Demo: Density Flask Flip

Curriculum Context 

•  Grade 2 Physical Science - Properties of Matter
• Identify the properties of solids, liquids, and gases
• Investigate changes to the properties of matter when it is heated or cooled
• Investigate the interactions of liquids and solids

• Grade 7 Physical Science - Chemistry
• Conduct investigations into the properties of matter

Materials Needed

• 4 x 1L Erlenmeyer flasks (or soda bottles)
• 1L warm water
• 3L cold water
• 2 colours of food colouring
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• Clear bin
• 1 piece of acetate paper

Directions and Questions

Salt vs. Fresh Water

Illustration done using iDraw and Wacom tablet

1. Fill two Erlenmeyer flasks with water. Add salt to one of the flasks. Which of these liquids do you think is more dense?
2. Dye the water different colours using food colouring (e.g. red for salt & blue for fresh).
3. Place a piece of acetate paper onto the flask with the fresh water in it, and flip it over so that its opening is on top of the opening of the flask of cold water with the piece of acetate paper in between.
4. Ask students to make hypotheses: Which do you think is more dense, salt water or fresh water? When I slide the plastic out, what do you think will happen?
5. Slide the acetate paper out.
6. Flip the two flasks over, keeping their openings connected, so that the salt water is now on top. What are you observing? Why do you think that is happening? Does this remind you of anything?

Yellow = fresh water,
blue = salt water

Blue = salt water,
yellow = fresh water

Cold vs. Warm Water

Illustration done using iDraw and Wacom tablet

1. Fill one Erlenmeyer flask with hot water, and another with cold water. Which of these liquids do you think is more dense?
2. Dye the water different colours using food colouring (e.g. red for hot & blue for cold). (Optional: Ask a student to touch each of the flasks and confirm the temperature difference. Alternatively, use thermometers to show the difference.)
3. Place a piece of acetate paper onto the flask with the hot water in it, and flip it over so that its opening is on top of the opening of the flask of cold water with the piece of acetate paper in between.
4. Ask students to make hypotheses: Which do you think is more dense, hot or cold? When I slide the plastic out, what do you think will happen?
5. Slide the acetate paper out.
6. Flip the two flasks over, keeping their openings connected, so that the cold water is now on top. What are you observing? Why do you think that is happening? Does this remind you of anything?

Warm = red, cold = blue

Cold = blue, warm = red

Explanation 

Salt vs. Fresh Water
When the fresh water flask is on top, the fresh water will mostly stay in the top flask, and the salt water will mostly stay in the bottom flask. This is because the fresh water is less dense, so we can think of it as being less heavy. Within the 1L volume, there is more mass, because we added the salt. (The salt dissolves in water, providing an example of a solid-liquid interaction.) After flipping the flasks, the salt water will sink to the bottom because it is denser, and the fresh water will float upward because it is less dense. A similar process takes place in estuaries, where a river connects with the ocean. 

Hot vs. Cold Water 
When the hot water flask is on top, the hot water will mostly stay in the top flask, and the cold water will mostly stay in the bottom flask. This is because the hot water is less dense, so we can think of it as being less heavy. The molecules in the cold water are closer together than the molecules of the hot water. After flipping the flasks, the cold water will sink to the bottom because it is denser, and the hot water will float upward because it is less dense. A similar process, called convection, takes place during the seasonal mixing of lake waters, and in ocean currents.

Safety Considerations

• Water could make the floor slippery. Have students stand back, and use a clear bin to contain the experiment.
• Glass flasks could break if dropped. Have students stand back, and use a clear bin to contain the experiment.  

Next Steps

• Students could engage in a hands-on exploration of density. One idea would be making density columns using pipettes, test tubes, and salt water of various concentrations (coloured with different colours of food colouring).
• Connections to habitats and associated processes, such as lakes an estuaries, could be elaborated on.  

 

References

• Spangler, S. (2013). Colorful Convection Currents. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/colorful-convection-currents  
• University of Alaska Fairbanks [UAF]. (2008). Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.arcticclimatemodeling.org/lessons/acmp/acmp_58_SeaIce_SaltwaterScience.pdf

#EdCampVic

Attending EdCampVic on Saturday, February 28th, was a phenomenal experience. I was able to connect with one of my highschool teachers, an instructor of mine, members of my PLN from Twitter, and some of my classmates.

Note-Taking

I volunteered a note-taker, which works well with my learning style. I loved being able to share my notes with the world using Google docs and Storify! I'm motivated by being able to share what I'm learning. If you were unable to attend the conference in person, you can go to the sessions page and click on any of the headings. Here's the Storify about EdCampVic, too.

Sessions I Attended

• Elementary Science Education (which I happen to have suggested) [notes] [Storify]
• Indigenous Education and Inquiry [notes] [Storify]
• Student-Teachers and Working On-Call [notes] [Storify]

Sign for my suggested topic - look at all those votes!

 Wish List

@SMooreBC showed me her practicum tote. It looks like a great way to keep organized!

