lesson could be done using the planisphere.

Ursa Major is called the Big Dipper or the Great Bear. Ursa Minor is the Little Dipper or the Little Bear. The reason Momma and Baby Son Bear have long tails is because Zeus, King of the gods, vigorously hurled them into the sky, and stretched their tails. Cepheus was the King of Ethiopia, husband to Cassiopeia, and distant kin to Zeus. He is part of the related constellations called the Royal Family. Cepheus is joined by his wife Queen Cassiopeia, daughter Andromeda, and son-in-law Perseus. Queen Cassiopeia was vain, and after she died, she was place in the heavens so that she would spend half her life upside down and bound to a chair in order to humble Cassiopeia. The constellation, Draco, symbolizes the dragon Ladon, who guarded Hera's golden apples. When the dragon was slain by Heracles, Hera, Queen of the gods, honored Ladon with a place in the sky.

Adapted by: Tracy Lovely From: Experimental Physical Science 442, Dr. Lee Fall, 1998 Science Outreach Lesson Plans

SCI 442 Bonnie Frazier, Microsoft Encarta Schoolhouse Lesson

tml@coscc.coscc.cc.tn.us Plans, Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia

Lovely, Tracy

Grade Level: The grade level to be used for this experiment can be for seven graders.

Time: The time required for this experiment is anywhere from one hour to one hour and half.

Area: The domain of this experiment is chemistry based.

Strand: The general subject of this experiment is monomers and polymers as molecules and chains of molecules.

Materials: A 10 or 12 inch balloon for each participant. A bamboo skewer 10 to 12 inches long. (Usually the smaller shishkabob skewer words well and are available at any grocery store) A large bottle of cooking oil.

A 3-ounce cup for every 5 students. (The cups are for the oil.)

Background: The students will be able to identify and understand the concept of polymers as chains of molecules by role playing chains of molecules and through piercing a balloon with a bamboo skewer.

It is possible to punch a skewer through a balloon without popping it if the properties of a balloon are considered. Balloons are made of thin sheets of rubber latex which is made form many long intertwined strands of polymer molecules. The rubber is stretchy because of the elasticity of the polymer chain IN WHICH DIRECTION? BOTH?? , When the balloon is blown up; the polymer strands are stretched. The middle area of the balloon stretches more than the tied end and the nipple end (opposite the tie). A sharp, lubricated point can be pushed through the strands at the tie and nipple ends because the polymer strands will stretch around it. A sharp, lubricated point pushed through the strands at the side of the balloon will usually pop the balloon because the strands are already stretched and will break. Once a tear begins, it enlarges as the air rushes out of the balloon.

Concept: Polymers are chains of molecule necessary of repeating structural units.

Objective: The student will inflate a 12-inch balloon at least 6 inches. The student will dip the skewer in oil and gently twist and push the skewer through the thick nipple end of the balloon. Gently twist and push the skewer until it penetrates the surface of the

balloon.

Continue to gently twist and push the skewer through the balloon until it starts to pole out through the area around the knot. Continue to gently twist and push until the skewer penetrates the knot end of the balloon. The students will then tell other students where the most successful place

to poke the balloon is.

Engagement: Questions will be asked to the students to see if they are familiar with the monomers and polymers.

The teacher will explain a polymer structure of the balloon. CAN YOU DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN "EXPLAIN" It is helpful to relate this subject to a plate of spaghetti. The teacher will help students to understand and to illustrate that there is space between polymer substances.

Ask as a class other polymer substances could be related to the discussion OK IF U HAVE ALREADY DONE A LOT OF POLYMERS.

Exploration: The beginning of this experiment should begin with a question, answer session. The children should be introduced and asked if they are familiar with monomers and polymers. They should then be able to relate different polymers that they use or see daily.

The best thing to begin with next is associating the materials that will be used in the experiment. For safety, caution the students that the bamboo skewers are sharp and could cause bodily harm if not handle properly. Discourage any movement around the room holding skewers. Next, the materials to be used need to be discussed with the steps needed to successfully complete this experiment. Each student needs a 10 or 12-inch bamboo skewer, and every 5 people will share a 3-ounce cup of cooking oil.

The instructor needs to first demonstrate the experiment making sure students are aware of safety steps. CANT U THINK OF A MORE CATCHING WAY 2 DO THIS?/ Students also need to be able to see demonstration clearly; the teacher needs to inflate the balloon about 6 inches not fully inflated to 12 inches. Then hold the balloon and a skewer up asking students what will happen when skewer is pushed in the balloon. Next, she dips the skewer in the bowl of oil and gently twist the skewer in the nipple of the balloon near the end. The skewer is pushed until it penetrates the balloon. Continue to push skewer until it pushed through the knot at the other end. Then ask students again if they thought this would happen. Allow students to try this activity. Allow them to carefully try as many skewers as they can in the balloon. Once all students have successfully pierced the balloon initiate a conversation about why this occurred. Then have children group up in chains of ten to seven by holding hands. This is to illustrate that polymers are chains of molecules. The beginning and the end of the chain have a free "hand." This simulates the polymer chain all hooked together to form a surface. This is easily explained by comparing it to a plate of spaghetti. Explain to students that their molecule level is small. Point out with your finger the top head of the skewer through your role-play. Use the spaces between the chains to piece the balloon all the way through. Conclude the role-play by pretending your skewer breads one of the polymer chains-POP!

Explanation: This is section that the teachers talk about the real balloon and skewer that went along with the experiment. We would also discuss the role-play DOIONG WHAT? about the chains of molecules. It is better if the students are allowed to lead the discussion. Students tend to learn more if they can answer each other's questions. The teacher needs to be there for the correction part if the students can not answer the question. This helps students to learn as well as open up. This also helps the teacher know what her students understand.

FILLIN THE DETAILS?

Evaluation: Now ask students what objects around the classroom could you piece and would not leak. Also ask what is at home that they could show or tell someone else about the experiment learning about chains of molecules.

Elaboration: Have students go home and find another polymer surface or container that they would pierce with a sharp object without leaking. Make sure students understand that after object is pierced the object can not leak.

