Second Grade, Science, Set Seven

Our first two and a half weeks we spent learning about heat. We used the book, Really Hot Science Projects with Temperature by Robert Gardner.

• I read the introduction of the book, which talks about the difference between heat and temperature, to K.
• We went on a temperature hunt (pg 10).
• We measured the temperature in different places inside to find the warmest and coldest places.
• Is it warmer near the floor or ceiling?
• Is it warmer near a window or beside an inside wall?
• Is it warmer inside or outside a closet?
• Is it warmer upstairs or downstairs?
• We went out side to find the warmest and coldest places.
• Is it warmer in the sun or in the shade?
• Are the temperatures on the north and south side of the house the same?
• Are the temperatures on the east and west side of the house the same?
• We took our own temperatures (pg 14). K. and I took our temperatures every two hours from the time we got up until we went to bed. We could see that our temperature changes throughout the day.
• We froze water (pg 34). We a couple inches of water in a clear plastic bottle and then put a laboratory thermometer in it. Then we put it in the freezer. We recorded the temperature every ten minutes until the water started to freeze, then every fifteen minutes. The next day we charted the information we recorded. (We left the experiment in the freezer to use in another experiment.)
• We learned about temperature and evaporation (pg 16).
• Set up a fan and measure the temperature in front of it before turning the fan on.
• Turn the fan on and measure the temperature.
• Have your child lick the back of one of their hands and hold their hands in front of the blowing fan. Which feels cooler? Is it still wet? What happened to the water?
• Dampen a paper towel and wrap it around the bottom of the thermometer. Hold it in front of the blowing fan. What is the temperature?
• Does evaporation cause a drop in temperature?
• We took the temperature outside (pg 18).
• Put a thermometer outdoors in a place where it will be in the shade all day.
• Starting when you get up in the morning, record the temperature every hour until you go to bed at night.
• The next day make the information into a chart.
• Did the temperature increase or decrease faster?
• What was the hottest time of day?
• Endothermic or Exothermic? (pg 30). This is really fun!
• Put 100 ml of water in a glass (make sure your thermometer will fit in the glass). Record the temperature of the water. Add two tablespoons of Epsom salts to the water and stir to dissolve. Measure the temperature of the solution.
• Put 100 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide in a container. Record the temperature of the hydrogen peroxide. Put the container in the sink, add 2-1/2 teaspoons of dry yeast (one packet) to the hydrogen peroxide and stir. Push aside some of the foam and measure the temperature of the liquid.

• Melting Ice (pg 36)
• Set a thermometer in a warm room and record the temperature.
• Take the ice and thermometer from the freezer. Set it in the same vicinity as the "room temperature" thermometer.
• Record the temperature of the ice/water every ten minutes until it reaches room temperature. Ours took five hours and twenty minutes to come to room temperature.
• Seasonal Temperatures (pg 24 and 26)
• Take a thermometer outside and place it so it faces the sun -- the top of the thermometer  will point away from the sun (the thermometer should cast a long shadow). Record the temperature.
• Change the angle of the thermometer so its top is pointing toward the sun -- the bulb should still be in the sunlight (the thermometer will have a very small shadow). Record the temperature.
• Take a flashlight and shine it directly over the tropic of Capricorn on a globe. This is where the sun is on the first day of winter. Then, without changing the angle of the flashlight, move it so it shines on where you live. Does the light cover more area?
• Next, shine the flashlight directly over the tropic of Cancer on the globe. This is where the sun is on the first day of summer. Then, without changing the angle of the flashlight, move it so it shines on where you live. Does the light cover more area?
• Talk about why it is cooler and warmer in certain seasons.
• Moving Liquids by Temperature Difference (pg 12)
• Fill one cup with hot tap water; use several drops of food coloring to color it.
• Fill a second cup with cold water.
• Fill an eyedropper with hot water from the first cup.
• Place the end of the eyedropper on the bottom of the cup of cold water. Squeeze out a drop into the cold water. What happens?

Notes:

• On the all day long temperature measuring experiments, if you miss a time, or forget to start as soon as you get up, keep going with it. We did, and we were still able to see the desired results.
• When moving thermometers, we let them sit for three minutes before recording the temperatures.

Then we went on to learn about water. I used two books from the library for the experiments.

• Science Experiments with Water by Sally Nankivell-Aston (ww)
• Super Simple Things to do with Water by Kelly Doudna (ss)

Here's what we did:

• I started off by reading a couple books to K.
• What is the World Made Of? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld -- this book is about solids, liquids, and gases. There are a few activities at the back of the book. We made a chart of solids, liquids, and gases
• A Drop of Water by Walter Wick -- we looked at the pictures in this book
• Water Everywhere (ww pg 4) I read the introduction to K.
• Water on the Move (ww pg 6) -- this shows why water towers are higher than the houses

