investigation question: how do properties of a substance

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Name___________________________________________

Big Science Question: How do Earth’s plates move?

Investigation Question: How do properties of a substance affect its ability to flow?

This investigation will be conducted in several parts. Work through each part carefully, step-by-step. Each individual question will help us answer the Big Science Question.

Part 1

Prediction: Which substance will flow the fastest down the incline? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explain your answer. (WHY do you think this substance will flow the fastest?) ____________________________________

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Materials:

Tray Wax paper Protractor Newspaper Ruler Marker Timer Water Oil Shampoo Honey Pudding Tape Science books

Procedure:

1. Set up the incline: a. Cover the tray with wax paper. Tape the wax paper to the tray. b. Using the protractor, stack the books to put the tray at a 45 degree incline. c. Place newspaper under the tray to catch spills. d. Mark a starting line on the wax paper at the top of the tray. e. Use the ruler to mark a finish line 25cm from the starting line.

2. Conduct the investigation: (READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU BEGIN.) a. Observe the water. Record your observations. b. Pour 10mL of water on the starting line. c. Use the timer to measure how long it takes the water to reach the finish line. d. Record your data in trial 1. e. Clean the wax paper with paper towels. Make sure there is no substance left on the wax paper. This

might affect the next trial. f. Repeat steps a – d with each substance. g. Collect data from 2 other groups for trials 2 & 3.

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Data:

Substance Observations Time (S) to go 25 cm

Trial 1

Trial

2

Trial

3 Average

Water

Oil

Honey

Shampoo

Pudding

Using Scientific Vocabulary:

We have been talking about substances “flowing.” A substance’s resistance to flow is called its viscosity. A

substance that flows more easily has low viscosity. A substance that has high viscosity does not flow easily. Sort the

substances you investigated according to viscosity.

High Viscosity Low Viscosity

Analyze your data:

1. Make a claim about the question: Which substance flowed the fastest down the incline? _________________________

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2. What evidence do you have that supports this claim? ______________________________________________________________

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3. Why do you think this is? What reasons or justifications can you give for your claim? _________________________

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Think About It:

Liquids are not the only things that can flow. All states of matter, including gases and solids, can flow. The Earth’s

mantle is a solid, but it can flow.

Thinking about what you know about viscosity, does the Earth’s mantle have a high or low viscosity?

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Why do you think this? What evidence do you have to support your thoughts?

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What do you think might change the viscosity of the mantle? _____________________________________________________

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Part 2

Prediction: How will changing the temperature of the honey change how fast it flows down the incline?

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Explain your answer. (WHY do you think the temperature will do this?) ________________________________________________

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Materials:

Tray Wax paper Protractor Newspaper Ruler Marker Timer Room T Honey Cool Honey Warm Honey Science books

Procedure:

1. Set up the incline like you did in the first part.

2. Measure the flowing speed of each honey sample the same way you did in part 1.

3. Record your data for trial 1.

4. Collect the data from 2 other groups for trials 2 and 3.

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Data:

Honey Sample Time to Flow 25 cm Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

Warm

Room T

Cool

Graph your data. Remember all of the parts of a good graph.

Analyze your data:

1. Make a claim about the question: How will changing the temperature of the honey change how fast it flows

down the incline? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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2. What evidence do you have that supports this claim? ______________________________________________________________

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3. Why do you think this is? What reasons or justifications can you give for your claim? _________________________

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Putting it all together:

The original question for this investigation was “How do properties of a substance affect its ability to flow?” Use what you have learned in the two parts of this investigation to answer this question.

I claim ___ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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I can support my claim with this evidence: ________ _________________________________________________________________

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I can justify my claim using the evidence and what I know about science: ________ _______________________________

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Making connections --‐‑ Flowing in the Earth

Look at the temperature of the Earth’s interior layers, are they all the same temperature? _________________________

What effect will temperature differences inside Earth have on the mantle’s viscosity?

I claim ___ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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What have we learned that can help us answer the Big Science Question, “How do Earth’s plates

move?”

I claim ___ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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investigation question: how do properties of a substance

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