ingridscience

Frost and dew

Summary
Make frost and dew on the outside of a can
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Earth and Space Science: Daily and Seasonal Changes (grade 1)
Earth and Space Science: Air, Water and Soil (grade 2)
Earth and Space Science: Weather (grade 4)
Physical Science: Properties of Matter (grade 2)
Materials
  • Metal can (e.g. soup can with the label removed)
  • Ice to fill the can
  • Salt, about 2 tablespoons
Procedure

Add the ice and salt to the can.
Leave undisturbed for 15 mins.
Add more ice as it melts down.

The ice melts and starts to fill the can with water. The salt lowers the freezing point of the water, so the water can get below 0 degrees centigrade, making the bottom of the can next to the water very cold.
Frost (ice) forms on the bottom of the outside of the can where it is coldest, and dew (water) is on the top of the outside of the can (where there is no cold water on the inside).

There is always water in the air. When it is cold, what happens to the water in the air? It turns to a liquid and makes water drops (like the top of your can). See wet grass in the morning even though it has not been raining. Called dew. (Show image).
When it is really cold, what happens to the water in the air? It freezes into ice (like at the bottom of your can). This happens on the grass too - sometimes the grass is white in the morning. It is called frost. (Show image).

Note that this activity does not work so well in a very warm classroom.

Notes

Does not work in a glass nearly as well (for me).

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 3
Gr 4
Gr 5
Gr 6
Gr 7

Wind vane

Summary
Make a simple wind vane to read where the wind is coming from
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Earth and Space Science: Surroundings (grade K)
Earth and Space Science: Daily and Seasonal Changes (grade 1)
Earth and Space Science: Air, Water and Soil (grade 2)
Earth and Space Science: Weather (grade 4)
Materials

Long triangle of cardboard (e.g. cereal box)
2 washers or pennies
Pen cap or small tube
Tape
Skewer

Procedure

Discussion of what wind is and does. Wind is moving air.
Wind is measured by where it comes from. Wind comes from different directions and brings us different weather.
We will make a wind vane to find out where the wind is coming from.

Tape the washers/coins near to the point of the triangle without sticking over the sides (for weight).
Balance the cardboard on your finger to find the balance point, then tape a tube over the balance point with the open end facing the outer edge of the cardboard. Put a skewer inside the tube and hold the wind vane up to catch the wind. The point of the triangle will face the way the wind is coming from.

Take the wind vanes outside to find out which way the wind is coming from. (May need a compass to check for north).

Look at live interactive map of Earth’s winds: https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-…

Notes

This is a simplified version of the wind vane on p.20 of the Weather Watcher book.

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1

Temperature measurement

Summary
Students use a thermometer to measure various temperatures e.g. air in the classroom, their finger, a cup of iced and/or warm water, outside air.
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Earth and Space Science: Surroundings (grade K)
Earth and Space Science: Daily and Seasonal Changes (grade 1)
Earth and Space Science: Air, Water and Soil (grade 2)
Earth and Space Science: Weather (grade 4)
Materials
  • thermometer, for each/pair of students - adapted if necessary by taping over numbers and adding new ones to make it easy to read.
  • plsatic tubs/coffee cups/styrofoam cups/metal cans
  • water of different temperatures - use kettle to make warm water fast
  • ice
  • optional: salt, 2 tablespoons per can, to make very cold water
Procedure

Temperature tells us how hot or cold it is.
Use a thermometer to measure temperature.

Optional: show chart of Vancouver temperature going up and down with the seasons.

You will each use a thermometer to measure temperatures.
Show the bulb that measures the temperature, which must be surrounded by the thing you want to measure the temperature of.

Start by measuring air temperature in the classroom, to check students are able to read the thermometers correctly.
Optional: write up/graph results and discuss why they are slightly different - air temperature varies slightly around the classroom; my thermometer are not the best, so are not calibrated so accurately.

Then do other temperature measurements:

The temperature of their finger, by placing their finger over the bulb of the thermometer. The bulb can be cooled again by blowing on it. This is useful for seeing the temperature rise, then fall, rapidly.

The temperature of hot and iced water (in insulated cups if you don't want the temperature to change quickly).
Optional: add salt to iced water to make it even colder (can be combined with the frost activity and use a metal can).

The outside air temperature (may be with another outside activity).

Optional: talk about digital thermometers, that look different from these ones, that are in weather stations and other equipment.

Notes

This activity is easily extended to measuring water temperature in its different states, then graphing the readings. See www.ingridscience.ca/node/13

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 3
Gr 4
Gr 5
Gr 6
Gr 7

Wonderful Weather

Summary
Decent hands-on activity ideas.
Curriculum connection (2005 science topic)
Earth and Space Science: Daily and Seasonal Changes (grade 1)
Earth and Space Science: Air, Water and Soil (grade 2)
Earth and Space Science: Weather (grade 4)
Type of resource
Book
Resource details

Wonderful Weather by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone. First Science Experiments series. Sterling Publishing 2003

Evolution

Summary
Well known author and public speaker on evolution. I have only used this book for its front cover!
Type of resource
Book
Resource details

Evolution by Carl Zimmer

Notes

The front cover of this book has many images of different animals' eyes. Great for looking at how pupils and eye colours differ.

