Category Archives: Uncategorized
Rainforest Maths
This week we have been learning all about the layers of the rainforest so we decided to get outdoors and do some rainforest maths. With a metre stick we had to measure the height of the tallest trees found in the emergent layer and plot out this measurement in chalk on the playground. So that was 50-60m! Next we had to draw our canopy layer at the halfway point. Next we were given some creatures and a measurement as to where they were found on our tree. We had to plot these on our tall tree. We also learned about circumferences and had to use a measuring tape to measure the circumferences of trees in the school grounds. Finally we used 5 tapes to create the circumference of a tree that may be found in a rainforest so we could get an idea of how enormous it could be. A tree with a circumference of 5m must be very very tall!
results of our mummy experiment – 2 weeks on
This week our apples were looking really shrivelled! The salt had become really hard and we had to crack it with a spoon to scoop the apple out! It looked like there was very little moisture left in the apple and the skin was extremely bumpy and wrinkled. There was absolutely no smell. There was no mould. We will look at our apple one last time next week.
Salt is a desiccant. A desiccants removes water from any material it comes into contact with. Bacteria that cause rotting and decay need water to survive. Salt and baking soda remove the water from the apple, which makes it hard for bacteria to survive and cause decay.
Ancient Egyptians use a similar method to preserve human bodies after death. They used natron, a naturally occurring dessicant, to mummify bodies
Results of our Mummy Experiment – 1 week on
We took our apples out of the cupboard to investigate any changes that had taken place. The apple that had simply been placed in the cup had gone brown and in some cases, furry with mould. We could smell that it was beginning to rot. The skin remained quite fresh looking and shiny green. We brushed the salt and baking soda mix off our mummy apple and discovered that the skin had tightened up and puckered and that the flesh of the apple was beginning to dry out. The skin had lost its shiny appearance completely. Unlike the other apple, there was no mould. This is because the salt is a preservative and the baking soda acts as an anti-bacterial agent. The salt mix had gone lumpy and was tinted with orange. This is because it is drawing the moisture out of the apple. The mummification process seems to be well underway!
Mummifying an Apple!
We have conducted an experiment to mummify an apple! We placed one piece of apple in a cup as a control. The other piece we used a mix of salt and baking soda to represent Natron, a salt mix used in Ancient Egypt. We will check out our ‘mummies’ later this week. Like all good scientists we wrote up our experiment and recorded our predictions
Canopic Capers!
We used air drying clay to create canopic jars. These were used in Ancient Egypt during the mummification process to preserve the organs removed from the body
Christmas Party 🎅🏻🎉🌲
We all had such a fanstastic time at the school Christmas party- dancing, playing games and having fun! Lots of happy faces enjoying the music and the disco.
Livi’s carrotts!
Today Livi brought in Christmas carrots that she made with her Gran at the weekend. They are copies of the Aldi Christmas carrot advert but we think they are even better!
3D snowflakes ❄️
Yesterday we spent the afternoon creating 3D snowflakes. We really had to concentrate to make the 6 paper sections that form the snowflakes. They look amazing hanging in the classroom.
Class Christmas tree homework 🌲
As part of our homework task last week, we were to make and create a Christmas tree decoration for the class tree. Mrs Brankin was so impressed with the effort and creativity! Also the tree looks beautiful.
