Searching+Science+2012

= Searching Science 2012 with Mr McKenzie =

The focus of our three days was to: 1. Develop competence and confidence in using laboratory equipment. 2. Challenge and extend ourselves in a hands on practical scientific environment.

What we did: • We had to competently handle Bunsen burners, glassware and chemicals to set up for an investigation, to conduct an experiment, to record and interprete data and to reach a conclusion. • We sat a laboratory proficiency exam which required a 100 percent pass rate. This exam required us to show knowledge of and demonstration of the use for 24 laboratory items or procedures. • We worked together and individually on the 16 areas of learning and were given the support to have hands on learning, to discuss our findings, to pose new questions and to plan further investigations to test our hypotheses’.

The topics we investigated were
 * 1) Air pressure
 * 2) Colours and density
 * 3) Combustion
 * 4) Evaporation
 * 5) Floating & sinking
 * 6) Heat retention
 * 7) Insulative materials investigation
 * 8) Laboratory proficiency
 * 9) Laboratory safety
 * 10) Magnetism
 * 11) Particle nature of matter including the expansion of solids, liquids and gases
 * 12) Pneumatics
 * 13) Surface tension
 * 14) The components of an Investigation including the use of a control and fair testing
 * 15) The water cycle
 * 16) Vacuums