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Week 5: Elements and the Periodic Table |
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We are experiencing uncharacteristic ice and snow in central Texas and so today is a snow day which constitutes this week of class to be done online.
Even with the uncertainty of the weather, God is still in control. Let us begin with our Bible verse: "God is not the God of confusion but of order and peace." 1 Corinthians 14:33 We will be learning about how God has so ordered our natural world and how and who figured out how He ordered it. The first task for students to complete is to fill in the note taking guide to familiarize themselves with the information that we will cover today.
I do have a video on YouTube that goes through this guide as I would have done during class. |
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The second task that students are to complete is putting together the Periodic People. You can find this resource at
here
here
Here is a special video for parents to get a behind the scenes look at how to prep this activity
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For parents of students in my class, please see this instructional video on YouTube to help explain this activity.
When doing this activity it can seem overwhelming for students and this is okay. We can teach through how to take an overwhelming task and break it down into smaller parts. For this activity, begin by finding the simplest person. Once you have found the simplest person think of your math 100s chart and how that is organized and the patterns that go with it. You see how the One's place has the same number in it for a particular column. You see how the numbers go up from left to right. Thinking of these patterns, try to apply them to your periodic people. |
Here are pictures of the periodic people mixed up and then sorted for your reference.
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After completing the Periodic People activity and answering questions 1-3. Watch the TedED talk on Dmitri Mendeleev on YouTube
In the coming weeks, we will take our chemistry knowledge and apply it to Food science and Nutrition and so I showed this picture on my final video for the students as a bridge into what we will be studying for the rest of the semester.
Week 4: Atoms and Molecules
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John 1:3-"All things were made through Him. Nothing was made without Him."
Indescribable by Louie Giglio We began science class with this devotion 'Atoms, Electrons, Quarks, and Stuff'. The activity I used to introduce atoms and molecules to the students was having them manipulate tangrams into different images. There were some rules to follow: 1. All seven pieces had to be used. 2. Each piece had to lie flat. 3. Each piece must touch at least one other piece. 4. Pieces may not overlap. 5. Pieces CAN be flipped and rotated. As they were making their creations, I told them that these pieces are like atoms. There are a set number of them. They can be manipulated in multiple ways to make different creations but they have to follow the rules laid out by their creator. Just as the Lord God has set before us rules to follow in the 10 Commandments, rules that are for our good and His Glory, He has also made natural laws to govern His creation as well. This is the way His creation works the best. Typically, with any toy, device, appliance that you might purchase, it comes with a set of guidelines or rules to follow in order to maintain your device or appliance best. Our Creator God has done the same thing with His Creation. |
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After manipulating the tangrams, we dove right into learning about atoms with our note-taking guide. These guides are so helpful to me as they activate any prior knowledge that the students have had but also present information in an interactive way. Each guide has a word bank of possible choices. This narrows the choice of words down and gives students success. The positive feedback is a great start to motivate more learning. You can purchase these guides from our TpT sight for almost nothing.
One of the concepts that we learned about atoms was that they were incredibly small. That you couldn't even see atoms with a normal microscope.
The question posed was that if the atoms were so small and no one could see them, how do we know they exist? We learned that scientists were able to see how certain atoms behaved and how they can combine with other atoms.
To demonstrate this concept, I gave them a ball of playdoh with an object imbedded and a toothpick. I told them to poke around in the playdoh, not tearing it apart but just poking. As they are poking they were to draw what they were observing as they were poking and thus make some predictions as to what it could be. This is similar to how scientists learned about atoms. They had to poke around matter, take lots of notes about what they were observing and then formulate hypothesis to test their ideas.
Once again, the excuse of not believing in a Creator God because you cannot see Him is debunked. We cannot see atoms but we know they are there. We cannot see God however we know He is here because He is.
The question posed was that if the atoms were so small and no one could see them, how do we know they exist? We learned that scientists were able to see how certain atoms behaved and how they can combine with other atoms.
To demonstrate this concept, I gave them a ball of playdoh with an object imbedded and a toothpick. I told them to poke around in the playdoh, not tearing it apart but just poking. As they are poking they were to draw what they were observing as they were poking and thus make some predictions as to what it could be. This is similar to how scientists learned about atoms. They had to poke around matter, take lots of notes about what they were observing and then formulate hypothesis to test their ideas.
Once again, the excuse of not believing in a Creator God because you cannot see Him is debunked. We cannot see atoms but we know they are there. We cannot see God however we know He is here because He is.
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We went from discovering atoms to making models of atoms. This handout was incredibly simple for the students to make. I printed these out on cardstock, and then for ease for the students, I precut slits in the middle so that their brads could be easily inserted through the cardstock. I found this activity to be less cumbersome than other model making activities so that I could focus on teaching about the parts of the atom versus how to put the model together.