Eyes

Summary
Look at your own eyes, dissect a cow's eye and learn about how our eyes work.
Curriculum connection (2005 science topic)
Life Science: Characteristics of Living Things (grade K)
Life Science: Needs of Living Things (grade 1)
Life Science: Animal Growth and Changes (grade 2)
Life Science: Human Body (grade 5)
Physical Science: Light and Sound (grade 4)
Procedure

Do a selection of the activities.

Other things to add:
Show pictures of other animals' eyes - all different colours and pupils of different shapes e.g. eyes from Evolution book (see resource).
Show a picture of a girl with cat eyes, and ask students to

About colourblindness:
About 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women in the world are colourblind, though not all the cases are extreme, and someone might not even realise they have partial colourblindness. Colour blindness is usually from a genetic cause (in your DNA and inherited from parents). The most common kind is red/green colourblindness, and is partial or complete loss of sensitivity to red and green colours. In the more extreme cases (protanopia - loss of red, and deuteranopia - loss of green) colours containing red or green appear yellow or brown, and blues and purples are confused. Less extreme cases (deuteranomaly - partial loss of green) are most common, where reds appear browner and purples appear bluer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness#/media/File:Color_blindne…
Find out what it is like to be colour blind: http://www.colourblindawareness.org

Attached documents
Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 3
Gr 4
Gr 5

Eyes: blind spot

Summary
Find your own blind spot
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Life Science: Animal Growth and Changes (grade 2)
Life Science: Human Body (grade 5)
Physical Science: Light and Sound (grade 4)
Materials
  • image of a spot and cross, attached below
Procedure

Print out the spot and cross image, or use the photo above.
Cover your right eye and hold the spot and cross image at arm’s length (or put your head at arms length from the computer screen), with your nose centred between the spot and the cross.
Stare at the cross, then slowly move the paper towards you/move your head towards the computer screen. Keep staring at the cross; keep your nose centred.
When the paper /screen is 20-30cm away from your face, the spot disappears, as the spot is over the blind spot of your left eye.
This can be a tricky activity - make sure you are staring at the cross the whole time.

We have a blind spot in each of our eyes where the optic nerve passes through the retina in the back of the eye. There are no light-sensitive cells in this area so it can not make images.

Attached documents
Notes

Hard for Ks and some grade 1s.

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2

Lenses bend light

Summary
Use a laser pointer and a lens to show how light is bent by the lens.
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Life Science: Animal Growth and Changes (grade 2)
Life Science: Human Body (grade 5)
Physical Science: Light and Sound (grade 4)
Materials
  • Laser pointer, or other focused light source
  • Curved lens that clearly shows the laser beam bending
Procedure

Hold the laser pointer up to the lens, and show how the light bends as it emerges from the lens.
The lens in our eye does the same thing, to project light from what we are looking at onto the back of our eye.

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 4

Lenses: magnify and invert an image

Summary
Use a hand lens to magnify and invert images
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Life Science: Animal Growth and Changes (grade 2)
Life Science: Human Body (grade 5)
Physical Science: Light and Sound (grade 4)
Materials

Good quality hand lenses

Procedure

Use the lens to magnify newsprint or other small things.
(The lens in our eye can do the same thing).

Hold the lens in front of a white piece of paper to project an inverted view of a window or a bright light.
(The lens in our eye does the same thing).

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 4

Eye study

Summary
Students look at their own eye in a mirror to find identify visible parts. Use a flash light to change the size of the pupil.
Science topic (2005 curriculum connection)
Life Science: Characteristics of Living Things (grade K)
Life Science: Needs of Living Things (grade 1)
Life Science: Animal Growth and Changes (grade 2)
Life Science: Human Body (grade 5)
Materials
  • mirror each
  • flashlight for each pair
Procedure

Students look at their eye in the mirror.
Ask them to find their pupil. That is where the light comes in. It looks black because no light comes out again.
Find the iris, the coloured part. This is a muscle that opens and closes the pupil. What colour is your iris? What colour is your neighbour’s iris? Different people have different coloured iris muscles.
Students can find other parts of their eye e.g. eyelashes, sclera (white of the eye), eyelids.

Students can draw their eye.

We regulate how much light is coming into our eye by changing the size of the hole, the pupil.
Look at your eye in the mirror. Move the flashlight onto your pupil, then away, watching it.
Look for the pupil changing size. It should get smaller when the light shines on it, and larger when the light moves away.

Notes

Hard for Ks to manipulate mirror and flashlight - try in pairs.

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 3
Gr 4
Gr 5