| District 11 Division of Operations & Instruction |
|
| Science |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.
Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.
Standards
|
| solids | liquids | gases | chemical properties | chemical change | control | solutes | crystals |
| solution | solvent | mixture | physical properties | physical change | suspensions | dissolve | evaporation |
Lesson 1: Breakfast Buddies –
Introduction to Chemical Tests
Duration: 3 Days
** Parent Note – You may
teach this lesson in one session or break it down into 3 days as indicated
in the activities
Materials Needed: Science notebook
Solids, Liquids, Gases Worksheet
Pancake mix (the kind where you just add water); Water; Griddle; Oranges; 1 piece of bread
Various cooking materials in the Breakfast Buddies Worksheet
Science notebook questions found in the Breakfast Buddies Worksheet
Assessment: Check the worksheet
Solids, Liquids, Gases to see if your child understands the difference
between solids, liquids, and gases.
If your child struggles
with these concepts, go on a treasure hunt around your house looking for
examples of solids, liquids, and gases.
Ask your child to make a list
of these items in his/her science notebook and talk about the properties
of solids, liquids, and gases.
Showing your child
water as a liquid, water as ice, and water as steam will also help your
child understand these states of matter.
Look at your child’s
science notebook after completing the Breakfast Buddies questions to
check for understanding of chemical and physical changes.
If your child
struggles with these concepts, make each item at home and talk about the
changes in each substance.
You may also use
notebook paper to demonstrate physical and chemical changes. Tear a
piece of paper into small pieces.
This is a physical change because you
have not changed the paper itself. It is still the same paper, just in
little pieces. Burn a corner of another piece of paper.
This is a
chemical change because the paper is not a totally different substance –
ash, carbon, smoke. Chemical changes result in an entirely new
substance being produced.
Activities
Read the
Solids, Liquids, and Gases Lesson.
Then complete
the
Solids and Liquids Activity.
Finally, take
the
Solids and Liquids Quiz.
Use this
Lesson 1 Solids,
Liquids, Gases
to guide you as you work on this lesson.
Print out the
worksheet to put in your science notebook for Lesson 1.
Let’s go to the kitchen to cook breakfast. We are going to cook pancakes
together.
Measure out an appropriate amount of pancake mix and pour it into a mixing
bowl. Is the pancake mix a solid, liquid, or gas? (It is a solid. Even
though the mix can be poured, the little particles of pancake mix maintain
their size and shape, making them a solid).
Now measure the amount of water needed for the pancake recipe and pour it
into the mixing bowl. Is water a solid, liquid, or gas? (It is a liquid).
Mix the substances together. You have created this batter through a physical
change. A physical change occurs when there is a change in the form or
appearance of a substance, but it does not produce a new substance. The
batter is still water and pancake mix.
Pour some of the batter on the griddle to cook. Do you see any steam rising
from the griddle? If so, you are observing a gas. When heat is added to the
batter, a chemical change occurs.
A chemical change is a change in matter
that produces new substances. A cooked pancake is a new substance with a
different smell, color, texture, and taste. It is an entirely different
substance than the one you started with. Characteristics of a chemical
change include:
gas being produced (bubbles)
a change in temperature, odor, or color
a solid forming from two liquids
light being emitted
Now for the yummy part – eat your pancake. Taking a bite of your pancake
demonstrates another physical change. You changed the size of the pancake by
biting off a piece, but the pancake itself did not change. A chemical change
occurs when you digest the pancake because your body breaks the pancake down
into different substances it can use for energy.
After eating your breakfast of pancakes, ask your child if he/she would like
some fresh-squeezed orange juice. If you squeeze an orange until the juice
drips into your glass, is that a chemical or a physical change? (This is a
physical change because the juice itself did not change in any way.) What
about adding some toast to your meal? You begin with a plain white piece of
bread and heat it until it turns brown and produces a delightful smell. Is
making toast a chemical or physical change? (It is a chemical change because
the bread is now a new substance, different from what it was before
heating.) Answer the questions from the
Breakfast Buddies
Worksheet
on chemical and physical changes in your science notebook.
**Parent
Note – If your child struggles with this activity, make each item at
home and talk about the changes in each substance.
Watch the video on
Chemical and Physical Changes.