I did NOT tell them which atom these were. That was for them to discover by doing their homework this week.
So thankful for a great class!!!
I did NOT tell them which atom these were. That was for them to discover by doing their homework this week.
So thankful for a great class!!!
Week 3: Non-Newtonian Fluids
These are the warm ups from class today.
Name some physical properties of matter.
States of Matter
Which 'change' and which 'stay the same'?
Solid's volume-stays the same
Solid's shape- stays the same
Solid's mass- stays the same
Liquid's volume- changes
Liquid's shape- changes
Liquid's mass- stays the same
Gas' volume- changes
Gas' shape- changes
Gas' mass- stays the same
Name some physical properties of matter.
- texture
- state of matter
- weight
- length
- shape
- temperature
- magnetic
- density
- odor
- mass
- volume
States of Matter
Which 'change' and which 'stay the same'?
Solid's volume-stays the same
Solid's shape- stays the same
Solid's mass- stays the same
Liquid's volume- changes
Liquid's shape- changes
Liquid's mass- stays the same
Gas' volume- changes
Gas' shape- changes
Gas' mass- stays the same
Our investigation today centered on a research question dealing with the states of matter. This investigation was structured in a way that lends itself to doing a science fair project.
Our research question was:
How can I tell what state of matter a mystery substance is?
From this we
The students even went a step further and didn't just discover what the state of matter the mystery substances were but also guessed what substance it was!!
Our research question was:
How can I tell what state of matter a mystery substance is?
From this we
- Gathered some background research
- Formulated a hypothesis
- Went through the procedures
- Gathered Data
- Analyzed the data
- Made our conclusions
The students even went a step further and didn't just discover what the state of matter the mystery substances were but also guessed what substance it was!!
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After discovering what our mystery substances were we categorized them into either a Newtonian fluid or a non-Newtonian Fluid.
We learned that Newtonian fluids have a direct connection between their temperature and their viscosity whereas Non-Newtonian Fluids do not follow those same rules. The viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid is dependent on the amount of pressure applied rather than the temperature.
Some wonderful applications to this information were that the synovial fluid around our knee and elbow joints is actually non-Newtonian. This was so well designed by our Creator. He knew that these joints would need some extra protection. The kind of non-Newtonian fluid that synovial fluid is called shear thickening. This means that when pressure is applied to these joints, the fluid hardens thus protecting the elbow and knee joint. Amazing!
"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed." 2 Corinthians 4:8a
The notes above go into more detail about these fluids.
We learned that Newtonian fluids have a direct connection between their temperature and their viscosity whereas Non-Newtonian Fluids do not follow those same rules. The viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid is dependent on the amount of pressure applied rather than the temperature.
Some wonderful applications to this information were that the synovial fluid around our knee and elbow joints is actually non-Newtonian. This was so well designed by our Creator. He knew that these joints would need some extra protection. The kind of non-Newtonian fluid that synovial fluid is called shear thickening. This means that when pressure is applied to these joints, the fluid hardens thus protecting the elbow and knee joint. Amazing!
"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed." 2 Corinthians 4:8a
The notes above go into more detail about these fluids.
Week 2:
States of Matter
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As the students arrived at class, they took out their physical properties homework from last week. They were to calculate the densities of the objects that we found the mass and volume for the previous week and make a prediction from their numbers whether an object would sink or float. I absolutely loved the interaction between math and science in this activity. By doing this activity, the students were able to see a pattern in the numbers as to what would sink and what would float. If the density of an object is equal to or greater than 1g/ml it will sink. If the density of an object is less than 1g/ml then it will float.
We had only one object that did not float as the numbers said that it should. This was perfect! We realized that our numbers for our calculations had been wrong and so going back to correct those would yield the correct density reflecting that the object did indeed sink. |
Digging deeper into the physical properties of matter, we discovered the states of matter and learned about how the molecules are acting in an object or substance.
States of Matter are how tightly packed the molecules of a substance are and how much energy it takes to get the molecules to move apart.
The three states of matter that we talked about during this class were Solids, Liquids, and Gases. In our handout we described the attributes of each state of matter.
Can a substance change states?
Yes.
We discovered that in order for a substance to change states, it requires kinetic energy.
In the midst of talking about changing states of matter, it is good to note that our Almighty God does NOT change. He has created substances and objects to be able to change on earth for His purposes, however He is a God who never changes. James 1:17 states "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." (NLT)
States of Matter are how tightly packed the molecules of a substance are and how much energy it takes to get the molecules to move apart.
