We enjoyed some more Science learning at the end of last week; it focused on predictions and observations. We bought some ‘soapy foam’ and predicted what we felt would happen to it if it were squirted onto a paper plate and left for the whole day. This meant we needed to observe it over a period of time and allowed us to adapt our predictions as it changed.
We also did a much quicker observation when we were challenged to place an item into an already full glass of water without any spilling over. In the picture above, you can see the children noticing the (meniscus) curve which is created when a circular container is at its fullest.
We managed to place a cotton wool ball, a penny and a bulldog clip into the glasses without them spilling over. However, we concluded that the glasses into which we placed the penny and the bulldog clip may not have been totally full as we couldn’t explain, scientifically, why they wouldn’t overflow. With the cotton wool ball, we felt that the water could take up the space between the fibres and the fibres could take up the space in between the water particles.