ingridscience

Wasp nest study

Summary
Look closely at a wasp nest, to find the architecture of the nest and where the babies are reared.
Materials
  • wasp nest, or parts, removed from its location only when necessary
Procedure

Collect a wasp nest only when it endangers people who are allergic to wasp stings.
Put in a deep freezer for a few days to kill off smaller insects/bugs that will eat the nest structure. (Maybe freeze periodically if the nest is stored for an extended time - mine got eaten by something over the years.)

Look closely at the outside of the nest:
The stripes in the 'paper' are from different kinds of wood.
The wasps scrape wood from dead trees and wood structures with their strong jaws, mix the wood with their saliva into a pulp, then use it to build the nest. The coloured stripes reflect the colour of the wood used for building.
See this wasp nest built from different coloured construction paper, and how the nest builds up:
https://www.booooooom.com/2016/04/04/mattia-menchetti-gives-wasps-colou…
The architecture of the nest determines the air flow through it, which keeps it at the correct temperature for developing babies.

Look at the cells on the inside of the nest:
They are interlocking hexagonal cells. The queen wasp will lay an egg in each, which will mature into a larva, which the wasps care for with food and water to keep the humidity correct. When a larva is ready to pupate, it spins a silk cap over its cell, within which it goes through metarmorphosis. An adult wasp emerges.

See other shapes of wasp nests at this link:
https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/from-the-collections-posts/wond…

Grades taught
Gr K

Insect adaptations

Summary
Explore different features of insects that help them survive.
Procedure

Make four stations with the activities, for students to rotate through.
They learn about different (marvelous) insect adaptations which help them survive.

1. Insect eye lens with paper and markers, to help understand how an insect eye works. The image through the lens is not what the insect actually sees, as the multiple views are combined in the insect's brain to make one image. See the activity for more information.

2. UV flower pattern cards to find out the extra patterns on flowers, only seen by animals that can see UV light (not humans). These patterns guide a bee to the centre of a flower, where the nectar is. The patterns are also called 'nectar guides'.

3. Wasp nest study to marvel at the architecture and beauty of a wasp nest and how the wasp babies are raised

4. Pictures of camouflage in insects for students to look through.
Some insects are camouflaged to look like leaves (dead or green), moss or flowers. This camouflage helps insects to hide from predators that
See amazing camouflage in these links:
https://www.treehugger.com/amazing-examples-of-insect-camouflage-4869256
would eat them. It also helps predator insects (e.g. praying mantis) hide, so that their prey might unkowingly come nearer to them.
Some insects have a camouflage pattern that looks like large eyes of a much larger animal. Their predators then stay away from them.
See images in this link:
https://www.amazingnature-nancygoor.com/eyespots.html
Some insects are camouflaged to look like bird poop! Their predators then do not try and eat them.
See bird poop camouflage in these links:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/150616-caterpillar-p…
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/these-adaptations-gi…
https://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2021/8/9/bird-droppings-nope-clever-moths…

Grades taught
Gr K

Invertebrates

Procedure

97% of all animals are invertebrates (19 out of 20).
See tree of life at https://opening.download/spring-2021.html (vertebrates are part of chordates)

Look at the real invertebrate animals at four stations.
Draw them.

How do they eat, do you think? How might they defend themselves, do you think?

Summarize and look at on tree of life:
Worm eats with mouth. Defends by moving away (makes slime to help move through the soil).
Daphnia eats with mouth. Defends by moving away.
Barnacles eat with their cirri (modified legs) by sieving. Defends with shell.
Freshwater shrimp eats with mouth. Defends by moving away and with exoskeleton.
Wood bugs eat with mouth. Defends by moving away, with exoskeleton, and by camouflage.

How they are related:
Worms least related to the rest, then
Daphnia (pond organism) least related to the rest, then
Barnacles least related to the last two
Freshwater shrimp (pond organism) most related to wood bugs

Information about animal evolution:
Of animal phyla making it onto land, Annelids and Molluscs need a moist environment, whereas Arthropods and Vertebrates can live on dry land.

Info about Vertebrates:
Bones evolved with increasing size and more active foraging for food.
Cephalized (with neural and sensory (navigation) equipment concentrated in the head as the brain, protected by the skull). 
Vertebral column and attached muscles allow for more active swimming and foraging.
Ribs attach more muscles and protect organs.
As an endoskeleton, it can grow with the animal (unlike exoskeletons).
Increased metabolism supports more movement.

