Posts Tagged ‘ atoms ’

How To Teach Science During Breakfast… With Pancakes!

February 18, 2010
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This week, we will be looking at one of the heavyweights of breakfast menus.  All you have to do is mention its name and children will come running.  In fact, as I look back into my childhood, this breakfast meal was one of the first foods I was ever allowed to cook.  That’s right, we are talking about pancakes!

It is so easy to put together a little flour, an egg, some milk, a small amount oil and sugar, and a few pinches of baking powder and salt (with a little bit of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg for some flavor.)  I was always amazed that so few ingredients mixed together would bring out such an amazing meal.

But what is going on inside that marvelous mixture?

That is what we are exploring today.  Let’s review our four main concepts of science before we move on:

The atoms within your pancake batter will not sit still!

It may be true that atoms cannot be created or destroyed, but they are definitely being moved around within that pancake batter.   By far, the most important molecule (a group of atoms joined together) within that mixture is known as starch and it makes up most of the flour within your ingredients.

If you could shrink down to the size of the comma on this screen, you would see exactly that starch looks very much like a chain with thousands of links bound together.   Each link of this chain would actually be a sugar molecule.

That’s right! Starch is really just a huge chain of sugars bound together and it makes up more than half of that batter.   And it doesn’t sit still very long after you add some milk…

Diffusion, Density, and Dairy

Remember!  Most of that liquid batter you just mixed together is made up of long chains of sugar.  Once  you add milk to that powdery mixture,  all that starch begins to absorb the milk.  This diffusion of milk into the starch speeds up when you start heating it up on the stove.

Why?

When atoms absorb heat energy from the stove, they start moving around a lot more.  Since the atoms that make up the liquid milk are already moving around quite easily already, the additional heat energy allows them to move even faster.  All this extra movement causes these atoms to slam into the starch molecules.  So while you are cooking your pancake, the starch absorbs more and more liquid.  Another way to say all of this is…

The milk diffuses into the starch molecules and causes the starch to become more dense.

LIQUID Batter + Heat = SOLID Pancake…  Huh?!?

You may think that something strange happened to those atoms in your liquid batter as it turned into a solid pancake before your eyes.  And it did!

Think about it… Liquids are not supposed to turn into solids as you add heat!

But the Law of Conservation states that atoms cannot be created or destroyed, only moved around.  So this means that something else is going on.  Hmmm….

The answer lies within the starch molecules of the batter.  As the starch swells, some of their sugar molecules break off and flow away in the mixture.  These sugary molecules swimming around in your batter help to make the batter a little stickier.  It is this “stickiness” that gives your pancake that spongy feel after it is cooked because it holds all of those starch molecules together.

Now some of the water molecules within your milk do tend to escape as steam while you cook your pancake.  But they do not disappear!  They absorb the heat energy from your skillet, break away from the batter, and spread out into the air.  But they are definitely not destroyed!

We could spend weeks learning how atoms, density, diffusion, and the Law of Conservation can be found within our breakfast.  But I’m getting hungry for something else.  Besides, there are so many other cool things to study in the kitchen.  For example…

Where do all those little bubbles come from while the pancake batter is cooking?

Come back next week and find out when we look at The Chemical Reactions in Our Food!

Be certain to check out all of the posts in this series:

How to Teach Science During Breakfast… With Bacon

How to Teach Science During Breakfast… With Coffee

How to Teach Science During Breakfast… Soggy Cereal Science

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How To Teach Science During Breakfast… Soggy Cereal Science

February 11, 2010
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So far, we have learned how cooking bacon and brewing coffee can be used to teach science during breakfast.  Now it’s time to turn our attention towards another common early morning meal – cereal.

Before we do, let’s review the four basic concepts that can be used to teach science:

Now go grab a box of Cap’n Crunch or Cheerios and let’s get to work!

What’s going on with the atoms in your cereal?

First, you should know by now that everything within a bowl of cereal is made up of atoms.  The bowl, spoon, milk, and cereal itself are all made up of atoms!  Within each solid piece of cereal you may find billions of atoms, all vibrating against each other.  That’s right!  All atoms within a solid, even the ones that bind together to make Corn Flakes, are moving a little bit.

