The BTPS blogger is:
1) Responsible with his words
2) Respects others' posts
3) Knows how to disagree politely
Welcome to P5 Pupils
What makes great comments?
(1) Focus on one specific point at a time
(2) Develop answers in a logical sequence
(3) Support your answers with Science facts
(4) Use Science language to communicate your ideas
Always sign off with your name and class.
Enjoy Thinking and Talking Science
During his holiday at Sentosa, Jason woke up at 6 a.m, jumped into the swimming pool and yelped,
"Wow! It's sooooo cold!"
He quickly got out and went back to the hotel room and jumped into his bed with his wet swimming trunks.
"OOH, this is so warm and toasty!"
What made Jason feel cold in the pool? (Remember, always connect to Science concepts).
What made Jason feel warm in bed?
What if Jason had taken off his wet swimming trunks first? Would that have made any difference?
Explain clearly why.(You can try to connect to a similar experience you had!)
How does this plant grow?
How is it different from other plants?
How is it similar to other living organisms?
Picture From 3M
Explain clearly how clothes/gear with reflective material can help a person cycling at night?
Whenever you are unsure about how to answer a question, you can compare the situation to a reverse situation: here - wearing clothes with no reflective material.
Did you know that the Passion fruit plant needs support to climb up. The fruits are truly stunning as the plant itself seems very fragile and unable to produce such a heavy fruit.
What processes enabled this Passion fruit grow?
What is still attached to the Passion fruit?
In what ways is this fruit similar to a child?
- Interact with complex questions / graphs / pictures to pick up valuable clues (don't highlight - just use your pen to underline words or scribble notes)
- Start with Booklet A and do it meticulously with full focus - explore all 4 distractors before making final choice
- MANAGE your TIME - to score well, you need to try to finish ALL questions
- Specific answers = answers that are relevant to question
- When confused, choose any of the following strategies:
- Infer what Science concept is being used in question
- Pose other questions to clarify your thoughts
- COMPARE to another set-up
- COMPARE to a reverse situation
- Connect to your knowledge in life (yes, you do have lots of prior / other knowledge)
- Break down your answer in steps before crafting final answer
Common problems with wrong answers:
Answers are generic/vague and do not connect to that specific question
Answers are not scientific and do not explain in terms of Science concepts
Answers do not make use of data provided when asked
Answers did not make comparisons - use words like more/most etc..when asked
Remember that you can either say:
Higher temperature or hotter (not hotter temperature)
Lower temperature or colder (not colder temperature)
Connect to Science Concepts - most of you did this well:
There is a difference between ice cubes and water - Xin Yi
Water loses heat to the ice cubes causing the temperature of water to decrease - Umar
But JJ gave a very different answer:
With more ice cubes, the temperature of water will be able to remain lower for a longer period. Ice would still lose heat to the surrounding as the temperature around (in Singapore) would most likely be higher - JJ
Most of you found it tricky to explain clearly why. Therefore when this type of specific answer is needed, you need to plan out the steps:
I will use the procedure spelt out by Zoen but break it down further.
Since difference in temperature dictates loss/gain of heat, imagine the following:
Measure the difference in temperature of water and a beaker of ice cubes?(say it's 30 degrees)
Put 1 ice cube in water
What is the actual temp of water after 5 mins? (let's say now it's 20 degrees)
Add another ice cube.
What is the actual temp of water after 5 mins? (Let's say it's 10 degrees)
What can you tell me about the difference in temp between this water and a beaker of ice cubes?
Temperature difference is getting lesser and lesser as you add the ice cubes 1 by 1.
Since temperature difference is important for loss/gain of heat, as difference of temperature is minimal now (but still losing to the surrounding), the ice cubes will not melt as quickly as before and therefore drink remains colder longer.
Observe with All your senses - Connect to Science Concepts:
Unlike other plants, their stem isn't strong enough to support the plant. These plants need the help of other plants or trees to get sunlight - Juan Pang
Crawlers cling onto stems and thin items with their tendrils - Calvin
Tendrils and their support (other plant stems or thin trellis) are like the skeletal system and the muscular system of our body - they work together - Yi Lin
In the second plant, we observed holes in the leaves and clasping roots - so they do not 'climb' up on supporting trees or plants in the same way. As plants climb onto others, sunlight passes through the holes and gives the leaves below some sunlight - Yun Na / Carlo
Pose other Questions that might help you find answers:
How do they get the other necessities to survive - water and nutrients? Yun Na and Carlo asked.
Compare the weak stems to the strong stems:
We believe weak stems plants will never become trees and therefore do not need as much water and nutrients - water is needed to keep strong stems firm. - Yun Na / Carlo
BTW, in our Wizard project, we have also tried to grow weak stem plants (Monstera and Money plant) without any soil after concluding that they might not need as much nutrients as other plants. You would like to know that they are growing well and even developed quick adaptations like growing extra roots / hairs in their roots to absorb more water.