Grades taught
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 3

Temperate rainforest ecosystem and the nitrogen cycle

Summary
Map a forest food web of living things, then follow nitrogen from the body of a salmon into forest trees, using molecule models.
Materials

Materials in the activities

Procedure

Look at map of regions of the world (called Biomes).
Try https://askabiologist.asu.edu/sites/default/files/resources/articles/bi… (from this article - https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/biomes) then https://cdn.britannica.com/38/102938-050-6B5388D9/distribution-biomes.j… for terrestrial (Earth, not water) biomes.
Our planet has distinct regions with their own climate - temperature, rainfall, amount of sunlight.
"Climate is what you expect Weather is what you get"
Temperate forest biome includes us. We are rainforest as our rainfall is higher than 1.5m/year.

Sun's angle on Earth activity shows how the sun is a major influence on the temperatures and weather in each of the Biomes
Because the regions have different climates, the living things that can survive there are different.

Sitting in a circle, do the Food web model activity.

Salmon is a keystone species, important for the entire food web of the forest.
Do the activity to show molecule models to show nitrogen moving through the food web.

Additional info
Temperate rainforest soil is rich compared to tropical rain forest soil (salmon nitrogen, also colder and more acidity from coniferous needles, so decomposition is much slower, and more of the nutrients are found in the soil). Tropical growth so fast that every scrap of nutrient is used.

Saharan sand brings phosphorus to the tropical rainforest of South America! It is carried on winds high in the atmosphere across the Atlantic Ocean.

Grades taught
Gr 2
Gr 3

Flight and Newton's Laws

Summary
Make paper airplanes and hoopsters to learn and hypothesize about how Newton's Laws apply to flight.
Procedure

Make flying things, and figure out how they fly.

Paper airplanes
Discuss thrust, drag, gravity and lift, and how Newton's Laws apply in each resultant force.
Adapt the wings of the plane to change the way it flies. Explain in terms of Newton's Laws.

Hoopsters
The air moving around the loops gives it lift so that it can fly for a while (though exactly how unclear to me).
Air resistance eventually slows it down and gravity brings it to the ground.

Birds and flight
Birds glide for the same reason that paper airplanes fly. They also push air to take off and manoeuvre.
Air seems like nothing to us as we are heavy. When a light bird pushes against air particles, they are small enough that the push makes them move.
Just as adjusting your plane changes the flight, birds move their feathers to change their flight path.
And depending on which way they push, they can make amazing maneuvers in the air.
Watch slow motion of birds flying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qThIyj1mLfs.
Note: the shape of birds’ wings are different on the downstroke and the upstroke.Feathers (if time)

Grades taught
Gr 4
Gr 5
Gr 6

Solar panel

Summary
Light a bulb or turn a fan with a solar panel, with light from a flashlight or lightbulb.
Materials
  • solar panels (mine are 0.3W 5V from AliExpress)
  • flashlight/light bulb
  • LED bulbs including a low voltage 'super red'
  • optional: small fan (test first) - mine is a toy windmill attached to this generator
Procedure

Test before use to make sure the solar panel makes enough power to light the bulb/turn the fan.

Attach the solar panel to the LED light bulb, or the fan.
Shine the flashlight or light bulb on the solar panel to make electricity which can turn on the LED light/turn the fan.

Discuss the energy transformations, from light energy to electrical energy to light (or motion) energy.
Discuss renewable energy sources of electricity.

Grades taught
Gr 7

Electricity generation and Renewables

Summary
Build circuits to show electricity generation by wind and solar.
Procedure

We are surrounded by electrical devices and building components.
We’ll make electricity in two ways: by turning a turbine, and by solar.

Students (in pairs if possible) do the turbine and solar panel activities.

Use batteries as a source of electricity, along with wires, lights and motors:
Do the electric circuits and motor free play activities.

Discussion on Energy Transformation:
The battery is a store of chemical energy. When it is connected to a circuit chemical reaction happens in the battery, making electrical potential energy (the voltage of the battery). This difference between the ends of the battery shunts electrons along the circuit (electrical kinetic energy). The bulb converts the electrical energy to light energy. The motor converts electrical energy to motion energy.

Discussion on sources of renewable electrical energy:
Wind turbines account for about 4% of B.C.’s electricity generation capacity.
Could also turn a turbine this shape with water for hydroelectric power. 87% of electricity in B.C. is produced from hydroelectric sources.
Non-renewable: We also still burn natural gas to make electricity. The hot combustion products drive the turbine.

Grades taught
Gr 7

Mineral testing

Summary
Test minerals for hardness, streak, with the acid test (for carbonates). Sort minerals by lustre and crystal shape.
Procedure

Introduction:
Rocks may be made up of one kind of chemical, or a mixture of chemical types. The different chemical types are called minerals.
Minerals have different properties. To help identify a rock, geologists look at the minerals in it.
There are several mineral tests.