CONSIDER THIS SCENARIO

Adapted by: Tangela Ponders from Crowther, David. Fall,1998

Operation Chemistry

SCI 442, MTSU (American Chemical Society) Nebraska: NATS,1995.

Grade Level: 6th&7th

Time: 40 Minutes

Area: Chemistry

Strand: States of Matter / Gasses and Volume

Materials: Vinegar, Bicarbonate of soda, balloons, spoons, small funnels and narrow-necked bottles.

Background: Students must understand that a chemical reaction can cause a change in the state of matter. Students must understand that liquids, solids and gases are different states of matter.

Concept: Gas molecules are farther apart and take up greater amounts of space than equivalent amounts of solids and liquids.

Objective: Students will mix bicarbonate of soda an vinegar in a closed container and observe the product of the chemical reaction.

Engagement: The teacher will survey the students in order for the students to express their predictions regarding what they expect will happen when vinegar and bicarbonate of soda are mixed together. Student predictions will be listed on the chalkboard prior to directing the students to proceed with the experiment. Teacher Questions: 1.) What do you expect to happen when these two forms of matter are combined? 2.) If there is a product of the combination, will it be a solid, liquid or gas? 3.) What do you think takes up more space? Equivalent amounts of solid, liquid or gas? DEPENDS ON THE CONDITIONS

Exploration: Direct students to take a small narrow- necked bottle and carefully pour in vinegar until it is about 1/4 full. ( Warming the vinegar will speed up the reaction/ Room temperature will be satisfactory.) Direct the students to pour bicarbonate of soda into the neck of their balloons, through a funnel. Instruct the students to use 2 to 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda. ( Enough to fill the unexpanded ball of the balloon.) Instruct the students to twist the neck of their balloons to prevent the bicarbonate of soda from pouring out. Direct the students to stretch the twisted neck of their balloons over the neck of their bottles of vinegar. Instruct the students to double check the seals of the balloon necks on the bottles. Once the students are sure that the balloons are secure, direct the students to untwist the balloons and lift the balloons quickly so that the bicarbonate of soda falls into the bottle of vinegar. The teacher may want to instruct the students to shake their bottles to facilitate the chemical reaction. Instruct the students to document on paper what they observe when the bicarbonate mixes with the vinegar. After the student's balloons have expanded to the optimal point where students can observe the balloons expanding, direct the students to turn their attention to the chalkboard. List the student's documented observations on the chalkboard. After the students have exhausted the possible observations for their list, direct them to answer the questions #1, #2, #3 that were posed at the beginning of the lesson. Have students compare their predictions to their findings.

Closure: 1.) Ask the students if they can choose which form of matter takes up more space given that the solid, liquid and gas are equivalent amounts. Direct the students to utilize their documented observations to provide rational for their answers.

Evaluation: On-going evaluation occurs beginning with student predictions during the first part of the lesson. Student participation will provide the teacher with a form of informal evaluation, during the experiment. Review of the student's written will also provide the instructor with additional information. Formal evaluation can be obtained by providing a quiz during the next class meeting.

Teacher Talk: This experiment demonstrates how, because molecules in a gas are farther apart, gasses take up more space that equivalent amounts of solids or liquids. WE DONT ACTUALLY HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THE SPACING Mixing bicarbonate of soda with vinegar causes a chemical reaction that releases the gas carbon dioxide. As soon as the soda mixes with the vinegar, it begins to fizz as carbon dioxide is released, slowly inflating the balloon.

CONSERVATION OF MASS WOULD SEEM 2 B A MORE APPROPRIATE BASIS OF THIS EXPERIMENT. THE ONLY THINK I CAN THINK OF THAT SHOWS DIRECTLY THE SPACING WOULD BE SUBLIMING OF DRY ICE IN A BALLOON THAT IS SEALED

Adapted by: F.G.Whittenberg From: Dr. Paul Lee's SCI 442 class, Fall, 1998

and How Science Works, Judith Hann, Dorling

Kindersley Limited, London, 1991.

fgwhitt@globalnetlink.net

Grade Level: 5th grade

Time: 90-100 minutes

Area: Science

Strand: Energy

Materials: Magazines, popcorn, hot plate, oil, and pan (or hot air corn popper).

Background: People rely on appliances to supply us with light, heat, and movement. These appliances utilize many different forms of energy, such as mechanical, solar, chemical, electrical, and nuclear. The flow of energy through these appliances results in heat, light, or movement. Many appliances use a combination of these energy forms. A car uses chemical, mechanical, and electrical energy. Whether through single or combined forms of energy, we benefit from the use of energy. We warm and light our homes and schools, we have transportation, and we use energy in all the industries that provide us with goods and services. We should also be familiar with the following terms: Chemical energy is the energy that is released when compounds change, like the energy that is stored in fuel. Electrical energy is the energy that is produced when electrons move through wires. Mechanical energy is the energy created by the moving parts of machines. Nuclear energy is the energy that is produces when the nuclei of atoms are split. Solar energy is a type of kinetic energy that is observable as visible light, such as sunlight.

Concept: Students will become familiar with different appliances that use energy and the ways in which the appliances use the energy to benefit society. They will also become familiar with the different forms of energy.NO CONCEPT STM

Objectives: The students will identify the ways in which given appliances display MAYBE "ILLUSTRATE" energy usage (heat, light, or movement). The students will describe the sources of energy (electrical, chemical, mechanical, or solar) utilized by energy-using appliances. The students will trace the flow of energy in a given energy chain.

Engagement: Quietly walk around the classroom and turn the light off and on, sharpen a pencil in the pencil sharpener, warm your hands in front of the heater or cool them in front of the air conditioner-depending on the season, turn on the television or radio, or do any other activity that demonstrates an appliance using energy. Then ask the students the following questions: What did I use that depends on energy to work? (everything) How was the energy displayed? (by light, heat, or movement). Review the definition of energy (the ability to do work) and explain that the work is displayed through heat, light, and/or movement. Share with the class that appliances that use energy display heat, light, or movement. Different forms of energy are used to make these appliances work. Some examples might be: batteries (chemical energy), key-wound alarm clocks (mechanical), or lamps (electrical).

