Brainiacs

Man, my kids were on their game today! We're still studying atoms in science and everything I said made sense to them! We talked about bonds and sharing vs giving electrons and how that effects molecules. Then we moved on to the Law of Conservation of Mass (although I didn't call it that) and discussed how no matter is created or destroyed (since Genesis of course), thus what happened to all the molecules of the dinosaurs and plants etc. after the flood. And THEN we looked at how molecules are like legos and can be mixed and matched to make different things... 

Example: Plants take sun (energy) + water + CO2 to make sugars and oxygen. Then humans take sugars (from food) + oxygen to make water and energy. One 5th grader saw the connection right away, "Miss H! They're opposites!!!" Such a good learning day.

The 7-8th graders were on their game too. We did a few mini experiments (that may or may not work... time will tell). One is putting a grape in sugar water, a grape in regular water, and a grape in salt water to see what happens. Diffusion is supposed to happen since there is an area of high concentration of water and an area of low concentration. We'll see if it actually works. 

Then, there's the iodine/corn starch lab. My iodine might be worn out. It doesn't look right in the container. Normally it's a lot darker, like a deep brown. The stuff in my spray bottle is like a dark yellow or light orange. Hmm... I tested it on straight corn starch and it turned the corn starch purple, however, it might not be strong enough to go through a ziplock bag. Corn starch and water are mixed together in a ziplock bag, then placed in a container with water/iodine. The iodine is supposed to diffuse through the bag and turn the corn starch purple or black. I checked on it after school and my test corn starch is now an orangey color. Strange. I might need to toss this iodine and buy new stuff. I wonder if it got too cold or hot in the shed (where I had it stored) and that cut down on the potency.