Egg Lab We have been learning about how different cell processes are able to help an organism maintain homeostasis. Osmosis is the process by which high concentrations of water travel through the cell membrane to where there is a low concentration of water. Students investigated this process by placing an egg into different solutions. Each day students collected data on the mass of the egg, observed what it looked like, and measured the amount of liquid that was present in the cup. Then they looked at their data to determine if the solutions were hypotonic, hypertonic, or isotonic compared to the egg. With this information students wrote about it making a Claim, giving Evidence, and then summing it up by stating their Reasoning. Hypotonic solutions such as vinegar and tap water caused the egg to swell in size. Hypertonic solutions like corn syrup caused the egg to shrink in size. Microscope Lab During this week of labs students learned how to correctly use microscopes to explore the microscopic world! They observed prepared slides, explored drops of pond water, and created wet mount slides of their choice such as: hair, pimples, snake skin, bugs, rat hair, turtle shell flakes, and other items they were curious to see. Many of them were able to capture videos with their phones of the living creatures in the pond water. It was so cool! | On the last day of testing, each group used a solution of their choice. Solutions tried out: hydrogen peroxide, shaving cream mixed with other fluids, egg yolks, Mountain Dew, vinegar, cooking oil, salt water, and adding in food coloring. Students were excited to see if their hypothesis was correct and to pop the egg to see what it was like inside. Evaluating Specialization Lab In this lab students explored the difference in how unicellular and multicellular organisms function. First they had to independently (unicellular) complete all of the steps to create a paper chain with the alphabet written on each 2" by 12" loop in 5 minutes. Then they worked with a group (multicellular) to organize the jobs needed to complete the task to maximize their efficiency. The competition was fierce as team members frantically worked to assemble their loops to create the longest paper chain and be declared the victor! |
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Chemical and Physical Properties and Changes Labs: Students performed many labs to help them determine how to test properties of substances to identify unknown substances, analyze data to determine if a change was chemical or physical, and how to "back it up" with evidence.
In this Unit we will continue our exploration of matter with Pure Substances, Mixtures States of Matter, and Phase Changes. Students begin by learning how to distinguish between whether a substance is a pure substance (element or compound) or a mixture. Then we will explore the differences between the particles and structure in the different states of matter. I love to show students the cool things that can happen when you adjust the pressure in a gas with a Vacuum Chamber demonstrating Boyle's Law as well as what happens when you adjust the temperature of a gas showing Charles' Law. We end this unit by exploring how adding or removing energy from a substance causes a Phase Change. Students get to know the "how and what" of things that they experience everyday in their normal life. Below are links students can explore to learn more about these topics.
In this unit students are learning about how organisms interact with their environment. We are exploring how photosynthesis helps to transfer energy through food chains, webs and energy pyramids. Students will be conducting an Owl Pellet Dissection as part of their investigation. Below are links related to this unit for enrichment.
For this unit, students are learning how to analyze a change and determine if the substances after the change are a result of a physical or chemical change. Students look for evidence that shows a chemical change has taken place. This is always a fun unit, because of all of the experiments and demonstrations we can do for them to evaluate.
The next couple weeks we will be exploring waves and their properties. Check out the links below to investigate this cool topic further!
This next couple of weeks we will be learning about the Theory of Evolution by natural selection. This shows how genes in a population are selected upon in nature. Those organisms that have the most successful traits live and will reproduce. These traits can build up overtime in a population (a very long time) causing those organisms to evolve into new species. Explore the following links to investigate this cool topic!
The next couple of weeks we will continue our investigation of forces. Like gravity, electric and magnetic forces can affect objects without being in direct contact. This set of links will help you to explore some of the cool activities and explanations over these forces.
There are so many cool things that you can learn about in Genetics! These are just some of the really cool things to learn. Go through the links to explore this fun topic! Also, if something catches your eye, do some of your own research! If you find something worth sharing, email me the link so I can add it to the Symbaloo page!
Here are more links to videos, games, and labs on Forces and Motion to help you dig deeper and explore this exciting concept!
Here is more information about reproduction and the processes that occur allowing it to occur. Use the following links to explore mitosis, meiosis, and types of asexual reproduction. There are cool animations, labs, videos, and games to help you dive deeper into the content. Challenge yourself!
Congratulations to the RooBuilder's Engineering Teams! They spent over 3 months designing and building a bridge out of balsa wood. They never gave up even though a flaw in their design had them re-gluing and drying the night before the competition. Students entered their bridges in the UMKC RooBuilder's Competition this weekend. Emma Haley and Zoie Prothe's bridge held 21.85 lbs earning them a 2nd place trophy. James Haley and Zander Holdsworth's bridge held 28.68 lbs earning them a 1st place trophy and the Rising Star Award. Both bridges held more weight than two of the competing high school teams. Great Job!
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Shari HudgeonsPaola Middle School Science teacher Archives
December 2020
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