Exploration: Begin the lesson by playing Energy ABC. Beginning with the letter A and going through the alphabet, have the students act out appliances that use or display energy, such as A-air conditioner, B-bus or blender, C-car, and so forth. You may have to help some students think of appliances. As each appliance is named, discuss how its energy use is displayed (by heat, light, movement, or any combination of all three). Have the students draw or find pictures of five of the appliances they listed, one device each for heat, light, and movement, plus two that display any combination of more than one of these.

Have the students keep an Energy Diary. Together with the students, list every energy-using device a person uses during one day. Have the students list the devices in the order in which they use them on a daily basis. Discuss the lists and help the students fill in the columns which should include: time, appliance, energy displayed, and form of energy. Have the students keep their energy diaries for 24 hours, returning them the following day. Discuss the completed diaries.

Tell the students that you are going to make popcorn. They are to use their senses to discover (observe) the forms of energy used and the kinds of energy displayed in the process of cooking and eating the popcorn. Be sure to use all appropriate safety measures. Discuss the process as you make the popcorn. Heat a hot plate or use a hot air popper. (Remind the students that electrical energy flowing through the hot plate or popper results in heat and light). On the board, draw an energy chain such as sun, rainfall, electricity, heat (this energy cycle is for the water cycle and hydroelectric power generator and use). Put a drop of oil into the pan (or use the air popper). Add 1 or 2 kernels of popcorn. Do not use a lid; wait for the kernels to pop. (Heat flowing through the kernel results in movement OH?). On the board, add the movement of the popping corn to the energy chain. Pop more corn (with a lid on the pan now, or in the air popper). While you are waiting for the corn to pop, discuss the flow of energy in this activity. Explain to the students that the flow of energy in this activity is like a chain in which energy is changed from one form to another. When the popcorn is ready, let the students enjoy eating some. Discuss with the students the chemical energy now being supplied to the body by the popcorn and the effects of that energy. (the chain is food, muscles, movement, work) Ask the students to think of other activities that involve chains of energy flow.

RATHER TOO MANY IDEAS HERE ALL RUN TOGETHER - DOING ONE WELL WOULD BE NICE. I LIKE THE ENERGY ABC... GAME AND I'LL ADD IT TO THE LIST OF ACT

Explanation: Use the following questions to begin a discussion: How can we tell that energy is flowing through an appliance? (by sensing heat, light, or movement) What are some appliances that use energy? (accept all reasonable answers) What are some forms of energy used by appliances? (electrical, chemical, mechanical, or solar) What are some different devices that use each form of energy? What are some devices that display kinetic energy in more than one way? ( ex: an electric heater-heat and light; a car-movement, light and heat; an electric drill-heat and movement) What are some devices that use more than one form of energy? (ex: a car uses mechanical, electrical and chemical energy).

Evaluation: When the students return their individual Energy Diaries, evaluate them and allow class discussion about ways in which they might use less energy or use energy in more effective ways.

Elaboration: As an Art and Language Arts activity, have the students invent new appliances, and write up a newspaper article about its purpose and the way it might save energy.FARFETCHED

TT SECT?? THIS SHOWS SOME NICE IDEAS BUT IS MISSING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHYSICS/CHEMISTRY IN ANY ONE OF THEM

Adapted by: Angela Winnard

fall 1998

from: Fowler, J.M. Energy Environment Sourcebook, Vols. 1&2. Washington, DC: National Science Teachers Association, 1975.

Grade Level: 4th grade

Time: 90 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Physics

Materials: tape measure, stopwatch, chalk or tape, obstacle course items ( pylons, hurdles, tires, etc.), glass of water, pencil

Background: Light travels faster than 186,000 miles per second. A speed that high is difficult for most students to comprehend. Comparing this speed to familiar, everyday speeds helps students better understand how quickly light travels. Students also need to understand that light speed changes as it travels through different substances, and that waves bend when they pass from one medium to another. Refraction ( the bending of a wave-such as light- as it passes from one medium to another) can be used in many ways. Refraction aids us in our daily lives through the use of lenses in eyeglasses, telescopes, binoculars, and microscopes.

Concept: Light travels at a very high rate of speed-186,000 miles per second. Students should be able to compare that speed with their own average speed. When light passes from one material to another, it must slow down and bend.

Objectives: The students will recall the speed of light in miles per second. The student will be able to describe refraction. The student will explain the causes of refraction.

Engagement: Have the students put on running shoes for a race. Take the students outside or to a gym. Mark off a course 100 feet in length (use chalk or tape). Have the students run that distance as quickly as they can. Use a stopwatch to time them. Let them run the course a second time to try and beat their first times. Record their fastest times. Choose an average time for running the 100 feet. Divide the distance by the time. Mark off the distance run per second so the students can see what the distance looks like.

Exploration: To help the students visualize the distance that light can travel in a second, choose a nearby city that they may frequently visit. Divide 186,000 miles by the mileage to the designated city. Explain to the class that this figure represents the number of times they would have to go to that city in just one second. Work with the students to calculate the time it would take to drive (at 60 m.p.h.) the number of times the light would travel to the city in one second.

Divided the class into groups of four. They are going to run again, but this time the fastest speed is not as important as the most constant speed. It is important that they be as consistent as possible. Mark off four straight lanes of 100 feet each. Have each member of the four teams run the distance; record their times. Have the students run the distance a second time, trying to be consistent with the first recorded time. Show them the differences in the first and second times. Explain that light travels in a straight line and a consistent rate of speed until it strikes something or passes into different medium. Set up some obstacles in the running lanes-pylons to run around, objects to crawl through, and objects to jump over. Have the students run the obstacle course. Record their times, and compare those times with the previous ones. Explain that when light rays pass from one medium to another, their paths are "bent"BUT YOU HAVENT SHOWN BEANDING - RATHER JUST THE SLOWING DOWN. This illustrates refraction.

