Plant experiment

What type of light do plants prefer?

Materials you need

Two Plastic Bottles

Gravel

Potting Soil

Bean Seeds

Water

Sunlight

Artificial Light (Lamp)

Steps

1. Cut the tops off the bottles

2. Pour 1" of gravel into each bottle

3. Pour 3" of potting soil into each bottle.

4. Plant 3 beans about 1" deep in each bottle.

5. The next step is to take one bottle and put it in the sunlight.

6. The next step is to take the other bottle and put it under a lamp.

7. Record the activities of each bottle.

Journal

Real Life Science Project Information

Extended Resources

Sarah Young's Which Soils the Richest

Maricopa

Center for Bioenergy

Encyclopedia.com

All the exciting things we are doing

Dear Parents,
I am very proud of all the accomplishments of our class so far this year. With your help we are making fantastic progress! We are now starting to concentrate on Science this six weeks and on here are a few of the exciting things we are doing. I would love to hear any ideas or feedback that you may have. Next week we will be doing some of the hands on activities that were listed on this weeks newsletter so please remember to send the students dressed for mess (LOL) on Wednesday. Thank you all again for your hard work and support, all of your effort is really making a difference.

Sincerely,
Erin Roth

What we have accomplished

Link to EDS overview of tasks

Make a Paper Banger

All you need for this experiment is a sheet of stiff paper measuring about 16in. by 12in. (Printer Paper) Step 1: Fold the longest edges of the paper together. Then open it out. Step 2: Fold the corners into the first fold. Step 3: Fold the paper in half along the first fold. Then fold in half again lengthways. Step 4: Open out the second fold. Step 5: Fold down the two sharp corners. Step 6: Fold the paper back along the second fold to make a triangle shape. Step 7: Grip the banger firmly by the two sharp corners. Flick it down quickly- and it makes a loud bang.


How a paper banger works
The air is pressed inside during moving the paper banger downwards and the air suddenly is free when the inner layer is coming out. It is a small explosion. It is very similar to the way thunder sound is created.

Lesson Plan

Extended Resources

1. For more information on sound (Kayla and LaToya's project)

2. Science of Sound(Wired@School)

3. More fun with sound(University of Rhode Island)

Bend Some Water

Materials needed: A balloon, Balloon pump (optional), Something woolen, and a running faucet. Step 1: Pump up the balloon. Stretch the neck and tie a knot in it, so the air does not escape. Step 2: Rub the balloon against something woolen to give static electricity to the balloon. Step 3: Hold the balloon near running water from a faucet. The water bends toward the balloon.


The results were subtle at best. I tried this with many different types of balloons and sinks. It is a good example of static electricity.

The science behind Bend some water
When you rubbed the balloon against the woolen sweater, tiny parts of the atoms in the wool, called ELECTRONS, collected on the balloon. These electrons have a NEGATIVE charge. Remember that, its important. Now that the balloon has a negative charge, it is attracted to things that have a POSITIVE charge. It is similar to the way some magnets are attracted to certain metals.When you bring the negatively charged balloon near the faucet it is attracted to the POSITIVE force of the water. The attraction is strong enough to actually pull the water towards the balloon as it is flowing! It is all thanks to the wonders of static electricity.
1. Does water temperature affect how much the water bends?
2. Does the size of the balloon affect the static power?
3. Does the amount of moisture in that air affect the static power? Try it after someone has taken a shower in the room.
4. Does the material that the balloon is made of or the material it is rubbed against affect the static power?

Lesson Plan

Extended Resources
1. Static Electricity

2. Carla Shoemaker

3. Enchanted Learning

Crush with air

Can you really crush a bottle with air???


By: Angela Bibbins & Erin Roth


You really can make a plastic bottle collapse without touching it! The air does the job for you. You cannot feel air, but it presses against every surface. This is called “air pressure.”


To do this experiment you will need the following items:
1.A bag of ice
2.A funnel
3.A cup for hot and cold water
4.A plastic soft drink bottle
5.A bowl

1st Step: Stand the bottle upright in the bowl and fill it about half full with hot water. Leave the lid off for a short amount of time.




2nd Step: Screw the top on the bottle and lay the bottle down inside of the bowl.





3rd Step: Pour ice and cold water over the bottle.




4th Step: Stand the bottle up and watch it collapse!



5th Step: As the warm air inside the bottle cools, it exerts less pressure. The pressure of the air outside is stronger and crushes the bottle.


The science behind air compression

Lesson Plan

Extended Resources:

1. Heather's Blog

2. Ask an expert(Newton)

3. Some of the physics(Ask a scientist)

Welcome Parents

Dear Parents,
You are cordially invited to be
a partner in your child’s education.


Working Together: Ask your child what he or she is studying, and look in the homework folder every night. The homework folder is where you will find the newsletters and notes that are sent home, as well as any homework that needs to be completed. My weekly newsletter will

help you keep up with important happenings in our classroom. I will also send home progress reports or make phone calls if I feel that your child is not progressing as expected.

Ask Questions: If you have any concerns or are wondering why something is

happening, please feel free to call or email me at any time. I welcome all concerns,

ideas, and feedback that affect your child or our classroom. If something is not working, I am more than willing to talk. I welcome all feedback!



Homework: You should expect that your child will have some type of homework most everyday. You will always find the homework assignments written on an assignment log that is kept in the daily homework folder. It will go home everyday. I encourage you to set up with your child a scheduled time for homework each day. Students should be able to do most assignments independently, but do help if it is completely necessary. If you notice that your child is not able to do an assignment on his or her own, please send a note or jot a note to me on the assignment. I will contact you if your child is falling behind or turning in poor work.



Snack: All students may bring a nutritious snack and a bottle of water to school everyday. Please do not send water bottles that have twist-off caps. Please also give me a heads up at least a day ahead of time if your child is planning to bring a treat for his or her birthday.



Arrival Time: I also would like to request that students arrive at school no earlier than 8:35. It is not safe for them to be hanging around or playing on the equipment with no supervision. We certainly do not want your child to get injured prior to the school day.



Sincerely,

Erin Roth