Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, Water and Weather (1st – 2nd)
Greetings!
Wow! The group has done such a wonderful job working and collaborating together! As a result, we have been able to do some great experiments and cover a lot of material! Today’s focus combined the study of water with the introduction to the water cycle and weather.
One of the things we worked on this morning was the need for clean water. Not everyone has access to safe and clean water, not even in the US. Some people have to survive on less than 50 gallons of water a month! What does that mean? Well, this is a GREAT learning opportunity for the kids!! It takes on average: 5 gallons to flush a toilet, 4 gallons to brush teeth if you leave the water running, between 30 and 45 gallons for the average bath, and about 25 gallons of water to shower for 10 minutes! That doesn’t even count what we use to drink, cook, wash clothes, and so on! That is really tough! With your child, start totaling how much water they would use on an average day. How much would they use in a week? How much would your other family members use? I am so thankful that we have access to so much clean water!
Next, we learned about the three states of matter with water – solid, liquid, and gas. We talked about ice and glaciers, water in rivers and lakes, as well as water vapor and steam as the gas form. We even learned a song about the three states of matter! Ask them about the song about the ice!
Our next step was to explore the water cycle. We looked at all the stages and learned what each part of it means! We tested transpiration when we went outside, and the moisture in the shade was helping to cool us down! Also, we added ice to cups letting them sit for 30 minutes, and they were covered with strange moisture! Ask if they remember the name of the drops – condensation!
Our final experiment started our lesson in water. We took clear warm water and poured ice cubes with food coloring in them to observe what happens when the warm water and cold water meet. They will stay separate, which is amazing to watch. I added drops of food coloring to the cold side, and we watched the cloud slowly start to move toward the other side. We measured the temperature on each side of the plastic box, and the side with the warm water originally was more than 3 degrees warmer than the side the ice was on, even after they insisted it would be the same! The colors of the water remained separate until we stirred the water to make the temperature equal, and the colors combined to form a new color. They were really surprised by that!
Have a great night, and I can hardly wait to hear about how much water we use!
Have a great night!
Dr. Mall