Following the creation of the smoothies we decided to look a little more closely at what makes a mixture and what makes a solution. We started off by talking about what solutions and mixtures are and then did some experiments to discover a little more about how to make and separate them. Our first experiment was to discover which substances can be made into solutions with water (Aim) You will need (Apparatus) 8 transparent glass 50ml of tap water in each glass (to make sure it is a fair test) Sand Salt Gravel Bath salts Sugar Chalk Instant Coffee Flour a teaspoon / stirrer What we did (Method)
What did we find out? (Results) We discovered that salt, bath salts, sugar, instant coffee dissolved in water. Sand, gravel and chalk did not dissolve in the water. We thought that the flour had dissolved, but when we left it for a few minutes it began to separate again so we learnt that it does not dissolve in water. Once we had made these solutions and mixtures we wondered how we could separate them again. The mixtures (sand, gravel, chalk and flour) seemed easy to separate using the physical process of sieving/filtering. The solutions were a little more tricky and needed a chemical process because it required heat. This is how we did it. How to separate the salt and the water in a saturated salt solution (Aim) What you will need (Apparatus) Glass container Salt 50ml Water Stirrer Filter Muslin square Foil dish A cold plate Tongs and heat proof gloves Bowl to collect the water A heat source What we did with the help of Mummy and Grandma (Method) A salt solution was made by adding salt to 50ml of water until no more salt can dissolve, making it a saturated salt solution. Filter the solution into the foil dish using a funnel and a piece of muslin to stop any undissolved salt going into the dish. Then heat the salt solution. When the solution starts to boil, hold the plate at an angle over the foil dish using the tongs, whilst wearing the heat proof gloves. The plate needs to be pointing down towards the water collecting bowl. Watch as the salt begins to form crystals and water condenses onto the plate. What happened? (Results) The salt turned back into crystals once all the water had evaporated into water vapour. When the water vapour touched the cold plate it condensed back into water droplets and dripped into the collecting bowl. When we tasted the water it was no longer salty. Whilst we were watching the solution separate it reminded us of the stages of the Water Cycle.
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After testing our strength in the garden yesterday, we decided to test our brains today by building a torch. We used a kit made by Green Science to make a dynamo torch. It uses a very simple motor invented by Michael Faraday in the 1800's and gear chains similar to the ones we saw in the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum. If you want to make a dynamo torch, here's how Libby and I made it YOU WILL NEED: dynamo torch casing and accessories a handle a transparent torch cover a toy motor two gears and an axel a LED lamp with holder and wires connected ten screws HOW YOU MAKE IT: 1. We laid out all our pieces from the kit on a tray to prevent losing any of the pieces. 2. Next, we put our the wires from the LED light through a hole and we secured it in place. 3. Then, we attached the gears to the torch casing and screwed it together with 6 of our 10 screws. 4. After this, we screwed the handle to the torch casing connecting it to the gears. 5. Following this, we carefully twisted the wires from the LED light to the motor making sure we had a secure connection so that the circuit was complete. 6. When this was done, we inserted the motor into the torch casing and secured it with screws. 7. Finally, we placed the transparent cover over the LED bulb and tested it. It worked!!! When we had finished making it we learnt that the motor works by turning the handle, which rotates a wire in the middle of two magnets generating an electric current. This is called electromagnetic induction. The electric current, which is measured in volts, then lights the LED bulb. The faster we turned the handle, the greater the voltage of electricity produced, the brighter the LED bulb shines. Yesterday we made bird feeders at junior church, then today we've hung them in Grandma and Grandad's garden. It's a beautiful day and we can't wait to see what wildlife the feeders might bring. Their garden has lots of birds in it including blue tits, robins, pair of long tailed tits, sparrows, lesser spotted & green woodpeckers, magpies and a parakeet!!! If you want to make a bird feeder, here's how Lottie and I made it YOU WILL NEED: 2 Yogurt pots (empty... yum, yum!) 2 Cuboids of Lard (roughly 300g) Bird Seed or your choice of nuts (50g) String Scissors A metal skewer HOW YOU MAKE THEM: 1. Measure out your cuboid of lard and bird seeds 2. Get your two empty yogurt posts, skewer a hole through the end of the yogurt pot 3. Cut your string into 50cm lengths (you will need at least 2), tie a large knot at the end of one of the pieces of string (must be bigger than hole in yogurt pot) 4. Thread the string through until it is tight to the knot 5. Mix the bird seed and lard together until the seeds are mixed in... mucky! 6. Put the mixture into the yogurt pot and seal with a layer of clingfilm 7. Put each pot into your fridge for 1 night until the mixture is hard HANGING INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Find a shady tree in the garden and hang from a branch that overhangs the garden (not grass). 2. Secure it tightly with a 'reef knot' or 'Blake's Hitch' Hope you get some new birds to come and visit your garden, we are now going to make a hedgehog shelter in the wildlife garden (at the bottom), check on who nested in the bird house we made for them in Okehampton and also try to make homes for other animals that are in their garden (newts, frogs) to match our butterfly house! |
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