Private Universe

In the video, every student interviewed had some sort of misconception about the seasons, phases of the moon, or the Earth's orbit. Students who had responses to the cause of the seasons said things like:

• Earth (we) travels around sun
• Change in distance from the Sun is responsible for seasons
• The warmer it is, the closer we are to the Sun 
• The colder it is, the further away we are 
• The light from projected from the Sun bounces (reflects) and hits the Earth differently

A student also had the misconception that the Earth orbits in an oval. While this would explain the idea above about the Earth being closer/further away, it is just as much a misconception. I, myself, have always thought this was a true fact, but have discovered this week that it's the combination of the tilt of the Earth always pointing in the same direction and its rotation around the Sun that cause the season. The direction the Earth points and its position in its orbit are what cause the seasons.

When asked about what causes the phases of the moon, many students had different ideas: 

• Earth's position interferes with the reflection of the Sun's rays against the Moon
• Earth blocks sun rays, which results in the moon having a shadow
• Clouds block the Moon

How do these misconceptions impact me as a teacher?

Misconceptions are a good thing! They show that we are thinking differently. Confronting these ideas allow kids to find correct explanations, therefore furthering their "box of thoughts" in their minds. While having an idea different than others' can make you more closed off to hearing new ideas, this only means that kids have an opportunity to develop a growth mindset. As teachers, it's our job to make students aware of their private theories. Developing awareness means developing growth!

Sun, Earth and Moon

How the phases of the moon occur?

The phases of the moon occur as a result of the Earth casting a shadow on the moon. The moon's shadow reflects its position and rotation about the Earth. 

What causes the seasons?

The seasons are caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis as faces towards or away from the Sun. Seasons can also be described as the difference in the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth at different points.

What causes a lunar eclipse?

Lunar eclipses are the result of the Moon moving directly behind the Earth (farthest from the Sun). It is characterized by being completely covered by Earth's shadow. 

Below are my additional notes from today's class:

Heliocentric: sun-centered solar system

Geocentric: earth-centered solar system

Earth takes 1 day to complete a rotation; about 365 days to orbit Earth

Moon:

• Half that's facing Sun gets light
• Rotation around Earth gives us the phases
• 1 month to rotate around Earth
• Rotates & revolves:
• Rotation synced with revolution
• Rotation = we always see same side

Earth:

• Half facing Sun gets light
• Gives us day and night
• Shortest day = tilted farthest away
• Winter solstice
• Longest day = tilted 
• No tilt = light and dark always 12 hours

Tropic lines:

• Mark most/least sun exposure (Cancer and Capricorn)
• Equinox: 12 hours of light and dark

Forces

Why do things move/not move? What are different ways we can make something move? What factors affect movement? These are just a few questions that we will attempt to dive deeper into through today's experiment.

Why do things move?
There are many reasons as to why an object moves and keeps moving, such as:

• Gravity
• Energy (kinetic and potential)
• Friction 
• Material of object

Why do things not move?
Contrastingly, objects also do not move as a result of:

• Friction
• Balanced forces (i.e. block on table)
• when the forces are unbalanced, this is when movement occurs
• Gravity

What are different ways we can make something move?
Because we now have some understanding of why things move/don't move, we began to think about things that cause objects to move:

• Push
• Pull
• Air/water pressure
• Application/absence of a force

What factors affect movement?
Making something move and keeping something moving are two different things. Here's what we came up with:

• Gravity
• Forces of other objects
• Surrounding air/water
• Friction
• Weight
• Height
• Material of object
• Hollow/not

To test these ideas, we decided to see what would happen when we dropped a bouncy ball versus a ping pong ball:

Claim: Unbalanced forces make things move.
Evidence:

• say you're holding a bouncy ball!
• gravity is the downwards force
• your hand is the upwards force
• the ball is NOT moving because forces are EQUAL
• HOWEVER: If you let go of the ball, it will fall until it hits another object that will help balance the forces again

We also attempted to design a rocket to control the forces:

• 1st attempt at building a rocket:
• We inserted a straw into a balloon and taped it shut. We thought that the straw would force the balloon to release its air in a specific direction, rather than flying all over the place. It was unsuccessful; the balloon just sat on the table and the air was released slowly through the straw.
• This attempt was unsuccessful because the straw was too narrow for the balloon to release its air.
• 2nd attempt at building a rocket:
• Next, we inserted a small metal ball to weigh the balloon down while the air was released. This attempt was unsuccessful, as the ball plugged the balloon so that no air could be released. The balloon fell to the floor.
• This attempt was unsuccessful because the ball was too heavy. Gravity pulled it to the base of the balloon, where it plugged the hole.
• 3rd attempt at building a rocket:
• Finally, we placed a small styrofoam ball into the balloon. This was successful! Because the ball was light and porous, it weighed the balloon down just enough for it release its air and fly in one direction (straight forward at about a 45 degree angle). The balloon then hit a wall and completed releasing its air until it hit the ground.
• Forces involved: Gravity, Energy (potential: the air pressure in the shut balloon; kinetic: the force created by the air escaping), Friction (movement of the balloon through the air and air rubbing against the mouth of the balloon as it's escaping)

Activity Mania

Shifting from Activitymania to Inquiry discusses the importance and effectiveness of Inquiry over Activities in the classroom. 

