This post was edited by Nathaniel Smith on Dec, 2007
Between now and Christmas vacation I do the classic "heat snow until it melts and then continue until it boils" lab. This allows my students to collect and analyze time/temperature data as the water goes through two state changes. I shared the Excel template with a couple of you last summer.

Students enter the data every minute into the excel document which is projected on the 6 foot screen. I divide the class into two groups ...the "Easties" and the "Westies". (It is safe ... we do not have gangs in this school.) Each group has a hotplate, a beaker of snow (this was difficult last year), a thermometer. Each group stirs and records their temp every minute for 20 minutes. They send their recorder up to the laptop and enter their data (every minute). There is constant stream to kids entering data.

It doesn't take long before each team knows their color and the race is on. My biggest treat is at about minute 10 during the race to the top when the kids think their thermometers get "stuck"(see graph).

On Day One, the 75 students do the lab, collect data, and graph it on Excel. Day Two (I only use half a period) ... we learn to interpret the graph and figure out the "stuck thermometer" problem.

Sounds like fun, Nat! Do kids learn your technique for the real time graphing in Excel as data is entered?

Thinking how I might use it smiles,
LuAnn

This post was edited by Nathaniel Smith on Dec, 2007
LuAnn,

I create the template so I do NOT have to teach Excel with the lesson. 30 seconds ... maybe 1 minute is the amount of time I spend teaching them how to add data (they teach the next group of kids coming up to enter data. Excel is great for kids to learn ... but they need to see why it is useful before the can see the need to learn it.

I enjoy this activity as I get to spend quality time with my students discussing the meaning of the data collected not how to use the program that displayed it.

That comes later. I teach my students how to start at "square one" with excel when they are creating the graphs for their own Science Fair projects. By then, they know what Excel can do and they want it to do that for them. This is sort of an "on-time" learning.

I have a new challenge this year ... Next Wednesday 40% of my 7th graders' parents have agreed to rent for three years a brand new Apple (yes Apple) MacBook for their kids. Starting next week I will have the 6 iMacs I usually have plus the 8-10 new MacBooks the kids will have on a daily basis ... each of four periods! My new challenge will be to get these kids using their new computers in Science in a meaningful way. Wow. I have had kids coming to "Science Club" to learn how to use the computers that they haven't received yet!

The State Change Lab is scheduled for Monday ... I think I'll have enough snow to conduct the lab. We are expecting 12 inches Saturday.

Miss you guys.

Nat

Nat,
I really like how you have made a very "boring" experiment into one the kids get to move around with and have lots of fun. I've always done this activity the traditional way at individual stations - I like the interactive part and the up to the minute change that happens. If you don't mind, I would love to try this out with my kids as I will be teaching about the states of matter after the holiday break. Thanks for the great and "fun" idea.
Sue

This post was edited by Nathaniel Smith on Dec, 2007
With plenty of snow and a lot of enthusiastic kids, the lab went off without a hitch. (Two cracked beakers and one broken thermometer ... a good day.)

(All kids pictured have signed web permission forms)

Great graphic, Nat!! And good luck with your computers in science project!! One technique I hope you'll consider teaching them is the make-a-stack-from-a-montage skill in ImageJ. I'm particularly fond of using it on some of the Earth Observatory images. For instance, this one appeared last week: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17863
and is much more interesting as a stack than a still.

Impressed with your philosophy smiles,
LuAnn

Nat,
Your graphs looked great! When we did this, we couldn't get the temperature down to 0 to start (we used crushed ice); I couldn't get the small graph enlarged enough to see if you could.
We also try to get them to get a reading of the first bits of gas, to get something above 100 degrees, but this hasn't worked (a colleague of our insists it should, though!). Do you do this (or Sue, or anyone else?).
I realize this is a science, not data question...
By the way, Nat, we required the kids to bop in their seats to "Lost in the Ozone" when we taught the lesson. :)

This post was edited by Nathaniel Smith on Mar, 2008
I finally prepared the "Investigation Template"