Make stations of different mineral tests for students to move through:
Two or three stations with hardness/streak - test to identify minerals
One carbonate acid test station - test carbonate and non-carbonate minerals/rocks/shells in vinegar
One crystal shape station - magnifers and microscope to look closely and find crystal shapes
One lustre station - sort unlabelled minerals by lustre

Review:
The minerals tested have different properties. Geologists use these tests to find out what minerals are in a rock they find.
As rocks go through the rock cycle, their minerals are separated by their different chemistry (for example, some melt at higher temperatures than others). Minerals are mixed together again as they sediment.
Different rocks have different mixes of minerals.

Optional:
Look at the chemical formula of the minerals, which shows what atoms are in it.
Which minerals might be used for making copper wires? (copper=Cu)
Which minerals might be extracted for iron, to make steel? (iron=Fe)

The chemistry of a carbonate mineral is CO3. Carbonate rocks can be made from living things. Show limestone forming from shells.

Attached documents
Mineral testing worksheet.pdf
Grades taught
Gr 5

Mineral lustre

Summary
Sort minerals by their lustre (surface appearance).
Procedure

Give students an assortment of minerals and a sorting sheet.
Ask them to look closely at the surface texture, and sort the minerals onto the sheet.
It doesn't matter if they don't get it exactly right (it takes much experience). The point is to notice different surface textures and reflectiveness in different minerals.

The technical lustre descriptions:
(from https://www.minerals.net/resource/property/luster.aspx)

Metallic - Minerals with a metallic luster are opaque and reflective, like metal.
The metallic elements, most sulfides, and some oxides belong in this category.

Submetallic - Describes a mineral that is opaque to nearly opaque and reflects well. Thin splinters or sections of submetallic minerals are translucent.

Vitreous (also called glassy) - Minerals with a vitreous luster have reflective properties similar to glass.
This luster accounts for roughly 70 percent of all minerals. Most of the silicates, carbonates, phosphates, sulfates, halides, and hydroxides have a vitreous luster.

Adamantine - Transparent to translucent minerals with a high refractive index yield an adamantine luster, meaning they display extraordinary brilliance and shine. Diamond.

Resinous - This is the luster of many yellow, dark orange, or brown minerals with moderately high refractive indices - honey like, but not necessarily the same color.

Silky - A silky luster is the result of a mineral having a fine fibrous structure. Minerals with a silky luster have optical properties similar to silk cloth.

Pearly - Describes a luster similar to the inside of a mollusk shell or shirt button. Many micas have a pearly luster, and some minerals with a pearly luster have an iridescent hue. Some minerals may exhibit a pearly luster on cleaved crystal surfaces parallel and below the reflecting surface of a mineral.

Greasy - Luster of a mineral that appears as if it were coated with grease.

Pitchy - Minerals with a tar-like appearence have a pitchy luster. Minerals with a pitchy luster are usually radioactive and have gone through the process of metamiction.

Waxy - A waxy luster describes a mineral that appears as if it were coated with a layer wax.

Dull - This luster defines minerals with poor reflective qualities, much like unglazed porcelain. Most minerals with a dull luster have a rough or porous surface.

Attached documents
Lustre sorting sheet.pdf
Grades taught
Gr 5

Molecular modelling of urea formation

Summary
Use molecule models to show the chemical reaction that makes urea from ammonia. Show the other molecules that other animals make to remove nitrogenous waste from their bodies.
Materials
  • molecular models (see resource): one ammonia molecule per student (one nitrogen three hydrogens three bonds) and one carbon dioxide per student pair (one carbon two oxygens four bonds)
Procedure

When we digest food, we absorb energy from it.
When proteins are broken down, we extract what we need from them (energy and building blocks for growth), but a toxic by-product containing nitrogen is made: ammonia (show molecule and point out nitrogen atom).
Our body has evolved to remove this toxin before it poisons us.
In our liver, it is converted to urea, which is 100,000 times less toxic.

Students use molecule models to show how urea is made from ammonia.
Each student receives an ammonia molecule, and each pair receives a carbon dioxide molecule.
Show them a urea molecule, and project the image.
Ask students to build a urea molecule with their partner from their ammonia molecules and the carbon dioxide molecule.
Ask them to use the rest of their atoms and bonds to make other molecule.
Help them figure out that the other molecule made with urea is H2O, or water.

Urea circulates in our blood until it is taken out of the blood by the kidneys.

Mammals and amphibians excrete urea. (not monotremes, egg-laying mammals).
Other animals deal with nitrogenous waste in other ways.
Fish and aquatic animals simply excrete ammonia through their gills or skin. (Some frogs even switch from making ammonia to urea as they leave tadpole stage to adult frog.)
Birds, insects and many reptiles excrete uric acid. It can be excreted as a solid, or a paste - we know what bird poo texture is. Monotremes excrete uric acid. These animals started in eggs, where solid uric acid can be stored without harming the baby, and left behind when they hatch.

Grades taught
Gr 6
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