Currently, Year 3 students at both Mt Ridley and Donnybrook are completing a unit of inquiry titled ‘Hot, Hot, Hot’ and have been investigating how heat can be produced and transferred from one object to another as well as how heat can change different states of matter.
On Wednesday, 21 and Thursday, 22 April each campus had a visit from Asti from Mad About Science to assist the students in expanding their understanding of Science, in particular heat.
They were fortunate enough to be able to complete a number of different experiments, including a tea bag rocket and setting cornflour on fire. The enthusiasm of all students was palpable, especially as word spread amongst the students of the circuitry work they completed.
Below are just a couple of the reflections written by students who attended the incursion.
During the incursion we learned a lot about Heat and Energy. The first experiment was creating a circuit and lighting up a light bulb with some batteries, we then did the same with a propeller. In our second experiment, we put blue dye in a beaker with hot water and another in cold water to discover which would cause the dye to spread quicker. We discovered that the one with warm water spread quicker as the atoms were more active. We then added water balloons with room temperature water to the beakers to see what would happen, we found that the one with cold water floated, while the hot water beaker balloon sunk. The third experiment was the zip-lock volcano, we put vinegar and baking soda together and watched it explode in the sealed bag. Last but not least, we made a tea bag rocket, after which we just set some different things on fire, just for fun. - Niamh and Senashi
We participated in the Heat and Energy science incursion and had fun. We made a propeller and lit a lightbulb using some circuitry and a battery. In the second experiment we filled a beaker with hot water and another with cold water. We then added food dye to see which would spread the dye faster. After that we put a small water balloon in each and discovered that the beaker with the cold water in it, had the balloon float. In our third experiment we made a bag volcano, it was super easy to make, you just put baking soda and vinegar together in a zip-lock bag and sealed it shut. Just for some extra fun, we set some stuff on fire, or the teacher did. We made a tea bag rocket, some flammable cornflour and crystals. We had a blast of fun. - Aadhidev and Luca