Differentiation
Support:
Extensions:
To extend this lesson,
ask your child to find other examples in your house of chemical and
physical changes. Write these examples in a chart in your science
notebook. For example:
|
Chemical Changes |
Physical Changes |
|
1. A rusty bike |
1. Sharpening a pencil |
|
2. Moldy bread |
2. Ripping a paper |
|
3. Lighting a match |
3. Cutting a sandwich in half |
|
4. Car burning gasoline |
4. Butter melting |
|
5. Rotten eggs |
5. Making Kool-aid |
Your child may choose to take a quiz on Chemical and Physical Changes Quiz and/or complete a CLOZE Reading Passage.
For a more in-depth
understanding of solids, liquids, and gases, ask your child to explore
States of Matter.
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 2:
The
Mystery Begins
Duration:
2 Days
Materials Needed: 5 containers (such as Ziploc plastic containers); Tasting spoons; Markers (red, yellow, green, blue, and orange)
Test Mat 1 and Test Mat 2
Tray to put test mat on (such as a cookie sheet); Wax paper; Masking tape; ¼ measuring cup; Sugar; Alum (found in grocery stores in the spice section); Talc (baby powder)
Baking soda; Cornstarch; Toothpicks; Black construction
paper; Magnifying glass; Paper towels; Chart for
Science
Notebook
Science notebook; Answers for
Science
Notebook Questions
Assessment: See the science notebook entry for assessment.
Activities
Parent note: Prior to
teaching this lesson, you need to:
Print off a
copy of the
Test Mat 1 and
Test Mat 2.
You will use this mat throughout the unit, so you may laminate the
mat or cover it with plastic wrap to make it more durable.
Use masking
tape and markers to label each plastic container red, yellow, green, blue,
or orange.
Put ¼ cup of
sugar in the red container. Be sure to just call the substance “red” and
not identify that it is sugar.
Put ¼ cup of
alum in the yellow container.
Put ¼ cup of
talc in the green container.
Put ¼ cup of
baking soda in the blue container.
Put ¼ cup of
cornstarch in the orange container.
You will use these substances throughout the unit.
You will be trying to solve a mystery in this science unit. Just like a detective has to look for clues and record his observations, you will also have to look carefully and record observations about your experiments. When you made pancakes, you observed both physical and chemical changes. We are going to explore five substances that we will call “unknowns”. We will identify them by the color of the container they are in. We have a red unknown, yellow unknown, green unknown, blue unknown, and orange unknown. Observations are really important, so we want to use our senses to help us notice properties of each unknown. A property is a characteristic used to describe an object. Let’s make a chart in our science notebook (Science Notebook Chart Lesson 2). We are going to observe our 5 unknowns carefully.
Place your test mat on the tray (or cookie sheet) and place wax paper on top of the test mat (the side with the color names on it). Use a tasting spoon to take one measure of the red unknown. Use a toothpick to level the amount on the spoon. Put the sample on the red circle on your test mat. Wipe off the spoon with a paper towel. Observe the red unknown and fill in your chart on how the unknown looks, smells, and feels, along with any other properties you observe. **In science, we smell things only with permission. We use a technique called wafting, where you put the substance near your nose and wave the air toward your face. The five unknowns look similar to the unaided eye, but a magnifying glass will help you observe differences in the substances.
Put some of the red unknown on the black construction paper and use the magnifying glass to make more accurate observations. Try to make descriptive observations. Writing “It is white.” is a descriptive observation rather than “It looks like snow.” You are exploring the physical properties of each unknown. Physical properties can be observed without altering the chemical makeup of the substance. Repeat these steps with each of the unknowns.
When you have completed the chart, clean up the area (just throw away the samples of the unknowns) and answer the following questions in your science notebook. Why do you think it might be important to record your observations? How could organizing your information help you solve the mystery of the five unknowns’ identities?
**Parent note – Print out this sheet Answers for Science Notebook Questions for possible answers to the science notebook questions.
Differentiation
Extension: To extend this lesson,
complete the
Color Changing Milk observation activity. This activity is so cool! It really is an
explosion of color! Repeat the experiment
using water instead of milk or with different types of milk (1%, skim
milk). Be sure to record your
observations in your science notebook.
Materials Needed for Extension Activity:
Milk – whole milk or 2%; Dinner plate; Food coloring – red,
yellow, blue, and green; Dishwashing soap (Dawn
works well.); Q-tips; Water
Support: If your child struggles
with observing the unknowns, ask him/her to observe a toy. Make a list
of what color it is, what shape it is, how it moves. You could also make
some Kool-aid and observe what happens as you add the powder and stir
the drink.