Of course, the atoms that are bound together to make up the liquid milk are moving around a lot faster. That is what happens in every liquid!

What does density have to do with all of this?

When you pour your milk over a bowl of cereal, does the cereal sink or float? It probably floats!  But why?

Well, the amount of atoms that make up the cereal are not equal to the number of atoms within the milk inside the bowl.  This means that the density of the cereal is less than the density of the milk.  When you mix two objects together of different densities, the one with the lower density will float!

Quick!!! Eat your cereal before it gets soggy!

You can thank diffusion for the unfortunate (and soggy) end for those last few pieces of cereal in your bowl.   This squishy transformation takes place when the huge amount of fast-moving atoms inside the milk slams through the slow-moving atoms within the cereal.  Another way to say this is this:  The atoms within the milk diffuse into the collection of atoms within the cereal.

And with all this milk being absorbed, it quickly increases the density of the cereal (so much so that it causes the cereal to sink to the bottom of the bowl as a spongy pile of goo.)

Now if you choose a more sugary cereal you may have a few more minutes until your bowl becomes filled with a dissolved gummy slime.  Why?  Well, it takes a little longer for the milk to diffuse into the cereal because it has to dissolve the sugary coating first.

That’s why your Cap’n Crunch will float on top of your milk a little longer than your Cheerios!

“Hey?!?  What happened to my cereal?!?”

Remember the Law of Conservation – Atoms cannot be created or destroyed, only changed.

All those soggy chunks of cereal may sink to the bottom of the bowl, but they cannot disappear after soaking for awhile.  They might break apart and change shape, but your soggy Corn Flakes will never lose a single atom!

Atoms, Density, Diffusion, and the Law of Conservation…

…all at the breakfast table!

Find out more about  scientific concepts within the Classic Science Curriculum

Be certain to check back every Thursday or subscribe to the Blog of Mr.Q


How to Teach Science During Breakfast:  Soggy Cereal Science

So far, we have learned how cooking bacon and brewing coffee can be used to teach science during breakfast.  Now it’s time to turn our attention towards another common early morning meal – cereal.

Before we do, let’s review four basic concepts that can be used to teach science:

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How To Teach Science During Breakfast… With Coffee

February 4, 2010
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My breakfast table would not be complete without a steaming cup of coffee.

It is true that I have a deep love for bacon, but I could easily pass up this fried goodness for my morning coffee.  People who know me well would say my zombie-like appearance will not change at all without this “medicine.”

Now I’m not going to give you too much science to chew on this morning.  Like all of the posts in this series, I am only going to focus on four main concepts to describe the science of my breakfast beverage:

For those of you out there who do not share this same passion, you can substitute your favorite hot drink of choice.  I won’t think any differently of you…

So what is happening to the atoms of water while they are boiling?

This is an easy one!  The water molecules (a group of two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atom) are absorbing all of that heat from the stove and bouncing around faster and faster until they break loose from each other and form a gas (also known as water vapor.)  Remember, the more energy an atom can absorb, the faster it moves away from other atoms.

Up next, our good friend Mr. Diffusion…

If you are using a tea kettle, you know exactly when all these molecules start to break loose.  These energized groups of atoms start bouncing around inside that kettle until they find a way to escape – through the whistle!  You could say that all of these atoms are diffusing from the kettle into the air!

As millions of water molecules are forced out of this tiny whistle, the tea kettle begins to play its tune, telling us it’s time to make coffee.

Why is water vapor forced out of the kettle so quickly?

I could spend dozens of pages to answer this question, but I only have four concepts to cover today.  The density of the water vapor is much higher inside the tea kettle than in the air surrounding the kettle.  This means there are more molecules of water vapor bouncing around inside that kettle than there are just outside of the kettle.

So, the larger group of high-energy atoms inside the kettle diffuses into the surrounding air.

I can’t see the water vapor after it leaves the tea kettle anymore.  Did they disappear?

Nope!  The number of atoms within the liquid water molecules never disappears.  They only absorb energy from the stove, break free from each other, start bouncing around inside the kettle, and escape into the air.  The Law of Conservation explains why this happens – Atoms cannot be created or destroyed, only rearranged.

