Lois Jackson (Wallace School)
passed out 3 Mystery Boxes to groups, and a handout titled The
Scientific Method. Soon we were trying to find out as much as we
could about our boxes, and then we received a Lab Questions list:
Marva Anyanwu (Green School)
got us involved in a discussion of physical vs chemical changes.
Several definitions were suggested, and we got to the idea of
formation of a new substance. We then formed into groups and
Marva gave us a handout. "Chemical Change." Then, using a
self-locking, re-sealable plastic bag, we placed various chemicals
in. the bag and made observations. With citric acid (powder) baking
soda (powder) and a smaller sealed bag with cabbage juice placed in
the bag, nothing happened. But when we caused the smaller bag to open,
mixing the cabbage juice with the two powders, a gas was produced
with red foam and it got cold. We also noticed multiple "starburst"
patterns on the side of the bag that had no label. The same patterns
appeared on the outside of the smaller (cabbage juice) bag within.
No explanation for this developed. A mystery!
Editorial comment: It is possible that in the manufacture of the plastic bag, an electrostatic charge is embedded, and the powder could be attracted to stick to that charged plastic.
Val Williams (Bass School)
described how he used It scientific methods" learned in SMILE
to "repair" an electronic keyboard. He then explained how the keyboard ,
works and entertained us with a rendition of It's a Wonderful World.
Interesting & fun!
Eartha Sherrill (Williams School)
distributed a list of 20th century scientists that she had assigned to
her students as an internet project. After surfing the web, students will
debate to decide which scientists made the most important scientific
contributions of the century.