Monthly Archives: February 2015

Science

Science Week – Van De Graff Generator

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Yesterday we were learning about static electricity. We put our fingertips on a Van De Graff Generator and the hair on our heads and arms started to stick up.

Emily

We had to stand on polystyrene as an insulator otherwise we’d be earthed and would get a small shock. When we touched the Van De Graff Generator, while standing on the polystyrene; we became positively charged! When we stood on the polystyrene, we became a conductor of the static electricity.

The reason our hair sticks up is because the positive charge has nowhere to go and it tries to get away from the other positive charge.

Matthew

To discharge the Van De Graff generator you can touch it with a wand attached to something that’s earthed (like a tap) or you can take your hands off then touch someone else by shaking their hand and giving them a slight shock.

It was  very funny and when people looked at in the mirror  everyone was killing themselves in laughter!!!  After  the Van De Graff generator was turned off, the person who had been using it had to shake the static electricity off and wait for their hair to calm down before they stepped off the polystyrene.

Isla

Thank you for reading this post and we hope you  have learned  something  new!!!

Isla and Abigail 🙂

 

 

Science

Science Week – Viscosity

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One of the topics our class have been focusing on for science week is viscosity.

We learnt that the viscosity of a liquid is how thick or thin it is. If a liquid has high viscosity, it is very thick and moves very slow when you pour it out, but if a liquid has low viscosity it is very thin and runs quickly when you pour it.

Each of us brought in a different liquid and we made a viscosity chain using our knowledge, putting the thickest liquids first and the thinnest ones last. It was sometimes quite  challenging to work out a liquids place in the chain.

For example, a lot of people brought in different types of oil and it was hard to try and work out the viscosity of each one.

We also learnt about non Newtonian and Newtonian liquids. Non Newtonian liquids do not change when force is applied but Newtonian liquids  do change like tomato ketchup when you shake it, paint when you stir it and toothpaste when you mix it.

One good example is cream, when you whisk it, it changes consistency and becomes really thick and no longer takes the shape of its container. It behaves more like a solid.

IDL, Science

Science Week – Making a Lava Lamp

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This week is Science Week, so we decided to make a lava lamp!

We used pure vegetable oil , red food colouring, water and Alka-Seltzer tablets. First, we put in a little bit of water into a big 2 litre bottle then filled the rest of it up with vegetable oil, almost to the top. The water and vegetable oil don’t mix so the vegetable oil sat on top of the water, making two layers.

The next step was to put ten drops of red food colouring into the bottle and wait until they all sank to the bottom and rested in the water.

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Lava Lamp

Now the fun part! We dropped in half an Alka-Seltzer tablet, put the lid on and watched a miracle happen…

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It looked like a volcano had erupted – it was so awesome!!!

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After we took the lid off, it made a fizz noise. It  sounded like when you take the cap off of a bottle off coke.

The reason it made an eruption was because it has a chemical reactions to make the red food colouring burst to the top. The gas in the Alka-Seltzer tablets react to the water and the gas that is produced wants to escape. The little gas bubbles push up through the water and oil, taking some of the food colouring with it and that’s why it sounds like coke when we took the cap off.

We turned the classroom lights off and tried it again, this time with SIX Alka-Seltzer tablets and the mixture went crazy! We put a torch underneath the bottle and it lit up like a real lava lamp.

Then Mrs Falconer left it over night to settle and we when we came back into school the vegetable oil was separated from the water again.

We learned that this is called Molecular Polarity! 🙂

Question of the Week

Question of the Week – Resolving Conflict

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We have an important job as Playground Pals to ensure that we help to make sure that Gourock Primary Pupils are engaged in fun and active games during intervals.

That is only one part of our job, as you know. The other very important responsibility we have is to be there for others if they are finding it difficult to resolve a disagreement with a classmate or peer.

We have been looking at how to facilitate restorative conversations.

What are the key things you should remember when you are having a restorative conversation?

What is the role of the facilitator?

Have you found that having been taught these skills that resolving disagreements by yourself is easier? Why?

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Blogging, Health and Wellbeing

Winning the GIRFEC Hero mascot

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The GIRFEC group helps to ensure that the whole school are SHANARRI (Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Respected, Responsible and Included) but they needed a mascot to represent them.

The group decided that they would get the whole school involved and hold a mascot designing competition. Each pupil would get the chance to design a superhero, giving it a name and a special GIRFEC power.

Nearly everyone gave in an entry, which made it even harder for the GIRFEC group to decide on a winner. It was a very hard decision for them to make because everyone’s character was great.

Finally, the group was sure of a winner. They announced that I had won in front of the class and I couldn’t believe it!

At the start, I wasn’t going to enter but I’m glad I did because my design is now going to get spray painted on the gym hall wall along with the Funky 5 characters.

My hero is a friendly robot called GIRFEC GoBot. He has 8 arms, each holding a bottle with every letter of the word SHANARRI on them.

GIRFEC GoBot

To finish him off I added a red cape to his back. His power is being able to make every child that is not SHANARRI safe and healthy by skooshing them with the magic inside each of the different bottles. I can’t wait to see my character on the wall!

By Grace Thomson, P6

Blogging, bootcamp

We love to blog!

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Why blog?

Blog

Primary 6 had a class discussion about the benefits of blogging. Here are some of our thoughts!

  • “It’s a good  way to share classroom and learning experiences” – Jenna
  • “We love to share photos and information about class events, topics and trips” – Aimee
  • “Celebrate our successes and achievement both inside and outside of school” – Elizabeth and Beth
  • “Keep our parents up to date with what we have been learning but it is also a good opportunity for us to interact with people in the wider community – even other countries! We know we have had lots of people from all over the world look at our blog” – Eve
  • “When we have had other adults such as Mrs Cannon, Mrs Edwards and Mrs McKay comment on the blog, we have found it very helpful because sometimes they give us tips and advice. They often encourage us to keep up the good work!” – Alexander and Emily
  • “Question of the Week is good because we get to learn about one another’s opinions and we also discuss these topics in our Talking and Listening Groups on a Tuesday. I like preparing for this because I get a chance to sit with my parents and discuss this week’s topic with them” – Josh
  • We are developing our literacy skills because when we are commenting on the blog we need to think about our audience and make it interesting and easy to read – Eve
  • “Many of us spend time on computers and tablets and this is another way to communicate and practise staying safe online” – Isla
  • “We enjoy discussing the post topics with our peers and asking them questions to further our understanding. We are really interested in what one another has to say. I like sharing my thoughts on what has happened in school”. – Peter
  • “Recently, we have decided that we will recommend our favourite books to one another and we are looking forward to writing some reviews” – Conor
  • “One of my favourite things about our class blog is that it gives us the chance to win Blogger of the Week and receive a prize” – Grace
  • “Going on to the blog regularly allows me to develop my typing skills. I want to get faster!” – Abigail
  • “I like going on the blog to see what everyone is posting and it makes me proud to see all that we have done this year” – Ross
  • “Writing a post helps us to reflect on what we have been doing throughout the week” – Grace
  • “When Mrs Falconer posts pictures, I enjoy showing my family” – Ewan