All of those atoms that are whistling at us may still be floating around in our house day after day after day.  Or, perhaps some of them have slowed down a little bit and turned back into liquid water.  Who knows?  All we can be certain of is that no atoms were destroyed during the entire process.

This Law can be used to explain another concept related to coffee – the grinding of the coffee beans.

If you were to weigh a single coffee bean before and after crushing it into a powder, what would happen to its weight?  If you said “Nothing” you would be correct.  If you were to weigh all of those little pieces of coffee bean and add them up, it would equal the same weight as the whole bean.  Why?

Because the atoms within the bean cannot be created or destroyed, only rearranged.

Do you like your coffee strong (like me) or weak?

Adding more ground coffee places more atoms into the coffee.  So, this means that you increase the density of the coffee by adding more atoms into the brew.

Do you add milk or sugar to your coffee?

Whatever you add to your coffee doesn’t just sit there, floating on the top of your cup, does it?  I hope not! The atoms within your milk or sugar tend to diffuse throughout the coffee when they mix together.  The large amount of atoms within the milk spread throughout the atoms of the coffee.  The same happens with the sugar.  If your sugar didn’t diffuse through the coffee, it may taste sweet on the first sip, bitter the next, and back to sweet on the third sip.  This doesn’t happen because the atoms of sugar diffuse evenly (almost) throughout the coffee.

Never forget – You do not need a lot of expensive equipment to teach science.  You only need the right tools…

Atoms, Diffusion, Density, and the Law of Conservation…

…and a good strong cup of coffee!

Find out more about these and many more scientific concepts within the Classic Science Curriculum.

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How to Teach Science During Breakfast… With Bacon

January 28, 2010
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I love bacon. I can’t help it.  It hasn’t yet reached the level of an addiction; however, I have found that I sometimes spend a little too long in the bacon aisle at the grocery store.

Nevertheless, I’ve always been told that the secret to life is to find something you truly love and then try to make a living off of it.  Why not try to blend my true love for Science with one of my most favorite foods?

Just for the record – I am talking about pork belly bacon here.  I don’t have anything against Canadian bacon (which actually comes from the middle of a pig’s back AND NOT CANADA!) or turkey bacon (which I believe is a truly horrible joke.)

There’s an easy way to use this greasy fried goodness in your Science lessons:

First, you may want to review the four main concepts of science to look for while cooking bacon:

Second, what are atoms doing in the bacon?

You probably already know that bacon (like everything else in the universe) is made up of atoms.  What you may not know is that all atoms, even the ones that bond together to form bacon, are in constant motion.  That’s right. I know this doesn’t make too much sense to you.  And I have to admit, if I were to see a slice of bacon move around on its own I’d probably be running as fast as I could out my home!  But ALL atoms are in constant motion.  Even the atoms that make up a delicious slice of bacon are vibrating in place.  But…

…these atoms are really going to start moving once we add some heat!  Which brings us to the next topic:

Third, (and my personal favorite) how do you get that amazing aroma to diffuse through the air?

Diffusion is the movement of a large group of atoms into areas without many of the same atoms.  Confused?  Let me explain…

When you add heat to an atoms, they tend to absorb that energy and become a little more “active.”  All of the atoms that make up bacon tend to stay attached to each other while they are laying there (beautifully, might I add) on the cold skillet.  As the temperature increases, the atoms tend to move much faster until the water in the bacon starts to boil (that’s the amazing sizzling sound you hear) and the solid fat within the bacon (that’s the white part of the bacon slice) begins to melt into a liquid.

While this is happening, the tissues of the bacon are heating up and beginning to cook.  This releases all kinds of different chemicals into the air, some of which include that delicious aroma.  Now for the big question –

Does that aroma stay put in the skillet?

No way! A huge amount of these chemicals are surrounding the cooked bacon at first; however, they diffuse away into the air and throughout the house. These chemicals that are released into the air have a huge amount of energy from the hot skillet.  They are speeding away from that skillet as fast as they can!   Now on to our next concept…

Fourth, what is happening to the density of the bacon as it cooks?

