Earthquakes

Seismology is the study of earthquakes so we have been apprentice seismologists this week! 
First of all we had a go at making our own seismographs - an instrument to measure the strength of earthquakes. Earthquakes are measured on a scale called the Richter scale.
We made our seismographs with water bottles, rulers, pens and lots of masking tape. 
We put a long sheet of paper on the tables and, as someone shook the table to simulate the earthquake, someone else in the team pulled the paper slowly along. The pen marked a pattern on the paper to show us the strength of our earthquake.

They worked rather well I think!

Next we investigated how strong structures need to be to withstand an earthquake.

This time we used lego and constructed a 'shake table' out of elastic bands, boards and tennis balls.

Once we had our table ready we measured how far we could pull the top board to simulate an earthquake. This was important so that we could have the same size shake for each trial. 

We decided on a base size for our tower and constructed four towers with the same base size  but with different heights. Again, to keep the test fair, the bases had to be same each time.

After we had tested each one we started again with a different base size and tested them too.

The conclusion we drew was that the bigger the base, the stronger the building.

Some of us also tried a different construction material.

Volcanoes

We researched volcanoes, how they are formed and how they erupt. We discovered the three different stages of volcanoes and watched videos of eruptions. We learned about some famous volcanoes and some of us were surprised to learn that Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh is actually an extinct volcano! It must be quite scary to live in a region where volcanoes can erupt at any time.
We had to have our own volcanic eruption of course! We used a model volcano made a few years ago in school and with a mixture of vinegar, baking soda and food colouring, soon had our own eruption going on.

It is very satisfying watching the lava froth out of the crater but probably scary in real life!

Glaciers

In order so investigate the effect glaciers and glacial erosion has on mountains, we needed a material that would simulate the slow movement of a glacier.
We made goo with some pva glue and washing detergent which has a very satisfying gloopy feel and the added bonus of a nice smell!
We created slopes using blocks and boards, set our 'glaciers' at the top and watched their progress down the slope. We added obstacles to see whether the glacier would pick up debris and take it along with it, go round it or over it.

It was difficult for everyone to have enough patience as glaciers move sooo slowly, and it was very tempting to keep poking at it! 
The goo is great fun to play with and keeps well stored in an airtight tub.

Keep on rockin!

We turned to our favourite material to do some rock investigations - food!
This time we used chocolate, marshmallows and biscuits.
We learned that there are 3 main types of rocks and that they are formed in different ways so we tried to simulate the formation of each one.

Igneous rock forms when volcanoes erupt and magma from inside the earth oozes out and then hardens.
We used chocolate, which we melted, and food colouring. Once it had set and hardened again we had our igneous rock!

Sedimentary rock forms through weathering and erosion forming layers of materials and sediment which then is compressed together with heat and pressure. 

We used biscuits, chocolate, chocolate chips and marshmallows to form our layers and then applied pressure to compact the layers. Next we added melted butter to cement it all together.

Crushing the biscuits.

Chocolate chips

Crushed chocolate

Adding marshmallows and compressing the layers.

Metamorphic Rock is formed when heat and pressure is applied to other rocks and it goes through changes. Once it is melted it becomes magma and the rock cycle is complete!
We used more chocolate and marshmallows for this one and heated it in the oven for a bit. We applied pressure to one half so that we could see how it changed.

After all our experimenting we had to eat the rocks! Well anything else would have been a waste! They were delicious!

There is an excellent website with an interactive rock cycle section and a quiz at the end to test your knowledge. We mostly scored very high marks in the quiz!

Find it here and have a go:

http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/index.html

To further investigate sedimentary rock we went outside and collected as many natural materials as we could find. We put them in a jar and added water. After giving it a good shake, we left it for a few days to settle. Once it settled we could see the layers very clearly.

Term 2 events.

Christmas

Some Christmas craft.

Party time!

School tree lighting.

Norwegian Concert

A group of musicians from Norway entertained us one afternoon at school with their brass instruments. They were looking for their lost conductor but he never turned up so they had to borrow an audience member instead!

Children in Need - theme super heroes.

Super Jannies!