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 3:
The Water Test
Duration: 2 Days
Materials Needed: 5 containers of unknown powders (from Lesson 2); Water dropper; Water; Chart for science notebook (print worksheet – Test Results Table
Test Mat 1 and Test Mat 2
Tray to put test mat on (such as a cookie sheet); Science notebook; Tasting spoons; Wax paper; Toothpicks; Paper towels; Magnifying glass
Assessment: See science notebook entry for assessment.
Activities
Review Lesson 2 by discussing the physical properties of the five unknowns.
Do you have any predictions about the identity of each unknown. If so, explain your prediction. What evidence do you have to support your prediction?
Today we are going to test our five unknowns by conducting a water test. Let’s see what new information we can gain about the unknowns by adding a few drops of water to each powder. We will be creating a mixture – a combination of two or more substances, each of which retains its own properties and can readily be separated from the other. We need a way to record our observations. Let’s make another chart – Test Results Table in your science notebook so we can organize and review our data easily. We will label the first test column Water Test.
Set up your tray, test mat, and wax paper like you did for Lesson 2.
With the tasting spoon, take one sample of the red unknown. Use your toothpick to level the amount on the spoon.
Put the unknown in the red test circle. Wipe off the measuring spoon with a paper towel.
Put six drops of water on the red unknown sample. What happens? Use your magnifying glass for a closer look.
Use a toothpick to mix the water with the unknown. Be careful not to rip the wax paper. Now what happens?
Record your observations in the water test column of your chart. You may use pictures and words to describe your results.
Repeat these steps with the four other unknowns.
**Parents – Here are the Expected Results of the Water Test.
Clean up your area. Throw away the samples of the unknowns.
What did you observe during the water test?
**Parent note - If your child noticed that some of the
unknowns “disappeared” in the water, introduce the word dissolve.
If
a substance dissolves in another substance, it is completely dispersed or
mixed in with the other substance.
Were you surprised by any of the results?
Choose two of the unknowns. Explain how these two unknowns are alike and how they are different You may use words, pictures, a T Chart or a Venn Diagram to answer the question in your science notebook.
Watch the Magic School Bus video on Making a Cake by Combining Solutions.
Differentiation
Extension: To extend this lesson,
ask your child to repeat the tests. Were your results the same as the
first trial?
Why or why not? Your child may also do
the
Color Splash Activity. You will be examining the properties of water and cooking oil.
Be
sure to experiment with vinegar after you complete the first activity!
Materials Needed for Extension Activity: 3 clear plastic cups; Water; Cooking oil; Liquid food coloring; Pencil; Vinegar
Support:
To support your child
with the water test, ask him/her to look carefully at the unknown
before, during, and after applying the water. What do you see
happening?
If your child is having
difficulty describing the results with words, ask him/her to draw
pictures of the unknowns before, during, and after applying the water. Repeat the test if
needed.
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 4:
Exploring Water
Mixtures
Duration:
2 Days
Materials Needed: Science notebook; Markers (red, yellow, blue, green, and orange); 6 clear plastic cups; Tasting spoons; 5 containers of unknown powders; Water
Chart for science notebook (print worksheet – Test Results Table
Test Mat 1 and
Test Mat 2
Tray to put test mat on (such as a cookie sheet); Wax paper; Toothpicks; Paper towels; Magnifying glass; Coffee filters; 5
lids from butter dishes or Cool Whip containers;Masking tape
Teaspoon
Assessment: See the science notebook entry for assessment.
Activities
Review the physical properties of the unknowns discovered in Lessons 2 and 3. Today we are going to extend the water test to get more information about our unknowns.
Label the second column of the print worksheet – Test Results Table in your science notebook Water Mixture Test. Prepare your test mat as before.
Measure 2 teaspoons of water and pour it into a cup. This cup is called the control because it is just plain water with nothing added to it. You can use this water as a comparison for your other mixtures. Put a red dot on one of the bathroom cups. Measure 2 teaspoons of water and pour it into the cup. Put this cup on the red circle on the tray. Using a taster spoon, add one measure of the red unknown to the cup. Stir the mixture with a toothpick for 30 seconds. Add two more measures of the red unknown one at a time. After each measure, stir again for 30 seconds. When finished, you will have added a total of three measures. Wipe off the taster spoon with a paper towel.
Observe the mixture you have just made. Let the cup sit on the tray. Use the magnifying glass to enhance your observations. Where is the unknown in the water? Can you still see it? How did the water mixtures compare to the plain water? How did stirring affect the way the mixture looked? Record your observations on the chart in your science notebook using pictures and words. Repeat these steps for the four other unknowns. Be sure that every cup is color coded to match the color of the unknowns.
