Week 4 blog

So this week we did an experiment with water and heat transfer. I thought it was quite interesting to see how the temperature of water can change based on what you cover it with. I was wondering how this would change if you used a travel coffee mug and instead of covering it with the lid used the objects we used in the experiment.

The objects I used to cover my coffee mugs were aluminum foil, wax paper, Saran wrap, and a paper towel. The foil had the hottest temperature at the end of the experiment. The paper towel and Saran wrap had the coolest temperature.

However, this not what my blog is about. I am writing about what other items would be interesting to test using this concept. Living out in Vegas we all know it gets hot over the summer. My school used to be year round and once those 100 degree temperatures hit there was no turning back. One experiment that a colleague told me about was a hot dog in shoe box. Well what you do is line a shoe box with aluminum foil, place the hot dog inside and in a matter of hours under the hot sun you get lunch. After thinking about the hot dog experiment and the one that was required this week I began to think about what would happen if we tried lining the box with other materials other than foil. Student could compare the temperature of the hot dogs after being outside for a few hours. The experiment would begin in the morning by setting the boxes outside, and then in the afternoon bring them in to find out the temperatures.

The students would be able to choose the materials that they would like to use, and give a reason as to why they think it would work or would not work. This experiment would be able to be applied to second graders because we can discuss how certain objects are insulators and others are conductors. It would be in simplified terms, but it would still get the point across.

This experiment would be relevant to their lives because my students love to eat. Any time there is food mentioned in my room they are quiet and their eyes light up. The area I teach in is lower class and many have been laid off or have horrible pay. So any chance I give my students to find alternative ways to cook their own food and for little money would benefit them. I have students who have to make their own meals because the parent(s) is off working two or three jobs.

Sadly now my school is nine month, but it still is hot sometimes in May and the beginning of June. This is something I will think about doing next year.

Temperature is a concept that my students tend to struggle with, and so after teaching about tempertature this would be a great review lesson.

Marbles and Momentum

I choose to do the experiment where you need to see how momentum is effected by different surfaces. I found that the rougher the surface the less momentum an object had. The surface with the greatest momentum was a table top. Then came the carpet. In last place was a wicker basket. This is what I expected because I know that with a rough surface an object would have a hard time moving and so its velocity would slow down.

What worked well for this experiment is the fact that I had all the supplies I needed. I had to tip my laundry basket on its side (it is laundry day so it is empty!) but it worked out just fine. I also had a folding end table that I used to place a ramp off of. This way the ramp would be the same height the entire time, and the results could not be skewed by me pushing the marble with different forces. What did not work very well for this experiment is the fact that I had to lift the end table up on my table, and it was not a very safe environment.

As for modifications, I would have different squares of surfaces that can be placed on the ground and used instead of using the actual items themselves. It was hard to do, and since I did not do it in the classroom that was fine. I was unable to do it in my room this week due to state testing and other various end of the year assessments this week. I would like to do this with my class so using the squares would make it easier. To make this experiment more fun for the students I might have them place a Lego person at the end of the square and have them time the marble to see how long it takes to knock down the Lego person.

To make it more relevant to the students we could discuss trucks and how it takes longer to deliver objects over a rough road than a smooth one. I am not sure how else to make this relevant with my students.

I would like to have students learn about what velocity and momentum is. They know that objects can go fast but they do not know that means velocity. So overall, I would like them to know the vocabulary. Also that there are things that can interfere with the velocity and momentum of an object.