Week 11- Science Methods II

 What question are we investigating?

For the tenth week of Science Methods I, we would look for what are the different ways that sand can be formed, what is buoyancy, and how to know what the weight is for geodes. This would be through looking at different types of sands in small groups with a magnifying glass. In lecture we would talk about buoyancy and how to find out the weight of geodes. We also would have a test review time where we got questions to answer.

What did we do in lab to investigate this question?

The teacher started by asking if anyone has gone to places that have different forms of sand and this would help when she went into the three different types of ways sand could be made. She would explain that in small groups at are tables we would be looking at different labeled sands and try to identify which out of the three types we feel it could be. The first one is water which looks polished, is smooth, and are close in size. Some examples within the lab included sand 3 or 4. While glaciers are similar but there is one difference by being polished, they are smooth and irregular in size. Some examples within the lab included sand 1 or 5. The last type is wind which will have a frosted color and is very fine size. Some examples with the lab include sand 2 or 6. Eventually, she would ask small groups what they thought these different labeled sands were and would give the results to everyone. 

What did we figure out?

Another main part would be in lecture and she talked about different concepts that are important to learn about when it comes to rocks. One of these concepts would be buoyancy by explaining if something like float or sink. This would be shown with a video that demonstrated that some sodas float while the others sink. This would remind me of one of the other experiments we did in the science class before. Another important concept shown by her would be the Archimedes law and geodes. This would be shown by reading the book Mr. Archimedes’ Bath by Pamela Allen and showed how the bathtub rinsed with all these different creatures with him. He would try to see why the bathtub rinsed by not allowing the creatures to be in it and eventually finding out it was him that made the bathtub rinse. When it comes to the Archimedes law and geodes it is used by specific gravity to determine how hollow something like a geode could equal. This would be shown by saying a geode that is 2.7 means it’s completely hollow. While if the geode is 1.4 that means it is partially hollow compared to the last example. 

What are new or remaining questions after the investigation? 

This lab taught me about different concepts like the three different forms of sand, buoyancy, and the Archimedes law with geodes. That would allow me to see how reading books could allow the different concepts like Archimedes law could teach students in the classroom in a fun way. It also would allow me to see how there is an easy way to think about how much a geode could weigh based on their looks. Lastly, I will continue to study for the exam next Thursday.