Watch the Solutes and Solvents Video.
When conducting this experiment you made solutions where the particles were uniformly mixed. You could not see the parts that compose it. Solutions tend to be clear. In our activity, the dissolved unknowns are called solutes and the water is called the solvent. You also made suspensions where the particles were not uniformly mixed throughout and could be easily seen. Suspensions appear cloudy. **Parents – Here are the Expected Results of the Water Mixture Test.
Our next two lessons focus on separating our mixtures from today. We need to begin that process now so that the mixtures will have time to settle. Use a pencil to label each filter red, yellow, blue, green, and orange. Use masking tape and markers to label each lid red, yellow, blue, green, and orange. Hold the red filter over the red lid. Stir the water mixture in the red cup once with the toothpick and then slowly pour it into the filter. Observe what happens. Wait until no more liquid is dripping out of the filter. Leave the lid undisturbed. Put the filter near the lid. Repeat these directions for each mixture. This procedure is called filtration. Filtration is the process of passing a liquid through a porous substance in order to separate any solids from that liquid (like when we pour spaghetti through a colander – the hot water passes through the filter and the spaghetti remains in the colander).
Predict the results of the filtration test. What information about the unknowns do you think we can get from the filtration test? Write your answers in your science notebook.
Watch the
Defining a
Mixture Video.
Differentiation
Extension: To extend this lesson, ask your child to take a clean mayonnaise jar or
pickle jar and create “dirty” water with tap water, soil, sticks,
leaves, and rocks.
Challenge your child to design a method to clean the dirty water.
Describe this method with words and pictures in your science notebook.
Test your design. Did it work?
Support:
If your child struggles with these concepts, focus on identifying
mixtures that dissolve and mixtures that do not dissolve. Can you see the difference between these two mixtures?
Mix other household items with water (salt, flour).
Did these items dissolve in the water?
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 5:
Crystals
Duration:
3 Days **
Parent note – Be sure the mixtures in the lids and filters from Lesson 4
have evaporated before continuing on to Lesson 5.
Materials Needed: 5 containers of unknown powders; Chart for science notebook (print worksheet – Test Results Table
Test results from Lesson 4; Science notebook; Magnifying glass
Assessment: See science notebook entry for assessment.
Activities
Look at the test results from Lesson 4. Observe the lid and open the filter paper for each unknown.
Prepare the chart in your science notebook by labeling the next test
column Filtration Test.
Record your results for each unknown in the filtration results
print worksheet –
Test
Results Table
in your science notebook. Compare what is left in the filter paper and lids with a sample of the
regular unknown. Have the unknowns changed?
In what ways? What happened to the mixtures
after filtration? Were you surprised by any of the results?
Answer these questions in your science notebook.
Look carefully at the
results for the red unknown water mixture. What do
you think happened to the water? Where is the unknown? How
do you think the water and the unknown were separated?
Evaporation as the process by which a liquid changes into a gas.
When this happened with the red unknown, the substance was left over in
the lid. The unknown (already composed of tiny crystals) reappears as
larger crystals. A
crystal is a solid substance with a regular geometric pattern.
When a crystal grows, layer is added to layer, repeating the original
geometric pattern. Crystal sizes vary according to the conditions under
which they are formed. Do you see crystals in any of the other
unknowns?
Let’s compare our test results from filtration to the results from the
water mixture test.
Look at the orange and green unknowns. These two substances did not
dissolve in water. Look at how they both were separated by filtration.
Does it make sense why this happened?
Now look at the red, yellow, and blue results from the water mixture
test.
They either all dissolved or mostly dissolved in water. How were
they separated? They were separated by evaporation or partly by
evaporation.
Those mixtures in which the unknowns were still visible in the water
were separated by filtration.
Those mixtures in which some unknown remained visible were separated by
both filtration and evaporation.
**Parents – Here are the
Expected
Results of the
Filtration Test.
Differentiation
Extensions: To extend this activity, have your child follow the
Directions on Making Salt Crystals.
Materials Needed for
Extension Activity 1:
Salt;
Water;
Cotton String;
Small plastic cup or jar;
Saucepan;
Food coloring;
Tray or plate;
Newspapers or paper towels
Activity 1: Here are
two really fun
Recipes for Making Salt Crystals. Salt crystals usually
take a few days to form, so be patient! Be sure to record your
observations in your science notebook.