@SMooreBC's Practicum Tote

She also showed me her Erin Condren Teacher Planner. I would really like one of those, too!

What a day!

The conversational nature of the day made it feel very natural, and the general consensus was that the day went quite quickly... and that our brains felt quite full! I am looking forward to my next EdCamp experience!

How do you make thinking visible, and avoid being an intellectual black hole?

Making Thinking Visible

I have been seeing a lot about "making thinking visible," and I am trying to do that with my own thinking. In Art Education, the instructor is emphasizing that showing process is both important and beautiful. In Education Technology, the term "selfie your learning" is being used to get at the same thing. Science Education is about the scientific process, particularly through inquiry. In Math Education, reasoning and showing your thinking are being emphasized. This is the growth mindset in action. How do you make thinking visible, and avoid being an intellectual black hole?

 

How do black holes work?

In the name of making thinking visible, I decided to use Storify to document my journey through my Science Education inquiry project: How do black holes work? It seems particularly fitting, since this video poses the question "How do you study something that by nature evades detection?" This Storify will be a work in progress for the next week, so I invite you to follow along, and if you have any resources, please let me know!

P.S. I love how Storify lets me curate across platforms!

Tech-ing In

PDPPPosseRC

Today I published these posts on the PDPPPosseRC blog:

• Mmm, Cookies! by Robert Munsch,
• Science Verse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, and
• Books by Mo Willems.

 

STEM Puns

Visual Journal comparing my STEM Puns cartoons to mentor artist Natalie Dee

I have been having fun with my STEM Puns passion project. I created a visual journal entry comparing my cartoons to online cartoonist Natalie Dee. Through that process, I realized that I would like to try adding texture to my work. 

Twitter Chats 

On February 10th I took part in a #TwitterChatMarathon. I took part in an #EdChat about eliminating "us vs. them" dynamics in education, a #BCStuTeach chat about brain breaks, and a #TeacherFriends chat about diversity. As an added bonus, I won a resource prize from one of the #TeacherFriends moderators, @fuzzlady77.

Last night I participated in a #BCEdChat about social media in schools.

By participating in Twitter chats, I have grown my PLN significantly. I am now connected with experienced and pre-service teachers from a number of countries, including the United States and France.   

Today I found out about Nurph, a Twitter chat platform, which might make this process easier. Currently I used Hootsuite.

#Actua2015

During the final week of January, I attended Actua's national conference in Ottawa. I tweeted about it on the #Actua2015 hashtag. 

Learning with Communities

I helped facilitate a session called "Learning with Communities." During this session, I had the chance to share teachings that I have received from some of the amazing people who have shaped my ways of knowing and being. I am so grateful to the communities that I have had the opportunity to learn with during my time delivering STEM Outreach within this incredible network. Before our session, we got some exciting news: Science Venture won the 2014 National Aboriginal Outreach Award!

Steven Woods, Google

Steven Woods (@sgwoods), Senior Engineering Director at Google Canada, delivered an inspiring keynote on computer science (CS) education and the Codemakers initiative. Here are some of the key messages:

• CS offers new ways to think and make things come to life.
• Educators need to change the way they thing about computer science: "You have the best mission ever. How can you beat conveying magic to children?"
• Diverse teams produce better.
• CS is empowering. Learners can take action, and something is going to happen. 
• We need to change our view of failure: "There is a critical role of failure in innovation."
• "Give learners a goal, but don't tell them how to get there." 
• "Computer science is a theme, rather than a thing." 
• CS is incredibly social and collaborative.

UOttawa Makerspace 

At the UOttawa Makerspace we were encouraged to engage in hands-on, play-based learning. "Find your 7-year old self. Failure and mistakes are awesome." It was absolutely wonderful!

We played with littleBits and Snap Circuits, which is are fun tools for exploring ideas around electricity and circuits. Makey Makey is another great tool for inventing games, instruments, and more! I have used all three of these with kids during various STEM outreach activities, and kids love using them for inquiry-based activities. This exploratory process helped me regain my own sense of wonder.

Something new to me was seeing a Kinect camera hooked up to a MakerBot. This setup allowed people to print 3D images of themselves!

Bottawa: 3-D printing at the UOttawa Makerspace

UOttawa Makerspace

 

Pat Yongpradit, Code.org

Pat Yongpradit (@MrYongpradit), Director of Education at code.org (@codeorg) delivered a stellar keynote about his organization and the resources they have created. Their vision is that every school and every student will have access to high quality computer science education. Here are some of the main points from Mr. Yongpradit's presentation:

• CS education is about equipping kids with the ability to help society. It's not just about creating cool stuff.
• Typically, women can connect with CS more when it is put taught within the greater social context.
• It's not just about using technology, it's about creating technology.
• This is a basic literacy, not just a course.
• Code.org has resources for ages 4 and up. There is CS curriculum for elementary, middle years (science and math), and high school educators to use. K-8 courses 1-4 have a blend of online puzzle tutorials and "unplugged" activities (which do not require computer access). Each course is ~20 hours. They range from early readers to 5th grade reading level.
• There are motivational/educational videos about CS that can be used as a hook/introduction.
• Looking to learn about CS yourself? studio.code.org has all-ages 20-hour courses for beginners.