Explain that just as the students had to slow down and make bends in their last run, light has to do the same thing when it passes from one material to another. Ask the students to recall if each obstacle slowed their speeds at the same rate. If not, which ones slowed their travel the most? Put a pencil in a glass of water, and let the students observe the change in appearance where the pencil enters the water. Ask them if they have ever tried to catch fish in a fishbowl., or in a pond or stream, and found that the fish are not where they are supposed to be. Why do you think this happens? (light travels in straight lines, but when it travels from one material to another its direction changes a little) When the light changes-or bends- or is called refraction.

Explanation: Manmade objects, such as lenses and optical glasses help us to see things better or see things we cannot see without them. Telescopes help us to see far-away objects by altering their images. The control of refracted life why the use of lenses allow us to concentrate light and even increase the amount of heat in a given area. This may be useful in energy technologies of the future. NEITHER EXPLANATION OF THE PHENOMENUM NOR A TT SECT

Evaluation: Ask the following questions in a follow-up discussion: How fast does light travel? (186,000 miles per second), In what kind of path does light usually travel? (straight lines), What happens when light passes from one material into a different material? ( the light's speed decreases and its wave bend).

Elaboration: Have the class use the race information to make graphs and charts.

HOW COULD YOU FIX THIS TO SHOW BENDING

Adapted by: Angela Winnard

fall 1998

From: Holmes, N.J., J.B. League, and M.W. Shaw. Gateway to Science-5th grade edition. New York; Webster Division, McGraw-Hill, 1983.

Herndon, Jodi

Only Your Cabbage Knows

Grade Level: Fourth grade

Time: Two hours

Area: Chemistry

Strand: Acids and Bases

Materials:

Tea strainer, 1 tablespoon, 2 glass quart jars with lids, 1quart of distilled water,

uncooked purple cabbage, coffee filters, cabbage indicator juice, cookie sheet,

quart bowl, scissors, zip-lock plastic bag, 1 cabbage paper strip, 1 sheet of

notebook paper, 2 eyedroppers, vinegar, household ammonia, 2 small baby food

jars, 1 large sheet of cabbage testing paper, pencil, lemon, grapefruit, orange

Background: The students need background knowledge on acids and bases. An acid is a material that tastes sour, neutralizes bases, and turns purple cabbage juice red. A base is a material that tastes bitter, neutralizes acids and turns purple cabbage juice green and turns turmeric paper red. Neutralization is a process in which an acidic or basic solution is brought to a neutral state, one which is neither acidic nor basic.

Concept:

A). Cabbage juice can be used to test for the presence of two different kinds of chemicals, acid and base.

B). some [ie, rcj] Colored chemicals turn red when mixed with an acid, and a base will produce a green color.

C). Ammonia is basic and vinegar is acidic. FACTOID

D). A compound consists of two or more kinds of atoms that combine chemically.

E). Acids readily give away hydrogen atoms to other compounds.

F). Bases readily grab hydrogen atoms.

G). The combination of an acid and a base cancel each other.

H). Indicators are materials that have a specific color change IN THE PRESENCE ... .

Objective:

A). To make a solution that will indicate the presence of an acid or a base.

B). To make a paper indicator that can be used to test for an acid or base.

C). To test many different substances at one time for the presence of an acid or base.

D). To observe the color effect that different acid concentrations have on the cabbage testing solution.

Engagement:

How many of you have ever eaten something that tasted really sweet, bitter, bland or sour? If you have eaten any foods with these characteristics, you have already experienced the effect of acids. Citric acid is present in fruit. This explains why grapefruit and lemons have a bitter taste THESE TASTE SOUR BECAUSE THEY ARE ACIDIC, NOT BITTER WHICH INDICATES BASE . On the other hand, fruits such as apples and bananas have a sweet taste DOES "SWEET" INDICATE ACID OR BASE? WHAT ABOUT APPLE JUICE??? . Most bases are found in cleaners. Many of you will find household cleaners such as glass cleaner, lava soap and oven cleaner in your home. Today, we are going to use red cabbage to test many familiar products to find out if they are acids or bases. Then, you will be able to identify whether daily items that you use are acids or bases.

Exploration:

1). Fill one jar with cabbage leaves that have been torn into small pieces.

2). Heat the distilled water to boiling, and fill the jar containing the pieces of cabbage with the hot water.

I LIKE THE MASCERATION METHOD SINCE YOU NEED NO BOILING WATER WITH ITS ATTENDANT SAFETY HAZARD

3). Allow the jar to stand until the water-cools to room temperature.

4). Pour the cooled cabbage solution through a tea strainer into the second quart jar. Discard the cabbage leaves.

5). Store the excess cabbage juice in a refrigerator until needed.

6). To make the cabbage paper, pour 1 cup of cabbage juice into the bowl.

7). Dip one piece of filter paper into the cabbage juice.

8). Place the wet paper on the cookie sheet.

9). Continue wetting the filter paper until the cookie sheet is covered with the papers

10). Allow the papers to dry.

11). Cut half of the dry papers into strips about one-half inch by three inches. Store the dry strips and the large papers in a zip-lock plastic bag.

12). To use cabbage paper to test for the presence of an acid or base, fill one of the small jars one-quarter full with vinegar and place an eyedropper in it.

13). Fill the second jar one-quarter full with ammonia and place an eyedropper in the jar.

14). Place the notebook paper on the cookie sheet.

15). Lay the piece of cabbage testing paper on top of the notebook paper.

16). On one end of the cabbage paper place two drops of vinegar.

17). Add two drops of ammonia to the opposite end of the cabbage paper.

18). To test many different substances at one time for the presence of an acid or base, place the notebook paper on the cookie sheet.

19). Lay the cabbage paper on top of the notebook paper.

20). Use a pencil to write the names of the testing materials on the notebook paper.

21). Squeeze two drops of lemon juice on the cabbage paper next to the word "lemon."

22). Squeeze drops of grapefruit juice and orange juice on the testing paper next to their names.

