Materials and Change

Pupils across different class levels investigated how a range of materials can be changed  by mixing to discover surprising results!

Junior and Senior Infants

Fizzy Colours

The children put some bicarbonate of soda into a tray. They then mixed vinegar and food colouring in a cup. Using a medicine syringe the children drew up the coloured vinegar into the syringe. This was then dropped onto the bicarbonate of soda. This caused the bicarbonate of soda to fizz.

Rainbow coloured mixing

The pupils put milk into a bowl. Then drops of food colouring were put at three sides of the bowl. The colours spread out on top of the milk. One child dropped fairy liquid into the bowl of milk and colours. This caused the colours to move back slightly.

Two cups were half filled with water. The depth of the water was measured and recorded. A gummy bear sweet was measured and placed into the cup of water. The children predicted what they thought would happen the gummy bears. The cups were left aside for a few days. When the gummy bears were taken from the cups they had lost their colouring and they had become  bigger. The water had decreased in the cup.

Senior Infants and First class

Rainbow Skittles

Making Butter

Creating Rainbow Colours

Ice on a String

Second and  Third Class

Pepper and Soap Investigation

We investigated how soap will break down the  surface tension of water by looking at what happens when we put our dry finger in the water mixed with pepper and when we put our soapy finger in the water mixed with pepper. 

Orange Float or Sink Investigation 

We used our predictions skills to predict whether an orange would float or sink in water followed by whether a peeled orange would float or sink. The completion of this investigation provided us with an interesting discussion about density, air pockets and buoyancy. 

Pencils in a Water Bag Investigation had us on the edge of our seats as we pierced the plastic bags of water with our sharp pencils. Afterwards we discussed how the plastic molecules hug the hole and seal it so that the water can not escape. 

Lava Lamps 

Lava Lamps – using a clean bottle, water, food colouring, vegetable oil and an Alka-Seltzer tablet the children made their own lava lamps. We discussed how the chemical reaction between the water and the Alka-Seltzer made tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas causing the blobs of coloured water to float to the surface. When the Bubbles popped the coloured blobs sank back to the bottom.

Bubbles in Bubbles – using water, fairy liquid and honey we made a soapy mixture to blow bubbles using straws on the table. The children had great fun blowing bubbles and then trying to blow multiple bubbles inside the big bubble. We introduced the word ‘iridescent’ to describe the colours we could see in the bubbles.  

Third and Fourth Class

In third and fourth class each pod were given instructions to carry out  different experiments. Pupils collected the materials and equipment that they needed. Having completed  their experiments successfully they then reported back to the other pods outlining how they carried out their experiments and what their results were.

Build a Fizz inflator

Pupils poured vinegar into a bottle. Next they half filled a balloon with baking soda.

They attached the balloon to the bottle and then allowed the baking soda to go into the bottle and mix with the vinegar. They were pleasantly surprised by  what happened next. The balloon soon afterwards started to inflate by itself.

The baking soda and the vinegar worked together to create a gas(carbon dioxide).Gases need a lot of room to spread out and the carbon dioxide started to fill the bottle and then moved into the balloon to fill it.

Tornado in a Jar

Pupils filled a  jar about 3/4 full with water and added  in 3-5 drops of blue food dye. .Next they added a teaspoon of dish soap and a teaspoon of vinegar to the blue water.The lid was tightened. Next they held the jar by the lid and rotated  it around in a circle in a smooth, steady motion. As they did this a vortex was  formed.

Make an Egg Float in Salt Water

An egg sinks to the bottom if you drop it into a glass of ordinary drinking water but what happens if you add salt? Doing this experiment the pupils learned more about density.

Dry Erase

Pupils drew  a simple picture on a plain white  plate. Next they poured water onto the plate  slowly to lift up the drawing. They swirled  the water around to make the picture dance and move.

The marker leaves behind mixture of pigments and a type of alcohol mixed together. The alcohol dissolves and the pigments are left behind as a solid. Plate is so smooth that the solid slides right off when it gets wet!

Invisible Ink

In this cool science experiment, pupils made easy invisible ink to write their  secret messages. The pupils used  lemon juice  mixed with water and a cotton bud to write the messages on plain white paper. The paper was warmed  up by  holding the beam from a flashlight onto the area where the secret message was written.

Lemon juice contains carbon compounds which are invisible at room temperature. The heat from the light source breaks down the compounds and releases the carbon. Once the carbon interacts with air, it oxidizes and turns brown, revealing  the  secret message.

Dancing Rice Chemical Reaction

In this experiment pupils filled a glass with water.One teaspoon of baking soda  was added to the water.Rice was then mixed in which sank to the bottom. Now  they added a tablespoon of vinegar to the mixture.

When baking soda and vinegar mix, a chemical reaction occurs. During this chemical reaction, carbon dioxide is released. As the carbon dioxide rises toward the surface of the cup, the bubbles attach to the sides of the grains of rice. The bubbles carry the rice to the surface of the water where the bubbles pop and the rice sinks back to the bottom of the cup.