Materials Needed for
Extension Activity 2:
Epsom salts (found at a pharmacy);
Colorful pipe cleaners;
Straight-sided container that can hold about 2 cups of liquid;
Old pencil or stick long enough to go over the container
Activity 2: Your child can also play the Junkyard Analysis Game. This game helps your child distinguish between mixtures and solutions.
Support:
If
your child struggles with these concepts, make salt crystals from the two
recipes listed above. The crystals that form are usually pretty large and
easy to see. Compare the newly formed crystals to the salt crystals you
started with. How are the crystals alike? How are they different?
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 6:
The Vinegar Test
Duration: 2 days
Materials Needed: 5 containers of unknown
powders; Eye dropper; Chart in science
notebook (example
for parents); Test mat (mat from Lesson 2)
Tray to put test mat on
(such as a cookie sheet); Science notebook; Tasting spoons; Wax paper; Toothpicks; Paper towels; Magnifying glass; White vinegar
Expected Results of the Vinegar Test
Assessment: In what ways were the reactions similar? In what ways were the reactions different? Why is it so important for scientists to use a control sample?
Record your answers in your science notebook.**Parent note: Use Record of Progress for additional assessment following this lesson.
Activities
In this lesson, we are going to start examining the chemical properties of each unknown with a vinegar test. A chemical property of a substance is its ability to transform into new materials.
Prepare the chart in your science notebook by labeling the next column Vinegar Test. What do you predict will happen when we add vinegar to each unknown substance?
Record any predictions in your science notebook.
Prepare your test mat as before. Using a tasting spoon, take a very small amount of the red unknown. Put it in the “R” section of the compare circle. The compare circle is also called the control. Having a control sample (an unchanged sample) is important to help you accurately describe the results of the vinegar test. Using a tasting spoon, take one full sample of the red unknown. Use a toothpick to get a level spoonful and put it in the red circle. Wipe the spoon with a paper towel. Put 6 drops of vinegar on the sample of red unknown in the red circle. Wait a few seconds. What happens? Look at the sample in the control circle. Compare it with the unknown in the red circle. Did the unknown change after vinegar was added? If so, how? Record your observations in the vinegar test column on your test chart. Use a toothpick to mix the vinegar and the red unknown. What happens now? Record any new observations in your science notebook. Repeat these steps for the four other unknowns.
Clean up your work
area. How did your
predictions compare with your results?
**Parents – Here are the
Expected
Results of the Vinegar
Test.
Differentiation
Extension:
Materials Needed:
Large, clear drinking
glass: Water; Vegetable oil; Salt, sugar, sand
To extend this lesson, ask your child to complete the Cauldron Bubbles Activity. Be sure to try the experiment again with sugar or sand. Record observations in your science notebook
Support:
If your child struggles
with these concepts, repeat the tests and help your child make
observations about the results. Ask leading questions
such as, “I see ______________ happening. What do you see happening?
Do you see any bubbles forming?”
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 7:
The Iodine Test
Duration: 2 days
Materials Needed: 5 containers of unknown powders; Eye dropper; Chart in science notebook; Test mat (use mat from Lesson 2); Tray to put test mat on (such as a cookie sheet)
Science notebook; Tasting spoons; Wax paper; Toothpicks; Paper towels; Magnifying glass; Iodine (0.1% iodine – obtain from pharmacy)
Expected results of the iodine test
Assessment: Have any unknowns reacted similarly when you used different tests? Record your answers in your science notebook.
**Parent note: Use the Record of Progress for additional assessment following this lesson.
Activities
**Note – Iodine can stain paper and clothes. Be careful when working with this chemical.
Prepare the chart in your science notebook by labeling the next test column Iodine Test. Set up your test mat as before. Using a tasting spoon, take a very small amount of the red unknown. Put it in the “R” section of the compare circle. The compare circle is also called the control. Having a control sample (an unchanged sample) is important to help you accurately describe the results of the iodine test. Using a tasting spoon, take one full sample of the red unknown. Use a toothpick to get a level spoonful and put it in the red circle. Wipe the spoon with a paper towel. Put 6 drops of iodine on the sample of red unknown in the red circle. Wait a few seconds. What happens? Look at the sample in the control circle. Compare it with the unknown in the red circle. Did the unknown change after iodine was added? If so, how? Record your observations in the iodine test column on your test chart. Use a toothpick to mix the iodine and the red unknown. What happens now? Record any new observations in your science notebook. Repeat these steps for the four other unknowns.
