How To Teach Kids

Brightstorm is offering free online lessons in the following areas of math:

• Algebra
• Algebra 2
• Geometry
• Trigonometry
• Precalculus
• Calculus

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PROBLEM:

How does the type of light affect water’s evaporation rate?

HYPOTHESIS:

I think that  (place your own hypothesis here).

MATERIALS USED:

(Your materials might be a little different.  Use what you have.)

• Eleven 9 ounce Solo cups
• Water
• Weight Scale
• One Sharpie marker

EXPERIMENT:

1. Fill five cups with an equal amount of water, labeling the cups A-E.
2. Place cups in different places around the house.
3. Wait four days and then mark the water level.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 using five different cups labeled A2-E2.  Put cups in the exact same places as the first five cups.   Place A2 cup where A had been, etc.
5. After four more days, weigh each of the ten cups with the water in them, including a control cup with the original amount of water.
6. Average the two trials for each cup (A & A2, etc.) and calculate the percentages to see how much water evaporated.

RESULTS:

(Fill in the blanks with the percentages you got from your calculations.)

1. Cup A:  ____% evaporated
2. Cup B:  ____% evaporated
3. Cup C:  ____% evaporated
4. Cup D:  ____% evaporated
5. Cup E:  ____% evaporated

CONCLUSION:

My hypothesis was supported by my experiment:  (Place your own conclusion here.)

PROJECT BOARD:

Type out the Problem, Hypothesis, and Experiment, etc., and display on left side of board.  In the middle section, have the title of the project and photos or sketches of the cups of water and where they were placed.  Also, graphs can be made on the computer displaying the results of the experiment.  On the right side of the board, display the Results and your Conclusion.

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(THIS COULD ALSO BE USED AS AN INTEREST CENTER.)

This is a very interesting project!  I imagine most people know someone who lived through WWII and have heard stories of what life was like during that  period in history.   What made this particular project interesting was that the student (actually my son) interviewed several people who lived during this time period.  He received first hand information about what life was like and how so many people pulled together for the good of our country, even though they had to ration items and do without some items.  Interviewing these people helped make this project come alive for him.  We knew someone whose best friend was killed at Pearl Harbor on the USS Arizona.  It was such a sad time in history for all those involved!

Another interesting factor was that we had actually been to Pearl Harbor, saw the short movie (which made it seem like we were really there and brought tears to my eyes), went through the museum, and bought memorabilia such as a copy of the newspaper which showed the headline “WAR!”

TIPS FOR THIS PROJECT:

• Interview people who lived through WWII and get a first hand account of what it was like.
• Get copies of pictures of people who served in the war to add to the project.
• Read children’s books about Pearl Harbor.  See list below.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS ON PEARL HARBOR:

• Pearl Harbor: A Primary Source History by Jacqueline Laks Gorman. Good for ages 8-12.
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor (Cornerstones of Freedom Series) by Tom McGowen.  Good for ages 9-11.
• Attack on Pearl Harbor by Shelley Tanaka.  Good for ages 10+.
• Air Raid – Pearl Harbor!:  The Story of December 7, 1941 by Theodore Taylor.  Good for ages 12 and up.
• Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer & Triston Elwell.  Good for ages 12 and up.
• Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy by Stephanie Fitzgerald.  Good for ages 12 and up.
  

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