Lab Experiments are done using the Scientific Method as the foundation for learning and discovery. My philosophy and theory as a science teacher is broken down as follows:
- Students need to learn HOW to think like scientists utilizing S.T.E.M techniques.
- Labs need to be presented with hypothetical situations that require students to think through problems and come up with solutions unique to their own creativity.
- The process needs to be broken down step by step so students can master the Scientific Method progression .
- Students spend more time thinking through the experiment and less on procedure.
- The progression becomes so natural that students acquire big picture thinking on their own, unconcious to what doors are being opened.
LAB EXPERIMENT 1: Colors Lab September 2015
Students were given a lab assignment on predicting colors found in an un-opened bag. They were assessed on their ability to do a lab procedure. Critical observation points included: 1) Pre-lab work 2) Gathering information 3) Hypothesis 4) Experimenting 5) Conclusion
Once the experiment was done students used an excel sheet to calculate results and prep them for sharing.
They shared their results by creating a circle graph. Results were shared with the entire class.
**Check out the completed graphics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 2: Waterloo: Future of hydration October 2015
This lab was designed to have students apply the scientific method to a real-life scenario involving a special chemical called “waterloo”. The “waterloo” is a new chemical that hydrates people much faster than water and the students were challenged to design a tablet to market the special chemical. The students understand the classroom dynamic as they are the research team and the teacher is the entrepreneur marketing the product.
Students are challenged to come up with a name for the product, a size and a marketing strategy. By engaging students with the hypothetical situation they learn the process and importance of using the scientific method to solve problems.
Results were shared by using an excel workbook and they created at minimum two types of graphs.
**Check out the completed graphics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 3: Modeling Seasons
How much do you know about the reason for the seasons?
Students took a pre-lab survey that targeted misconceptions for the change in the seasons. When students were asked when the earth was closest to the sun over 95% of students responded with a summer month (June, July or August). This is a common misconception that most people have about the seasons. Fact is: January is when the earth is closest to the sun by 5 million km. This sparks interest in the lab and the students get to experience the reason for the seasons first hand.
Goal: Determine why distance has nothing to do with our seasons.
Understand three ways that cause seasons to fluctuate in a year
1. Earth’s tilted at 23.5 degrees
2. The concentration of sunlight hitting an area varies because of the tilt.
3. The Earth rotates and revolves around the sun changing the angle at which sunlight hits earth.
Outcome: Students had some very well written conclusions and the experiment phase was a success.
LAB EXPERIMENT 4: The Discovery of Plate Tectonics
Ever wonder why the continents look the way they do? Are they moving? Why don’t they just float away on the ocean? In this lab you will unravel the mystery behind Earth’s continents and discover the theory that holds them all together.
Purpose:
- Understand that continents are moving.
- Determine why continents are moving.
- Discover the theory that explains continental drift.
Students were introduced to captain Robert Scott and his voyages to Antartica. During Scott’s voyage he found fossil evidence that sparked the curiosity of Alfred Wegener . This unique set of evidence sparks interest in students to uncover the secrets of continental drift. By taking the role of Alfred Wegener students piece together the continental puzzle and begin to understand how keen observations allows for precise inferences and eventually theories.
Outcome: When students first put the puzzle together they didn’t notice the different pieces of evidence represented on the puzzle pieces. As they continued working on the lab the evidence became obvious. This is the ‘lightbulb’ moment that puts students at the drivers seat of the continental drift theory. Eventually building on enough concepts to comprehend a popular tectonic plate theory.
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 5: Energy Enigma
What will the future of energy look like? Where will we get the electricity to power our everyday wants and needs?
It’s a complex puzzle to put together and the solution may be 50-100 years off.
Students were introduced to the many ways the United States consumes electricity. We did a brainstorming activity after watching a PowToon video on electricity and electrical demands.
Thereafter, the students received a letter from a hypothetical mayor asking for five power plant models to be built and ready to present at a town hall meeting for a debate. The students were split into five power plant building teams:
- Wind- Create a windmill using cups,milk cartons and straws.
- Solar- Create a solar house using a shoe box and a solar kit.
- Natural gas/oil- Create a tubing system to vacuum liquid out of a can buried deep in a sand pit.
- Biomass- Create a bio-garden using only paper and no tools.
- Coal – Use toothpicks and tonka trucks to dig out chocolate chips from cookie dough.
Objectives:
a. Understand the complexity of building power plants and identify the advantages and disadvantages that each plant possesses.
b. Determine the cost to build power plants that could power a city of 105,000 people.
Outcome: The debate was a great tool for formal observation and a nice way to end the lesson. I heard a lot of good counter arguments and the debate had a nice flow from one team to the next. Overall the lab was a huge success and went way better than I envisioned.
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 6: Modeling Atomic Masses
Atoms are extremely small. They are so small; in fact, that a single drop of water contains more atoms than you could count in a lifetime! Measuring the masses of atoms to discover the patterns in the periodic table was not an easy task for scientists in the past. This investigation will give you some sense of how scientists determined the mass of atoms.
Purpose:
- Compare the masses of different film can atoms.
- Predict the number of washers in each film can atom.
Main question:
- What element does your film can represent based on the mass of its washers?
