On Thursday, January 5th, the Omega Science Lab separated a mixture. Inside the cup were 7 mystery objects. Our task was to identify the objects in steps. Here they are:
Step 1: The first thing you should do is to examine the contents of your cup by sight. Do not remove anything from the cup!
Step 2: Pour the water from the cup into the graduated cylinder. When you pour out your water, make sure that none of the other objects come out with it, especially the items at the bottom.A funnel would be very helpful while pouring. If you are not careful while pouring, you might injure yourself or others later on in the activity.
Step 3: Now that the water is gone, look at the contents of the cup again. Do you see any objects that you couldn't see before you poured out the water?
Step 4: Take out the objects that look like white beans using your hands or the scoop/spoon. Put the beans on the tray that holds all of your equipment. Make sure that you keep the filter paper away from the wet beans, otherwise you might accidentally use it without meaning to.
Step 5: Poke your magnet inside the cup. The black objects that look like metal strips should stick to the magnet. Try to get all of the magnetic objects out of the cup and onto the magnet. Once you do that, you may keep the objects on the magnet, or you may remove them and keep them on the tray away from the beans.
Step 6: Use your pipette to extract some water from the container that you poured your water in. Keep your filter paper on top of the water container and release the water onto the paper. See if any object has revealed itself by sight. Touch the paper to see if there was another object.
Step 7: Put your graduated beaker containing the extracted water on the hot plate. Make sure that you keep the filter paper and your skin away from the hot plate's surface. Plug in the hot plate and let the water boil. Step 8: After 2-3 minutes, pour out half your water into the drain using tongs. This will speed up the process of the water boiling.Watch your water too see if there are any changes. Then proceed to step 9.
Step 9: While the water is boiling examine the rest of contents of your cup. Identify all the different objects (including water) that you saw and took out of the cup. You should find 6 Items. Once you finish identifying your objects, go to step 10.
Step 10: Pour out the rest of your water into the drain. What do you see at the bottom of the cup? At this point, you should have found 7 different objects including the object at the bottom of your graduated beaker.
Step 11: Once you are finished, clean up your lab. Wash your tray, magnet, and beakers used in this lab. recycle the paper, metal strips and the cup. Once you finish that, you are done!
Last week, the Omega Science lab performed 4 labs to help us learn about the states of matter, physical and chemical changes and changes of the states of matter.The first lab we tried out was the Observing of a Candle Lab. During this lab, we lit a birthday candle and observed its changes. First, before we lit the candle, we used some of our 5 senses to observe the physical property of the candle. The senses we used were: touch, smell and see( I don't want to eat that!). We noticed that the candle was tall, rough, twisting and made up of wax. After Mrs. Rousseau lit the candle, we immediately noticed two chemical changes. The candle was producing light and heat! After a little while, two physical changes we saw was that the candle was melting and shrinking. The only way to have seen these changes was to light the candle.
The next lab we did was the Pouring a Gas Lab. In this lab we used a larger candle, vinegar, water and baking soda to create a chemical change. First we lit the candle to start the lab. Then, we mixed vinegar and water in the same glass. Carefully, we added some baking soda. The reaction was immediate. The liquid erupted and made a white foam to rise quickly and spill over the edge of the glass. This is a chemical change. Once the foam receded, we tipped the glass over, but without making the liquid fall, and held it beneath the flame. The flame immediately went out. I think this happened because the carbon dioxide caused by the vinegar and baking soda extinguished the flame.
The next lab we performed was the Marshmallow Fun Lab. We experimented on two different marshmallows, a large one, and a small one. This lab was all about changes in matter. We performed a physical change to the small marshmallow by tearing it in half. The marshmallow's appearance was changed but its components were not changed. Next, we used a Bunsen burner and the large marshmallow. We held the marshmallow over the fire and let it burn/blacken. This was a physical change because it melted the inside of the marshmallow. After burning, the marshmallow went from a solid to a liquid and solid mixture. The taste of the marshmallow also changed.
The final lab we performed was the Observing Changes in Matter Lab. In this lab, we performed different experiments to sugar cubes. We took a sugar cube and used our senses to examine it. We concluded it was small, cube-shaped, white, sweet, firm and rough/grainy. We took two of the cubes and crushed them. This was a physical change because the end product was still sugar, but crushed. We then took the crushed powder and dissolved it in water performing another physical change. The sugar was still present because we could taste the sugar. If we couldn't taste it, we noticed that the water had become less pure as it was before we dissolved the sugar in it. Next, we took the last two sugar cubes and put them into a test tube. We used tongs and held them over the Bunsen burner. We first noticed a yellow liquid forming under the sugar which was rapidly turning brown. Soon, the liquid turned black and we couldn't see the sugar cubes because the liquid had rose above them. We let it cool, then we examined it again. It was larger than the original, crystallized, black, burnt, bitter, rough and hard as glass. The sugar changed color, taste and size. This was another physical change.