23). Use an eyedropper to place two drops of ammonia on the testing paper.

24). Use a clean eyedropper to place the two drops of pickle juice on the paper.

Explanation:

When making a solution that will indicate the presence of an acid or a base, after standing, the water covering the cabbage leaves turns blue. The hot water dissolves the colored chemicals in the cabbage. These colored chemicals turn red when mixed with an acid, and a base will produce a green color.

When making a paper indicator that can be used to test for an acid or a base, a pale blue testing paper is produced. Juice extracted from purple cabbage has a bluish color. Allowing the water to evaporate from the juice leaves a pale blue chemical on the paper that changes colors when touched to an acid or a base.

When using cabbage paper to test for the presence of an acid or base, the chemicals in the cabbage juice always produce the same color changes. The cabbage paper in this lab indicates that ammonia is a basic chemical and that vinegar is acidic. Bases turn cabbage-testing paper green, and acids produce a pink-to-red color.

Evaluation:

I will look at their experiments on testing acids and bases to evaluate them. Also, I will give them a worksheet to fill and color in the correct label and drawings of acids and bases. They should label each item with acid or base and color it appropriately.

Elaboration:

Strong-Stronger

Purpose: To observe the color effect that different acid concentrations have on the cabbage testing solution.

Materials: cabbage indicator, scissors, filter paper, cookie sheet, teaspoon, alum, cream of tartar, and Fruit Fresh

Procedure:

1). Place ¸ teaspoon of alum, cream of tartar, and Fruit Fresh on the cookie sheet. Space the powders about three inches apart.

2). Cut three strips, about one-half inch by three inches, from the filter paper.

3). Dip the end of one of the filter strips in the cabbage solution. Lay the wet end over the mound of alum.

4). Wet a second filter strip with cabbage juice and lay over the cream of tarter.

5). The third filter strip is to be wet with the cabbage juice and placed over the Fruit Fresh.

6). Wait five minutes.

Results: Alum turns the cabbage paper purple [ACID OR BASE??], cream of tartar turns the paper pink [ACID], and the Fruit Fresh produces a rose color[ACID].

Explanation: The amount of acid present determines the final color change. A strong acid will produce a red color. This test indicates that Fruit Fresh has the most concentration of acid, cream of tartar is next in concentration, and the alum has the least amount of acid. The purple color is produced by the combination of the blue in the test solution and the small amount of red caused by the acid properties in the alum.

Teacher Talk:

An acid is a material that tastes sour, neutralizes bases, and turns purple cabbage juice red. A base is a material that tastes bitter, neutralizes acids and turns purple cabbage juice green and turns turmeric paper red. Neutralization is a process in which an acidic or basic solution is brought to a neutral state, one which is neither acidic nor basic.

Cabbage juice can be used to test for the presence of two different kinds of chemicals, acid and base. Juice extracted from purple cabbage has a bluish color. Allowing the water to evaporate from the juice leaves a pale blue chemical on the paper that changes colors when touched to an acid or a base. The chemicals in the cabbage juice always produce the same color changes. Bases change the paper to green, and acids produce a pink-to-red color. The cabbage paper indicates that ammonia is a basic chemical and that vinegar is acidic. Ammonia turns the paper green. All of the remaining liquids produce a pink-to-red color.

Acids can be found in food items. Citric acid is present in fruit. Lemons, grapefruit, oranges, and pickle juice all contain acids. Alum, cream of tartar, baking soda and Fruit Fresh are also acids. Bases are found in many cleaners. This is because bases combine with grease to form soap. The cleanser reacts with the unwanted grease and the soap that is formed is washed away. Glass cleaner, pledge, comet, tilex, lava soap and oven cleaner are examples of bases.

A pH scale indicates the strength of an acid and base. The scale is based from 1 to 14. 1 is the most acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is the highest base. The colors from 1 to 14 range in order form red (the most acidic), to pink, blue (neutral), to green, and finally yellow (the highest base).

The experiment with acids and bases is easy, fun, and a great learning experience. The students will become more knowledgeable on chemistry and determining whether the objects around them are acidic or basic. The Cabbage Knows lesson plan is great to use in any elementary science lab.

Jodi Herndon

Chemistry for Every Kid by Janice VanCleave

Fall 1999

SCI 442, MTSU

Angels19@earthlink.net

Cleaning with Bases

Grade Level: Third grade

Time: Two hours

Area: Chemistry

Strand: Bases

Materials: zip-lock plastic bag, teaspoon, 1/3-cup alcohol, ¹ teaspoon turmeric powder,

Coffee filters, cup, cookie sheet, quart bowl, 12-inch sheet of aluminum foil,

5 turmeric testing strips, cup of water, lava soap, glass cleaner, oven cleaner,

powdered abrasive cleaner

Background: The students need background knowledge on acids and bases. A base is a material that tastes bitter, neutralizes acids and turns purple cabbage juice green and turns turmeric paper red. Neutralization is a process in which an acidic or basic solution is brought to a neutral state, one which is neither acidic nor basic. Today‚s focus is on bases. Many household cleaners are basic.

Concept:

A). Indicators are materials that have a specific color change.

B). Turmeric is an indicator for a base.

C). Bases produce a green color FOR ...?.

D). A compound consists of two or more kinds of atoms that combine chemically.

E). Bases readily grab hydrogen atoms.

Objective:

A). To make a testing paper that will indicate the presence of a base.

B). To test for the presence of a base in common cleaners.

C). To observe the color effect that different bases have on the turmeric paper.

Engagement:

Most bases are found in common household cleaners. Can anyone name examples of bases that they may use? Examples may be: glass cleaner, pledge, Windex, Lava soap, oven cleaner, tilex, Comet, and etc. Today in class we are going to find out why bases are used as household cleaners. Then everyone can impress their family and friends with their new knowledge that they learned in Science class today.

Exploration:

1). Fill a cup one-third full with alcohol.

2). Stir ¹ teaspoon powdered turmeric into the alcohol.

3). Pour the solution into the quart bowl.