Learning point:
By using models of the atom students get a hands on approach to the essential components of every atom: atomic number, atomic mass, subatomic charges and element identification. During the activity students begin to understand that difficulties scientists in the past faced when making the periodic table. It was no easy task and it took hours upon hours of hard labor to get the elements in a suitable pattern. Comparing atoms/elements was no easy task either. Without access to a mass spectrometer scientists used ‘ball-park’ atomic masses to order the elements (a process we don’t accept today).
LAB EXPERIMENT 7: Exothermic vs. Endothermic processes
A clue that chemical reaction has taken place is transfer of energy, often in the form of heat or light. The chemical reactions we did in this lab either released or absorbed heat. The study of the process of absorbing and releasing heat is commonly termed thermodynamics. The students ran this experiment to gain a better understanding on how reactions can release heat and also absorb and identify them as either exothermic or endothermic.
Purpose:
* Measure and record the temperature changes in two heat processes.
*Compare temperature changes during the processes in order to classify them as exothermic or endothermic.
Main Question:
Which chemical reaction [baking soda and vinegar or hydrogen peroxide and yeast] is an exothermic reaction?
Wanna see the results and the graph??
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 8: Reclaiming Copper Metal
Deciding how to handle waste produced from manufacturing is challenging. It can be diluted or incinerated and in some cases, it contains valuable materials that can be reclaimed and then reused. To reclaim metal means to get it back so it can be used again. Reclaiming
metal from waste reduces the amount of new metal needed for manufacturing.
Purpose:
- Determine which metals removes copper ions from the solution best.
- Examine cost and safety information to decide which metal would be the best to use.
- Understand and apply chemical reactions and manipulate formulas.
THE MAIN QUESTION:
Which metal is best at reclaiming copper from the copper chloride solution?
Metals to choose from:
1.) Zinc
2.) Aluminum
3.) Iron
LAB EXPERIMENT 9: Ramps (Power vs. Work)
A ramp can make life a lot easier. This simple machine has plenty of mechanical advantages like allowing disabled people access to a steep entrance to a home or a business. Besides the obvious advantages of a ramp, how does it affect the work and power need to get up it? Building and modeling ramp conditions challenges students to comprehend the difference between doing work and applying power. They also gain a deeper understanding for GPE (gravitational potential energy).
Purpose:
- Understand how applied force to an object affects work and power.
- Identify benefits of building a simple machine.
- Determine the use of GPE and calculate it.
THE MAIN QUESTION
Which method (a ramp or going straight up) for gaining access to a building requires more power? which one requires more work?
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 9: Rocket Lab Experiment March 2015
We experimented with model rockets in class. These rockets were shot off from a safe distance and only teachers were allowed to assemble, launch and detach the rockets. The students spent a week doing lab work on rockets and how they use Newton’s Laws of Motion to lift-off and fall back to the Earth.
Goal: Use physics and math to calculate and predict the distance the rocket will travel, it’s final velocity, time spent accelerating to reach highest point (apogee) and force needed to thrust itself from the launch pad.
Outcome: Predicted:
- Distance: 185-210 m
- Force: .5 N- .89 N
- Time: 3s – 8s
- Speed: 30-40 m/s
Actual:
- Distance: 284 m
- Force: .469 N
- Time: 5.6 s
- Speed: 29.8 m/s (Riptide)
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 10: Zip Line Monkey Experiment April 2015
We did a zip-line sock monkey experiment in class. The outside classroom was used to build the zip-line. The zip line was about 15 meters in length.
Goal: Use physics and math to calculate and predict the velocity of the sock monkey as it rode the zip-line.
Outcome: Predicted velocity: 3.2 m/s
Actual velocity: 3.7 m/s
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
LAB EXPERIMENT 12: Heart Rate Lab Experiment May 2015
Students experimented with their heart-rate during exercise. The purpose of this lab was for students to gain a better understanding of the circulatory system and the inner workings of their bodies.
Goal: Use heart-rate formulas to calculate maximum heart-rate and target heart rate. Use these numbers to predict heart rates after 2 minutes and 10 minutes of exercise. Use this information to create a graph that determined if students reached their target heart-rate during light exercise (jumping jacks, push-ups,sit-ups and running).
Outcome:
Students presented their graphs to the class. The graphs showed when the students were in their “Target-Heart Range” throughout the exercise. Some lasted 4-8 minutes some didn’t even get to the zone.
**Check out the pics in the “Lab Picture Library“
COMPUTER GRAPHICS: THE LIVING CELL [Animal and Plant] May 2015
Students created a computer graphic of the living cell. The graphic was created using a mixture of two computer programs:
1) PowerPoint 2) Paint
Goal: To understand the structure and function of the animal and plant cell. Students were asked to create the graphic as if they were looking through a microscope at the cell. Their graphics were presented to the entire class. Some of the topics they covered during their presentation were as followed:
A) Where are the organelles of the cell located
B) What are the functions of these organelles.
C) What did you like most about creating the computer graphic? What didn’t you like?
D) What did you learn throughout the entire graphic making process?
**Check out the completed graphics in the “Lab Picture Library“
SMMS Sports and Science 