Here are some corrections to misconceptions that were covered during this presentation:

1. CS > coding
2. CS is foundational
3. CS is changing the world
4. CS is for everyone
5. Don't reinvent the wheel, adapt it!

I used text2mindmap.com to make this mindmap of the principles of CS discussed by
code.org's Pat Yongpradit in his presentation "Beyond an Hour of Code"

I first heard about studio.code.org through @abnorr on Twitter, when I asked him what his favourite #edtech resource was. Since then, I have been recommending it to everyone who asks about coding resources. After learning more about it, I will continue to sing its praises. It's absolutely terrific, and so much fun!

Mr. Yongpradit also mentioned these other free resources for teaching CS:

• Google CS First
• Scratch Creative Computing Guide
• Scratch Jr. (for ages 4-7)

Veritasium: An Element of Truth

Derek Muller (@Veritasium) makes Veritasium videos on YouTube. "Can You Solve This?" is in an interesting one with ideas around the nature of science, particularly falsifiability, and confirmation bias.

He spoke about his thesis on teaching physics through film, and these were some of the main points: 

• When doing a science demo, the prediction step is key to long-term learning. The emotional attachment to a hypothesis helps learners to remember the results and explanations. 
• The best way to engage people is to pose a challenge. Don't give away the answer. Not giving the answer is a powerful thing. 
• Exposing cognitive bias is key to learning. The process of learning is often a process of unlearning.

Here are some other YouTube science educators: 

• Minute Physics,
• Smarter Every Day, and
• AsapSCIENCE.

I am interested in learning more about using YouTube for education, and building in interactivity.

Nicole Belanger, Professional Soul-Barer

Nicole Belanger (@nskbelanger) spoke about the importance of slowing down and reflecting:

We trap ourselves in grinds and fill our lives to the brim. This leaves no room to maneuver and think. You never stop to think if you're moving fast in the right direction.

She shared this quote from Irv Grousbeck that really resonated with me: "It's our vulnerability, not our wisdom, that makes us authentic as teachers and leaders."

EverFi Digital Literacy  

EverFi (@EverFi) has an online course on Digital Literacy and Responsibility. I tried it out, and it's a really engaging, game-based program that would be great for middle years students. EverFi is also launching Future Goals, an online program to engage youth in STEM through hockey. I have connected with @FelishaEverFi about how getting a workshop to come to UVic.

Other Resources

• Natural Curiosity environmental inquiry handbook
• I'm an Engineer series by Aboriginal Access to Engineering
• TouchCounts app by Prof. Nathalie Sinclair of SFU Education
• Math Catcher: Mathematics Through Aboriginal Storytelling
• TeachEngineering.org
• Engineering, Go For It!
• Programme for International Student Assessment 

@STEM_puns

At the conference, I was inspired and encouraged to start a new online project about STEM puns. I love making puns, and I have been dabbling in cartooning with my Bamboo tablet (by Wacom). I am combining these passions in a way that I hope will make STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) terminology more engaging and accessible to a wider audience. I have created pages on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Let's see what stems from this!

Get Connected

Video Conference Tutorials
I am putting together a couple of video conference tutorials about Blogger and Twitter for my colleagues in #edci336. If you are interested in attending one (or both) of these sessions, what sort of topics/questions would you like to see covered?

I will be using BlueJeans for these video conferences. Tomorrow afternooon I will start learning how to host a session using BlueJeans. On Thursday morning I will be using it to host a meeting between the PDPPPosseRC and a local teacher. Hopefully by the time I host the aforementioned tutorials, I will be able to use BlueJeans without getting David Bowie's song "Blue Jean" stuck in my head!

Twitter
By all accounts - and certainly by my Twitter account - I have been tweeting up a storm lately. I have expanded my PLN, increased my engagement in some great communities, found some terrific resources, and just generally been quite inspired by what I have found.

Today I started using Hootsuite, and I think that I am starting to get the hang of it. It certainly didn't take long for me to tweet a pun about it.

One particularly fruitful connection was with the Royal BC Museum. Because of this connection, I have been given the opportunity to be part of a creative team for an outreach project that combines science and comics. What an incredible combination of Science Education and Art Education! 

Face-to-Face Learning
I am so excited to be taking part in these fabulous opportunities for networking and professional development in the near future:

• #yyjignite on Wednesday,
• A national science outreach conference in Ottawa in 1.5 weeks, where I will be sharing what I have learned both while working as a STEM outreach instructor/coordinator, and while taking last term's courses in Indigenous Education and Education Psychology,
• A public information session at Pacific Institute of Inquiry and Innovation (PSII) on February 7th, and
• #edcampvic on February 28th.

Will I be seeing you at any of these events? Are there any other great events coming up? Let's get connected!

-Britney (@MlleBallen)