Clean up your work area. What did you learn about the unknowns from the iodine test?
**Parents – Here are the Expected Results of the Food Iodine Test.**Parent note: Since iodine turns purple-black in the presence of starch, mixing the orange unknown and iodine produces a very quick, dramatic effect. Keep in mind that wax paper contains a little starch, and the iodine will react very slightly with the wax paper after a few minutes of contact. If, after several minutes, your child observes reactions with the other unknowns, avoid telling them that the iodine is reacting with the starch in the wax paper. Simply explain that chemicals are everywhere – including in the wax paper and in the iodine – and that when they combine, chemicals sometimes cause reactions. Also, point out the contrast between these slight reactions and the dramatic reaction of the orange unknown.
Differentiation
Extension:
Materials Needed for Extension Activity:
Expected Results of the
Food Iodine Test
To extend this lesson, test other food items with iodine. Make a chart in his/her science notebook and record the results. For example, use the Chart in lesson template.
**Parents – At this point, it is not important for your child to know that a reaction with iodine indicates the presence of starch. It is more important for your child to see that some substances react differently than others in the presence of iodine. Here are the Expected Results of the Food Iodine Test. Ask your child for ideas on what the items that reacted with iodine have in common. Are there any properties similar to the properties of the orange unknown? If your child would like to extend this lesson again, test some liquids such as soda, orange juice, and water.
Support: If your child struggles with these concepts, repeat the iodine test and point out the dramatic change with the orange unknown. There must be something unique about the orange unknown in order for it to react so dramatically with iodine. That will be an important clue when we figure out the identities of each unknown.
Lesson 8:
The Red Cabbage Juice Test
Duration: 2 days
Materials Needed: 5 containers of unknown powders; Eye dropper; Chart in science notebook; Test mat use mat from Lesson 2); Tray to put test mat on (such as a cookie sheet)
Science notebook; Tasting spoons; Wax paper; Toothpicks; Paper towels; Magnifying glass
Expected Results of the Red Cabbage Juice Test
Materials Needed to Make Red Cabbage Juice: Head of red cabbage; Medium-sized bowl; Grater; Cold water; Strainer; Plastic container Clear, plastic cups
Assessment: In what ways are the unknowns similar? In what ways are they different? Record your answers in your science notebook. **Parent note: Use the Record of Progress for additional assessment following this lesson.
Activities
** Parent note: To prepare for this lesson, you will need to make some red cabbage juice to use as acid-base indicator. Red cabbage juice is a natural indicator; it is a substance that, through its color, reveals the presence of certain chemicals. Because this is a plant juice and contains no preservatives, its shelf life is short. Freshly made red cabbage juice has a blue-purple tint. You will need more red cabbage juice for Lesson 13. Use the Red Cabbage Juice Recipe to make your red cabbage juice. Do not add baking soda to your recipe as indicated. Stop after completing step number 7.
Add Red Cabbage Juice to the next column on the test chart in your science notebook. Set up your test mat as before. Using a tasting spoon, take a very small amount of the red unknown. Put it in the “R” section of the compare circle. The compare circle is also called the control. Having a control sample (an unchanged sample) is important to help you accurately describe the results of the red cabbage juice test. Using a tasting spoon, take one full sample of the red unknown. Use a toothpick to get a level spoonful and put it in the red circle. Wipe the spoon with a paper towel. Put 6 drops of red cabbage juice on the sample of red unknown in the red circle. Count slowly to 15 before observing the unknown and recording your observations. What happens? Look at the sample in the control circle. Compare it with the unknown in the red circle. Did the unknown change after red cabbage juice was added? If so, how? Record your observations in the red cabbage juice test column on your test chart. Use a toothpick to mix the red cabbage juice and the red unknown. What happens now? Record any new observations in your science notebook.
Repeat these steps for the four other unknowns. **Parents – Here are the Expected Results of the Red Cabbage Juice Test.
Clean up your work area. What do you now know about each unknown that you did not know before testing?
Differentiation
Extension: You may also do a
Polishing Pennies
Activity.
You will investigate the best way to make an old penny shine again. Record your
observations in your science notebook.
Materials Needed for Extension Activity: 6 old, dull pennies; 5 paper cups; Lemon juice; Milk; Cola; Apple juice; Water; 5 plastic spoons; Paper towel
Support:
If your child struggles
with these concepts, repeat the red cabbage juice test pointing out the
changes in each unknown. Discuss the dramatic
change with the blue unknown. Something must be
different about the blue unknown in order for there to be such a
dramatic change.
