Science Methods - Week 12

     Today in lab we discussed more about properties of matter and more specifically what makes a property of matter. We then transitioned testing a variety of different materials and their properties. We measured the Mass, Volume, Conductivity, Magnetism, and whether the material would sink or float. We experimented on crayons, marbles, tin foil, and wood. I was not particularly surprised by any of the data, although it was interesting to see the difference in mass and volume of the half-eraser as compared to the full eraser. I was very surprised by how one group's tinfoil sank and how Professor Nordine put tinfoil into water vertically and it sank, while when he put it in horizontally it floated.

    I have remaining questions about what properties of tinfoil allow it to float at certain angles and sink at others. I am curious about why it does not just float or sink and what is happening there. I can apply this lesson to my teaching in the future by using activities like what we did today to teach my students about the different properties and have them begin to question why different materials have different properties. I am able to relate what I learned to what I already knew because I already knew about many of these properties and was not surprised, but it was interesting to see how things I thought I knew, like tinfoil always floats, were wrong. It was also interesting to discuss about properties that I thought I knew and extend my learning.