From: lindgren@meol.mass.edu (Charles F. Lindgren)
Subject: PTK and IPS
Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 15:55:20 -0500
I teach a combination of earth and physical science classes. My Physical Science is an "Honors" level I.P.S. 8th Grade Program with VERY talented kids. I MUST cover Chapters 1-5 in a year with these kids, and those of you familiar with the course know what that means. I'm trying to adapt as many of the labs as possible to a PTK format. If anyone would care to share ideas with me or just shoot the breeze on how we can adapt the two programs I'd be greatful. Shown below is how I've modified the Volume of a granular solid (Exp. 2.3) to fit both curriculums. ************ NAMES ___________________________ ___________________________ GROUP # ______ Experiment 2.3 - Measuring Volume By Displacement of Water Many of you mentioned that you would bring a sieve, strainer, or simply a container to collect a sand sample at our mystery site in January. What information are you going to send to the other Passport to Knowledge participants? Obviously quantitative data would be very important. What characteristics exist in sand that can be measured? One very telling statistic is the volume of air spaces found in sand. Find the volume of a minimum of one sand sample, if at all possible do two. BE SURE TO USE LABELS FOR ALL MEASUREMENTS!!!! ALL VOLUMES MUST BE IN cm3 or ml. TRIAL #1 TRIAL #2 Vol. of Dry Sand = ________ Vol. of Dry Sand = _________ PUT THE SAND BACK!!!!! PUT THE SAND BACK!!!!!!! Vol. of Water = _______ Vol. of Water = _______ OK, ADD THE SAND AGAIN OK, ADD THE SAND AGAIN Vol. of Sand & Water = _______ Vol. of Sand & Water = _______ Vol. of Sand = _______ Vol. of Sand = _______ Vol. of Air = _______ Vol. of Air = _______ % of Air In Sand = _______ % of Air In Sand = _______ What do you think the volume of air in sand tells you about the sand? Why?