Safety Alert
As an educator you are responsible for the implementation of the activities found on this site. You must have safety procedures and rules established for you classroom and make sure all of the students follow the rules to ensure a safe environment. South Dakota Public Broadcasting cannot in any way be responsible or liable for any injury as a result of using the activities. Use the activities you feel are appropriate and safe for your individual class. Have fun and stay safe.

Questions, comments or ideas for Kids Quest can be e-mailed to Edservices@sdpb.org

It is common knowledge that all kids love to play.
Unfortunately, some of the students you have in the classroom are not as thrilled about math, language arts or science class. Their minds may be on recess or a television show they watched the night before. The activity that follows is a very fun and easy supplement to bring your class alive without straying from learning. The kids will learn and have fun.

Activity:
      The following activity brings the clouds to the students. Our atmosphere is awesome. The atmosphere is a unique collection of gases, which provides us protection and life. We could not survive without the atmosphere. Students may think most of our atmosphere is made of oxygen. This is a reasonable assumption because we breathe oxygen. This assumption could not be farther from the truth. Nitrogen makes up approximately 78% of all gases. Oxygen is second at 21% and all of the other gases combined make up the remaining 1%. Really fascinating isn't it? The web sites listed provide more in-depth information about our atmosphere.
http://www.geog.ouc.bc.ca/conted/onlinecourses/geog_210/210_7_1.html
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/atmosphere.html

     On earth water is found in three states of matter. The three forms are ice, liquid water and water vapor. The following activity will focus on all three forms. Clouds are visible. We can see clouds. Since a cloud is visible that means the water found in the cloud is in the liquid phase or ice phase. There will be vapor in the cloud but we can not see water vapor because it is invisible. Students find this hard to believe. Some students believe a cloud is in the vapor form. Water is in liquid or solid phase on the ground, a vapor in the area between the ground and the clouds and a solid or liquid in the clouds.

     The activity below is a blast but it can be dangerous if completed wrong. The lab will require the use of dry ice, which can freeze/burn the skin. Also, large amounts of carbon dioxide will be given off so I suggest completing the lab outside. Students should never smell anything in a lab setting. Dry ice (carbon dioxide) in large amounts can cause suffocation. Don't let this scare you, there are worse items found in the cabinet below the sink. Kids must learn responsibility at a young age. Establish strong no-nonsense rules at the beginning of the year and you will have fun and stay safe. This lab may be used as a demonstration. Either way, the kids will have fun and learn a lot. The lab will test the effect temperature has on reaction rate. In general an increase in temperature results in an increase in reaction. The change that will take place isn't a true chemical reaction; it is a phase change. The dry ice will change from a solid to a gas.

Materials per group:
small containers (baby food jars-4 per group)
stopwatch (wall clock with seconds fine-1 per group/1 per class if you use clock)
water (must have hot water- enough to fill jars)
thermometer (optional-1 per group)
dry ice (most grocery stores have dry ice- large cube)
hammer (1 per class)
goggles (especially when breaking ice-1 per student)
tweezers (1 per group)
winter gloves (1 pair per student)
Note: Amounts of material may vary depending on your class size.

Procedure:
Introduction of topic (space) (1-2 class periods)
1. Watch Kids Quest " Fill Your Head With Space”.
2. Cover information in your science text about the atmosphere.
3. Visit educational web sites about space and the atmosphere.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/balloon/science/atmosphere.html
http://quest.nasa.gov/space/teachers/liftoff/basics.html
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/

4. Cover the scientific method. The students could use the steps of the scientific method to prepare a pre-lab investigation. A possible question you could ask. Does an increase in temperature increase the reaction rate of a compound? The number of steps completed for the scientific method varies depending on which book you use. Below are some sites which explain the scientific method in detail.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/sci_meth.htm
http://teacher.nsrl.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html

Process:
1. The lab will show the students what effect temperature differences have on the rate of a phase change. Dry ice will naturally change from a solid form to a gas form at room temperature. This process is called sublimation. The students should obtain the above materials.

2. The students should fill four jars with water. The water placed in the four jars should be a different temperature. The actual temperature isn't needed. The data could be recorded cold, warm, hot, very hot. If available, a thermometer could be used for exact temperatures of each jar.

3. Now the students will place a small piece of dry ice in each jar. You, the teacher, should break the ice into small pieces. I suggest covering the ice with a towel. Then hit it with a hammer. This will prevent the dry ice from flying everywhere. You should wear goggles and gloves. The students should wear goggles, gloves and use a tweezers to pick up the small pieces of ice.

4. The 4 pieces of ice should be placed in the 4 separate jars at the same time. The students need to use the second hand on the classroom clock or a stopwatch to keep track of the time taken to change the ice from a solid to a gas.

5. The students should hypothesize which temperature will produce the fastest change.

6. The students should graph the data. The students should conclude how temperature difference affects phase change.

7. The activity can be modified to meet your needs.


(example graph, can be completed on paper)
(does not represent true data)

State Standards:
If completed correctly, the following standards are used in the activity above. More standards could be used by including spin-offs of the activity. For example, a paper could be written about cloud formation.
State Standards

Number indicates standard number
FOURTH GRADE MEASUREMENT STANDARDS - THE STUDENT WILL:
1. measure time using fractions. (example: fractions of an hour, fractions of a year) (stopwatch)
1. select and use the most appropriate units for given measurement situations.
2. carry out unit conversions within a system of measurement. (example: inches, feet, yards) (could convert from degrees F to degrees C)
3. use scales of length, temperature, volume, and weight for problem solving.

FOURTH GRADE STATISTICS & PROBABILITY STANDARDS - THE STUDENT WILL:
2. use appropriate scales to represent data in various forms.
3. interpret and analyze data from graphical representations and draw justifiable conclusions.
5. predict and represent possible outcomes for a simple probability situation in an organized manner. (example: tables, grids, tree diagrams)
4. analyze outcomes of probability for both individual and group experiments and report the results.
5. explain why unlikely events may occur fairly often in very large samples. (extension)

FOURTH GRADE NATURE OF SCIENCE STANDARDS- STUDENTS WILL:
4. explore the scientific process as identifying a problem, developing a hypothesis, experimenting, collecting data, and drawing conclusions.
5. develop questions to formulate hypotheses and use data to make predictions.
6. make distinctions among predictions, observations, and conclusions.
7. use appropriate standard and metric measures to collect, record, and report data in graphical representations. (sec for time)
8. recognize numerical data that are contradictory or unusual in experimental results. (My happen)
9. recognize the effect of manipulated variables on the outcomes of events. (talk about)
10. use appropriate scientific equipment for investigations.
11. use proper safety procedures in all investigations.

FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE STANDARDS- STUDENTS WILL:
1. describe ways in which the properties of matter may vary. (example: solubility, density, baking soda interaction with vinegar) (extension)
2. explain how physical properties remain the same as the mass is changed. (example: block of salt will taste the same as a grain of salt) (extension)
3. describe observable physical and chemical changes in common materials.
4. differentiate between the states of matter when matter changes. (example: from a solid to liquid)

FOURTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE STANDARDS- STUDENTS WILL:
1. describe unique properties of Earth as a planet.
5. recognize air as a permanent substance that surrounds us, takes up space, and is felt as wind.

Source: South Dakota Department of Education Content Standards.