Wednesday, 12th October, 2008
We have a thermometer and a water gauge in our class. Each morning we put them outside to measure the daily temperature and how much rain has fallen while we are at school.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Thermometer and Rain Gauge
Thermometer and Water Gauge We have a thermometer and a water gauge in our class. Each morning we put them outside to measure the daily temperature and how much rain has fallen while we are at school.
We have a thermometer and a water gauge in our class. Each morning we put them outside to measure the daily temperature and how much rain has fallen while we are at school.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A Candle Needs Air to Light
A candle needs air.
Tuesday, November 11th 2008
Teacher lit a candle. 
She put a glass (full of air) over the candle. The candle burned inside the upside-down glass for a while. Then it went out because the burning candle used all the air in the glass.
Teacher tried again, this time with a jar. 
The candle burned for longer because there was more air in the jar than in the glass. We counted how many seconds each candle burned for.
She put a glass (full of air) over the candle. The candle burned inside the upside-down glass for a while. Then it went out because the burning candle used all the air in the glass.Teacher tried again, this time with a jar. The candle burned for longer because there was more air in the jar than in the glass. We counted how many seconds each candle burned for. Water Vapour
Water Vapour
Tuesday, November 11th 2008
Water can be a gas (water vapour) that’s part of the air around us. You can’t see it, so how do you know it’s there?
Teacher got a dry glass. We all felt the outside to check and see if it was dry. It was. Next teacher put ice cubes into the glass.
After a while tiny drops of water formed on the outside of the glass. This is because some of the water vapour in the air changed to liquid when it touched the cold glass.
Teacher got a dry glass. We all felt the outside to check and see if it was dry. It was. Next teacher put ice cubes into the glass.
After a while tiny drops of water formed on the outside of the glass. This is because some of the water vapour in the air changed to liquid when it touched the cold glass. Making Water
Making Water
Tuesday, November 11th 2008
Teacher lit a candle.
It burned inside the upside-down jar for a while. Then it went out. After burning the candle for a while, each time lighting it and waiting until it went out, the inside of the jar became a bit wet. 
This is because the hydrogen in the candle joined with the oxygen in the air to form water. 
Teacher lit a candle.
It burned inside the upside-down jar for a while. Then it went out. After burning the candle for a while, each time lighting it and waiting until it went out, the inside of the jar became a bit wet. This is because the hydrogen in the candle joined with the oxygen in the air to form water. Pop Up Ball
Pop Up Ball
Tuesday, 11th November 2008
We have a plastic cup. 
We half filled it with rice, then put a bouncy ball in the cup and filled the rest of the cup with rice. Next we gave the cup a shake and had to guess whether the ball would go to the bottom or top of the cup, or stay where it is when the cup is shaken. When we shook the cup, the ball ended up on the top.
This is because the little rice pieces rush in to fill any air spaces caused by the shaking. This means that the ball ends up on the top each time. This explains why all the big pieces of cereal are always at the top of the cereal box when we open it.
We half filled it with rice, then put a bouncy ball in the cup and filled the rest of the cup with rice. Next we gave the cup a shake and had to guess whether the ball would go to the bottom or top of the cup, or stay where it is when the cup is shaken. When we shook the cup, the ball ended up on the top. This is because the little rice pieces rush in to fill any air spaces caused by the shaking. This means that the ball ends up on the top each time. This explains why all the big pieces of cereal are always at the top of the cereal box when we open it.Dancing Raisins
Dancing Raisins
Tuesday, 11th November 2008
We know that raisins are made from dried grapes.
We know that there is no water in raisins but we were wondering if they have air in them, and whether they float or not.
We got a cup and filled it with water. We dropped some raisins into the cup, and waited for them to float. They didn’t.
Next we got another cup and filled it with lemonade. We dropped some raisins into this cup. At first the raisins sank to the bottom, but then the fizzy air bubbles in the lemonade started sticking to the raisins and the raisins started to float. After a while the air bubbles burst and the raisins sank again. They looked as if they were dancing. 
Tuesday, 11th November 2008
We know that raisins are made from dried grapes.
We know that there is no water in raisins but we were wondering if they have air in them, and whether they float or not.
We got a cup and filled it with water. We dropped some raisins into the cup, and waited for them to float. They didn’t.
Next we got another cup and filled it with lemonade. We dropped some raisins into this cup. At first the raisins sank to the bottom, but then the fizzy air bubbles in the lemonade started sticking to the raisins and the raisins started to float. After a while the air bubbles burst and the raisins sank again. They looked as if they were dancing.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Science and Engineering in our classroom
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
One of the boys in our class has a dad who works for a computing company and a mum who works for a mobile phone company. They came to our class today to tell us about their jobs and to show us how science and engineering help them in their jobs.
First we were shown a very interesting show. There were lots of pictures of computers from years ago to modern computers. We heard a little about how computers work. We were shown a very basic computer (a calculator), a laptop and a desktop computer. We already know a little about computers because we use them in class and some of us use them at home, but it was so great to hear about what computers looked like when our parents and grandparents were small.
Next we heard about mobiles and how they work - when we call a number the messages get beamed from the mobile to a huge tower, and then get beamed to the other phone. We heard a little about being safe around the towers, and never climbing them. We learned where to carry a mobile (not near our hearts) and most importantly we learned never to use our mobiles when driving.
Thank you to the wonderful parents who come to our class to tell us all about some of the very interesting jobs that they do!
One of the boys in our class has a dad who works for a computing company and a mum who works for a mobile phone company. They came to our class today to tell us about their jobs and to show us how science and engineering help them in their jobs.
