Science

Science Day

Thermal Insulators

Can I investigate thermal insulators?

The Brilliant Bags Company want to make a new lunch box for children to bring their packed lunches to school in. Food will be stored in the lunch box for quite a long time – probably all morning.

They want to make sure the lunch box keeps the children’s lunches cool and fresh, so they need to think about the best material to use to make the inner lining of the lunch box.

In teams, the children tested the different materials. They each had a material which they wrapped around a plastic cup before filling it with ice cubes. At hourly intervals, they checked the temperature to see which material had kept the ice cubes the coolest. Although our results were a little inconclusive, they had a great time. See the results below.

Brighter Bulbs

Can I investigate the best electrical conductor?

A football team needed new floodlights to illuminate their football pitch for evening games.

They needed to find the best conductors for the circuits in their lights, so that the bulbs in the lights shine as brightly as possible. 

The children investigated the best electrical conductors, and presented their recommendations for which material they should use.

Properties of Materials 

Can I investigate the properties of materials?

To find out which properties a material has, they have to be tested. The children tested several different materials to find their properties. They tested for magnetism, hardness, transparency, flexibility and permeability.

The results were recorded in a table. Finally, they discussed the suitability of each material, thinking about why different objects use different materials. 

Friction

Can I investigate the effects of friction?

The children were tasked with finding out which surface would create the most amount of friction. They made a prediction (carpet, table or concrete), before testing and writing up their experiment.

Water Resistance

How does the shape of the submarine effect the water resistance?

Scientists needed to create a submarine to reach the bottom of the ocean as quickly as possible. They asked us to investigate which shape their submarine should be. 

The children were given 45 seconds to create their own submarine, before we tested four as a class. See the results below.

Air Resistance

How does the shape of the parachute effect the air resistance?

Task: to redesign a parachute for the Super Skydiving Company to allow people to perform skydives from an aeroplane. 

The children created 3 designs for their parachutes, testing each 3 times. They remembered the best parachute was the one that made the person (paper clip) fall slowest. This was due to the greater amount of air resistance created.

Gravity

Is there a link between the objects weight and its mass?

The children measured the weight and mass of different objects. They used a Newton meter to measure the weight and a set of scales to measure the mass. 

After investigating, they discovered that gravity pulls objects down with a force of approximately 1N per 100g.