We continued learning about rocks this week.
- Monday we made sugar crystals. Hopefully you will have better success than we did. I found instructions on-line. I didn't measure out the 3 cups of sugar first, so when it seemed that the sugar was no longer dissolving, we quit, but we didn't get any crystals. On Friday I re-heated the solution so I could add more sugar. We did get some crystals then, but mostly I have a jar that is a solid chunk of sugar! If I were to do it again, I would start with 1/2 a cup of water, because adding the sugar does increase the volume.
Tuesday we took some of our rocks outside, covered (one at a time) with an old towel that didn't matter if it got ruined, and used a big hammer to split them open. Then we talked about how the inside of the rock is more rough than the outside because of weathering -- rain, rolling down a mountain, etc. It is a good idea to wear safety goggles when doing this.
Wednesday we were supposed to pound a rock into powder. You do this by taking a pair of old jeans and putting one leg inside the other, then put the rock inside both legs and take turns pounding on it with a hammer. Safety goggles are still a good idea.
Thursday we were supposed to examine a scoopful of dirt with a magnifying glass and compare it to the rock powder made on Wednesday. Sift some soil. Put in in a cup and put some powdered rock in another cup. Stir in some water. Compare them. The concept for Wednesday and Thursday is that crumbled rocks and dead plants make soil.
Life got in the way, so we did a shortened version of Wednesday and Thursday on Friday.
Friday we found pictures of rocks to add to our #1 display.
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