First we were shown a very interesting show. There were lots of pictures of computers from years ago to modern computers. We heard a little about how computers work. We were shown a very basic computer (a calculator), a laptop and a desktop computer. We already know a little about computers because we use them in class and some of us use them at home, but it was so great to hear about what computers looked like when our parents and grandparents were small.
Next we heard about mobiles and how they work - when we call a number the messages get beamed from the mobile to a huge tower, and then get beamed to the other phone. We heard a little about being safe around the towers, and never climbing them. We learned where to carry a mobile (not near our hearts) and most importantly we learned never to use our mobiles when driving.Thank you to the wonderful parents who come to our class to tell us all about some of the very interesting jobs that they do!
Snake Spirals
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
We made and decorated some lovely snakes in art. Teacher hung them up in the classroom. We noticed that the snakes hanging on the line in the middle of the class were very still, while the snakes hanging at the window like to dance. We wondered why this was so.
We talked about this and decided that the snakes over the window were probably dancing because they were hanging over the radiator. We know that hot air rises (we saw that with the hair dryer and ball investigation) and we are sure that it is this hot air that is causing the snakes to dance. 
Teacher swopped some of the snakes around, and sure enough, any snake hanging over the radiator danced while all of the snakes in the middle of the classroom stayed very still.
We made and decorated some lovely snakes in art. Teacher hung them up in the classroom. We noticed that the snakes hanging on the line in the middle of the class were very still, while the snakes hanging at the window like to dance. We wondered why this was so.
We talked about this and decided that the snakes over the window were probably dancing because they were hanging over the radiator. We know that hot air rises (we saw that with the hair dryer and ball investigation) and we are sure that it is this hot air that is causing the snakes to dance. Teacher swopped some of the snakes around, and sure enough, any snake hanging over the radiator danced while all of the snakes in the middle of the classroom stayed very still.Tuesday, November 4, 2008
More Investigations with Air
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Balloon in a bottle.
We got a nice orange balloon and blew it up to see whether it could be blown up quite big or not. As you can see, we could blow it up to quite a big size.
We got a nice orange balloon and blew it up to see whether it could be blown up quite big or not. As you can see, we could blow it up to quite a big size.
Next teacher got two bottles. She put the balloon into what looked like an empty 2litre bottle. (Actually, we knew that it was not an empty bottle because there was air already in the bottle.) One of the boys tried to blow up the balloon in the bottle.
It was impossible to blow it. This is because the bottle was already full of air so we couldn't blow up the balloon - no more air would fit in the bottle.
Last of all teacher put the balloon into a 2litre bottle that had the bottom cut off. This time it was really easy to blow up the balloon because when the balloon was inflated, the air in the bottle got pushed out the cut end of the bottle to make room for the air being blown into the balloon. This is an investigation that would be easy to try at home.The (almost) Un-burstable Balloon
Normally if you prick a balloon with a pin the balloon will burst immediately, but we thought of a way to stop the balloon bursting so quickly. We needed a balloon, a pin and some sticky tape. 
We guessed that the teacher should put some sticky tape on to the balloon. Then we stuck the pin into the part of the balloon with sticky tape on it. The balloon did burst eventually, but it took a while to burst, unlike a balloon with no tape on it, which bursts immediately.
This is because usually the rubber in the balloon very quickly pulls away from the place in which the pin is stuck, causing the balloon to explode. With the sticky tape in place, the parts of the balloon next to the hole cannot move. They stay still and the pin acts as a plug in the hole it has made.
Sinking Paper
We needed 2 piles of books and a sheet of paper for this investigation. We put the piece of paper over the gap between the two piles of books. We had to guess what would happen to the paper if we blew hard in the tunnel between the books. Some of us guessed that the extra air in the tunnel would make the paper rise, and others guessed that the paper would fall if we blew the air from out of the tunnel.
One of the boys tried blowing hard........the paper got pushed downwards when he blew the air out of the tunnel. This happens because the air pressure in the tunnel lowers when we speed up the air in the tunnel. The air pressure on top of the sheet of paper then pushes the paper down.Looking at air pressure
We got a plastic bottle, put the cap on and squeezed the bottle. We couldn't squeeze it much because the air inside the bottle wouldn't let us. When we stopped squeezing the bottle went back to its own shape again.
We took off the lid and squeezed the bottle. When we stopped squeezing the bottle went back to its own shape again.
The last time we took the lid off the bottle, squeezed the bottle, put the lid on as we were
squeezing, then stopped squeezing. This time the bottle didn't go back to its own shape again. That is because the air pressure outside the bottle is higher than the air pressure inside the bottle. When we then took the cap off the bottle, the air came rushing back in and the bottle could go back to its proper shape again.
Making a ruler heavier
Teacher balanced a ruler on a chair.
It only took a tiny touch of a baby finger to knock the ruler down. The next time teacher balanced the same ruler on the same chair but she put a small sheet of newspaper on top of the ruler. It was really hard to knock the ruler off the chair with the newspaper on top.
That is because this time the air pressing down on the newspaper puts pressure on the ruler, making it much more difficult to lift.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Construction
Construction is part of our Art and Craft programme. Take a look at our future Artists, Engineers, Architects and Scientists at work and with their finished items!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Bottle Bank
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 
We have been talking about recycling. Today we visited the bottle bank to see if we could figure out what goes in each recycling bin. 
At school we try to reduce litter by bringing reusable bottles and lunch boxes, by taking our lunch rubbish home and by not littering. We reduce the amount of water we use by pushing the green button on the toilets, and by switching taps off after us.
We have been talking about recycling. Today we visited the bottle bank to see if we could figure out what goes in each recycling bin. At school we try to reduce litter by bringing reusable bottles and lunch boxes, by taking our lunch rubbish home and by not littering. We reduce the amount of water we use by pushing the green button on the toilets, and by switching taps off after us.
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