Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Filed under: 4th Grade

Coke vs. Diet Coke (It's not what you think)

4th grade students hypothesized what would happen when a can of coke and a can of diet coke were placed in a tank of water.  In order to make informed hypotheses, table teams investigated the soda cans, gathering as much information as possible.  This is what we came up with...

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Here are some of the hypotheses:

"I think that the coke will immediately sink because, I weighed the cans and the coke weighed more, and the diet coke is going to float because it has less mass."

"I think that both will float in the water because they both have air in them."

"I think that the diet coke will float because it is more dense than the coke and the water."

"I think that the coke and diet coke will both sink because they both have a lot of mass."

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We conducted the experiment and discussed the concept of density.  In order to find out the results, you must ask your child!

Bald Eagle Check-In...New Facts!

<br />Live TV : Ustream

Students in 6S and their Grandfriends, checked-in on the bald eagle family in Decorah, IA.  Here are some of the new facts that were uncovered...

According to William, humans are the most important source of mortality for this species.  In fact, according to Emmet, Nick and Ashley, the bald eagle was threatened with extinction because of the pesticide, DDT, but now due to conservation, as of 2007, they are off the list.  

Riya tells us that the bald eagle, native to North America, was originally bred in Central Alaska, Northern Canada, Central Arizona, and around the Gulf of Mexico.  

Charlotte S. adds that they are accomplished and opportunistic food thieves and in mid-November, at least 4,000 bald eagles gather in Alaska to prey on salmon.  

Nora and Arthur tell us that bald eagle nests can weigh up to 2 tons and that they are so adaptable that in one case, a couple nested on a giant cactus.

Finally, Lydia and Madison discovered that the bald eagle engages in a spectacular courting ritual in which a pair of eagles will fly very high, lock feet together, then tumble and cartwheel toward the ground, breaking apart at the last possible moment.  

Here is a video of the cartwheel display...

ARKive video - White-tailed eagles sky dancing

 

 

Alumni Marine Biologist Visits

Dr. Judith Weis, marine biologist, Rutgers University professor, and HCES alumna, came to speak with the 4th grade science students about the fascinating world of fishes...yes, fishes!  As we first learned, "fish" is the plural of many fish within one species, but if you are referring to multiple species of fish, the plural is, "fishes!"

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Here are some of the other interesting facts that Dr. Weis shared with us today:

1. You can tell a fish's age by looking for growth rings on the scales or in the ear bones (similar to the rings in a tree trunk).

2. The coelacanth is a "living fossil."  It was thought to be extinct, until it was discovered at a South African fish market in the 1930s.  The coelacanth is related to a group of fish that "crawled" out of the water and gave rise to amphibians. 

3. At over 50 feet long, the largest fish is the whale shark, and it eats plankton. 

4. Some fish can live out of water.  The mudskipper lives in the moist mud of mangroves, the walking catfish, can scoot along on wet land, and the lungfish survives in dried lakes by becoming dormant.  

5. Fish can live in freezing cold water.  Fish that live in these extreme temperatures have built-in anti-freeze molecules that stop the growth of ice crystals in their bodies. 

6. Some species of fish in the depths of the ocean can produce their own light by combing two chemicals, lucifern and lucierase, in the presence of oxygen.  This process is similar to the one that takes place in fireflies!

Earth Day at HCES

Ask your child about today's Earth Day assembly.  

Here are photos of our two presenters, Dr. Merry Cai and Michael Foster.

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Here were some interesting highlights...

* Newspaper hat parade,

* Special rocks found in Earth's mantle, that absorb carbon dioxide,

* Environmental heros,

* Making pledges to help the environment in our own lives.

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Bald Eagles in Real Time

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Take a look at the Bald Eagles in their nest... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/04/07/135148362/eagle-cam-soars-with...

After viewing the live stream of a Bald Eagle family in Decorah, Iowa, 5th grade students were inspired to find out more about our nation's symbol.  Here are some samplings of what they uncovered:

* Bald eagles can be found in Canada and the United States usually near sea coasts, rivers, or large lakes.

* The breading season is November through April.

* The nest, usually made of sticks can weigh up to 4,000 pounds and be 8 feet in diameter. 

* Some nests last as long as 30 years, with the Eagles returning from year to year.  The nests can be found 10-150 feet above ground in a tree.

* The females are larger than the males.  They can weigh from 4.5 to 13.5 pounds with a wingspan of nearly 8 feet.

* Both the male and female take care of the eggs and then the eaglets.  

* The preferred foods are fish, duck, geese, rabbit, muskrat, carrion, and other small mammals and water birds.

* The female usually lays 1 to 3 bluish-white eggs that incubate for 35 days.  The eaglets will leave the nest after 10 weeks.  

* The voice of bald eagle is characterized as a harsh cackle.

* Bald Eagles migrate alone or in pairs and are known to mate for life.

 

 

 

Fourth Grade and the Oobleck

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4th Grade students experimented with oobleck.  As a critical thinking question, they were asked, "What would happen to NYC if oobleck began falling from the sky?"  

Here are some of the responses:

"You could no longer play sports like golf or baseball because players and balls would sink into the oobleck."

"Freeze-tag will become a matter of life and death.  If the person who is "it" tags you, you are going to have to stay in the same spot for a variable amount of time and in that time, you will sink."

"New York would be called Oobleck City."

"People would have to travel around on pogo sticks so that they wouldn't sink."

"Journal Entry February 7, 5091...Oobleck started falling from the sky.  We have no problem getting around; we have jet-powered bubbles.  I wonder how people in the 21st century would have handled this problem.  Well, they could have ridden bikes.  Bikes are things with wheels.  They moved fast enough on oobleck that they wouldn't sink."

"Everyone would run in place when waiting for a bus, so that they didn't sink."

"Building small, water-proof domes in different locations all over Central Park, would help animals who lost their habitats, get new ones."

**Check out this clip from Myth Busters**