• You will need a funnel, a piece of tubing, water proof tape, a pitcher, transparent outer case of a ball point pen, water, and two people
• Use the tape to attach the funnel to one end of the tubing and the pen case to the other.
• Hold the pen case upright and higher than the funnel.
• Pour water into the funnel until the tube is filled and the funnel is half full.
• Lift the funnel higher than the pen case.
• Cold as Ice (ww pg 8) -- this shows that water expands when it freezes
• Fill a balloon with water and tie the balloon.
• Draw a line around the balloon and measure the distance around the balloon on the line.
• Put the balloon in the freezer until it is completely frozen.
• Measure around the balloon again.
• Vanishing Water? (ww pg 10) -- this shows the water cycle

• You will need: a clear glass bowl, modeling clay, hot tap water, and clear plastic wrap
• Use the clay to make the banks of a lake, about one-third of the way up the side of the bowl. You can stick small plastic animals, etc. in the clay to make a scene.
• Fill the lake with hot tap water.
• Quickly stretch the plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and seal it around the bowl.
• Set the bowl in the sun for a few hours.
• Bottled Up (ss pg 8) -- this shows air pressure pushing the water out of the bottle

• You will need a baking pan (or sink), an empty bottle with a screw-on cap (it works easiest if the bottle is not squishy), nail or screw or ice pick, water
• Poke a hole near the bottom of the bottle.
• Hold your finger over the hole and fill the bottle with water.
• Screw the lid on the bottle.
• Hold the bottle over the pan or a sink and remove your finger from the hole. What happens?
• Unscrew the bottle cap. What happens?
• Boiling Hot (ww pg 12) -- shows water changing from a liquid to a gas

• Make some tongs by attaching a clothes pin to a wooden dowel (we used a rubber band).
• You will also need: aluminum foil container, candle, and matches
• Light the candle.
• Attach the aluminum foil container to the tongs. Put a small amount of water in the container.
• Hold the container over the candle flame.
• It is supposed to boil. Ours did not, but we could still see steam rising. If yours boils, you may want to keep it over the fire until all the water has turned to steam.
• Water's Skin (ww pg 16 and ss pg 14) -- this shows surface tension
• You will need a tray of water, dish washing liquid, thin plastic, eye dropper, 40 toothpicks
• Cut a fish from the thin plastic. Cut a funnel shape out of the tail.
• Put the fish at one end of the tray of water, facing the opposite end.
• Drop one drop of dish soap in the funnel of the fish. The dish soap breaks the surface tension and the fish goes "swimming" to the other end of the tray.
• Dump out the water, make sure you get all the soap out of the tray. Put clean water in.
• Carefully place the toothpicks on the surface of the water.
• Drop one drop of soap in the middle of the tray. What happens?
• Sealed Up Tight (ss pg 17) -- a thin layer of water keeps the water inside the glasses
• You will need a jar, a cloth, the sink, and an index card
• Put the cloth over the jar and push the cloth down into the jar.
• Fill the jar most of the way full with water.
• Pull the cloth down around the outside of the glass until the cloth is stretched tight.
• Put one hand over the top of the jar and turn the jar over with your other hand (continuing to hold the cloth tightly across the opening of the jar).
• Remove your hand from the opening of the jar. What happens?
• Fill the jar with water all the way to the top.
• Put the index card over the mouth of the jar. Hold it in place while you turn the jar upside down.
• Remove the hand that is holding the index card. What happens?
• Liquids that Float (ww pg 20) -- learning about density
• Use sand, pebbles, and shells to make an ocean scene in the bottom of  clear bowl.
• Add water. You can also float a boat on the water.
• Pour some cooking oil into the water. What happens?
• Stir the oil and water. What happens?
• Add some dish soap. What happens?
• Stir the dish soap in. What happens?
• Straw Pole (ss pg 20) -- more about density
• You will need: 4 jars, food coloring, salt, teaspoon, clear straw, and an index card
• Fill each jar with water.
• Add ten drops of a different food color to each jar.
• From left to right, add salt to each jar. One teaspoon to the jar on the left, two teaspoons to the next one, three teaspoons to the next, and four teaspoons to the last jar.
• Stir until the salt is dissolved.
• Going from left to right, stick one end of the straw about one inch into the water. Put your finger over the other end of the straw to hold the water in.
• Put the straw straight down into the next jar, about two inches. Remove your finger, then replace it.
• Do the same with the third and fourth jars.

• The colors don't mix because the salt has made the water be different densities.
• Now take the jar on the left and the one on the right. Put then in a baking pan.
• Fill the jars until they are completely full.
• Place the index card over the jar that was on the left (the one that had just one teaspoon of salt added to it).
• Hold the card in place as you turn the jar upside down.
• Set the jar on top of the other jar and line up the jar rims.
• Have someone hold the jars in place while you slowly pull out the index card.

• Water Power (ww pg 28) -- shows that the energy from moving water can move things
• You will need: two ping pong balls and two water squirter bottles.
• Mark the balls so you know which belongs to which person.
• Use the water squirters and see who can get their ball to the finish line first.
• We used a groove between slabs of cement for our track. I marked the middle with chalk as the finish line, and we each started from opposite ends.