Adventures with Miss B

Last week we tested a range of solids.

We tested the following properties:

Elasticity: Can the solid be stretched?

Malleability: Can the solid be manipulated into different shapes?

Brittleness: Is the solid hard, but will break or crumble easily?

Hardness: Can you scratch the surface of the solid?

We also tested the strength of the solid.Tensile strength means the

solid can withstand being pulled from end to end and Compressive

strength means the solid can withstand being squashed.

The solids we tested were a bar of soap, steel wool, corn flour, playdough, chalk, elastic bands and marbles.

Last week we did an experiment to test the viscosity of different liquids.

We tested water, detergent and shampoo. Check out what happened!

CONCLUSION: The water was the least viscous as it flowed extremely fast. The detergent was more viscous than water; it flowed slowly. The liquid with the most viscosity was the shampoo as it resisted flow for a while, taking a long time to reach the ground.

We have been working so hard on these sculptures! As part of our Science unit of work on Packaging, we had to design and make a package for these kinetic sculptures to sell at Market Day. Here is the video we watched to learn how to make them:

And here are some photographs of the finished products ready for Market Day! The packaging looks great everyone, and meets the design brief!

But behold, see them in action!

Sold out on Market Day! Great job 5/6J! Thanks to Blick Art Supplies for the idea!

We have just finished our Mammoth Unit of Work on Earthquakes!  Today we did our assessment task, An ‘Open’ task,

where we were just given a piece of paper to show our understanding in any form.

Below is some photos from our different experiments on earthquakes.

We have enjoyed adding lots of vocabulary to our brain, and using different sites and interactive activities to assist our learning. During the unit we read the Horrible Geographies Book – ‘Earth Shattering Earthquakes”, and now a lot of the class is reading more books in the Horrible Geographies series!

5/6J Members – which part of our unit did you enjoy the most?

Vote in the Poll below!

Check out these sites for earthquakes!


Great things to read, movies to watch, animations,

games, online learning at its best!

Last week we completed a science experiment titled ‘Fizzing Investigation”. Our aim was to investigate what happened when you mix combinations of water, tartaric acid and bicarbonate soda together.

We placed the mixtures inside bottled with balloons over the top. We made predictions and then recorded our results. Finally, we wrote up our findings and conclusions.

Conclusion: When you mix water, tartaric acid and bicarbonate soda together the water fizzes and gases are sent up, causing the balloon to fill with air.

If you would like to do this experiment at home, click here.

We have been exploring solids, liquids and gases. One of our experiments was to predict, observe and explain the fastest way to melt an ice cube.

In groups, we chose 4 strategies to melt ice cubes.

1. Suck it in your mouth

2. Pour cold water over it

3. Pour hot water over it.

4. Crush it with your hand.

(Other noteworthy suggestions were: leave in sun, wrap in paper towel, blow with hair dryer, hit it with a hammer!)

Our results showed that in every group pouring hot water over the ice cube worked the best. Some of the explanations as to why included:

The heat from the hot water melts the ice.   The pouring motion helps it to melt.     The hotter the water, the quicker it melts.

Here are some images of our experiments.

Things to Spot:  5/6J pretending to be particles in a bowl, Some students representing liquid particles by using marbles, Our water with dye pots evaporating, Our Vinegar spill – how long til it reaches your nose?

Word Clouds are a great way to make a list of words look interesting. Here is a word cloud I made on the Gold Rush.

I used the website ABCya!

5/6J: Here is a TASK for you:

Go to the ABCya! website and make a word cloud on CHANGE DETECTIVES.

Save your word cloud to one of Miss B’s flash disk. Miss B will then upload it to the blog!

And here’s Selena’s…

Last week after we came back from recess our room looked like this:

Burnt and melted chocolate, melting ice creams and milk, vinegar, fizzing, bubbling water… what had happened to all these materials?

It was time for the students of 5/6J to become Change Detectives!

We had to investigate and discuss what had happened in each item number, and whether or not the items could be changed back.

In our teams we wrote a summary of what had happened at the mess scene. We will be exploring these changes through the rest of term by doing some more experiments where we CHANGE materials from liquids to solids and gases.

So 5/6J, leave a comment telling us:

How have the materials changed?

What things can be change back and how would you do that?

What other materials do you know that can be changed?

What kind of experiments do you want to do?

This semester we have been learning about Kinetic Art, which is essentially, art that moves. Any force can make an artwork move; wind, water, or a push or pull from a human being.

We created these Insoluble Paintings, by using oil and water based paint. Here is the video that inspired us:

And here are some shots of the creation process!