Supplementary Resources:
Lesson 9: The Heat Test
Duration: 2 days
Materials Needed: 5 containers of unknown
powders; Chart in science
notebook; Science notebook; Tasting spoons; Toothpicks; Paper towels; Magnifying glass; Foil pie tin;
Votive candle; Matches; 6 foil baking cups; 1 spring clothespin; Water;
Expected
results of the heat test
Record of
Progress
Assessment: What did you discover
from heating the unknowns that you didn’t learn from adding liquid to
them? Record your answers in
your science notebook.
**Parent note: Use
Record
of Progress for additional assessment following this lesson.
Activities
Remember what happened when you cooked your pancakes in Lesson 1? By adding heat, you completely changed the pancake batter into a new substance (a chemical change). Today we are going to look at what happens when we add heat to our five unknowns. Fill out the last column on the test chart in your science notebook. This test is called the Heat Test.
Lay a piece of aluminum foil on a flat surface. Place a pie tin on the foil. Pour enough water in the pie tin to cover the bottom of the tin. Put a candle in a foil baking cup in the center of the pie tin. You will use other foil baking cups to test the five unknowns. Attach a clothespin to a baking cup (the clothespin is your handle). Put one measure of the red unknown in the baking cup. Wipe the spoon with a paper towel. Light the candle. Hold the baking cup (by the clothespin) about one inch above the flame. Make sure the sample in the baking cup is directly over the flame.
Record your observations on the chart in your science notebook. Remember to use your senses when making observations. Repeat these steps with each unknown. **Parents – Here are the expected results of the heat test.
Clean up your work area. Did any of the results surprise you?
Differentiation
Extension: Instead of cooking the
usual way, harness the sun’s power! Build a pizza box solar
oven by following the
Build a Pizza
Directions. Record the results of
your cooking experiences with the solar oven in your science notebook.
Materials: Recycled pizza box; Black construction
paper; Aluminum foil; Clear plastic (heavy
plastic laminate); Non-toxic glue; Tape; Scissors; Ruler; Marker; Wooden dowel or straw.
Support: If your child struggles with these concepts, repeat the heat test. Point out the dramatic results – which unknowns produced smoke, which unknowns produced sounds, which unknowns produced smells. What happened when we heated each unknown? Focus on the senses – seeing, hearing, and smelling.
Supplementary Resources: Build a Pizza Directions
Lesson 10:
Reviewing the
Evidence and Solving the Mystery
Duration: 2 days
Materials Needed: Chart in science notebook (from Lessons 2-9); Science notebook; Highlighter
Article “Chemicals Are All Around Us”
Worksheet “Chemical Information Sheet”
Assessment: Which test results provided the best clues for helping you identify an unknown? Record your answers in your science notebook.
**Parent note: Use Record of Progress for additional assessment following this lesson.
Activities
You have worked like a detective for many of these activities, using your observation skills to record the results of each test. Scientists and detectives look at all of their evidence together and then analyze it. Use a highlighter to highlight the test results you consider unique to each unknown. Which results help you distinguish one unknown from the others? There is no right or wrong answer. Highlight any discoveries that seems unique to an unknown and that might help you identify it. For example – Look at your results for the vinegar test. Which result seemed significant here? You could highlight the result for the blue unknown since the vinegar bubbled when dropped on the blue unknown. The results with the blue unknown are dramatically different from the other test results.
Predict the identity of each unknown. Give at least two reasons for each prediction. Your reasons are pieces of evidence that support your prediction. Record your answers in your science notebook.
Now that you have highlighted your important results, how can you use them to solve the mystery of the unknowns? Let’s compare the information you have collected with information about known chemicals in books or other reliable sources. Read the article “Chemicals Are All Around Us”. Use the information from the chart in your science notebook and the article to complete the worksheet “Chemical Information Sheet”. Did any of the unknowns’ identities surprise you? If so, why? If not, why not? How did your predictions of the unknowns’ identities compare with your discoveries? **Parent note: Use the parent’s answer key for any of the tests to check your child’s answers on the identity of each unknown.
Differentiation
Extension: To extend this lesson,
ask your child to use the internet to research common uses for each
substance. Make up with riddles
involving each unknown substance. For example: Which substance can be
used to soothe a burned tongue? (sugar) Create at least 3
riddles for each substance. Record your riddles in
your science notebook.