What were the main takeaways for you? 

While completing this reading, Moscovici and Nelson state that "Inquiry cannot be pre-packaged..." (14). As soon as I read this, my mind immediately thought that they can only mean that this approach is limitless; it's boundless. There are no set of rules to promote this learning, and there's no particular endpoint. Inquiry processes go where the students take them!

How can you incorporate this into your future classrooms? 

In my future classrooms, I hope to incorporate this process by introducing a concept such as properties of matter and allow the students to explore the topic through gathering and making observations about what they notice in each one, and what they would need in order to be something else. 

How did Mark (and now I) work with you on Activitymania versus Inquiry? 

You (Ted Neal) and Mark McDermott have done a great job representing each of these. I have noticed a combination of Inquiry and Activitymania especially in Science Methods II, and more Inquiry in Science Methods I. Methods II presents a concept alongside a thought-provoking question (i.e. batteries, bulbs, and wires or magnetism) and allows the students to use these questions to perform experiments that lead to their own questions, hypotheses, and results. Personally, I enjoy this format a lot. Much like many Elementary students, I also learn better by figuring it out myself with minimal guidance! 

Batteries, Bulbs and Wires

How many wires does it take to light a bulb?

It takes one wire to light a bulb! There are two different orientations of ways to light the bulb, and each way can be divided again to reveal a new way to light the bulb. I will go over these ways below, but first, here are the prompts we followed during the experiments:

White and Yellow Papers:

Orientation #1: the battery is standing, the light bulb is standing upright on top of the battery, and the wire is touching the bottom end of the battery and the side of the light bulb. Flip the battery to get the second way to light the bulb for this orientation.

Orientation #2: the battery is standing, the bulb is laying down on top of the battery, and the wire  is touching the bottom end of the battery and the side of the light bulb. Flip the battery to get the second way to light the bulb for this orientation.

Green Paper:

Lighting the bulb using 2 pieces of wire:

Without the bulb touching the battery?

     By using two wires, the bulb is not directly touching the battery.

Blue Paper:

Lighting 3 bulbs: 

We can light 2 bulbs with one battery:

Lighting a bulb with 2 batteries:

What happens to the bulb if you continue to add batteries?

     The more batteries you use, the brighter the bulb will light up.

Red Paper:

We were unable to complete or try any of the prompts on the red paper.

Mysterious Hovering Paperclip

What are some “real life” applications of magnetism?

Positive and negative charges affect every magnet. Some have different charges that allow for magnets to either attract or not come together. Magnets can be used in industrial settings, as well as to grab smaller objects. There are many experiences that we've all had with magnetism whether we realize it or not.

What experience have you had with magnets in your life?

Throughout my life, I’ve experienced a few instances regarding magnets. The first that comes to mind is magnets on a fridge, and the second is bobby pins with earrings. Growing up, I never thought to myself “fridges, earrings, and bobby pins are all metals and have a magnetic charge that allows other objects to stick to them”. Now, as I’ve learned more science, I recognize that these things and more are connections that we encounter all of the time whether we realize what they are or not.
Additionally, chances are we've all experienced our parents telling us not to put our hotel key next to your phone. This interaction is very strong and very quick, and deactivates the key and your phone. But why? During this week's investigation, we will determine why magnets do what they do.

What ideas do you have about the science of magnets?

I've noticed that everything in the field of science has curious reasons to them. For example, why do opposite charges attract each other? And why do some metals attract metals but others don't? These are just a few ideas that I've had that spike my curiosity and inner scientist.

The experiment:

To test our curiosity with magnets, my group and I put various materials (Lead, Aluminum, Fiberglass, Particle Board, Iron, Cardboard, Copper, Mirror, Glass, Granite, and Foam) in between a strong magnet and a paperclip (tied to a string that is taped to the table), we found that Iron was the only material that broke the magnet field. We also tested whether or not stainless steel would break the field. Because stainless steel is made of different elements, it has less iron in it and therefore doesn't impact the attraction between two magnetic objects.