Mrs. Richard's 2nd Grade: Science is AWESOME!

This trimester we are learning all about solids, liquids, and gases in science. We started out our study of matter by using books on solids, liquids, and gases to do some research and note taking. We used these notes to make some FANTASTIC posters explaining what we know about matter. These will be hanging up in our room after vacation, so be sure to stop by and take a peek. We also did some fabulous work explaining what a gas is, together with Mrs. Beall's class (liquids) and Mrs. Peterson's class (solids). That work is displayed on the bulletin board outside of our classroom. We have already noticed a number of students in our school stopping by to read our facts about gas!

This week we had two explorations in science that were particularly awesome! To learn about the properties of solids we were able to handle various density cubes made from lots of different materials-including aluminum, copper, brass, PVC, acrylic, oak, and pine. We touched and observed the cubes and together with our groups we came up with some properties we could use to describe solids. We also had a chance to use a balance scale to weigh the density cubes in order to determine which one was heaviest and which one was lightest. (Our predictions were pretty close!)

I think our favorite experiment this week was the day we made carbon dioxide. (You know a science experiment is well-received when the "scientists" clap when it is done!) Our goal was to show that a gas will spread out to fill up the available space, which in this case was a balloon. We also learned that carbon dioxide is denser than air because a balloon filled with carbon dioxide will fall to the ground faster than a balloon filled with air. Check out the pictures below and be sure to ask your second grader to tell you what they know about solids, liquids, and gases!