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ACTIVITY 1 |
Measuring Length and Volume |
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PURPOSE: |
To familiarize students with proper measurement
procedures and SI units of length and volume. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students will use a metric ruler to measure
known lengths, examine a meter stick to visually understand the relationship of various metric units of
length, measure the length of
various objects of choice, and practice estimating /measuring liquid volumes with a graduated cylinder. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
metric rules, meter stick, graduated cylinder,
and test tube. |
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SAFETY: |
Caution students in proper use of glassware. |
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ACTIVITY 2 |
Water Displacement |
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PURPOSE: |
To use both a formula and a graduated cylinder
to find volume of rectangular prisms and to measure volume by the water
displacement method. |
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SUMMARY: |
Calculate volume of rectangular drawings wooden
blocks using a formula, and then calculate volume of a plastic rectangular
box using a formula followed by a direct measurement of its fluid using a
graduated cylinder. Also, measure
volume of marbles using water displacement method- making predictions and
designing experimental procedures. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
metric rulers, graduated cylinder, 3 wooden
blocks, plastic rectangular box, and 3 marbles. |
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SAFETY: |
Caution students in proper use of glass ware |
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ACTIVITY 3 |
Measuring Temperature and Mass |
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PURPOSE: |
To identify parts of a balance and to read it
to determine the mass of objects; recognize common temperature ranges on the
Celsius scale and use a thermometer to measure temperatures. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students will use a worksheet to answer
questions about the parts of various balances, measure the mass of various
items/averaging their masses, and then measure out a specific amount of
various items. Students will also
identify various common temperatures on the Celsius scale and use a
thermometer to determine the temperature changes of a salt solution with and
without ice-- graphing the results. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
single pan or triple beam balance, pencil,
paper clips, beaker, water, thermometer, salt, ice |
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SAFETY: |
Caution students in proper use of glassware |
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ACTIVITY 4 |
M & M: This Graph Won’t Melt In Your Mouth |
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PURPOSE: |
To teach about making predictions, calculating
percentages and constructing a bar graph.
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SUMMARY: |
Students make predictions about the number of
each color of M & M in their bag then compare to the actual results. Using the actual count, students then
calculate the percentages and graph the results |
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EQUIPMENT: |
M & M’s calculator, map pencils/graph paper
or computer graphing program. |
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SAFETY: |
None |
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ACTIVITY 5 |
Balloon Rockets |
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PURPOSE: |
To calculate the speed of a balloon rocket and
to recognize variables which increase/decrease speed. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students will make length and time measurements
of a balloon rocket to calculate speed then alter different variables to
increase and decrease the speed. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
string, balloons, straw, meter stick,
stopwatch, scissors. |
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SAFETY: |
Care in use of scissors. |
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ACTIVITY 6 |
How Can Air Resistance Change the Acceleration
of Falling Objects? |
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PURPOSE: |
To analyze the effect of air resistance on the
acceleration of gravity of 2 different objects. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students drop a book & sheet of paper then
compare the acceleration of each.