4). Dip one coffee filter at a time in the turmeric solution.

5). Place each wet filter on the cookie sheet and allow them to dry.

6). Cut the dry papers into strips about one-half inch by three inches.

7). Store the strips in a zip-lock plastic bag.

8). Lay the sheet of aluminum foil on a table.

9). Place ¸ teaspoon of each of the four cleaners on the aluminum foil. Space them so that they do not touch.

10). Dip the end of the turmeric strip in the water. Lay the wet end on one of the testing materials.

11). Continue to wet the turmeric strips until one is placed on top of each of the four materials to be tested.

Explanation:

Indicators are materials that have a specific color change. Turmeric is an indicator for a base. The color change is from yellow to red. When making a testing paper that will indicate the presence of a base, the dry turmeric paper becomes a bright yellow.

When testing for the presence of a base in common cleaners, all four of the strips turn red where they touch the materials. Many cleaners are basic. This is because bases combine with grease to form soap. The cleanser reacts with the unwanted grease. Then the soap that is formed is washed away.

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT WHETHER THE COLOR IS RED OR YELLOW IN THE PRESENCE OF A BASE. U SAY IN THE 1ST PARAGRAPH THE CHANGE IS TO BRIGHT YELLOW AND THEN IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH YOU SAY RED. WHICH IS IT?? DID U TRY IT OUT??

Evaluation:

I will look at their experiments on testing bases to evaluate them. Also, I will give them a worksheet to fill and color in the shade of the bases. They will label each item and color it to the closest shade. They will label the items by the weaker to stronger base according to pH scale.

Elaboration:

Now It‚s Red!

Purpose: To produce a color change with an invisible gas.

Materials: turmeric paper and household ammonia

Procedure:

1). Moisten one end of a piece of turmeric paper with water.

2). Open the bottle of ammonia. (Do NOT inhale the escaping fumes.)

3). Hold the moistened paper about two inches above the open bottle. Do not touch the bottle with the papers.

Results: The wet end of the paper turns red. AHA, A BASE TURNS TURMERIC RED!

Why? Household ammonia is a solution of ammonia gas dissolved in water. The smell observed when the bottle is opened is escaping ammonia gas. This escaping gas mixes with the water on the paper to form the basic ammonia solution that turns the turmeric paper red.

Teacher Talk:

Indicators are materials that have a specific color change. Turmeric is an indicator for a base. The color change is from yellow to red. When making a testing paper that will indicate the presence of a base, the dry turmeric paper will be a bright yellow.

Many cleaners are basic. This is because bases combine with grease to form soap. The cleaner reacts with the unwanted grease and the soap that is formed is washed away. Examples of basic cleaners include glass cleaners, oven cleaners, and lava soap. They are used in most households. I'M NOT AT ALL SURE ABOUT THIS

A pH scale indicates the strength of an acid and base. The scale is based from 1 to 14. 1 is the most acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is the highest base. The colors from 1 to 14 range in order from red (the most acidic), to pink, blue (neutral), to green, and finally yellow (the highest base).

The experiment with bases will allow the students to find out which household cleaners are the weakest and the strongest. This science experience is easy, fun, and a great learning opportunity. The students will become more knowledgeable on chemistry and determining the strength of common household cleaners around them. The students will learn while having fun with this science activity.

Jodi Herndon

Chemistry for Every Kid by Janice VaanCleave

Fall 1999

SCI 442, MTSU

Angels19@earthlink.net

Lesson Plan #7

Grade:4

Time: 1 hour

Strand: Magnetism

Background: The organization of magnetic domains determines whether a substance is magnetized. A domain is a microscopic group of atoms with their magnetic poles all pointing in the same direction. In non-magnetized iron, the domains point in random directions. The magnetic fields cancel each other and the iron has no overall magnetic field. In magnetized iron the fields have been rearranged by an outside magnetic field. They all point in about the same direction and the iron have an overall magnetic field.

Materials: goggles, gloves, bar magnet, newspaper, 2 sheets of stiff white cardboard, iron filing in jar with a sprinkler top, horseshoe magnet, needle with blunt end, plastic-foam ball, small bowl, water

Concept: Magnets exert force ON WHAT?? in magnetic fields.

Objective: Make and use a model of a compass. Infer that a magnet's field is three-dimensional.

Set: 1. Magnetize a needle by stroking it many times with one end of a bar magnet. Stroke the needle in the same direction each time. 2. Stick the needle through the center of the plastic-foam ball. 3. Half-fill a bowl with water. Carefully place the foam ball and needle in the water. Observe what happens. Record your observations in your Science Notebook. 4. Wait until the foam ball is still. Talk with your group and together predict what will happen if you move the bar magnet near the bowl. Test your predictions and record your observations. 5. Take away the bar magnet. Give the bowl a quarter turn. Make sure that the foam bowl is free to move. Keep turning until you complete a full circle. Record your observations.

Instruction: 1. Place a bar magnet on a sheet of a newspaper. Put a sheet of white cardboard on top of the magnet. 2. Hold a jar of iron filings over the cardboard. Carefully sprinkle iron filings on the cardboard over the magnet. AR-R-R-G-GH-H-HH NOT THE HORRIBLE OLD IRON FILINGS ON A BAR MAGNET!! 3. Tap the cardboard gently. Look for a pattern of lines of iron filings. In your Science notebook, draw the pattern the line forms. 4. Put a clean sheet of cardboard over a horseshoe magnet. Talk in your group and together predict the pattern that will form if you sprinkle iron filing on the cardboard. Then make a drawing to show your prediction. Test your prediction and draw what you see.

Closure: 1. Compare your predictions with your observations of the patterns of the iron filings. 2. The lines made by the iron filings are called lines of force. The space in which the lines of force form is a magnetic field. A pattern formed by the lines is a picture of the magnetic field. What do the magnetic fields you observed tell you about where the magnetic force is greatest? IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS LINE OF INVESTIGATION DO A LOT-T-TT MORE

Assessment: Students can work in groups of three or four to invent a toy that uses one of the properties of magnetic fields that they have learned about over the past few lessons. For example, they might suggest a painting toy that uses a small magnet to pull iron filings through the paint, creating a picture or pattern. WHAT ELSE??

