Science in Action Lesson Plan

Level: Brownies

Girls will earn the Science in Action Try-It after completing all the activities.

Today we are going to learn about how science is present in our lives. Does anyone know what a scientist is? That’s right a scientist is a person who works in the field of science. Can woman be scientists? Of course we can! Today we will do several experiments that deal with different types of science. Has anyone ever heard of chemistry? We will do a couple of things today that deal with chemistry. Other parts of science we will look at are computer technology and physics. Are you ready? Great!

Experiment #1: Goop To Go (Try-It requirement #2)

 

What we need: Glue Laundry Detergent or Borax Paper Towels Measuring Spoons Water Small Cups Straws for stirring

Today we are going to make polymers. This type of science is called chemistry. Polymers can be flexible, stretchy and sometimes even bouncy.

1. Split up into pairs.

2. Give each pair two cups and two straws.

3. Place 1 teaspoon of glue into one of the cups.

4. Add 1 teaspoon water to the glue cups and stir to mix.

5. Place 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent in the other cup.

6. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the detergent and stir to mix.

7. While stirring the glue-water solution have the other girl slowly add the detergent solution to the glue until a white glob forms. This may take between half and all of the detergent solution.

8. Remove the glob and place it between two paper towels. Press down gently to soak up some of the excess liquid.

9. Pick up the glob and feel it. Tear it in half and give some to both partners.

Items Needed:

• 1 copy of Bar Code Alphabet sheet per girl

• 1 copy of Write in Bar Code sheet per girl

• Glue

• Scissors (1 pair per girl)

• An assortment of items with barcodes (canned goods, yeast package, etc)

How do people read? We look at letters with our eyes. Our eyes send the message to the brain. The brain recognizes words and we remember what the word is. Mention that some people with visual impairments may use Braille, but through touch a similar message is sent. You can read books, but what sorts of things would a computer read? Take their ideas, then hold up an item with a bar code on it. Do computers have eyes like us? No. Have you ever seen a scanner at the grocery store that beeps when the checker places an item in front of it. The scanner contains a laser which acts as the computers eye. Does anyone know what bar codes are used for? Many of the girls might say "price sticker". Bar codes appear on many things such as mail, grocery items and library cards. It is the way to get information into the computer. Before bar codes and scanners, that information had to be written down or typed into the computer. A bar code may also be called a UPC code. UPC stands for "Universal Product Code". No two items should have the same UPC.

1. Move to the work area and give each girl scissors and have enough glue to share. We are going to see a message written in bar code.

2. Do you know the words to the Brownie Smile Song? What does the Brownie have in her pocket? If the girls wish they can sing the song.

3. Pass out the bar code worksheet and the bar code alphabet to each girl. Is anything missing? That’s right. The word smile is not on the sheet.

4. Cut out the letters S-M-I-L-E from the alphabet sheet and glue them onto the worksheet. Explain while they are doing this that each letter is a series of five thick lines with spaces between them. There are also codes for start, space and end. Some lines look very similar but the space between the lines is slightly different. When the computer reads the bar code, it can tell what product it is and then the computer goes to its file to see how much it costs and to take one product away from the inventory. Then the store knows when to order more.

5. Make sure the girls take these sheets with them when they leave.

Items Needed:

• Small cardboard boxes (at least 1 per 4-5 girls)

• Steel wool - small cut up pieces

• Plastic Wrap

• Magnets

• Tape

We’re now going to experiment with magnets.

1. Place small pieces of steel wool in the bottom of each box.

2. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the boxes.

3. Have the girls take turns moving the magnet underneath the box to make patterns with the steel wool.

4. See how far away you can move the magnet and still make the steel wool move.

What kind of patterns did you make?

The ink in a black felt-tip pen is made from chemicals of many different colors. Mixed together, these colors look black. How do you think we can see these different colors? Let’s do this experiment and find out.