Students then devise a method to equalize the acceleration of these 2
objects. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
old book, paper, scissors, text |
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SAFETY: |
Care in use of scissors |
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ACTIVITY 7 |
Predicting Temperature Changes |
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PURPOSE: |
To predict then analyze the temperature of
mixtures of different proportions have hot & cold water. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students make predictions of final water
temperature by mixing various amounts of hot & cold water then experiment
to check predictions. Students
analyze how the kinetic energy of the larger volume relates to the final
temperature. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
foam cups, thermometer, graduated cylinder,
stirring rod, hot/cold water from tap |
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SAFETY: |
Care in handling hot water. |
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ACTIVITY 8 |
All About Simple Machines |
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PURPOSE: |
To observe the advantages of using a third
class lever (comparing it to 1st and 2nd class levers), wheel and axle, fixed
vs. moveable pulley, and the inclined plane. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students will perform 5 experiments using various simple machines to evaluate the
advantage of each machine. A third
class lever will be compared to 1st and 2nd
class levers, a wheel and axle will be compare to using an axle alone;
a fixed pulley will be compared to a moveable pulley, and an inclined plane
will be compared to simply lifting an object. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
meter stick, string, books, table, 10 cm
cardboard circle, pencil, pulley, spring balance, clamp, board, wax paper,
ring stand. |
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SAFETY: |
None |
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ACTIVITY 9 |
Musical Bottles |
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PURPOSE: |
To observe how the amount of medium a sound
travels through relates to pitch/frequency. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students will make a simple musical scale using
bottles filled with water and correlate the amount of medium present to the
frequency/pitch of sound. Students
will also "perform" a
recognizable melody using their bottles. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
soap, water, 5 similar bottles, spoon |
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SAFETY: |
Care in handling glass bottles |
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ACTIVITY 10 |
How Do Charged Particles Interact With Each
Other? |
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PURPOSE: |
To analyze how charged particles are created
and interact. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students place two strips of tape on top of
each other & stick on table, remove quickly and bring together to note
how they respond. Students then place
the two pieces of tape on the table side by side, pull off quickly, &
note differences in responses. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
transparent tape, table |
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SAFETY: |
None |
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ACTIVITY 11 |
Magnetic Mania |
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PURPOSE: |
To observe the effects of various magnetic
interactions & to create an electromagnet & compass. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students set-up and observe a variety of
experiment to demonstrate magnetic properties/strength; students also
construct a compass & an electromagnet and observe properties and
strengths of these handmade magnets. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
2 bar magnets, ring stand, thread, tape, large
iron nail, insulated wire, ball bearings, paper clips, horseshoe magnet, steel tacks, small compass, sewing
needle, flat cork, bowl, 6 volt battery. |
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SAFETY: |
Care in handling wire with 6 volt battery-- it
can get hot. |
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ACTIVITY 12 |
Eubleck vs the States of Matter |
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PURPOSE: |
To make observations of a substance as it
changes from a solid to a liquid and back again. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students mix cornstarch with water and relate
what they see/feel to classify the material as a solid or liquid |
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EQUIPMENT: |
cornstarch, water, bowl, spoon |
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SAFETY: |
None |
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ACTIVITY 13 |
Elements, Compounds & Mixtures |
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PURPOSE: |
To distinguish between the composition of
elements, compounds and mixtures |
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SUMMARY: |
Students examine a variety of objects and
classify each as an element, compound or mixture. Mixtures are also classified as homogenous or heterogeneous. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
Foil, package of salt, solder, chalk or baking
soda, granite, sugar water and copper wire |
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SAFETY: |
None |
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ACTIVITY 14 |
Testing The Conservation of Mass |
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PURPOSE: |
To find out if mass is the same prior to and following a chemical reaction. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students weigh baking soda/vinegar prior to
reaction then devise & execute a plan that will enable them to
demonstrate how mass is conserved during the reaction. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
baking soda, graduated cylinder, vinegar 2
plastic cups, plastic vial, scale, Ziploc plastic bag, safety goggles, lab
apron, weighing paper, gloves |
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SAFETY: |
Use protective eye wear |
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ACTIVITY 15 |
Classifying a Chemical Reaction |
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PURPOSE: |
To observe the differences between endothermic
& exothermic reactions. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students conduct various reactions and classify
them as exothermic or endothermic bases on how the plastic bag feels during
the reaction; students construct a line graph correlating temperature to time
then predict data points for extended time intervals of the reaction. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
scale, baking soda, water, Ziploc plastic bags,
calcium chloride, phenol red, thermometer, goggles, apron |
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SAFETY: |
Care in handling chemicals & staining of
phenol red. |
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ACTIVITY 16 |
What’s An Acid? What’s A Base? |
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PURPOSE: |
To gain understanding about the role of
indicators in determining what solutions are acids or bases. |
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SUMMARY: |
Students will use litmus paper, universal pH paper, and phenolphthalein to
determine if various solutions are acids or bases. |
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EQUIPMENT: |
distilled water, micro plate, baking soda,
vinegar, red/blue litmus paper, phenolphthalein solution, universal pH paper,
and 4 misc. samples to test. |
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SAFETY: |
Keep all chemicals away from face and handle
glassware with care. |