Grade 3

How do people use water sources in the neighborhood and how do they keep them clean?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items:

• Your science journal

Let's explore...

• • With an adult, travel around your community or use a map of your community and identify ponds, streams, rivers, and other water sources in the community. How do people use that water source? What is on the border of the source? Can you see ways that people are working to keep the water clean?

  • In your science journal, write about what you noticed and the practices you could put in place to reduce any impacts on the local water sources.

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• identify and locate major water sources in the local community

What liquids will mix with water?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items...

• Your science journal

• Cups or bowls

• Measuring cup

• Table spoon

• Spoon for stirring

• Stopwatch or timer (could be on cell phone)

• Water

• Possible liquids or solids to test:

• Oil

• Vinegar

• Soy sauce

• Salad dressing

• Sugar

• Salt

• Pepper

• Raisins

• Powdered drink mix

*Note: Since this is being done at home and not in a lab, only edible liquids and solids should be used.

Let's explore...

• • Have you noticed some things that dissolve in water, and some things that don’t? Pick some substances that you would like to test to see if they dissolve. What steps should you take to test this? Make a decisions about how much water you want to use in each test? How much liquid should be added? When testing a solid, how much solid would you like to add?

  • With the permission and supervision of an adult, test to see what dissolves in water and what doesn’t dissolve.

  • At the end of the investigation, write what you learned about mixing liquids and solids in your science journal.

• • Another investigation that you can conduct at home is to determine how the temperature of water affects solids dissolving in water. With the permission and supervision of adult, heat some water. You can also test using cold water that has ice cubes in it. At the conclusion of the experiment, in your science journal write about what you learned and provide evidence (data) that supports the explanation.

*Some recommendations:

1. Always do this work with an adult.

2. Use the same amounts of water and liquid or water and solid. Be consistent if stirring to help with mixing or dissolving.

3. Use a small amount of solid. If too much is used, it cannot dissolve completely.

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• plan and conduct an investigation to identify liquid materials that will mix with water

• classify liquids by their ability to mix with water

• plan and conduct an investigation to determine solids that will dissolve in water

• classify solids based on their ability to dissolve in water

• plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of water temperature on the dissolving of a solid

What effect do different forces have on objects?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items:

• Your science journal

• Moving objects such as toy cars

• A board or surface to serve as a ramp for the moving object. A lid to a container or shoebox may also serve as a ramp.

• Different materials to place on a ramp to change the surface (sand paper, felt or fabric, aluminum foil, scrap carpet, etc.)

Let's explore...

• Have you noticed that different surfaces have different effects on objects? You can test this by using a toy car, a ramp, and different materials to put on the ramp. Find a surface that can be used as a ramp for a car or other object. Choose materials to cover the ramp. Predict which surface will allow the car to move the fastest or which one would cause the car to move the slowest. In your science journal, write down the steps (procedures) you will follow to test the prediction and decide what data to collect to determine which surface provided the least (or most) friction. Examples of data that you could collect are the time it takes for the car or object to reach a certain point, or the distance the object travels before stopping.

• After completing the investigation, write a paragraph about what you have learned and use evidence (data) to support whether or not your initial prediction was accurate.

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• plan and conduct an investigation concerning the effect forces have on an object’s motion

How are animals suited to their environment?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items...

• Your science journal

• Pictures or videos of animals

Let's explore...

• • This is a perfect time to make observations of animals in the community. Look at animals in your community, or look at pictures and videos. Describe the animal. Does your animal have different structures such as fins, long tails, claws, fur? How do these features help the animal in its habitat? Look at other pictures of animals. Based on the characteristics, can you tell what type of habitat this animal would live in? Write down what you discovered in your science journal.

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• compare the physical characteristics of animals and explain how they are adapted to their environment