I used energy this weekend by walking, jogging, and eating, which is also known as mechanical energy. I also used energy by using electricity. I used thermal energy when I was making tea by boiling a kettle. I transferred energy when I was playing soccer. The energy from my moving foot was transferred to the soccer ball when I kicked it.
Category: Science
What is Energy?
Energy is the capacity to do work. Energy can only be stored or transferred and cannot be destroyed or created.
Science Centers #2
On Monday, June 3rd, my class and I did a science activity. We had to do three different science experiments, but first we had to write a hypothesis. The experiments was about mixing colored sugar in different liquids. The liquids we used were oil, water, and vinegar.
The first experiment we did was mixing oil and colored sugar. My hypothesis was, if we put the colored sugar in the oil, then the sugar will sink to the bottom because sugar is heavier than oil and the sugar and oil will not mix. After we wrote our hypotheses, we mixed the the oil and the colored sugar together, and my hypothesis was confirmed. The sugar sunk to the bottom, and the sugar and oil separated.
The second experiment we did was mixing water and colored sugar. My hypothesis was, if we put the colored sugar in the water, then the color on the sugar will spread throughout the water, and the sugar will dissolve. Then, we mixed the water and the colored sugar, and my hypothesis was confirmed. The color in the sugar spread throughout the water, and the sugar dissolved.
The third and final experiment was mixing vinegar and the colored sugar. My hypothesis was, if we put the colored sugar in the vinegar, then the color in the sugar will spread throughout the vinegar, and the sugar will dissolve. My hypothesis for this experiment was similar to the hypothesis for the second experiment. Then, we mixed the vinegar and the colored sugar, and my hypothesis was confirmed. The color in the sugar spread throughout the vinegar, and the sugar dissolved after some time in the vinegar.
All of these experiments have a solvent and a solute. The solute for all of the experiments was the colored sugar. The solvent for all the experiments was the liquids. I learned many things from these experiments and I’m excited to do more in science.
Science Centers #1
On Wednesday, May 22nd and 23rd, I did science activities with my science group. We decided to split up into twos. My partner (Alba) and I started our first activity. Our fisrt activity was called “Create It!”. We got a cup of beads and we sorted the beads by color. We name the physical properties of the beads on a piece of paper. Then, we mixed them back together. The next step is to write if the physical properties were different. Alba and I thought that the physical properties were the same because they’re still the same beads, but they’re just mixed together.
Next, we did an activity called, “Match It!”. We got cards and flipped all of them over. Each card either says a definition or a word on it. If you match the definition and the word, you write the word and the definition on a piece of paper, to keep track of what the word is and what it means.
Then we did an activity called, “Sort It!”. There were three columns that said, “Mixtures, Solutions, and Compounds. We got a several amount of cards and we had to sort them out and put them in the right columns. Then, we wrote what is the similarity between mixtures, solutions, and compounds.
the last activity we did was called, “Explain It!”. There was a recipe for lemonade and we wrote our observations from the information the recipe gave us. We wrote that the water and lemon juice is the solvent and the sugar is the solute, because the sugar dissolves in the water and the lemon juice.
In these three activities, I learned a lot about what mixtures, solutions, and compounds are. I really enjoyed these activities, and can’t wait to do more activities and experiments in science!
Rube Goldberg Video
This is our Rube Goldberg Video. My partner and I, Kate, worked very hard on this. First, we drew a sketch. Next, we started getting materials. Then, we started building. The hardest parts for Kate and I was trying to find a way to stick the tube on the chair. Another hard part was when we had to reset the dominoes. Another hard part was that we didn’t have that much space to move around, so we had to be really careful about where we’re moving because we might break something. The easiest part for us was collecting different materials for our Rube Goldberg. This project was very challenging, but fun at the same time. I hope you enjoy our Rube Goldberg!
Rube Goldberg #6
On Friday, March 1st, my partner and I tested our Rube Goldberg again. We tested it a few times, and the ending still didn’t work. What we did to fix the ending was we put tape on the sides of the box, because earlier we cut out a hole for the chips to fall out of. We didn’t want the chips to stick to the tape, so we stuck cotton balls on the tape. Then, we tested our Rube Goldberg again, and it finally worked! This project challenged my partner and I to stretch our thinking a lot more than we usually do.
Rube Goldberg #5
On Thursday, February 28, my partner and I finished building our whole Rube Goldberg. Everything worked, except the last step. Our last step is the car knocking down the chip bag into the bowl. We tested our Rube Goldberg a few times. Everytime we tested our Rube Goldberg, the last step was always the step that didn’t work. Sometimes, the bag of chips knocked over and didn’t go into the bowl. Sometimes, when the bag of chips knocked over there were only 1-3 chips in the bowl. We are still testing and fixing the last step, but I think that our Rube Goldberg improved so much.
Rube Goldberg #4
On Tuesday, February 26, my partner and I started building our Rube Goldberg. Our simple machines are the inclined plane, the lever, and the wheel and axle. We started with our beginning, which is a lot of paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls taped together, to make the marble roll down the stairs. My partner and I decided to put a chair in the back of the tube, so the tube would be higher, and the marble will have more power. We tried to tape the tube onto the chair but it wouldn’t stick. Then, we tried to tie the tube to the chair, and it worked. Then, we started building the rest. The ball was supposed to knock down a tall box. We dropped the ball in the tube and the ball went into a different direction. We tried again, but the ball still went in a different direction, and not straight into the box. We haven’t found a way to fix this yet, but we are really excited to see the whole Rube Goldberg built.
Rube Goldberg #3
After my partner and I finished the sketch, we realized that we only had one simple machine, which was the inclined plane. We had to start with a brand new piece of paper and started the sketch again. First, we thought of making a pulley. We thought of making it with a tape roll and string. We realized that there would be nowhere to hang the pulley, so we thought of a different simple machine. While it was Winter Break, I thought of trying to make a lever and a wheel and axle. After Winter Break, we tried looking for materials to make the lever and the wheel and axle. For our wheel and axle, we used a toy car, and for our lever, we used a tinfoil roll and a plastic lid.
Recycling
On Thursday, February 14, Monica came into teach us about how recycling works. First, Monica told us to draw things that are made out of one material, draw things that can’t be disassemble easily, and draw things that can change shape and why. Earlier, Monica gave us tin foil to build things out it. First, she told us to build something out of tin foil that you can wear. What I made was a shoe. Then, Monica said to get a partner and make gifts for each other. Before we made gifts for our partner, we had to make the tin foil flat again. I ripped mine a few times while I was trying to flatten my tin foil out. Since that happened, I only had a few scraps of tin foil left, so I made my partner a ring.
After we did that activity, Monica gave us a lid of a box filled with different types of bottle caps, nails, pins, and clothing pins. Like in recycling centers, we had to sort them out, but we had to make a tool that was made out of more than one material, that would help us sort them out. We got split up into two groups of eight. Two people are in charge of one material so me and my partner, Sabrina, were in charge of sorting the nails and pins. My partner and I made a tool that would scoop the nails and pins up. The tool was made out of tin foil, post-its, and a pencil.
On Thursday, I learned how people recycle plastic bottles. First, they separate the bottle caps and the plastic bottle itself. Then, the bottles get shred into pieces. Finally, they are melted into small pellets. They are shipped to companies that can melt them and make the plastic different products. Depending on how you recycle plastic bottles, it can be a pollutant.
How I can help is next time I buy a plastic bottle from a grocery store, I’ll reuse the bottle instead of throwing it out. I had a really fun experience and learned a lot about recycling.
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