All in a Muddle!
Year 5 have been looking at lots of hands on science this term.
Chocolate has been melted and an egg was cooked, all in the interest of exploring reversible and irreversible changes.
On our class windowsills, we are 'growing' salt crystals, all thanks to the power of evaporation.
This week we had to decide on which equipment to use. Our challenge was to separate out a peculiar mixture of 'stuff' (different objects and substances all muddled together).
We could use: sieves, funnels, beakers, bowls, magnets, a torch, filter paper, greaseproof paper and cotton wool.
We discussed how this is exactly what recycling plants have to do - extract substances from a weird and wonderful mix of items.
Finally, we looked at how water can be used to separate - for example if you had a pile of sand and salt all mixed together.
You can learn about distillation and filtration here:
Next we will be creating an investigation - a very tricky but important skill! The crucial thing is to make the test FAIR by keeping all the variables - except one - the same.
How will you keep your ice pole frozen for longest? (Remember you can't put it back in the freezer or put any cold things next to it....)
