In Science Class . . . Week of 12/5

This week in science, we acted like geologists and broke apart our fake rocks to see what "minerals" were inside. The students were able to identify several different ingredients, including red and green gravel, shells and some gray material. We then used water to see if we could separate the gray material. Key Questions:

• What is the difference between a rock and a mineral? (Minerals are the ingredients of rocks and are just one type of substance, while rocks are made of many types of minerals.)
• What types of "minerals" did you find in the "mock rock" Ms Jenkins made? (Most groups will find red and green gravel, shells, and gray material that we separated with water)
• What do geologists do? (They study rocks and make observations about the shape, size, texture, color, shininess, mass.)
• How are rocks and minerals used by humans? (We use them in various mixtures for roads, houses, jewelry, etc)
  

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!

Bay Area Science Festival Starting Soon!

Hi, everyone,

For the first time, there will be area-wide science festival that has a number of free programs for families and adults from Oct 29-November 5. This is a coordinated effort between a ton of organizations! I'm really excited about it, and I hope to see of you out there as well. Here's the link to the website:

http://www.bayareascience.org/

Go Science Education!
Ms. Jenkins

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/24

This week, 4/5 students will be continuing their study of chemical reactions. Last week, we learned that chemical reactions occur when two or more substances mix together and their atoms rearrange into new configurations (producing new substances). This week, we will look more closely at the combination of calcium chloride, water and baking soda and use a indicator (red cabbage juice) that will react to create a number of color changes. On Thursday, I'll be at a science training, so students will be watching a Bill Nye video on chemical reactions with the substitute.

• What kind of evidence tells you that a chemical reaction has taken place? (production of gas, color change, temperature change)
• What are some examples of fast chemical reactions? (Anything burning is a chemical reaction)
• What are some examples of changes that are not chemical reactions? (Phase changes, like melting or boiling)
  

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/10

This week in science, we have been looking at chemical reactions! During a chemical reaction, a mixture of chemicals changes to produce new substances. We did several chemical reactions on Thursday and observed changes. The evidence we saw of a chemical reaction included a color change, a temperature change and/or production of a gas (bubbles). (A common chemical reaction that produces a gas is mixing baking soda and vinegar. )

Key questions:

• What happens in a chemical reaction? (The atoms rearrange to form something new).
• What are common pieces of evidence for chemical reactions? (Change in color, change in temperature, bubbles)

Next week, we'll look at the molecular changes that occur in chemical reactions.