STEM At Home

During the school closure our pupils engaged in various STEM challenges based on a variety of topics.

Third and Fourth class were learning about the water cycle and  as a follow up they demonstrated their knowledge  by creating a water cycle in a bag.

The Rock Experiment

Pupils in 3rd and 4th class learned about the different types of rocks.

They were asked to examine a rock that they found at home and to report back their findings.

The Ice ,String and Salt Experiment

At home during the Lockdown the pupils carried out an  experiment using salt, a piece of string  and ice.

They were  amazed when the ice cubes attached themselves to the string.

Some children experimented to see how many more ice cubes they could attach to the string.

The teacher explained the results to the class as follows.

When salt comes in contact with ice, it causes the ice to melt a little. The small amount of water from the melted ice and the salt combine together, lowering the freezing point of water. Saltwater has a lower freezing point than fresh water by about 4℉. This lowered freezing point makes it harder for water molecules to recrystallize into ice.

In this experiment, once the salt was added to the ice, the ice melted a little and then quickly refroze around the string. This causes the ice to stick to the string when it is pulled out of the glass.

The same concept is used when you add salt to your driveway or sidewalk during the winter. The salt lowers the freezing point of water, causing it to melt so you can more easily remove it.