Science
Term 3 - Living World - Life Cycles
WALT Explain the stages of a plant life cycle
Planting Bean Seeds
WALT Identify the part of a bean seed/bean plant
We worked together to fill in this sheet to identify the different parts of a bean and the stages of the lifecycle. We also dissected a bean and were able to identify all of the parts!
Hopefully, we'll be able to see these stages as our plants begin to grow!
Days 7 - 10
These are the bean plants that we have planted in class. In the first photo, you can see the stem growing out of the soil.
In the 3rd photo you can see the cotyledon coming out of the soil with its bean coat (the blue) starting to shed.
Days 17 - 20
On Monday morning, we have come in to find that our plants have grown alot over the weekend! The cotyledon has split and our new leaves have begun to grow! We look forward to seeing them starting to open up more!
Planting Bird Seed
As another way to observe how plants grow, we have planted bird seed in damp paper towel. We put this into ziplock bags and have taped this to our classroom windows so that they have sunlight.
Days 4-5
Term 2 - Electricity
WALT Identify the properties of an electrical circuit
Term 1 - Acids and Bases
WALT Understand the differences between a permanent and temporary change
WALT Identify what a fair test is and why they are important when testing in science!
After learning about acids and bases, we knew that they reacted with each other. Our question was, which liquid would react most with baking soda (a base). We had lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, window cleaner and water. Knowing that window cleaner is a base and water is neutral, we predicted that vinegar would probably react most with the baking soda. To test this fairly, we keep the amount of baking soda the same (1/4 of a teaspoon) and the amount of liquid we use the same (20mL). We also kept the type of test tube the same. The only thing we changed, was the liquid we were testing. This made it a fair test to find which one reacted most with baking soda without other variables interfering. We found, it was vinegar that reacted most with the baking soda (it fizzed so much that it overflowed out of our test tube!). Because the only thing we had changed was the liquid, we knew this must have been the cause of the reaction.
WALT Identify the changes acids and bases make to our red cabbage mixture (a natural indicator)
This week we tested how a red cabbage mixture changed when mixed with acids and bases. It started in as a purple kind of colour. When mixed with an acid, it turned red and when mixed with a base, it was a blue/dark green colour. Many of us predicted that when tested with a neutral liquid (water) that the red cabbage indicator would turn green (like the universal indicator did) BUT it stayed the same colour. We then discussed why this was!
WALT: Understand the differences between acids and bases and investigate different liquids to see whether they are acidic or basic
We discussed the properties of both acids and bases and found examples of each. They are everywhere! Such as in our household products and even our body! Using this understanding, we made predictions about given liquids, ready to test whether they were acidic or basic.
We then investigated 9 different liquids - all household items that most of us knew we had in the pantry or cleaning cupboard at home. We worked in groups of 3 - one material handler, one equipment handler and a recorder/reporter! We used red and blue litmus paper to tell us whether our liquids were an acid or a base. If the liquid turned red litmus paper blue or made blue litmus paper stay that way, it was a base. If it turned blue litmus paper red or made red litmus paper stay red, it was an acid. We concluded the following:
Acids - Lemon juice, lime juice, tartaric acid, cream of tartar and vinegar
Bases - Baking soda, glass cleaner, disinfectant and Handy Andy
WALT: Identify hazards and ways of keeping ourselves safe in the science room
This week, we went over to the science room and had a discussion about how we were going to keep ourselves and others safe when we visited this space. Together, we decided that it would be best if we all understood the science room rules and followed these to make sure everyone is able to have fun in the science room while also staying safe!
WALT: Identify the attributes of a scientist
Wow! We all had such different ideas about we a scientist looks like and does. When we discussed these ideas, we decided anyone can be a scientist, including all of us in Room 12!