The three states of matter that we talked about during this class were Solids, Liquids, and Gases. In our handout we described the attributes of each state of matter.
Can a substance change states?
Yes.
We discovered that in order for a substance to change states, it requires kinetic energy.
In the midst of talking about changing states of matter, it is good to note that our Almighty God does NOT change. He has created substances and objects to be able to change on earth for His purposes, however He is a God who never changes. James 1:17 states "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." (NLT)
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The most common agent of phase change from one state of matter to another is heat.
Discovering that melting points are the results of temperature and pressure transforming solid to liquids, we did this melting point demonstration. I placed an ice cube, a paper clip, and a chocolate kiss in three separate containers within a glass pyrex dish. The demonstration was to see how long it would take each solid to attain its melting point. In my electric kettle, I allowed water to reach its boiling point when the temperature and pressure would be enough to change the liquid into a gas. I poured the boiling water into the pyrex dish and started a timer to see how long it would take the solids to melt. The result was that it took the ice cube 4 minutes 17 seconds to completely melt. The chocolate kiss was softened immensely but never lost its shape The paper clip was slightly heated. We determined that the heat produced from the boiling water was not enough heat or pressure to reach the melting point for the paperclip. |
This demonstration was a wonderful activity to do because it allowed us to take some time to use our observational skills and determine what was happening during the 4 minutes we were waiting for the ice to melt. During this time, the students were commenting on different ways we could do the demonstration. One suggestion was to pour the boiling water inside the cups with the object. We talked about the benefits to this procedure and the results it might have. Another student suggested covering the pyrex container with saran wrap to help trap some of the heat in order for the melting points to be reached sooner. This was a wonderful display of thinking and reasoning with each other.
For their homework this week, I am having the students read some more notes that we created about the states of matter that are with the above mentioned note-taking guide. The information in these notes were taken from the Answers in Genesis God's Design Curriculum in the Properties of Matter book.
Also, sometime during the week, they are to watch the video about States of Matter from Study Jams. Here is the link
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/solids-liquids-gases.htm
Also, sometime during the week, they are to watch the video about States of Matter from Study Jams. Here is the link
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/solids-liquids-gases.htm
Week 1:
Getting Started with Physical and Chemical Properties
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This class is called the Manna of Things as we will be discovering some chemistry as it relates to nutrition and food science.
Manna is the word the Israelites used to call the food that God provided for them in the desert. It means, "What is it?" Is not the basic study of chemistry, matter, a question of What is it? And so we begin our adventures into discovering what stuff is really made of. Nehemiah 9:6 "You are the LORD, You alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships You." No 'matter' what we find, all things are made by our Creator God and so all glory, honor and credit go to Him for what we discover in the coming weeks. Our first task was to gather some knowledge about chemistry and what it is. We were able to breakdown the different components that make up chemistry. Chemistry is the study of matter and matter is anything that has mass and volume. Chemistry studies matter and its 1. composition 2. structure 3. properties and 4. changes. Mass is the amount of matter something has and volume is the amount of space matter occupies. When we divide the mass and volume of an object, then we attain its density. Physical properties of matter can be observed and measured without changing its substance whereas chemical properties of matter describe how matter has the ability to change into new substance with different properties. All of this information I placed in a note-taking guide for my students. |
When we were able to accomplish a little bit of foundation in chemistry, I had the students partner up and select an item from a mystery bag. They were to note on their data collection sheet its color, length, width, height, mass and volume. We then applied the notes and ideas we had learned to the actual process of discovering what each item really was and how to describe it using the physical properties of matter.
We learned that the length, width and height of a sphere will be the same.
We used 1 gram cubes to determine mass on a scale
We used water displacement to find the volume of an object.
My students will then be working this week to figure out the densities of all the objects in order to predict if they think the object will sink or float. We will test their predictions in class next week and see if we can find a pattern in the numbers we calculated for density and whether the object would sink or float.
Another aspect of their data collection sheet is a challenge for them to do at home in practicing the uses of the physical properties of matter. These handouts you can find at our TPT store for almost free.
We learned that the length, width and height of a sphere will be the same.
We used 1 gram cubes to determine mass on a scale
We used water displacement to find the volume of an object.
My students will then be working this week to figure out the densities of all the objects in order to predict if they think the object will sink or float. We will test their predictions in class next week and see if we can find a pattern in the numbers we calculated for density and whether the object would sink or float.
Another aspect of their data collection sheet is a challenge for them to do at home in practicing the uses of the physical properties of matter. These handouts you can find at our TPT store for almost free.
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My student's last assignment for homework is to view the Study Jams video on the Physical Properties of Matter and take their online quiz associated with it. The link for this video is
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/properties-of-matter.htm
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/properties-of-matter.htm