Extensions: During writing time or art time they could either write about how they use magnets on a daily basis or draw a picture representing magnets.

Teacher Talk: The Magnetic Field

Objects such as a bar magnet or a current-carrying wire can influence other magnetic materials without physically contacting them, because magnetic objects produce a magnetic field. Magnetic flux lines WHAT DO THESE WORDS MEAN? THEY ARE AWFULLY SCIENCEY - OR JARGON usually represent magnetic fields. At any point, the direction of the magnetic field is the same as the direction of the flux lines, and the strength of the magnetic field is proportional to the space between the flux lines. For example, in a bar magnet, the flux lines emerge at one end of the magnet, then curve around the other end; the flux lines can be thought of as being closed loops, with part of the loop inside the magnet, and part of the loop outside. At the ends of the magnet, where the flux lines are closest together, the magnetic field is strongest; toward the side of the magnet, where the flux lines are farther apart, and the magnetic field is weaker. Depending on their shapes and magnetic strengths, different kinds of magnets produce different patterns of flux lines. The pattern of flux lines created by magnets or any other object that creates a magnetic field can be mapped by using a compass or small iron filings. Magnets tend to align themselves along magnetic flux lines. Thus a compass, which is a small magnet that is free to rotate, will tend to orient itself in the direction of the magnetic flux lines. By noting the direction of the compass needle when the compass is placed at many locations around the source of the magnetic field, the pattern of flux lines can be inferred. Alternatively, when iron filings are placed around an object that creates a magnetic field, the filings will line up along the flux lines, revealing the flux line pattern.

Magnetic fields influence magnetic materials, and also influence charged particles that move through the magnetic field. Generally, when a charged particle moves through a magnetic field, it feels a force that is at right angles both to the velocity of the charged particle and the magnetic field. Since the force is always perpendicular to the velocity of the charged particle, a charged particle in a magnetic field moves in a curved path. Magnetic fields are used to change the paths of charged particles in devices such as particle accelerators and mass spectrometers. HIGH LEVEL WORDS. DO YOU HAVE MEANING FOR EACH OF THEM IN 4TH GRADE LANGUAGE??

Adapted By:

Kristy Dellinger

What IS a magnet?

Grade Level: 5

Time: 30-45 minutes

Area: Physical Science

Strand: Magnets

Materials: magnets, iron filings (can be bought or found in a magnetic art drawing board I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THIS. THESE MAY HAVE THE NEW AND (UN)IMPROVED VARIETY), compass, test tube and stoppers, iron nails, staples, paper clips

Background: It is assumed that students have worked with magnets, know that they have poles (north and south), and know what types of materials they attract, such as items made of iron, steel, nickel, or cobalt.

Concept: A magnetIC MATERIAL has domains; when these domains are aligned, a material becomes a magnet.

Objectives:

TLW NEVER HAVE WEANED U FROM THE ABBREVIATIONS construct a model of a magnet using a test tube and iron filings. TLW predict the tubeís effect on a compass. TLW explain, through written descriptions and drawings[GOOD, GOOD, GOOD!!!], how the alignment of domains creates a magnet.

TLW prove that aligned domains create a magnet by destroying the alignment and testing its magnetic effect.

Engagement (Set): Letís review some things we already know about magnets! What do we know about magnets? (Let the students share; write these on the board.) Make sure the following are mentioned: a) a magnet is any object or material that attracts iron or other magnetic materials, b) common shapes of magnets: bar, horseshoe, and round, c) a magnet has its strongest attraction at its ends; the ends of a magnet are called its poles. Ask: Have any of you ever used a compass? Instruct them to look at a compass. Thinking about magnets, what do you see or notice? (It has a north and south pole.) Explain that a compass is a type of magnet.

Exploration (Instructions):

1. Working in groups of three, instruct the students to fill the test tube about 1/4 full of iron filings. Seal the end of the test tube with a stopper. Hold the test tube horizontal (level) and gently shake the test tube until the filings are laying evenly across the bottom of the tube.

2. Explain that they will move the tube near the compass, keeping it level. Before doing this, ask them to predict what effect the test tube with iron filings will have on the compass needle. After passing it by the compass several times, ask them to share the results. (no effect!) Ask them to describe and draw the way the filings lay along the bottom of the test tube. (The filings are in no order; they lay randomly.) 3. Ask: ìWhat do you think will happen if I pass a magnet by the tube of iron filings? Will anything happen to the filings? Will it change its effect on the compass?î Let the children share ideas. Now, with the tube still level and starting with the north pole of the bar magnet, pass it under the test tube, moving from one end to the other. Move the length of the magnet along the tube until it is past the other end of the tube. Repeat;bring the bar magnet up again with the same pole near the beginning end of the test tube and pass it under the full length. Do this 10 times and continue to hold the tube level and do not shake it. (Make sure students are working together on this one!!) Now, ask: ìWhat did you notice happening to the iron filings in the tube? Was your prediction correct?î Have them describe and draw the way the filings are laying. (They are all parallel to the length of the tube; they are in an order.)

4. Without shaking or tilting it, pass the test tube near the compass; try passing both ends of the test tube near the poles of the compass. Ask: ìWhat effect does it have on the compass? How do the results compare to your predictions? What is the explanation for the movement?î (The iron filings are acting as a magnet.)

5. Now shake the test tube and level the filings along the bottom of the tube as before. Before moving the test tube near the compass again, ask them what the effect will be on the compass needle. Move it near the compass and have students share results. (no movement of the needle)

Explanation:

1. Ask: ìWhat did you notice about the filings when the compass was and was not attracted to the test tube?î (The compass needle was effected or attracted to the test tube when the iron filings were lined up. But, there was no movement in the compass after the tube was shaken and the filings were disorganized.)

