We're going to do two activities to engage in this week's topic:
Part I: I'm melting!
Materials:
Glass (or clear cup)
Water
Ice
Ruler (make sure it has centimeters)
In this part of the lab you will fill a glass (about half way) with water and then add a couple ice cubes (about a half of the remaining space).
Record the level (in cm) of the water with the ice and take a picture. You can mark the container with a "sharpie" to make it easier to see.
Predict what will happen to the water level over time.
Wait for the ice to melt, record the water level again (in cm), and take a picture.
What actually happened to the water level? What was the difference in cm?
Did you predict correctly? Why do you think this happened?
Given the results of this experiment, would melting icebergs impact sea level? What about melting glaciers? Why?
Part II: Hot around the collar. (Read all instructions before starting)
Materials:
Bottle of water from a refrigerator (with small neck... just bottled water or fill up an empty soda bottle)
Modeling clay
Straw
Food coloring
ruler (make sure it has centimeters)
What to do:
This is an easy to do lab that you might already have the materials for without going to the store. Follow the steps of the experiment to check out the results. There are also going to be a couple of extra thing I want you to do while you do this experiment.
Add dark food coloring to the water in the bottle, this will make it easier to see any changes in the bottle.
Take a blob of clay about the size of the bottle cap and roll it into a cylinder around 5 or 6 inches long. Then flatten it out so it’s shaped like a ribbon.
Roll the ribbon of clay around the center of your straw, until the center is about as big as the opening in the bottle.
Put the straw in the bottle and use the clay to seal it in place, as shown in the picture. Push the clay into the neck of the bottle until the water level in the straw rises an inch or two above the clay.
Put the bottle in direct sunlight for at least an hour.
Predict what you think is going to happen to the level of the water and explain why you think that.
Create a table (be sure to label columns, rows, and units) which includes time and water height.
Take a picture of your set up with the ruler adjacent to the bottle.
Use a ruler to measure how much the water moves in the straw every 15 minutes for an hour (Be sure to measure in centimeters, this is science so we need to use the metric system.) and record this measurement in your data table. Take an "after" picture.
Did the water move up or down the straw? If so, by how much?
What factors do you think cause this affect and do you think it could happen in our ocean?
