In this laboratory the students tested various materials for heat conductivity. The investigation included determining which materials conducted heat quickest and which conducted the most heat as measured by temperature in Celsius. The students then report data to the board and work as a class to decide how to best present their findings.
The apparatus used for heat conduction
Sylvia monitors the temperature rise
Auslynn works at the board
Riantho explains his idea of how to chart the data
Beautiana explains her idea
Discussion at this juncture centered on the difficulty that not everyone measured their temperatures at the same time. The students had already reached a collective decision that any chart had to reflect a common point in time.
Detail view of chart concepts
Lacking a tea pot, the 8:00 section discovered that plastic melts
One student wanted to make their own coffee. The student wanted to add the ground coffee to their cup and add hot water. I explained that the coffee was ground coffee and would not dissolve. The student appeared to hear this, but went ahead and added the ground coffee to hot water in their cup. The coffee did not dissolve despite working the mixture with a spoon. A few other students began to explain to the student why the ground coffee did not dissolve. The student began laughing and admitted that they had never seen ground coffee before. The lab presents many learning experiences, not all of them designed.
The lab includes learning experiences beyond the physical matters at hand