The answer to this question is both a blessing and a curse.  The bacon’s density (the amount of atoms contained within itself) begins to decrease as the heat causes the water to boil and the fat to melt into the skillet.

It’s the saddest part of breakfast – watching the bacon shrink down to 1/3 of its size.  I won’t lie.  It’s heartbreaking to me.  But I can’t experience that amazing aroma without it; therefore, I take the good with the bad.

Fifth, are any atoms created or destroyed during this process?

No! The Law of Conservation states that atoms cannot be created or destroyed, only rearranged into different things.

For example, not a single atom was destroyed when the solid fat in the bacon melted in the skillet.  They simply absorbed the energy from the stove, broke away from each other, and started spilling out throughout the skillet as a liquid.

And no atoms were created in the mouth-watering smells that filled the room.  What you smell are the new arrangements of atoms from the chemical reactions taking place within the hot bacon and diffusing throughout the house!

There you have it!

Atoms, Diffusion, Density, and the Law of Conservation – The only tools you’ll ever need!

Find out more about these and many more scientific concepts within the Classic Science Curriculum.

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4 Concepts You Have To Use In Teaching Science

January 16, 2010
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I knew I was in for trouble the minute I looked at the schedule.  The curriculum I had been provided for my eighth-grade science classroom contained rocks and minerals, astronomy, chemistry, and (drumroll please) human reproduction.

I was doomed.

My first instinct was to run as fast and far away from this place as possible.  These topics couldn’t be any further apart from each other!  After weeks of therapy and truckloads of medications, I finally calmed down and looked at this curriculum rationally.

I needed something to bring all of these topics together, so I searched for similarities that I could reinforce throughout the year.  What I discovered has been the backbone of my teaching style throughout the years.  I can honestly say it has changed the way I look at the natural world AND how I present science to my students.

Here are the four concepts you can use every day to enhance your child’s understanding of science:

  • Atoms: Everything is made of atoms.
  • Density: The amount of atoms within every object is known as the density of the object.
  • Diffusion: Areas with lots of atoms tend to move to areas with fewer atoms.
  • Law of Conservation: Atoms cannot be created or destroyed, only rearranged.

These four simple concepts can be easily applied to nearly every scientific explanation I have ever encountered as an educator!

It makes sense when you start to look at the natural world as a collection of atoms… 

Atoms are the building blocks of the universe.

The food you eat, the water you drink, and the gas you breathe are all made up of atoms.  And, since atoms act much like building blocks, I had unlimited potential for turning this into a learning experience.  The first thing I did was to provide a massive box of building blocks to my students and asked them to construct a box out of the blocks.

Some students used dozens of blocks to construct their box while others only used a few.  It became apparent to the students that there were several ways to accomplish the task of creating a box.  This provided an easy way to model the various size of molecules (groups of atoms).

When we examined these blocks, some students filled them up with extra blocks.  This provided a great way to demonstrate density…

Boxes of a similar size that were empty contained fewer blocks than those which were filled up.  Since the density of an object is measured by the number of atoms it contains, the empty boxes had a lower density than the full boxes.

Next, I instructed the students to tear down their boxes and make something else.  I allowed them at this time to share with other groups.

All kinds of new creations were being made:  cars, people, chairs, digestive organs (that is another story in itself…)

Secretly I had placed one group with nothing but blocks that were the color red and made certain they had used more blocks than any other group.  No other group used any red blocks at all.  Some students noticed this but I made up some story about how the red blocks were antisocial. (Remember… I’m dealing with 14 year olds here!)  Naturally, most groups shared their blocks throughout the activity.

When they were finished we looked at all of the creations.  It became very apparent that the building blocks had moved from the “red group” throughout the room.  You could say that they “diffused” into other structures where they had not been before.

At the end of the hour, I asked them to count all 5,288 pieces to make certain they were all present.  This took a little longer than expected, but after a brief search under a pile of books, all of the pieces were found.   Naturally, no new blocks were discovered (created) and none were destroyed, but they were easily rearranged throughout the day.  After I stated that fact, I had one student quickly point out, “Hey!  That’s just like the Law of Conservation!“

I’ve been hooked on these four concepts ever since and look for each of them within every lesson I teach!

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