Yun Na / Audrey / Xin Yi/Shanice
Research before answering:
Carnivorous plants grow in nutrient poor soil - Benjamin
They live in wetlands and have to depend on other sources of nutrients for its survival - Nicholas King
Connect to Science Concepts - use scienctific language
These plants are different from usual food producers. I think it is beause the food producers are like 'prey' and the carnivorous plants are like 'predators'. Food producers produce food (through photosynthesis) for herbivores and omnivores and carnivorous plants make food for themselves and 'eat' insects for nutrients. I think they can still make food as after all, they still have leaves - Yi Lin
And add interesting bits that make sense to you:
I feel this adaptation can be helpful if there is a massive volcanic eruption and ashes block the sunlight (like Mount Pinatubo).
Extra Q1: Is sand really a good conductor of heat?
Please note that it is very important when discussing conductivity to analyse in comparison to what else.
Compare Sand to just Air:
Is Air a good conductor of heat compared to Sand? (Zoen asked)
Air is not a good conductor of heat - Syafiqah
Compare Sand to Metal:
Sand on the beach absorb the heat from the Sun - but if you dig deep inside beyond the upper layers of sand, you will find that the bottom layers remain cooler than the top layer.
Imagine (excellent strategy advocated by Yi Lin) layers of metal under the sun. What do you expect to happen?
Extra Q2: Is cooking time shorter or longer?Compare Cooking with Sand and Cooking without Sand - the answer will be clearer to You
The sand might be like a temperature control. If the chestnuts went straight into the wok on the fire, they moght get 'incinerated'. If there was a slow fire, the chestnuts might take a long time to roast. Chetsnuts can be cooked over a big fire without getting burnt thanks to the 'temperature control' - Timothy
Sand helps to bring the temperature gradually to the desired heat then keep heat constant so as not to dry up / overcook the nuts - Nicholas king
Compare Top layer to Bottom layer of chestnuts
Another reason might be that the chestnuts at the bottom of the vat might cook faster than the ones on top and end up overcooked - Benjamin
What could have happened then:
- Sand particles close the gaps between the chestnuts (Yu Ling)
- Sand will not let the heat be lost to the surrounding (Syafiqah)
- Smaller particles of Sand helped to retain heat whereas larger particles might cause heat to escape - Nicholas King
- When sand particles get heated up, they heat up the neighbours' - conduct/transfer heat to the chestnuts - Zoen
- So it seems that distributing heat evenly to the chestnuts is important just as keeping them warm while cooking them slowly.
Here are some of the answers:
(Relate to process of cooking and preservation connected to Science )
The purpose of cooking the jam is to kill bacteria in the cranberries - Si Jia
The canned food we have are also heated before being put into cans to be sent off to supermarkets - Ong Yan Quan
Foods are also preserved through other methods such as: Salting (eggs), pickling (vegetables) - Nicholas King
(Relate to Fungi and environment that are conducive to their growth)
The main reason for the fungi to grow inside is due to its exposure to either oxygen or warmth. Si Jia
The jam is also moist - Rae Ann
Fungi are Decomposers and they need warmth, air and moisture - Abraham
(Connect to other knowledge - finding plausible reasons using Science concepts)
My grandmother shared with me that one must also heat up the empty glass jar as there might be organisms living inside the jar itself - Yun Na
The 'machines' that were used to make the jam were not clean and could have contained spores - Benjamin
After the cap is open, air can go in and maybe fungi and bacteria went in - LiPing
Share your thoughts with us
What did you enjoy the most?
How is it different from learning in class?
What other skills did you develop when planning for Science Inspire?
What was your favourite exhibit or Wizard presentation?
What would you recommend for Science Inspire 2010?
What enables Post It notes to stay up on any surface?
Explain how that helps to keep the note up.
(When in doubt, ask other questions that can help you clarify how to answer the question)
Chestnuts are mixed with sandlike particles for roasting.
What is the purpose of using that?
(When in doubt about a question - always ask this: As compared to what?)
Therefore why should he use the particles instead of just placing the chestnuts straight on the fire?
How would changing the size of the particles affect the cooking?
Explain why.
What is in a seed? How do you think it is dispersed?
Although the Sea Bean is in a pod, it drops off one seed in one section at a time.
How different is it from other legumes? Why has it developed this adaptation?
What is the effect of putting ice cubes in a glass water? How does the number of ice cubes affect the time taken to melt in the liquid?
Science Around Me (SAM)
SAM is a Science journal that allows pupils to express themselves in their favourite ways about Science.
SAM is another great opportunity for pupils to THINK and TALK Science in a medium that is customised to their learning styles.
SAM allows teachers to informally assess understanding of the child and clarify misconceptions in their learning.
Three States by Zacchaeus - 4F
If I could change my state into solid, I would turn myself into a hard metal box with a definite shape and one pair of hands and legs!
If I could change my state into liquid, I would chnage into a puddle of water with a definite volume and go to sea to unite with my friends!
If I could change my state into gas, I would become a genie with an indefinite state. I would go round and round and grant wishes for people. I would go into an air-tight jar and be compressed!
When Ice Changes into Water by Goh Chee Yan - 5G
Do you wonder whether the mass of ice changes when it melts into water. Try this out:
1. Put a few ice cubes into a plastic bag
2. Tie the mouth of the bag tightly
3. Weigh the bag of ice cubes (if there is condensation outside the bag, wipe it dry before weighing)
4. Place the bag in the sun
5. When ice has melted, wipe the outside of the bag dry (refer to step 3)
6. Weigh the bag
You will discover that the mass of the bag remains the same!
There is no change in mass when ice melts!!