Support: If your child struggles with this lesson, discuss each test and which unknown(s) reacted dramatically different from the others. Read the article aloud, stopping after each section to match the facts in the article with the clues on your chart. Point out distinctive characteristics of the unknowns if your child is having trouble distinguishing the significant information. Repeat any of the tests to verify that the results are consistent with the information in the article.
Supplemental Resources
article pp 111-112 in Teacher's Guide
worksheet p 113 in Teacher's
Guide
Lesson 11:
Identifying the Mystery Goo
Duration: 2 days
Materials Needed: Science notebook; Cornstarch; Water; Ziploc bag; Test mat; Wax paper; Tray to put test mat on (such as a cookie sheet); Tasting spoons; Toothpicks;Paper towels
Eye dropper; Magnifying glass; Marker; White vinegar; Iodine;Red Cabbage Juice; Materials from the Heat Test – Lesson 9 (if your child chooses to perform this test); Record of Progress
Assessment: Which test result gave you the most information about the properties of the unknown chemical? Why? What information in your notebook did you find the most useful? How did your prediction about the identity of the goo compare with your results? Record your answers in your science notebook.**Parent note: Use Record of Progress for additional assessment following this lesson.
Activities
Parent note: You need to have the ingredients for the mystery goo ready for this lesson. Measure ¼ cup of cornstarch and put it into a Ziploc bag. Do not label the bag or tell your child that there is cornstarch in the bag. Your child will need 2 tablespoons of water to mix with the cornstarch for Part 1 of this lesson. When your child mixes the ingredients together, the goo should appear liquid but feel solid. If the mixture does not have the right consistency, add a few more drops of water to the mixture.
Whether you are a scientist or a detective, the steps to solve any mystery include investigating, making observations, recording these observations or test results, analyzing the results, and drawing conclusions based on the results. You will follow these steps in this lesson to identify some mystery goo. Slowly pour the water into the bag and seal it. Carefully knead the bag, evenly mixing the water with the chemical to create the mystery goo. How would you describe the mystery goo? Is it a solid, liquid, or gas? Use your senses to observe the goo.
The chemical you mixed with water is really one of the five unknowns you identified in Lesson 10, but which chemical is it? How do you think you can find out which chemical it is? Let’s conduct some tests on the goo, just like you did with the five unknowns. You have already mixed the chemical with water, so you don’t need to perform a water test. Based on the information you have so far, which unknown do you think was mixed with water? Write your prediction in your science notebook. Make a new chart in your science notebook like the one below. Be sure to record your observations for the water test.
You may conduct any of the tests we used on the five unknowns to help you identify the goo’s composition. Set up your materials. Use the test mat with the unlabeled circles. Cover it. with wax paper. Use your tasting spoon to put a sample of the goo inside the control circle. Decide which tests you would like to perform on the goo: the vinegar test, the iodine test, the red cabbage juice test, or the heat test. Use a marker to write the test’s name above one of the circles on your test mat. Also record the test’s name in the “What I Did” column of the chart in your science notebook. Put a sample of the goo in the circle you have just marked. Test the goo. Record your observations in the “What Happened” column of the record sheet. Decide on another test. Repeat the steps above. Continue testing and using the information in your notebook until you think you know which of the five unknowns the goo contains. Fill in the “What I Think It Is” box on the record sheet. Then write in at least 2 reasons in the “Why I Think So” box. Clean up your work area.
Mystery Goo Test Results
Table
|
What I Did |
What Happened |
|
Water Test |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What I Think It Is |
Why I Think So (Give at least 2 reasons) |
Differentiation
Extension: To extend this lesson,
ask your child to complete the
Logic Problem Worksheet.
Support: If your child struggles with this lesson, remind your child that each test revealed specific information about an unknown chemical. Ask your child to choose a test and identify the significant information gained from the test. Perform each test with your child, comparing the results with the original results in the Test Results Table in your science notebook.
Supplementary Resources: Logic Problem Extension 1 Worksheet
District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:
Unit Vocabulary
| Use the Visual Thesaurus and use the approved login and password to the right: | User name - es35@d11.org and the password is d112009 |
| Vocabulary: chemical, predict, property, observe, texture, variable, reaction, describe, crystals, matter takes up space and has mass, physical states of matter as solids, liquids, and gases, chemical and physical changes |
| © 2007 Colorado Springs School District 11 |
