August 29

Solar Bag

We used Steve Spangler’s solar bag to demonstrate that hot air rises, but our bag didn’t go as high as last year. We did the experiment in the afternoon, so possibly the outside air may have been as hot.

As the sun warms the air molecules in the bag, the molecules begin to speed up. Since the heated air inside the bag is less dense than the cooler air on the outside of the bag, the solar bag floats.

Watch below to see the bag demonstrated by Steve Spangler.



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August 21

Force and Motion

I asked these third grade students to repeat the physics investigations we did in class, so I could record them in slow motion. All three of these investigations illustrate the concept of inertia- an object at rest tends to stay at rest until an outside force acts upon it (Newton’s first law).  Vocabulary included mass, gravity, friction, and force.

Click on each link below.

Can you whip off a tablecloth without the dishes coming with it?  Why?
Investigation 1

A hex nut is on top of the yellow ring.  How can you move the ring and make the hex nut fall into the bottle?
Investigation 2

A golf ball is on top of a toilet paper tube which is on top of a tray.  How can you get the golf ball to fall into the cup of water without touching it? Why doesn’t it sail off with the pie plate?
Investigation 3

If you repeat the tablecloth investigation, make sure the tablecloth doesn’t have a hem. 🙂

I demonstrated this one too.  I hit the side of the tray which had more mass and the three balls fell into the glasses.  It is fun to try this with eggs. It is all about inertia!

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August 20

Fireflies

First grade wrote in their journals about our firefly lab yesterday.  Their teachers sent me some pictures.  I am so impressed with what they remembered and I am so glad they shared them with me!


fireflies1
fireflies2
fireflies4

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August 20

Turtles

After learning about a turtle’s anatomy, habitat, and life cycle, we observed our own turtle and fed him a worm. Then the Pre-First class made turtles and wrote a fact they remembered.

turtles6



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August 2

Blue Moon

Usually there is one full moon each month.  A blue moon is defined as any time there is a second full moon during a calendar month, according to NASA.  The last blue moon was in 2012. The next blue moon takes place in January 2018 — and that year will be a double blue moon year.

I saw the Blue Moon in Hilton Head. 

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