1. Fold your coffee filter in half and draw the shape of half of a butterfly on the filter with a pencil. Demonstrate this first. Younger Brownies may need help drawing, even after you show them. After cutting, the filter will fold out into a whole butterfly.

2. Cut out your butterfly shape.

3. Unfold the shape and draw a heavy black line long ways down the middle of the butterfly’s body.

4. Dip the filter into the cup of water. It only needs to go about halfway in, just past the line.

5. Remove the filter and lay it down, but don’t touch after that.

6. What closely. What happens to the butterfly?

7. Leave the filters to dry and take them home with you.

8. Dry and recycle cups when finished.

Experiment # 5 Energy Sleuth - approx. 20 min.

Items Needed:

• Plastic grocery bags

• Watch/clock with a second hand or someone to count

• Numerous items to put in the bag of various weights (i.e. canned goods, small box)

Now we are going to study physics. Physics is the study of energy. The people who study physics are called physicists. Does anyone know what energy is? Energy is the ability to do work. In physics, work happens when you push or pull something and move it. Ask for a volunteer to come to you. Push her gently on the shoulder until she moves sideways. Did I do some work on her? Yes. If I push or pull something and I move it, I have done work, and I need energy to push or pull.

Where do people get energy? From the food they eat. Where does the food get its energy? From the sun. Food comes from plants and animals, and both get their energy from the sun. Most energy can be traced to the sun. Some energy, like nuclear energy, comes from atoms.

Can you name different types of energy? 1) Heat and light energy from the sun; 2) Sound energy from vibrations; 3) Chemical energy from the food we eat; 4) Electrical energy that runs stuff in our homes; 5) Nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms.

We are going to be physicists and experiment with two kinds of energy called potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential energy is stored energy. When the energy actually moves something, it becomes kinetic energy.

1. Put a can in a grocery bag and twist it 5 times. Ask "Am I putting energy into the bag"? Yes. Hold the bag with the twists in it so that it doesn’t spin. There is energy in the bag and the bag itself has potential energy. When we let the bag spins, like this, the potential energy turns into kinetic energy and the bag moves.

2. Working in small groups, take a bag and several items. Each group should put 1 can in the bag and twist it exactly five times. When you say go they should let go of the bag and let it spin. Have the girls count, or use a watch, to see how long the bags spin.

3. Now put more items in the bag and see who can keep the bag spinning the longest. To compare times the same number of items and twists must be used.

4. Have a brief discussion about what happened.

Items Needed:

• Copies of colored comics from newspaper (girls can share pages or you can cut up)

• Copies of Large-Square Worksheet (1 per girl)

• Copies of Small-Square Worksheet (1 per girl)

• Crayons

Has anyone ever played with a "Lite Brite" or other toys that used lighted pegs to make pictures. If you have used one of these, did you ever have trouble making a picture turn out the way you wanted it to? Why? Encourage them to discuss how difficult it was to make something round when working with a square grid. You can’t always put the pegs where you want to.

Pass out the comics and the magnifying lenses. Now look through your magnifying lenses at the comics. Do you see the small dots? These small dots or squares of color used to make a picture are called pixels. Each peg used to make a picture on a "Lite Brite" is similar to a pixel. Television, computer and video game screens are also made up of pixels.

Hand out the Large-Square Worksheet and tell the girls they are going to make pixel pictures. Only color the squares with the dots in them. What shapes do you see? A heart and a star. Are these very good pictures? Why or why not?

When finished with the large squares, hand out the Small-Square Worksheet. Again, only color in the squares with the dots in them. What shapes do you have? A heart and a star. Which size squares result in better pictures? The small squares. Why? The difference is in the size of the squares. The sheet with smaller squares has more squares. More squares or pixels produce a better image. If you were shopping for a computer monitor, would you want to buy one with a screen that had a few pixels or lots of pixels. More pixels are better. Many times more pixels on a screen make it more expensive as well. Do you think it is worth paying more money to see a better picture?

This page last edited on Monday October 30, 2006.

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