Making Simple Electric Circuits

Me and my group making the electric circuits

Last week, (24/4/2012), we made simple electric circuits. Our task is to make 2 circuits, Series circuit and parallel circuit. We were grouped into 4 members each group.

My Group: (from left to right), Moza, Qalhata, Me, Robby

Here are the list of materials needed to make those 2 circuits:
-14 Alligator Clips (16 if with switch)
-2 bulbs and fittings
-1m of wire
-2 battery holders
-2 batteries


MY REFLECTION:

I enjoyed making the electric circuits because it helps us to understand the differences and the advantage and disadvantage between series and parallel circuits. Even though one of my group member did not bring the materials, at least i can learn differently about electric circuits.

Gravitational Force activities (Making a Parachute)

This is how my parachute look like

Me making a parachute

Today, (Tuesday, 10/4/2012), we made a parachute for science. It is to understand more about gravitational forces around us. So, here is what we need:
1 big plastic bag (but not too big)
a bundle of string (not to thick)
scissors
a small toy

Here is how we made it:
1. Cut one side of the plastic bag into a circle.
2. Pierce small holes surrounding the circle. Do not use scissors because it will pierce big holes. Use Pen/Pencil.
3. Cut the string (approximately 50cm each) according to how many holes you pierced. (ex. if you pierced 5 holes than cut 5 strings)
4. Tie the each of the strings to each of the holes. Tie it twice so it won't untie.
5.  Attach the small toy to the bottom of the strings

And now your parachute is ready to be tested.
I tested it from the 3rd floor of my school, i tried it twice, the first time it succeed, but unfortunately at the second time, my parachute was stuck in one of the window holes. But luckily the iss (school helper) used a long stick to make the parachute not stuck. So it did. Thankyou really much.

This activity is very interesting to me because it is another way to learn about gravitational forces. And its also really fun because we can test it on our own! :D

Gravitational and Frictional Forces

GRAVITATIONAL FORCE

Gravitational Force is the force between the things and the Earth. It always pull things down to the center of the earth. The power of the gravitational force is not the same everywhere. The closer the object to the earth the greater the gravitational force. Gravitational Force is always acting around us. Some examples are when swimmer dives, man climbing the rocks and speeding up a skier.

WEIGHT AND MASS
Many people thought that Weight and Mass are the same. But actually they are different.
The similarity is that both can be measured. The difference is that Weight is a force, the gravitational force acting on an object and the weight is not the same everywhere. If Mass, it is not a force, the amount of matter in a object and the mass is same everywhere.


FRICTIONAL FORCES
Frictional force is a force that produces friction. It is produced when two surfaces rub each other. Frictional Forces can slow down and stop moving objects, prevent an object to move and affect the movement of object in different surfaces. Examples of Frictional Force is when you push a toy car, it will slow done and stops.

AIR RESISTANCE AND WATER RESISTANCE
Fictional Force also acts in air and water.
Air Resistance is a force that slows down objects in the air. It is opposing the direction of the fall of the of the object. Water Resistance that slows down objects in the water. For example if we drop a paper in a glass of water and a paper in glass without water, the piece of paper in the glass without water will fall quicker than the one with water in the glass because of the water resistance acting on it.


FRICTIONAL FORCES IN OUR DAILY LIFE
Frictional forces can he useful and can also cause problems.
It can be useful because if there is no frictional force, there will be no grip and we will not be able to hold on to anything. For example the tread patterns on the tyre help to increase the frictional force so that when the road is slippery or wet, we would not fall down.

Annual Project (Science)

    This Term 3 is a special week because there are no written tests. In grade 5, our annual project is to make a miniature, to be assessed in English, Math and Science.

This is our pyramid miniature

    In science, we have to list down the name of the miniature we made according to our groups (Egypt, Indonesia, China or Greece). My group was making Pyramid since my group got Egypt. We also have to list down the materials and their properties used to make the miniature (e.g. Cardboard because it is strong and hard),  draw the miniature, explain the steps needed to make the miniature and we have to illustrate each step and also explain how Physical or Chemical Changes were occurring when we are making the miniature (e.g. When we cut the cardboard, it changes size and shape but it is still cardboard).
   I like doing this Annual Project better than written tests because it is more fun when we work in groups like this.

Math and Science Week

Last week, (20th February-24th February) was the Math and Science Week. Math and Science week is special because it only happens once a year. In this year Math and Science Week, we've got many games in this Math and Science Week:

-Math Trail......There are word problems sticking around the school and we have to search for it and solve it.
-Science Games.....There are Race to Trash Bin, where we have to put trash into their categories (plastic, tetrapack, paper), Crossword Puzzle, where we have to solve the crossword puzzle related to science, and many other FUN and EXCITING games!

We also got pins for participating in this event; the Math and Science Week!

Science-Physical & Chemical Changes Presentation

On last Tuesday (14/2/2012), we presentate a PPT (PowerPoint Presentation) about Physical and Chemical Changes. It is to show how we understand about the topic. We could compose a song, make a PPT or Conducting an experiment. We could work individually, pairs, or by 3. Me, and my 2 other friends, (Gerry and Filbert), decided to make a PPT. We've got a week to make a PPT. We shared tasks and did our part and compiled them into a PPT. It was also scored. So fun!

MY REFLECTION:

I enjoyed doing this activity because it is fun and it really save papers even though it is not that easy to make it.

Science Unit Test 1

In this Term 3, there would be 2 Unit Tests for each subject. Today, we've just done Science Unit Test 1. It covers 3 topics-Pollution, Human Population and Weather. It was quite difficult even though it's only 15 Questions. There are many tricky and challenging questions especially for section B and C. Just waiting for the scores.......