M and Ms

Using your Observation Skills

We dropped different coloured m and ms into a half full container of water and watched to see what happened.

We saw the dye come off the lollies but it didn't mix for a long time. The coating dissolved in the water and soon we were left with the chocolate middle. 

Why didn't the colours mix?

M and Ms have a wax coating which stays on the dye and makes a barrier when the  colours meet.

Do you think it  would make a difference if you use warm or cold water?

National Science Week

 

This week is National Primary Science week and all the students at Muritai School are working on physical science investigations!
Room 8 enjoyed making lava in a cup.
Will it still work if you use sugar instead of salt? 
Try it at home!

How does it work?

It looks a bit like a lava lamp because the oil floats on top of the water because it is lighter than the water. Since the salt is heavier than oil, it sinks down into the water and takes some oil with it, but then the salt dissolves and the oil floats back up to the top!!!

What do people in Room 8 do on a Rainy Day?

They build awesome towers !

How Can Whales Float?

Today we explored floating and sinking and how a large mammal like a whale can float. We tried floating  raw eggs (whales ) in both tap water and salt water to see if there was any difference

We put the eggs in cups with tap water and salty water .

In tap water the egg sank and in salty water the egg floated.

Why did this happen?

 In our Salt Water Egg experiment, because the egg is denser than tap water, it pushes away water particles so it can make space for itself hence the sinking motion. But in the case of the salt water, since it is heavier than ordinary tap water, it is more capable of holding the egg up – hence the egg floating.  Objects sink when their own density is greater than the liquid’s density.

The same happens to whales. They float because the water they swim in is denser than tap water. The denser the water the easier it is to float.There are other things that help whales to float as well. Can you find out what they are?

We also learned a new word today when the salt we stirred into the water did not all dissolve. We made a saturated solution where the salt could not all be absorbed into the water. Can you think of a way we could make it dissolve?

Have fun and try this experiment at home.

A Character Description

Over the last week we have written amazing  descriptions of Fudge, a character in a series of books written by Judy Blume. We started with Tales of a fourth Grade Nothing. 

Fudge is the annoying little brother who drives his big brother crazy with his antics. Sometimes we are Fudge and sometimes we are more like Peter.

Come into class and see our writing.

The Great War.

Over the past week Room 8 students have learned a lot about what it was like in the war.
Students this afternoon brainstormed as a group what the Great War would have smelled like, tasted like, felt and looked like. They worked together on a T chart and shared their ideas with the class before starting one of their own.

Their charts demonstrate they have a good understanding of how the war felt to young people.

ANZAC Art

On Monday and Tuesday, students worked on a blended pastel poppy picture. Poppies are symbols of the the Great War.  Many soldiers died in fields of poppies. 

We blended a background using shades of green and yellow and poppies were drawn on top of the background and a stem added last. 

The colours look very effective on black paper.

Our Last Butterfly

Here is our last butterfly after it hatched on the last Friday of the holidays. Is it male or female? Will it hibernate? It enjoyed the sunshine for a few hours and flew away.

An Inspiration. What could we learn from Caine?

Over the holidays I found this You tube clip about an amazing young man's holiday activities.

What began as creating a home-made arcade using cardboard boxes and cello tape has turned into an online sensation.

Nine-year-old Caine Monroy from Los Angeles spent his summer vacation building an arcade in his dad's auto-repair shop using old cardboard boxes and his imagination.

The only problem was he didn't have one customer, until filmmaker Nirvan Mullick stopped by to buy a doorhandle for his '96 Corolla.

Nirwan was so impressed by the carefully created cut-up games, including minature football and basketball, he decided to make a short film about it.

I felt inspired that Caine would work everyday with independence and persistence . He made what he needed and didn't complain or become discouraged. He made his arcade happen!

Watch the clip and discuss it with your children. What could we learn from Caine?

End of Term

Happy Easter everyone! The term has flown by so quickly and its time to rest up and have some family time.
Every year the junior team have an Easter egg hunt and this year Noah was the Easter bunny. We all squealed with delight when we saw him as he looked so adorable.
Over the holidays it is important for everyone to keep reading and working on Mathletics every day. Read every day for at least 15 minutes. Read out loud and practice using your voice so it sounds exciting.

Next term we are going to learn about whales , migration and ecosystems. Very exciting! We will continue to learn more about ANZAC Day , the boy soldiers and animals during the war. See you back in two weeks.