Diffusion and Energy
Fourth grade Physics lesson
Liaison:
Date:
Group Members: Dena Springer and Kevin Daly
School: Agassiz
Teacher: Mrs. Berger
Materials:
three clear containers
food coloring
aerosol room freshener
ice
some way to heat water
(we used microwave at school)
Procedure:
1.We started off by introducing the concept of molecules
2. Then we talked about how things tend toward chaos and disorder
3. We introduced the term diffusion - when molecules spread out
4. Then we talked about how heat affects the rate of diffusion
a. we tied this into what we had taught about energy
b. we said that heat was a form of energy and when molecules have energy
they move around--> the more energy, the more motion
c. we drew lots of parallels to playing on the playground and having a lot
vs. a little energy
d. Then we had them suggest what would happen if we put food coloring in water
e. We asked them to hypothesize about what the difference between a container
with cold water, room temp. water, and hot water would be
f. at this point they came up with some great ideas and we had them write them down
5. Finally, we did the experiment in front of the class by placing 3 drops
of the same color food coloring in the 3 different containers of water
- this worked wonderfully, with the dye in the hot water diffusing fastest, etc.
6. Then we had the kids spread out in the classroom and close their eyes
-- we sprayed the air freshener and asked the kids to raise their hands
and open their eyes when they could smell it and observe who else had and
hadn't smelled it yet
-- this worked really well also with the kids farthest away taking the longest to
raise their hands
7. We ended the lesson by talking about how temperature and distance are only
two things that affect diffusion
8. The kids then asked questions that showe
Evaluation:
Comments:
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