In Science Class . . . Week of 11/28

On Tuesday, we went over our most recent quiz and got our notebooks set up for our new unit. If you or your child is not happy with their quiz grade, they are welcome to study at home and retake it on Thursday or Tuesday. Just let me know!

Our new unit is on earth science. On Thursday, we'll be examining some fake and real rocks and discussing what sort of information geologists collect. Students will be working with the measuring tape and balances to collect data on the circumference, mass and diameter of their rocks.

• What sorts of information do geologists collect when when they study rocks? (They look at the size, shape, texture, location, color, luster, etc. They also will weigh and measure the rocks)
• What did your rock look like? What did you notice about your rock? (Most of the fake rocks are gray with red and blue "minerals.")
• What tools did you use to collect information? (We used a measuring tape for circumference and diameter. The unit of measurement being centimeters. For the mass, we used a balance and took the mass in grams.)
  

In Science Class . . . . Week of 11/14

This week, the students examined packaging of common food items to try and figure out what atoms the food is made of. They found that most food contains lots of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which are the common building blocks of carbohydrates, fats, proteins. It's important for students to understand that most living things (including the food we eat) is primarily made up nonmetals.

Next week, on Tuesday, we will be taking a quiz on mixtures, solutions, chemical reactions, periodic table, etc. On Thursday, students will complete a study guide that has all the required information. This will go home and students can study at home. The quiz will also be open-notebook so students can use their notebook as a resource, too.

After Thanksgiving break, we will be starting our Earth Science unit that includes rocks, minerals, and landforms.

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/31

Happy Halloween!! The 4th and 5th graders have been continuing our exploration of chemical reactions. On Tuesday, we observed how a reaction between calcium chloride, baking soda and water caused the production of a gas. We mixed the reactants in a zip lock bag so that the bag expanded when the reaction took place. We even had a couple popped bags!! This reaction produced a precipitate (solid), too, which was a white powder. On Thursday, we examined the periodic table, discussed atoms, and looked at two key properties of metals - heat and electricity conduction. We watched butter melt on various metals in a hot water to see how well they conducted electricity, and we put them between open wires of a circuit to see if they conducted electricity. We found that all metals, including alloys, did and wood and plastic did not.

• What do all metals have in common? (Solid - except mercury- on earth, able to be flattened, can conduct heat and electricity, strong)
• What is evidence of a chemical reaction? (Color change, gas production, heat change)
• What is happening to the atoms in a chemical reaction? (They are re-arranging)

Note: Because of conferences next week, we will be doing vocab and review work. Investigations will continue the week of 11/14.

PLEASE: If you have any old food or household packages or bags (that aren't gross) that have the ingredients listed on them, send them in with your student for class on 11/15. Anything would be great - chip bags, cereal boxes, bread bags, toothpaste boxes, soda cans, etc. We'll be looking for elements on the package. Cereals are especially fun since there are often minerals added for nutritional value like iron, zinc etc. Thanks!