Keep it hot or cold.

This week, we study about thermal energy. Thermal energy can make things hot or cold. Your hot plate, stove, freezer and ice cubes all make thermal energy. These things can also make some objects get hot or cold.

If you leave your aluminum coke can in the refrigerator, it's going to get really cold. If you go outside in the summer time with no shoes on, your feet will probably get burned on the concrete. If you pour hot chocolate into your glass cup, the cup will start to get warm. All of these objects get hot and cold easily because they are conductors. Thermal energy moves through them, and they can get hot and cold really easily. Energy from the sun transfers to the concrete, and it causes the temperature to increase.

When you go outside in the summer time, your car feels really hot, but the trees aren't as hot as your car. Trees are made out of wood, and wood is an insulator. When you hold a plastic spoon in your hand, your thermal energy from your hand doesn't make the plastic very warm. Plastic is also an insulator. Thermal energy does not go through insulators easily, so they don't get as hot or cold as conductors.

Look at the picture above. Which objects are the best conductors, and why? Which objects are the best insulators, and why?

Watch this brainpop video about heat!

CHALLENGE!

Challenge: Make the tallest free standing structure using only pasta sticks and gum drops!

We had 30 minutes to create a building, and we discussed why our structures kept falling down. Several students agreed that their buildings were too heavy, and couldn't stand by themselves. Other students said that they needed more gum drops. Some students said that gravity was pulling down our structure all the time, so we needed to create something that could stand by itself.

What do you think?

May the Force Be With You!

Today, we discussed different ways to make objects move or change speed. We moved our shoe boxes by pushing, pulling, and sliding it down an inclined plane, because gravity caused it to move. We also discussed why our boxes were harder to push up the slope when added rocks. We decided that we increased the friction in our boxes, which caused the shoe box to push down harder on our table. Friction causes things to slow down or makes things harder to move.

Here are some different examples of each force we explored today!

Pushing a basketball from your hands to make a basket.

Pulling coke tab open with your fingers

Skiing down a mountain because gravity is pulling you down.

Sliding into 2nd base and slowing down because of friction.

Watch this video about Forces on BRAINPOP. Start at 2:00.

Homework for Tuesday:
Find objects around your house that work, use, or can make these different forces. Write 3-5 examples down in your journal for each force (Pushing, Pulling, Gravity, and Friction).

How does it work?

Today, we learned about different types of energy. We observed different objects, and decided if they used light, thermal (heat), sound, mechanical (moving), or electrical energy. We realized that most objects use one or more types of energy to work, and they create different kinds of energy when they are operating.

1. What kind of energy would you use to make this pinwheel spin?

2. What kinds of energy can you create when the pinwheel is spinning?

3. Did one form of energy turn into another form of energy?

Watch this video about energy. Do they discuss other types of energy that we didn't review today in class?

Does it Dissolve?

Today, we mixed together different ingredients with our water. Some mixtures dissolved, while others did not. We added 1 tablespoon of citric acid into 100Ml of water. The citric acid broke apart into little pieces when it was mixed with water. You couldn't see the citric acid, but there was still 1 tablespoon of it inside the water. The pieces were so small because they dissolved in the water. The salt also dissolved in the water. The sand, pebbles, oil, and baking soda didn't dissolve.

Look at this picture of lemonade. Some ingredients dissolved in the water, while other ingredients did not dissolve. Which ingredients dissolved, and why? Which ingredients did not dissolve, and why? How could you separate all the different ingredients in your lemonade?