2. (draw a diagram on the board) TTW explain that magnetic materials have regions call domains. When these domains are randomly placed, the material is not magnetic. However, when the domains are lined up, the material becomes magnetic! We saw this when the iron filings lined up. When this happened, the iron filings became magnetic.

Closure:

1. Ask: ìUsing this new knowledge, what will happen if I touch the head of a iron nail to the magnet?î Let them share ideas. Instruct them to touch the nail to the magnet and see if it can attract any objects. Explain that the nail will be attracted to the magnet AND the nail will become a magnet.

Assessment:

Have the students explain and draw what has happened with the nail. The drawing will show the domains lined up; this drawing explains that when the domains are aligned, the iron nail is now magnetic.

Elaboration (extension):

1. Experiment with the magnetic field. Does the magnetic field pass through water? wood? paper?

2. Compare static electricity to magnetic force. Experiment to see if the same objects and materials are or are not attracted by static and magnets. (Magnets do not have charges as static electricity does.)

Teacher Talk: Students often have many misconceptions about what makes a magnet a magnet. They often think that all of the positive charges stay at one pole, all of the negative charges stay at the other pole, and there is not much of anything in the middle. So essentially, students believe that charges create a magnetic force. It is important to help students understand that magnets do not have charges of any kind and are a very different phenomenon than static electricity! So what really happens inside of a material to make it a magnet? This activity is designed to give a visual representation. Within magnetic materials, such as the iron filings or nail, are regions called domains. Each domain is like a tiny bar magnet a north and south pole. When a material is not magnetized, the domains are arranged in no specific order, like the random placement of the iron filings. A material becomes a magnet when all of the domains line up with their north poles facing in the same direction. We see this effect when the magnet is passed by the iron filings and the arrangement of the filings are changed.

Students also need to know that magnets can loose their magnetism. The magnetism is broken if the magnet is dropped, shaken, hit together, or heated.

Why? These situations cause the domains to rearrange themselves, which change the strength of the magnet. This is what happens when the students shake the test tube and the iron filings are in random order again; it is no longer a magnet. Due to this factor, it is important to teach students how to properly handle and store magnets.

Adapted by: Amy Krumel

Fall 1999

SCI 422, MTSU

akrumel@usa.net

From:

1. www.mtsu.edu/~pdlee/public2_html/mag1u.html 2. www.mtsu.edu/~pdlee/public2_html/stat3u.html 3. www.uen.org/utahlink/lp_res/TRB031.html

Krumel, Amy

Friction, Force, and Motion

Grade Level: 4-8

Time: one hour

Area: Physical Science (Physics)

Strand: Force and Motion

Materials: several blocks of wood, some weights, scales, graph paper, toy cars, sandpaper

Background:

How to find slope

Some lessons on force (knowledge of the definition of force and motion)

Concept:

· Friction does not depend on area of contact surface

· Friction does depend on normal force of pushing two surfaces together

· Friction can be reduced by creating smoother surfaces

· Coefficient of friction is slope of (N, F) graph where N = normal force and F = friction force

Objective: Students will prepare a table of (N, F) then will graph their information from the table. Next students will measure the slope of the best straight line they can draw through the points on the graph. Then repeat the process for sandpaper. Along the way, the students should also be drawing conclusions of the effects of friction on force and motion.

Set:

Ask the students to discuss the differences of a sled on an icy road and one on a dry road. Which would be more fun to sled on?

After several ideas show clip from Christmas Vacation

Now show each of the wooden blocks, ask for predictions as to which side will create more friction. Label each side A, B, and C. They should put the sides in order from most friction to the least. Write the predictions on the board.

Now ask them for the reasons why they answered the way they did.

Instruction:

After writing the suggestions the students give about the friction of each side of the blocks, have the students, in groups of three, measure the force it takes to pull the block on each of it's sides.

They will find that the force it takes to pull the block on each side is equal, and that the surface area of an object does not affect the amount of friction.

Now, to allow the students to discover what feature of the block effects friction, have the students make a table of the normal force, which is the weight of the block plus the weight of each weight. Add the blocks one at a time until all three weights are on the block. The other side of the table should include the friction force or the amount of force it takes to pull the block plus the weights. Use the scales as you did before.

· The table should look like this;

Block + Weights / Friction force / Normal force

Block / .6 N / 3.6N

Block +1Weight / 2.4N / 8.6N

Block +2 Weights / 3.2N / 14.6N

And so on.

Using the information in the table, have the students make a graph with friction force on the vertical axis and normal force on the horizontal axis. After plotting the points on the graph the students should draw the best straight line they can through all the points.

They then should find the slope of the line they have drawn. The slope of the line multiplied by the normal force is the amount of friction.

Now ask the students for their predictions of the difference sandpaper would make if the block if it covered with it. Repeat the exercise. The friction should be greater.

Ask why they believe the friction is greater with the sandpaper.

Assessment:

Have the students come up with several rules they have developed about friction.

Tell them you are going to play the part of a reporter and they are the leading authority on friction. They are going to have to explain to you how friction works.

Ask them questions that will guide them to expand on the rules they have written.

Write down their ideas on the board.

Elaboration:

Have the students make a mental list of ways we try to cut down on friction. They should notice everyday machines and the ways we try to accomplish as little friction as possible.

They could also draw a picture of what the sandpaper and table look like when they are rubbed together if magnified.

Teacher Talk:

The friction between two objects is directly proportional to the force pushing the objects together. This could be the weight of an object lying on top of another. Another feature of an object that affects friction is the smoothness of its surface. If an object has a rough surface and is in contact with an object that has a rough surface then the friction between these two will be great. If magnified the two surfaces have little grooves in them. These grooves catch in each other and make it more difficult to push the objects together. The force to move the objects against each other is greater.

The friction between two objects can be found by finding the force pushing the objects together and the force it takes to pull the objects. The slope of this line, when graphed, multiplied by the force pushing the two objects together is equal to the total friction between the two objects.

Adapted by: Buffy Whitworth From: Lesson by P. D. Lee

Fall, 1999

Sci 442, MTSU

ewhitworth@home .com

Whitworth, Buffy