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Saturday, October 1, 2011

A peek into my week...

The weather finally cooperated with us on Monday and we finally were able to test our mentos experiments. 

Our first one was a mixture of mellow yellow and coke (variable) and 7 mentos (constant). The kids were so sure it would explode - but all it did was...nothing! We decided that when we mixed it, the carbonation was activated and so by the time the mentos were added - there was no carbonation left for a reaction.

The next experiment was Coke Zero (variable) with 7 mentos(contsant).  The kids were super excited because they got the reaction they wanted.  They were convinced it would explode due to it having no calories - like the Diet Coke before. They were correct!

Our next experiment was another mixture...the kids were sad to do it because they had already seen the first one fizzle.  It had three types of soda: Cream Soda, Dr. Pepper and Coke.  And yes....it was a bust too!

The last two experiments were awesome!
I wish I could figure out how to put this picture in and rotate it correctly.  For some reason, it won't turn.  I think I will put it in anyway, and you will have to cock your head to look at it. 

The next one used Diet Orange Crush (variable) and 7 mentos.  The first time we tried it, the soda turned over. The little boy who was doing it had twisted the pull string and spun the soda over! 

Then we did it a second time, and it was awesome! (This is the shot that I can not rotate for the life of me!) If you can see, the geyser tube went flying off the force was so great! The kids were thrilled with the result and so was I! Cock your head now to see it better! :)



The very last experiment was done with my student in a wheelchair.  He is the sweetest most charming child ever!  His group had a most unique idea - they used Diet Coke (constant) and 7 crushed mentos (variable).  To be honest, even I had no idea what would happen!  It created a great geyser that went at least 7 feet!  What a blast....literally!

Now we are done with our first unit.  We assessed on Tuesday and moved on to our next unit introduction on Thursday....Ecosystems. Tune in next week when I blog about creating our class habitats - models of a school yard ecosystem.  Should have some great pictures to share!

Until then...gotta run!

2 comments:

  1. This looks like a BLAST! ;)
    I think I'll have to try it to demonstrate the scientific method. My kids would LOVE it - I have 15 boys and 5 girls this year, so the more hands-on activities we do, the better.

    Jen
    Runde's Room

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  2. Love this investigation! What a fun way to teach about variables and constants. :0

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